Trump plays down latest North Korea missile tests

President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed recent missile tests by North Korea and flattered the country's leader as a friend with a "great and beautiful vision for his country," as the U.S. tries to lure Kim Jong Un back to nuclear talks. Trump's series of three tweets — which take great pains to excuse the actions of a man he once dismissed as "Little Rocket Man" — shows just how much the president has riding on North Korea. Despite widespread skepticism that Kim will give up his prized nuclear weapons program, Trump regularly touts his personal diplomacy with Kim as a great success.

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‘Suicide Mission’: Democratic Candidates Warned Against Attacking Obama

Former Attorney General Eric Holder and Rev. Al Sharpton warned Democratic presidential candidates against attacking former President Barack Obama, whose record came under fire during Wednesday night’s CNN debate.“To my fellow Democrats. Be wary of attacking the Obama record. Build on it. Expand it. But there is little to be gained – for you or the party – by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President,” Holder warned on Twitter late Wednesday night.“This whole suicide mission of going after Barack Obama smells like desperation, and I think it certainly shows that some of them are just not ready for where they are, and that is where you can take incoming fire and also shoot fire out,” Sharpton said in a Thursday morning appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”“You and I, Joe, have built our careers taking shots at people, but we also know how to take a shot without throwing our mama in front of the bus,” Sharpton told host Joe Scarborough.Democratic candidates took shots at Obama’s record Wednesday while clashing with former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front runner.Julian Castro, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Obama, claimed Biden hadn’t learned from “the lessons of the past,” because Biden opposes decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.

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‘Moscow Mitch’ Puts McConnell on Defense Over Election Security

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s rare display of defensiveness and anger this week after refusing to consider election-security legislation illustrates the increasing pressure on him to address an issue that President Donald Trump has largely dismissed.The Kentucky Republican accused critics of “modern-day McCarthyism” after they tagged him online as MoscowMitch and charged him with leaving the U.S. vulnerable to new meddling by Russia in the 2020 election. With the Senate about to leave Washington for a five-week August break, there’s no resolution in sight.“We’re open to any suggestions people may have about how to improve the system,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday, days after his Senate GOP blocked Democratic efforts to bring up several proposals.Pressure ramped up on McConnell dramatically over the past week after FBI Director Christopher Wray and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller warned Congress that Russia is actively meddling and plans to interfere in the 2020 elections. More needs to be done to deter the Russians, the two men said.A Senate Intelligence Committee report warning of Russian attacks on state election systems added to the fire. So did Trump’s decision to replace widely respected Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats with Texas Representative John Ratcliffe, a conservative Republican who agreed with Trump’s use of the term “witch hunt” to describe Mueller’s Russia probe.Trump said Tuesday that the intelligence agencies have “run amok” and that Ratcliffe will “rein it in.”‘Legislative Graveyard’The president has frequently dismissed any suggestion that Russia’s actions had anything to do with his electoral victory. The New York Times reported in April that his Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had told then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen not to bring up Russian election-meddling in front of the president.The president said this week on Twitter, though, that the voting system should have “Paper Ballots as backup (old fashioned but true!).”After Senate Democrats unsuccessfully tried to bring up several election-security bills last week, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of turning the chamber into a “legislative graveyard.”“Here’s an easy way for Leader McConnell to silence the critics who accuse him of blocking election security: stop blocking it,” Schumer said.MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough described McConnell as “Moscow Mitch,” kicking off the social media trend. And Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank called him a “Russian asset.”McConnell has proudly called himself the “grim reaper” for Democratic proposals he views as socialist, and his campaign is selling T-shirts bearing the phrase.But McConnell made an angry floor speech Monday defending his record of being tough on Russia. He blasted Scarborough and others for “modern day McCarthyism” and said he’s open to any ideas to upgrade security. But he hasn’t identified anything he supports beyond the $380 million Congress appropriated last year.‘One-Size-Fits-All’Senate Rules Chairman Roy Blunt said Republican opposition to Democratic proposals, including those passed by the House last month, is based in part on concern that further nationalizing the local election systems would create centralized vulnerabilities that can be more easily exploited by foreign actors.“That system would not be improved if it were directed by Washington, D.C., in a one-size-fits-all solution,” Blunt said on the Senate floor Wednesday.McConnell’s resistance to election bills isn’t new — he’s long opposed federal control over elections and has led opposition to campaign-finance regulations for decades.But while McConnell touted his opposition to election-related legislation as efforts to block Democrats from seeking partisan advantage from a crisis, the majority leader also has effectively stuffed a number of bipartisan bills into a legislative drawer.In a May hearing, Blunt pointed to McConnell as the reason why election security legislation wasn’t debated on the chamber’s floor last year and wouldn’t be this year either.Disclosure of AdsStalled bipartisan proposals include the Secure Elections Act written by Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma with Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota in the previous Congress, as well as Klobuchar’s Honest Ads Act requiring disclosure of election ads on the Internet, which is co-sponsored by GOP Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham.“We were blocked at the Rules Committee,” Klobuchar said on the Senate floor Thursday. “This is not about one election or one party. This is about our democracy and our national security.”Lankford has said the window for upgrading election systems before 2020 has closed. Even if new standards and funding are passed to aid states with upgrades for things like paper ballot backups, he said, there’s not enough time to put them into effect. Lankford said this week he’s still working on a new version of his bill.Other bipartisan measures aimed at punishing Russia have stalled as well.GOP Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland this week renewed their push for a bill to impose stiff sanctions on Russia or other countries that meddle in future elections. They want to add it to a major defense policy bill in a conference committee, and Rubio said he hasn’t been able to get a hearing in the Banking Committee.McConnell told reporters more than a year ago that the Senate might vote on the bill, but never brought it to the floor.Ratcliffe’s ConfirmationAnother Russia sanctions bill from New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and Graham will be considered in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Menendez is the ranking Democrat. The panel’s GOP chairman, Jim Risch, on Wednesday agreed to revisit the long-stalled bill when the Senate returns in September.Senator Susan Collins of Maine became the first Republican to sponsor Intelligence Democrat Mark Warner’s proposal to require campaigns to notify authorities of contacts from foreign agents. This measure took on greater significance after Trump told ABC in an interview that he might accept campaign help from foreign actors. He later walked back those comments.Collins will play a key role in considering confirmation of Ratcliffe because she’s on the Intelligence Committee, where Republicans have only a one-seat majority. Democratic leader Schumer has already said he’ll fight Ratcliffe as an unqualified Trump loyalist.While McConnell praised Coats and singled out his role in helping coordinate the response to Russia’s election-meddling efforts, the majority leader has had little to say about Ratcliffe. He told reporters he hasn’t met the nominee and will wait to discuss his qualifications.(Updates with Klobuchar quotes in 20th paragraph)\--With assistance from Daniel Flatley.To contact the reporter on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Truck driver was on drugs, reaching for drink at time of deadly New Hampshire crash, report says

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, a 23-year-old truck driver employed by Westfield Transport Inc., has been charged with seven counts of negligent homicide.

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US fighter jet crashes in Death Valley, 7 park visitors hurt

A U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Death Valley National Park, injuring seven people who were at a scenic overlook where aviation enthusiasts watch military pilots speeding low through a chasm dubbed Star Wars Canyon, officials said. The crash sent dark smoke billowing in the air, said Aaron Cassell, who was working at his family's Panamint Springs Resort about 10 miles (16 kilometers) away and was the first to report the crash to park dispatch. "I just saw a black mushroom cloud go up," Cassell told The Associated Press.

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Indonesia lifts tsunami warning after powerful quake off Java

Indonesian authorities lifted a tsunami warning late Friday after a powerful earthquake earlier struck off the southern coast of heavily populated Java island. The USGS initially put the quake's magnitude at 6.8 and at a shallower depth before raising its intensity. Indonesia's disaster agency pegged the quake at magnitude 7.4 and warned it could spark a tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet).

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Texas police rescue 9-year-old boy from human trafficker trying to sell him

Texas police officers rescued a 9-year-old boy who they say was kidnapped by asuspect allegedly looking to sell the child into human trafficking

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RFK granddaughter dies; police awaiting toxicology reports

Authorities said Friday they are looking to toxicology reports for clues to the death of Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. The Kennedy family confirmed the death in a statement after police responded to a call Thursday afternoon about a possible drug overdose at the storied Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The statement was issued by Brian Wright O'Connor, a spokesman for Saoirse Hill's uncle, former congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II.

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Princess Haya custody case tests Britain's loyalties to allies Jordan and UAE

Hugging her brother who clasps a protective arm tightly around her shoulder, Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein appears eager to ensure the flag of her native Jordan on her jumper is prominent in her latest photograph. The Jordanian princess is locked in an acrimonious legal battle in the British courts with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the multi-millionaire ruler of Dubai, over the welfare of their two children. The picture, probably taken at her £85 million home in Kensington, shows her and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein staring intently at the camera.  The caption, posted yesterday alongside the photograph on the prince’s Twitter account, reads: “Today with my sister and apple of my eye.” اليوم مع أختي و قرة عيني هيا بنت الحسين pic.twitter.com/kWRXx1J1M3— Ali Al Hussein (@AliBinAlHussein) July 31, 2019 Some commentators in the Middle East believe the message she wants to relay is clear - she has returned to the bosom of her Jordanian family.  The 45-year-old mother fled with her children from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where she lived with the sheikh, the country’s vice-president and prime minister, apparently “in fear for her life” in April. The estranged and sixth wife of Sheikh Matktoum, 70, has asked a judge in the High Court to make an arranged marriage protection order for one of her children, as well as a non-molestation order. The sheikh, who founded the Godolphin stables and is a friend of the Queen, has applied to the courts for the “summary return” of the youngsters to the UAE. Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein ( wearing white), arrives at the High Court in London this week with lawyer Baroness Shackleton Credit: i-Images This latest picture has fueled speculation in the Middle East that the break-up could trigger a diplomatic crisis between the UAE and Jordan.  Meanwhile, the fact courts from a third country - Britain - are ruling on what’s best for children belonging to the royal families of two different foreign countries is unprecedented.  Some experts say it puts Britain in an awkward position because it tests loyalties to two of its most important Middle East allies. “British courts are absolutely independent and impartial, and will consider this case with the same objectivity as they would in any other,” Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said. “Having said that, I do believe such a sensitive case, with implications that could impact the UK’s foreign relations in the region, and the reputations of two royal families, would be better handled privately.” While Jordan has made no official mention of the hearing, the case has been widely discussed by nationals of both countries on social media. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati political scientist, wrote this week on Twitter: “A sensible and respectable princess of strong lineage does not flee, kidnap, disappear or show ingratitude, and certainly does not trouble the spirit of someone who cherished, loved and provided for her and treated her with dignity.”  The message came after the sheikh himself posted a cryptic poem about deceit on online and another about the UAE’s “shining sword” that would protect it from foes. Qusai Zreiqat, a Jordanian, posted: “She is a daughter of a king, a granddaughter of a king and a sister of a king before there was a country called the Emirates.”

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Woman caught throwing puppy in bin

A woman caught on CCTV throwing a puppy into a waste skip is being hunted by animal cruelty investigators.The woman is seen holding the dog by the scruff of the neck before she launches it into the bin and walks off.Officers were called to the scene, at an apartment complex in Oklahoma City, after the manager of the property saw the incident while reviewing security footage.Manager CR Head said: “It’s very disturbing, you know. They left it [the dog] there for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, crawled back in the dumpster, threw the dog back on the ground.“That people would be here doing that, not only to an animal, what if they treat another human being like that? It’s not a good combination.”He added: “I don`t want anything like that going on here. We want a safe environment.”He suggested the woman involved was related to a someone who lived at the complex.Ion Gary, animal welfare superintendent with Oklahoma Animal Welfare, said it was clear case of animal cruelty.“This is something our officers will be investigating,” he told local news network WCSC-TV. “There is potential for even felony level cruelty.”Police said they would not make an official report as the woman had removed the dog by the time they were called.

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Top Navy SEAL commander writes scathing letter saying the force has a problem in the wake of SEAL scandals

Rear Adm. Collin Green wrote a scathing letter to his forces, saying special operators need to shape up in the wake of SEAL scandals.

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Sudanese factions agree constitutional declaration for transitional government

Sudan's military council and its main opposition coalition have agreed a constitutional declaration to usher in a new period of transitional government, African Union mediator for Sudan Mohamed Hassan Lebatt told a news conference in the early hours of Saturday morning.

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Sudanese factions agree a constitutional declaration to wave in transitional government: African Union mediator

Sudan's military council and its main opposition coalition have agreed a constitutional declaration to usher in a new period of transitional government, African Union mediator for Sudan Mohamed Hassan Lebatt told a news conference in the early hours of Saturday morning.

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Sudan's RSF to report to Armed Forces' General commander: Constitutional Declaration Draft

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF), its most powerful paramilitary group, will report to the General Commander of the armed forces during an incoming period of transitional rule, a draft of a constitutional declaration agreed by Sudanese factions and seen by Reuters on Saturday showed.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, spokesman leave her office

Saikat Chakrabarti to work for climate change non-profit

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Gaetz: I'm confident Barr with get to the bottom of leaked FBI memos

Rep. Matt Gaetz reacts to DOJ's decision to not prosecute Comey for leaking FBI memos.

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio asked why officer involved in Eric Garner's death wasn't fired

Federal prosecutors announced earlier this month that they would not file charges against Daniel Pantaleo, who was involved Eric Garner's death.

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‘Suicide Mission’: Democratic Candidates Warned Against Attacking Obama

Former Attorney General Eric Holder and Rev. Al Sharpton warned Democratic presidential candidates against attacking former President Barack Obama, whose record came under fire during Wednesday night’s CNN debate.“To my fellow Democrats. Be wary of attacking the Obama record. Build on it. Expand it. But there is little to be gained – for you or the party – by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President,” Holder warned on Twitter late Wednesday night.“This whole suicide mission of going after Barack Obama smells like desperation, and I think it certainly shows that some of them are just not ready for where they are, and that is where you can take incoming fire and also shoot fire out,” Sharpton said in a Thursday morning appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”“You and I, Joe, have built our careers taking shots at people, but we also know how to take a shot without throwing our mama in front of the bus,” Sharpton told host Joe Scarborough.Democratic candidates took shots at Obama’s record Wednesday while clashing with former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front runner.Julian Castro, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under Obama, claimed Biden hadn’t learned from “the lessons of the past,” because Biden opposes decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.

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Poland remembers failed 1944 revolt against Germans

Maria Mostowska was a young pediatric nurse when the Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi Germans occupying Poland broke out on Aug. 1, 1944. Seventy-five years on, she still vividly remembers how German troops put her against a wall and aimed a machine gun. Some 50,000 fighters of Poland's clandestine Home Army — most of them poorly armed — fought the Germans for 63 days before surrendering, in the biggest single act of resistance in occupied Europe during World War II. Some 18,000 insurgents were killed and another 25,000 were injured.

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Trump and rally crowd turn to applaud group of black supporters with 'not racist' T-shirts

Donald Trump and his mainly white crowd turned around to applaud a group of black supporters at a rally.The crowd clapped and cheered around a dozen people of colour wearing and waving T-shirts with the slogan: “TRUMP & Republicans Are Not RACIST.”The president had been talking about the beneficiaries of criminal justice reform when he turned to the small group, pointed at them and mouthed “thank you”.A separate clip posted by ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott showed the same small group getting applause from the hall for waving their T-shirts while music played at the rally.It comes only two weeks after the “send her back” chants at his North Carolina rally, which followed Mr Trump’s now notorious “go back” tweets about four congresswomen of colour.“Some of the most popular people at Trump rallies are the small collection of non-white folks,” The New York Times reporter Astead Herndon tweeted.“In Greenville last week one black guy was holding a small selfie line for literally no other reason than he was a black Trump supporter.”> WATCH: Black Trump supporters holding shirts reading “Trump and Republicans are not RACIST” receive applause from the crowd. > > This comes two weeks after those “send her back” chants broke out at the president’s rally in North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/V0ghFwYCYE> > — Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) > > August 2, 2019The president’s speech was interrupted twice by activists demonstrating against his anti-immigration policies, with one pause lasting around four minutes as several protesters were escorted out of the building.The rally was the first for Trump since the “send her back” chant in North Carolina, denounced by Democrats and criticised by several Republicans.Although he referred to “four left-wing extremists” whom he claimed were leading the Democrats, it did not lead to further chants by the crowd in Cincinnati.His supporters did shout “lock her up” after the president brought up Hillary Clinton.

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Washington Residents Share Tales of What They Believe Was a Terrifying Encounter with Bigfoot

Stories of Bigfoot have been spread across the Pacific Northwest for hundreds of years, and two Washington residents are sharing their possible encounters with Sasquatch.

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US to pull out thousands of troops under Taliban deal

America could withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan in the coming months as part of an initial peace agreement with the Taliban. American and militant envoys meeting in Qatar's capital said they were optimistic of soon clinching a deal to end America's 18-year-old conflict. An initial deal would see US troop numbers fall to as low as 8,000 from their current level of 14,000, the Washington Post reported. In return the Taliban would have to give guarantees Afghan soil would not become a launchpad for transnational terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. They would also begin negotiating with the Afghan government to find a wider political settlement to the world's deadliest conflict. "I would say that they are 80 or 90 percent of the way there," one official told the paper. "But there is still a long way to go on that last 10 or 20 percent." Sources familiar with the talks said argument among the Taliban may still scupper a deal. The militants have until now demanded a full US withdrawal before they talk to Ashraf Ghani's government and it is unclear if hardliners will accept a partial withdrawal to start. Details of how and agreement might be monitored or verified were also still being hammered out. The conflict is now the deadliest in the world Credit: Reuters “Dissension in the Taliban ranks may yet throw spanners in the works. But overall it's positive,” said one official. It was not immediately clear if there was progress on the other element of talks, the Taliban's agreement to a ceasefire. Zalmay Khalilzad, Donald Trump's peace envoy, has said until now that a deal cannot be finalised until all the elements, including a truce, are agreed. Casualties have continued to mount steeply as sides in the conflict have continued to fight while negotiating. Mr Khalilzad is under intense pressure to find Mr Trump a way out of the war, which the US president has dismissed as a costly failure. The talks are also overshadowing campaigning for September's the Afghan presidential elections, with candidates unsure whether an election will even be held in the event of a deal.

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