Big Time News Blog: 12/04/19

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

What Kamala Harris’s Campaign Teaches Us

By BY CHARLES M. BLOW from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/34UcI9G

Look at This Very Good, Very Old Boy

Researchers found the 18,000-year-old puppy in permafrost with fur, whiskers, and teeth intact.

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UPDATE 1-Indications Iranian 'aggression' could occur - Pentagon official

A senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday that there were indications that Iran could potentially carry out aggressive actions in the future, amid simmering tensions between Iran and the United States. Tensions in the Gulf have risen since attacks on oil tankers this summer, including off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and a major assault on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. Washington has blamed Iran, which has denied being behind the attacks on global energy infrastructure.

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Australia to trim government next year to boost efficiency

Australia will cut the number of its government departments next year to focus on the continuity of policy and improving service, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2rWZ1YW

Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas requests release of 'voluminous' electronic records to House impeachment inquiry

An attorney representing Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas has asked a federal court to release electronic devices containing “voluminous” materials to House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, during a court appearance ahead of his client’s trial.Joseph Bondy, who is representing Mr Parnas, asked a federal court in Manhattan on Monday for an update on discovery in his client’s case, specifically whether devices seized during his October arrest at Dulles International Airport in Washington might be handed over to those House committees.

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Long focused on Russia, NATO widens gaze toward China

Seventy years since its Cold War-era founding as a transatlantic alliance focused on Moscow, NATO is expanding its gaze toward the increasingly muscular challenge posed by China. The United States is leading the charge for a greater focus on China and is confident in a receptive audience in much of Europe, where concerns are mounting about Beijing's growing economic leverage, in particular. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, in an interview with Reuters, said there was an increasing understanding in Europe about the challenges posed by China's rapidly expanding military might, which includes everything from hypersonic weaponry to aircraft carriers.

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Jim Banks Asks Graham to Subpoena Adam Schiff’s Call Records in Letter

Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.) sent a letter to Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) on Wednesday asking the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman to subpoena the call records of House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), a day after Democrats revealed they subpoenaed AT&T phone records showing contact between Representative Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) and Lev Parnas.Banks also called for the phone records of Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and the whistleblower’s lawyer Mark Zaid, in order to determine the extent of communication between Schiff and potential Republican impeachment witnesses. On Wednesday, House Democrats quickly shut down Republicans’ request during the first Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing on to have Schiff testify.“The public has a right to know with whom Rep. Adam Schiff has coordinated his impeachment effort and if America’s national security is at risk in any way as a result of Rep. Schiff’s actions,” Banks’s letter reads. “ . . . This quixotic impeachment inquiry must be shelved, Mr. Chairman. And Rep. Adam Schiff should be held to the same standard to which he holds others. It is time to see his phone records.”In its release of an impeachment report Tuesday, the House Intelligence Committee revealed new information of call records showing communication between Trump 'spersonal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his associate Lev Parnas, and House Intelligence ranking member Nunes in April.House Intelligence member Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) told CNN that the committee "subpoenaed outside third-party phone records, and that kind of weaves together the timeline and corroborates a lot of what the witnesses testified to who did come in."Following the release of the call records, Parnas’s lawyer said the Ukrainian-American had “no idea” Democrats had records of his calls, but added that “Devin Nunes was definitely part of an attempt to gather information about the Bidens.”“He was definitely involved in Ukraine,” Joseph Bondy said. “He definitely had involvement in the GOP shadow diplomacy efforts in Ukraine, contrary to his claims."

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Navy warship seizes suspected Iran missile parts set for Yemen

A Navy warship has seized a “significant cache” of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.

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The year the world woke up to the climate emergency

Spurred on by Swedish wunderkind Greta Thunberg -- virtually unknown outside of her homeland a year ago but now a global star nominated for a Nobel prize -- millions of young people took part in weekly demonstrations demanding climate action. Although scientists have warned for decades about the risk to humanity and Earth posed by unfettered burning of fossil fuels, in 2019 -- set to be the second hottest year in history -- their message seems to have finally hit home. The 2015 Paris agreement saw nations commit to limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels as a way of curbing the worst impacts of global warming.

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Lyft slammed with a new lawsuit by 20 more sexual-assault victims who say the company is not doing enough to keep riders safe

The new victims say they were attacked by Lyft drivers since September, when the company laid out new safety plans and a features for its app.

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Giuliani Meets Ukrainian Prosecutors at Center of Impeachment Inquiry to Film TV Series

President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani is in Europe this week to meet with Ukrainian prosecutors at the center of the impeachment inquiry against the President, in order to produce a television show about the impeachment process, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry due to suspicions Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure the country to investigate corruption allegations against Joe Biden. Giuliani gathered information on the allegations from Ukrainian contacts throughout the first half of 2019.Giuliani met with former Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko in Budapest on Tuesday, and is scheduled to meet with former prosecutor general Victor Shokin, to film a series on impeachment for right-wing outlet One America News (OAN). Giuliani is filming the series even as the impeachment inquiry has focused national attention on his contacts with Ukraine.During his tenure, Shokin's office had opened a corruption investigation into Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company on whose board sat Hunter Biden, the former vice president's son. In 2016 Joe Biden threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Ukraine if the government did not fire Shokin, who was widely seen as corrupt by U.S. and European leaders.In early 2019 Giuliani considered taking Lutsenko as a client even as the former NYC mayor pushed Lutsenko to look into allegations against Biden. Lutsenko is under investigation by Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegations of abuse of power.In November the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors had launched a wide-ranging probe into Giuliani's businesses and partners. Investigators are looking into the possibility that Giuliani acted as an unregistered foreign agent.

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Court sides with Congress in battle for Trump’s bank records

A federal appeals court in New York handed President Donald Trump another legal defeat, ruling Tuesday that Congress can see his banking records for investigations into possible foreign influence in U.S. politics or other misdeeds. A panel of 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges said two banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One, should comply with subpoenas from the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees seeking records related to Trump’s business ventures. It rejected arguments that the subpoenas were meant merely to embarrass the president, though the court said Trump did deserve some privacy protections and outlined procedures for protecting some sensitive personal information in the documents from public disclosure.

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Despite late entry, polls find ex-NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in fifth place ahead of Kamala Harris

The Politico-Morning Consult poll had Michael Bloomberg tied with Sen. Kamala Harris at 5% despite his late entry into the Democratic race.

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Norwegian, Holland America win big in Cruise Critics awards 2019

From the best new ocean liner of 2019 to the best cruises for food, families and high rollers, experts at Cruise Critic have released their picks of the best cruise lines of the last year.