| Trump defies virus rules as 'peaceful protest' rallies grow Posted: 14 Sep 2020 03:47 PM PDT  President Donald Trump is running as the "law and order" candidate. "If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States," Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. Trump's refusal to abide by health guidelines — even those crafted by his own administration — underscores the extent to which he believes projecting an image of normalcy is vital to winning in November, even as the country approaches 200,000 deaths from COVID-19.
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| British MPs back Brexit bill despite EU anger Posted: 14 Sep 2020 02:51 PM PDT  British lawmakers on Monday backed a new bill that would override parts of the Brexit treaty struck with the European Union last year, despite outrage in Brussels and alarm at home over such an overt breach of international law.
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| Rochester police chief out in fallout over Prude death Posted: 14 Sep 2020 02:11 PM PDT  Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren fired the police chief and suspended her top lawyer and communications director Monday in the continuing upheaval over the suffocation death of Daniel Prude. Chief Le'Ron Singletary announced his retirement last week as part of a major shakeup of the city's police leadership but said he would stay on through the end of the month. Instead, Warren said at a news conference that she had permanently relieved him while suspending Corporation Counsel Tim Curtin and Communications Director Justin Roj without pay for 30 days following a cursory management review of the city's role in Prude's death.
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| Trump highlights foreign policy wins as he woos voters Posted: 14 Sep 2020 02:05 PM PDT  In the past two weeks, President Donald Trump has notched a string of diplomatic wins he's highlighting with voters in the run-up to the election, but his report card on the most serious threats to U.S. national security shows an "incomplete." The Trump administration will host the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Tuesday at the White House, where the two nations will formally recognize Israel. Among those he cites: deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin; the president's love-hate relationship with China; refraining from heavily punishing Saudi Arabia for the gruesome killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi; and pushing U.S. relations with Europe to a low ebb.
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| Biden and Trump deliver starkly different messages on wildfires Posted: 14 Sep 2020 01:57 PM PDT  * Democrat stresses climate crisis and pitches green investment * Trump to speak at event for California national guard * US politics – live coverageThe climate crisis and record wildfires in the western US forced their way into the presidential campaign on Monday, with Joe Biden calling Donald Trump a "climate arsonist" and Trump falsely claiming that the planet "will start getting cooler" and that the science is still uncertain.The historic fires in California, Oregon and Washington have killed at least 35, forced tens of thousands to evacuate and subjected millions to some of the worst air pollution in the world – yet the subject has been slow to penetrate mainstream politics, amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a national reckoning on racial injustice.In a speech in his home town, Wilmington, Delaware, on a hot afternoon on the heels of the hemisphere's hottest summer yet, Biden emphasized the wildfires' connection to the human-made climate crisis and pitched his plan to invest in green infrastructure in order to create jobs and stimulate an economic recovery from the pandemic."If we have four more years of Trump's climate denial, how many suburbs will be burned in wildfires, how many suburban neighborhoods will have been flooded out, how many suburbs will have been blown away in superstorms?" Biden asked. "If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze … when more of America is under water?"The former vice-president highlighted how the climate crisis is touching all Americans, from the western fires to midwestern floods, droughts and windstorms and Gulf coast hurricanes.default Trump meanwhile blamed the fires on poor forest management, spoke of "exploding" trees and disputed the science showing the world will only get hotter if fossil fuel and other climate emissions from human activity are not steeply curtailed.During his visit to California, for a briefing on the wildfires and to bestow awards to California national guard members who helped rescue campers stranded by one of the strongest of dozens of infernos, Trump also questioned the usefulness of US climate action."When you get into climate change, well, is India going to change its ways? Is China going to change its ways? Is Russia going to change its ways?" he told reporters when he arrived in Sacramento. "We're just a small speck. They make up a big preponderance of the pollution."The US is in fact the biggest historical emitter of climate pollution, although China is currently the top emitter.In a later briefing, Trump interrupted an official, Wade Crowfoot, the secretary of California's Natural Resources Agency, to argue the climate "will start getting cooler, you just watch".Crowfoot responded: "I wish science agreed with you."To which Trump retorted: "I don't think science knows actually."Crowfoot later tweeted: "It won't actually get cooler, Mr President," alongside a temperature graphic.> It actually won't get cooler Mr. President. ClimateChangeIsReal pic.twitter.com/gYWtitBdcN> > — Wade Crowfoot (@WadeCrowfoot) September 14, 2020Lacking forest management does exacerbate wildfires, but hot and dry conditions because of climate change are a major contributer.California's governor, Gavin Newsom, in the briefing with Trump acknowledged a need for better forest management but said "we come to the perspective, humbly ... that climate change is real and that is exacerbating this".Trump, who has previously denied climate change exists and downplayed its impact.The two men's responses illustrate the importance of the November election in determining the trajectory of global climate action.If Biden wins, the US will recommit to climate efforts, potentially encouraging deeper action from the rest of the world. The scale and speed of Biden's response would depend largely on congressional politics and could be hampered by his hesitancy to call for a rapid end to the use of fossil fuels, but he has vowed that climate will be a top priority.If Trump wins, he will continue to cheerlead fossil fuels, stripping environmental standards and helping the industry compete with clean energy.Julien Emile-Geay, an associate professor of earth sciences at the University of Southern California, said: "Voters will soon have to choose between an administration invested into denying objective information – including, but not limited to, all the science it finds inconvenient – and a Democratic ticket that, for all its faults, at least acknowledges this reality."This is what political choice has turned to in 2020: a referendum on objective reality."In his speech, Biden said Trump "has no interest in meeting this moment. He's already said he wanted to withhold aid to California, to punish the people of California. Because they didn't vote for him. This is another crisis. Another crisis he won't take responsibility for. The west is literally on fire."The conditions in the US are precisely those climate scientists and activists have warned about for years. On the west coast, dozens of fires are burning. On the Gulf coast, states are bracing for a possible second major hurricane this season, as Hurricane Sally heads for eastern Louisiana and the Florida panhandle."It's clear that we're not safe in Donald Trump's America," Biden said. "This is Donald Trump's America. He's in charge."Touting his proposed legislative program, he took further shots at the president."When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, he thinks hoax. When I think about climate change I think jobs. When Donald Trump thinks about renewable energy he sees windmills somehow as causing cancer. I see American manufacturing. When Donald Trump thinks about LED lightbulbs, he says they're no good, they always make him look orange …"Globally, most countries are likely to miss a 2020 deadline to advance their climate plans, the United Nations climate chief, Patricia Espinosa, told Climate Home News. That includes China – the biggest emitter of heat-trapping climate pollution.A 2015 international agreement was meant to be the first step for countries to begin to significantly limit warming. But the world is far off track. Having warmed more than 1C since industrialization, it is now on a path toward 3C or higher.Joan E Greve contributed reporting
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| Trump promotes tweet that calls him a dictator fanboy Posted: 14 Sep 2020 01:46 PM PDT  President Trump promoted a tweet from a Daily Beast columnist that repeated his claim Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un are more mentally competent than Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. "Trump claims that Putin and Kim Jong-un are more mentally fit than Biden," wrote columnist Julia Davis.
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| Media Advisory - Prime Minister's itinerary for Tuesday, September 15, 2020 Posted: 14 Sep 2020 01:30 PM PDT  OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 14, 2020 /CNW/ -Note: All times localOttawa, Ontario The Prime Minister will speak with the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.
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| Global Driving Apparel Industry Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:40 PM PDT |
| Iran considering assassinating US ambassador to South Africa for retribution over Soleimani killing, reports claim Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:33 PM PDT  Iran has considered an assassination attempt against the US ambassador to South Africa as a retaliatory measure against the US for its drone strike in January that killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani. The ambassador, Lana Marks, a longtime friend of Donald Trump who was unanimously confirmed to her post by the Senate in 2019, has been informed of the potential plot, Politico reported, citing two anonymous sources, one of whom was "familiar with the issue" or another who had seen intelligence suggesting the potential assassination. For months, Iran has been weighing different ways to retaliate against the American drone strike that took out Mr Soleimani and at least six others in Iraq on 3 January.
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| Global Drugs of Abuse Testing Industry Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:20 PM PDT |
| Paul Rusesabagina: Hotel Rwanda hero charged with terrorism Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:15 PM PDT  Paul Rusesabagina declined to enter any pleas in court but his lawyers denied the charges against him.
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| Biden assembles legal team ahead of divisive 2020 election Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:12 PM PDT  Democrat Joe Biden is assembling a team of top lawyers in anticipation of court challenges to the election process that could ultimately determine who wins the race for the White House. Biden's presidential campaign says the legal war room will work to ensure that elections are properly administered and votes correctly counted. It will also seek to combat voter suppression at the polls, identify foreign interference and misinformation, and educate voters on the different methods available for casting ballots.
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| EU-China summitry Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:07 PM PDT  Chinese President Xi Jinping (top L), European Council President Charles Michel (top R), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (bottom R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (bottom L) are seen in split screen on a monitor during a video conference with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as part of the EU-China summit
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| Tory revolt grows over plans to amend the Brexit divorce deal Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:03 PM PDT  Boris Johnson has failed to quash a growing Tory revolt over plans to amend the Brexit divorce deal, as senior figures, including Sajid Javid, joined the rebels. Mr Javid, the former chancellor, said he would "regretfully" be unable to support legislation that would give the Government the power to go back on parts of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by Mr Johnson last year. He is one of 18 Tory MPs who have publicly opposed legislation which cleared its first Commons hurdle on Monday night, while David Cameron became the fifth former prime minister to express misgivings about it, as seen below. The rebels include 10 former ministers, five of whom served in the Cabinet. MPs voted to give the UK Internal Market Bill a second reading by 340 to 263 - a Government majority of 77. They are joined by Lord Hague, who writes in Tuesdays's Telegraph that international law is "not some abstract concept". Five former Conservative Party leaders have now criticised Mr Johnson's actions.
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| U.K. Makes Controversial Decision to Cancel Tax-free Shopping Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:01 PM PDT |
| Global Dunnage Air Bags Industry Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:00 PM PDT |
| South Carolina's lieutenant governor contracts COVID-19 Posted: 14 Sep 2020 11:57 AM PDT |
| Putin backs Lukashenko as Belarus leader vows closer ties Posted: 14 Sep 2020 11:32 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin on Monday backed embattled Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko and promised a $1.5 billion loan as the Belarusian strongman vowed to strengthen ties with Moscow.
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| Global Electric Submersible Cables Industry Posted: 14 Sep 2020 11:20 AM PDT |
| AP: Feds probing in-custody death of Black man in Louisiana Posted: 14 Sep 2020 11:09 AM PDT  Federal authorities are investigating the death of a Black man during what Louisiana State Police described as a struggle to take him into custody following a rural police chase last year, officials told The Associated Press. The death of 49-year-old Ronald Greene remains shrouded in secrecy because State Police have declined to release body-camera footage related to the May 2019 chase north of Monroe, Louisiana. Greene's death drew new attention after his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit this year alleging state troopers "brutalized" Greene and "left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest" before covering up his actual cause of death.
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| 'Big brother' Putin props up Lukashenko – for now Posted: 14 Sep 2020 10:52 AM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to prop up Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko with a $1.5-billion loan, but said the "time was right" for constitutional reforms that could pave the way for the embattled leader's early exit. Mr Lukashenko had travelled to Russia to seek support from Mr Putin, as ongoing mass protests at home threaten his 26-year rule. With his hands clasped together and his body turned towards his Russian counterpart, a deferential Mr Lukashenko described neighbouring Russia as "our big brother" and said "when there's trouble you find out who your friends are". In televised comments ahead of talks at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Mr Putin said Russia would grant a loan and fulfil its military obligations under a union treaty between the two countries. "We are waiting for Belarusians to resolve the situation without any interference from the outside," Mr Putin said on Monday, adding: "I think that starting work on changing the Belarusian constitution is timely." Protests broke out last month when Mr Lukashenko claimed 80 percent of the vote in a presidential election widely seen as rigged. Amid a brutal police crackdown on demonstrations he said fresh elections would only be held "if you kill me". But he later appeared to row back on the comments, saying there could be another vote before the end of his current term if a new constitution was adopted. The Belarusian opposition has dismissed the suggestion as playing for time. Moscow has remained tight-lipped throughout the crisis as to exactly how far it would go to keep Mr Lukashenko in place. While the neighbours have traditionally close ties, in recent years these have become strained as Belarus resists moves towards closer integration with Russia. Analysts have suggested Moscow may shore up the dictator in the short term while working behind the scenes to promote a replacement.
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| Trump spurns science on climate: 'Don't think science knows' Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:36 AM PDT  With the smell of California wildfires in the air, President Donald Trump on Monday ignored the scientific consensus that climate change is playing a central role in historic West Coast infernos and renewed his unfounded claim that failure to rake forest floors and clear dead timber is mostly to blame. Trump traveled to Northern California to be briefed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state and federal officials.
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| EU can resolve Brexit row to prevent no deal, say Irish foreign minister Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:20 AM PDT  The European Union can resolve the Brexit row with Britain over the Withdrawal Agreement to prevent the 'nightmare" of no deal, Ireland's foreign minister said on Monday. Simon Coveney blamed "hawks in No 10" for convincing Boris Johnson to table the Internal Market Bill, which disapplies treaty provisions on export declarations for goods travelling from Britain to Northern Ireland and subsidy law if there is a no trade deal exit at the end of the year. The European Commission has warned it breaks international law and jeopardises the trade negotiations with Brussels. "I believe we can solve some of the problems that I understand are there," Mr Coveney said. The EU and the UK needed to focus on how to surmount the issues without renegotiating the treaty, he said. "That's where the focus needs to be now so we can concentrate on the bigger prize which is the basic trade deal that avoids the nightmare scenario for Britain and Ireland, and to a lesser extent the rest of the EU, where by January 1 there is no deal in place." "I think the British Prime Minister does want a deal, but he has a strange way of going about it," he added. No deal would mean WTO terms, which "essentially means significant tariffs and potentially quotas", Mr Coveney said. Leo Varadkar, the deputy prime minister of Ireland, said the negotiating tactic had "backfired". "Countries all around the world, the United States and other countries, are wondering if this is the kind of place we can do any deal with or any treaty with," he said. First Minister Arlene Foster accused the EU of treating Northern Ireland as a "bargaining chip" in trade talks between the bloc and the UK Government. She said striking a free trade agreement would solve the issues with the Northern Irish protocol which was agreed last year. Brussels warned farmers, businesses and animal welfare campaigners on Friday that it may be forced to ban all British exports of live animals and animal products to the EU and Northern Ireland. British cheese, eggs, pork, poultry and lamb would be made illegal in the EU, which would have "catastrophic implications", the National Farmers Union said, as the RSPCA warned animals could suffer needlessly in long queues at borders. The EU ban on an animal products trade worth more than £3 billion in 2019 would also apply to Northern Ireland, which, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, stays subject to EU animal health rules to prevent a hard Irish border after the Brexit transition period. It would also jeopardise British horse racing by making the travel of racehorses to and from Ireland and France too difficult and force pet owners to send a blood sample to an EU approved lab three months before taking their cat, dog or ferret to the bloc. On Sunday, David Frost, the UK's chief negotiator accused the EU of threatening UK food exports to Northern Ireland during the ongoing trade talks, which Michel Barnier has denied. European Commission officials, including a member of Mr Barnier's team, told a meeting of trade associations and other stakeholders in Brussels on Friday that the ban was inevitable from January 1 unless the UK gives details of its future animal health and food safety regime. Unless the UK provides "full clarity" on the future rules and in particular its rules for imports, one EU official told the Telegraph, it would be impossible to add British animals and products to EU Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) lists for non-EU countries. "Unless they hear something by the end of October, it seems no animals will be listed - including pets - to enter the 'EU SPS area' which is the EU and Northern Ireland," a source at the meeting said.
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| Ugandan carrying child's severed head arrested outside parliament Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:18 AM PDT  He was stopped trying to enter parliament, but it is not clear what he was doing there.
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| South Dakota agency: AG reported hitting deer, but hit man Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:07 AM PDT  South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg reported hitting a deer with his car on Saturday night but actually killed a pedestrian whose body was not found until the next day, state investigators said Monday. Ravnsborg's office has said he immediately called 911 after the crash on a rural stretch of U.S. Highway 14 and did not realize he had hit a man until his body was found. The Department of Public Safety issued a statement Monday that said only that Ravnsborg told the Hyde County Sheriff's Office that he had hit a deer.
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| UK opposition says PM Johnson is trashing country's reputation Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:07 AM PDT |
| Vision 2020: Electoral College vs popular vote in America Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:48 AM PDT  Election Question: Why is it that one candidate can win the popular vote but another wins the electoral vote and thus the presidency? This unique system of electing presidents is a big reason why Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. Four candidates in history have won a majority of the popular vote only to be denied the presidency by the Electoral College.
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| IAEA in wide-ranging talks with Saudi Arabia on tougher nuclear checks Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:43 AM PDT |
| PM Johnson says bill will stop EU using "stick" against UK Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:42 AM PDT |
| US eyes building on Arab-Israel deals to end Gulf crisis Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:30 AM PDT  The Trump administration is hoping to capitalize on agreements to be signed this week between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain by pressing for an end to a dispute that has roiled relations between the Gulf Arab countries. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the U.S. is hopeful that Saudi Arabia and its regional allies will end a more than three-year blockade on neighboring Qatar that has persisted despite repeated U.S. calls for a resolution. Pompeo said it was particularly important to build on Arab-Israeli rapprochement to better confront increasing malign behavior from Iran.
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| Mercy Baguma: Ugandan family want answers from UK Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:26 AM PDT  She was found next to her crying child, sparking calls for reforms to the UK asylum system.
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| Russian Vote Exposes Chinks in Putin’s Armor Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:25 AM PDT |
| Perfectly preserved Ice Age cave bear found in Arctic Russia Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:19 AM PDT  Reindeer herders in a Russian Arctic archipelago have found an immaculately preserved carcass of an Ice Age cave bear, researchers said Monday. The find, revealed by the melting permafrost, was discovered on the Lyakhovsky Islands with its teeth and even its nose intact. Previously scientists only had been able to discover the bones of cave bears that became extinct 15,000 years ago.
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| US urges world court to reject Iran sanctions case Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:17 AM PDT  The United States on Monday urged the UN's top court to throw out a bid by Iran to lift sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump, saying Tehran remained a "grave threat" to global security.
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| Belarus' embattled president meets Russia's Putin amid ongoing protests Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:09 AM PDT  The embattled president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has met his last ally standing Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, less than 24 hours after more than 100,000 people took to the streets in the latest round of protests to demand his resignation. The pair held a "working meeting" at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi — their first face-to-face meeting since a protest movement emerged across Belarus after the contested Aug. 9 presidential election. Protesters accuse Lukashenko of rigging the election in his favor.
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| Report says Yemen's warring sides 'severely restricting' aid Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:03 AM PDT  Warring parties in Yemen's yearslong conflict are "severely restricting" the delivery of desperately needed aid as the country slides toward famine amid the coronavirus pandemic, a rights group warned on Monday. Human Rights Watch said international donors slashed their funding in June partly because of the "systemic interference" in relief operations by the Houthi rebels who hold Yemen's capital, Sanaa, as well as by the country's internationally recognized government and their southern separatists. "Millions of Yemenis depend on the authorities letting aid flow freely for health care and other necessities," said Gerry Simpson of Human Rights Watch.
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| Astronomers see possible hints of life in Venus's clouds Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:01 AM PDT  Astronomers have found a potential sign of life high in the atmosphere of neighboring Venus: hints there may be bizarre microbes living in the sulfuric acid-laden clouds of the hothouse planet. Two telescopes in Hawaii and Chile spotted in the thick Venusian clouds the chemical signature of phosphine, a noxious gas that on Earth is only associated with life, according to a study in Monday's journal Nature Astronomy.
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| World faces 'Minsky moment' because of climate change, Mark Carney warns Posted: 14 Sep 2020 07:59 AM PDT  The world is about to face a 'Minsky moment' because of climate change, Mark Carney has warned. In a new film by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), the former Bank of England governor has warned that the finance sector is not doing enough to combat the mounting problem and that we need to take swift action. The movie, which also features David Attenborough and Richard Curtis, argues that the world's economies need to rapidly adjust to become more sustainable, and build back in a more climate-friendly way after the pandemic. Mr Carney, who is now the Special Envoy for Climate Change and Finance at the United Nations, said: "The biggest risk is inaction today. If we continue to downplay the scale of the transition that needs to happen across the entire economy, across all economies around the world, then the adjustment when it comes will be much more severe. "In terminology, it would be a climate 'Minsky' moment; a sudden realisation that enormous change needs to happen in a short period of time. That's what we need to avoid, which is why we need to start moving today." The economist and other contributors to the film argue that the finance industry is funding habitat destruction and climate change, but that the "most well-paid industry" could save the planet if changes are made. Ray Dhirani, Head of Sustainable Finance at WWF-UK, said: "We can't ignore the warnings from science when they're flashing red. Without the finance sector getting on board to help tackle the root causes of the climate and nature crisis, things will only get worse. It's vital that the sector moves away from short-term interests and towards long-term value creation and sustainable recovery which benefits people, the economy, and the planet." Screenwriter Richard Curtis, who has backed green pension fund Make My Money Matter, argued that Generation Z are unlikely to invest their money in companies which destroy the habitat. He explained: This is a real generational shift, that my children are saying 'what can I actually do in order to make a difference?'. They're finding their answer in what they wear, in what they eat and in how they travel, but I think the big new revelation is they're going to find it in where they invest their money." Our Planet: Too Big to Fail airs on the 18th September.
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| US lawyer says Assange faces decades in prison if convicted Posted: 14 Sep 2020 07:53 AM PDT  An American lawyer told an extradition hearing in Britain for Julian Assange on Monday that the WikiLeaks founder faces decades in prison if he is convicted on spying charges in the United States. U.S. prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Australian on 17 espionage charges, and one of computer misuse, over WikiLeaks' publication of secret U.S. military documents a decade ago. Attorney Eric Lewis, appearing as a defense witness, said the scope of the indictment pointed to "a very aggressive approach to sentencing on the part of the government."
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| UK lawmaker to lead competition review in light of pandemic, Brexit Posted: 14 Sep 2020 07:39 AM PDT |
| Vindman: Trump is Putin's 'free chicken' Posted: 14 Sep 2020 07:34 AM PDT  In his first interview since testifying against President Trump during the impeachment trial earlier this year and subsequently leaving the U.S. Army after what he described as "a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation," retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman used some colorful, poultry-based imagery to describe how he views Trump's relationship to Russia.The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg asked Vindman if he considers Trump a Russian intelligence asset. Vindman hedged a bit, instead labeling Trump as a "useful idiot" — which Goldberg notes is not a blunt insult, but a term commonly used to describe "dupes of authoritarian regimes" — and a "fellow traveler" of Putin, meaning he shares his Russian counterpart's "loathing for Democratic norms." That, Vindman said, "makes him an unwitting agent of Putin."He also said that if Russia does have "dirt" on Trump, as some of his critics have theorized, the Kremlin probably isn't actively blackmailing him. "They have more effective and less risky ways to employ him," Vindman said, adding that Trump looks up to Putin and wants to emulate him. Therefore, Moscow doesn't actually have to exert much energy to get what they want out of the American president. "In the Army," Vindman notes, "we call this 'free chicken,' something you don't have to work for — it just comes to you. This is what the Russians have in Trump: free chicken." And not many people are going to pass up free chicken. Read more at The Atlantic.More stories from theweek.com Court-tapped judge-advocate tears into Barr's 'corrupt and politically motivated' move to drop Flynn case The climate refugees are here. They're Americans. Cheer's Jerry Harris is reportedly under investigation by the FBI for allegedly soliciting sex from minors
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| UN nuclear watchdog to visit 2nd Iran site in 'a few days' Posted: 14 Sep 2020 07:01 AM PDT  The head of UN's nuclear watchdog said Monday that inspectors would "in a few days" visit the second of two sites in Iran where undeclared nuclear activity may have taken place in the early 2000s.
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| In white Adirondacks, racism may be toughest hill to climb Posted: 14 Sep 2020 06:55 AM PDT |
| Five Ex-Prime Ministers Round on ‘Shameful’ Boris Johnson as He Plots to Break International Law Posted: 14 Sep 2020 06:49 AM PDT  Just as is the case for ex-American presidents, it's rare for former British prime ministers to criticize their successors—and rarer still for them all to argue for the same side. But, as in the U.S., convention has been forced aside by a wildly unpredictable office-bearer who has repeatedly refused to govern within the normal rules.As of Monday, all five living ex-prime ministers had created the poshest gang imaginable and teamed up against the incumbent, Boris Johnson, as he steamed ahead with his plan to break international law to push through his controversial Brexit vision.Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, and John Major—three ex-rulers from the Conservative party and two from the Labour party, who span the last three decades of British history—have hit out at Johnson's attempt to toss aside the Brexit withdrawal agreement he struck with the European Union last year.The prime minister is also being met with growing rebellion among his current crop of Conservative lawmakers, but still appears to have enough support to see the bill through a vote on Monday.Official Russia Report: U.K. 'Actively Avoided' Probing Kremlin's Role in Brexit ReferendumThe row is over a technical but critically important detail. Johnson's plan would see a key part of Britain's withdrawal agreement with the EU—an international treaty since the U.K. left the bloc in January—overridden by a piece of British legislation designed to ensure the continuation of barrier-free trade in the U.K.'s four nations.Last week, one of Johnson's ministers openly admitted the government's plan would break international law in a "specific and limited way" by superseding terms already agreed with the EU. That would likely damage Britain's reputation as a small but still-influential and steady international player, though it will also be met with approval from Johnson's Brexit-supporting voters.Cameron, who argued against Brexit but happily organized the referendum which saw the British people back the idea, told reporters on Monday: "Passing an act of Parliament and then going on to break an international treaty obligation is the very, very last thing you should contemplate. It should be the absolute final resort."Blair and Major, one Labour and one Conservative leader who both helped to achieve peace in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, wrote a joint article in the Sunday Times that accused Johnson of "embarrassing" the nation. They also urged lawmakers to reject the "shameful" attempt to break international law, which they said would endanger decades of peace at the Irish border.May, who was Johnson's immediate predecessor, said breaking international law would damage "trust" in the U.K., and Brown said it effectively be an act of "self-harm" for the country.Johnson is also facing a storm of criticism from his lawmakers inside Parliament—the highest ranking of which is ex-attorney general Geoffrey Cox, the former top legal adviser to the government, who said that the prime minister's plan would cause "very long-term and permanent damage to this country's reputation."Minister Quits as Britain Boils Over With Rage Against Boris Johnson and His Lockdown-Breaking AideJohnson's special envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Conservative lawmaker Rehman Chishti, has stepped down over the proposed changes, saying, "I have always acted in a manner which respects the rule of law... [and] voting for this bill as it currently stands would be contrary to the values I hold dearest."Despite the wave of criticism, the government is expected to win a vote in Parliament Monday night on the next stage of the bill, though it could run into more parliamentary roadblocks in the several debates and votes in both houses before the bill can become law.The government has called the bill a mere "insurance policy" that would only come into play if the U.K. and EU can't agree a trade deal for when Britain fully extricates itself from the bloc.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 'Hotel Rwanda' hero charged with terrorism in Rwanda court Posted: 14 Sep 2020 06:17 AM PDT  A Rwandan court on Monday charged Paul Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda," with terrorism, complicity in murder, and forming an armed rebel group. Rusesabagina declined to respond to all 13 charges, saying some did not qualify as criminal offenses and saying that he denied the accusations when he was questioned by Rwandan investigators. Rusesabagina, 66, asked to be released on bail, citing poor health that has caused him to be taken to hospital three times in the time that he has been held in Rwanda.
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| UN peacekeepers rescue 36 migrants outside Lebanese waters Posted: 14 Sep 2020 06:11 AM PDT |
| Israeli gets 3 life sentences for deadly 2015 arson attack Posted: 14 Sep 2020 06:09 AM PDT  An Israeli court on Monday handed down three life sentences to a Jewish extremist convicted in a 2015 arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents. The Lod District Court found Amiram Ben-Uliel, a Jewish settler, guilty of murder in May for the killing of 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh by firebombing his home in the West Bank village of Duma. The 2015 arson attack came amid a wave of vigilante attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by suspected Jewish extremists.
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| Khalifa Haftar's rival Libya government resigns after Benghazi protests Posted: 14 Sep 2020 06:03 AM PDT  The headquarters of strongman Khalifa Haftar's government are torched in his eastern base of Benghazi.
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| Trump says he gets along with 'tougher,' 'meaner' leaders in new Bob Woodward tape Posted: 14 Sep 2020 05:35 AM PDT  In an exclusive interview with TODAY, Bob Woodward says Trump "possessed specific knowledge that could have saved lives" during the coronavirus pandemic. He also discusses the president's affinity for despotic rulers like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.
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| 3 labs have independently confirmed Putin critic Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, Germany says Posted: 14 Sep 2020 05:29 AM PDT  Two additional labs have confirmed that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, Germany has announced.Germany earlier this month said that the prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who fell ill on a flight to Moscow in August, was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent, citing test results from a German military lab. On Monday, Germany said specialist labs in both France and Sweden have confirmed this finding, The Associated Press reports. "Three laboratories have now confirmed independently of one another the proof of a nerve agent of the Novichok group as the cause of Mr. Navalny's poisoning," Steffen Seibert, a spokesperson for the German government, said. Seibert called for Russia to "explain itself" and said "we are in close consultation with our European partners on further steps." An examination by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is ongoing, Germany also said. Navalny was taken to Germany for treatment after previously being hospitalized in Russia, and last week, the Berlin hospital said he was out of a medically induced coma. G7 countries have condemned Navalny's poisoning "in the strongest possible terms," while Russia has claimed a "massive disinformation campaign" is underway and that "unfounded attacks on Russia are continuing." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week said there is a "substantial chance" that senior Russian officials were responsible for Navalny's poisoning."People all around the world see this kind of activity for what it is," Pompeo said. More stories from theweek.com Court-tapped judge-advocate tears into Barr's 'corrupt and politically motivated' move to drop Flynn case The climate refugees are here. They're Americans. Cheer's Jerry Harris is reportedly under investigation by the FBI for allegedly soliciting sex from minors
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