North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles: South Korean military

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles early on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, only days after it launched two other missiles intended to pressure South Korea and the United States to stop upcoming military drills.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2LT6VeD

Trump deepens war of words with leftist black leaders

Rejecting criticism that he is stoking America's smouldering racial divisions, Trump attacked African-American civil rights activist Al Sharpton. Over the weekend, Trump described Baltimore as a "rat and rodent infested mess" unfit for humans and blamed this on Elijah Cummings, the Democrat who represents much of the city in Congress.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2LNm69n

More than 200 reindeer found dead of starvation in the Arctic, scientists say

The cause of the reindeer deaths, according to the Norwegian Polar Institute, was starvation induced by altered conditions in the Arctic.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Ov81zt

Deputy accused of killing wife during fight over sex

New details say that the deputy, who's also a body builder and actor, was fighting with his wife as she accused him of having an affair.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2yuPh8h

Eritrean accused of pushing boy under train is father-of-three

An Eritrean man accused of killing an eight-year-old boy by pushing him under a train is a Swiss-based father-of-three who will be examined for a psychiatric disorder, authorities said Tuesday. German prosecutors laid murder and attempted murder charges against the 40-year-old, who had on Tuesday also pushed the boy's mother onto the tracks at Frankfurt's main station, and tried but failed to do the same to a 78-year-old woman. The man, who was arrested shortly after, did not previously know the victims and showed no signs of alcohol or drug use, said Frankfurt public prosecutors spokeswoman Nadja Niesen.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2YyQKFb

Puerto Ricans ask, 'What's next?' as they await new governor

The fliers handed out at Puerto Rico's latest protest depict the U.S. territory's outgoing governor as a clown and puppeteer controlling those beneath him. "WHAT COMES AFTER RICKY?" the first page reads, referring to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. It's the question hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans are now asking themselves after having achieved their main goal: ousting a governor for the first time in the U.S. territory's recent history.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/312eLq3

Sony’s making a silent, wearable air conditioner that will launch next year

Global temperatures have been rising to new all-time highs this year, a fact that no one who's suffered through the heatwave that's blanketed the US in recent weeks probably needs to be reminded of. Which makes a new product Sony is working on particularly enticing: The consumer electronics giant, no joke, launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for what would be an actual wearable air conditioner that slips on the back of a shirt and promises to keep you cool.Sony is calling the device the Reon Pocket, and it's touting the ability for the app-controlled device to lower the temperature on your back from 97F to 73F. The app would be controlled via Bluetooth, and Sony is reportedly pricing this at a very affordable US equivalent to $117.There are, to be sure, a couple of pretty big downsides. One is battery life. The device, which Sony plans to launch first in Japan, would have a battery that lasts less than two hours. Even worse than that -- if you're hoping for relief from the current hot weather, the Reon Pocket won't help you out anytime soon, as it's not coming until 2020.The release date we're hearing right now is March 2020, which will certainly be great if you're planning to, you know, attend the Tokyo 2020 summer Olympics.All that said, this device definitely sounds promising, and we can envision so many people this could benefit. Imagine, for example, having a cooling device on your back that's working to make sure you still look polished on a hot day that helps you avoid sweating like crazy when you're in a suit and headed to a business meeting.As we mentioned above, Sony successfully crowdfunded the product through the company's First Flight program which tries to gin up demand for products to give them a better chance at viability.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Or7RsZ

India's parliament votes to outlaw Muslim instant divorce

India's parliament approved a bill on Tuesday outlawing the centuries-old right of a Muslim man to instantly divorce his wife, drawing accusations of government interference in a community matter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist administration has been pushing to criminalise "triple talaq", under which a man can divorce by uttering the word "talaq", meaning divorce in Arabic, three times in his wife's presence. India is one of the few countries where the practice has survived in law.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2MwL1xg

'India Ashamed': Outrage grows over ruling party lawmaker accused of rape

Protesters stepped up demands on Tuesday for India's ruling party to sack a state lawmaker accused by a young woman of raping her, holding several demonstrations just days after the accuser was critically injured in a highway collision. Opposition groups say Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is protecting Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a legislator from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, whom the woman accused of the rape in 2017. "Why do we give people like Kuldeep Sengar the strength and protection of political power and abandon their victims to battle for their lives alone?" Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a leader of the main opposition Congress party, asked on Twitter.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2YdO1pr

Gang database made up mostly of young black, Latino men

Boston police are tracking nearly 5,000 people — almost all of them young black and Latino men — through a secretive gang database, newly released data from the department shows. Black people comprise about 25% of all Boston residents, Latinos about 20% and white people more than 50%. The racial disparity is "stark and troublesome," said Adriana Lafaille, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, which, along with other civil rights groups, sued the department in state court in November to shed light into who is listed on the database and how the information is used.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2K7Cy0I

Ex-aide pleads guilty in Senate hacking case

Samantha Davis, 24, admitted to two misdemeanor crimes.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2OwXzra

Trump 'rodent' tweets ring true at Kushner-owned apartments

Davon Jones doesn't have to look far to see the irony in President Donald Trump's tweets that Baltimore is a "rat and rodent infested mess." His apartment owned by the president's son-in-law has been invaded by mice since he moved in a year ago. Jared Kushner's family real estate firm owns thousands of apartments and townhomes in the Baltimore area, and some have been criticized for the same kind of disrepair and neglect that the president has accused local leaders of failing to address. James says he sees a massive contradiction in Trump's much-publicized tweets laying the blame for Baltimore's poverty, crime and rodent problems on frequent antagonist Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/313QEXY

Inmates behind Brazil deadly prison riot transferred: official

Forty-six inmates involved in one of Brazil's deadliest prison riots were being transferred to other jails Tuesday, an official said. At least 57 people were killed on Monday when fighting broke out between rival drug gang factions in the Altamira Regional Recovery Centre in the northern state of Para. Sixteen were decapitated in the hours-long battle, but most died in a fire that engulfed part of the overcrowded facility that used converted shipping containers to house some of the inmates.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/32TmYhU

How to Stop Iran’s Maritime Misadventures

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- European nations, alarmed by Iran’s capture of a British oil tanker, are mounting a response to protect their commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf. The Royal Navy has started to escort British ships, and a plan for a European naval mission has been endorsed by Denmark, France and Italy.It’s a promising start. But effectively curbing Iran’s misbehavior and safeguarding ships in the region will require a more ambitious —and truly international — effort. Most important, it needs to involve the U.S. Navy.The Europeans are wary of combining their fleets with a nearby American operation for fear of being identified with President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. France’s foreign minister says a separate effort is needed to reduce tensions and “create the conditions for inclusive regional talks on maritime security.”This is both naïve and shortsighted. A disjointed naval effort increases the likelihood of accidents and miscalculations. It might leave open gaps that could be exploited by the marauding speedboats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And it creates unnecessary quandaries for ship captains: If, say, an American tanker with British nationals aboard were attacked while under U.S. Navy protection, would the HMS Duncan not respond to a call for assistance, for fear its intentions might be misconstrued by the Iranian regime?QuicktakeThe World’s Oil FlashpointFar better to present a united front. By fully joining their resources, the Americans and Europeans would be better able to police sea lanes and respond to provocations. In fact, they should be working together to recruit other countries — India, for instance — into a unified coalition, akin to the multinational task force formed to counter Somali pirates a decade ago. That effort, first headed by the U.S., drastically reduced attacks, helped strengthen local navies and coast guards, and safeguarded commercial traffic and humanitarian missions.Mounting such a response in the Gulf may sound politically difficult. But Europe should remember that the capture of the British ship, the Stena Impero, had essentially nothing to do with the nuclear deal: It was retaliation for the British Navy’s seizure of a vessel carrying Iranian crude to Syria, in contravention of European Union sanctions. Iran should’ve contested the seizure through legal processes. Instead, it’s holding the British ship hostage and demanding as ransom the release of its own tanker — and the freedom to keep sending oil to Syria, in support of the dictator Bashar al-Assad.It’s yet another reminder of how Iran’s misconduct threatens the entire region, and part of a disturbing pattern. In recent weeks, the regime has attacked ships and oil installations, shot down an American drone, restarted its uranium enrichment program, and even test-fired a ballistic missile, all while refusing good-faith efforts at mediation. It’s lashing out in the hopes that it can intimidate the world into doing what it wants.The U.S. and Europe shouldn’t give in to this kind of aggression. They should instead be united in opposing it. The waters of the Persian Gulf would be a good place to start.—Editors: Bobby Ghosh, Timothy Lavin.To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg Opinion’s editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net, .Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2yoUWwG

'Passive aggression. It's a lifestyle': Ocasio-Cortez responds to a GOP congressional critic

Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., accused Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of having "deliberately misled the American people" about the treatment of migrants in detention.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2K7xF9r

The Latest: Relative identifies 3 of 5 killed in Wisconsin

The father of two of five people found dead in two houses in northwestern Wisconsin has identified two sons and a grandson as among the dead. Authorities say a man shot and killed four people and wounded two others wounded at a home in Lake Hallie on Sunday night and a home in the town of Lafayette on Monday. Ritchie German Sr. of North Prairie, Wisconsin, tells the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul that adult sons Ritchie German Jr. and Douglas German were among the dead, along with Douglas' 8-year-old son, Calvin German.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Y9BweB

Tip on Canada murder suspects turns up empty: police

Canadian police on Monday said they have not found two murder suspects in an area of northern Manitoba they had searched for 24 hours after receiving a tip on the teenagers' possible location. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Sunday announced they had sent numerous officers to the indigenous community of York Landing to investigate a possible sighting of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, who are suspects in three murders. The Royal Canadian Air Force also assisted, but "after a thorough & exhaustive search, #rcmpmb has not been able to substantiate the tip in York Landing," Manitoba RCMP said on Twitter.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Yr29XB

Democratic Debate Warning: Former Obama Chief of Staff Says to Avoid 1 Thing

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel warned Democratic presidential contenders Monday not to “win the nomination in a way that forecloses a path to victory in the general election.”Emanuel, former President Barack Obama’s ex-chief of staff, criticized the candidates’ performances in the first round of Democratic debates in Miami in June.“There’s a reason [President Donald] Trump gleefully tweeted ‘That’s the end of that race!'” Emanuel wrote in a Medium post Monday.“Too often, you succumbed to chasing plaudits on Twitter, which closed the door on swing voters in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. If you win the nomination in a way that forecloses a path to victory in the general election, we will lose, and your name will go down in infamy,” he continued.Emanuel’s criticism comes as former Vice President Joe Biden fends off attacks from people even farther to the left accusing him of being weak on civil rights and too tough on crime in the past. But the former mayor warned that the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is being unrealistic in its proposals.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/312o1dD

Police investigate after man says he found baby in freezer

A St. Louis man says a box that had been in his mother's freezer for decades contained the mummified remains of a newborn baby, which he discovered while cleaning out her home after she died. Adam Smith told St. Louis media outlets that he opened the cardboard box Sunday expecting to find something like the top of his mother's first wedding cake or money because she never had a bank account. St. Louis police confirmed that they are investigating a "suspicious death" involving an "unknown infant" found inside the home and that autopsy results were pending.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Khg65l

North Carolina school bus driver suspected of setting up hit on student, police say

Durham police said they believe a school bus driver may have ordered someone to shoot a 17-year-old Northern High School student.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2ZiQewd

New York state decriminalizes pot, stops short of Cuomo's legalization call

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/311x7HF

Whither Evangelical Purity Culture? Thoughts on the Legacy of a Lost Pastor

If you don’t live in Evangelical-world, you probably missed this news. An influential Evangelical author and pastor named Joshua Harris announced on Saturday that he was in the process of “deconstruction.” His statement was clear. “By all the measurements I have for defining a Christian,” he said, “I am not a Christian.” He apologized to the LGBT community for not affirming gay marriage and for the ways that his writing and speaking “contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry.”For Christians, it’s a sad statement, but it’s also full of real integrity. Rather than try to jam Christianity into his evolving worldview, he respects orthodoxy by opting out.Harris burst into prominence as a young Christian with every author’s dream: a giant, influential first-book bestseller. It was called I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and it sold almost a million copies. If anything, however, the sales numbers understated its influence. It was part of the foundation of Evangelical “purity culture,” and it revolutionized parenting and dating for countless Christian parents and families.I remember it well. I was a youth pastor for a few memorable months at the height of the courtship craze. The year was 1998, I was a youth volunteer at a small church in Georgetown, Ky., when our youth pastor left. Until we could find a new youth pastor, I was in charge. I preached the youth service every week, I led the youth Sunday school, and I led the youth prayer groups. I was also a commercial litigator in a big law firm, and suddenly I had two full-time jobs. It was one of the best times of my life.But we also had a problem. The youth ministry had gone all-in on purity culture. The previous youth pastor had even declared “no date ’98,” placing a moratorium on every kid in the youth group: not even a single date for the entire year. When it came to relationships, it would be “courtship” (tersely defined as parental-supervised visits and outings) or nothing.This wasn’t wanton repression or cruelty. Many parents had entered adulthood wounded by past broken relationships. They regretted the mistakes of their youth and desperately wanted their kids to avoid similar heartbreak. Also — and this is crucial for understanding purity culture — they fervently believed in a specific earthly reward for their child’s youthful obedience. Courtship represented the best method of ensuring a healthy, sexually vibrant marriage to a faithful spouse.This is what writer Katelyn Beaty called the “sexual prosperity gospel,” an “if/then” transactional relationship with God that manufactures a series of promises from scripture and then creates a form of Christian entitlement and expectation. “I did what you asked, Lord, now may I see my reward?”Beaty’s critique is well taken, and it’s certainly true that purity culture built a series of (often wildly unrealistic) expectations about the marriage relationship that awaited kids who courted. But I think it did something even darker — in its effect (if not its intent), it reversed the gospel message, teaching Christian kids that they risked being defined by their sins, not by Christ.It worked like this — sexual sin stained young persons, even if Christ forgave them. They would walk into marriage diminished in some crucial ways. The white dress, fundamentally, was a lie. And the message wasn’t confined to sexuality. Did you drink? Did you smoke a joint? Each one of those things altered a person’s self-definition. They were no longer “pure.” They could never be “pure” again.All too many times, I saw the despair. A young person would come to me and say, “I screwed up.” They would really mean, “I’m ruined.” Their storybook dreams were dead. A 17-year-old with (God willing) 70 years of life ahead of him would approach me carrying the awful burden of thinking that he had defined his life forever. He was no longer — and never would be — the person he wanted to be.Sometimes the despair would trigger wild rebellion. If they’re “ruined,” then why should they care about obedience? There are two states of being — virgin or not, teetotaler or not — and if you’re not, then you might as well indulge yourself. Other times the despair would trigger constant, nagging guilt and regret. A girl would walk down the aisle to marry a man who loved God and loved her, and she’d feel a shadow on her soul.In point of fact, the gospel message rests first on bad news, then on indescribably good news. The bad news is simple: You were never “pure.” It’s not as if sex or drink or drugs represent the demarcation line between righteous and unrighteous. They are not and were never the “special” sins that created particularly acute separation from God. Yes, they could have profound earthly consequences, but they did not create unique spiritual separation.The indescribably good news is that from the moment of the confession of faith, believers are not defined by their sin. They’re not defined even by their own meager virtues. They’re defined by Christ. Moreover, they find that “for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” This does not by any stretch mean that past sin wasn’t sin — one of my best friends is an eleven-years-sober addict who did dreadful things during his worst days — but it does mean that their past now gives them a unique ability to reach suffering people. Their terrible stories and past pain have been redeemed, transformed into instruments of grace and mercy.One of my first acts as youth pastor was to lift the ban on dating. Ending legalism is not the same thing as sanctioning sin, and I have no idea if there was more or less extramarital sex as a result of the dating ban or the purity rings. But it was incumbent upon me — in the limited time that I had in leadership — to tell the truth, and the truth was that legalism is its own kind of sin. To create burdens where Christ did not is an act of arrogance. It’s deeply harmful. And, sadly, it’s a way of life in all too many Christian churches.Harris has famously repented of his past legalism, and that makes his departure from the faith particularly poignant. He helped define young people by their sin, and then he left. He separated from his wife, and he rejected Christianity itself. He is like an inadvertent arsonist, who flees the burning house rather than helping fight the fire he helped ignite. I’m sad to see him go. I’m sadder still to see the pain he caused when he was present.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2YkYrUB

North Korean projectiles were ballistic missiles, flew about 250 km: South Korea

The unidentified projectiles launched by North Korea early on Wednesday were ballistic missiles that flew about 250 km (155 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2MlUjMK