If everyone except for Biden, Bernie, and Warren dropped out of the 2020 race right now, Biden would be the clear loser

Here's what would happen if Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren were the only ones left in the 2020 democratic presidential race.

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Kamala Harris laughs when Biden tells her she can't ban guns with an executive order

Dan Bongino wraps up a wild week in news with News Explosion on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

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Court revives suit alleging Fox News inflicted 'emotional torture' on Seth Rich family

A federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit against Fox News brought by the parents of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, concluding there are plausible claims that the network was party to a “campaign of emotional torture.”

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Yes, They Are Coming for Your Guns

At the Democratic-primary debate in Houston last night, Beto O’Rourke formally killed off one of the gun-control movement’s favorite taunts: The famous “Nobody is coming for your guns, wingnut.” Asked bluntly whether he was proposing confiscation, O’Rourke abandoned the disingenuous euphemisms that have hitherto marked his descent into extremism, and confirmed as plainly as can be that he was. “Hell yes,” he said, “we’re going to take your AR-15.”O’Rourke’s plan has been endorsed in full by Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, and is now insinuating its way into the manifestos of gun-control groups nationwide. Presumably, this was O’Rourke’s intention. But he — and his party — would do well to remember that there is a vast gap between the one-upmanship and playacting that is de rigueur during primary season, and the harsh reality on the ground. Prohibition has never been well received in America, and guns have proven no exception to that rule. In New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, attempts at the confiscation of “high capacity” magazines and the registration of “assault weapons” have both fallen embarrassingly flat — to the point that the police have simply refused to aid enforcement or to prosecute the dissenters. Does Beto, who must know this, expect the result to be different in Texas, Wyoming, or Florida? Earlier this week, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives was unable to marshal enough votes to pass a ban on the sale of “assault weapons” — let alone to mount a confiscation drive. Sorry, Robert Francis. That dog ain’t gonna hunt.And nor should it, for O’Rourke’s policy is spectacularly unconstitutional. The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in America by a considerable margin, and is therefore clearly protected by the “in common use” standard that was laid out in D.C. v. Heller. Put as baldly as possible, confiscation is not a program that the federal government is permitted to adopt.It is also a disaster on its own merits. Much has been made of the fact that an attempt to round up millions of guns would obviously be met with widespread non-compliance. Much has been made, too, of the fact that this is an odd target for a country-dividing panic, given that rifles of all types are used less frequently in murder than hands and fists, than handguns, and than knives. Less, however, has been made of the fact that such an attempt can not even be squared with characterizations of American life that O’Rourke, Booker, and Harris are themselves fond of making. If the trio’s testimony is to be believed, America is a deeply unequal place in which minorities and the poor bear the brunt of draconian legislation while wealthier and better-connected people romp scot free — which, if true, would lead one to expect a little less bravado in defense of what would be the most significant federal crackdown since the start of the War on Drugs than a self-congratulatory “Hell yes.” Such are the perils of making policy by T-shirt slogan.For years, advocates of the right to keep and bear arms have suspected that confiscation was the endgame but have been rebuffed as paranoiacs in the press. Such a rebuffing is no longer possible. If it ever was, “Nobody is coming for your guns!” is no longer true — which means that a host of commonly posed inquiries now have the same simple answer. “Why do you oppose federal licensing?” Because leading Democrats are threatening confiscation. “Why do you oppose ‘universal’ background checks?” Because they would create a registry. “And why do you oppose a registry?” Because leading Democrats are threatening confiscation. Unwittingly or not, O’Rourke and his acolytes have stuck a dagger into the exquisitely calibrated gun-control messaging on which their party has worked for the better part of 20 years. No voter can now say he wasn’t warned.

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Israel's Netanyahu Poised to Fall After Election, GeoQuant Says

(Bloomberg) -- Data continue to indicate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party will lose power in elections set for September 17, according to GeoQuant, which calls itself an "AI-driven political risk intelligence" firm.Israel’s “Government Instability Risk” continues to spike going into the vote, according to GeoQuant, reinforcing the firm’s prediction since May that Netanyahu is set to fail. “Despite Netanyahu’s recent pledge to annex territory in the Jordan Valley if he is re-elected – the current Likud-led government is too weak to survive the election," Geoquant said in a note.GeoQuant also flagged "Government Risk" at an all-time high in the firm’s nearly seven-year time series. "Institutional Support Risk," which GeoQuant said "measures the incumbent’s support from key political, legal and administrative institutions," is also at a new peak.That shows “Netanyahu’s failure to form a government in May, related opposition from rightist rival Avigdor Lieberman/Yisrael Beiteinu, and the persistent threat of a corruption indictment” have undermined his re-election,” they said. The firm’s “Mass Support Risk” is also running higher, but was below a 2017 high, “given Netanyahu’s strongman appeal.”Earlier, Dow Jones said that Netanyahu is ‘‘locked in a close election contest with his main rival, former Gen. Benny Gantz, with final polls ahead of Tuesday’s vote suggesting that neither have a clear path to governing.”To contact the reporter on this story: Felice Maranz in New York at fmaranz@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Janet FreundFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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What were those protesters saying? Joe Biden's final answer interrupted during debate

Protesters crashed the final minutes of Thursday night's debate in Houston, though people on Twitter had a tough time understanding what was said.

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Church sex abuse 'far-reaching' in Missouri: attorney general

The attorney general in the US state of Missouri on Friday accused the Catholic Church of turning a blind eye to church sex abuse and referred a dozen former clergymen for criminal prosecution. "Sexual abuse of minors by members of Missouri's four Roman Catholic dioceses has been a far-reaching and sustained scandal," said the Midwestern state's top prosecutor, Eric Schmitt, after a year-long investigation. "For decades, faced with credible reports of abuse, the church refused to acknowledge the victims and instead focused their efforts on protecting priests," Schmitt told a news conference.

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Trump Administration Scraps 20 Miles of Wall After Savings Fade

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration scrapped three border wall projects that it said it intended to build using money found from cost savings in constructing other portions of the barrier along the southern border.In a court filing Friday, the administration said it had determined the savings weren’t sufficient to pay for the additional 20 miles (32 kilometers) of wall in Arizona and California.A divided U.S. Supreme Court in July allowed the administration to start using disputed Pentagon funds to construct more than 100 miles of fencing along the border, letting the president take his biggest step yet toward erecting his long-promised wall.The case is Center for Biological Diversity v. Trump, 19-cv-408, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Schneider in Los Angeles at jschneider5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Pakistani PM: India's crackdown on Kashmir will spur global Muslim extremism

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - India's crackdown on protests and dissent in Kashmir will drive more of the world's Muslims into extremism, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said during a fiery speech on Friday, in the part of the disputed territory administered by Pakistan. India revoked the special status of its portion of Kashmir, known as Jammu and Kashmir, on Aug. 5 and moved to quell unrest by clamping down on communications and freedom of movement. Authorities in Indian Kashmir have arrested nearly 4,000 people since then, government data seen by Reuters showed.

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DOJ cites Dems' mixed-up impeachment messages to undercut House probe

The filing comes a day after the committee approved a set of technical procedures for its impeachment investigation.

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Mine shutdowns in top US coal region bring new uncertainty

At two of the world's biggest coal mines, the finances got so bad that their owner couldn't even get toilet paper on credit. Warehouse technician Melissa Worden divvied up what remained, giving four rolls to each mine and two to the mine supply facility where she worked. Then mine owner Blackjewel LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 1.

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Biden sparks outrage after suggesting black people don't know how to raise children: 'Put the record player on at night'

Taking several turns and going down multiple tangents, Joe Biden could not seem to answer a simple question about the legacy of slavery during the third Democratic debates.The former vice president mentioned record players, discussed education and talked about bringing social workers into homes in low-income communities when debate moderator Linsey Davis asked him: “What responsibility do you think that Americans need to take to repair the legacy of slavery in our country?”

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Taliban visits Moscow days after Trump says talks 'dead'

A negotiating team from the Taliban arrived Friday in Russia, a representative told The Associated Press, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump declared dead a deal with the insurgent group in Afghanistan. Russian state news agency Tass cited the Taliban's Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying the delegation had held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Afghanistan. The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying the meeting in Russia underlined the necessity of renewing talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, and that the Taliban confirmed their readiness to continuing dialogue with Washington.

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Hong Kong police break up scattered clashes between rival protesters

Baton-wielding Hong Kong police moved in to break up scuffles on Saturday between pro-China protesters and those denouncing perceived Chinese meddling in the Asian financial hub, the latest in months of sometimes violent clashes. The pro-China demonstrators chanted "Support the police" and "China, add oil" at a shopping mall, adapting a line used by anti-Hong Kong government protesters and loosely meaning: "China, keep your strength up". "Hong Kong is China," one woman shouted at passersby who shouted obscenities in return in an angry pushing and pulling standoff, marked more by the shouting than violence.

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Golden Toilet Stolen From the U.K.'s Blenheim Palace, Birthplace of Winston Churchill

The artwork has not been recovered, and the investigation remains ongoing

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U.S. Navy Asserts Freedom of Navigation in South China Sea

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Navy has asserted that the recent passage of its guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer in waters near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea is consistent with its stance on international law that allows freedom of navigation, according to a statement Saturday.“China, Taiwan, and Vietnam each claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands,“ the U.S. Navy said. “The unilateral imposition of any authorization or notification requirement for innocent passage is not permitted by international law, so the United States challenged these requirements.”The comments were in response to an earlier statement issued by the People’s Liberation Army Daily stating that the U.S. vessel had entered Chinese waters surrounding the islands and had ignored China’s objection to the move.The latest development comes as Vietnam is pushing back harder against China’s efforts to isolate it diplomatically on a territorial dispute in an energy-rich part of the South China Sea.To contact the reporter on this story: Marcus Wong in Singapore at mwong547@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Andreea Papuc, Stanley JamesFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Politico Doubles Down on Fake Turnberry Scandal

It's tough to be an investigative reporter. Everybody who feeds you a tip has an axe to grind. Or, alternatively, you find yourself going, "I wonder if . . . ?" You put in your research, you talk to lots of people, you accumulate a huge pile of information, but you still haven't proved your hypothesis. A wise reporter says to herself either "I don't have the story yet" or "I guess this didn't pan out." In either event, she doesn't publish. More likely, since reporters always think they have the story and always want to publish, an editor says, "Kid, you haven't got the story."One of the many rules of the road that have changed in the Trump era is that reporters have taken to blasting out their BREAKING NEWS about scandals that they haven't actually proven to be scandals. There is so much hay to be made during this administration, so many reporters are becoming superstars, so many comfy houses in Bethesda are being bought with so many large book deals. Any fresh angle you can find on the iniquity of the administration is going to be lapped up eagerly by everyone you know. But what if your new angle isn’t . . . actually. . . the truth?Danger lurks. It's damned annoying how many watchmen there are to watch the watchmen these days. But in the end the temptation wins. The shaky story gets blasted out to everyone, it falls apart, and the soiled and tattered reputation of the news media acquires another stain. Short term, no biggie: Reporters know they won't get fired for being wrong. They get a little dopamine hit of glory from the ersatz scoop, they go on with their lives. They live to fight Trumpism another day. Did Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier of BuzzFeed suffer for falsely reporting that President Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress? Nope. Their position is merely that maybe the story will turn out to be true someday. They haven't even retracted the story, much less tendered their resignations, much less placed themselves in the stocks of the town square so that passersby can fire tomatoes at them. (BuzzFeed appended a weaselly note to the original story feebly expressing hope that more information would emerge that would back up their story. That ain't how it works. You get it right first, then publish.)Politico reporters Natasha Bertrand and Bryan Bender suspect President Trump has been directing Air Force flights to an obscure Scottish airport and fuel stop in order to generate business for his nearby hotel. Since the Obama-era Air Force also used the fuel point (which Trump has no interest in) scores of times, and since those troops also understandably stayed at the hotel because it’s affordable and close to the airport, there is only a scandal here if Trump, or someone operating at Trump's direction, is ordering the Air Force to do things differently than it ordinarily would in order to benefit Trump. The numbers at issue here are paltry. The hotel is charging $130 a night. How much of that winds up in Trump's pocket, 11 cents? Bender and Bertrand inform us in dire tones that Air Force crews have made “at least four stays” at the Trump resort in the last year. How much do four stays at a cheap hotel really mean to a billionaire?When Politico or any other outlet whips up a fake scandal, the predictable next stage is that even more specious and disgusting things get said by pundits joining the pile-on. Rachel Maddow, in her gonzo throw-everything-at-the-wall way, falsely claimed the other night that the fuel stop was charging more for fuel, as though that were a scandal. It turns out the fuel stop is charging ordinary rates, and Trump doesn't own it anyway. John Hirschauer calls B.S. on her. Maddow slandered the military in an absolutely vile manner when she declared the “U.S. military is in on it now,” meaning corruption. Bertrand called Maddow’s take on the matter “perfect.”Here's how this story ought to be reported. If Trump ordered the Air Force to prop up his failing resort, there must be a long chain of intermediaries who took this directive from the president and passed it down the line. Find one of those flunkies and get him to spill the beans. Did Bender and Bertrand do so? No. Do they even exist? Until Bertrand and Bender find them and get them to talk, the story isn’t there. Yet Bertrand blathers on this morning with this tweet: "BREAKING: Preliminary results of the Air Force’s review of its use of Trump Turnberry shows that the service has lodged crews at the resort up to 40 times since 2015, a figure far higher than previously known." Oh, since 2015, eh? Who was president then? The only numbers that might matter are the ones since January 20, 2017, and she doesn't even have those yet.  You might as well run a headline saying, "Hate crimes surged in Trump Era, or Obama Era, Maybe Both, Whatever, We're Not Sure."Bertrand and Bryan’s own story undercuts the scandal suggested by her tweet: "The figure does not indicate how many of the stays have occurred since Trump became president. But the Air Force has significantly ramped up its overnight stops in Scotland under Trump after signing a contract with the Prestwick Airport — situated 20-plus miles from Turnberry — in the waning months of the Obama administration." The Obama-era Air Force made deals with the airport near Turnberry and this somehow earns Trump a flag for violating the emoluments clause? True, there are more Air Force flights refueling at the little airport these days, but there are perfectly plausible reasons for that: Unlike Shannon Airport in Ireland, it's got relatively good weather and is a low-traffic spot. Easy in, easy out. This argument apparently made sense to Team Obama, since they're the ones who signed the deal to use the airport more. But this does not obviously have anything to do with Trump. Hey, take it from the man himself! "NOTHING TO DO WITH ME," the president tweeted on Monday. So far, this looks like the truth. Miracles can happen!The most hilarious and self-defeating detail in this morning's BREAKING news from Politico is this: "Since 2015, the [Air Force] has lodged crews in the area 659 times, meaning up to 6 percent of those stays were at Turnberry." Wow, 6 whole percent? I can only imagine what the president's directive on this matter might have been. "Get Mark Esper in here now, dammit! Esper, my Scottish resort is in trouble. Take a break from saving the world and save Trump Turnberry! I want you to make sure up to 6 percent of your Air Force guys making those fuel stops in Scotland are staying at my hotel. Make it happen or you’ll be playing shuffleboard with Mattis!”

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Unable to vote, Palestinians shrug off Israel's elections

MAS'HA, West Bank (AP) — Barhoum Saleh's town is surrounded by Jewish settlements, the sign above his roadside mechanic shop is in Hebrew, most of his customers are Israeli and he needs an Israeli permit to visit the beach a half hour's drive away. Saleh is among the 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank who have no voice in choosing Israel's next government and no control over whether it decides to annex part or all of the occupied territory, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to do . With the peace process having sputtered to a halt a decade ago, they also have little hope of getting a state of their own anytime soon.

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Despite Turning Down Inauguration Gig, Elton John Has a Recurring Role in Trump’s Presidency

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Tropical Storm Humberto dumps rain on hurricane-hit Bahamas

Tropical Storm Humberto lashed the Bahamas with rain and wind on Saturday, possibly slowing down relief efforts in the wake of the devastation wrought less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Dorian. The US National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour, was passing Saturday evening about 70 miles north of Great Abaco Island, one of the areas hardest hit by Dorian. Humberto was moving away from the Bahamas on a path taking it well off the east coast of Florida this weekend and early next week, the NHC said.

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California woman in semicomatose state after Mexican skin cream gives her mercury poisoning

A California woman is now in a semi-comatose state after she used a Mexican skin cream that was tainted with methylmercury.

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Israel's Netanyahu Poised to Fall After Election, GeoQuant Says

(Bloomberg) -- Data continue to indicate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party will lose power in elections set for September 17, according to GeoQuant, which calls itself an "AI-driven political risk intelligence" firm.Israel’s “Government Instability Risk” continues to spike going into the vote, according to GeoQuant, reinforcing the firm’s prediction since May that Netanyahu is set to fail. “Despite Netanyahu’s recent pledge to annex territory in the Jordan Valley if he is re-elected – the current Likud-led government is too weak to survive the election," Geoquant said in a note.GeoQuant also flagged "Government Risk" at an all-time high in the firm’s nearly seven-year time series. "Institutional Support Risk," which GeoQuant said "measures the incumbent’s support from key political, legal and administrative institutions," is also at a new peak.That shows “Netanyahu’s failure to form a government in May, related opposition from rightist rival Avigdor Lieberman/Yisrael Beiteinu, and the persistent threat of a corruption indictment” have undermined his re-election,” they said. The firm’s “Mass Support Risk” is also running higher, but was below a 2017 high, “given Netanyahu’s strongman appeal.”Earlier, Dow Jones said that Netanyahu is ‘‘locked in a close election contest with his main rival, former Gen. Benny Gantz, with final polls ahead of Tuesday’s vote suggesting that neither have a clear path to governing.”To contact the reporter on this story: Felice Maranz in New York at fmaranz@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Janet FreundFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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'Every right to call that out': Booker defends Castro on Biden attacks at Democratic debate

During the testy exchange, Castro claimed Biden said Americans would have to "buy in" for health care coverage under Biden's proposal.

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