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Trump repeats debunked Ukraine conspiracy theory in Oval Office

President Trump on Wednesday sought to advance the Ukraine conspiracy theory that his aides had warned him repeatedly was “completely debunked.”

Rivals put Warren on spot over taxes and health care

In her first debate as a frontrunner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren faced attacks over her position on health care.

Yang and O'Rourke propose decriminalizing opioids, including heroin

Two Democrats suggested making small amounts of heroin legal as a way to combat the drug epidemic.

Booze run from behind bars: Inmates escape from Texas federal prison, return with whiskey

The men left the prison grounds and cut through a neighboring ranch before getting caught by authorities.

Woman will spend 60 years in prison for first-degree murder of boyfriend

A woman who poured gasoline on the couch where her sleeping boyfriend lay and then shut the door after seeing him jump up and yell "hot, hot" will spend 60 years in prison for first-degree murder.

Pope's bodyguard resigns over new financial leaks scandal

The Vatican's latest scandal claimed its first victim Monday as Pope Francis' chief bodyguard resigned over the leak of a Vatican police flyer identifying five employees who were suspended as part of a financial investigation. The Vatican said its police chief, Domenico Giani, bore no responsibility for the leaked flyer but resigned to avoid disrupting the investigation and "out of love for the church and faithfulness" to the pope. Giani, a 20-year veteran of the Vatican's security services, has stood by Francis' side and jogged alongside his popemobile during hundreds of public appearances and foreign trips.

Jeep Gladiator Gets Even More Rugged as a Military-Spec Vehicle

Jeep and AM General could re-enlist with the U.S. Army as soon as next year.

A 75-year-old cruise ship passenger jumped overboard a Carnival-owned ship between Portugal and Spain (CCL)

A Costa Cruises representative said the woman "voluntarily" jumped from the balcony in her cabin on the Costa Pacifica ship.

Presidential candidate Biden has less campaign cash than top Democratic rivals

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had $9 million in his campaign bank account at the end of September, significantly less than his top rivals in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, data released on Tuesday showed. While Biden leads most national public opinion polls, he has struggled to raise money and is relying heavily on wealthy donors who can write five-figure checks instead of smaller donations made via the internet. Biden dismissed that his low cash balance is going to be a problem going forward, saying that his campaign launched after several others, forcing him to catch up to his rivals.

'Five Eyes' in the dark: Will Trump and Barr destroy trust in U.S. intelligence?

The effort by President Trump and his attorney general to enlist foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies in their smear of Joe Biden may do lasting damage to relationships with their counterparts in other countries and the critical “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing agreement.

The U.S. Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle Must Be Revolutionary

Oh, and they want it like now.

Latest search for Amelia Earhart plane comes up empty: NYT

The latest hunt for the remains of the plane of Amelia Earhart, the famed American aviatrix who disappeared over the Pacific in 1937, has turned up nothing. The New York Times reported Tuesday that an extensive search conducted by a team led by Robert Ballard, discoverer of the wreckage of the Titanic, had not turned up any evidence of Earhart's aircraft. The National Geographic Channel, which sponsored the expedition, is to air a documentary about the search on Sunday.

Hundreds of police officers have been labeled liars. Some still help send people to prison.

Across the USA, prosecutors aren't tracking officer misconduct, skirting Supreme Court "Brady" rules and sometimes leading to wrongful convictions.

School suspends girls, says rape-awareness note was bullying

A 15-year-old girl was suspended for bullying after trying to draw attention to what she believed was an unaddressed problem of sexual assaults involving students at her high school. Aela Mansmann, a 15-year-old sophomore at Cape Elizabeth High School outside Portland, has been at odds with Cape Elizabeth Schools for a month after posting a note in a bathroom that said: "There's a rapist in our school and you know who it is." She and two other students who left similar notes were ordered suspended. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine is taking on Mansmann's case and calling on federal court to stop her suspension.

US border patrol says they tried to send UK family back after illegal crossing but Canada wouldn't take them

As of Tuesday, seven members of the Connors family detained on October 2 are in detention at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre.

Boris Johnson is reportedly very close to agreeing a Brexit deal with the EU

EU sources told Bloomberg that a deal could be concluded as early as Tuesday, with the UK set to agree a new compromise deal.

'Gaetz-crasher': Here's why a Republican lawmaker was barred from closed-door testimony

When Republican congressman Matt Gaetz tried to attend an impeachment inquiry deposition Monday morning in the U.S. Capitol, he ran smack into the often arcane and confusing rules of Congress. Here's why he wasn't allowed to attend.

Russia Prepares the Way for Bashar al-Assad’s Brutal Endgame in Nothern Syria

GAZIANTEP, Turkey—After eight years of Syrian civil war, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, and the displacement of half the Syrian population, U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s decisions have created conditions for Bashar al-Assad’s regime to re-assert control over nearly one-third of the country that had been outside its grip since 2012. Far from reining in U.S. adversaries, Trump’s presidency will likely be remembered as one through which Assad, this century’s greatest mass murderer, managed finally to claw his way back to a position of undisputed authority. Trump Just Enlisted America in a New Axis of EvilThis is the way that’s playing out on the ground in what is, admittedly, still a complicated situation.The news began Tuesday morning with Russian pro-Kremlin journalist Oleg Blokhin streaming a live video from inside the recently abandoned American al-Sa’idi’a base in Syria on the western outskirts of the Manbij countryside. “Good morning to everyone from Manbij,” exclaimed Blokhin. “I’m at the American military base right now, where they were until yesterday morning. Already, we’re here [instead]. We’re going to examine now how they were living here, what they were so busy with, and what’s going on.” A second video would show Blokhin as he mockingly played with a boom barrier at the entrance to the base, appearing to check whether or not it worked. “It’s in good condition,” he assured the cameraman, with a slight grin. Blokhin, who works for the pro-Kremlin ANNA news network, previously covered the activities of Russian private military contractor Wagner as it trained pro-Assad militiamen in January, and later accompanied Russian and pro-Assad forces during the latter’s successful August campaign to take back the town of Khan Sheikhoun. Now, he stood gloating on a former U.S. military base. Other pro-Assad media soon conducted similar tours of other U.S. bases abandoned by American soldiers. Reports throughout the day Tuesday would also claim U.S. troops pulled out of two new additional locations including the eastern town of Tal Baydar and the Kharab Ashak base west of Ain Aissa. Shortly before U.S. troops withdrew, ISIS families still being detained at a nearby prison facility in Ain Aissa reportedly set fires throughout the camp in a renewed attempt to try to escape. In addition to exemplifying the momentous shift underway as Assad’s vital ally Russia finally replaces the United States as the primary party in northern Syria capable of liaising with most all of the parties to the conflict, Blokhin’s livestream carried a special significance for locals in Manbij. Over the past week, including several days after Trump’s shock announcement that U.S. troops would withdraw from Syria, American soldiers at the al-Sa’idi’a base actually continued carrying out near-daily patrols in the western and northern Manbij countryside that helped successfully ward off previous attempts by Syrian regime forces to set up positions in the area. That offered hope to those in Manbij who oppose the regime—that U.S. military institutions might be capable of coercing the Turkish president to adopt a compromise that saw U.S. troops remain in the area until Turkish-backed forces were capable of assuming control. But those hopes along with more than 16 months of U.S.-Turkish diplomacy were dashed Tuesday as the American troops made their final withdrawal from the area, paving the way for Russian and Syrian regime forces to roll in free and unopposed.  Elsewhere, in Ain Aissa and Tal Tamr, towns located along the M4 highway, northern Syria’s main artery and transportation route, Russian and regime forces established permanent checkpoints and bases to ensure control of the strategic route in the face of oncoming Turkish assaults. Those reinforcements appeared to have helped the SDF capture three villages from Turkish-backed forces in the immediate vicinity north of Tal Tamr later that night. While the arrival of regime forces undoubtedly has provided much needed relief for the SDF on several fronts, doing so will come with a cost. As the SDF welcomes more Syrian regime reinforcements into its territory, the group undoubtedly will lose future leverage it would need in order to preserve a role for itself within civil governing institutions throughout northeast Syria. On Monday, the SDF’s largely toothless civil wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, issued a directive to local councils in the area to continue to perform their duties “as previously,” insisting that “nothing has changed” and that the agreement with the regime constituted no more than a temporary military alliance to protect Syria’s borders. However it’s unlikely that the SDF, the Syrian Democratic Council, or other SDF-backed institutions within the group’s self-proclaimed “Autonomous Administration” will be able to preserve any modicum of independence as their reliance on the Assad regime becomes more solidified. And, following the failure of Russian-Turkish negotiations throughout Tuesday to reach a ceasefire between the warring parties, that reliance looks set to intensify. Negotiations between Moscow and Ankara began Tuesday morning following condemnation of Turkey’s campaign by the Kremlin’s special envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev. A high-ranking Free Syrian Army military source in Manbij told The Daily Beast that Turkey gave orders Tuesday morning to its FSA proxies to halt temporarily their assault while both sides attempted to reach a solution. During that time, numerous pro-regime demonstrations were held in Manbij as the Syrian army sent several armored tanks into the city. According to local sources on the ground, some of these demonstrations were led by pro-regime figures that previously had been arrested by the SDF but were recently released following the Russian and Syrian regime entrance to the city. The Russian-Turkish talks come one day after the official Facebook page for the Russian defense ministry’s Hmeimim base issued a stern warning for Turkey and its allies not to “behave recklessly in entering an open war with government troops.” That was issued shortly after the Russians allegedly concluded an agreement with the SDF to allow Russian and regime troops to enter the cities of Kobani and Manbij. Yet despite the repeated warnings and attempts to hold talks, by Tuesday night Turkish-backed forces re-launched their assault. Thousands of civilians fled the border city of Kobani as a result of renewed Turkish assaults on the city in an attempt by the latter to capture the site of a former U.S. base recently abandoned nearby. Shortly after, our military source would claim renewed orders had been given by Ankara to re-launch operations in Manbij by dawn. Speaking to Reuters while returning from the Azerbaijaini capital Baku, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared undeterred by recent U.S. sanctions imposed on Ankara, by the arrival of regime reinforcements into the area, or by international condemnation of his country’s assault. “They say ‘declare a ceasefire.’ We will never declare a ceasefire,” Erdogan said. “They are pressuring us to stop the operation. They are announcing sanctions. Our goal is clear. We are not worried about any sanctions.”Shortly after, local media and activists would report a Turkish airstrike on the strategic town of Aun al-Dadat, the site of a former U.S. base in the north Manbij countryside along the al-Sajur River that has since been occupied by SDF and regime units. Nawaf al-Mustafa, an activist living several miles away in Manbij city, said he could hear the explosion from his home. “I heard an explosion and thought it might have been an ISIS suicide attack,” he said. “But it wasn’t, news came in shortly after that Turkish forces instead were bombing Aun al-Dadat.”Look Who’s Back! Trump Handed Terrorists a Free Pass.Ahmed Qalqali, another anti-regime activist, would send out an alert to the families of FSA fighters to several WhatsApp groups used by locals to follow the news. “Any young man in Manbij who has a brother fighting on the front lines with the FSA should avoid sleeping at home tonight,” hinting at the possibility of SDF-regime house raids in response to the attacks. “Try to stay with a friend or someone to whom you’re not blood related.” Despite the Turkish insistence to continue fighting, in reality the tide seems to be turning against Ankara and its proxies. Despite managing to gain control of the strategic border town of Tal Abyad, after nearly one week of fighting Turkish-backed forces have been unable to capture Ras al-Ain, a city of just over 30,000 that has managed to put up stiff resistance and ward off Turkish incursions. Manbij, a city of nearly 100,000, will require much greater strength and political will in order to be captured.Recent U.S. sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on key Turkish ministers and cabinet officials will also likely further hamper Ankara’s ability to freely wage war against the SDF, while significantly raising the cost of doing so. Nonetheless, these factors are unlikely to push Erdogan to end the campaign, as domestic pressures to create space to resettle Syrian refugees that have proven a burden to the Turkish economy threaten to destabilize his government. What will likely ensue will be a committed, albeit slow and protracted campaign to achieve Ankara’s goal of carving out a safe zone in Manbij and along the entirety of Turkey’s border with Syria. However, the likely delay in achieving further Turkish gains will also give the Syrian regime a larger window to calmly mobilize and deploy its forces throughout the region while still being able to exploit the threat posed to the SDF by Ankara in order to slowly grab more power in northeastern Syria. Further, the expansion of Syrian regime troops throughout the area doesn’t seem to be a prospect that much bothers the Turkish president, so long as they don’t mix with SDF and other armed Kurdish elements. Also while speaking to reporters in Baku, Erdogan stated, “The regime entering Manbij is not very negative for me. Why? It’s their lands after all,”  he said. “But, what is important to me is that the terrorist organization does not remain there… I told this to Mr. Putin as well. If you are clearing Manbij of terrorist organizations, then go ahead, you or the regime can provide all the logistics. But if you are not going to do this, the people there are telling us to save them.” By “terrorist organizations,” Erdogan means primarily the Kurds who were backed by the United States in the fight against ISIS.Such a statement from a head of state who for eight years has been among the most enthusiastic supporters of the Syrian revolution to topple Assad is indicative of the extent to which international calculus surrounding the Syrian issue has changed. It will likely encourage the Assad regime to consider the possibility of going after and eliminating the SDF itself if doing so may once and for all put an end to the activities of their meddlesome Turkish neighbor. Such a prospect may occur as part of a broader swap or deal whereby Turkey would also agree to withdraw its troops from the broader Idlib region, where Ha’it Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an offshoot of al Qaeda’s former Syrian branch, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other FSA groups have been engaged in a bloody standoff with the Syrian regime for over a year.Erdogan’s statements make perfectly clear that, following Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops, the cards increasingly lie in the hands of the Assad regime and its Russian ally. Read 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.

Mexican president confirms Pemex union boss under investigation

The veteran leader of Mexico's powerful oil workers' union faces formal accusations of wrongdoing, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday, slowly turning up pressure on the labor boss to step aside. Earlier this year, sources said the attorney general's office had accused Pemex union chief Carlos Romero Deschamps and several relatives of illicit enrichment and money laundering, charges he has consistently denied. "Complaints have been presented to the attorney general's office," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference.

One dead as strong 6.4-magnitude quake hits Philippines

A child was killed in a strong 6.4-magnitude quake that hit the southern Philippines on Wednesday, a local mayor said, as houses collapsed, power was knocked out and a shopping mall burst into flames. Residents evacuated homes and buildings across the Mindanao region including a mall that caught fire in the city of General Santos shortly after the quake struck in the evening, officials said. The child died in a house collapse in the town of Datu Paglas, while four residents of nearby Tulunan town were injured when at least two other houses fell down, Tulunan Mayor Reuel Limbungan told AFP.

Court Ruling Extends Vote Protest of Philippine Marcos’ Son

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines’ top court on Tuesday decided to release the initial results of the vice-presidential vote recount, which the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ son said will delay his chance to assume the post.Former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is “frustrated” by the court’s decision not to resolve his election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo victory in the 2016 polls. Robredo is already halfway through her six-year term.The court instead decided to make public the result of the recount covering three provinces that will serve as basis for any further action on Marcos’ challenge. It also asked the two camps to comment on Marcos’ plea to nullify votes in three other provinces due to supposed irregularities in the 2016 elections.“The proper vice president -- myself -- is being robbed of years of service,” Marcos said in a televised interview. President Rodrigo Duterte, who has faced questions on his health, has repeatedly said Marcos is his preferred successor if he had to leave office before his single term expires in 2022.Robredo, leader of the opposition party, said she welcomes the court decision, as she urged the court to already junk Marcos’ protest. “The mere fact that this has been dragging on for so long only provides Marcos a platform for his lies,” she said in a separate televised briefing.(Updates with comments from Marcos and Robredo from fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Muneeza NaqviFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

New Orleans collapse site worry: Tropical weather

A tropical disturbance over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula was being eyed Tuesday by New Orleans authorities, who fear it could become a tropical depression or storm that would topple a partially collapsed building and two huge construction cranes onto neighboring buildings at the edge of the city's historic French Quarter. Fire Chief Tim McConnell said searchers using dogs and high-tech equipment were able to get a partial view of the body known to be in the building but were unable to reach it or find the missing worker.

Air Canada will no longer call passengers 'ladies and gentlemen,' and will use the gender-neutral term 'everybody' instead

The policy comes four months after Canada started allowing citizens mark their gender as "X," rather than male or female, on their passports.

Joe Biden at Democratic debate: 'My son did nothing wrong'

Former Vice President Joe Biden reacted to a question at the Democratic debate about Hunter Biden and Ukraine saying, "My son did nothing wrong. I did nothing."

Democrats want to close churches, raise taxes and pay for sex reassignment surgery. Great.

In their war on rural America, Democratic candidates want to take guns, put churches out of business and pay for sex reassignment surgery for inmates.

'They were sent to the slaughter': Mexico mourns 13 police killed in cartel ambush

Ambush the latest in string of brazen attacks by Mexico’s drug cartels, as President Amlo defends strategy to halt the violenceFamily members and fellow officers mourn pay tribute to the officers killed in an ambush on Monday. At least 30 gunmen opened fire on the convoy of state police officers. Photograph: Enrique Castro/AFP via Getty ImagesWith an AR-15 assault rifle in his hand and six spare magazines across his chest, the burly policemen looked nothing if not intimidating as he prepared to attend a memorial service for 13 fellow officers who were killed in an ambush in western Mexico on Monday.Inside, he didn’t feel so tough.“We feel impotent, we feel alone,” the officer said, asking for his name not be used for fear of reprisals from his superiors. “We don’t have any support.”At least 30 gunmen opened fire on the convoy of state police officers as they drove along a rural road in the municipality of Aguililla in the state of Michoacán early on Monday morning.The ambush was the latest in a string of brazen attacks by the Jalisco New Generation cartel (known by its Spanish initials CJNG), and represents a direct challenge to Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s promise to end Mexico’s security crisis while avoiding direct conflict with organized crime groups.President López Obrador, widely known as Amlo, insists the military-led offensives against the cartels pursued by his two predecessors have only made things worse, and has instead focused on crime prevention. Meanwhile, a 70,000-strong militarized police force called the National Guard has drawn criticism for being used heavily to keep migrants from reaching the US border.Asked about the ambush on Tuesday, Amlo said the government would continue with its strategy. “This is a violent area, and we are going to continue attending to the causes of this kind of social decomposition,” he said.According to Falko Ernst, Mexico analyst of the Crisis Group, the problem is that this focus on the long term is allowing entrenched conflicts, like the one in Michoacán, to spin out of control.“There is no short-term strategy,” he said. “At the very least, these groups are getting the message that the leash is loose – and it makes sense for them to test how far they can go.”Monday’s ambush was claimed by the CJNG, which is currently fighting to seize the region known as Tierra Caliente – the Hot Land – from a litany of other armed groups.These include the remnants of older cartels partially dismantled by government offensives of the past (such as the once-dominant Knights Templar), former armed vigilante groups and the different police forces – all of which are deeply corroded by links to organized crime.The memorial service in Morelia. Photograph: Enrique Castro/AFP via Getty ImagesTwo active officers and one former officer at Tuesday’s memorial services, speaking on condition of anonymity, accepted that the state police force is riddled with corruption.They blamed the commanders who they said gave their subordinates no choice but to follow orders – even if these were orders meant acting in ways that favoured the interests of criminal groups.They also said that they suspected senior commanders knew of an impending attack when they sent the officers to Aguililla to serve a a warrant related to a dispute in a family court.One officer said it was almost unheard of for police to go into that area without an army escort because it is known to be so dangerous.“They were sent to the slaughter,” she said. “There is a lot of anger.”While the police officers at the memorial service held in the state capital Morelia remained stony-faced, several grieving relatives were not so restrained.A speech by Governor Silvando Aureoles – who called for all Mexico to stand together to against criminals “who are on the lowest rung of the human ladder” –was greeted with tepid applause.But as he left a smattering of female voices screamed out “¡Asesino!” and a small group began a chant of “Justicia.” Though their voices faded, their sentiment prompted mumblings of agreement throughout the crowd.“This ceremony is a mockery – a chance for the bosses to pretend that they care,” said the brother of one officer, whose death leaves his five-months pregnant wife and one-year-old child without support. “We are only here so that he is not forgotten.”

UAW, GM leaders have a deal to end strike, now workers will decide

General Motors Co and the United Auto Workers union reached a tentative deal on Wednesday for a new four-year labor deal, moving closer to ending a costly month-long strike that shut down GM's most profitable factories in a test of wills over the future of U.S. auto industry jobs. Neither the UAW nor GM released details of the deal, which is subject to ratification by UAW members. A new contract is expected to include commitments by the automaker to invest billions in U.S. vehicle factories to build new generations of electric vehicles, as well as U.S. electric vehicle battery plants.

North Korea's Spy Submarines Have Performed Some Wild Missions—But This One Ended In Disaster

A mechanical meltdown?

Shooting kills 6 in Puerto Rico, leads to emergency meeting

Puerto Rico's governor called an emergency meeting Tuesday after six people were killed in a mass shooting in a San Juan housing project and gunfire left two people dead a day earlier in the island's north. A police statement said the violence left five men and one woman dead. The brazen murders led Gov. Wanda Vázquez to convene a gathering of her security team, led by public security chief Elmer Román and justice secretary Dennise Longo Quiñones.

Iran president's brother starts 5-year jail term: report

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's brother entered prison Wednesday to begin a five-year sentence after he was convicted of corruption, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported, citing his lawyer. Hossein Fereydoun, who served as an aide to the president, was arrested in July 2017 and put on trial in February this year on allegations of financial violations. "This morning Mr Fereydoun together with myself were present at the prosecutor's office," Hossein Sartipi said, quoted by ISNA.

Sergeant is 10th NYPD officer to die by suicide this year

Commissioner says department is dealing with "epidemic" of suicides

Trump Defends Syria Pullout, Drawing Rebuke From Ally Graham

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump stood by his decision to abruptly pull U.S. forces from Syria, rejecting criticism from key GOP supporters in Congress that he abandoned Kurdish allies and allowed Russia to fill the void.Trump reacted forcefully when his comments earlier drew a swift rebuke from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who called Trump’s decision an “utter national security disaster in the making.““The people of South Carolina want to see those troops come home and I won an election based on that,” Trump said during a joint press conference Wednesday at the White House with Iralian President Sergio Mattarella. “And that’s the way it is, whether it’s good or bad, that’s the way it is. And if you look at this country I’d be willing to bet anything -- political instinct -- that’s what the country wants.”Trump has been trying to contain the damage from his sudden move last week to allow Turkey to proceed with a military operation in northern Syria and pull American forces from the area. The withdrawal left exposed Kurdish fighters who fought for several years alongside American troops against Islamic State and are now under attack from the Turkish military.‘Not Angels’Trump rejected the notion that he gave Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a green light for the invasion and also was dismissive of the Kurds. “They’re not angels,” he said of the Kurds.Trump insisted the U.S. shouldn’t get involved in any conflict between Turkey and Syria.“Lindsey Graham would like to stay in the Middle East for the next thousand years with thousands of soldiers fighting other people’s wars,” Trump said.The president is scheduled to meet with lawmakers from both parties at 3 p.m. at the White House to discuss the situation. And he’s likely to face widespread criticism. Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, a member of GOP House leadership, has introduced a bill to sanction Turkey, adding to similar bipartisan proposals in the House and Senate.‘Darkest Days’Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a frequent Trump critic, called the U.S. withdrawal a strategic mistake that “represents one of the darkest days in American foreign policy history.”Republican Representative John Shimkus of Illinois, who graduated from West Point and has consistently backed the president, called the moves “despicable” and said the U.S. has “stabbed our allies in the back.”The comments rolled in after Trump defended his decision earlier Wednesday.“I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria for the United States -- strategically brilliant,” Trump said earlier Wednesday. “We can fight our own battles on our own territories.”About the time Trump was speaking, Syrian troops were reported to be entering the key city of Kobani, part of a deal President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have with Kurdish militias to fend off Turkey’s offensive.Syrian forces also expanded their deployment in Raqqa earlier in the day, state-run Sana news agency said, showing images of troops in army gear, carrying their national flag and pictures of Assad as they made their way to the area.In his White House remarks, Trump said it didn’t harm U.S. strategic interests if Russia moved into the territory where the U.S. withdrew.Russian Help“Syria may have some help with Russia and that’s fine,” Trump said. “It’s a lot of sand. They’ve got a lot of sand over there, so there’s a lot of sand they can play with.”Trump suggested that Russian involvement in the region would eventually prove costly, drawing parallels with the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s.“It used to be called the Soviet Union, now it’s called Russia for a reason -- because they lost so much money in Afghanistan they had to downsize,” Trump said. “So if Russia wants to get involved with Syria that’s really up to them. They have a problem with Turkey, they have a problem with the border. It’s not our border, we shouldn’t be losing lives over it.”Trump said “Syria is friendly with the Kurds” and they “are much safer right now.”Economic SanctionsTurkish forces invaded northern Syria last week after Trump announced the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops. Since the invasion, the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions against Turkey and called for a cease-fire, a proposal Erdogan has rebuffed.Trump on Wednesday said sanctions are more effective than troops in maintaining stability, and added that there were just 28 American troops in the region before he announced his planned withdrawal.“Sanctions work frankly better than fighting, certainly when you’re down to 28 people,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be fighting, we didn’t want to fight anyways, I didn’t think there was any reason to from the United States perspective.”The president also said he was “confident” that American nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey were secure, amid reports the country was considering a plan to remove the weapons from the facility.“It’s a large powerful air base,” Trump said.\--With assistance from Steven T. Dennis.To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net;Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Washington at jdlouhy1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Justin BlumFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake shakes part of central California

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck a remote area of central California on Tuesday. But a seismologist said there was no connection to a slightly smaller quake hours earlier in the San Francisco Bay Area region.

Cory Booker wants $90m a year to prevent urban gun violence

New bill would focus federal dollars on public health approaches to gun violence Senator Cory Booker gives a speech on gun violence at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church, known as Mother Emanuel, in Charleston, South Carolina, in August. Photograph: Randall Hill/ReutersFor more than a decade, faith leaders from black and brown communities have come to Congress with the same request: spend more money on local strategies to prevent gun violence.Now, the New Jersey senator Cory Booker is introducing legislation that would devote $90m a year to programs that prevent urban gun violence.Booker’s new grant program would focus federal dollars on helping the cities with the highest gun homicide rates, and it would prioritize funding for strategies that do not contribute to mass incarceration.series boxInstead of simply directing more federal money to local law enforcement, the new legislation would require cities to give at least half of their federal grant dollars to community organizations that provide services to high-risk people, or to a public department “that is not a law enforcement agency”.Booker’s bill does not include any gun control provisions: it’s focused on strategies that prevent shootings by focusing on the people, not the guns.“We’re in a tough political climate,” said Pastor Michael McBride, a California-based activist who has spent the last decade campaigning for more resources for local gun violence prevention. “This approach charts a way forward that does not bog us down in these intense debates over the second amendment or gun control.”Booker’s legislation is designed to fund programs that have shown success in reducing gun violence in cities such as Oakland and Richmond, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and New York City. The legislation would devote $90m a year over 10 years to evidence-based approaches to gun violence reduction.In the past decade, as they have invested public dollars into expanding community-based strategies, Oakland has seen a 44% decrease in its gun homicide rate, and nearby Richmond has seen a 67% decrease in its gun homicide rate.The decreases in Oakland, Richmond, and San Francisco have driven a 30% decrease in the overall gun homicide rate across the greater San Francisco Bay Area, even as the number of people living in poverty in the region has increased, and as property crime has spiked in some areas. The decrease in the area is much larger than in the nation overall.The successful local strategies highlighted in Booker’s legislation include investing in street outreach workers or “violence interrupters”, trusted community members who intervene in local gang conflicts to keep violence from spreading; funding intervention programs in hospitals to help shooting victims change their lives; and supporting “group violence intervention” strategies, such as Boston’s Operation Ceasefire, that bring together law enforcement, community partners, and faith leaders to intervene with the small number of men in each city who are most likely to shoot or be shot.Booker’s Break the Cycle of Violence Act is co-sponsored by the US representative Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat whose father was shot to death during a robbery when he was 19.“These deaths are preventable,” Horsford said in a statement.Mass shootings are usually the focus of America’s gun control debate. But the majority of America’s gun homicide victims are killed in smaller daily shootings in neighborhoods that have struggled with gun violence for decades.Black men and boys, who make up just 6% of America’s overall population, represent more than 50% of the country’s gun homicide victims.A 2015 Guardian investigation found that half of the country’s gun homicides were concentrated in just 127 cities and towns. Experts have argued for years that American gun violence is highly concentrated, and that one of the best ways to save lives is to devote more resources into the neighborhoods with the greatest need.Black and brown activists have often felt “invisible” and “erased” from the American gun control debate, McBride said.“Our communities are used as props, but never really given serious consideration on how to scale up strategies that save our lives and heal our communities,” he said.The new legislation focuses resources on the majority of America’s gun violence victims – and it also focuses on solutions that are less politically controversial than gun control laws, McBride said.“We think Republicans, historically, have been huge supporters of these kinds of strategies, because of the role that faith communities and redemption and healing play,” he said.

Pick Your Weapon: A New U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier or 2,000 Hypersonic Missiles?

That is the question being floated by one senior U.S. defense official.

Judge says he miscalculated award by $107M in opioid case

An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday acknowledged making a nearly $107 million miscalculation in determining how much drug maker Johnson & Johnson must pay the state to help address the state's opioid crisis. Following a hearing in Cleveland County, District Judge Thad Balkman acknowledged making the error in his August judgment in which he ordered the consumer products giant to pay the state $572 million to address the opioid crisis. Balkman said the actual amount he should have included in his judgment was $107,000 to help the state develop a program for treating babies born addicted to opioids.

New Jersey police are looking for a possible witness to the kidnapping of a 3-year-old girl 30 days ago

Five-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez disappeared from Bridgeton City Park in New Jersey on September 16.

Brazil probes whether 'ghost ship' carrying Venezuelan oil involved in spill

A huge oil spill off Brazil's northeastern coast may have involved a "ghost ship" carrying Venezuelan oil in breach of US sanctions, an expert close to the probe into the disaster said Tuesday. Brazil has accused its South American neighbor of responsibility for the leakage that began in early September and affects a 2,000-kilometer (1,200-mile) stretch of the Atlantic coast -- charges Venezuela's state oil giant PDVSA denies. Describing the incident as "very complex and unprecedented," Brazil's navy says it is investigating "lots of hypotheses" for the cause of the massive spill, including a ship accident.

Angela Merkel Intervenes to Allow Huawei Access to German Networks

Germany will allow Huawei access to its 5G networks despite a U.S. pressure campaign, spearheaded by FCC chairman Ajit Pai, to block the Chinese tech giant from interacting with allies' data networks.“Essentially our approach is as follows: We are not taking a pre-emptive decision to ban any actor, or any company,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference Monday, as Germany’s Federal Network Agency plans to release an in-depth “security catalogue” on compliance criteria for 5G networks in the coming days. The announcement confirmed a report by German business newspaper Handelsblatt, which stated that a review of the current draft of security requirements permits Huawei to provide 5G services in Germany.Handelsblatt also reports that the decision to include Huawei came from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, due to fears that exclusion would damage the country's relationship with China.Merkel’s office, in partnership with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, also removed a clause from a 5G government policy paper that suggested only “trusted suppliers” should be given access to the network.The decision comes after heavy pressure from the U.S. to urge international allies to resist partnerships with Huawei over fears of espionage, fraud, and intellectual property theft. In January, the Justice Department indicted the Chinese firm after allegations of theft and conspiracy.“The criminal activity in this indictment goes back ten years and goes all the way to the top of the company,” said former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker at a press conference announcing the charges.In May, President Trump blacklisted Huawei from doing business with American firms.Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and other U.S. allies have already moved to block Huawei from accessing their networks, while the U.K. has had a political debate over the inclusion of the company in the wake of the rollout of 5G technology.

Hiker Digs Up 1,000-Year-Old Iron Weapon

Climate change melted away the ancient arrowhead.

Prosecutors suspect man of illegally detaining Dutch family

Prosecutors said Wednesday they are charging a 58-year-old man arrested in connection with the discovery of a Dutch family who lived largely isolated from the outside world for nine years. The man, widely reported in Dutch media to be a 58-year-old Austrian national identified only as Jozef B., was scheduled to appear before an investigating judge on Thursday. Prosecution spokeswoman Melanie Kompier declined to give further details on the case or confirm the suspect's identity.

Three US diplomats held near Russian test site where mystery blast killed five

* US embassy says trio had proper paperwork to travel * August explosion causes radiation levels to surgeA Russian navy official works on the Akula nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at the Severodvinsk site in July. The August explosion there killed at least five people. Photograph: Sergei Bobylev/TassThree American diplomats were briefly detained in Russia near the military test site where a mysterious explosion released radiation in August, several Russia state news agencies have reported.The US embassy has confirmed the incident, the Interfax news service reported. But it said the three diplomats had filed the proper paperwork to travel in the area.The report comes just days after the United States said the accident was caused by a nuclear reaction when Russia tried to retrieve a nuclear-powered cruise missile from the Barents Sea.The diplomats were detained on Monday on a train in the city of Severodvinsk, near where Russian authorities said they had been testing a rocket engine with a nuclear component before the accident took place.The diplomats, who have been identified by Interfax as military attaches, were later released, but could face administrative charges for traveling in a restricted military area, agencies reported.The blast at the military test site in August killed at least five people and caused panic after radiation levels jumped to 16 times their normal levels in nearby Severodvinsk.Russian authorities have given little information about the accident. But a US diplomat this week said that the accident took place when Russia attempted to retrieve a nuclear-powered cruise missile called Burevestnik from the Barents Sea.“The United States has determined that the explosion near Nyonoksa was the result of a nuclear reaction that occurred during the recovery of a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile,” Thomas DiNanno, the diplomat, said during a speech at the UN.Russia’s plans for a nuclear-powered cruise missile that could in theory fly indefinitely were first revealed by Vladimir Putin during a speech last year. The missile is still undergoing testing, and some weapons experts doubt if it can ever be made operable.Russia’s military was attempting to retrieve the missile from another failed 2017 test when the accident took place.It was not immediately clear whether the diplomats were traveling to or from Nyonoksa, the village near the military testing site, when they were detained. But train timetables would indicate they were returning from the village when they were arrested close to 6pm in Severodvinsk.Russia has maintained a shroud of secrecy around the incident, closing off waters in the White Sea to foreign ships to prevent them from collecting information about the explosion.