Big Time News Blog: 09/17/19

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Oil prices sink as quick Saudi output recovery seen

Oil prices sank more than five percent on Tuesday, reversing some of the previous day's gains as analysts predicted Saudi output would recover sooner than expected after weekend drone attacks. At the same time, global stocks were in a holding pattern while investors awaited the US Federal Reserve's latest decision on monetary policy due on Wednesday. Economists widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates.

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California woman rescued by cops who stopped her abductor over vehicle violations

Northern California cops free a woman who says she was being held captive. The bruised and upset woman told police she had been kidnapped four days prior. They began questioning her after they arrested the driver of the vehicle she was a passenger in.

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'Evil needs to pay': Missing Florida mom Casei Jones and her four children all found dead in Georgia

Casei Jones, 32, and her four children, were found dead in Georgia and a warrant has been issued for Casei Jones' husband, Michael Wayne Jones Jr.

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NYC to Allow 1.1 Million Students to Skip Class for Climate Protests

New York City public schools will allow 1.1 million students to skip classes Friday in order to attend the planned "climate strike" ahead of the United Nations Climate Action Summit.The protests aim to press the Summit for immediate action to stop climate change, and are geared specifically for the participation of young people.Reactions to the decision have been ecstatic in some cases, as protest organizers contemplate what they hope will be the largest climate change protest in the history of the U.S.“This completely changes things, and it’s our doing,” Xiye Bastida, 17, a senior at Beacon High School in Manhattan, told the New York Times. Some teachers at her school were planning to accompany students to the protests even before the school district granted permission to do so.“We’re not against the school system,” she said. “We need the schools to work with us because our larger goal is to stop the fossil fuel industry.”

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Trump says homeless people are living in 'our best highways' and building entrances and people have told him they want to 'leave the country' over it

The Washington Post has previously reported that the Trump administration is looking for ways the federal government can reduce homelessness.

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CORRECTED-WRAPUP 8-Saudi oil attacks came from southwest Iran, U.S. official says, raising tensions

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The United States believes the attacks that crippled Saudi Arabian oil facilities last weekend originated in southwestern Iran, a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday, an assessment that further increases tension in the Middle East. Three officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the attacks involved both cruise missiles and drones, indicating that they involved a higher degree of complexity and sophistication than initially thought.

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Trump’s Challenge: Can His Word on Iran Be Trusted?

By BY DAVID E. SANGER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2V5WHcH

After Tight Israeli Election, Netanyahu’s Tenure Appears Perilous

By BY DAVID M. HALBFINGER AND ISABEL KERSHNER from NYT World https://ift.tt/2V1WCGY

U.S. seeking to make Cuban asylum seekers stay in Honduras: minister

Honduran Foreign Minister Lisandro Rosales said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States could make Cuban migrants passing through the Central American country seek refuge there.

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Netanyahu's main election rival, Gantz, says it appears prime minister lost

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main election challenger, centrist party chief Benny Gantz, said on Wednesday it appeared from exit polls that the Israeli leader was defeated but that only official results would tell.

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Exclusive: Pence rebuffs Solomon Islands PM after nation cuts ties with Taiwan

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has declined to meet Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare after the nation cut ties with Taiwan in favor of China this week, a senior U.S. administration official said on Tuesday.

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Netanyahu election rival Gantz says will work for unity government

The main election rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centrist Benny Gantz, said on Wednesday that he would work toward a national unity government in a speech that lauded his party's performance but stopped short of claiming victory.

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Malta agrees to take 90 migrants rescued by Italian coastguard

Malta on Tuesday agreed to accept 90 migrants rescued by an Italian coastguard vessel in its search and rescue zone, defusing a stand-off with the new Italian government.

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Flashback: The FBI Kavanaugh investigation was a joke. I tried to help and was ignored.

Kavanaugh Yale classmate: While under pressure from Trump and Senate GOP leaders, the FBI rebuffed me and others when we tried to provide information.

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Sheriff indicted for plotting to kill deputy who had tape of his 'racially offensive' remarks

A North Carolina sheriff was indicted for obstruction of justice for allegedly plotting to kill one of his deputies.

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Warren Goes After Trump’s Sister in Anti-Corruption Push

Brian Snyder/ReutersSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is adding some new proposals to her anti-corruption plan, this time with one particularly provocative target: President Trump’s sister. In a Medium post published Monday, the Massachusetts Democrat proposes closing the loophole that “allows federal judges to escape investigations for misconduct by stepping down from their post.” In outlining the idea, Warren specifically references a case involving Trump’s sister Maryanne Trump-Barry, whose retirement brought an abrupt end to an investigation into her role in various tax schemes of the family and potential fraud therein. “Under my plan, investigations will remain open until their findings are made public and any penalties for misconduct are issued,” Warren writes in the post. Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Trump’s Actions ‘Align’ With Authoritarian RegimesIn spotlighting the Trump-Barry case, Warren becomes the first Democratic presidential candidate to take an overt shot at the president’s sister. But Trump-Barry isn’t the only judge that Warren cites as a basis for her ethics policy. The senator also cites allegations of sexual misconduct against the former appeals court judge Alex Kozinski and how a probe into the allegations was scuttled when he resigned. Nor is the proposal dealing with federal judges the lone plank in the new policy. The proposal is one of many in a larger package that includes banning “lobbyists from making political contributions” and “from bundling donations or hosting fundraisers for political candidates." It would also ban senior officials and members of Congress from serving on for-profit boards and prohibit courts from using sealed settlements to conceal evidence in cases involving public health and safety. Collectively, the program is ambitious in its scope. But it would face hurdles to its passage. Warren is attaching it to her current ethics bill which requires congressional approval in order for enactment. The timing of Warren’s proposals is politically intriguing, however, as it comes as reports of new sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Warren, as well as many of her 2020 Democratic opponents, said on Sunday that they believed the new revelations warranted impeachment of Kavanaugh, something that several progressive groups have been pushing as well. In laying out her new ethics pledge, Warren says that the proposed closing of loopholes could apply to situations like Kavanaugh’s, as she noted that a judicial conduct panel dismissed a number of ethics complaints against Kavanaugh in August, citing their lack of authority over Supreme Court justices. “Our federal court system only works if the American people have faith that it is neutrally dispensing fair-minded justice without bias or personal interests interfering in judicial decisions,” Warren writes. “If we want the American people to believe this, we need some serious judicial ethics reforms.”The release of it precedes a speech Warren will deliver in New York City on Monday night near the site of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, continuing a pattern for the 2020 contender of introducing policy tied to the historical struggles of workers. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Did U.S. Missile Defenses Fail During Saudi Oil Attack?

One thing is clear: The attack revealed the limits of Saudi Arabia’s seemingly sophisticated air-defense system. Riyadh in recent years has spent billions of dollars building up six battalions of U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missiles and associated radars. The Patriots didn’t stop the recent attack.

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Triple threat: Tropical Storm Imelda swamps Texas, Humberto nears Bermuda and TD 10 forms in Atlantic

While Hurricane Humberto nears Bermuda, there's flooding in Texas due to Tropical Storm Imelda, and Tropical Depression 10 is spinning up in the Atlantic

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Iran seizes new boat near vital oil shipping lane

Iran has seized a boat suspected of being used to smuggle fuel and arrested its 11 crew members near a vital oil shipping lane, state television reported on Monday. A naval patrol of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intercepted the vessel carrying 250,000 litres of fuel near the Strait of Hormuz, state TV's website said, citing a commander of the force. "This boat was sailing from Bandar Lengeh towards United Arab Emirates waters before it was seized 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Greater Tunb island," Brigadier General Ali Ozmayi was quoted as saying.

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Yemen Houthi drones, missiles defy years of Saudi air strikes

At a weapons exhibition in July in Yemen's Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, military officials whipped silken sheets off what they said were newly-developed drones and missiles. The theatrical gesture revealed the proud slogan "Made in Yemen" spray-painted onto the weapons' bodywork. The moment was a celebration of sorts for Yemen's Houthi fighters.

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