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Mueller report: Why so many of President Donald Trump's aides lied to protect him in Russia investigations

Robert Mueller's investigation revealed Trump's aides worked to benefit from a Russian intelligence campaign, then lied to pretend they hadn't.

New Zealand reopens mosques that were attacked; many 'march for love'

At the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, prayers resumed with armed police on site, but no graphic reminders of the mass shooting, New Zealand's worst. Aden Diriye, who lost his 3-year-old son, Mucad Ibrahim, in the attack, came back to the mosque with his friends. Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, who visited the Al Noor mosque, said the attack assailed human dignity.

The Latest: Nebraska puts flood damage at more than $640 mln

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):

The fight is not over, but Daesh no longer has land to call their own

On Saturday we marked a turning point in our fight against the Daesh fanatics with the liberation of the last vestiges of land held under their brutal rule. At one point these barbaric extremists controlled territory roughly the size of the United Kingdom and had advanced to within a few miles of the gates of Baghdad. But in the last few days they have been rooted out of their last enclave along the Euphrates and their so-called caliphate destroyed. I pay tribute to all our Armed Forces and allies who have helped fight Daesh. They have hunted down this nihilistic death-cult night and day. Our RAF Tornados, Typhoons, and Reaper have struck almost 2,000 times – eliminating terrorists, overwhelming their headquarters and cutting off their supplies. It is fitting that Tornado is ending its illustrious career with this achievement. There is the work of others which should not go unrecognised. The crews who tirelessly flew our Reaper drones. Last month I announced they will now receive the Operation Shader medal, without clasp. This is the first time our Reaper crews have received such recognition. Our troops on the ground have – as part of the Coalition – also helped train some 90,000 Iraqis in everything from bridge-building to defusing bombs. We also pay tribute to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Peshmerga and the Iraqi security forces who sustained heavy casualties to liberate 7.7 million people from Daesh’s tyranny. Those British nationals who turned their back on our country to fight for Daesh made a fatal mistake. They should expect to bear the full force of the law for their actions in the country where they have committed crimes. So today we mark a major milestone but we also count the cost. Mercifully, there have been very few deaths of British and allied personnel and hostages. But we feel each one of those very keenly. Our sympathies go to their families and friends for their loss. They did not die in vain. Their bravery is to be commended for ensuring the UK’s national security by tackling this threat. No-one will ever forget the damage and destruction wrought by Daesh’s barbarism. Their frenzy of violence has left behind a trail of destruction: innocents sold into slavery, thousands dead, millions displaced and some of the world’s greatest cultural treasures sacked. It was imperative that we acted. But we cannot say this fight is over. The terrorists are as much an evil ideology as a geographical entity. We’ve always known that cutting off one head of the snake could lead to others springing up elsewhere. We’re painfully aware of the threat these extremists still pose whether to Iraq, the wider region or to our own shores. That’s why the next phase of our campaign is well underway. The UK is helping the Iraqis rebuild their homeland so they can remain free from Daesh. It is continuing to provide vital humanitarian aid in Syria where we have already committed more than £2.7 billion. And it is continuing to champion a political settlement which, ultimately, will be the only way to achieve lasting peace in the region But, above all, it means continuing to do everything in our power, alongside the Global Coalition against Daesh, to check the spread of insurgency and draw the sting from its poisonous ideology. As I said to RUSI recently, a Global Britain must to be ready to intervene, using all the hard power at our disposal to defend the international rules-based system. And we are well placed to do that. Our Armed Forces will remain deployed in the region, to provide continuing assistance to the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Iraqi security forces against any attempt by Daesh to re-establish an active presence.  We have world-class F35 stealth fighters, we have an aircraft carrier that is the most powerful surface vessel ever to leave our shores and new sophisticated equipment coming into play. Not only will we fight this evil ideology on land but in the cyber sphere where the UK heads the Global Coalition Communications Cell, working to reduce the impact of Daesh’s ability to use propaganda to recruit, inspire and incite supporters.  None of this will be easy. Daesh is the evil of our generation and we must be prepared to stay the course. In the past five years, our Armed Forces, alongside our allies have turned the tide. Daesh no longer has land to call their own. But we will not rest until the danger they pose to our people is ended once and for all.

Indonesia's Garuda says to cancel 49-jet Boeing 737 deal after crashes

Indonesia's national carrier Garuda has told Boeing it will cancel a multi-billion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after two fatal crashes involving the plane, in what is thought to be the first formal cancellation for the model. "We have sent a letter to Boeing requesting that the order be cancelled," Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said. "The reason is that Garuda passengers in Indonesia have lost trust and no longer have the confidence" in the plane, he said, adding that the airline was awaiting a response from Boeing.

Bringing the Sting: The U.S. Navy Is Getting New F/A-18E/F Super Hornets

The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are.

JetBlue pilots who drugged and raped flight attendants continued working for airline without repercussion, lawsuit says

Three female flight attendants claim they were drugged and two of them raped by two JetBlue pilots during a layover in Puerto Rico, a new lawsuit filed this week in New York federal court has claimed. At least one of the female flight attendants said she was forced to work with one of the accused pilots after the alleged rape. After making their way to a beach in Puerto Rico near the hotel they were staying during their layover in May of last year, the women were offered sips from one of the flight attendant’s alcoholic beverages.

IRS Loosens Tax Penalty for Millions

The IRS said today that because of changes and confusion caused by the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it will penalize fewer taxpayers who didn't withhold enough federal taxes in 2018. Before the rul...

Brexit End Likely to Be Based on a Customs Union, JPMorgan Says

(Bloomberg) -- The realities of the Brexit situation indicate that the U.K. is going to end up with “something that’s founded on a customs union” with the European Union, according to Karen Ward, chief market strategist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Asset Management.

Pompeo says it's 'possible' President Trump raised to 'save the Jewish people'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked whether Trump was raised to "save the Jewish people." He answered, "I certainly believe that's possible."

Pittsburgh Police Officer acquitted in shooting death of unarmed black teen

The family of an unarmed black teenager fatally shot by a white police officer is expressing anger and sadness over a jury's decision to acquit, and Pittsburgh braced for protests a day after the verdict.

Twin bombing at Afghan ceremony kills 4, including official

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A twin bombing at a public ceremony in southern Afghanistan on Saturday killed at least four people, including a provincial official, and wounded more than 30, officials said.

After crashes, Boeing rolls out safety feature previously sold as option

Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft will be outfitted with a warning light for malfunctions in the anti-stall system suspected in October's fatal crash in Indonesia, an industry source told AFP Thursday, standardizing a feature previously sold as an optional extra. The development comes as the manufacturer struggles to cope with the fallout from both the Indonesia crash and another in Ethiopia this month, which have cast a spotlight on the safety certification process and shaken confidence in a plane that is crucial to its future plans. Known as a "disagree light," this safety feature will become standard and is among the modifications the company will present to US authorities and clients in the coming days, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Disease stalks cyclone disaster zone as the world scrambles to fly more help in

As flood waters started to recede in Mozambique yesterday, fears were growing about the spread of disease and the distribution of food and clean water. The UN and the International Red Cross said humanitarian efforts were struggling to keep pace with the scale of the disaster and warned many more deaths were likely in the days and weeks ahead. The official death toll rose to 550 on Friday, with 259 deaths reported in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, 242 in Mozambique and 56 more in Malawi. But the number of dead in Mozambique is likely to surge as so much of the center of the country is still under water. "We are running out of time, it is at a critical point here," said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore after touring the devastated port city of Beira. "The next stage is getting clean safe drinking water because disease is what will be next... We are worried about cholera [and] about malaria because of the stagnant water." Survivors listen to a volunteer from Mozambique Red Cross, after arriving at an evacuation centre  Credit:  REUTERS Elhadj As Sy, secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said humanitarian efforts were faltering. "They are nowhere near the scale and magnitude of the problem. And I fear we will be seeing more [deaths] in the weeks and months ahead, and we should brace ourselves." Thousands from the countryside have been making their way toward Beira, which although largely destroyed has become a centre for rescue efforts and aid. Helicopters clattered overhead in search of people still clinging to rooftops. Hundreds of others were on Friday still being plucked from small islands and ferried to safety by local fishermen. Etelvina Faz Bem, a primary school teacher from a rural Catholic mission, closed her eyes before grabbing onto a 10 meter high rope which spans part of a damaged bridge over the swollen River Munhinga in Sussundenga, central Mozambique. Behind her, dozens of others waited in line to do the same, carrying suitcases, bags, chickens and other items. With the rope tense, Ms Bem braved the crossing. "I had to take a chance," she said. "There is no water or bread and also a lot of malaria [at the mission].”   “It is better to risk crossing this bridge than dying without help in the interior,'' agreed Feliciano Abreu, a local man who followed her.  In and around Beira conditions were grim.   "The situation is simply horrendous, there is no other way to describe it," said As Sy who had been visiting a school being used for shelter. "Three thousand people who are living in a school that has 15 classrooms and six, only six, toilets... we are sitting on a water and sanitation ticking bomb." Cyclone Idai | Clinging to life What moved him the most was the number of children without their parents, separated in the chaos or newly orphaned, he added. Anastácia José, a lone parent of six from Beira, came within a whisker of losing her children when the cyclone hit.   She received no advance warning of the storm and was huddled in a small house with the children when one of its supporting adobe walls started to crumble. “I put the baby in my lap, grabbed the toddler’s hand and told the older ones to leave the house,” she said. “I screamed ‘run away, run away’ and they ran as fast as they could." The house collapsed just a few moments later. The family wandered for hours in the storm, trying to get to high ground, miraculously avoiding the flying debris which killed and injured many. A young girl stares into the distance as people from the town of Buzi unload at Beira Port after being rescued yesterday Credit:  Andrew Renneisen/ Getty Ms Jose said she tried to get the children into trees as the waters rose but they were “already full.” In the end they made it to a high point above the water. The family is now in Chimoio, a makeshift camp, over 100 kilometres from Beira. It is basic but there is food and fresh water. The younger children are quiet and start to cry if asked about the storm. “We were lucky because no one got hurt… thank goodness,” says a neighbor. Additional reporting: Luís Fonseca, Márcio Resende, Lusa news agency Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

May Now Open to No-Deal Brexit If Parliament Rejects Her Deal

British prime minister Theresa May, after repeatedly warning the public of the dangers associated with a so-called no-deal Brexit -- in which the country leaves the European Union absent a formal agreement with the EU -- is now reportedly open to that option if Parliament continues to reject the deal she has negotiated with Brussels.After announcing Wednesday that she had formally requested that the EU extend the Brexit deadline from March 29 to June 30, May came to accept the possibility that the U.K. will crash out of the body if Parliament refuses to approve the terms of her deal, The Financial Times reported.“The mood has hardened on no deal,” one person close to the prime minister told the Times. “She didn’t seem concerned about leaving with no deal,” said another source described as a “Eurosceptic conservative MP.”The EU convened in Brussels on Thursday to discuss May's deadline-extension request, which she was forced to resort to after parliament twice rejected the deal she negotiated with EU leaders. May was barred by parliamentary procedure from putting the deal up for a third vote during the same legislative session.Speaking from Downing Street on Wednesday evening, May said it was a “matter of great personal regret” that she was forced to ask European Council president Donald Tusk to delay Britain’s departure, but placed blame for the delay squarely on Parliament.“Of this, I am absolutely sure: You the public have had enough. You are tired of the infighting, you’re tired of the political games and the arcane procedural rows, tired of MPs talking about nothing else but Brexit when you have real concerns about our children’s schools, our National Health Service, knife crime,” she said. “You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and done with. I agree. I am on your side. It is now time for MPs to decide.”Tusk said Wednesday that the deadline extension “should be possible” but reiterated the EU's long-held position that any delay cannot be used as a pretext to renegotiate the deal May negotiated months ago.Update 3:51p.m.: EU officials have agreed to extend the Brexit deadline until May 22, CNN reported.

GM to invest $300 million in Orion plant to build EVs and AVs

New electric vehicle will be build on same platform as the Bolt.

'Humiliated and ashamed': Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman, sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison

Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, must pay more than $24 million in fines and restitution. He faces more prison time next week.

The Latest: New Zealanders to observe Muslim call to prayer

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The Latest on the mosque attacks in New Zealand (all times local):

School shooting survivor stricken by 'survivor's guilt' takes own life

A teenager who survived the Parkland school shooting in Florida has killed herself while struggling with survivors' guilt, local media reported Friday. Sydney Aiello, 19, was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last February 14 when a former student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members. Among the dead were two of Aiello's best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver.

China's Worst Nightmare: A U.S. Military Presence on Taiwan?

Could it happen?

Howard Kurtz: Why Ocasio-Cortez’s star power far outstrips her real power

'MediaBuzz' host Howard Kurtz weighs in on freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez landing the cover of Time Magazine.

Economic gloom hits world stock markets

New York (AFP) - Worries about economic growth prospects hit global stock markets on Friday, causing sharp price drops on both sides of the Atlantic.

In a gift to Netanyahu, Trump tweets U.S. support for Israel annexing Golan

President Trump on Thursday reversed a long-standing American policy that treated Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights as temporary.

How gun laws in a dozen countries compare to New Zealand's new ban on semi-automatic weapons

The approach to gun laws in each of the 12 countries varies widely depending on whether owning a gun is considered a right or a privilege.

U.S. airlines prepare for 737 MAX tests, Southwest parks jets near desert

The factory visits indicate Boeing may be nearing completion of a planned software patch for its newest 737 following a Lion Air crash that killed 189 people in Indonesia last October, but the timing for a resumption of passenger flights on the jets remains uncertain. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which must approve the software fix and new training, are under U.S. and global scrutiny since the MAX suffered a second deadly crash involving Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa on March 10, which led to a worldwide grounding of the fleet. The FAA's acting administrator, Dan Elwell, told lawmakers last week the agency expected Boeing would complete the software upgrade as early as March 25, kicking off the approval process.

Robocalls: AT&T CEO gets spam call alert on his Apple Watch during a live interview

At an Economic Club event in Washington, DC, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was interrupted on stage by a robocall.

Facebook Stopped Bangladeshi Ad Farm Targeting Utah in Midterms

Political news in a Utah congressional district wasn’t coming from inside the U.S. -- a mismatch Facebook had tuned its software algorithms to detect. A data scientist in the election-monitoring center at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California, inspected the activity manually and discovered, at 11:47 a.m., that the source spreading the content was an ad farm in Bangladesh. The slides, viewed by Bloomberg News, show in detail how Facebook has improved its process for rooting out bad actors using tactics similar to those Russian operatives used in 2016.

More Misconceptions about College

Now that we’ve all had a good airing of grievances about elite colleges and their attendant injustices, let’s get some perspective.While the numbers of high-school graduates heading off to college have increased in recent years, the percentages graduating with a four-year degree have not increased much. Many students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend college, drop out before receiving a degree. (They cannot drop out of student-loan payments, though.)Data from the Lumina Foundation show that among Americans aged 25–64, 52.4 percent have no more than a high-school diploma (though 15.4 percent of them attended college for a while). An additional 5.2 percent received a certificate of some kind, and 9.2 percent obtained an associate’s degree. What most people think of when you say “college” is a four-year institution. Only 21.1 percent received bachelor’s degrees, and another 12.2 percent also earned graduate degrees. Adding the last two categories brings the fraction of Americans with college or graduate degrees to just over one-third.While most of the conversation in the past week has focused on highly selective colleges such as Yale and Penn, it’s important to remember that only a small number of America’s colleges are selective. As FiveThirtyEight has reported, more than 75 percent of undergrads attend colleges that accept at least half of all applicants. The number who attend selective colleges -- i.e., schools that accept 25 percent or fewer — is just 4 percent. And the number who attend schools in the very top tier, colleges that reject 90 percent or more, can be counted on your fingers and toes. You can probably guess most of them. (Though not all. On this U.S. News list, Pomona College came in at No. 11, and the Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute came in first.) Less than 1 percent of college students attend these elite schools.Most students attend commuter schools, which tend to be community colleges. Even among those at four-year institutions, almost 25 percent attend part-time. Half of college students are also working, not getting plastered at frat parties.There’s a healthy debate in policy circles about whether our current cultural preoccupation with college for all is a good thing. Some people who are funneled toward college might be a better fit for vocational training, apprenticeships, or other life paths; and while there is no doubt about the association between college completion and higher income, there is uncertainty about the causal relationship.Rather than gnash our collective teeth about whether Jason or Jessica can get into MIT, we might want to focus on all students, those who are headed for college and those who are not. Every student in elementary and high school should be learning about the “success sequence.” The phrase was introduced by Isabel Sawhill and Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution and has lately been reinforced with a study by W. Bradford Wilcox and Wendy Wang of the Institute for Family Studies.What they’ve found is that students have it within their power to virtually guarantee a middle- or upper-class income if they follow three steps. Those three basics are 1) finish high school, 2) get a full-time job, and 3) get married before having children. Young people who follow all three steps have only a 3 percent likelihood of living in poverty when they reach young adulthood. Eighty-six percent of Millennials who put marriage first had incomes in the middle or upper third, compared with 53 percent who had children before marriage. The success sequence works for those born into poverty, too. Seventy-one percent of Millennials who grew up in the bottom third of the income distribution were in the middle or upper third by young adulthood if they followed the three steps. Among African Americans, 76 percent who followed the success sequence achieved the middle class or above, and among Hispanics, the percentage was 81 percent.With all of the emphasis on a tiny sliver of the top 1 percent of students, most young people can get the impression that they are doomed to a lesser life. In fact, avoiding a few pitfalls like dropping out of high school, having a baby out of wedlock, and failing to find employment is a ticket to success.There’s a bias among writer types to pay attention to Princeton and Columbia. But that’s not really where the action is in helping most Americans.© 2019 Creators.com

California to waive environmental rules for fire season prep

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Friday to bypass environmental regulations to prepare for the next wildfire season, a move he said was necessary to prevent further loss of life even as it frustrated activists in a state viewed as a national environmental leader.

Toxicologist denies manipulating studies in Monsanto damages proceedings

A toxicologist from Roundup weedkiller manufacturer Monsanto denied Friday that she had influenced scientific studies to hide the dangers of the product, in the damages phase of a trial in California. One of the lawyers for the plaintiff -- a 70-year-old retiree with cancer -- asked Dr Donna Farmer to explain internal documents from Monsanto made public in 2017. Among other documents, a February 2015 email sent to Farmer by another senior Monsanto scientist refers to the technique of writing scientific articles and then paying recognized scientists -- presented as independent -- to sign them.

Trump news - live: Mueller submits report to attorney general William Barr

Donald Trump has yet again attacked John McCain in an interview with Fox Business, calling out the late senator’s “very evil purposes” in handing the FBI the Steele Dossier, which, he told host Maria Bartiromo, was “paid for by Hillary Clinton”.

Turkey's Erdogan shows shooting video again, hours after NZ meeting

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters arrived in Istanbul on Friday to talk to Erdogan about the footage and comments he has made on the shooting of 50 people at mosques in Christchurch a week ago, which have drawn condemnation from New Zealand and Australia. "I did not ask that question because I felt that I did not have to ask it, because they are not doing that anymore," Peters told reporters after attending a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Two hours later, however, Erdogan paused his speech at an election rally in the central province of Konya so that the audience could watch the video footage of the shootings that the alleged gunman had broadcast on Facebook on March 15.

`I am Not a Monster`: Indiana Teacher Accused of Injuring Student Defends Herself

A teacher at Tindley Summit Academy says she spent days in jail despite the fact that she`s innocent, and now prosecutors are declining to press charges.

Huawei: Politicizing cybersecurity is a losing proposition

Huawei is an independent company, owned by our employees and not the Chinese government, writes Joy Tan, senior vice president of Huawei USA.

Home loan applications rise as wealthier shoppers hunt for more expensive houses

Mortgage interest rates are now lower than a year ago, and home shoppers are buying in, but most are wealthier and purchasing more expensive homes.

Ram Rebel TRX Pickup Spied, Likely to Get the Supercharged Hellcat V-8

Looks like the Ford F-150 Raptor isn't going to have the sandbox to itself anymore.

Missouri governor declares state of emergency amid flooding

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Thursday following flooding that left several people stranded and continues to cause damage and strain levees in several Midwest states.

EU Stops No-Deal Crash Now, Kicking Can to April: Brexit Update

European leaders maneuvered to stop a chaotic no-deal Brexit happening next week, handing the U.K. an extra two weeks. The cliff-edge that investors were dreading has been postponed -- but a new cliff-edge loom on April 12 when the U.K. will have to decide on the way forward. EU President Donald Tusk said U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May had accepted the bloc’s plan to avert a potential cliff-edge Brexit next week.

Marines commandant protests US border deployments, wall

America's top marine warned that deployments to the US-Mexico border and President Donald Trump's plan for a wall pose an "unacceptable risk" to the force, according to documents revealed Thursday by The Los Angeles Times. In memos addressed to acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Navy secretary Richard Spencer, General Robert Neller wrote that he had been forced to cancel or reduce exercises in five countries. Marines will miss exercises in Indonesia, Scotland and Mongolia, and their participation in joint exercises in Australia and South Korea will be reduced, Neller said in the documents dated March 18 and 19.

Google, Facebook, Amazon: Warren's toothless break-up plan ignores real Big Tech threats

Surveillance and manipulation are the real threats these companies pose. They'd still have more unchecked power than any dictator under Warren's plan.

Who was Renty? The story of the slave whose racist photos have triggered a lawsuit against Harvard

The photos of Renty and his daughter Delia, taken in nude in 1850 against their will for a Harvard University professor, are now the subject of a lawsuit that Tamara Lanier has filed this week.