Richmond

Russia, Turkey seal power in northeast Syria with new accord

Russia and Turkey reached an agreement Tuesday that would cement their power in Syria, deploying their forces across nearly its entire northeastern border to fill the void left by President Donald Trump's abrupt withdrawal of U.S. forces. The accord caps a dramatic and swift transformation of the Syrian map unleashed by Trump's decision two weeks ago to remove the American soldiers. U.S. troops in Syria fought five years alongside Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria and succeeded in bringing down the rule of the Islamic State group there at the cost of thousands of Kurdish fighters' lives.

'If anyone can do it, it's him': how Boris won a Brexit deal

BRUSSELS/DUBLIN/LONDON(Reuters) - In 90 days as British prime minister, Boris Johnson has been humiliated in parliament, drawn mass street protests, tasted heavy defeat in the courts and suffered significant departures from his government, including his own brother. At home, he and his Brexit strategy remain under siege this week as his 11th-hour divorce agreement with the European Union hangs in the balance in a parliament outside his control. There is one place, however, where he has earned grudging respect over the past few weeks: Brussels.

An Air France flight was forced to turn back in midair when staff found an unattended cellphone that wasn't claimed by any of the passengers

Air France flight 136 to Chicago from Paris landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport, where the police scanned a cellphone found on board.

Why Russia Is Angry at America's Missile Defense Systems

Moscow hates THAAD and Aegis Ashore.

US far-right activists get four years in jail for attacking leftists

Two members of a US far-right group were each sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for brawling with anti-fascist demonstrators in New York, prosecutors said. The sentencing comes as tensions between white supremacists and leftists simmer in the United States. Maxwell Hare and John Kinsman, members of the Proud Boys group, were found guilty in August by a state court of several counts of attempted assault and rioting.

Rudy Giuliani Admits He ‘Did Sort of Look at’ Ukrainian Oligarch Dmitry Firtash for Info

Georges Schneider/AFP/GettyVictoria Toensing and Joe DiGenova, the pro-Trump lawyers representing a Ukrainian oligarch wanted by U.S. authorities on conspiracy charges, reportedly met personally with Attorney General William Barr in July—at the height of Rudy Giuliani’s hunt for kompromat on Joe Biden in Ukraine.  Citing three sources familiar with the meeting, The Washington Post reports that diGenova and Toensing argued against the charges facing Dmitry Firtash—who has been described by federal prosecutors as having connections to the “upper echelons” of Russian organized crime—in the meeting with Barr and other Justice Department officials. Barr is said to have refused to intercede. Firtash, who has been fighting extradition to the U.S. on bribery and corruption charges from Vienna for more than five years, had only recently hired Toensing and diGenova at the time of the reported meeting. According to Bloomberg, he paid them $1 million earlier this year to dig up dirt on Biden in a bid to get Giuliani’s help with his legal woes. While Giuliani has maintained he never had anything to do with Firtash’s case, Firtash reportedly bankrolled at least one piece of opposition research that Giuliani would later hold up on cable news as proof of Biden’s wrongdoing: a witness statement from Viktor Shokin, Ukraine’s former prosecutor general, claiming the former vice president had him fired to protect his son from a corruption investigation. Giuliani told the Post that he “did sort of look at Firtash to see if he had any relevant information” that could help with his search for damaging information about Democrats. “As far as I can tell, he didn’t. I looked at maybe 20 of these oligarchs.”A Justice Department spokeswoman said the Firtash case “has the support of the department leadership” and said DOJ would “continue to work closely with the Austrian Ministry of Justice to extradite Mr. Firtash.” Toensing reportedly declined to comment on the Barr meeting.The Post also reports that prosecutors in Chicago who filed the bribery charges against Firtash in 2013 had previously come across two of Giuliani’s recently arrested associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, in their case. Prosecutors there are now said to be reviewing whether there is a larger relationship between Firtash and the Soviet-born businessmen accused of campaign finance violations. Parnas and Fruman, who were reportedly enlisted by Giuliani to help find dirt on Trump’s political opponents in Ukraine, are accused of making an illicit campaign donation in a bid to have the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, removed. Giuliani claimed he did not know whether Firtash, Parnas, and Fruman had a relationship. “It’s none of my business,” he told the Post. Lawyers for Parnas and Fruman have not publicly spoken about their clients’ potential ties to Firtash.Firtash reportedly hired both Toensing and diGenova this summer at the recommendation of Parnas, who is said to have worked as a translator for Toensing and diGenova in the Firtash case. A Toensing and diGenova spokesman said Firtash had “no business relationship” with Parnas or Fruman. “No money has been paid to Mr. Parnas by Mr. Firtash beyond his work as a translator for the law firm,” the spokesman said.Parnas and Fruman were both arrested at a D.C. airport before they reportedly could board one-way flights to Vienna earlier this month. Giuliani told The Atlantic that he also intended on going to Vienna just one day after Parnas and Fruman were scheduled to depart the U.S.Indicted Oligarch Dmytro Firtash Praises Paul Manafort, Says Trump Has Third-Grade SmartsRead more at The Daily Beast.Get 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.

There's a reasonable explanation why this mom saw a 'ghost baby' in her sleeping son's crib

This mom's 'ghost baby' baby monitor mix-up has us all laughing. Maritza Elizabeth's post on Facebook has gone viral.

Transgender Cyclist Wins Female Cycling World Championship, Claims Only Objections Come from ‘Losers’

Cyclist Rachel McKinnon, a biological male who presents as a woman, won the women’s world championship on Saturday, and set a women’s world record in the qualifying event.McKinnon, a Canadian philosophy professor at the College of Charleston, won the same event in 2018. In a Friday interview with Sky News, McKinnon said that attempts to level the playing field for women’s sports by discriminating against transgender athletes was the equivalent of “denying their human rights.”“All my medical records say female,” McKinnon said. “My doctor treats me as a female person, my racing license says female, but people who oppose my existence still want to think of me as male . . . So, if we want to say, that I believe you’re a woman for all of society, except for this massive central part that is sport, then that’s not fair.”Victoria Hood, a former cycling champion and manager of a British all-female cycling team, challenged McKinnon, telling Sky that “it is not complicated, the science is there and it says that it is unfair. The male body, which has been through male puberty, still retains its advantage, that doesn’t go away. I have sympathy with them. They have a right to do sport but not a right to go into any category they want.”On Saturday, McKinnon issued a press release denouncing Hood for having “an irrational fear of trans women.”After the victory, McKinnon took to Twitter to challenge critics.> Many people claim to support trans women> > But often they only support us until our lives impact them in any meaningful way> > In my case, people literally say they support trans women…but not in sport> > There can be no 'but'> > We are either full and equal women, or not> > We are.> > -- Dr. Rachel McKinnon (@rachelvmckinnon) October 20, 2019On Sunday, McKinnon tweeted “I have yet to meet a real champion who has a problem with trans women. Real champions want stronger competition. If you win because bigotry got your competition banned… you’re a loser.”’

CA Reporter Fired After Damaging Cars At Sacramento Auto Show

How to lose your job in three easy steps.Classic car owners in California already have enough to worry about these days thanks to the fallout of Kevin Hart and his infamuos 'Cuda, but who knew that a group of classics would face any danger while roped off at a major auto show. That's exactly what happened at the Sacramento International Auto Show over the weekend when display cars were climbed on and damaged by Good Day Sacramento reporter, Angel Cardenas. Clarify that, former reporter.During a typical live morning broadcast promoting the auto show, Cardenas snuck behind a roped-off area where a group of classic Ford Thunderbirds – privately owned by members of the Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club – were on display. To the horror of car lovers, Cardenas starts by jumping onto the trunk of one Thunderbird before attempting to get into another, at which time he opened the door dinging another car. You'd think after that kind of nonsense, Cardenas would have wised up, but he had one more trick up his sleeve as he attempts a Dukes Of Hazzard-style hood slide on a brand-new 2020 Ford Explorer Hybrid.The incidents were all broadcast on live TV, which, as you might expect, resulted in Cardenas being fired. In addition to ridding itself of the incompetent reporter, the station, KMAX TV, removed the footage. Fortunately, on Sacremento-area resident took a video of the broadcast and posted it on Facebook (caution, some language NSFW).h/t: Tire Meets Road Related Articles... * Custom SUVs Built For Auction Stolen From Kids Cancer Charity * Driver Recklessness Cited In Kevin Hart Car Crash

The Latest: Pence says 5-day cease-fire in Syria has held

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence says that a five-day cease-fire in Syria has held and that negotiations continue for a permanent cease-fire. Pence says such a safe zone would ensure peace for everyone in the war-torn region. U.S. troops in Syria fought five years alongside Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria and succeeded in bringing down the rule of the Islamic State group there.

China plans to replace Hong Kong leader Lam with 'interim' chief executive: FT

Lam has become a lightning rod for protests over fears that Beijing is tightening its grip, limiting the freedoms enjoyed under the "one country, two systems" principle enshrined when colonial ruler Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Sources told the FT that officials in China want the situation in Hong Kong to stabilise before making a final decision, as they do not want to be seen to be giving in to violence. The leading candidates to succeed Lam include Norman Chan, the former head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Henry Tang, who has also served as the territory's financial secretary and chief secretary for administration, the report said.

Almost all Republicans — especially Fox News viewers — opposed Trump's impeachment before the inquiry was opened, new poll finds

In a poll before the Ukraine scandal, 98% of Republicans who said Fox News was their main news source said Trump shouldn't be impeachment and removed.

This 1 Invention Made Swedish Submarines Among the Best

A silent, powerful new engine.

Iraqi Kurds turn to Zoroastrianism as faith, identity entwine

Zoroastrianism. Years of violence by the Islamic State jihadist group have left many disillusioned with Islam, while a much longer history of state oppression has pushed some in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to see the millennia-old religion as a way of reasserting their identity. "After Kurds witnessed the brutality of IS, many started to rethink their faith," said Asrawan Qadrok, the faith's top priest in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Mulvaney defends Trump and makes a new problematic comment

For Mick Mulvaney, the hits just keep on coming. First, President Trump's acting chief of staff stirred up a tempest by acknowledging that the administration had held up aid to Ukraine in part to prod that country to investigate Democrats and the 2016 elections. Then Mulvaney went on television Sunday to defend his boss in effusive terms — and ended up making a new problematic comment.

Billionaire Isabel dos Santos Denies Wrongdoing at Sonangol

(Bloomberg) -- Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman and the daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, said she did nothing wrong when she was chairwoman of state-owned oil company Sonangol and called a probe into the transfer of millions of dollars from the Luanda-based firm “political vengeance.”Angolan newspaper Novo Jornal reported on Oct. 18 that Angola’s prosecuting authority started a criminal investigation into the transfer of $38 million from Sonangol authorized by dos Santos. Her successor at Sonangol, Carlos Saturnino, accused dos Santos last year of authorizing the transfer to a company in Dubai days after she was dismissed as chairwoman. Saturnino was sacked in May.“To say there was a transfer order after my dismissal is simply false,” dos Santos said in statement emailed on Monday. “The fight against corruption can’t be used to feed an agenda of persecution or a witch hunt.”Dos Santos said the fund-transfer was legal and was made while she was still in her position at Sonangol on Nov. 15, 2017, the day she was dismissed and before a new board was appointed the next day. She said payment instructions were given one or two days before her dismissal.If Angolan authorities are serious about fighting corruption they should investigate why Sonangol had about $20 billion in debt at the end of 2015, before her appointment, and how this money was “used and lost,” said the 46-year-old dos Santos.Dos Santos was dismissed as head of Sonangol amid a crackdown on corruption by Joao Lourenco, who replaced her father as president in 2017. Sonangol, long the main engine of Angola’s oil-focused economy, has been at the center of Lourenco’s anti-graft campaign.(Adds dos Santos’s comment about timing of payment instructions in fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Henrique Almeida in Lisbon at halmeida5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joao Lima at jlima1@bloomberg.net, Rene Vollgraaff, Alastair ReedFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Seattle Public Schools Want to Teach Social Justice in Math Class. That Hurts Minorities.

Seattle’s public-school district has proposed a new math curriculum that would teach its students all about how math has been “appropriated” -- and how it “continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities.”A draft of the curriculum, which was covered in an article in Education Week, would teach students how to “explain how math and technology and/or science are connected and how technology and/or science have (sic) been and continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities of color,” as well as to “identify and teach others about mathematicians* of color in their various communities: schools, neighborhoods, places of worship, businesses, etc.”Education Week reports:> If adopted, its ideas will be included in existing math classes as part of the district’s broader effort to infuse ethnic studies into all subjects across the K-12 spectrum. Tracy Castro-Gill, Seattle’s ethnic studies director, said her team hopes to have frameworks completed in all subjects by June for board approval.> > If the frameworks are approved, teachers would be expected to incorporate those ideas and questions into the math they teach beginning next fall, Castro-Gill said. No districtwide—or mandated—math/ethnic studies curriculum is planned, but groups of teachers are working with representatives of local community organizations to write instructional units for teachers to use if they wish, she said.As strange as it may sound, this proposed curriculum is not the first time that someone has argued for teaching math in this way. In fact, in 2017, an online course developed by Teach for America -- titled “Teaching Social Justice Through Secondary Mathematics” -- instructed how to teach their students how “math has been used as a dehumanizing tool.” Also in 2017, a University of Illinois math-education professor detailed what she saw as some of the more racist aspects of math, claiming that “mathematics itself operates as Whiteness.”I wrote columns about both of these stories that year -- and, at the time, most people likely saw them simply as examples of “fringe” beliefs, confined to only super-progressive, ultra-woke circles. With the announcement of this Seattle proposal, however, we can no longer reassure ourselves that this is the case. Now, the social-justice approach to teaching math has officially entered the mainstream (and taxpayer-funded!) arena.This concerns me, and, believe it or not, that’s actually not because I despise “people and communities of color.” In fact, it’s quite the opposite: It’s because this approach to teaching math will only end up harming the very groups it claims it champions. As The American Conservative’s Rod Dreher notes:> The young people who are going to learn real math are those whose parents can afford to put them in private schools. The public school kids of all races are going to get dumber and dumber.Guess what? Minority students are far more likely to attend public school than whites. In fact, according to Private School Review, “[t]he average percent of minority students in private schools is approximately 28 percent.”In other words? The minority students, the members of the very groups that this curriculum presumably aims to aid, are actually going to be learning less math than they would have without it -- because they will be spending some of that class time learning about how math’s racism has hurt them. Ironically, one of the curriculum’s goals is to teach students how to “critique systems of power that deny access to mathematical knowledge to people and communities of color,” and yet, that’s exactly what the district itself would be doing with it.The historical contributions of communities of color are important, and students should study them. A better place to study them, though, would (quite obviously) be a history class, not a mathematics one. Mathematics classes should be for mathematics lessons; this is especially important considering the fact that math is exactly where American students (of all races) struggle compared to students in other countries. In fact, according to a Pew Research study from 2017, American students ranked 38th out of 71 countries in the subject. If we want to fix this, we need to focus more on math, instead of looking for ways to teach less of it in the very classes where our students are supposed to be learning it.The bottom line is: If Seattle’s school district really wants to help minority students excel in mathematics, the last thing it should be doing is proposing a math curriculum that would teach less of it in the schools that they’re most likely to attend.

Thailand arrests German man for allegedly disposing of body

Police in Thailand are investigating the death of a German woman after arresting a German man for allegedly dumping her body into a canal. Thailand's Immigration Police Commissioner Lt. Col. Sompong Chingduang said Tuesday that the dead woman, 77-year-old Margund Schaefer, co-owned a bar in the resort town of Pattaya with Richard Stanislaus and shared a house with him and his Thai girlfriend. The police began their investigation of the case at the request of German authorities after Schaefer's relatives reported losing contact with her.

Iraq: U.S. troops crossing border from Syria don't have approval to stay

U.S. forces that crossed into Iraq as part of a withdrawal from Syria do not have permission to stay and can only be there in transit, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday.

The story behind a soldier's act of solidarity with the US allies Trump is leaving behind in Syria

A US solider was photographed wearing a patch in apparent solidarity with the Kurdish-backed forces that the US is leaving behind.

Trump administration says Obamacare plan premiums to fall

Monthly premiums for an average 2020 Obamacare health insurance plan will fall about 4 percent from this year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Trump administration, which has tried to dismantle the program. The Trump administration has cut back on funding for the health insurance program, which was created by President Barack Obama as part of the Affordable Care Act and is often called Obamacare, and has sought to overturn it in Congress and legal courts. Obamacare provides needs-based subsidies to help low-income people buy health insurance.

China Is Building 'The Mother of All Bombs': Report

America already has one.

President Trump is right to keep administration members from secret tribunals: Rep. Biggs

Speaker Nancy Pelosi should formalize the impeachment inquiry by a vote of the whole House, writes Rep. Andy Biggs, chairman of the Freedom Caucus

Turkey-U.S. Sparring Escalates as Bank Spurns NY Court

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey is snubbing U.S. demands for one of its biggest banks to face charges that it helped Iran evade sanctions amid escalating tensions fueled by Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria.U.S. prosecutors charged Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS last week with enabling a sanctions-evasion scheme that helped Iran tap $20 billion in frozen foreign oil sales revenue sitting in foreign bank accounts, at a time when the U.S. was trying to maximize leverage over the country in negotiations to abandon its nuclear program.The timing of the indictment led Turkish officials to dismiss the charges as false and politically motivated. The bank and its U.S. lawyers have refused to accept a legal summons or acknowledge U.S. legal authority in the matter. At a hearing Tuesday, no lawyers or executives showed up to represent the bank. A day earlier Turkey named a former executive at the bank, who’d been convicted in the U.S., to head the Istanbul stock exchange.Tensions between Turkey and the U.S. have heightened since President Donald Trump ordered the removal of U.S. troops from northern Syria, opening the door for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to send his forces to attack Kurds in the region.The incursion spurred the U.S. to sanction Turkey with Trump writing a letter last week to Erdogan imploring him not to be a “tough guy” or a “fool.” Erdogan reportedly threw the letter in the trash.Earlier, Trump threatened Turkey in a statement on Twitter.U.S. authorities had been pursuing a criminal case against the bank for at least a year, seeking to impose a massive financial penalty for its role in the scheme. But the case idled for months amid diplomatic wrangling until the charges were filed along with other sanctions last week.Read more on the charges hereFederal prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office have now deemed Halkbank a “fugitive,” and told U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman they may seek contempt sanctions if the bank fails to respond to renewed demands for its presence in court. Halkbank has no employees or offices in the U.S., though it does have a correspondent bank account and shares that are listed and traded as American depositary receipts in U.S. markets.The judge said he would consider the request but also said he wanted to give the bank two weeks to review the matter and reconsider its position.If Turkey’s current position on the issue is any indication, it may take more than two weeks: on Monday, it named a former Halkbank executive who was convicted in a U.S. trial over the sanctions scheme as the new chief executive of the Istanbul stock exchange. The executive, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, was released from U.S. custody in July. In making the appointment, Turkish finance minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law, said Atilla was the victim of an “unjust conviction.”(Corrects bank’s name in second paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe SchneiderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Suspect whose case led to Hong Kong's unrest leaves prison

A murder suspect whose case indirectly led to Hong Kong's ongoing protests was freed from prison on Wednesday and told reporters he was willing to surrender to authorities in Taiwan, where he is wanted for killing his girlfriend. "I am willing, for my impulsive actions and things I did wrong, to surrender myself, to return to Taiwan to face sentencing and stand trial," he said. Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam had offered extradition legislation earlier this year to close what she called a "loophole" but the bill sparked widespread protests over concerns it put residents at risk of being sent into mainland China's murky judicial system.

Teenagers charged with urinating on black classmate and shouting racist abuse

Two 17-year-old boys from New Jersey have been charged with harassment, lewdness and bias intimidation after allegations that they urinated on a black middle school student at a high school football game while calling her the n-word.Social media posts from at least one parent of a Lawrence High School student alleged that the boys used racist language while urinating on the girl during a Friday night game.

South Carolina police find remains of 5-year-old girl missing since August in landfill

The Sumter Police Department on Tuesday announced the remains of Nevaeh Lashy Adams were found after a search that began in August.

Southern Niger reels after Nigeria closes borders

Dan Issa (Niger) (AFP) - "Nothing crosses into Nigeria and nothing comes out. It's hermetically sealed," said Amadou Idi, sitting in a makeshift shelter to keep out of the rain, and reflecting on the downturn in his luck. Idi's job is a transiting agent -- to get goods across the border to Nigeria at the Dan Issa frontier post in southeastern Niger.

A top Marine Corps scout sniper managed to sneak up on his enemy completely naked except for a pair of boots

The nude sniper proved that to truly disappear you don't need clothes, just that you fully embrace the "weirdest thing in the world."

Johnson & Johnson CEO testified Baby Powder was safe 13 days before FDA bombshell

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Facing off against a plaintiff’s lawyer for the first time about Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder, the company’s Chief Executive Alex Gorsky earlier this month insisted that the company’s iconic brand was safe. “We unequivocally believe that our talc and our baby powder does not contain asbestos,” Gorsky testified in an Oct. 3 deposition in a case involving a retired Indiana college professor who alleges his cancer was caused by the Baby Powder he used for decades. The deposition has not been previously reported.

This Is the Robot Tank Russia Used in Syria

(But it didn't fight well.)

Mark Levin: ‘Hasn’t Even Been a Hint of Scandal’ in Trump’s Presidency

Right-wing talker and Fox News host Mark Levin hilariously claimed this week that President Donald Trump, who is currently embroiled in an impeachment inquiry for allegedly pressuring a foreign leader to dig up dirt on a political rival, hasn’t even had a “hint of scandal” during his time in the White House.During a recent broadcast of his Blaze TV show, Levin—who also hosts a Fox News weekend program—took aim at Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) over the former GOP presidential nominee ramping up his criticism of Trump as the Ukraine scandal has deepened. With it recently being revealed that Romney had a clandestine Twitter account used for criticizing Trump’s behavior, among other things, Levin took the opportunity to claim that Romney “known nothing about” the personal lives and behavior of former President Barack Obama or ex-Vice President Joe Biden “outside of what we’ve been told.”“And they kept the [John] Kennedy stuff hidden for decades, they kept the [Lyndon] Johnson stuff hidden for decades, they kept the FDR stuff hidden for decades, and his affairs and so forth,” the conservative commentator added, implying that Obama/Biden had skeletons in their closets.Levin proceeded to go on a largely confusing rant in which he said he wanted to question Romney about the Founding Fathers’ sexual affairs and whether he thought it was right for Franklin Roosevelt to team up with Russia during World War II.“What do you think about that, Willard?” Levin grumbled. “I can go through history, one case after another, about how people are so terribly imperfect.”“But I will say this about our president,” the pro-Trump host continued: “While he’s been president there hasn’t even been a hint of scandal. Not a hint!”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.

Blackout Round 2? Californians brace for possible outage

Hundreds of thousands of California residents braced for another possible power outage as the state's two largest utilities warned that a return of dangerous fire weather could prompt shut-offs across the state. The warning from Pacific Gas & Electric about a possible blackout Wednesday in Northern California prompted a feeling of resignation among residents and business owners and renewed rushes to stock up on emergency supplies. "I think it's not panic per se, just 'Eh, we gotta do this AGAIN?'" said Kim Schefer, manager of Village True Value Hardware in Santa Rosa.

Canadian Court Rules against Transgender Activist Jessica Yaniv in Fight with Beauticians over Waxing

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled against Canadian transgender activist Jessica Yaniv in a case stemming from a complaint Yaniv filed against multiple female beauticians who refused to wax Yaniv’s male genitalia.“Self-identification does not erase physiological reality,” said Jay Cameron, a lawyer for the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which represented the beauticians. “Our clients do not offer the service requested. No woman should be compelled to touch male genitals against her will, irrespective of how the owner of the genitals identifies.”The Tribunal said in its decision that Yaniv had had filed the “complaints for improper purposes,” and had contradicted herself in “disingenuous” testimony. Yaniv, who is sexually attracted to women, brought 15 complaints against a number of beauticians in the Vancouver area, seeking as much as $15,000 in damages from each one.“Most of the women who were the target of Yaniv’s complaints work out of their own home, are of immigrant background, and have small children with them in the house during the day,” the Justice Centre’s report said. Yaniv also apparently accused immigrants during the trial of discrimination for refusing service on religious grounds, writing earlier this year on Facebook that “we have a lot of immigrants here who gawk, judge and aren’t the cleanest of people, they’re also verbally and physically abusive, that’s one reason I joined a girl’s gym.”Yaniv is being ordered to pay $2,000 to three of the accused women, one of whom was forced out of business due to the case.In August, Yaniv was arrested for owning a taser, after brandishing it on camera during an interview about Yaniv’s alleged history of predatory behavior toward children. Screen-captured messages allegedly from Yaniv highlighted intimate questions to underage girls, and legal documents showed an attempt to organize a topless pool party for such girls.

Murder suspect whose case was catalyst for Hong Kong protests released

A murder suspect whose proposed deportation to Taiwan was a catalyst for massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong was released from prison Wednesday, but despite saying he wants to face justice will remain in the city for now. The law's proposal was prompted by the case of Hong Konger Chan Tong-kai, 20, who is wanted in Taiwan for the 2018 murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing. Chan apologised Wednesday for the great "pain and agony" he had caused Poon's family, saying he hoped his decision to surrender would offer them some relief.

A Tenn. county official called Pete Buttigieg a slur. It sparked calls to boycott Dollywood

Following his remark, Commissioner Warren Hurst went on to say, “I’m not prejudice, but by golly a white male in this country has very few rights."

Joe Biden's Black Sheep Son Could Wreck His Presidential Run

Hunter Biden and, by extension, his father’s third run for the presidency, have become enmeshed in controversy as Donald Trump’s attempts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Hunter’s questionable business dealings in the war-torn country are coming under attack from congressional Democrats.

Iranian beauty queen pleads for asylum in the Philippines

An Iranian beauty queen is seeking asylum in the Philippines, fearing for her life after Tehran demanded her extradition for a crime she claims she did not commit.  Bahareh Zare Bahari, who represented Iran at the 2018 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Manila, and who has studied dental medicine in the Philippines since 2014, has been held for six days at the country’s Ninoy Aquino airport after Iran slapped an Interpol Red Notice on her for alleged assault.  In a series of messages, the distraught Ms Bahari told the Telegraph that the case was a “big lie,” adding that she believed she was being targeted for her political activism and outspoken support of women’s rights. If she was deported to Iran, “they will kill me,” she said.  Markk Perete, undersecretary at the Philippine department of justice, said that “the only reason she was held at the airport -  and we really don’t call it detention -  it is really restraining her from entering the Philippine territory, is only because of that Red Notice issued against her.” He added that the request had been made “presumably on account of a pending criminal case against her in Iran, and this case was filed by an Iranian national against her in relation to an assault that happened presumably here in the Philippines.” Bahareh Zare Bahari, who is studying dental medicine, is an outspoken advocate for women's rights Credit: Facebook However, Mr Perete said that the Philippines was unaware of this allegation, and that an earlier accusation of commercial fraud against her had been dismissed.  There were no criminal cases pending against Ms Bahari, he confirmed. “We don’t have any cause for refusing her entry for violation of our laws.” Ms Bahari’s asylum plea is now being considered by the justice department, with the help of a lawyer.  Meanwhile, the dental student is confined to Terminal 3’s transit area awaiting her fate. “There is no updating, no information about the reason why [they] keep me here so long,” she said.  She believes her political statement at the pageant - waving a poster of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, and one of the foremost critics of Iran’s Islamic government - made her enemies in Tehran.  Mr Pahlavi's name has been invoked by some Iranian groups who have called for a return of the monarchy to deal with corruption and poor economic conditions. “I used his photo on stage to be [the] voice of my people because all news and media are ignoring my people,” she said.  Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called for “a fair and impartial hearing of her claim” in Manila.  “It’s absolutely critical the Philippines provides Bahareh Zare Bahari with support, including access to legal counsel, to compile and file her asylum application,” said Phil Robertson, HRW deputy Asia director.  “While waiting for the details to become clear, there should be no action under Iran’s Interpol red notice, especially since under Interpol rules a red notice is null and void if the person named in the notice is found to be a refugee fleeing from the state that issued it.”

Wildfires threaten southern California homes, prompt evacuations

California firefighters worked through the night into early Tuesday to tackle a pair of wildfires threatening people's homes. Live aerial video footage broadcast by KABC-TV showed flames raging along a ridge-line at the edge of an affluent beach-front neighborhood located between Santa Monica and Malibu about 18 miles (30 km) west of downtown Los Angeles. Initially, a mandatory evacuation was ordered for about 200 homes in the Pacific Palisades community, as ground teams and helicopters worked on putting out hot spots and carving a containment line around the fire zone's perimeter.

Charges: Church shooting suspect badly beats public defender

A man charged with attempted murder in a church shooting attacked his public defender during a jailhouse meeting, sending the man to intensive care with severe head injuries and no memory of the beating, according to documents released Tuesday. Dale Holloway, 37, of Manchester, assaulted public defender Michael Davidow on Monday morning at the Valley Street jail in Manchester, New Hampshire, the documents said. In this case, the officer heard a knock and turned to see Holloway standing up and Davidow seated at the table, with his hands over his face and blood dripping onto the floor.

Gun control advocate: Pushing mandatory buybacks will hand victory to the NRA, again

We can pass significant gun safety laws but not if the 2020 campaign is about confiscating assault weapons. This is not timidity, it's reality.

Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go at it on 'The View' over Trump's 'lynching' comments

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Whoopi Goldberg go toe to toe over Trump’s “lynching” comments on Twitter.

Catholics in Haiti demand president step down

Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Thousands of Catholics demanding the resignation of Haiti's president marched through the capital Tuesday, becoming the latest group to join an outcry against him. Over the past year, Haiti has sunk into political crisis amid anti-corruption protests demanding Moise's resignation. No food, no hospitals, no schools," said protester Fausta Maisonneuve, who held a rosary in her hand.

Nadler Defens Stzok Texts to Mistress as 'Highest Tradition'

But the Inspector-General called them 'antithetical to the core values of the FBI.'