Ocasio-Cortez added further fuel to the impeachment fire by saying the bigger scandal was Democrats' refusal to impeach President Trump.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 12:55:26 -0400

Last September, a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black man in his own apartment. For some, the shooting was a tragic accident with circumstances that can only be described as "very unique." Others place it in pattern of white officers killing black men that, they say, points to systemic problems in American policing. On the eve of trial, one of the only points of agreement about her case in Dallas is that it has the potential to profoundly affect the relationship between police and residents.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 12:34:12 -0400

After a late night at a stock-car race, Carole and Verne King returned to their dog-friendly hotel in Kalispell, Montana, and made a devastating discovery.Their 7-year-old border collie, Katie, was no longer in the room. She had apparently managed to unlatch the door, possibly spooked by a thunderstorm that had swept through the area. At the front desk, an attendant said she had seen an anxious dog bolt out the front door hours before.The Kings were stunned. In the town of 23,000 people that backs up to the sprawling wilderness near Glacier National Park, surrounded by forests and fields, where would they even start looking?Over the next 57 days, the couple set out on a desperate search that included night-vision goggles, animal-tracking cameras and horse manure brought in from the family's farm in Eastern Washington. Carole King, a postal carrier, quit her job."Every night going to bed, it was gut-wrenching," said Verne King. "Is she warm? Did she get to eat today? It tore us up."Day 1'Like a Crime Scene'After the initial discovery, the Kings spent the night frantically searching nearby neighborhoods, where alfalfa farms and homes and new shopping centers collide in northern Kalispell.They were out until about 4 a.m., the Kings said, but saw no sign of the dog. The front-desk attendant asked them to send some photos, and together they began making and distributing flyers around the area.Hundreds of them were posted on light poles and community mailboxes, and handed out through door-to-door canvassing and at local sports events. They posted Katie's photo on Facebook pages and lost-pet internet networks. Strangers joined them in walking the neighborhoods in search of Katie.As former law-enforcement officers from Los Angeles, the Kings knew to look through abandoned buildings. They examined the dirt in alfalfa fields, looking for tracks or dog droppings. They considered the possibility that Katie had been struck by a car on the highway, but without any evidence, they pressed on."You think of it like a crime scene," Verne King said.Day 15Traps and ScentsAfter a couple weeks of searching, the Kings decided to try some more extreme measures. They ordered two game cameras, the kind used by wildlife researchers, that could record video when an animal passed. They ordered animal traps, hoping that food -- like the cheese sticks Katie preferred -- would coax her into a cage.Carole King also began going jogging and biking around the neighborhoods, hoping that her sweat could signal the dog that her family was near. They left used T-shirts at strategic locations, as well as Katie's blanket and dog bowl."I don't think there's any street we haven't been on in that area," Carole King said.The couple later brought in hair shavings and a couple of buckets of manure from their horses back home and, with approval from local farmers, spread it near traps and other possible locations.Later, after hearing speculation that Katie might be on the move at night time, the couple acquired night-vision goggles and spent hours out in the cold, hoping to catch a glimpse of Katie traversing a field.But they saw no activity. The camera footage showed no sign of their dog. The traps? They caught a magpie, a cat and four skunks.Day 22Possible SightingsTips, however, were coming in. As people reported possible sightings, the Kings scrambled to follow up.On one occasion, they drove 15 miles to Columbia Falls on a tip, even though it seemed far-fetched. Other times they would go to check even when the description of the dog didn't sound quite right."In our heart, I would always say, 'If I didn't follow up, what if that was her and we didn't do anything?" Carole King said.Sometimes it would turn out to be a different dog. On one occasion, while they were talking to a landowner at a farm, a woman came up to them and said she had just seen their dog cross the road and run into a canola field. The Kings set off running, calling for Katie.They didn't find her.Day 37Quitting Her JobCarole King was still working as a postal carrier back in the Spokane area. For a week in August, she had to return home while her husband continued the search.She talked with her bosses about taking some time off. But that wasn't feasible during summer months. Although the money had helped supplement their pensions, she gave her notice."Katie was just more important to me," she said. "I just said, 'I'll finish this week, and that's it.'"When she returned to Kalispell, Verne King had to return to Spokane. He left a note written for Katie."I am going home to care for your brothers and sister," Verne King said, referring to their two other dogs and a cat. "Instead of saying good bye, I would rather say, 'See you soon.'"Day 53Losing HopeA month and a half into the search, the Kings still felt hopeful. There was no sign of Katie but also no evidence that she was dead.By the second week of September, though, Carole King said she was growing demoralized. She was crying and starting to wonder if the dog would never be found."I wasn't ready to go, but I was thinking, What else can I do?" she said.Missing her house and their other animals, she was planning to return home, about 250 miles away, to spend the weekend. But her husband persuaded her to stay, suggesting one more week. Some of her new friends in Kalispell also encouraged her to persist.One person had opened their home for the Kings to stay in the area. More than a dozen others committed hours to helping them search. Landowners had welcomed them onto their sprawling properties to look."We can't believe that community up there," Verne King said. Carole King added, "I got out of it sheer kindness from people -- from a stranger to a stranger."Day 57'I Got Her'On the morning of Sept. 15, Carole King got another tip, this time from someone in a subdivision near the hotel. The resident said he was looking out the window and was confident that Katie was in his backyard.She and a friend rushed over. But by the time they got there, whatever he had seen was gone. They walked through the fields nearby, searching with binoculars.They encountered a couple out for a walk, told them about their search, and the woman pointed to a dog under a nearby tree.It was a border collie. They began calling Katie's name. The dog was cautious, wary. Others in the group went silent as Carole King called out to the dog. Katie came running at full speed and leapt into her arms."All I could think about was, 'I'm done. I got her,'" Carole King said. "I was crying, I was holding onto her, wrapped her up in a bear hug. I couldn't get her in the car fast enough to close her in so I wouldn't lose her again."Katie immediately fell asleep on the front seat of the car. She was dirty, dehydrated and had lost 15 pounds. They took her to an emergency vet, who shed tears upon learning that this was Katie, the dog so much of Kalispell had worked to find.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 11:46:57 -0400

The US military has apologised for threatening to deploy a stealth bomber on millennials who had been planning to “storm” the Area 51 test base in the Nevada desert. Over the weekend, an estimated 150 people descended on the highly secretive base, about two hours drive from Las Vegas, which has long been a magnet for UFO enthusiasts convinced that it housed aliens from outer space. Thousands had been expected after a student created a Facebook page in June called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us”. The page became a viral sensation with more than three million people expressing an interest in turning up to “see them aliens”. On Friday, fearing a mass invasion, the Defence Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) - the US military PR arm - posted a picture of service personnel standing by a B-2 stealth bomber alongside the caption: "The last thing Millennials will see if they attempt the area51raid today". In reality, the feared flood of alien-spotters turned out to be little more than a trickle of eccentrics in an eclectic array of costumes who were an irritant rather than a danger to national security. Last night a DVIDSHUB employee posted a Tweet that in NO WAY supports the stance of the Department of Defense. It was inappropriate and we apologize for this mistake.— DVIDSHub (@DVIDSHub) September 21, 2019 Given the festive atmosphere and small crowd, military chiefs soon realised that their stealth bomb threat was a rather excessive response to a bunch of curiosity seekers whose presence had led to a handful of arrests for such heinous offences as public urination. DVIDS sought to undo the damage by deleting the offending tweet and posting on Saturday saying that the previous day’s message  “in NO WAY supports the stance of the Department of Defence. It was inappropriate and we apologise for this mistake.” The local police approach to the good-natured invasion had been somewhat more measured, advising those who pitched up to watch out for rattlesnakes and setting out some rudimentary ground rules. This was not the first time the US military has been obliged to say sorry for posting inappropriate tweets. On December 31, US Strategic Command, which is responsible for the country’s strategic arsenal apologised for a tweet saying it was ready, if necessary, to drop something “much, much bigger” than the New Year’s Eve ball in New York.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 10:31:28 -0400

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In April 1910, former president Theodore Roosevelt spoke before a large audience in Paris. “The poorest way to face life,” he said, “is with a sneer.”These days, too many Democrats are sneering — not only at President Donald Trump, but also at one another. From the left, many progressives are describing former Vice President Joe Biden as out of touch, old, too conservative, maybe even a bit racist. From the center, many Democrats are describing Senator Elizabeth Warren as unelectable, unlikable, unrealistic, disconnected from the values and beliefs of ordinary Americans.That’s a shame for many reasons, but one in particular is that it threatens to put Democrats in a position akin to that of Trump-era Republicans. A recurring question, mostly faced by Republicans in the age of Trump, is whether to work for a party nominee or an elected official with whom they have intense disagreements. Over the last two years, many Republicans have declined to join the Trump administration, others have been criticized for doing so, and some have been, and now are, torn about whether to resign.  No Democrat is saying “Never Biden” or “Never Warren,” at least not yet. But many have said contemptuous things about Biden, Warren and other contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination that could signal reluctance to serve in the wrong kind of Democratic administration.Roosevelt had the best response to that impulse on that April day in Paris, and lurid though his language may have been, the sentiment remains as fresh as ever:It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.Roosevelt was deploring “a cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform.” Speaking before an audience at the Sorbonne, one of the world’s great universities, Roosevelt singled out for opprobrium “the man of learning, the man of lettered leisure.” Those of learning and leisure might be tenured professors in Paris or New Haven, or writers for prestigious magazines in London or New York.Roosevelt was making a plea for stronger forms of commitment and engagement. As he knew, those who struggle to do the deeds often know incalculably more than those who do not, because of that very struggle. As he also knew, people who sneer often have no idea what they are talking about, even when they speak or write with elegance and panache.Those who accept Roosevelt’s plea can of course have diverse views about particular politicians and about whether it is appropriate to support or work for them. But it is reasonable to take his argument to support a kind of rebuttable but firm presumption: If you can, enter the arena. Don’t sneer.With respect to today’s Democrats, the implication is straightforward. Suppose, for example, that you are on the left and that you are unenthusiastic, or worse, about Biden. If he is the Democratic nominee, you should support him and work on his behalf. And if he is elected, and if you are lucky enough to have a chance to work in some capacity for his administration, you should be inclined to say yes. The point holds for public service more generally.I was fortunate enough to spend nearly four years in President Barack Obama’s administration (and to have had part-time positions for most of remaining four). I learned that if you are in the arena, you can achieve far more in a good month than you can in a decade outside it.You will certainly get frustrated; your face will be “marred by dust and sweat.” Things won’t always go your way. Many days aren’t a lot of fun. Still, you should be inclined to say yes. You should do that even if you anticipate that you will disagree, on important occasions, with your boss.Let’s give Roosevelt the last word:“It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and the valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who ‘but for the vile guns would have been a soldier.’”To contact the author of this story: Cass R. Sunstein at csunstein1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonathan Landman at jlandman4@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Cass R. Sunstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 09:00:20 -0400

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 09:00:00 -0400

Stena Impero, the British-flagged tanker detained by Iran on July 19, will be released soon, an Iranian maritime official said on Sunday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. The Stena Impero was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations, two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar. "After the issuing of the ruling for the end of detention of the English tanker Stena Impero this vessel will soon, and after the passing of 65 days, begin its movement from the port of Bandar Abbas toward international waters," said Allahmorad Afifipour, the head of the Ports and Maritime Organisation of Iran in Hormozgan Province.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 07:56:37 -0400

A Rohingya couple was shot dead during a gunfight in a border town camp hours after they were detained by Bangladesh police, officials said Sunday, the latest killings amid growing tensions between the refugees and authorities. Police in Teknaf town said the refugee couple -- Dil Mohammad, 32, and his 26-year-old wife Jaheda Begum -- were members of a Rohingya "bandit group". Authorities claim the gang killed a local ruling party official, Omar Faruk, in a refugee settlement in southeastern Bangladesh last month.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 06:16:28 -0400

An enormous mystery cloud has baffled US meteorologists this week who spotted the shape stretching over parts of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but saw no rainfall.The National Weather Service spotted the “conundrum”, and suggested it could be a swarm of “bugs”, however the altitude was so high, they were initially sceptical such a massive number of creatures could be flying so high.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 06:04:32 -0400

An important weapon of the future.

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 05:43:00 -0400