The passionate pro-Trump convert’s attack on the mainstream media occasionally sounds like ‘fake news’ itself
Americans’ distrust of the media is only exceeded by its disdain for Congress. Mark Levin’s latest book won’t do much to rehabilitate journalism but it should cement his standing among Trump’s go-to guys.
Related: The Mueller Report by the Washington Post review – the truth is out there… somewhere
Continue reading...Contract for Tesla-powered underground system reveals lofty goals for a company whose founder is known for missing deadlines
Las Vegas is set to give Elon Musk’s Boring Company its first payout: a $44m contract to build a high-speed underground transit system serving an expanded convention center. But the city is hedging its bets. The contract withholds over two-thirds of payments until construction is complete, and specifies hefty penalties should the system fail to accommodate enough passengers.
The project is a gamble on technology that has yet to be demonstrated at a commercial scale, and on a company whose founder has a reputation for missing deadlines.
Continue reading...Former special agent jailed for selling classified US ‘defence information’ for $25,000 in 2017
An ex-CIA officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for spying for China in a case called part of an “alarming trend” in the US intelligence community.
Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US “defence information” to a Chinese intelligence agent for $25,000 during trips to Shanghai in March and April 2017.
Continue reading...The legislation, which is expected to be signed by the governor, echoes even tighter restrictions passed by Alabama this week
Missouri lawmakers on Friday approved legislation to ban abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, becoming the latest state to put severe restrictions on the procedure.
The legislation passed the Republican-led state house of representatives on Friday afternoon after being approved by the senate early on Thursday, and now heads to the desk of Missouri’s Republican governor, Mike Parson. Parson is expected to sign it.
Continue reading...House Democrat demands six years of tax returns and expects to take matter to court as early as next week
The US treasury secretary defied a House subpoena for Donald Trump’s tax returns on Friday, setting up another potential court battle between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.
Steven Mnuchin said in a letter that the subpoena from the House ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal, a Democrat, was “unprecedented” and “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose”.
Continue reading...The lower house of the Missouri general assembly passed a bill on Friday to prohibit women from seeking an abortion after the eighth week of pregnancy, days after Alabama enacted the most restrictive abortion law in the US.
The House of Representatives gave its final legislative approval in a 110-44 vote after protesters were removed from the public gallery. Missouri senators overwhelmingly approved the legislation on Thursday.
The Trump administration moved to cool the simmering trade war with its major trading partners on Friday, ending tariffs on metal imports from Canada and Mexico and announcing a pause on planned tariffs on cars and car parts.
“I’m pleased to announce we’ve just reached agreement with Canada and Mexico,” Donald Trump said. “We’ll be selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs.”
Continue reading...State’s Republican-led House joins states such as Alabama by passing sweeping bill, which does not include exceptions for rape or incest
The bill just passed in Missouri is designed not to go into effect – but to go to court. It is unconstitutional.
We published this analysis of near total abortion bans from Prof. B Jessie Hill this week. Hill is a professor at Case Western Reserve school of law and an expert in reproductive rights law.
Related: Could abortion become illegal in America? All signs point to yes | B Jessie Hill
Rather than pursuing the sort of incremental strategy that anti-abortion activists have favored in the past – such as banning abortions late in pregnancy, or attempting to gradually regulate abortion clinics out of existence with increasingly burdensome regulations – these newer laws are written to prohibit virtually all abortions in the state.
Fetal cardiac activity can be detected beginning at about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. By banning all abortions after that point, “heartbeat” bans, if they take effect, would stop all but a very small percentage of abortions.
In addition to everything happening in Missouri today, the House debated the Equality Act, to expand protections for LGBT people.
The House just approved the Equality Act, a bill that would expand gay rights, extending to areas like employment, housing, loan applications, education and public accommodations.@SarahEMcBride of @HRC broke down the Equality Act for us ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ctY0DPxjqu
Continue reading...Gen Saleh Jokar also says Iran’s missiles could easily reach US warships in Gulf
Iranian missiles could easily hit US ships in the Gulf, and any conflict would threaten global energy supplies, a senior Iranian military official has said.
As tensions simmered on Friday, Tehran blamed the US for an escalating regional crisis that western intelligence officials fear could lead to open conflict.
Continue reading...‘Appalled’ Democrat urges action after Guardian revealed Google has given $150,000 in free ads to opaque anti-abortion group
Google is facing pressure in Washington to immediately remove online advertisements for “fake medical clinics” that are designed to “mislead” women who are seeking an abortion.
Related: Google has given $150,000 in free ads to deceptive anti-abortion group
Continue reading...Bill introduced to state senate would fine those caught using a ‘portable electronic device’ in crosswalks $25 to $250
In New York City, it seems no one can afford to miss an email or reply to a chat late, even if that means checking their phones when crossing the street. But soon these daredevils could get hit with a fine for their reckless behavior.
A bill banning texting while walking has been introduced to New York’s state senate. If the bill passes into law, New Yorkers can expect to be fined from $25 to $250 if police officers catch them “using a portable electronic device while crossing a roadway”. There are some people who would be exempted, including “an emergency response operator” and employees of a hospital, physician’s office or fire department, among others.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s national security adviser is stoking tensions with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, in line with decades of taking the most hawkish position on any given issue
The US is now engaged in three major confrontations around the world that have the potential to degrade into war. And in the driving seat on all three fronts is John Bolton, one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House.
Related: Elizabeth Warren announces plan to protect abortion rights – live
Continue reading...Risk to oil market of three simultaneous disruptions becomes lobbying point for Iran and Libya
In November 2018, Donald Trump tweeted: “Oil prices getting lower … a tax cut for America and the world! Enjoy! $54 … Thank you to Saudi Arabia.”
Five months on, with oil prices more than $70, Trump will be in a less celebratory mood as Opec’s oil ministers and their allies gather in Jeddah on Friday, without Iran. The main agenda item will be the implications for oil of three interconnected American foreign policy crises – in Venezuela, Iran, and Libya. Together these crises, being played out simultaneously, have the potential to scrub as much as 3.5m barrels of oil per day from the markets.
Continue reading...Sexual health organisations warn women will die if they are forced to seek DIY abortions
The Trump administration has taken its war on abortion worldwide, cutting off all funding to any overseas organisation or clinic that will not agree to a complete ban on even discussing it.
The Mexico City policy, dubbed the “global gag” by its critics, denies US federal funds to any organisation involved in providing abortion services overseas or counselling women about them. It was instituted by the then US president Ronald Reagan and has been revoked by every Democrat and reinstated by every Republican president since.
Continue reading...Australia’s government faces questions over secret deal with US in which the men were granted humanitarian visas
Just hours out from a federal election, the Australian government is facing questions over its decision to grant humanitarian visas to two Rwandan men accused of the brutal 1999 murder of tourists in Uganda.
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has said that the men were subject to – and cleared – security checks, and on Friday distanced himself further by suggesting the approvals occurred when his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister.
Continue reading...Speaking outside court in Alexandria, Virginia, before being jailed for a second time for contempt of court, Chelsea Manning says of a fresh grand jury subpoena to testify about her contacts with WikiLeaks: 'Attempting to coerce me … is not going to work'. Having already served 62 days in jail, 28 of them in solitary confinement, she now faces up to 18 months in custody
Continue reading...Exclusive: US advice was that the men, who have refugee status and were accused of murdering tourists in Uganda in 1999, presented no security threat
The national security committee of cabinet was briefed about all aspects of the American refugee swap deal in late 2016, including the resettlement of two Rwandan men accused of murdering tourists in Uganda.
Guardian Australian understands the NSC was briefed, and the then treasurer, Scott Morrison, the home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, and the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, were aware of all the elements of the agreement signed by Malcolm Turnbull and Barack Obama in 2016.
Continue reading...IM Pei, one of the most celebrated and prolific architects of the 20th century, has died aged 102. The son of a prominent Chinese banker, he favoured stone, steel and glass in his creations that bore his hallmark geometry and reverence for light
Continue reading...Former army private says she would ‘rather starve to death’ than cooperate in growing battle of wills
Chelsea Manning was again behind bars on Thursday night after she was jailed for a second time for contempt of court, having refused to cooperate with a grand jury.
A defiant Manning told Judge Anthony Trenga in a federal district court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she would “rather starve to death” than do what the state insisted and give testimony before the grand jury. Having already served 62 days in jail, 28 of which were spent in solitary confinement, she now faces up to 18 months more in custody.
Continue reading...The New York police department’s use of celebrity doppelgänger photos calls their use of a facial recognition system into question
The New York police department used a photo of Woody Harrelson in its facial recognition program in an attempt to identify a beer thief who looked like the actor, according to a report published on Thursday.
Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology highlighted the April 2017 episode in “Garbage In, Garbage Out”, a report on what it says are flawed practices in law enforcement’s use of facial recognition.
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