Deputy national intelligence director leaving post

Sue Gordon, the current deputy director of national intelligence, has announced she is leaving her post on the same day that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats' resignation takes effect, leaving the top two spots at the agency vacant. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, has been in upheaval since Coats, who had bumped elbows with Trump, announced that he would resign effective Aug. 15. Trump said he would name an acting director soon.

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Joe Biden atop Democratic rivals in new Iowa poll, but Elizabeth Warren is catching up

As Warren starts to make headway with voters in Iowa, support for fellow progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke erodes.

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NRSC Suspends Twitter Advertising after McConnell’s Account Is Locked

The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP's campaign arm, terminated its spending on Twitter advertisements Thursday, expressing outrage that Senator Mitch McConnell's Twitter account was locked after his team shared a video of protesters making threats against him outside his house.The NRSC called the mammoth social-media platform's move "outrageous" and said ad spending would be cut off indefinitely.“Twitter’s hostile actions toward Leader McConnell’s campaign are outrageous, and we will not tolerate it,” NRSC spokesman Jesse Hunt said. “The NRSC will suspend all spending with Twitter until further notice. We will not spend our resources on a platform that silences conservatives.”The Kentucky Republican's account was locked on Wednesday for posting footage of protesters shouting obscenities and making violent threats outside of his home, which the company said violates its “violent threats policy.”A woman identified as Black Lives Matter Louisville leader Chanelle Helm can be heard saying in the video that McConnell “should have broken his little, raggedy, wrinkled-a*s neck,” in the recent fall that resulted in a broken shoulder from which he is currently recovering. Another woman can be heard talking about stabbing McConnell in the heart.“This is a problem with the speech police in America today,” McConnell’s campaign manager, Kevin Golden, said in a statement. "Twitter will allow the words of 'Massacre Mitch' to trend nationally on their platform but locks our account for posting actual threats against us. We appealed and Twitter stood by their decision, saying our account will remain locked until we delete the video."“Silicon Valley is trying to silence conservatives,” read a fundraising email from the Committee, adding that supporters should “push back.”Other Republican lawmakers expressed their support for the Senate leader, with some pledging to join the NRSC in ceasing to spend money on Twitter ads until his account is restored."Agree with the NRSC. Team Marsha won't spend resources on Twitter until the Team Mitch account is back. StopTheBias," read a tweet from Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn's account.

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Hannity to de Blasio: 'You drive me crazy!'

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio sparred, clashed and laughed with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday when the Democratic presidential hopeful faced the conservative TV titan who has disparaged him for years. Hannity summed up the encounter by telling the mayor: "I'm never going to agree with you. De Blasio is among a wide field of Democrats seeking the nomination to take on Republican President Donald Trump in next year's election.

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Muslim pilgrims descend on Mecca for haj, Saudis warn against politics

Hundreds of thousands of white-clad pilgrims, many gripping umbrellas to ward off Saudi Arabia's blistering summer sun, descended on Mecca this week ahead of the annual haj. Saudi officials asked Muslims to focus on rituals of worship, warning against politicizing the rite as wars rage on in the region and at a time of heightened tensions between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Muslim adversary Iran. "Haj...is not a place for political conflicts or to raise sectarian slogans that divide Muslims," Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, told reporters.



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Pakistan halts train service to India, bans films over Kashmir change

ISLAMABAD/SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Pakistan halted its main train service to India on Thursday and banned Indian films as it exerted diplomatic pressure on New Delhi for revoking the special status of Kashmir, the region at the heart of 70 years of hostility between them. Seeking to tighten its grip over the contested region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government this week withdrew Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir's right to frame its own laws and allowed people from outside the state to buy property there. Kashmir remained under a communications blackout on Thursday with mobile networks and internet services suspended and at least 300 politicians and separatists in detention to prevent protests, according to police, media and political leaders.

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Body Believed to Be British Astrophysicist Found in Greece Weeks After Murder of American Biologist

The disappearance comes just a few weeks after an American female scientist was killed on the Greek island of Crete.

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Modi's high-stakes gamble with Kashmir

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strongarm move to tighten control on Muslim-majority Kashmir is a gamble that could trigger conflict with Pakistan and re-ignite an insurgency that has already cost tens of thousands of lives, experts warn. Revoking Kashmir's special status, stripping away constitutionally guaranteed privileges to land and jobs, is widely seen as Modi's most spectacular effort yet to push his Hindu nationalist agenda after a landslide election victory in May. While many Hindus celebrated, the Kashmir valley -- focus of a 30-year-old Muslim insurgency against Indian rule -- was smothered under one of the heaviest security clampdowns it has seen.

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Weakened but unbowed, NRA head digs in against gun control

In the aftermath of the back-to-back massacres in Texas and Ohio, the debate over gun control has returned to the National Rifle Association and its immense power to stymie any significant legislation on the issue. The man largely responsible for the NRA's uncompromising stance is its decades-long CEO, Wayne LaPierre, who has been engulfed in turmoil and legal issues as he orchestrates the group's latest effort to push back against gun-control measures. Law enforcement authorities are investigating the NRA's finances, and the gun group has ousted top officials and traded lawsuits with the longtime marketing firm credited with helping to shape LaPierre's and the NRA's image.

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Ohio officials team up for bipartisan gun reform push

Ohio's Republican governor and Dayton's Democratic mayor pledged Thursday they will work together in a bipartisan push for gun reforms as the city focuses on recovering from the nation's latest mass shooting. Mike DeWine and Nan Whaley announced their legislative plan while visiting the downtown entertainment district where a gunman killed nine people and injured dozens more early Sunday. Whaley says she's pleased with how the Dayton community is coming together in a nonpartisan way in wake of the tragedy.

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US border crossings plunge but immigration raids draw fire

The Trump administration hailed a large drop in migrant border crossings Thursday but found itself under attack over a massive sweep of long-resident undocumented immigrants working in several Mississippi slaughterhouses. Detentions on the southern US border plunged for the second straight month in July after a deal with Mexico to block Central American migrants, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday. US Border Patrol agents detained or blocked 82,049 migrants at the frontier with Mexico last month, down from 104,367 in June and a 13-year peak of 144,266 in May.

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India Has Taken Kashmir, But Winning the Hearts and Minds of Kashmiris Will be Harder

'This is an attack on Indian democracy': On Aug. 5, the Indian government blocked all communication in Kashmir in a bid for greater control.

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Police: Man with rifle, bulletproof vest arrested at Springfield, Missouri, Walmart store

Springfield, Missouri, police said the man had body armor and entered the Walmart store carrying a “tactical rifle” and another gun.

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Indian PM: Changes in Kashmir will free it from 'terrorism'

Modi's Hindu-led nationalist government imposed an unprecedented security lockdown and a near-total communications blackout in the Muslim-majority region since Sunday night, arresting more than 500 people. Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and its archrival Pakistan, although each controls only a part of it and rebels have been fighting Indian rule in the portion it administers for decades.

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Woman convicted of murdering alleged sex trafficker freed from prison

Cyntoia Brown, who received a life sentence at 14-years-old for killing a real estate broker, has been released from prison after 15 years.

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Atlantic hurricane forecast revised higher -U.S. agency

U.S. weather forecasters expect "above normal" activity in the current Atlantic hurricane season, revising an earlier forecast of "near normal" activity, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday. The earlier forecast in May reflected the presence of El Nino, the climate phenomenon that warms the Pacific Ocean and tends to prevent storms from developing in the Atlantic. Since then, El Nino has abated, making for conditions that increase the likelihood of hurricanes forming, forecasters at the NOOA’s Climate Prediction Center said in a statement issued as the hurricane season enters its peak months.



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Chernobyl's 'sarcophagus,' which helped contain the spread of radiation, is being dismantled because it's teetering on collapse

The Ukrainian company that manages the Chernobyl plant will tear down its protective "sarcophagus," which is surrounded by a 32,000-ton shell.

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Modi Promises New Era in Kashmir After Scrapping Autonomy

(Bloomberg) -- India’s government rid Kashmir of dynastic politics and entrenched corruption by revoking its seven decades of autonomy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the nation late Thursday.Modi’s address came after rival Pakistan cut diplomatic and trade ties and sought to garner international support for its opposition to what New Delhi has called “entirely the internal affairs” of India.The federal government will look at ways to reduce the state deficit in Kashmir, Modi said, seeking to reassure Kashmiris that governance will continue as normal without undue influence from the capital, New Delhi. Several leaders, including former state chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti who belong to prominent political families, have been arrested in the recent days.Under Article 370 of India’s constitution, the state of Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed complete autonomy and the state legislature was free to draft its own laws except in the areas of communications, defense, finance, and foreign affairs, while Indian citizens, living outside the state, were prohibited from purchasing land.“A new era has been started in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh,” Modi said. “Article 370 did not give the people anything apart from separatism and terrorism and kept them from progress -- it was being used as a weapon by Pakistan.”Modi made not more than a couple of references to Pakistan in his 40-minute speech which aimed to explain the decision to scrap Article 370. Instead, he kept the focus firmly on jobs and governance in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.“For decades, the political dynasties have kept my Kashmiri youth from the opportunity to govern,” Modi said. “I appeal to young men and women to come forward and lead their own areas.”The government would immediately begin hiring for posts in police, the armed forces and federal government-run businesses, Modi said. Promises of job benefits like rent and travel allowances -- not as yet available to local government employees -- and extending scholarships to students and sportspeople also took up a large part of his speech.He emphasized that Kashmir would revert to full-statehood under India’s federal structure, although Ladakh would continue to be administered by the federal government. Modi also indicated that restrictions on movement and communication in Kashmir would be lifted soon.His Kashmir move fulfilled a campaign promise made to his Hindu base, which opposed special treatment for the region. The state has been the main flashpoint between the two nuclear powers, which have fought three wars since the British left the subcontinent in 1947.Yet the manner in which the decision was implemented -- imposing restrictions on movement, cutting telephone and Internet connectivity, evacuating tourists and Hindu pilgrims and arresting local political leaders -- has raised concerns.Pakistan TiesThe Indian decision triggered Pakistan into downgrading diplomatic relations and suspend bilateral trade with India.As Modi was delivering his address, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted criticisms of India’s treatment of citizens living in Kashmir. “The whole world is waiting to see what happens to oppressed Kashmiris in IOK when curfew is lifted,” Khan said. “What should be obvious is the international community will be witnessing the genocide of the Kashmiris.”His government announced a series of measures on Wednesday to oppose what it called “unilateral and illegal actions” by India. He also said Pakistan will take the matter to the United Nations Security Council and ensure the army remains vigilant. It also canceled a two-decade-old bi-weekly train service between the two countries.New Delhi urged Pakistan to review its actions so “that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved,” foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.‘Undermines Sovereignty’China has also criticized India’s actions.A strongly-worded statement released by Beijing was most critical of the impact of India’s actions on the mainly Buddhist region of Ladakh -- an area of strategic importance nestled between Tibet and Pakistan.“The recent unilateral revision of domestic laws by the Indian side continues to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty, which is unacceptable and will not have any effect,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswomen Hua Chunying said in the statement Tuesday.To contact the reporters on this story: Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net;Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Unni KrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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I Was in Kashmir When India Seized Control. This Is What I Saw

India revoked Kashmir's special status on Monday, blacking out Internet and phone access. One Kashmiri tells TIME what she saw on the ground

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McConnell Greeted at Home by Protests, Pressure Over Gun Laws

(Bloomberg) -- Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is starting his summer break under siege. Democrats are intensifying pressure on him to take up gun legislation, expletive-hurling protesters have shown up at his front door and his campaign generated social media outrage over a tweet.It’s been a rough stretch for the Kentucky Republican, and the aftermath of two mass shootings in 24 hours last weekend guarantees he’ll remain under the spotlight. McConnell, who is up for re-election in 2020, must decide whether to step away from his rigid defense of gun-owner rights as he works with an unreliable partner in President Donald Trump, who is sending mixed signals about where he stands on the issue.The self-described “grim reaper” of liberal policy plans has stayed firmly in control in the GOP-led Senate by successfully shepherding a host of conservative judges through confirmation, staving off Democratic legislative initiatives and staying out of the line of fire from Trump. The gun issue, one of the most volatile in U.S. politics, will test his ability to maneuver between the Democrats and the president.McConnell said Thursday that he and Trump spoke earlier in the day about the issue, and both agreed a bipartisan deal is needed and that “two items that for sure will be front and center” are background checks for gun buyers and encouraging state “red flag” laws intended to take firearms away from dangerous or mentally ill people.“The urgency of this is not lost by any of us because we have seen entirely too many of these outrageous acts by deranged people,” he said in an interview on Louisville radio station WHAS. He added, though, that he won’t bring the Senate back early from an August recess to act.The renewed emphasis on gun control comes as McConnell also is fending off Democratic attacks over his unwillingness to allow votes on legislation aimed at securing U.S. elections before 2020, in response to findings that Russia acted to swing the 2016 vote in Trump’s favor. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough tagged McConnell as “Moscow Mitch,” kicking off the social media trend that’s been picked up by chanting protesters.McConnell on DefensiveDays before lawmakers left Washington for a month-long recess, McConnell took to the Senate floor to angrily defend his record on Russia and to take on his detractors in an unusually impassioned extended address. He accused his critics of engaging in “modern-day McCarthyism.”National scorn and Democratic attacks have followed him back home to Kentucky, where he is campaigning for a seventh term. At a political picnic in Fancy Farm, Kentucky, on Saturday, protesters chanted “Moscow Mitch” as he spoke. Other protesters appeared outside his home in Louisville this week, shouting expletives while he was inside recovering from a shoulder injury on Sunday.His campaign also was derided by critics over a photo posted on McConnell’s Senate re-election twitter account shortly after the Saturday shootings at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that left 22 people dead. The photo showed cardboard replicas of tombstones that depicted the Democrats’ “Green New Deal” on climate change, his Democratic opponent in 2020, Amy McGrath, and socialism.McConnell’s remarks on Thursday provided the first hints of what he might consider. He told the Louisville radio station that restoring a lapsed ban on assault-style weapons probably would be discussed but that he questions how effective that would be. On background checks, he pointed to an earlier proposal by GOP Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia as a possible model. Their measure, blocked in the Senate in 2013 in part because McConnell’s opposed it, would eliminate loopholes for making background checks part of firearms transactions.“McConnell is a cool customer and he’ll let the Senate work its will without taking up Democratic House-passed legislation,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist who was a top aide to past GOP leaders of both the House and Senate.Trump has been inconsistent about where he is on the matter, hinting at a tough challenge this fall for McConnell when senators return to work.Trump on Monday gave support to a proposal intended to take firearms away from the mentally ill as he called for bipartisan action following the shootings in Ohio and Texas that killed 31 people and wounded dozens of others. He has proposed nothing that would curtail the availability of firearms.While the president has threatened to veto House-passed legislation on background checks, on Wednesday he told reporters on the White House lawn that he is in favor of some form of bolstered vetting for gun buyers.Background Checks“I’m looking to do background checks,” Trump said. “I think background checks are important.”Trump has a track record of backing away from proposed new gun laws. Two weeks after last year’s massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school, Trump convened an extraordinary meeting of top Democrats and Republicans. He indicated he would push through universal background checks and other measures that Democrats long have supported. He ended up backing away from universal checks in the face of opposition from the National Rifle Association.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer this week repeated his call for McConnell to bring the Senate back for an emergency session and take up legislation approved in February by the Democrat-led House that would require background checks on all gun purchases -- including at gun shows and online.“We’re saying to Leader McConnell, do the right thing,” Schumer said at a news conference where he was joined by GOP Representative Peter King of New York, who co-sponsored the measure. Modest ChangesLast year a number of modest policy changes were enacted after the mass shootings in Florida and Las Vegas. The administration took action to ban so-called bump stocks that allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic fully automatic weapons. Congress also voted to improve background checks for gun purchases, spend more on school safety, and let the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study gun violence -- ending what was in effect a 22-year ban that was supported by the NRA.But they were small steps compared with the 1994 assault-weapons ban that lapsed in 2004.The twin attacks in recent days seemed to renew momentum for action to address gun violence. Trump ally and Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said Monday that he and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a gun-control advocate, will draft legislation to help states adopt so-called red flag laws intended to take firearms away from dangerous or mentally ill people.A number of leading Republicans also called for action. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Tuesday issued proposals including a “red flag” law, background checks for most firearm purchases, and tougher penalties for felons with guns and straw purchases.In the Senate, some senior Republicans called for action on “red flag” legislation, including several members of McConnell’s leadership team. That includes Senator John Thune of South Dakota and Senator Todd Young of Indiana.‘Multiple Problems’“Clearly we have multiple problems in this country – problems of hate, social alienation, and the devaluing of human life – and we’re going to have to work together as a nation to address these challenges,” Young said in a statement.But there were few calls for enhanced background checks, with the exception of two GOP senators: Toomey and Susan Collins of Maine.Democrats are keeping the pressure on. Representative Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat who’s among the crowded field of candidates seeking the party’s 2020 presidential nomination, said Thursday he’d start a caravan from Niles, Ohio, to McConnell’s home in Kentucky to demand action on gun-safety bills. “People say ‘Why is it different now?’ I just think this has all accumulated,” Ryan said during an interview Thursday with CNN. “You go back: it’s Parkland; it’s Sandy Hook; it’s Columbine. It’s all of these things over the past 20 years.”As McConnell navigates the matter, there is some prospect that the pressure to act will be reduced in the weeks before Congress returns to work, said Republican strategist Whit Ayres. Passage of a few weeks means advocates could “lose the momentum of the moment,” he said.“I am hesitant to make any predictions in the aftermath of the latest tragedy, given the fact that past tragedies have raised the possibility of changes in our laws that have never come to fruition,” Ayres said. Demand for legislation is clearly growing, but he said it will take “an alignment of the planets to get something significant changed given the controversy over any sort of laws affecting guns.”(Adds McConnell comments in 4th, 5th and 10th paragraphs.)To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie AsséoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Popeyes is launching a new fried chicken sandwich nationwide Aug. 12

Fried chicken fans will soon be able to get Popeyes chicken on a brioche bun for $3.99 nationwide.

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The bodies of 2 Canadian murder suspects have been found after a 20-day manhunt across 5 provinces, police say

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched a nationwide manhunt for Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, on July 19.

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