| Rollback proposed for Michelle Obama school lunch guidelines Posted: 17 Jan 2020 05:28 PM PST  The Trump administration on Friday took another step toward dismantling Michelle Obama's school nutrition guidelines, proposing a new rule that could lead to more pizza and fries and less fruit and a smaller variety of vegetables on school menus. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who announced the rule changes on Obama's birthday, said they were needed to give schools more flexibility and reduce waste while still providing nutritious and appetizing meals. "What a shameless, embarrassing capitulation to lobbyists at the expense of American children and their well-being," said Sam Kass, who served as executive director of Obama's "Let's Move" campaign to combat child obesity.
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| UN chief urges Haitians to resist escalation at quake event Posted: 17 Jan 2020 04:14 PM PST  The U.N. chief told about 200 staff members and diplomats at U.N. headquarters that "insecurity and slow economic growth are contributing to rising social tensions and a deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Haiti.
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| Louisiana, Alaskan tribes file UN climate change complaint Posted: 17 Jan 2020 04:05 PM PST ![Louisiana, Alaskan tribes file UN climate change complaint]( "Louisiana, Alaskan tribes file UN climate change complaint") Four coastal Louisiana tribes and one in Alaska that say the U.S. government violated their human rights by failing to take action on climate change have submitted a formal complaint to the United Nations in Switzerland. Sea-level rise and coastal erosion are drowning tribal burial sites in South Louisiana, according to the complaint. Continued land loss further threatens the tribes' source of food, said Shirell Parfait-Dardar, chief of the Grand Caillou and Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians.
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| Canadians Are Reeling From The Plane Crash In Iran And Want Justice Posted: 17 Jan 2020 03:47 PM PST  While searching for answers on why Iran shot the Ukrainian airliner down, Canadians also have not let President Trump escape blame.
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| Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:41 PM PST  President Trump has a new target for his Twitter ire -- Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Khamenei on Friday morning called Trump a "clown" who is only pretending to support Iran's people, and criticized the Trump-authorized killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In Khamenei's first time leading Friday prayers at the Mosella mosque in Tehran since 2012, he said Iran's retaliatory missile strikes were a "slap on the face" to the U.S. that demonstrated Iran's "power."Trump responded with a tweet on Friday evening, adding the zinger that Khamenei had "not been so Supreme lately."> The so-called "Supreme Leader" of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020Aside from the schoolyard taunt, Trump threw in a vague threat, noting Khamenei "should be very careful with his words!" That will surely calm the simmering tensions between the two nations.More stories from theweek.com Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed Trump just ran a two-year trade war experiment. It failed.
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| How Trump's impeachment differs from a criminal trial Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:37 PM PST  Yes, it's a trial — but the Senate's impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump won't resemble anything Americans have seen on Court TV. In Trump's trial, the Senate will serve as both judge and jury. COURTROOM TRIAL: Federal trials, both civil and criminal, are presided over by District Court judges who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
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| Pakistan FM, after visits, says Iran wants to de-escalate Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:31 PM PST  Pakistan's foreign minister, who has shuttled between Washington and Tehran in the course of a week, voiced confidence Friday that Iran was seeking to lower tensions. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi discussed Iran and Afghanistan's peace process Friday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, five days after seeing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. "They don't want war, they don't want further bloodshed," Qureshi told reporters in Washington.
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| Johnson Plans Muted Brexit Celebrations After Big Ben Backdown Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:30 PM PST ![Johnson Plans Muted Brexit Celebrations After Big Ben Backdown]( "Johnson Plans Muted Brexit Celebrations After Big Ben Backdown") (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed away from crowdfunding for the ringing of Big Ben to mark the U.K.'s departure from the European Union on Jan. 31, opting instead for muted commemorations his office said would seek to "heal divisions and re-unite communities."Johnson will take his cabinet for a meeting in the north of England on the day and government buildings will be lit up, his office said in an email.The statement made no mention of ringing the bell, in a clock tower over the Houses of Parliament in London, just four days after Johnson encouraged people to give money toward it -- even though there was no plan in place.Members of the public have already given more than 225,000 pounds ($293,000) toward the 500,000-pound cost of pausing urgent repair work and installing a temporary floor and equipment to enable the bell to ring.The House of Commons authorities said they have no mechanism for accepting the money and that preparations to ring the bell would delay vital refurbishment. That intervention sparked fury from Brexiteers, who accused bureaucrats of plotting to spoil their celebrations.Johnson's office, which has spent the week trying to cover up the prime minister's blunder, appeared to accept that the bell won't ring, saying instead that a clock will be projected onto the walls of the prime minister's office in Downing Street as the country counts down to Brexit at 11 p.m on Jan. 31.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump says Iran's Khamenei 'should be very careful with his words' Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:23 PM PST ![Trump says Iran's Khamenei 'should be very careful with his words']( "Trump says Iran's Khamenei 'should be very careful with his words'") U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be very careful about what he says after Khamenei harshly criticized the United States in a Friday prayers sermon in Tehran. "The so-called 'Supreme Leader' of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe," Trump said in a tweet.
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| Democrats can make February debate with 1 Iowa delegate Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:18 PM PST  There's a brand new way Democrats can make the debate stage next month.The Democratic National Committee announced requirements to qualify for February's primary debate Friday, saying the donor threshold will remain steady, with candidates needing at least 225,000 unique donors. Candidates will also, as before, need to hit at least five percent in four qualifying national polls or seven percent in two polls of New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina voters. But there's now a third path that candidates can take to replace the poll requirement: If they win just one delegate in Iowa, they're in.This could open a path for candidates such as entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who hit the donor requirement but didn't have enough qualifying polls to make January's debate. The Iowa caucuses are Feb. 3, and the next debate is Feb. 7 in New Hampshire.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| COBRA, episode 1 review: implausible and clichéd, but this propulsive thriller gripped Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:01 PM PST  Prime Minister Francis Begbie is a terrifying thought. Robert Carlyle's best-known character, the violent psychopath from Trainspotting, would start a war with any nation he deemed to be looking at him funny. Carlyle's Bond villain, Renard from The World Is Not Enough, was a KGB agent-turned-terrorist with a bullet lodged in his brain which rendered him impervious to pain. Hardly an empathetic potential politician. Former steelworker Gaz, the actor's BAFTA-winning strip troupe leader from The Full Monty, was a nice enough bloke but couldn't be trusted to keep his clothes on during debriefings. Fortunately, Carlyle was playing none of the above in Sky One's shiny new political drama COBRA. His PM, a smooth moderate Conservative named Robert Sutherland, was pitched somewhere between David Cameron and Tony Blair a sinister prospect in itself. This high-stakes, high-budget series wasn't about a venomous snake on the loose in Westminster, more's the pity, but the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A – that fabled venue beneath Whitehall which comes into play during times of national crisis. Setting his thriller here was a smart, attention-seizing premise from former Spooks writer Ben Richards. As an approaching solar storm threatened to knock out satellites and damage the national grid, Sutherland straightened his tie, stiffened his upper lip and convened his emergency committee in an effort to combat the unfolding catastrophe. The UK was about to be thrown into darkness, unleashing a tide of panic and unrest, while Sutherland's political rivals waited to take advantage. Yes, this was about power in every sense. The PM's Chief of Staff Anna Marshall (Victoria Hamilton), dubbed "Lady Macbeth" by those who cowered in her wake, strode down corridors in a succession of chic power-outfits, barking orders and sacking treacherous aides. Steven Cree in COBRA Mutinous Home Secretary Archie Glover-Morgan (David Haig) – an unreconstructed sexist prone to using phrases such as "virtue-signalling ponce" – schemed and stabbed backs, his gleaming eyes fixed greedily on 10 Downing Street. There were Brexit references ("You voted to leave the EU, Archie, not the human race") and even a cameo for the dear old Daily Telegraph. Crisis contingency planner Fraser Walker (Richard Dormer) squinted at computer graphics and delivered bad news in a rumbling Northern Irish accent that made my TV's speakers rattle. Proceedings opened with a plane losing power and crashing onto the A1 near Newton Aycliffe, before flashing back with a "24 hours earlier…" caption – a narrative trick which is an epidemic in TV drama nowadays. Equally clichéd was the omnipresence everyone had enviable kitchens with an open bottle of chilled white wine permanently plonked on their gleaming surfaces. It was sometimes hard to keep a handle on the ensemble cast but Hamilton and Haig excelled as arch rivals for the PM's ear. Writer Richards was clearly a fan of The Thick Of It because every politician swore like a sailor. Carlyle didn't quite convince as the besieged leader, partly because he had fewer juicy lines and a secret smoking habit which would have been rumbled immediately in the real world. David Haig as the Home Secretary Credit: Sky This Bodyguard wannabe lacked an equivalent of the crackling Keeley Hawes/Richard Madden sexual chemistry which gave Jed Mercurio's hit drama its extra hook. There was also a strong whiff of 24 in its race-against-the-clock momentum. Less promisingly, the solar disaster storyline had unfortunate echoes of the BBC's apocalyptic 2018 flop Hard Sun, of which nobody likes to be reminded. Attempts to portray added pressures in the characters' personal lives struck another duff note. Marshall's old flame felt surplus to requirements, as did Walker's sick father and the PM's daughter taking drugs. The latter was worryingly reminiscent of Jack Bauer's daughter Kim in 24, who was forever getting herself into implausible scrapes with snares and mountain lions while her father fought to save the world. Still, propulsive plotting meant COBRA gripped just tightly enough for me to tune in again. We ended with the lights going out all over London, including in the corridors of power. Where do you keep the candles, Prime Minister? And how come you've got a cigarette lighter in your pocket?
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| Lawyers for Huawei CFO call Canada prosecutor's arguments 'circular' Posted: 17 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST  VANCOUVER/TORONTO (Reuters) - Extraditing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to the United States based on American sanctions against Iran would set a dangerous precedent and could even undermine Canada's policy towards Iran, Meng's lawyers argued in court documents released on Friday. Meng, 47, was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of the United States, where she is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading the bank HSBC about Huawei Technologies' business in Iran. Meng has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.
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| Lawyers for Huawei CFO call Canada prosecutor's arguments 'circular' Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:56 PM PST ![Lawyers for Huawei CFO call Canada prosecutor's arguments 'circular']( "Lawyers for Huawei CFO call Canada prosecutor's arguments 'circular'") VANCOUVER/TORONTO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Extraditing Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou to the United States based on American sanctions against Iran would set a dangerous precedent and could even undermine Canada's policy towards Iran, Meng's lawyers argued in court documents released on Friday. Meng, 47, was arrested at the Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 1, 2018, at the request of the United States, where she is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading the bank HSBC about Huawei Technologies' business in Iran. Meng has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition.
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| NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:37 PM PST  None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. THE FACTS: A video that circulated on social media following the debate was edited to make it appear Steyer made a derogatory comment about Democrats and the economy. A review of debate footage shows that Steyer was discussing President Donald Trump's campaign and the role the economy would play in it.
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| Damages and injuries from Iran's missile attack on US troops suggest that luck played a major part in preventing war Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:24 PM PST  Details are emerging about damages from Iran's missile attack. Experts said the confrontation could easily have spiraled into a disastrous war.
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| UK Labour's Long-Bailey launches leadership bid with call for 'new professionalism' Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:06 PM PST ![UK Labour's Long-Bailey launches leadership bid with call for 'new professionalism']( "UK Labour's Long-Bailey launches leadership bid with call for 'new professionalism'") Britain's Labour Party needs to do more to promote aspiration and look more like a government-in-waiting, the party's business spokeswoman, Rebecca Long-Bailey, said when she formally launched her leadership campaign on Friday. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is stepping down, after the party's worst election performance since 1935 gave Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives a large majority in parliament. Long-Bailey is currently second in the race to succeed Corbyn, behind the party's Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer, according to a YouGov poll of party members for The Times newspaper.
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| Pentagon adding to restrictions on foreign military students Posted: 17 Jan 2020 01:05 PM PST  The Pentagon is imposing new restrictions and controls on all international military students at American bases, including barring them from having privately owned firearms on base, in response to a shooting by a Saudi trainee in December that killed three sailors in Florida. The Justice Department announced this week that the attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Dec. 6 was an act of terrorism, and it said 21 Saudi trainees were being sent home. After the Pensacola shooting, Defense Secretary Mark Esper ordered a review of the Pentagon's handling of its several thousand foreign military trainees.
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| Trump is getting the band back together Posted: 17 Jan 2020 12:54 PM PST  Alan Dershowitz is not the first name that comes to mind when I think of draining the swamp. The great bog (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "Acela corridor") that stretches from Washington, D.C., all the way north to Boston is full of strange and fascinating creatures — vicious snapping turtles, will-o'-the-wisps, skunk apes, mokele-mbembes. Few are more at home in that brackish environment than the millionaire celebrity law professor whose clients have included the producers of Deep Throat, O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bulow, and Harvey Weinstein.This is why I find it so amusing that Trump has decided to add Dershowitz to his impeachment defense team. Why not have the guy who was recently sued by the Democrats' counsel in Bush v. Gore (among other winning causes) in your camp? And if you're going to do that, you might as well add the person who stage-managed the last cynical partisan open-ended investigation of a president to culminate in impeachment? Ken Starr has nothing better to do with his time. Neither, apparently, has Robert Ray, another Whitewater veteran, or Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general best known for her fundraising controversies, her involvement with Scientology, and her lobbying on behalf of the government of Qatar. That's right, folks. Trump isn't just getting the band back together — he's turning it into a supergroup, like Blind Faith or The Highwaymen. Even Jeffrey Epstein would have been jealous.It is not entirely clear to me whether Trump understands what the hiring of Dershowitz and these others will suggest to his supporters. Some of them, no doubt, are willing to adopt the cynical view that swamp monsters are better at fighting in that terrain than those accustomed to more agreeable hydrologies. But goodness knows how it will go down with the InfoWars/QAnon/reddit contingent, who believe that Trump's official achievements in office are of far less importance than his battle against an international gang of satanic pedophile billionaires, nearly all of whom have been on cordial terms with Dershowitz (to say nothing of Bill and Hillary Clinton). Maybe it's just a matter of keeping your friends close and your alleged demon-worshipping rich sex maniac enemies on the White House payroll.Either way, though, one thing is certain. Trump's Senate impeachment trial will live up to the carnivalesque expectations that some of us had for it. Ratings for the House phase of these proceedings dropped off toward the end, for the not-very-surprising reason that hearing a dozen different third-hand accounts of a short telephone call is not compelling television. This will not be the case with this group. It might even be enough to change the president's mind about having witnesses. It is certainly difficult to imagine that Trump would be able to turn down the chance to watch Joe and Hunter Biden cross-examined in front of a hundred million viewers by an old cable news hand like Dershowitz. (This is to say nothing of the possibility of bringing Rudy Giuliani in to do his bear-baiting routine.) Trump knows what his audience craves because he shares their appetites.That doesn't mean his Republican allies will, though. (It is impossible to see John Roberts being comfortable with something so undignified.) What about Mitch McConnell? So far it has seemed to be the case that McConnell wants more than anything else to be on the side of the White House when it comes to impeachment. If Trump wants it over with quickly, so does Mitch. If the president wants a clown show, Mitch is Barbra Streisand.If Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi know what they are doing they will insist on a swift and quiet acquittal here. Tut-tutting about how the president and his minions have turned an august judicial process into an over-the-top spectacle is not going to get them anywhere, especially with their otherwise reliable media allies. The alternative is allowing Trump to be the ringmaster of a circus that could last for months.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| Iraq protester killed in Baghdad clashes Posted: 17 Jan 2020 12:40 PM PST  An Iraqi demonstrator was killed during clashes with security forces on a key Baghdad bridge on Friday, months into a protest movement that has waned amid soaring US-Iran tensions. Clashes flared suddenly Friday evening as demonstrators attempted to cross Al-Sinek Bridge in the heart of the Iraqi capital, a security source told AFP. Security forces, charged with preventing demonstrators from reaching the other side, fired tear gas, with one canister hitting a demonstrator in the chest and killing him.
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| 3 more linked to neo-Nazi group arrested in Georgia Posted: 17 Jan 2020 12:09 PM PST  Three men linked to a violent white supremacist group known as The Base were charged with conspiring to kill members of a militant anti-fascist group, police in Georgia announced Friday, a day after three other members were arrested on federal charges in Maryland and Delaware. The Base, a collective of hardcore neo-Nazis that operate as a paramilitary organization, has proclaimed war against minority communities within the United States and abroad, the FBI has said. Unlike other extremist groups, it's not focused on promulgating propaganda — instead the group aims to bring together highly skilled members to train them for acts of violence.
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| Comey Is Said to Be Focus of Justice Department Inquiry About 2017 Leak Posted: 17 Jan 2020 12:00 PM PST  WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors in Washington are investigating a years-old leak of classified information about a Russian intelligence document, and they appear to be focusing on whether former FBI Director James Comey illegally provided details to reporters, according to people familiar with the inquiry.The case is the second time the Justice Department has investigated leaks potentially involving Comey, a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called him a "leaker." Trump recently suggested without evidence that Comey should be prosecuted for "unlawful conduct" and spend years in prison.The timing of the investigation could raise questions about whether it was motivated at least in part by politics. Prosecutors and FBI agents typically investigate leaks of classified information around the time they appear in the news media, not years later. And the inquiry is the latest politically sensitive matter undertaken by the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, which is also conducting an investigation of Comey's former deputy, Andrew McCabe, that has been plagued by problems.Law enforcement officials are scrutinizing at least two news articles about the FBI and Comey, published in The New York Times and The Washington Post in 2017, that mentioned the Russian government document, according to the people familiar with the investigation. Hackers working for Dutch intelligence officials obtained the document and provided it to the FBI, and both its existence and the collection of it were highly classified secrets, the people said.The document played a key role in Comey's decision to sideline the Justice Department and announce in July 2016 that the FBI would not recommend that Hillary Clinton face charges in her use of a private email server to conduct government business while secretary of state.The investigation into the leaks began in recent months, the people said, but it is not clear whether prosecutors have impaneled a grand jury or how many witnesses they have interviewed. What prompted the inquiry is also unclear, but the Russian document was mentioned in a book published last fall, "Deep State: Trump, the FBI, and the Rule of Law" by James B. Stewart, a Times reporter.A lawyer for Comey declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Washington.Trump has repeatedly pressured the Justice Department to investigate his perceived enemies. In 2018, he told the White House counsel at the time, Don McGahn, to prosecute Clinton and Comey. McGahn refused, telling the president that he did not have the authority to order investigations and that doing so could prompt abuse-of-power accusations. Trump had also discussed the appointment of a second special counsel to conduct the investigations he sought.Previously, federal prosecutors in New York scrutinized Comey after his personal lawyer and friend, Daniel C. Richman, provided the contents of a memo about Comey's interactions with Trump to a Times reporter at Comey's request. That memo contained no classified information, officials later determined. Though officials retroactively determined that other memos that Comey wrote contained classified information, prosecutors declined to charge Comey with illegally disclosing the material. The Justice Department's inspector general, who had examined Comey's conduct and referred his findings to prosecutors in New York, concluded that Comey violated FBI policy.The latest investigation involves material that Dutch intelligence operatives siphoned off Russian computers and provided to the U.S. government. The information included a Russian analysis of what appeared to be an email exchange during the 2016 presidential campaign between Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who was chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee at the time, and Leonard Benardo, an official with the Open Society Foundations -- a democracy-promoting organization whose founder, George Soros, has long been a target of the far right.In the email, Wasserman Schultz suggested that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch would make sure that Clinton would not be prosecuted in the email case. Both Wasserman Schultz and Benardo have denied being in contact, suggesting the document was meant to be Russian disinformation.That document was one of the key factors that drove Comey to hold a news conference in July 2016 announcing that investigators would recommend no charges against Clinton. Typically, senior Justice Department officials would decide how to proceed in such a high-profile case, but Comey was concerned that if Lynch played a central role in deciding whether to charge Clinton, Russia could leak the email.Whether the document was fake remains an open question. But U.S. officials at the time did not believe that Lynch would hinder the Clinton email investigation, and neither Wasserman Schultz nor Benardo had any inside information about it. Still, if the Russians had released the information after the inquiry was closed, it could have tainted the outcome, hurt public confidence in the Justice Department and sowed discord.Prosecutors are also looking at whether Richman might have played a role in providing the information to reporters about the Russia document and how it figured into Comey's rationale about the news conference, according to the people familiar with the investigation. Comey hired Richman at one point to consult for the FBI about encryption and other complex legal issues, and investigators have expressed interest in how he operated.Richman was quoted in the April 2017 article in The Times that revealed the document's existence. A month later, The Post named Wasserman Schultz and Benardo as subjects of the document in a detailed article. A lawyer for Richman declined to comment.Typically, prosecutors would decline to open investigations into older leaks of classified information because the passage of time makes such cases much harder to pursue as the memories of witnesses fade. Also, the initial leaks can generate more leaks as more officials feel comfortable discussing the information with journalists because it has become public.Multiple news stories about the classified disclosures also make it harder to determine whether one person was speaking to reporters or several people, according to former law enforcement officials. And the larger the universe of government officials who have been briefed on classified information, the more difficult it is to find the leaker, former officials said. In this case, lawmakers were briefed on the Russian document in addition to executive branch officials.In inquiries where investigators determine that a leak is coming from members of Congress or their staff, political sensitivities make those cases difficult to investigate. Most of the time, former officials said, such inquiries are dead on arrival.Additionally, investigators could also decline to open an investigation into an older leak because it might further harm national security if the information once again made headlines, as in this inquiry."Leak cases are incredibly difficult to prosecute," said Brian J. Fleming, a former lawyer with the Justice Department who worked on many such cases in his work on national security issues. "They are very challenging to present to a jury both as an evidentiary matter and in terms of presenting a compelling, coherent narrative. That is a big reason so few leak cases get charged and even fewer ever go to trial."Still, if a government agency is determined to hunt down the source of a leak, as the CIA was in the case of Jeffrey A. Sterling, a former CIA officer who was convicted of leaking details about an anti-Iran operation to a Times reporter, Justice Department officials generally will pursue the case aggressively.Justice Department officials might also be interested in making an example of Comey, a development almost certain to please Trump. Like the Obama administration, the Trump Justice Department has regularly prosecuted officials who provided sensitive information to reporters.Federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia have embraced politically fraught cases under the U.S. attorney, Jessie K. Liu.Liu aggressively pushed for the prosecution of McCabe on suspicion of lying to investigators about sensitive law enforcement information provided to a reporter. McCabe was accused of misleading investigators conducting an administrative review, not a criminal inquiry; typically, such cases are not referred for prosecution.The relatively straightforward case against McCabe has dragged on for more than 20 months. Prosecutors have refused to tell McCabe's lawyers whether they intend to bring charges.Liu's office also charged Gregory B. Craig, a onetime White House counsel in the Obama administration, after prosecutors in New York passed on the case. Craig was charged with lying to the FBI about his work for the Ukrainian government, but a jury last year quickly acquitted him, handing Liu an embarrassing defeat.Trump nominated Liu last month to be the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes. He had previously tapped her to be the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department, but she withdrew from consideration after Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, raised concerns about her conservative credentials.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| For a $27 Raffle Ticket, You Could Win Mexico’s Presidential Jet Posted: 17 Jan 2020 11:51 AM PST ![For a $27 Raffle Ticket, You Could Win Mexico's Presidential Jet]( "For a $27 Raffle Ticket, You Could Win Mexico's Presidential Jet") (Bloomberg) -- Mexico is considering a lottery to get rid of of the nation's presidential jet, after a year of failed attempts to sell the aircraft.President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this week that Mexico is flying back the Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner, which has been stored in a California hangar since December 2018, just after he took office, to resume sale efforts.Under the plan, the country would sell 6 million raffle tickets at 500 pesos each ($27). Lopez Obrador has said the plane is a poor use of resources in a country where many live in poverty."There were two buyers from the U.S. One of them offered $125 million, but we can't sell it below the valuation from the United Nations," he said during this morning conference at Mexico City's National Palace.That bid fell 4% short of the aircraft's estimated value. The U.N., commissioned by the Mexican government to appraise the presidential plane, put a $130 million tag on the aircraft, considerably below the price paid for it two administrations ago.No One Wants to Buy Mexico's $130 Million Presidential JetLopez Obrador has also talked with the country's richest man, Carlos Slim, about what to do with the plane. He called upon the business community to help him "repair the damage" of buying the plane in the first place. He is offering to sell shares of the aircraft to a group of twelve Mexican companies, each worth $11 million dollars, but he said it would be a tough sell.He is entertaining other options such as renting it by the hour or exchanging it for medical equipment from the U.S. government.If the president decides on a raffle, he said he'd throw in the cost of maintenance for up to two years in case the winner doesn't have the funds for upkeep."Not even the wealthiest, most extravagant people have these kinds of planes," Lopez Obrador said. "Not even Barack Obama, with all due respect to the former president."(Updates with comments from Lopez Obrador starting in eighth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City at cbarrerad@bloomberg.net;Lorena Rios in Mexico City at lriost@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ney Hayashi at ncruz4@bloomberg.net, Nacha Cattan, Matthew BristowFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Harvey Weinstein trial selects a jury of 7 men and 5 women Posted: 17 Jan 2020 11:48 AM PST  The Harvey Weinstein trial officially has its jury.Jury selection in the trial of the disgraced film producer ended Friday with seven men and five women set to serve, Variety reports. Three alternates, one man and two women, were also selected.Lead prosecutor Joan Illuzzi during jury selection accused the defense and trying to "systematically exclude" young white women, The Hollywood Reporter writes. "They have eliminated every single white woman from this prospective jury panel," Illuzzi said, Variety reports. The defense, in turn, accused the prosecution of trying to exclude men from the jury, but the Reporter writes Judge James Burke didn't accept either argument. The defense reportedly said it didn't seek to exclude young women but that, as The Associated Press writes, they "didn't want jurors who were too young to understand the way men and women interacted in the early 1990s."The defense objected to one particular juror, a woman who wrote a forthcoming novel whose plot has to do with "predatory older men," Deadline reports. The judge ultimately said the woman could serve on the jury and denied the defense's subsequent request for a mistrial.Weinstein is facing rape and sexual assault charges, which he has pleaded not guilty to. Opening arguments in the trial are set to begin on Jan. 22.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| Officials, activists: 2 Iraqi protesters killed in Baghdad Posted: 17 Jan 2020 11:17 AM PST  Two protesters were killed and over a dozen wounded in central Baghdad on Friday in renewed violence between anti-government demonstrators and Iraqi security forces, activists and officials said. Riot police fired tear gas and hurled sound bombs to disperse crowds on the strategic Sinak Bridge after protesters attempted to breach cement barriers previously erected by security forces, causing the casualties, activists and medical and security officials said.
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| US condemns Iran general but sees calm for now Posted: 17 Jan 2020 10:54 AM PST  The United States on Friday slapped sanctions on another senior Iranian official over a crackdown on protests but said Tehran appeared to be following through on de-escalating military tensions. The United States said it was blacklisting Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour for crushing protests in November in the southwestern city of Mahshahr. The city, home to many from Iran's Arab minority, was a hotbed of protests that broke out after an abrupt hike in fuel prices.
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| US hits Iran general with sanctions over protest crackdown Posted: 17 Jan 2020 10:48 AM PST  The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions on a senior Iranian general for his role in a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters as it ramps up its maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic. The State Department said it imposed penalties on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Hassan Shahvarpour for directing a massacre of nearly 150 demonstrators in southwestern Iran in November. "General Shahvarpour was in command of units responsible for the violent crackdown and lethal repression around Mahshahr," U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook said.
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| 11 US service members treated for blast injuries in Iran missile attack, military confirms Posted: 17 Jan 2020 10:28 AM PST  The U.S. military confirmed late Thursday that some American troops were evacuated for blast injuries sustained in Iran's ballistic missile attacks on bases in Iraq last week. Ten service members injured at Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq were flown out of the country on Wednesday, and another service member was flown out on Jan. 10. Eight were taken to Landstuhl, Germany, while the three others were taken to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.
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| Greece Rages Against Turkey’s Heft in Libya Peace Talks Posted: 17 Jan 2020 10:12 AM PST ![Greece Rages Against Turkey's Heft in Libya Peace Talks]( "Greece Rages Against Turkey's Heft in Libya Peace Talks") (Bloomberg) -- Greece warned it may try to block any Libyan peace deal that doesn't resolve a dispute over regional maritime borders, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a Berlin conference on the country's future.The Greek government, which won't take part in the Berlin summit, will not accept any political deal for Libya that doesn't annul an agreement the country struck with Greece's rival Turkey on maritime borders, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an interview on Thursday."Greece will veto, even at foreign-minister level before it makes it to head-of-state level," any Libya agreement that doesn't annul the pact with Turkey, Mitsotakis said.Greece may not get that chance.Mitsotakis was left off the invitation list for the peace talks in Berlin this weekend, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will join Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders who've been calling the shots on Libya.The politicians in Berlin are seeking a deal on foreign intervention after Russia and Turkey failed to persuade Haftar on a visit to Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.Migrant TraffickingThe battle to secure control over the government has reduced oil-producing Libya to near-failed state status, with the country becoming a center for migrant trafficking across the Mediterranean.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey plans to issue new exploration licenses in the eastern Mediterranean following the maritime deal with Libya, a step likely to add to tensions with Greece and the European Union. Erdogan, who backs Fayez al-Serraj's government in Libya, said Friday that Haftar is not reliable."We encouraged Commander Haftar to participate in the Berlin process with a positive spirit," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told reporters after a meeting in Athens. "We expect Germany to safeguard the European position for Libya matters."Greece "will do whatever it takes" to protect its sovereignty if Turkey begins hydrocarbon drilling in waters Greece claims as its own, Mitsotakis said, adding that he doesn't believe the situation in the Aegean will escalate.Mitsotakis also held a call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday to discuss the issue.Greece should have been invited to the Berlin summit, Mitsotakis said. "We should be in Berlin to discuss the future of a country whose stability is of interest to Europe, and of particular interest to Greece," the premier said.Greece's participation in the conference had never been considered, German Government Spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a news conference in Berlin on Friday.Berlin shared Greece's concerns about the maritime dispute, which was already being dealt with in separate European forums, he added."This conference doesn't deal with that issue."Separately, the Funke media group reported on Friday that the EU dramatically cut foreign aid to Turkey, citing a letter from Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Policy, to the European Parliament. As a reason he named the gas dispute in the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey's offensive in Syria, the group said. (Updates with Borrell comment in last paragraph)\--With assistance from Sotiris Nikas and Raymond Colitt.To contact the reporters on this story: Eleni Chrepa in Athens at echrepa@bloomberg.net;Paul Tugwell in Athens at ptugwell1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sotiris Nikas at snikas@bloomberg.net, Jerrold Colten, Caroline AlexanderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Eleven US troops flown to medical centers after Iran strike Posted: 17 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST  Eleven U.S. troops were flown out of Iraq for evaluation of concussion-like symptoms in the days following an Iranian missile strike that President Donald Trump had said caused no harm to American forces, officials said Friday. The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said Defense Secretary Mark Esper did not know of the injuries until he was told Thursday afternoon that the 11 troops had been sent for evaluation at U.S. medical facilities — eight in Germany and three in Kuwait.
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| The Week contest: Robo vac Posted: 17 Jan 2020 09:53 AM PST  This week's question: A North Carolina couple called the cops and cowered in a closet after hearing what they thought was a burglar in their home; it turned out the "intruder" was just their robot vacuum cleaner, which had gotten stuck and was banging against a wall. If Hollywood were to make a movie about a robo-vacuum cleaner that actually turns to crime, what title could it give the film?Click here to see the results of last week's contest: Fake newsHow to enter: Submissions should be emailed to contest@theweek.com. Please include your name, address, and daytime telephone number for verification; this week, please type "Robo vac" in the subject line. Entries are due by noon, Eastern Time, Tuesday, Jan. 21. Winners will appear on the Puzzle Page of the Jan. 31 issue and at theweek.com/puzzles on Jan. 24. In the case of identical or similar entries, the first one received gets credit. All entries become property of The Week.The winner gets a one-year subscription to The Week.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| Ukraine’s Leading Duo Make Show of Unity to Defuse Leak Scandal Posted: 17 Jan 2020 09:47 AM PST ![Ukraine's Leading Duo Make Show of Unity to Defuse Leak Scandal]( "Ukraine's Leading Duo Make Show of Unity to Defuse Leak Scandal") (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine's top politicians cemented a bond of mutual loyalty when the president rejected the resignation of his prime minister, who had offered to quit after being caught on tape criticizing his boss's grasp of the economy.The move to quash the scandal may strengthen confidence in the efforts of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his right-hand man, Premier Oleksiy Honcharuk, as they tackle challenges less than a year into their partnership.They include healing an economy that plunged into recession after a 2014 revolution and mending ties with Russia following the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea and support for a separatist rebellion in Ukraine's east.Zelenskiy acknowledged he had received Honcharuk's resignation offer and noted it was "linked to the latest scandal and, let's say, unpleasant situation." The president said set a list of tasks for the cabinet and asked his premier to replace ministers that he considered "weak" but also said it wasn't time to shake up the country."Society in general and I personally granted you and the government a high level of confidence. It seems to me you haven't repaid that yet, and you have sufficient energy to do so," Zelenskiy said in a statement. "It seems to me right if I give a chance to you and a chance to your cabinet."The comments from Honcharuk, a 35-year-old handpicked by the president to lead the economic overhaul, highlights a the youth of the less-than year-old administration. On the tapes, ministers and central bankers discussed their struggles in explaining the currency market and economic trends to the president.'Sort It Out'At the same time, the scandal is relatively benign compared to leaks in Ukraine's past that included politicians discussing corruption -- and even murder. And Zelenskiy, a former comedian who entered politics just a year ago, ran on his willingness to introduce change rather than his ability to understand the intricacies of monetary policy and financial engineering."We are one team," Honcharuk said in parliament Friday after announcing his offer to resign. "We all got into parliament and into government to change the country thanks to this person, thanks to Volodymyr Zelenskiy."Even though Honcharuk is staying on, the leak has exposed the challenges that Zelenskiy faces at the head of a former Soviet country where billionaire oligarchs, Vladimir Putin, the European Union and the U.S. are wrangling for influence.Ukraine's currency, the hryvnia, fell to a two-month low against the dollar, taking this year's decline to 2.1%. Last year, the currency was the world's best performer with a 16% gain.On the tape, a man with a voice that sounds like Honcharuk said Zelenskiy's economic knowledge is limited and suggests illustrating the effects of a stronger hryvnia and slower inflation to the president through the price of a popular salad.One TeamHoncharuk thanked Zelenskiy for his confidence after his offer was rejected. Earlier, in a Facebook post, he hailed the government's achievements, including renewing a financial aid agreement with the International Monetary Fund and a natural-gas transit deal with Russia.Those have come amid setbacks as well, including Zelenskiy's involvement in the phone call at the center of the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump and a close relationship with Ukraine's richest man, Igor Kolomoisky, who is fighting to take back control of the nation's biggest bank after its nationalization and near collapse.Honcharuk, a lawyer who led Zelenskiy's economic team after the president won last year's election, was appointed prime minister in August. Before that, he led an NGO aimed at improving the investment climate.The premier flashed a confident smile when he and his ministers appeared in parliament for a weekly Q&A session Friday. He refused to answer questions, and dozens of lawmakers shouted "Shame on you!" as he left the assembly. But he made his allegiance clear."We all respect" Zelenskiy, "and for us it's very important to have 100% trust inside the team," Honcharuk told the assembly before leaving. "We are ready to do much more together with you, but for that we must be united."\--With assistance from Marton Eder.To contact the reporters on this story: Andrea Dudik in Prague at adudik@bloomberg.net;Volodymyr Verbyany in Kiev at vverbyany1@bloomberg.net;Daryna Krasnolutska in Kyiv at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Andrea Dudik, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Iran says it's been banned from hosting international soccer Posted: 17 Jan 2020 09:33 AM PST ![Iran says it's been banned from hosting international soccer]( "Iran says it's been banned from hosting international soccer") Iran's soccer federation said Friday it has been told it will not be hosting any international matches on Iranian soil. The federation said it received a letter from the Asian Football Confederation saying that all matches involving Iranian teams will be held in a third country. The AFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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| Canada provides money to families after plane shot down Posted: 17 Jan 2020 09:25 AM PST  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday his government will give Canadian $25,000 (US$19,122) to the families of each of the 57 citizens and 29 permanent residents of Canada who died in the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner in Iran last week. Trudeau said he still expects Iran to compensate the families but added that they need help now for funerals, travel to Iran and bills.
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| Can impeachment be fixed? Posted: 17 Jan 2020 09:20 AM PST  The first day of President Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate mainly concerned the swearing of oaths. With Chief Justice John Roberts directing a full Senate chamber, 100 senators swore to "do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: so help me God."They were all lying — or, at least, so says Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and I suspect he is right. "I think the votes have been decided," Paul said in an interview with The Hill Thursday, not excepting himself. "As much as anybody will be pretending to be judicious about this, I don't think that there's one senator who hasn't decided how they're going to vote."Few other senators have been so forthright about their intent and the probable intent of their colleagues to ignore their pledges of impartial justice from the very outset. The most notable outlier is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — is there something in the water in Kentucky? — who has announced his "total coordination" with the White House counsel, affirmed there is "no chance" Trump will be convicted and removed from office, and brazenly stated he will not be an impartial juror despite promising exactly that.The other side of the aisle, just like the last time around, albeit with places traded, is rife with high-minded exhortations to follow blind Justice whither she leads. Yeah, okay. I think the articles brought against the president are compelling and he should be removed from office for these and a number of other reasons. I don't believe this is a "witch hunt," as Trump so often crows.But it is partisan, undeniably so. There may be a few exceptions, I suppose, but by and large the Senate's mind was resolved along partisan lines before the House even voted to impeach. (It is telling that the sole House Republican who wanted to vote for impeachment was, by the time of the vote, no longer a Republican. It was easier to change parties than to buck this party line.) Paul is right: "[T]he verdict has already been decided."Our country's founders, most famously George Washington, were wary of partisanship and hoped that the "factions" of the British parliamentary system would not be reproduced in their new republic. Though parties "may now and then answer popular ends," Washington warned in his final address as he left the presidency, "they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reigns of government; destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."In the design of the impeachment process as a necessary check on executive power, fears of corrupting factions ran high. The choice of the Senate as the location of the president's trial was intended to combat the risk of partisanship rendering the process meaningless. "Where else than in the Senate could have been found a tribunal sufficiently dignified, or sufficiently independent?" asked Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 65. "What other body would be likely to feel confidence enough in its own situation, to preserve, unawed and uninfluenced, the necessary impartiality between an individual accused, and the representatives of the people, his accusers?"From our vantage point, his questions sound like a bad joke. The Senate, impartial? Uninfluenced? Dignified? Ha!More prescient is Hamilton's warning in the same essay that should impeachment turn partisan, it would "enlist all [the parties'] animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt." There it is. That's the impeachment process we know and hate.There's one scenario in which a GOP senator might vote to convict Trump, Paul mused to The Hill: "I think if you're pretty much no longer interested in running for office, or no longer interested in getting Republican votes, you might vote to impeach the president." Here emerges, then, one possible reform to make impeachment more than a partisan pantomime: term limits.This would be, at best, a partial fix. Former members of Congress could have ambition for other political offices which would render the limits ineffective as an incentive toward impartiality, and a strong party leader might be able to whip a party-line vote even without the threat of the next election.Also worth serious consideration is whether any limited gains term limits might accomplish would be outweighed by their disadvantages. There's good evidence that term limits functionally empower lobbyists and the unelected bureaucrats of the executive branch, both of whom use their permanence to manipulate a perpetually green legislature. In other words, term limits might further inflate the overblown authority of the presidency in their very attempt to tamp it down.So grotesque is our factionalism that I am unsure any reforms can successfully rescue impeachment from the partisanship enfeebling it. Our priority should be further up the line — structural changes to restrain the executive so we never reach the crisis point of impeachment at all.But the trouble there is the same as the trouble here: Partisanship gets in the way. Whoever holds the majority in Congress won't cut down executive overgrowth in hopes that their party will soon control its creep. If this sounds defeatist, that's because I think we are defeated. The factions have won.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| Jordanians protest gas deal with Israel Posted: 17 Jan 2020 09:11 AM PST ![Jordanians protest gas deal with Israel]( "Jordanians protest gas deal with Israel") Hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated in downtown Amman on Friday, calling on the government to cancel an agreement in which Israel began pumping natural gas to the kingdom this year. Earlier this month, Jordan's National Electric Power Co., said gas pumping had started as part of a multi-billion-dollar deal with Texas-based Noble Energy aimed at lowering the cost of power in the energy-poor kingdom. Noble Energy and Israel's Delek Group are, among others, partners in the newly operational Leviathan gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast.
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| European Commission mulls ban on facial recognition technology Posted: 17 Jan 2020 08:52 AM PST  The European Commission is mulling a temporary ban of up to five years on the use of facial recognition technology in public places in the EU, such as sport stadiums or town centres. A draft white paper on artificial intelligence, which is subject to change, revealed the plan prepared by the EU executive. It was leaked amid growing fears over surveillance creep. The paper, obtained by news website EurActiv, said that Brussels could bring forward regulation including "a time–limited ban on the use of facial recognition technology in public spaces." A ban would buy regulators time to catch up with a fast-moving tech sector but could impact German plans to roll out facial recognition in at 134 railway stations and 14 airports. France also wants to build a legal basis for embedding facial recognition in its video surveillance systems. "Facial recognition technology by private or public actors in public spaces would be prohibited for a definite period (e.g. 3–5 years) during which a sound methodology for assessing the impacts of this technology and possible risk management measures could be identified and developed," the draft paper said. The document cites the EU's general data protection regulation as justification for the ban. That law protects EU citizens from being "subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling." The final version of the document is due to be published in February by the commission, which could propose binding rules later. Any future legislation would be subject to amendments and approval by EU governments and the European Parliament. It is unlikely to be EU law before the end of 2020, meaning it will not be imposed in Britain after Brexit. Facial recognition | Essential security or the end of privacy The commission is also considering imposing minimum standards for government departments when it comes to"high risk applications of artificial intelligence" in policing, healthcare, transport and the judiciary. A European Commission spokesman refused to comment on the leaked paper. "Technology has to serve a purpose and the people. Trust and security will therefore be at the centre of the EU's strategy," he said. The Swedish Data Protection Authority fined a municipality £17,000 for using facial recognition technology to monitor students' attendance at school last year. France's data regulator has said the technology breaches EU data rules. The British data watchdog has urged caution over what it describes as "intrusive" technology but three UK police forces are trailing the software to identify suspects. Big Brother Watch warned last year that the secret use of facial recognition technology in public places in Britain was an "epidemic". How facial recognition technology works
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| As Iran and Iraq simmer, giants of Shiite world vie for influence Posted: 17 Jan 2020 08:49 AM PST ![As Iran and Iraq simmer, giants of Shiite world vie for influence]( "As Iran and Iraq simmer, giants of Shiite world vie for influence") The separation of religion and state is splitting the Shiite world, pitting the supreme leader of Iran, a theocracy, against Iraq's grand ayatollah.
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| Trump's impeachment defense team will reportedly include Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:51 AM PST  President Trump's impeachment defense team is getting the celebrity treatment.As Trump prepares for House impeachment managers to share their case against him on Tuesday, he has reportedly tapped some big-name lawyers with impeachment and televised trial experience to defend him. Former Special Counsel Ken Starr, his successor Robert Ray, and famous defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz are all expected to join Trump's legal team, sources have told The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications.White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow are slated to lead Trump's impeachment defense, the Times says. Dershowitz "will present oral arguments at the Senate trial," the legal team said in a statement, while Starr and Ray "are expected to play a constitutional and historic role," CNN reports. Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump's personal counsel Jane Raskin will reportedly also be on the team.Both Starr and Ray are known for their work during former President Bill Clinton's impeachment, with Starr serving as the independent counsel whose report led to Clinton's impeachment, and Ray eventually replacing Starr and finishing up the reports in Clinton's case. Dershowitz was on defense team for O.J. Simpson and gained notoriety in that televised trial. His reported appointment fits with Trump's desire to turn his impeachment into a "TV spectacle." Dershowitz was also recently questioned over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of running a sex trafficking ring.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| Iran Supreme Leader Ayatalloh Ali Khamenei says attack against US military base was a “strike at America’s track record as a superpower" Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:40 AM PST  Iran's Supreme Leader, who was leading prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, used the occasion to praise the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and its former commander General Qassem Soleimani, a close ally who was killed earlier this month in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad airport.
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| Iran Supreme Leader Ayatalloh Ali Khamenei says attack against US military base was a “strike at America’s track record as a superpower" Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:40 AM PST  Iran's Supreme Leader, who was leading prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, used the occasion to praise the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force and its former commander General Qassem Soleimani, a close ally who was killed earlier this month in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad airport.
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| USS Abraham Lincoln shatters US Navy's record for longest post-Cold War carrier deployment with 10-month around-the-world tour Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:25 AM PST  The Lincoln broke a cruise record set nearly two decades earlier, sailed around the world, and sent warnings to both Russia and Iran.
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| Trump assembles a made-for-TV impeachment defense team Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:13 AM PST  President Donald Trump has assembled a made-for-TV legal team for his Senate trial that includes household names like Ken Starr, the prosecutor whose investigation two decades ago resulted in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Former Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said he will deliver constitutional arguments meant to shield Trump from allegations that he abused his power. The additions Friday bring experience in the politics of impeachment as well as constitutional law to the team, which faced a busy weekend of deadlines for legal briefs before opening arguments begin Tuesday even as more evidence rolled in.
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| Lara Trump is making fun of Joe Biden's stutter Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:08 AM PST  Apparently Lara Trump didn't get the message about former Vice President Joe Biden's stutter.Trump, who's married to President Trump's son Eric, decided to take a low blow at Biden during a Women for Trump event in Iowa on Thursday night. "I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden," she said, because "I'm supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time he comes on stage or they turn to him I'm like 'Joe can you get it out? Let's get the words out Joe.'"> Lara Trump on the Dem field/debate "I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden...I'm supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time he comes on stage or they turn to him I'm like 'Joe can you get it out? Let's get the words out Joe.' ...The problem is that's their front runner" pic.twitter.com/oJgXRkIHbJ> > — Adam Brewster (@adam_brew) January 17, 2020Lara Trump probably should've heard by now that Biden worked to overcome the "debilitating stutter" he had as a child — a lesson former Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders learned when she mocked him for the same thing less than a month ago. Or perhaps she should've just followed first lady Melania Trump's "be best" advice and avoided sinking that low in the first place.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| 'Big Ben bongs for Brexit' battle turns pricey Posted: 17 Jan 2020 07:04 AM PST  Britain's bewildering battle to get Big Ben to bong for Brexit is becoming brutal -- and big-budget to boot as public cash donations flooded in Friday for a celebratory peal. Big Ben has been mostly silent since restoration work on parliament's Elizabeth Tower, which houses the clock, began in 2017. Parliamentary authorities say the floor in the tower workers use to look after the bell has been removed and the ringing devices taken out.
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| Ayatollah Khamenei's speech during Friday prayers Posted: 17 Jan 2020 06:58 AM PST ![Ayatollah Khamenei's speech during Friday prayers]( "Ayatollah Khamenei's speech during Friday prayers") Here are the main points of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's speech in a sermon during Friday prayers in Tehran, translated from Farsi by AFP. Khamenei paid tribute to Major General Qasem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad.
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| Iran's Khamenei slams 'cowardly' European governments Posted: 17 Jan 2020 06:56 AM PST  Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday accused the governments of Britain, France and Germany of being "American lackeys" in the face of US pressure over the nuclear accord. The United States has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars if European Union governments continue to back the nuclear deal, according to German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. The 2015 agreement was struck in Vienna between Iran and France, Britain, Germany, the United States, China and Russia.
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| Hezbollah warns of 'chaos' if Lebanon government delayed Posted: 17 Jan 2020 06:49 AM PST  A senior Hezbollah official warned Friday that Lebanon could fall into chaos and "complete collapse" unless a new government is formed. Sheikh Ali Daamoush's comments came amid more bickering between politicians on the formation of a new Cabinet amid a crippling financial crisis and ongoing mass protests against the country's ruling elite. Meanwhile, Britain announced that it classified the militant Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in a move that will freeze the group's assets in Britain.
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| Bloomberg plan would make all new U.S. cars electric by 2035 Posted: 17 Jan 2020 06:43 AM PST  Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg unveiled a plan on Friday to slash greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by making electric vehicles accessible to even low-income families and improving access to public transit. Bloomberg, a media billionaire and former mayor of New York City, has long fought to curb emissions, serving recently as a special envoy to the United Nations on climate action. Other Democratic candidates have included transportation in their climate plans.
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| 11 Americans were injured in Iran strike, suggesting a 'nearer miss than advertised' Posted: 17 Jan 2020 06:40 AM PST  Eleven Americans were injured in Iran's recent missile strike on the Al Asad Air base in Iraq, which President Trump and the Pentagon previously said resulted in no injuries.The military confirmed Thursday that 11 Americans were treated for concussions after Iran last week struck two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, The New York Times reports. "While no U.S. servicemembers were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed," a United States Central Command spokesperson told the Times.Trump last week said "the American people should be extremely grateful and happy," as "no Americans were harmed" in the attack. The attack on the two bases came in response to a Trump-authorized U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.CNN notes that "concussions are not always apparent immediately after they've been suffered," and a defense official told CNN that the Pentagon previously indicating that there were no injuries "was the commander's assessment at the time" but "symptoms emerged days after the fact, and they were treated out of an abundance of caution."With this in mind, CNN's Jim Sciutto observed that "the crux" of the story "is not the Pentagon mislead," as "these injuries emerged only after the fact," but rather "that the Iranian missile strike was a nearer miss than advertised."More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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| All the free speech money can buy Posted: 17 Jan 2020 06:36 AM PST  This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.A sack of money, the Supreme Court has decreed, is just another form of speech, which is why Mike Bloomberg will have vastly more to say about the 2020 presidential race than almost every other American. Bloomberg intends to shell out $1 billion for his "free" speech about why President Trump must be defeated (and why Bloomberg is the Democrat best suited to beat him). That's about 10 times what any individual has ever spent to influence a presidential race — and Bloomberg promises to keep spending even if another Democrat gets the nomination. The former New York City mayor, 77, is worth about $58 billion, so he can easily afford this indulgence.With no sane limits on political spending, it was inevitable that attempts to buy the White House — and Congress — would escalate. In the 1976 Buckley ruling, the Supreme Court struck down Watergate-inspired caps on the amount of money wealthy individuals could spend to influence a race or donate to their own campaigns. The 2010 Citizens United ruling, which removed limits on political spending by "outside" groups, unleashed a tsunami of contributions from the superwealthy, including Charles and David Koch, George Soros, Sheldon Adelson, and Tom Steyer. In 2010, the top individual contribution was $7.5 million; by 2018, it had soared to $122 million (by Adelson, mostly in Trump's behalf). Now Bloomberg is raising the ante into the billions. Money alone, of course, does not win elections. But the blizzard of ads, get-out-the-vote operations, and skilled campaign staff that only money can buy can make a crucial difference. In the majority opinion in Citizens United, Justice Anthony Kennedy insisted that "the appearance of influence or access" that donors get for massive contributions "will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy." Ordinary citizens, after all, still have the same constitutional right to free speech as any billionaire. Just a lot less of it.More stories from theweek.com Trump calls Iran's Supreme Leader 'not so supreme' in threatening tweet Ukraine gives Trump the corruption investigation he asked for Mindhunter just got Netflixed
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