August, 2019 | últimas notícias

Dr. Cyril Wecht weighs in on the autopsy results of accused sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

New York City‘s chief medical examiner has ruled that disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide by hanging in his prison cell last week.

In a brief statement Friday, Dr. Barbara Sampson said her ruling came following a “careful review of all investigative information, including complete autopsy findings.”

Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan early Saturday and was pronounced dead hours later. His lawyers said in a statement late Friday that they were “not satisfied” with Sampson’s ruling and vowed to conduct their own investigation, including seeking to obtain any video of the area around Epstein’s cell from the time leading to his death.

Epstein had been awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. He was placed on suicide watch last month after he was found on the floor of his cell with bruising on his neck. However, multiple reports say Epstein was taken off suicide watch days later.

RUDY GIULIANI: WHY EPSTEIN’S DEATH INSIDE NYC JAIL IS ‘MIND-BOGGLING’

Epstein’s death caused public and official outrage over how such a high-profile prisoner could have gone unmonitored. His death led to a torrent of conspiracy theories focusing on the high-profile people who moved in Epstein’s social circle, including former President Bill Clinton and President Trump.

Speculation that Epstein was murdered ramped up Thursday after The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that the autopsy found broken bones in the financier’s neck.

Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson issued a statement Thursday in response to those articles, saying: “In all forensic investigations, all information must be synthesized to determine the cause and manner of death. Everything must be consistent; no single finding can be evaluated in a vacuum.”

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For his part, Attorney General William Barr said officials have uncovered “serious irregularities” at the jail. The FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general are both investigating Epstein’s death.

Jail guards on duty the night of Epstein’s death are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates every half-hour as required, The Associated Press reported, citing several people familiar with the matter. AP also reported that a guard in Epstein’s unit was working a fifth straight day of overtime, while another was working mandatory overtime.

BILL CLINTON PAINTING IN EPSTEIN HOME A ‘SURPRISE’ TO WOMAN WHO PAINTED EX-PRESIDENT IN BLUE DRESS

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who was to preside over the criminal case against Epstein, asked the jail’s warden this week for answers about the July 23 episode in which Epstein was found injured, writing in a letter Monday that it had “never been definitively explained.”

The warden replied that an internal investigation was completed but that he couldn’t provide information because the findings were being incorporated into investigations into Epstein’s subsequent death.

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The day before Epstein died, federal prosecutors had unsealed documents in a 2015 lawsuit filed by a woman who accused Epstein and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of keeping her as an underage “sex slave” in the early 2000s. The woman, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claimed to have been trafficked to have sex with and provide erotic massages to powerful politicians, foreign leaders and well-heeled businessmen, including former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and former New Mexico Gov. and Clinton-era Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. Mitchell and Richardson have denied any wrongdoing.

Giuffre has also claimed she was forced to have sex with Britain’s Prince Andrew, hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, the late American scientist Marvin Minsky and model scout Jean Luc Brunel. A spokesperson for Glenn and his wife Eva say the couple “are outraged by the allegations against them in the unsealed court records and categorically reject them.”

On Thursday, two more women sued Epstein’s estate in New York federal court, claiming that he’d sexually abused them as adults. In the suit, the women claim they were hostesses at a popular Manhattan restaurant in 2004 when they were recruited to give Epstein massages.

One of the plaintiffs was 18 at the time. The other was 20.

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The lawsuit alleges that an unidentified female recruiter offered the hostesses hundreds of dollars to provide massages to Epstein, saying he “liked young, pretty girls to massage him” and wouldn’t engage in any unwanted touching. The women say Epstein groped them anyway.

One plaintiff now lives in Japan, the other in Baltimore. They seek $100 million in damages, citing depression, anxiety, anger and flashbacks.

Other lawsuits, filed over many years by other women, accused him of hiring girls as young as 14 or 15 to give him massages and then engage them in sex acts.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-medical-examiner-jeffrey-epsteins-death-was-a-suicide-by-hanging

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What if democracy isn’t what the Chinese people want? – Washington Examiner

Protesters in Hong Kong have been waving the American flag and singing the American national anthem to signal their desire for democracy and opposition to the Communist Party of China. American politicians ranging from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have reciprocated by declaring their support.

Of course, the reality of fighting for democracy is far more complicated than the wishes of U.S. politicians.

As it turns out, many citizens of mainland China, who are supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of democratization in China, do not feel nearly as inspired as those in Washington or Hong Kong. In fact, resentment of Hong Kong’s protests runs high among segments of the mainland population.

In a poignant encounter at the Hong Kong International Airport recently, two mainland Chinese citizens angrily told Hong Kong protesters in Mandarin, the official language of China, that the protesters were Chinese and had no business hanging the American flag.

“Are we on American soil?!” one of the mainlanders demanded to know.

The protesters jeered. Their responses were scattered at first, with some saying they liked America and other saying they were not Communists.

Ultimately, security arrived and dragged the mainland citizen away. On his way out, he repeatedly screamed at the protesters, “We are Chinese! F— your mother!” His greeting to the protesters’ mothers was rendered in Cantonese, the native dialect of the Hong Kong protesters.

Eventually, the protesters found their collective response, and in unison chanted: “People of Hong Kong, add oil!”

“Add oil” means “keep it up.”

It is a chant the protesters have consistently used in their months-old movement. It is a touching rallying cry from ordinary citizens, many of whom are young people who do not wish to live under what they perceive as encroaching Chinese Communist rule.

Yet the mainlanders in this airport incident are hardly alone in voicing their disapproval.

In early August, amid Hong Kong’s ongoing protests, an angry online campaign took hold in mainland China to punish Western luxury brands that appeared to have designated Hong Kong and Macau which is a former Portuguese colony that has reverted to Chinese rule, as independent countries rather than part of China.

The luxury brands, including Coach, Versace, and Givenchy were accused of siding with the protesters of Hong Kong to undermine China’s sovereignty. In the melee that followed, the luxury brands quickly apologized and groveled for forgiveness.

Outside observers can say the nationalist fervor of mainlanders is misguided. If the state-owned media in China were not fanning anti-Hong Kong nationalist sentiments, and if basic rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly were readily available there, mainlanders perhaps would not be as so hostile to the democratic aspirations of the people of Hong Kong.

Yet many of these mainlanders are educated and well traveled, and are exposed to differing political opinions, including those in Hong Kong. That exposure has not necessarily changed their minds.

American politicians have long voiced their support for democracy. It is a reflection of this country’s ideals. After all, America’s foreign policy is not value neutral. In light of the recent clashes between mainland Chinese and Hong Kong citizens, however, U.S. policymakers should ask themselves: What if what they want for China is different from what the people of China want for themselves?

Ying Ma is the author of “Chinese Girl in the Ghetto,” which was released in audiobook in 2018. During the 2016 election, she served as the deputy director of the Committee for American Sovereignty, a pro-Trump super PAC. Follow her on Twitter: @GZtoGhetto.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/what-if-democracy-isnt-what-the-chinese-people-want

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What a mysterious explosion tells us about Russia’s ‘doomsday weapon’ – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/17/europe/russia-nuclear-summer-skyfall-intl/index.html

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‘A complete setup’: Trump criticizes Tlaib for declining Israel’s approval to see elderly grandmother – USA TODAY

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Rep. Rashida Tlaib says she will not go to the West Bank to visit her grandmother, citing “oppressive conditions.” Her decision comes after Israel granted her permission to enter the country.
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump bashed Rep. Rashida Tlaib for declining Israel’s approval to visit her grandmother in the West Bank, claiming that the Michigan Democrat’s initial travel request was a “complete setup.”

“Israel was very respectful & nice to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, allowing her permission to visit her ‘grandmother.’ As soon as she was granted permission, she grandstanded & loudly proclaimed she would not visit Israel,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “Could this possibly have been a setup? Israel acted appropriately!”

In another tweet, Trump said Tlaib had “obnoxiously” turn down Israel’s approval following the letter she wrote about wanting to see her grandmother. The situation was “a complete setup,” the president added.

“The only real winner here is Tlaib’s grandmother,” Trump wrote in the tweet. “She doesn’t have to see her now!”

Citing “racist treatment” and “oppressive conditions,” Tlaib, who is of Palestinian descent, announced Friday morning that she will not be going to the West Bank, hours after Israel said it would allow the progressive congresswoman to visit the occupied territory.

Tlaib, along with Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., had planned to travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, among other stops, this weekend. Tlaib and Omar are the first Muslim women elected to Congress.

Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri in a statement on Friday granted approval for Tlaib to access the West Bank on humanitarian grounds to visit her grandmother. A letter that Tlaib also wrote requesting to see her grandmother was published by Deri’s office. In the letter, Tlaib said she’d respect any restrictions and “not promote boycotts” while in the country.

However in a tweet following Deri’s announcement, Tlaib said she was not going to travel to the West Bank and Israel because “visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me would break my grandmother’s heart.”

“Silencing me with treatment to make me feel less-than is not what she wants for me – it would kill a piece of me that always stands up against racism and injustice,” Tlaib wrote in a statement.

Deri in a tweet responded to Tlaib’s statement, saying he approved her request “as a gesture of goodwill on a humanitarian basis.” He also claimed that “her hate for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother.” Deri tagged Trump in the tweet.

Deri’s decision also came less than 24 hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barred Tlaib and Omar from entering the country. Netanyahu’s announcement came hours after Trump tweeted that Israel should take that step and bar two sitting members of Congress from visiting the longtime U.S. ally.

The president has repeatedly attacked Tlaib and Omar, members of the “Squad” along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.

Setting off a firestorm in Washington, in July, Trump tweeted that the four Democratic congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” All four lawmakers are U.S. citizens. Omar immigrated from Somalia when she was a child and is a naturalized citizen.

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Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/16/trump-tlaibs-decision-not-visit-west-bank-a-complete-setup/2035386001/

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Buying Greenland isn’t a good idea — it’s a great idea – Washington Examiner

The reaction to President Trump’s sudden interest in buying Greenland from Denmark has been mostly one of derision. And Denmark, which owns the territory, appears to oppose any sale.

But don’t laugh — an American purchase of Greenland could represent an extraordinary deal in terms of America’s national security, economic interests, and environmental protection.

As much as it might seem out of the blue, U.S. acquisition of Greenland is not at all a strange or irrational idea. Following Denmark’s fall to Nazi Germany in 1940, American forces defended Greenland. The roots of American-Greenland comradeship are thus old and formal. In 1946, one Harry S. Truman even attempted to purchase Greenland for $100 million. Was Truman crazy? On the contrary, he was the president who ended a global war and set America on its ultimate course to defeat the Soviet Union.

As for the contemporary utility of purchasing Greenland, it has extraordinary strategic value. Through the U.S. Air Force base already present at Thule, Greenland offers critical intelligence capabilities to conduct satellite operations and to detect possible over-the-North-Pole nuclear missile launches from China or Russia. Thule better allows the U.S. to warn its citizens of an imminent attack.

And it does more than that. Thanks to Thule’s deep water port and long runway, the base provides a logistics hub for operations in the Arctic. And it gives the U.S. military the means to deter and defeat prospective aggression. Russia, in particular, has been working to secure territorial control over resource-rich areas of the Arctic. America’s presence in Greenland is increasingly relevant for that reason.

The purchase of Greenland would further strengthen these existing national security benefits. Unbound from political sensitivities in Denmark, for example, the U.S. could station missile forces in Greenland, including intermediate range missile forces. Russia’s Arctic ambitions would have to be put on ice.

Greenland also abounds with resources. An already energy independent U.S. would have unfettered access to a land rich not only in hydrocarbons but also in rare earth metals that are currently only available from an adversary, China. Greenland also controls flourishing fishing waters.

But this isn’t just about American interests. Greenland’s small population also has everything to gain from a massive influx of American investment. The surge in tourism alone would surely offer a vast untapped potential.

And Greenland offers many grand opportunities for environmental protection. Its waters are home to numerous species of Whale, its lands to numerous species of flower and animals, and its skies to numerous species of birds. Greenland offers the potential for vast new designated wildlife reserves, and it would give American scientists the chance to study the Arctic environment from a unique vantage point.

As odd as it might sound at first blush — and America’s purchase of Alaska also seemed very odd at the time — Americans of all political stripes would benefit from Greenland and its 56,000 inhabitants joining our national family.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/buying-greenland-isnt-a-good-idea-its-a-great-idea

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US unveils warrant to seize Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar dispute – The Guardian

The US justice department on Friday unveiled a warrant for the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker at the centre of a weeks-long diplomatic dispute, one day after a Gibraltar judge allowed the release of the detained vessel.

The supertanker Grace 1 was seized in early July by the British overseas territory of Gibraltar in apparent retaliation for Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf.

Authorities in Gibraltar – with the backing of the British – had said the vessel was heading for Syria in breach of EU sanctions barring the sale of oil to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Gibraltar agreed to release the tanker after Tehran promised that its $140m cargo would no longer be transported to Syria.

The United States has called for the seizure of the ship, which was still anchored in Gibraltar, for “a scheme to unlawfully access the US financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization”, the justice department said.

The warrant says the vessel, all the oil aboard and $995,000 are subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and bank fraud, money laundering, and terrorism forfeiture statutes.

Earlier on Friday, Iranian officials said the tanker was preparing to set sail after a Gibraltar judge ordered its release. But according to an AFP source, the ship was awaiting the arrival of a new crew before it would leave Gibraltar.

The Grace 1 was to be renamed and switch to the Iranian flag for its onward journey, the deputy head of Iran’s ports and maritime organisation, Jalil Eslami, told Iranian state television Friday.

The warrant for the seizure of the tanker, which carries 2.1m barrels of oil, was issued by the US district court for the District of Columbia and addressed to “the United States Marshal’s Service and/or any other duly authorized law enforcement officer”.

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/16/iran-oil-tanker-us-uk-gibraltar-warrant

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Proud Boys rally in Portland is latest test for police – NBC News

PORTLAND, Ore. — The city’s police response will be tested Saturday morning when potentially hundreds of people with clashing ideologies converge on a downtown waterfront park, a showdown that Portland leaders fear could devolve into violent street brawls.

But the police response will include local, state and federal agencies, and participants who are asked to stay on sidewalks and fail to comply could face arrest, warned Lt. Tina Jones, a spokeswoman for the Portland Police Bureau. She confirmed that the city had received no permit applications for a mass gathering of people.

“A lot of this is seeing who shows up on game day,” Jones said at a news conference Friday.

Police have been scouring social media for insight and developments into Saturday’s event, which is being organized by members of the Proud Boys, whose founder has described it as a “fraternal organization” for young “Western chauvinist” men. The goal of the “End Domestic Terrorism” rally, they say, is to get self-described anti-fascists, known collectively as antifa, declared as a domestic terrorist organization.

Organizer Joe Biggs told The Associated Press that those coming to Portland have been told not to bring weapons or start fights, but they will defend themselves if attacked.

Other affiliated far-right and white nationalist groups from across the country could also show up in Portland, officials have said. But participation could be more muted after heightened attention to large gatherings in the wake of the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Extremism researcher JJ McNabb tweeted this week that Biggs began disappearing from various social media platforms and that the Oathkeepers, an extremist anti-government militia, said it wouldn’t attend.

Oregon’s largest city — in recent years a hub of progressivism made hip in the TV show “Portlandia” — has turned into a divisive battleground with the election of President Donald Trump.

Trump last month tweeted that antifa was made up of “Radical Left Wack Jobs” and a “major Organization of Terror.”

Two members of Rose City Antifa, the nation’s oldest active anti-fascist group, told NBC News that supporters will show up Saturday and “defend our community from people who want to do it harm.”

They said it’s their duty to stand up against the far-right because “we’ve seen them just attack people on the street, who were essentially bystanders.”

The streets of Portland have become a powder keg over the past year during various protests involving far-right groups and antifa, with reports of projectiles being fired, arrests and injuries. In those instances, police have declared the situation a riot and used flash bangs and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

Patriot Prayer, a gun rights and pro-Second Amendment group, had organized many of the rallies, drawing interest from white supremacists and white nationalists.

Its leader, Joey Gibson, might not attend Saturday’s event because he is wanted on criminal rioting charges related to an event on May 1, when fights erupted among Patriot Prayer members at a Portland bar. He told NBC News he expected to turn himself in to authorities on Friday.

Gibson was also in the spotlight earlier this year when a local news outlet, the Willamette Week, reported he shared friendly text messages with the police commander of the department’s rapid response team.

Mayor Ted Wheeler ordered an independent investigation into the potential existence of bias in the actions of the police leading up to and during demonstrations involving the far-right and anti-fascists.

Jones said Friday that the police’s primary mission will be to “keep people safe while making sure people express their First Amendment rights.”

“Our interactions should not be construed as bias, preference or endorsements of any particular point of view or side,” she added.

Chaos broke out again during a rally in June. Masked antifa members physically attacked conservative blogger Andy Ngo in an incident shared on social media.

Portland police tweeted that protesters may have thrown milkshakes with quick-dry cement, although they had no physical evidence those were deployed.

After a confrontation between authorities and protesters, police use pepper spray as multiple groups, including Rose City Antifa and the Proud Boys, protest in downtown Portland, Oregon, in June 2019.Dave Killen / AP

Vegan milkshakes were handed out during the rally by people trying to thwart the far-right’s message.

Supporters of the movement (Pop)ular (Mob)ilization, or Pop Mob, will attempt to do the same on Saturday when they host an event called “The Spectacle,” featuring a mask-decorating station, a banana costume dance party and people dressed up as the poop emoji. Organizers say it’s a way to downplay the far-right’s rhetoric and inject the atmosphere with whimsy and “joyful resistance.”

“We know one of the far-right’s largest recruiting tactics is making slickly edited videos of themselves and their toxic masculinity in riot form. They share it on the internet and it’s effective in getting more people to get into their violent activities,” said Effie Baum, a Pop Mob spokesperson.

Baum said that while people’s safety can’t be guaranteed, its supporters aren’t necessarily looking to confront the far-right.

“Having a conversation is useless. We’re not going to change their minds,” Baum said. “But we can make sure their videos are filled with poop emojis and a lot of music.”

Gregory McKelvey, a Portland organizer who plans to take part in “The Spectacle,” said it’s important to show that the flash points of violence can be small, and that the people of the city don’t support messages of intolerance and hate.

“It looks like anarchy,” he said. “That’s not what Portland is about.”

Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks reported from Portland, and Erik Ortiz from New York.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/proud-boys-rally-portland-latest-test-police-n1043526

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Official autopsy concludes Epstein death’s was suicide by hanging – Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City’s chief medical examiner determined on Friday that suicide by hanging was the cause of death for financier Jeffrey Epstein, whose body was found six days ago in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The sparely worded official announcement detailing the autopsy conclusions rebutted a host of conspiracy theories – including one promoted by President Donald Trump – that had circulated on social media about the death of the well-connected former money manager.

Epstein’s lawyers said they were “not satisfied” with the medical examiner’s conclusions and planned to carry out their own investigation, seeking prison videos taken around the time of his death.

Epstein, 66, was found unresponsive on Saturday in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), triggering investigations into the circumstances of his death. He was arrested on July 6 and pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14.

Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson said her determination of the cause of death came after a “careful review of all investigative information, including complete autopsy findings.”

“Cause: Hanging. Manner: Suicide,” the statement said, without providing supporting details for Sampson’s findings.

Details of the findings had been leaking into the news media over the past few days. Two law enforcement sources told Reuters on Thursday that Epstein’s neck had been broken in several places, confirming a Washington Post report that to some had raised questions about possible foul play.

Epstein, a registered sex offender who once counted Trump and former President Bill Clinton as friends, pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of unlawfully paying a teenage girl for sex.

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Epstein had been on suicide watch at the jail but was taken off prior to his death, a source who was not authorized to speak on the matter said previously. At the MCC, two jail guards are required to make separate checks on all prisoners every 30 minutes, but that procedure was not followed, the source added.

“It is indisputable that the authorities violated their own protocols,” Epstein’s lawyers Martin Weinberg, Reid Weingarten and Michael Miller said in a statement, describing conditions in the area he was held as, “harsh, even medieval.”

U.S. Attorney General William Barr has criticized “serious irregularities” at the facility.

Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Will Dunham, Noeleen Walder and Simon Cameron-Moore

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-jeffrey-epstein-autopsy/official-autopsy-concludes-epstein-deaths-was-suicide-by-hanging-idUSKCN1V61Y7

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Gutfeld: Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s Israel ‘stunt’ used grandma as ‘Trojan horse’ – Fox News

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The Five reacts to Rep. Tlaib’s curtailed trip to Israel

Events surrounding a now-curtailed trip to Israel by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., show the freshman lawmaker wanted to cause trouble, according to Greg Gutfeld.

However, Gutfeld’s co-host Juan Williams claimed Friday on “The Five” that it was President Trump who had acted inappropriately in regard to the itinerary.

“She wrote a letter saying she dearly needed to see her very old grandmother,” Gutfeld said of the Detroit-area Democrat.

“And, Israel approved. And then she said, ‘Ah, you know what, I’m not going to do it.’ So, she used her elderly grandmother as a prop for a stunt.

RASHIDA TLAIB SIGNALS SHE WON’T GO TO WEST BANK, DESPITE GETTING ISRAELI MINISTER’S PERMISSION

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“Let’s not forget the trip that she was planning … was put together or planned with an anti-Semitic group.”

Gutfeld added Tlaib’s actions showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration acted responsibly in the matter.

“If someone is going to your house specifically to vandalize it or destroy it, you shouldn’t have them there,” he said.

“Then she used her grandmother as a Trojan horse to get in. It’s disgusting.”

However, Williams had another view, instead calling Trump’s actions “disgusting.”

ISRAEL BLOCKS OMAR, TLAIB FROM ENTERING COUNTRY AMID PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

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“President Trump going to a foreign country and saying that a member of our Congress can’t travel to your country — and our president is working against the U.S. government? It’s outrageous,” he said.

“He wants to make these four somehow the face of the Democratic Party,” he said of progressive freshman House members, Tlaib among them, who comprise “the Squad.”

In making the initial decision preventing entry in an official capacity, Netanyahu said travel plans by Tlaib and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., referred to a trip to “Palestine,” not Israel, and the congresswomen were not interested in meeting with Israeli officials.

He went on to note that the Palestinian organization that planned the visit, MIFTAH, supports the boycott-Israel movement, and that people associated with the group have supported terror against Israel in the past.

HOUSE OVERWHELMINGLY OKS RESOLUTION OPPOSING ISRAEL BOYCOTT IN RARE BIPARTISAN VOTE

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However, in a letter sent to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Tlaib had requested a chance to visit her Palestinian grandmother, who lives in the West Bank, according to The Jerusalem Post.

“This could be my last opportunity to see her,” Tlaib wrote of her grandmother, who is in her 90s. “I will respect any restrictions and I will not promote any boycotts against Israel during my visit.”

Tlaib was later given permission to visit, but the Michigan lawmaker turned down the offer.

“I have decided that visiting my grandmother under these oppressive conditions stands against everything I believe in–fighting against racism, oppression & injustice,” she tweeted.

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“I can’t allow the State of Israel to take away that light by humiliating me and use my love for my sity to bow down to their oppressive and racist policies.”

On Thursday, Trump said in a tweet it would show “great weakness” for Israel to allow the two congresswomen into the country.

Fox News’ Brie Stimson and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/gutfeld-rashida-tlaib-israel-grandmother-trump

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Feeling Alone, Man Invites World to El Paso Victim’s Funeral – Snopes.com

When 63-year-old Margie Reckard was killed by a gunman who opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, earlier this month, Antonio Basco lost his entire world. So, as the man who felt so alone planned her funeral, he invited the world to join him in remembering his companion of 22 years.

Since then, condolences and orders for flowers have poured in. When her funeral is held Friday evening in El Paso, an overflow crowd is expected.

“He felt like he was going to kind of just be by himself with this whole thing but it’s not so — it’s going to be amazing,” Perches Funeral Homes director Harrison Johnson told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Johnson, who is also a pastor, will speak at the service, which was moved from one of their funeral homes to La Paz Faith Memorial & Spiritual Center to accommodate the crowd. He said vocalists and musicians have also volunteered to help, including a mariachi band. The public is also welcome at Reckard’s burial Saturday morning.

Reckard had children from a previous marriage who are traveling from out of town to the funeral, Johnson said. But he said that for Basco, Reckard was “his life, his soul mate, his best friend.” The couple had a car wash business, he said.

“Probably some people have felt like Mr. Tony in a time of death — they felt like they were alone and nobody was around,” Johnson said.

On Tuesday, Perches posted on Facebook a photo of a bereft Basco kneeling by a candlelight memorial. The post welcomed anyone to attend Reckard’s funeral and soon drew thousands of comments and shares. Among them was Kelly Barton, 35, of Tyler, Texas. “I just wanted him to know that he wasn’t alone in it,” she told the AP.

Lisa Cano, 48, posted that she was sending prayers from California. Cano, who is from El Paso but now lives in Los Angeles, also sent flowers.

“It’s good to be able to be involved and be there emotionally or spiritually for the people who are suffering. It’s just giving us something to do — we want to do something,” she told the AP.

Perches is among local funeral homes offering free services for the 22 people killed. In the days after the shooting, Basco told El Paso television station KFOX that Reckard’s kindness and selflessness was incomparable. “When I met her she was an angel and she still is,” Basco said.

Her son, Harry Dean Reckard, told The New York Times that when he and his brother and sister were children, the family didn’t have much money and frequently moved. He said his mother would sometimes work at fast food restaurants or as a hotel housekeeper to add to what her husband earned as a truck driver.

“As a kid, I just remember her feeding us and trying to provide for us the best that she could,” said Harry Dean Reckard, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

He said that after his father died in 1995, his mother began a relationship with Basco. The couple had moved to El Paso a few years ago. He said his mother, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease, “was loved by many.”

Johnson said that Basco is “amazed” and “overwhelmed” with the outreach. “He’s very appreciative, just so very appreciative to everybody’s well-wishing and concerns,” he said.

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Source Article from https://www.snopes.com/ap/2019/08/15/feeling-alone-man-invites-world-to-el-paso-victims-funeral/

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Recession signs worry Trump ahead of 2020 – ABC News

President Donald Trump is warning of an economic crash if he loses reelection, arguing that even voters who personally dislike him should base their ballots on the nation’s strong growth and low unemployment rate.

But privately, Trump is growing increasingly worried the economy won’t look so good come Election Day.

The financial markets signaled the possibility of a U.S. recession this week, sending a jolt of anxiety to investors, companies and consumers. That’s on top of concerns over Trump’s plans to impose punishing tariffs on goods from China and word from the United Kingdom and Germany that their economies are shrinking.

Though a pre-election recession here is far from certain, a downturn would be a devastating blow to the president, who has made a strong economy his central argument for a second term. Trump advisers fear a weakened economy would hurt him with moderate Republican and independent voters who have been willing to give him a pass on some his incendiary policies and rhetoric. And White House economic advisers see few options for reversing course should the economy start to slip.

Trump has taken to blaming others for the recession fears, mostly the Federal Reserve, which he is pushing for further interest rate cuts. Yet much of the uncertainty in the markets stems from his own escalation of a trade war with China, as well as weakened economies in key countries around the world.

Some of Trump’s closest advisers have urged him to lower the temperature of the trade dispute, fearing that further tariffs would only hurt American consumers and rattle the markets further. The president blinked once this week, delaying a set of tariffs in an effort to save Christmas sales.

Aides acknowledge it is unclear what steps the White House could take to stop a downturn. Trump’s 2017 tax cut proved so politically unpopular that many Republicans ran away from it during last year’s midterms. And a new stimulus spending program could spark intraparty fighting over big deficits.

The hope among administration officials is that a mix of wage gains and consumer spending will power growth through 2020. Yet Trump knows his own survival hinges on voters believing that he alone can prolong the economy’s decade-plus expansion.

“You have no choice but to vote for me because your 401(k), everything is going to be down the tubes,” the president said at a Thursday rally in New Hampshire. “Whether you love me or hate me, you’ve got to vote for me.”

Trump has spent much of the week at his New Jersey golf club, many of his mornings on the links, his afternoons watching cable television and his evenings calling confidants and business executives to get their take on the market’s volatility.

Though he has expressed private worries about Wall Street, he is also skeptical about some of the weaker economic indicators, wondering if the media and establishment figures are manipulating the data to make him look bad, according to two Republicans close to the White House, not authorized to discuss private conversations.

His skepticism has been reinforced by White House officials who have long been inclined to only show Trump rosier economic assessments.

Amid the market turmoil this week, the president tweeted out defenses of his economic record.

He blasted the Fed for not cutting interest rates deeper, under the belief that sharper cuts would lead to more lending activity and make the U.S. dollar more competitive against foreign currencies. The president also highlighted the strength of consumer spending — as retail sales have jumped 3.4% from a year ago.

Yet his focus on the Fed may be counterproductive.

The Federal Reserve voted last month to trim rates for the first time since 2008, a step taken to insulate the economy against trade uncertainty. But consumers interpreted that as a precautionary move ahead of a downturn rather than as part of an effort to keep the economy growing, according to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey released Friday.

Consumer confidence has dropped 6.4% since July. The pessimism could worsen if the Fed decides to slash rates in accordance with Trump’s wishes.

“Additional cuts in interest rates would act to increase consumer apprehensions about a potential recession,” said Richard Curtin, director of the survey.

One sector already suffering this year is manufacturing, the very industry that Trump pledged to revive and fortify with his tariffs. Factory output has fallen 0.5% during the past 12 months, the Fed said Thursday.

There are a few steps the government could take to help manufacturing and the economy, said Linda Dempsey, vice president of international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers.

Congress could approve the updated trade agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico — which would protect the North American supply chain. Secondly, the government could renew the soon-to-expire charter for the Export-Import Bank. But reconciling the situation with China is tricky because it involves negotiations between two countries with competing interests.

“That requires two sides — it’s not something the United States and our own political environment can deal with,” Dempsey said.

Most economists — including Fed officials — still expect the economy to grow this year, just at a slower pace than last year’s 2.9%.

A senior White House official said the growth in the second quarter this year was artificially low because of unusually bad weather and problems at Boeing that hurt aircraft production. Thus the baseline economy might be stronger than many forecasters think.

Financial markets on Wednesday pointed to a possible downturn as the interest rate charged on a 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell below the rate on a 2-year note. That event has traditionally foreshadowed a recession. But the Trump official said it might have lost its predictive power because of the low rates and other policies of central banks worldwide.

But the falling rates on U.S. Treasury notes indicates that the recession countdown clock is now ticking, said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West.

The only challenge is figuring out when that alarm bell might ring.

“I think we’re heading down that road to recession — we’re on that steady march toward that inevitable conclusion,” Anderson said. “It’s just that drip, drip, drip of trade war anxiety that is hanging over market sentiment.”

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/recession-signs-worry-trump-ahead-2020-65022715

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Trump buying Greenland? What residents told CBS News about Trump’s plan to buy the island – CBS News

Kulusuk, Greenland — CBS News has confirmed President Trump asked his aides and White House counsel to look into the possibility of buying Greenland. Sources told CBS News that Mr. Trump is interested in Greenland’s strategic and military significance.

The U.S. already has an air base in northern Greenland and in this tiny coastal hamlet of Kulusuk.

The stunning, resource-rich island is a Danish territory. Denmark’s government said Friday, in essence, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

CBS News flew out to a glacier to meet scientists working in remote Greenland. Denise and David Holland with New York University were surprised by the idea.

“This is news to us!” said Denise Holland. “I think you should talk to Denmark. They would not be happy!”

She was right.

“Maybe we should buy California,” said Søren Espersen, a member of Denmark’s parliament joked Friday.

CBS News

CBS News found residents who weren’t exactly enthusiastic about the U.S. taking more ground.

“Trump is maybe a little crazy,” said Anders Kuitse, a resident in Kulusuk.

This would not be the first time the U.S. tried to buy Greenland. Back in 1867, the State Department made an inquiry back, and following World War II, former President Harry Truman offered to buy Greenland for $100 million dollars. Both attempts failed.

Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-greenland-what-people-told-cbs-news-about-president-trump-plan-to-buy-island-denmark-2019-08-16/

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American immigration law should ensure immigration helps America – Washington Examiner

Foreign individuals should not be allowed to come to America in order to take advantage of its welfare programs.

This shouldn’t be a controversial statement. Federal law currently reflects this position. The Trump administration has finalized a regulation aimed at better implementing this law. Questions and concerns about the execution of President Trump’s “public charge” rule are fair, but the principle is also sound.

In today’s debates over immigration, we find it necessary to state what should be self-evident: All American laws ought to serve the American people. That means our immigration laws ought to serve the interests of the people who already live here and not necessarily those who don’t already live here.

We believe that most immigration is good for America, culturally and economically. We’ve opposed Trump’s calls to reduce the amount of legal immigration or to discriminate on the basis of religion. We’ve also called for reform of our current laws.

In short, immigration generally helps the U.S., and the laws ought to be changed to increase immigration’s benefits — and also to decrease immigration’s costs.

It is fair to ask would-be-immigrants, in effect, “What do you have to offer us?”

Our country’s ethic is grounded in Judeo-Christian teaching. As a nation, we thus recognize we have a duty to take in refugees: those fleeing war, natural disaster, or persecution. Our duty to refugees, however, does not extend to the many billions of people who could benefit economically from coming to the United States.

Reflecting these sensibilities, federal law has stated we ought not grant entry or citizenship to anyone who “at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge.” This doesn’t mean immigrants can never go on welfare — bad times can strike anyone, after all. But it does mean that we shouldn’t welcome people coming here to get our welfare.

This rule has been interpreted many different ways, because it’s not a straightforward thing. We voluntarily place upon ourselves an obligation to give benefits to children, who didn’t make the choice to come here. By extension, we don’t deny health and nutrition benefits to pregnant women. We can’t morally deny an immigrant emergency medical care, even if he or she can’t pay for it.

But Trump wants to broaden the definition of “public charge,” and he wants to tighten its enforcement. Some conservatives, including our friends at the Wall Street Journal editorial board, worry understandably about giving bureaucrats too much discretion to determine who is likely to become a public charge. This rule will need to be executed carefully, and it may be that as written, it is too vulnerable for abuse.

But it’s worth stating, without hedging, that the principle here is correct: American immigration law exists to ensure that immigration helps America.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/american-immigration-law-should-ensure-immigration-helps-america

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Trump admin argues transgender workers aren’t protected by civil rights law in new Supreme Court filing | TheHill – The Hill

The Trump administration on Friday filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that federal civil rights laws do not protect transgender workers.

The filing relates to the case of Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired as the funeral director of R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. in Detroit after she told owner Thomas Rost that she planned to transition from male to female and would be representing herself as a woman while at work.

In March 2018, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the funeral home had violated Title VII anti-discrimination laws in the decision, with the court ruling that “discrimination on the basis of transgender and transitioning status is necessarily discrimination on the basis of sex” and therefore protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

However, in their court filing submitted Friday, Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco and Department of Justice attorneys argued that the specific Civil Rights Act provision “does not bar discrimination because of transgender status,” meaning the Michigan funeral home was within its right to fire Stephens.

“In 1964, the ordinary public meaning of ‘sex’ was biological sex. It did not encompass transgender status,” the brief reads. “In the particular context of Title VII — legislation originally designed to eliminate employment discrimination against racial and other minorities — it was especially clear that the prohibition on discrimination because of ‘sex’ referred to unequal treatment of men and women in the workplace.”

If the Supreme Court sides with the Trump administration, it would overturn the previous ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and mark a major blow to LGBT rights.

The move comes hours after the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed President TrumpDonald John Trump Warren unveils Native American policy plan Live-action ‘Mulan’ star spurs calls for boycott with support of Hong Kong police Don’t let other countries unfairly tax America’s most innovative companies MORE‘s 2020 reelection bid, reversing its decision four years ago when the conservative LGBT organization declined to endorse then-candidate Trump in 2016.

Source Article from https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/457780-trump-admin-argues-in-supreme-court-filing-that-transgender

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Peter Fonda Dead: ‘Easy Rider’ Architect and Counter-Cultural Icon Was 79 – Hollywood Reporter

Fonda, the son of acting legend Henry Fonda, the younger brother of Jane Fonda and the father of Bridget Fonda, died Friday morning.

Peter Fonda, who broke out from under the legendary Fonda family name with Easy Rider, has died. He was 79.

Fonda, the son of acting legend Henry Fonda, the younger brother of Jane Fonda and the father of Bridget Fonda, died Friday morning at his home in Los Angeles, according to his rep. The cause of death was respiratory failure due to lung cancer.

“In one of the saddest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy,” said his family rep on Friday afternoon. “And, while we mourn the loss of this sweet and gracious man, we also wish for all to celebrate his indomitable spirit and love of life.”

The family statement concluded: “In honor of Peter, please raise a glass to freedom.”

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Jane Fonda said of her brother, “I am very sad. He was my sweet-hearted baby brother. The talker of the family. I have had beautiful alone time with him these last days. He went out laughing.”

Fonda received an Academy Award nomination as a screenwriter for Easy Rider, which he shared with Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern.

Fonda and Hopper dreamed up the idea of two motorcyclists who hit it big with a drug deal and take off across the country, ostensibly to attend Mardi Gras. Their trek was “in search of America,” emblematic of the ’60s zeitgeist of rebellion and drug experimentation. Featuring Jack Nicholson as their alcoholic, back rider/lawyer, the film was a low-budget, colossal hit.

Fonda produced Easy Rider for about $384,00, with Columbia Pictures picking up distribution rights. “I made Easy Rider for the same amount of money Roger Corman made Wild Angels, and [I knew] it would knock the audience’s socks off,” Fonda recalled to The Hollywood Reporter in July for a feature on the 50th anniversary of the classic.

Shot in roughly seven weeks between L.A. and New Orleans, it introduced the studios to the bright, educated youth market, and Fonda paved the way for independent filmmakers. For the cataclysmic year of 1969, Easy Rider was a road movie that accomplished cinematically what Jack Kerouac’s On the Road did for literature. It won a standing ovation at Cannes and the festival’s best director award.

To a generation of young people, Fonda was “Captain America” and a poster boy for the age. With his cool shades and leather jacket with the flag stitched on back, he sat perched atop a chrome-laden, high-handle-bar cycle, and the poster for the film was ubiquitous in college dorms in 1969 and the early ’70s.

As a symbol for rebellious youth, Fonda, along with Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, Muhammad Ali and John Lennon, were among the most revered of countercultural poster boys.

Nearly 30 years after Easy Rider, Fonda’s performance in Ulee’s Gold (1997) as a beekeeper and sullen Vietnam War veteran whose family had nearly fallen apart earned him a best actor Oscar nom.

Fonda followed up Easy Rider by starring and directing The Hired Hand (1971), a feminist Western that his Pando Company made for Universal. He then helmed Idaho Transfer (1973), a message film about the environment.

He directed and starred opposite Brooke Shields in Wanda Nevada (1979), which featured a cameo by his father.

For a period after Easy Rider, Fonda lived on an 82-foot sailboat, essentially having dropped out. “I was writing during that period, and I got about as much writing done as a child in a sandbox,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1984.

In the early ’80s, Fonda appeared in a humdrum batch of projects: He played a charismatic cult leader in Split Image (1982), a freewheeling adventurer in Dance of the Dwarfs (1983) and a suicidal father in the 1985 NBC movie A Reason to Live.

His other acting stints were uneven, from the lowbrow The Cannonball Run (1981) to a German impressionistic film, Peppermint-Frieden (1983).

He also starred in Thomas McGuane’s 92 in the Shade (1975), where he met Portia Rebecca Crockett, then the wife of the writer-director. She divorced him that year and quickly married Fonda. McGuane went on to marry actress Margot Kidder, who also was in the movie.

Rebecca convinced Fonda to move to Livingston, Montana, where they settled into a community at times populated by Jeff Bridges, Sam Peckinpah and other artistic off-roaders.

In the years before Ulee’s Gold, he had become a cinematic recluse, living in Livingston, where he had two ranches and 300 acres and rejoiced in the solitude. “Most people can’t hang in with me,” he said in a 1997 interview. “I have a tendency to go tangential.”

Peter Fonda was born in New York City on Feb. 23, 1939. As a child, he attended a number of boarding schools in the Northeast. When at home, he and Jane spent most of their time with their maternal grandmother.

In 1950, his mother, Frances, committed suicide on her 42nd birthday; Jane and Peter were told she died of a heart attack.

Throughout his adult life, he openly referred to an uneasy relationship with his dad, who died in August 1982.

His father remarried Susan Blanchard, the stepdaughter of Oscar Hammerstein II, but she left him after five years of marriage. Subsequently, Peter was sent to live with relatives in Nebraska. He enrolled at the University of Omaha but quit school during his third year and became an apprentice at the Cecilwood Theatre in Fishkill, New York.

After a year in New York, Fonda made his Broadway debut, playing an Army private in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole. It was an auspicious turn: He received the Daniel Blum and the New York Drama Critics Award as the most promising young actor of 1961.

He was signed to a personal contract with producer Ross Hunter to produce and to act. It gave him the chance to leave Manhattan, which he loathed. “New Yorkers don’t know what the people who live in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado know: the reality of this world, what it is made of, the reality of days, nights, weather, season, dirt, air, food, love.”

Groomed to be the next Dean Jones, Fonda made his film debut opposite Sandra Dee in Tammy and the Doctor (1963). He followed up with The Victors (1963) and Lilith (1964), in which he played a suicidal mental patient. He then latched on with Roger Corman’s low-budget enterprise and starred as biker Heavenly Blues in The Wild Angels (1966).

He followed that with another Corman opus, The Trip (1967), a paean to LSD that was written by Nicholson and featured Hopper playing a freaked-out character. The film was widely popular among college-age students and meshed with the counter-cultural mindset of the day.

Not content with cranking out cheapo motorcycle vehicles for Corman, the threesome decided to do “their own thing,” in the parlance of the times, and that turned out to be Easy Rider.

Fonda also starred in such features as Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) and Race With the Devil (1975) — where he starred with Warren Oates as two family men who take on a band of devil worshippers in Texas — and the Canadian horror film Spasms (1983).

In addition to his daughter Bridget, Fonda had a son, Justin, by his first wife, Susan Brewer. With his second wife, Betty Crockett McGuane, the pair had a combined family, including her son, Thomas McGuane.

Source Article from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peter-fonda-dead-easy-rider-architect-counter-cultural-icon-was-79-1232714

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Medical examiner rules Epstein death a suicide by hanging – AOL

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein’s prison death has been ruled a suicide by hanging, the medical examiner’s office said Friday.

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, touching off outrage and disbelief over how such a high-profile prisoner, known for socializing with powerful people including presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, could have gone unwatched.

The Bureau of Prisons said Epstein had apparently killed himself, but that didn’t squelch conspiracy theories about his death.

Epstein, who was charged with sexually abusing numerous underage girls over several years, had been placed on suicide watch last month after he was found on his cell floor on July 23 with bruising on his neck.

But multiple people familiar with operations at the jail say he was taken off the watch after about a week and put back in a high-security housing unit where he was less closely monitored, but still supposed to be checked on every 30 minutes.

Attorney General William Barr says officials have uncovered “serious irregularities” at the jail. The FBI and the Justice Department’s inspector general are both investigating Epstein’s death.

Jail guards on duty the night of Epstein’s death are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on inmates every half-hour as required, according to several people familiar with the matter.

A guard in Epstein’s unit was working a fifth straight day of overtime and another guard was working mandatory overtime, the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the lacked authorization to publicly discuss the investigation.

In this courtroom sketch, defendant Jeffrey Epstein, second from right, listens along with defense attorneys, from left, Marc Fernich, Michael Miller, and Martin Weinberg as Judge Richard M. Berman denies him bail during a hearing in federal court, Thursday, July 18, 2019 in New York. Judge Berman denied bail for the jailed financier on sex trafficking charges, saying the danger to the community that would result if the jet-setting defendant was free formed the “heart of this decision.” (Aggie Kenny via AP)

In this courtroom artist’s sketch, defendant Jeffrey Epstein, left, listens as accuser Annie Farmer, second from right, speaks during a bail hearing in federal court, Monday, July 15, 2019 in New York. Farmer says she was 16 when she “had the misfortune” of meeting Epstein and later went to spend time with him in New Mexico. Accuser Courtney Wild, right, said in the hearing that she was abused by the wealthy financier in Palm Beach, Florida, starting at age 14. Epstein’s lawyers want him released on house arrest to his Manhattan home while he awaits trial. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

In this courtroom artist’s sketch, defendant Jeffrey Epstein, left, and attorney Reid Weingarten, second from right, listen as attorney Martin Weinberg, right, speaks during a bail hearing in federal court, Monday, July 15, 2019 in New York. Epstein’s lawyers have insisted he will not run. They want him released on house arrest to his Manhattan home while he awaits trial. Courtney Wild, third from left, said in the hearing that she was abused by the wealthy financier in Palm Beach, Florida, starting at age 14. She called him a “scary person” and urged detention “for the safety of any other girls” out there. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

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U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who is in charge of the criminal case against Epstein, asked the jail’s warden this week for answers about the earlier episode, writing in a letter Monday that it had “never been definitively explained.”

The warden replied that an internal investigation was completed but that he couldn’t provide information because the findings were being incorporated into investigations into Epstein’s death.

The Associated Press often does not report details of suicide methods, but has made an exception because Epstein’s cause of death is pertinent to the ongoing investigations.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported Thursday that the autopsy revealed that several bones in Epstein’s neck had been broken, leading to speculation his death was a homicide.

Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson issued a statement Thursday in response to those articles, saying: “In all forensic investigations, all information must be synthesized to determine the cause and manner of death. Everything must be consistent; no single finding can be evaluated in a vacuum.”

The medical examiner’s ruling came a day after two more women sued Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, saying he sexually abused them.

The suit, filed Thursday in a federal court in New York, claims the women were working as hostesses at a popular Manhattan restaurant in 2004 when they were recruited to give Epstein massages.

One was 18 at the time. The other was 20.

The lawsuit says an unidentified female recruiter offered the hostesses hundreds of dollars to provide massages to Epstein, saying he “liked young, pretty girls to massage him,” and wouldn’t engage in any unwanted touching. The women say Epstein groped them anyway.

One plaintiff now lives in Japan, the other in Baltimore. They seek $100 million in damages, citing depression, anxiety, anger and flashbacks.

Other lawsuits, filed over many years by other women, accused him of hiring girls as young as 14 or 15 to give him massages, then subjecting them to sex acts.

___

Balsamo reported from Washington.

Source Article from https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/08/16/medical-examiner-rules-epstein-death-a-suicide-by-hanging/23795131/

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California congressman on Israel-‘Squad’ controversy: This is what the president wants us to focus on? – Fox News

Video

Rep. Rouda: I have the deepest respect for the Israeli state and our 100 percent commitment to their security

California Democrat Rep. Harley Rouda says he believes President Trump’s tweet stating that Israel would be showing ‘weakness’ by allowing Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib entrance into the country is the reason Prime Minister Netanyahu denied them access.

Democratic Congressman Harley Rouda, D-Calif., said Friday that the recent controversy between Israel and two Democratic congresswomen is unfounded and “ridiculous.”

Appearing on “America’s Newsroom,” Rouda told co-hosts Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith that he was “very disappointed” in President Donald Trump.

On Thursday Israel announced that it would deny congresswomen Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., entry during an impending overseas trip, citing the lawmakers’ past rhetoric that was critical of the country. Tlaib and Omar became the first two Muslim women elected to Congress last year.

The announcement was made moments after the president tweeted it would “show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit.” The president wrote that the pair “hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds.”

RASHIDA TLAIB SIGNALS SHE WON’T GO TO WEST BANK, DESPITE GETTING ISRAELI MINISTER’S PERMISSION

“They are a disgrace,” the president stated.

“I think we can clearly see the nexus between his tweet — the ‘Tweeter-in-Chief’ that did that yesterday — and the action that Netanyahu took,” Rouda told Hemmer and Smith.

“I find it outrageous that he would weigh in and suggest that members of Congress be barred from going to countries such as Israel, our dearest friend and closest friend in the Middle East,” Rouda said.

“This is unprecedented, to have a president of the United States take an action along these lines,” he added.

ISRAEL BLOCKS OMAR, TLAIB FROM ENTERING COUNTRY AMID PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said the country would not “allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter.”

Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a lengthy statement later Thursday standing by the decision and disputing criticism. His Twitter account said that Tlaib’s itinerary had “revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy.”

However, on Friday morning, Israel’s Interior Minister Aryeh Deri granted Tlaib’s request on humanitarian grounds to see her grandmother in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

But, in turn, Tlaib announced she had decided not to go, saying “oppressive conditions meant to humiliate me would break my grandmother’s heart.”

Deri then tweeted he had approved her request as “gesture of goodwill,” but it was determinably just “aimed at bashing the State of Israel.”

“Apparently her hate for Israel overcomes her love for her grandmother,” Deri wrote.

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Rouda said he disagreed with Deri and Netanyahu’s characterization.

“Think about what’s going on in our country right now,” Rouda exclaimed. “70,000 opioid deaths. 50,000 gun deaths. And, this is where the president wants us to focus our attention on? This is ridiculous!’

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/media/california-congressman-on-israel-squad-controversy-this-is-what-the-president-wants-us-to-focus-on

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Don’t laugh: Trump’s idea of buying Greenland isn’t entirely wacky – Washington Examiner

President Trump’s idea of buying Greenland from Denmark probably has a slimmer chance of happening than hitting an iceberg at the equator. But the suggestion shows constructive, creative thinking, and it’s an intriguing idea.

At 836,330 square miles, Greenland is almost precisely the size of Alaska and California put together. It is rich in coal, zinc, copper, and iron ore. Perhaps even more important, it could have significant strategic military value by providing bases in the North Atlantic and particularly in the Arctic, where Russia repeatedly makes territorial claims (including to the North Pole itself) that are spurious but provocative and potentially destabilizing.

Granted, the United States already has a key military installation there, the Thule Air Base, which (to quote the Wall Street Journal) “includes a radar station that is part of a U.S. ballistic missile early-warning system. The base is also used by the U.S. Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.”

There seems no danger of Denmark abrogating the treaty that gives the U.S. the right to operate Thule. But still, ownership makes things permanent, and of course it would allow the U.S. to create other bases in Greenland if needed.

The U.S. has intermittently expressed an interest in buying Greenland since 1867, and in 1946, President Harry Truman actually offered to purchase it for $100 million (the equivalent of $1.316 billion today).

While there is absolutely no sign that Denmark or the mostly autonomous Greenlanders themselves would be interested in becoming part of the U.S., it does make a certain sense for them. Greenland holds no military value for a nation as small as Denmark, which has no need to worry itself with “force projection” the way the U.S. does. And while the natural resources could be as valuable to Denmark as they would be to the U.S., Denmark right now spends nearly $600 million annually in subsidies to Greenland’s government. Ridding itself of those costs, plus getting a big lump-sump payment from its American allies to boot, could be a good deal for the Danes.

Each major time the U.S. has bought territory — the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Alaska in 1867, what are now the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1917 — has proved to be a good investment. This one might be just as wise.

The price would need to be negotiated. The wishes of Greenland’s current population should be considered. The structure of territorial governance would need to be worked out. These and other considerations might argue against the deal even if Denmark were willing to sell.

In sum, further consideration might show the purchase isn’t practical. We won’t know, though, until we explore and analyze the possibility. It is very much to Trump’s credit that he has an open mind about such a thing. Long-term American strategic interests could well benefit, so it certainly doesn’t hurt to take Truman’s idea off the ice and see if it will float.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/dont-laugh-trumps-idea-of-buying-greenland-isnt-entirely-wacky

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Dale Earnhardt Jr’s plane bounced at least twice in hard landing – WDEF News 12

ELIZABETHTON, Tennessee (WDEF) – Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are offering more information on the plane crash yesterday involving Dale Earnhardt and his family.

An FAA preliminary report described the incident as a “hard landing.”

The NTSB officials say the plane bounced at least twice during the landing.

They have recovered video of the landing from nearby businesses.

The jet left the runway, ending up on a highway, and then caught fire.

Fire officials say it went through a fence that wrapped around the plane.

But luckily, it didn’t block the escape of the five people on board.

There is a voice recorder on the plane that should help with the investigation.

Even though the plane burned entirely, crews are cutting it up to take back to NTSB headquarters for analysis.

You can read much more coverage of the crash at WJHL.

Source Article from https://wdef.com/2019/08/16/dale-earnhardt-jrs-plane-bounced-least-twice-hard-landing/

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Customs Computer Failure Snarls Passengers at U.S. Airports – The New York Times

Ms. Behan said she saw hundreds of people waiting. When the system came back online around 2:45 p.m., people were relieved and rushed to get processed. Everyone wanted to get through before it went down again, she said.

Ninis Samuel of Chicago said in a phone interview that he had landed at Kennedy Airport at 3:45 p.m. from Copenhagen, and that he was in line for Global Entry, a program that expedites the security processing of prescreened passengers.

What ordinarily was a five-minute wait had lasted 45 minutes, he said.

“Nothing’s moving,” he said. “I’m standing here with the crew. People are massed here like cattle.”

Of the crowd, he said, “To my horizon line, you wouldn’t believe it,” adding, “I’m sure there are over 1,000 people here right now waiting in line.”

Around 5 p.m., he said he had gotten through Customs because officials were manually processing passengers and he was a participant in Global Entry.

Officers were processing passengers one at a time instead of passengers relying on self-service machines to move through customs.

Mariel Padilla contributed reporting.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/us/customs-computer-shutdown.html

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Wisconsin police say they found a fugitive hiding in a solar-powered bunker in the woods – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/us/fugitive-hiding-bunker-wisconsin-trnd/index.html

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