Amarillo

Dem. Rep. Accuses DHS Secretary of Choosing to Let Migrant Kids Die: ‘This Is Intentional’

Representative Lauren Underwood (D., Ill.) on Wednesday accused the acting Department of Homeland Security secretary of intentionally implementing border-security policies that would lead to the deaths of migrant children.During his appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan was asked to explain why five children have died in federal custody after being apprehended at the southern border since December.“These stories are appalling and yet they keep happening,” Underwood said, referring to the recent migrants deaths, as well as reports of inadequate housing and medical care for migrant children apprehended at the border. “Now Congress just provided half a billion dollars in February to address the humanitarian crisis at the border and will soon provide more. Why do these tragedies keep happening?”McAleenan, who succeeded Kirstjen Nielsen in April, responded that the resources provided by Congress are insufficient to address the record number of asylum seekers, many of whom are women and children, arriving at the border each day.“They're happening because the crisis is exceeding the resources provided. That's why we've asked for more and we've asked for more authority to prevent this crisis from happening in the first place and to prevent the children from being placed at risk,” he said.Underwood, a 32-year-old freshman lawmaker, dismissed McAleenan's claims, suggesting instead that he was implementing policies intended to result in the death of children.“People keep dying, sir. People keep dying. So, this is obviously more than a question of resources,” she said. “Congress has been more than willing to provide the resources and work with you to address the security and humanitarian concerns, but at this point, with five kids that have died, 5,000 separated from their families, I feel like — and the evidence is really clear — that this is intentional. It's a policy choice being made on purpose by this administration and it's cruel and inhumane."“That's an appalling accusation and our men and women fight hard to protect people in our custody every single day,” McAleenan responded.> The acting DHS secretary denies the accusation that migrant deaths are "intentional" policy. pic.twitter.com/7xiThg8IVY> > -- VICE News (@vicenews) May 22, 2019Republicans on the panel reacted forcefully to Underwood's assertion. The ranking Republican on the committee, Representative Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) called for a vote to strike her comments from the record. The vote passed 9-7.“You cannot impugn the character of the witness by stating that he intentionally murders children. That is completely inappropriate and her words should be taken down,” Rogers said during the hearing. “She was very explicit.”“It’s absolutely disheartening to see some radical Democrats stoop so low to say that the Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan is murdering children. McAleenan left the private sector to serve his country after the towers fell on 9/11. This is a sad day for America and the Democrat party,” Representative Mark Green (R., Tenn.) said in a statement provided to National Review.On Monday, 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez became the fifth migrant child to die in federal custody in the last six months.Vasquez crossed into the U.S. without his parents and died of the flu at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas after spending a week in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CPB). His death has drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers, who have pointed out that policy dictates he should have been transferred to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72 hours of his apprehension.“Make no mistake: This is a pattern of death. This is an epidemic of death by the Trump administration,” Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas told reporters during a press conference Tuesday. “As I mentioned, nobody had died for ten years. And in the last six months, you've had five deaths.”The Trump administration has for months urged Congress to provide resources for medical care and the construction of housing units that can accommodate the new asylum-seekers arriving at the southern border. The existing detention centers lack the capacity to handle the record influx and were built to accommodate the mostly single men who formerly comprised most of the illegal-migrant population.The administration has also urged Congress to reform the asylum system through legislation in order to limit the number of migrants who must be detained on U.S. soil while their claims are being adjudicated.

Four more deaths on traffic-jammed Everest

A traffic jam of climbers in the Everest "death zone" was blamed for two of four new deaths reported Friday, heightening concerns that the drive for profits is trumping safety on the world's highest peak. Nepal has issued a record 381 permits costing $11,000 each for the current spring climbing season, bringing in much-needed money for the impoverished Himalayan country. The four latest deaths reported on Friday, taking the toll from a deadly week on the overcrowded peak to eight, include two Indians and a Nepali on the Nepal side and an Austrian on the way down on the northern Tibetan side, officials and expedition organisers said.

Trump news: President 'crying out' for impeachment as he insists he is 'stable genius' in White House rant

Pressure is intensifying on Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. An increasing number of Democrats - and even a Republican congressman \- are openly calling for the measure in response to the Mueller report's findings and the Trump administration's refusal to submit documents to congressional investigations.Mr Trump on Wednesday sabotaged a planned White House meeting with Ms Pelosi on infrastructure, and said he would not work with Democrats until all probes into him were closed.Meanwhile, the president announced a massive $16bn (£12.6bn) aid package for farmers on Thursday, amid an intensifying confrontation with China on trade. US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that the first of three payments is likely to be made in July or August and suggested that the US and China were unlikely to have settled their differences by then.“The package we’re announcing today ensures that farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners,” Mr Perdue said.The latest bailout comes atop $11bn (£8.7bn) in aid Mr Trump provided farmers last year.“We will ensure our farmers get the relief they need and very, very quickly,” Mr Trump said in an unwieldy press conference on Thursday in which he insisted is a "very stable genius."Seeking to reduce America’s trade deficit with the rest of the world and with China in particular, the president has imposed import taxes on foreign steel, aluminium, solar panels and dishwashers and on thousands of Chinese products.US trading partners have lashed back with retaliatory tariffs of their own, focusing on U.S. agricultural products in a direct shot at the American heartland, where support for Trump runs high.Financial markets slumped Thursday on heightened tensions between the US and China. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 286 points, or 1 per cent, to 25,490. It had been down 448 points earlier in the day.Additional reporting by AP. Check out live updates as the came in below.Please allow the blog a moment to load.

The Real Green New Deal Doesn’t Belong to AOC

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

Serial con artist arrested after scamming woman he met on Match.com out of $85,000

A serial con artist was arrested Wednesday after allegedly scamming a Georgiawoman he met on Match

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

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

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

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

Simulator training remains 'possible option' for Boeing 737 MAX pilots in Canada

Simulator training remains a "possible option" for Canadian Boeing 737 MAX pilots, but it's too early to say whether it would be mandatory, a Transport Canada official said on Thursday night, further distancing the regulator from previous remarks by the country's transport minister. "It would be premature not seeing what Boeing has fully proposed yet to determine if simulator training will in fact be included," said Nicholas Robinson, the regulator's director general, civil aviation, told reporters on a conference call following a meeting of global regulators in Texas. Canada's Transport Minister Marc Garneau called in April for pilots to received simulator training for Boeing's software fix.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tea seller's son becomes India's Hindu nationalist hero

Master communicator and battle-hardened political scrapper, Narendra Modi fought his way off the streets to become one of India's most popular and polarising prime ministers. There is no middle ground between admirers and adversaries of the 68-year-old, who is on target to become the first leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win two five-year terms. After helping his father run a railway station tea stall in the small Gujarat town of Vadnagar, Modi ran away as a teenager to devote his life to politics.

Republicans encourage nationwide support for Alabama abortion ban, document reveals

A document containing approved Republican talking points regarding Alabama’s near-total abortion ban has been uncovered.The ban is set to go into effect in 2020 and multiple members of the state legislature have said that overturning Roe v Wade is the intention of the ban.Entitled “Messaging in the Minority,” the document was produced on Wednesday by the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of House Republicans, and obtained by Vice News. It offers “messaging guidance” on the GOP’s anti-abortion platform, and is labelled as “strictly OFF-THE-RECORD.” Vice News did not say how the document was obtained.The document instructs Republicans to insist that abortion is "murder," and "traumatic" for the person undergoing the operation. The document does not offer statistics, sources, or seemingly any research or resources at all to back its claims. It appears to offer a guideline to talk around comparatively moderate Republicans, who have called the ban extreme. Randall Marshall, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, told The Independent that the organisation will file a lawsuit against the ban, alongside Planned Parenthood, soon. He expects the case to take at least three years, based on past experiences, but stressed that abortion would remain legal in Alabama for now.Mr Marshall has been with the ACLU of Alabama for six years, and says that since his first week, "at least one if not two" abortion access cases have been on their books at all times. The difference between previous tactics and now, he says, is the bluntness of the bans.“For years, these same folks who offered up this bill came up with restrictions and they said, it's all about women's health,” Mr Marshall said. “This now lays bear the lie that they've been telling for years now. This isn't about women’s health at all; this is about controlling choices.”Non-legislative groups are also pushing for stricter laws. NPR was given access to a letter written by a coalition of anti-abortion groups led by Students for Life. The letter asks Republican leadership to "reconsider decades-old talking points" regarding rape and incest, in hopes of backing laws like Alabama’s.Students for Life president Kristan Hawkins, who is herself not a student, told NPR that she thinks now is the time to “start having the conversation.”Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, a senior staff attorney at ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, told The Independent that polling suggests otherwise. “These extreme bans are actually really totally out of touch with what Americans feel these days,” Miss Kolbi-Molinas said of the 14 bans restricting access to abortion currently sweeping the nation. “Polling shows us that the majority of Americans think abortion should be safe, legal, and supported.”Still, with support from the highest offices trickling down, there’s a strong determination on the right to back near-total abortion bans, even when they ignore women’s health, physically and emotionally, entirely. On the left, no matching strategy of unification on abortion access has emerged. The Democrats have not responded to a request for comment on when or if such a plan might take shape.

Serial cyberstalker could avoid prison again under plea deal

Only hours before women marched through many U.S. cities in January, Christopher Cleary set off a manhunt when he posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection. Cleary, 27, called himself a virgin who never had a girlfriend, stoking fears of another deadly rampage by a man blaming women for his problems. When police tracked his cellphone and arrested the Colorado resident at a McDonald's restaurant in Provo, Utah, Cleary said he had been upset and wasn't thinking clearly.

Tearful Theresa May Quits as Brexit Breaks Her Premiership

An emotional Theresa May announced she will quit as Britain’s prime minister after admitting she had failed to deliver the one task that defined her time in office -- taking the country out of the European Union. May said Britain now needs a new prime minister to take over and try to complete the task that has defeated her. The result will shape the direction of Brexit and all options -- from leaving with no deal to canceling the divorce -- are now back on the table.

Rain, flooding expected in U.S. Southern Plains after deadly storms

Weather forecasters on Wednesday expected drenching rains to roll into the storm-ravaged U.S. southern and central states, where thunderstorms and tornadoes killed at least three people and triggered widespread flooding. More than 30 tornadoes struck a swath from Texas to Iowa since Monday, according to the National Weather Service, and residents in at least three Oklahoma riverfront communities were urged to evacuate due to flooding. One person was killed and another was injured when a tornado struck the rural town of Adair, Iowa, about 50 miles (80 km)west of Des Moines, at about 1:30 a.m. local time, the weather service said.

Two Words That Even an F-22 Doesn't Have the Power to Defeat

The small Raptor force is expensive to operate ($58,000 per flight hour, three times the cost of an F-16), but the fifth-generation stealth aircraft remain the U.S. military’s preferred weapon for countering the latest 4.5-generation jets like the Russian Su-35 or China’s J-20 stealth fighter and J-11D.The F-22 Raptor may be the most elusive fighter ever built. It has a radar-cross section the size of a marble, and if it gets into trouble, it can rocket away traveling up to two-and-a-half times the speed of sound—so fast that the friction from the air would melt its radar-absorbent coatings right off its airframe. But this October, the Air Force discovered that a Raptor with its wings clipped can’t evade the force of nature.(This first appeared late last year.)Tyndall Air Force Base, located on a coastal peninsula across from Panama City, Florida, is a sprawling twenty-nine thousand-acre complex which at the beginning of October housed fifty-five F-22 Raptors of the 325th Fighter Wing—nearly a third of all F-22s built, making it the primary center for Raptor pilot training. It also houses QF-16 jet fighter drones used for Full-Scale Aerial Target tests, T-38 supersonic jet trainers and Mitsubishi Mu-2 twin-engine utility planes used to train AWACS crews in airborne-early warning skills.

Samsung’s next foldable smartphone may avoid the pitfalls of the Galaxy Fold

The age of the foldable smartphone stumbled right out of the gate as multiple Galaxy Fold review units suffered from serious malfunctions before the device could even make it to market. As a result, Samsung was forced to delay the launch of its first foldable smartphone (which still doesn't have a release date).With that in mind, it's worth noting the Galaxy Fold won't be Samsung's last foldable phone, and this week, Patently Mobile dug up a recent Samsung patent for a device with similar ambitions, but a completely different design. Rather than have the main screen fold in on itself and slap a tiny screen on the outer shell, the device described in the patent would feature a "fold-out" form factor, with the main display on the outside.The patent says the fold-out phone will have a flexible display spread across two cases which are joined by a hinge with a sliding mechanism. When the phone folds outward, the slide cover slides along a rail groove, which allows the phone to fold out evenly. Samsung has also including a locking unit to keep the unfolded device firm.In the first image from Patently Mobile, you can see what the device would look like fully unfolded:In the second image, you can see what the phone looks like when it is completely folded in half, as well as when it is in the process of being unfolded. This is clearly a totally different concept than the Galaxy Fold:As exciting as new form factors can be, the Galaxy Fold has shown the potential pitfalls of releasing an exciting new device before it's ready for primetime. Hopefully, Samsung has learned its lesson, so when or if this fold-out foldable smartphone ever hits the market, it will be sturdy enough to last.

Carson says he had 'difficulty hearing' during viral Oreo testimony, defends HUD proposals

Carson said he "was having difficulty hearing” during the committee testimony that went viral when he appeared to mix up a real estate term and Oreos.

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

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

Modi plots course after landslide Indian election win

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met allies and former mentors Friday to plot a course for his second term after a landslide victory left the once-mighty Gandhi dynasty reeling. A considerable to-do list includes addressing India's lacklustre economic growth and reducing unemployment, as well as fixing a stricken agriculture sector on which 70 percent of households depend. Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 303 seats, its best ever score, giving it an even bigger majority than five years ago and defying predictions of a dip, final results confirmed Friday.

Twitter Bans #Resistance-Famous Krassenstein Brothers for Allegedly Operating Fake Accounts

ReutersTwitter has permanently banned prominent anti-Trump brothers Brian and Ed Krassenstein, alleging that two of the biggest stars of Resistance Twitter had broken the site’s rules about operating fake accounts and purchasing fake interactions with their accounts. “The Twitter Rules apply to everyone,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. “Operating multiple fake accounts and purchasing account interactions are strictly prohibited. Engaging in these behaviors will result in permanent suspension from the service.” The suspensions are a major loss for the Krassensteins, who had used their massive Twitter followers and ability to quickly respond to tweets from Donald Trump to make themselves internet celebrities. Ed Krassenstein had roughly 925,000 followers before he was banned, while Brian Krassenstein had more than 697,000. The brothers appeared to be unusually good at getting attention on Twitter. While the Twitter statement doesn’t explain what the Krassensteins allegedly did to illicitly promote their accounts, “fake interactions” could engage buying bots to retweet their posts, or buying fake followers to inflate their profiles on the site. In a statement to The Daily Beast, the Krassensteins denied breaking Twitter rules. “Twitter claims that we manipulated our interactions through the purchase of fake accounts and fake interactions,” the Krassenstein brothers said. “We have never once acquired anything for the purpose of increasing our Twitter presence.”The Krassensteins say they only operated secondary accounts on Twitter to monitor death threats, as well as accounts for their businesses. “None of those accounts were ever used for manipulative purposes as Twitter claims,” the Krassensteins said in the statement. As heroes of the anti-Trump resistance, the Krassensteins won admiration from liberals and anger from conservatives for their willingness to tweak Trump and his supporters online. The Krassenstein brothers even turned their online fandom into a book—featuring a shirtless, muscular Special Counsel Robert Mueller pursuing Trump. Before turning to politics in 2017, the brothers saw their homes raided by federal agents investigating an alleged investment scheme. The Krassensteins were not charged. 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.

Lawmaker's censure sought after comments about Trump Jr.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers abruptly adjourned after one lawmaker called for the censure of another over comments that included calling the president's son "evidently retarded."

he 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLE580 Has a Hybrid V-8 More Powerful Than an AMG GT

It will be the most expensive version of the popular mid-size SUV when it goes on sale this fall.

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

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

The Latest: Tornadoes move through southwest Missouri towns

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

May to Announce Departure Date Friday, FT Says: Brexit Update

Key Developments:May will inform her advisers Friday morning of the day she plans to stand down, the FT reportedMay’s Brexit legislation isn’t listed for debate in the first week of June as promised, but the government says it still hopes to put it to Parliament that weekEU elections are under way. The prime minister will meet with her advisers at 10 a.m. to reveal her decision and will also meet Graham Brady, chairman of the rank and file 1922 Committee, it said. May appeared determined to re-write her Withdrawal Agreement Bill to make it palatable to her party when she met with Home Secretary Sajid Javid, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Ford presents home-delivery robot

The American automaker Ford has unveiled "Digit," a two-legged, almost human-like robot capable of making home deliveries. Designed in collaboration with Agility Robotics, Digit can walk, go up and down stairs, and carry packages of up to 40 pounds (just over 18kg), like a human. Ford's technology, research and development department is full of surprises.

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

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

Lawyer Avenatti accused of embezzling from client Stormy Daniels

Things are looking stormier for Michael Avenatti, who was charged Wednesday with embezzling funds from porn star Stormy Daniels, the very client who made him famous when he represented her in her legal battle with US President Donald Trump. In a 16-page indictment Manhattan federal prosecutors accused infamous lawyer Avenatti of falsifying documents in order to directly pay himself about $300,000, originally intended for Daniels as part of an advance payment from her editor for her memoir. Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was not explicitly named in the indictment, which only refers to "Victim No. 1," but multiple media outlets confirmed she was the client in question.

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

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

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

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

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

A 21-year-old Oregon State University student has died after a 100-foot fall from a scenic lookout on Oregon’s coast.

The 2020 Cadillac CT5-V Officially Debuts May 30

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

Narendra Modi wins landslide victory in Indian election

Narendra Modi swept back into power on Thursday as his Hindu nationalist party made unexpected gains in a landslide victory. After a mammoth six-week election in which over 600 million people voted, all the results were tallied on Thursday and within hours the TV networks predicted a win for Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 300 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament. That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. "Together we grow," Mr Modi said on Twitter. "Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!" Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP headquarters to attend a ceremony to thank the Union Council of Ministers for their contribution in India's general election, in New Delhi Credit: AFP The win by Modi and the BJP has surprised even the most hardened political analysts, with the consensus being that they would be returned to power but with a reduced majority. His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defence. The result reinforces Mr Modi's immense popularity and vindicated what at times was a belligerent campaign by several parties, with the focus heavily on the economy, national security, and from the BJP's perspective, an affirmation of its underlying ideology of Hindu nationalism. Nalin Kohli, a senior BJP official, claimed his party had picked up votes from Muslims, especially Muslim women. “We are the party of power, we are the flavour of the season. It is the aspirations of 1 billion-plus people that have elected us." The main opposition Congress party was heading for a better performance than its nadir in 2014, but early results suggested it would get at least 52 seats. With its partners it makes up the United Progressive Alliance, which was predicted to hit the 110 mark. With some of the BJP's critics accusing it of making India a more divisive country, particularly for Muslims and other minorities, many are asking what happens next for India. सबका साथ + सबका विकास + सबका विश्वास = विजयी भारत Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! VijayiBharat— Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Professor Santosh Kumar Rai, of Delhi University, said: “Certainly a second term means an ideological victory, even if it is more a personality cult. With a [BJP] majority, a rightist agenda with all the institutions of the state under its control, the party will be more likely to convert India into a majoritarian state. “Law, education and culture will be the major areas expecting paradigm shift. Foreign and Finance policies will continue as they are going on now.” The election has been the biggest democratic exercise in history with an electorate of 900million, more than 1 million polling booths, seen phases of polling, seven national parties and dozens more regional parties vying for seats in the New Delhi parliament. Commentators have said Mr Modi put himself at the centre of a more presidential style of campaign, often making himself and his party interchangeable. At a packed victory rally at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Mr Modi said: "This victory will be an inspiration for generations in the country. Crores [tens of millions] of Indians have blessed us, my gratitude to the people. "This is the highest voter turnout since Independence, even in adverse weather conditions. I congratulate the Election Commission for conducting smooth elections in such a big democracy. "I have been saying that no party or candidate is fighting the polls but the people of India are. If anybody has won, it is the people of India. This is the biggest event in any democracy in the world." Referring to his rivals in the Congress Party, he said: "They used a fake tag of Secularism that they thought would wash all sins; today these people have been completely unmasked. Today, India has only two castes - those who are poor and those who want to eradicate poverty. "This is not Modi’s victory. This is victory of honest people’s hope, this is a victory of youths who have walked on the path of 21st century with dreams.”

Toyota Yaris Recalled Because Airbags Might Not Deploy in a Crash

Toyota is recalling 43,221 of its 2015 to 2017 Yaris hatchbacks because faulty wiring might prevent side and curtain airbags from deploying in a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic S...

Nancy Pelosi says White House is 'crying out for impeachment'

* House speaker urges family to intervene over Trump’s wellbeing * Pelosi: ‘Maybe he wants a leave of absence’The Democratic speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said the White House was “crying out for impeachment” and called on Thursday for Donald Trump’s family to intervene in the president’s wellbeing “for the good of the country” after an extraordinary 24 hours in Washington.The dramatic statements came one day after Trump stormed out of a meeting in the Oval Office with Pelosi and the Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, about infrastructure legislation, after three minutes, and then held a hastily called press conference to say he wouldn’t work with Democrats until they stop investigating him.At her own press conference on Thursday morning, Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress, suggested of the president: “Maybe he wants to take a leave of absence.”She said she was not pushing for impeachment despite describing the president’s actions – in relation to Russian interference in the 2016 election and attempts at obstruction of justice, as detailed in the recent report by special counsel Robert Mueller – as impeachable.The Trump administration, led by the White House, had aggressively resisted demands – including subpoenas – from leading congressional Democrats for the government to hand over the full, unredacted Mueller report and for related witnesses to testify on Capitol Hill.“I think impeachment is a very divisive place for us to go in the country,” Pelosi said.However, she repeatedly expressed concern for the president’s wellbeing, which she said reflected a broader concern about the wellbeing of the United States itself. Asked if she was concerned about Trump, she said: “I am.”And she added: “I pray for the president of the United States. I wish that his family or his administration or staff would have an intervention for the good of the country.”The 25th amendment allows the president to be replaced if the vice-president and a majority of his cabinet decide he is incapable of discharging his duties.Before her weekly press conference, Pelosi told colleagues at a meeting on Thursday morning in Washington that Trump’s actions were “villainous”, according to NBC News.The situation blew up the day before when, shortly before Pelosi and Schumer were due to meet with Trump at the White House for negotiations on legislation to fund new infrastructure, Pelosi accused the president of a “cover-up”.The charge stemmed from Trump repeatedly attempting to block congressional committees from investigating him further, following Mueller’s inquiry into Russia’s election meddling in the US, allegations of improper contacts between the Trump election campaign and Moscow, and potential obstruction of justice by the president.Trump then stalked out of the Wednesday meeting in the Oval Office, straight into the adjacent Rose Garden where, from a podium adorned with signs saying “No collusion, no obstruction” the president slammed his opposition and refused to work with them further in the current circumstances.“I don’t do cover-ups,” he said.Then on Thursday morning, before Pelosi’s press conference, the White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said “it’s insane” to think infrastructure talks could continue after Pelosi had accused Trump of a cover-up.Sanders later added that: “It’s real simple, you can’t go down two tracks,” referring to working on bipartisan legislation at the same time as the Democrats are pushing for deeper investigations into Trump’s actions, while leveling powerful accusations. Schumer said on the MSNBC TV channel that Trump is “an erratic, helter-skelter, get-nothing-done” leader.Robert Mueller’s report resulting from his almost-two year investigation was made public, with certain sensitive parts redacted, in April.While Trump claimed “total exoneration”, the special counsel found 10 episodes in which Trump’s own actions may have amounted to obstruction of justice, detailing several instances in which the president’s demands to interfere with the investigation were blocked by his aides. And in a separate instance, it was found there were additional efforts by the Trump campaign before the election to obscure its contacts with Russian figures.The report separately examined the repeated contacts between the Trump campaign and individuals with ties to the Russian government. While Mueller did not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy, investigators made clear the Trump campaign was “receptive” to offers of assistance from the Russians.Democrats are requesting and in some cases issuing subpoenas for documents, and demanding witnesses, including Mueller, testify on Capitol Hill.Mueller is said to be resisting a public hearing, while the attorney general, William Barr, and former White House counsel Don McGahn have failed to turn up for scheduled hearings in front of the House judiciary committee in recent weeks.Sign up for the US morning briefing

Scouted: Brooklinen’s Luxe Sheets Are Some of the Best and Now They’re on Amazon

There haven’t been many moments where I’ve actually taken a second to appreciate what I was lying on in bed. That was until I decided to get myself Brooklinen sheets. I’m telling you, they’re worth the investment. And they’ve made it easier to add a set to your bedroom because they’re available on Amazon now.With two-day Prime Shipping, you can get a set of 100 percent long-staple cotton sheets that are luxurious but sturdy. With a 480-thread count, you can choose from six different colors to fit any bedroom style. Even without a wash, they’re incredibly soft. And even after multiple washes, they haven’t pilled at all. They also have a lifetime guarantee, which means if you somehow don’t like them (I won’t judge you that much), you can get a full refund. A full or queen set will run you $149 and a king or California king set is $169.Scouted is internet shopping with a pulse. Follow us on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter for even more recommendations and exclusive content. Please note that if you buy something featured in one of our posts, The Daily Beast may collect a share of sales.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.

Tesla may set a quarterly record for deliveries, according to leaked Elon Musk email

It's sometimes hard to make sense of what's going on with Tesla. Is the company on the verge of going bankrupt, or poised to set new records for deliveries? Well, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the answer to both questions could be "yes."A few days ago, an internal email from Musk to Tesla employees claimed that the company was in danger of running out of cash in just 10 months time. As a result, Musk said that the company was going to implement "hardcore" cost-cutting measures, an initiative Musk claims is the only way for the company "to become financially sustainable and succeed in our goal of helping make the world environmentally sustainable."In the following days, a pair of research reports from analysts laid out rather dire bear-case scenarios for Tesla, with Morgan Stanley noting that Tesla, in a worst case scenario, might only be worth $10 a share. As a point of reference, Tesla was trading at $376 less than six months ago.All that said, demand for Tesla vehicles appears to be growing and on the verge of setting new records. According to a new internal email from Musk (via CNBC), the Tesla CEO relayed that the company was on pace to set a new record for deliveries for the June quarter."As of yesterday," Musk said, "we had over 50,000 net new orders for this quarter. Based on current trends, we have a good chance of exceeding the record 90,700 deliveries of Q4 last year and making this the highest deliveries/sales quarter in Tesla history!"Of course, Musk's statement was tempered with the qualification that Model 3 production needs to remain steady at 1,000 units per day, at a minimum."We've averaged about 900/day this week," Musk added, "so we're only about 10% away from 7,000/week. If we rally hard, we can do it."The larger takeaway from all of this Tesla hoopla is that demand, contrary to some analyst opinions, does not appear to be a huge issue for the company. Still, the company is burning through cash at an alarming rate and, as Musk notes, needs to pick up production to meet swelling demand.

Ilhan Omar condemns ‘religious fundamentalists’ over anti-abortion laws in speech to Congress

Ilhan Omar has accused “religious fundamentalists” in the US of “trying to manipulate state laws...to impose their beliefs on an entire society” after anti-abortion bills were passed across the country.Recently passed laws in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio ban abortion after cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo.This can be as early as six weeks – at which point most women do not yet know they are pregnant.Women’s rights groups have reacted to the wave of state legislation with dismay, but the US religious and political right has largely supported the move.“Religious fundamentalists are currently trying to manipulate state laws in order to impose their beliefs on an entire society,” Ms Omar said, speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.“All with complete disregard for voices and the rights of American women.”Georgia’s bill imposes jail sentences for women found guilty of aborting or attempting to abort their pregnancies, with the potential for life imprisonment and the death penalty.The Minnesota lawmaker said the bills were “only the latest in a long history of efforts to criminalise women for simply existing. To punish us when we don’t conform to their attempts to control us.“Because it’s happening here, with the support of the ultra-conservative religious right we call it religious freedom,” she added, going on to accuse anti-abortion activists of hypocrisy.“Let’s just be honest – for the religious right, this isn’t simply about their care or concern for life.“If they cared about or were concerned about children, they would be concerned about the children that are being detained and those that are dying in camps across our borders.“Or the children who are languishing in hunger and facing homelessness.”At least five migrant children have died in US detention since December.Ms Omar’s speech comes after Alabama governor Kay Ivey signed the most restrictive abortion bill in the US last week.Under the law, doctors would face 10 years in prison for attempting to terminate a pregnancy and 99 years for carrying out the procedure. Politicians in 16 further states are proposing further legislation to restrict abortion.

Trip bundling is growing: Here are 6 places you can plan a trip from start to finish

Trip bundling is becoming more popular as it saves time and often money.

The 2020 BMW X5 and X7 Get New M50i Performance Variants

Both SUVs pack 523 horsepower and are positioned above the existing 50i models.

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

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