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The NRA's Wayne LaPierre: Washington's all-powerful gun man

After a surge in mass shootings and reports of scandalous spending on his own luxury needs, Wayne LaPierre's time as Washington's preeminent power-broker appeared to be up. After two shocking massacres at the beginning of August, Trump initially promised tougher gun controls, a pledge which quickly melted away after he spoke on the phone Tuesday with LaPierre. Suddenly, Trump was again a hardliner defending the most absolutist interpretation of the US Constitution's Second Amendment guarantee of firearms ownership.

Ex-VA doctor who was fired for being drunk on job charged with manslaughter in 3 veterans' deaths

Robert Morris Levy was arrested and faces a grand jury indictment on manslaughter and fraud charges in connection with the death of three veterans.

China warns UK to stay out of its affairs after arrest of British Consul worker

China warned the UK not to meddle in its affairs over Hong Kong on Wednesday after the arrest of a British Consulate official worsened already strained ties between Beijing and London. Simon Cheng, 28, a trade and investment officer at the Hong Kong consulate’s Scottish Development International section, went missing on August 8 on the way back from a business event in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. Britain has said it is “extremely” concerned. News of his disappearance became public on Tuesday, prompting China on Wednesday to confirm that it was holding him on allegations of violating local law, without revealing any further details. Geng Shuang, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said the case was linked to China’s Public Security Administration Punishment Law, a statute pertaining to minor violations. Individuals can be held under administrative detention for as long as 15 days, which would be roughly until Friday. Mr Geng warned the UK to back away from the affairs of its former colony. “The British side has made a lot of erroneous remarks on Hong Kong,” Mr Geng said, urging London “to stop pointing fingers and making accusations.” "He is not a British citizen. He is a Chinese person, so this is entirely a matter of China’s internal affairs," Mr Geng said of Mr Cheng. "As for Britain's comments, we've made stern representations to Britain for the series of comments and actions they've made on Hong Kong," he said.   He also called on Britain to stop interfering in China's internal business. "Britain has made a series of wrong statements on Hong Kong. We again urge them to stop gesticulating and to stop fanning the flames," Mr Geng said. Activists gather outside the British Consulate-General building in Hong Kong  Credit: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images In a statement issued on Facebook, Mr Cheng’s family said: “We feel very helpless, and are worried sick about Simon. We hope that Simon can return to Hong Kong as soon as possible.” Friends of Mr Cheng, staged a rally outside the British Consulate in central Hong Kong on Wednesday urging Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister and Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister “save” the young man from a Chinese jail. “Save Simon Now! Delay No More!” they chanted. Max Chung, the rally organiser, who knew Mr Cheng from his student days at the London School of Economics, accused the UK of “failing to show due diligence” towards him. “Mr Boris Johnson, the prime minister, it’s now or never!” he said. “We appeal to Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon, we urge you to save Simon. Make this your number one priority now.” Michael Mo, a fellow protester, added: “England expects every man to do his duty and we expect every British politician to honour their word.” The group was briefly admitted indoors to present a petition calling for the UK to express “specific measures” to protect British Nationals in Hong Kong and to issue a travel warning that British and foreign nationals in Hong Kong could be subjected to “enforced disappearance.” Simon Cheng, a staff member of the British Consulate in Hong Kong, was initially reported missing Emerging from the building, Mr Chung said senior officials had assured him that they were working “full throttle” to secure Mr Cheng’s freedom. However, protesters said that Mr Cheng’s predicament confirmed their worst fears about arbitrary detention by China. The Hong Kong protest movement, now in its eleventh week, began over opposition to a planned extradition law that would allow suspects to be sent to trial for the first time in China’s opaque justice system. “Simon’s case is “white terror” to everyone in Hong Kong. Because even if you haven’t voiced out your political views, you may still be considered a target, and can be arrested for no reason,” said Duff Li, a protester in his twenties. Mr Cheng’s disappearance has also revived fears about the safety of diplomatic personnel in China. The diplomatic and expat community has already been put on edge by the December detention of Michael Kovrig, a Hong Kong-based security analyst on leave from Canada’s foreign service, and by the arrest of Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur, who worked between China and North Korea.   China | Read more from The Telegraph Meanwhile, Hong Kong maintained its week long uneasy calm spell on Wednesday night when thousands of protesters gathered at the Yuen Long metro station in the New Territories district on the outskirts of the city to mark one month since a vicious assault on dozens of commuters by triad gangs. Public anger remains high over the incident, in which at least 45 people were attacked by hundreds of alleged gang members wearing white shirts and wielding sticks. The police were accused of responding too late and of being slow to arrest the perpetrators. Protesters crowding the station initially stood in silence, holding one hand over their right eye to symbolise a young female medic who was hit in the face by a police bean bag shot during a demonstration and badly injured But there were tense scenes outside the station as locals hurled angry insults at riot police. “Triad cops! Why didn’t you save us last month? Why are you coming now when nothing is happening?” shouted bystanders. Violence was close to flaring up when protesters pushed police back from the station entrance with fire extinguishers and closed the gates, briefly locking themselves inside. But while the elite Raptors squad lurked on standby, armed with bean bag guns and tear gas, not a shot was fired, and both sides retreated to brace for another weekend of protests as the pro-democracy movement heads into its 12th week.

Parkland students unveil gun violence prevention plan: 'Policymakers have failed, so survivors are stepping up'

March For Our Lives, the group formed by the Parkland students in the wake of the mass shooting at their school in February 2018, has unveiled a new plan for gun control.The Peace Plan is a six-step proposal focused on changing gun laws in America to prevent mass shootings, which continue to ravage the country. The students call their steps C.H.A.N.G.E., with each letter spelling out a goal.

A shark attacked a woman in Hawaii, and authorities are warning it's 'still in the area'

A 27-year-old woman was bitten twice by a shark while swimming on Tuesday. She is reportedly recovering and in "good health."

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of sex trafficking young girls on his mysterious private island. Over 40 years ago, a different millionaire escaped justice in a stunningly similar case.

Jeffrey Epstein was accused of using his wealth, connections, and island to prey on minors. He wasn't the first millionaire to be accused of doing so.

Huawei’s founder just sent a desperate but brutal memo to workers

When he was a younger man, Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei joined China's People's Liberation Army as an engineer, at one point heading out with the army for China's frigid north as part of a crew tasked with building a synthetic fiber factory.That background no doubt inspired the overtly military-themed tone of a desperate memo Zhengfei distributed internally at the company on Monday as the US ban against it lingers, with the company founder warning that workers need to band together in "commando squads" to survive this "live or die moment."The overarching message was that employees of the company, which is the subject of a now stepped-up ban as of Monday, need to redouble their efforts if Huawei is to survive. Workers need to "either form a 'commando squad' to explore new projects -- in which case they could be promoted to company commander if they do well," Zhengfei wrote in the memo. "Or they can find jobs in the internal market. If they fail to find a role, their salaries will be cut every three months."Zhengfei sent out the memo on the same day US officials announced the addition of more than 40 more Huawei units to the existing blacklist, while also extending by three months a reprieve that allows Huawei to keep buying components from the US -- essentially allowing the company time to wean itself away from the US."If you cannot do the job, then make way for our tank to roll," Zhengfei's memo reads at one point, per Reuters. "And if you want to come on the battlefield, you can tie a rope around the 'tank' to pull it along. Everyone needs this sort of determination!"Huawei employs almost 190,000 people globally and is the second-largest smartphone vendor in the world after Samsung, but unfortunately, the Chinese company finds itself caught in the larger crossfire of an ongoing trade dispute between the US and China. Huawei's consumer division, the unit that sells products including smartphones, accounted for almost half of the company's revenue in 2018, and while that division has historically been a reliable profit center for the company, it's been hammered hard by the US sanctions.The founder's memo laid out the challenges in stark terms. The first half of this year "looked good," but mostly because Chinese clients "were sympathetic," a sentiment that Huawei can't exactly count on to make up for lost international business. The founder's plan includes putting more power in the hands of ground-level workers and trimming the company's fat and any unnecessary workers and layers of management."In 3-5 years time, Huawei will be flowing with new blood," the memo declares. "After we survive the most critical moment in history, a new army would be born. To do what? Dominate the world."

India's ex-finance minister arrested at home in dramatic raid

High drama unfolded in New Delhi late Wednesday as officers from India's equivalent of the FBI scaled the walls of a former finance minister's home to arrest him on corruption charges, local media reported. Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alerted airports to prevent Palaniappan Chidambaram, finance minister from 2004-2008 and again from 2012-2014, from leaving the country. Chidambaram, 73, earlier this week failed to secure bail and had not been seen since Tuesday, until he showed up at the headquarters of the opposition Congress party on Wednesday to proclaim his innocence.

Police Arrest Two Louisiana Men in 39-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Teen

Rapides Parish Sheriff's OfficeAfter nearly four decades, Louisiana police have charged two men they believe brutally raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl before disposing of her body in the woods.Leo Laird, 64, and Gary Haymon, 54, were both charged on Monday in the death of 18-year-old Donna Gayle Brazzell, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office. The young woman’s skeletal remains were found near Nichols Cemetery Road in 1980, but authorities were unable to identify them until last month.The Daring DNA Hunt That Cracked France’s Gruesome Cold Case“These cases never, ever leave a policeman’s mind,” Officer William Earl Hilton, who was first assigned the case, told KBLA. “They prey on you all the time. Especially cases like this that you never solve.”Authorities declined to elaborate on what evidence led to Laird and Haymon’s arrest, but said “sufficient probable cause was established.” Both men have been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and aggravated kidnapping.The mystery began on November 5, 1980, when the sheriff’s office responded to a call about “skeletal remains found in a wooded area” near Nichols Cemetery Road. Working alongside Louisiana State University’s Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons, investigators were able to determine that the remains, which were likely in the woods for at least two months, belonged to a female victim between the ages of 16 and 21.  The lab also created a DNA profile and a facial sketch of the victim but were still unable to make a positive identification. In 2014, the sheriff’s office “received information in reference to the case” that led them to name Laird and Haymon as suspects. It remains unclear what new evidence pointed to the two men.Vatican to Open Tombs in Hunt for Teen Missing for 30 YearsThe sketch of the victim proved key to cracking the case five years later, when a woman contacted authorities claiming the picture resembled her long lost granddaughter. After a DNA comparison last month, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to the woman’s relative, Donna Gayle Brazzell.Laird, who would have been in his 20s at the time of the alleged murder, was arrested on August 14 and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. He is currently being held on a $1 million bold. Haymon is already serving a 49-year prison sentence for second-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, and public bribery, authorities said. While he was originally set for release in 2047, authorities said arrangements “are in place to have Haymon booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center in reference to his new charges.”Quadriplegic Charged in Cold-Case Murder of Bay Area MomRead 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.

The Latest: Merkel says her 30-days remark not a deadline

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says a suggestion she made that a solution to the Brexit dispute be solved in 30 days shouldn't be interpreted as a strict deadline. Some commentators in Britain had interpreted her comment as a deadline to Johnson, who wants to take Britain out of the European Union by the end of October — whether a solution to the Irish border issue is agreed or not. French President Emmanuel Macron says the Irish backstop is "indispensable" in a Brexit deal.

A Mexican judge says 2 people can legally use cocaine — but they can't buy or sell it

A court in Mexico ordered the government to allow plaintiffs to "possess, transport and use cocaine," but not to sell or buy it.

Man punches his own lawyer in court

A defendant standing trial for attacking a corrections officer punched his own lawyer during a hearing in an Arizona courtroom.Footage of Lamont Payne's violent assault in Maricopa County was caught on court camera and released by officials.

Biden confronts Fox News reporter: 'You're going to go after me no matter what'

2020 Democrat Joe Biden challenges Fox News' Peter Doocy after being asked about the size of his crowds in Iowa.

Russia's new high-altitude drone just flew for the first time, and they want to arm it with one ton of bombs

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense shared video of a test flight for the Altius-U, a major step forward in its drone program.

Albania bulldozes restaurant after owner attacks tourists

Albanian officials on Wednesday razed a beachfront restaurant whose owner was captured on camera attacking a car rented by Spanish tourists, as the country scrambles to clean up its reputation as a burgeoning holiday destination. The incident, filmed by the victims' tour guide from inside their vehicle, took place at the weekend in Porto-Palermo on the Ionian coast in southern Albania, a popular tourist spot. The restaurant owner, 51-year-old Mihal Kokedhima, was arrested and faces trial for "verbally assaulting a group of Spanish tourists for futile reasons", damaging their car and causing minor injuries, police said.

Iran ready to work on French nuclear deal proposals, does not want war: foreign minister

Iran is prepared to work on French proposals to salvage the international nuclear deal that Tehran signed with world powers in 2015 but it will not tolerate U.S. interference in the Gulf, its foreign minister said on Thursday. At a time of heightened friction between Tehran and Washington, Iran also on Thursday displayed what it described as a domestically built long-range, surface-to-air missile air defense system.

Former Massachusetts police union president used dues as 'personal piggy bank,' feds say

Dana Pullman, feds say, paid for flowers, iTunes purchases and a romantic trip to Miami using a debit card from the Massachusetts state police union.

Trump touts quote calling him 'second coming of God' to Jews in Israel

A day after saying American Jews who vote for Democrats show “great disloyalty,” President Trump touted comments from a conservative radio host who said that Jews in Israel "love him" like a king or the Messiah.

A woman caught a fish with two mouths and the photo is just as shocking as you would expect

A woman in upstate New York surely found the "catch-of-the-day" when she reeled in a fish with two mouths. A photo of the fish has since gone viral.

Former Manafort deputy Rick Gates testifies against Greg Craig

Rick Gates was thrust into public view in August 2017 when he and Manafort were indicted in the first case publicly brought by Mueller’s office.

Brown bear that is killing livestock and startling hikers in Italy's Dolomites is wanted, dead or alive

A bear that is raiding beehives, attacking livestock and startling hikers in the Dolomite mountains of Italy is now wanted dead or alive. The brown bear is known to scientists as M49 but was nicknamed Papillon, after the Henri Charrière novel about escaping from Devil’s Island in French Guiana, when it managed to climb over a 16ft-high fence and flee an enclosure last month. It had been captured just a few hours before after being identified as a problem bear which posed a threat to farm animals.   Since escaping the enclosure in a wildlife sanctuary in the province of Trentino on July 15, it has been slowly moving northwards, disemboweling a cow and encountering hikers. The province of South Tyrol has now issued an order which calls for the capture or, if necessary, the killing of the 140kg, three-year-old bear. It is normally illegal to kill or capture Italy’s bears, which were introduced from Slovenia in the 1990s. The order was signed on Wednesday by Arno Kompatscher, the president of the autonomous, German-speaking province, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until the end of the First World War when it passed to Italy. “We want to capture the bear in order to protect other bears, and also wolves, because if it continues to be a nuisance, then bears and wolves will never be accepted by the population,” said Arnold Schuler, the deputy president of the province. The bear is roaming the Dolomites in northern Italy, between the provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol The authorities say the bear poses a risk to humans. In the last few days, it was seen snuffling around a caravan used by shepherds in a remote mountain spot, looking for discarded food. Two national park rangers fired shots into the air to scare it away. The bear was encountered this week by a hiker on a mountain trail near the Bletterbach Canyon in South Tyrol. “My legs were shaking,” the 64-year-old man told a local newspaper. “People joke about meeting a bear in the wild, but when you really do encounter one, you’re no longer laughing.” Carlo Groff, an expert on large carnivores from Italy’s Forestry Corps, says rangers are trying to keep track of the bear’s movements and hope to tranquilise and capture it. “The safety of humans comes before the bear,” he told La Stampa newspaper. Conservation organisations and animal rights groups have threatened to take legal action against the authorities if the bear comes to any harm. “The bear is simply living its normal life. It has never been dangerous to humans. It has caused a few thousand euros’ worth of damage, and it is right that compensation should be paid, but we need to learn to value bears as an asset, not a threat,” said Isabella Pratesi of WWF Italy. While the autonomous provincial government has called for the bear’s capture or, if necessary, killing, Sergio Costa, the environment minister, has called for the bear to be spared.

NYC Rules Ease Affordable Housing Path for Undocumented Migrants

(Bloomberg) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is making it easier for New York City’s undocumented immigrants to qualify for scarce city-subsidized affordable housing.New eligibility rules de Blasio unveiled scrap credit-rating, Social Security and taxpayer identification requirements if applicants can show 12 consecutive monthly rent payments.“For too long, families without access to credit have faced barriers to the affordable housing they need,” de Blasio said Wednesday. “By allowing New Yorkers to submit rental history instead of credit checks, we are creating a fairer system for all New Yorkers.”The mayor’s goal of creating or preserving 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026 has been one of his signature programs, which he’s touted while campaigning for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The city’s 500,000 undocumented immigrants would be able to participate in a lottery that already attracts more than 500 applicants for each available unit, said Bitta Mostofi, commissioner for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.Unlike federal housing programs that bar undocumented immigrants from applying for U.S. funded public or subsidized housing, they were never legally disqualified from city housing programs, said Margy Brown, associate commissioner for housing opportunity in the city’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development. By ending credit-rating requirements, there’s no need for an applicant to provide Social Security and taxpayer documents, making it easier for non-citizens to qualify, she said.“We are committed to ensuring that New Yorkers across the board have equal access to affordable housing,” she said.The new policy was criticized as “a really bad idea” by Howard Husock, vice president for research and publications, at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative policy research group. “People who consistently pay their bills should be rewarded for their efforts, especially when property owners are being asked to take less-than-market rent, and deserve assurance they will get paid,” he said.To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at hgoldman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Michael B. Marois, William SelwayFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Money, muscle, media: how China has handled Hong Kong protests

China has deployed a three-pronged strategy to suffocate pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong -- propaganda, economic leverage and intimidation. Here is a look at Beijing's efforts so far to squash a movement that has refused to die. As protests erupted in June, discussion inside authoritarian China was muted, censored on social media or played down on state outlets.

5 men, 85-year-old woman accused of lewd, sexual activity in Connecticut woods

Police say the six people, five men and an 85-year-old woman, were involved in lewd and sexual activity in the woods in Connecticut.

Farmer's threat prompts U.S. Agriculture Department to pull staff from crop tour

CORALVILLE, Iowa/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and three sources said the threat of violence was made during a phone call from an angry farmer. U.S. farmers have complained this month that a government crop report did not reflect damage from historic flooding this spring. Lance Honig, crops chief at the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, was among the USDA staffers who had to leave the privately-run Pro Farmer tour, three sources with knowledge of the situation said.

Lawyers seek exam for man charged in Ole Miss student death

Lawyers for a man charged with killing a University of Mississippi student withdrew their request Thursday for a judge to set bail, instead seeking a psychiatric evaluation. Defense lawyer Tony Farese said after the brief hearing that lawyers had obtained new information Wednesday about Brandon Theesfeld. "We received some new information," Farese told The Oxford Eagle after the hearing.

Take the deal, President Trump. Eighteen years is enough. It's time to leave Afghanistan.

Al-Qaida was debilitated long ago, and building an Afghan democracy is fool’s gold. No more U.S. troops should give their lives. Bring them all home.

Jail parents over skipping school? Some 2020 Democrats threatened it -- and some say no

Kamala Harris says she didn't send anyone to jail, but critics say her policy "perpetuates poverty." Other 2020 Dems worked to decriminalize truancy.

Drivers in Idaho keep harassing busloads of immigrants' children on their way to pre-school

One driver reported experiencing threatening incidents with other drivers while she was driving a busload of children under the age of five.

The northernmost reaches of the Earth are on fire. Here's what this record-breaking hot summer looks like from space.

Climate change comes with a higher risk of wildfires. This summer, fires have ravaged the Arctic, and the flames can be seen from space.

Former India Finance Minister Arrested on Corruption Allegations

(Bloomberg) -- India’s former finance minister and a senior leader of the main opposition Congress party, Palaniappan Chidambaram, was sent to the custody of the country’s federal investigative agency for four days by a local court on Thursday following his arrest by for alleged corruption during his tenure.Ajay Kumar Kuhar, a special judge appointed to the case, allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation custody of Chidambaram until Aug. 26. He will be allowed regular medical examinations and permission to meet family and lawyers, the court said.Chidambaram was taken Wednesday night from his residence in New Delhi, soon after he appeared at Congress party offices to address reporters, saying he had not been hiding for the past 24 hours -- as many believed -- but seeking protection of the law.Flanked by party colleagues and senior lawyers he said no charge had been filed in a court by the investigating agencies. “Yet, there is a widespread impression that grave offences have been committed and my son and I have committed those offences,” said Chidambaram. “Nothing can be further from the truth.”When Chidambaram returned to his residence after addressing the media, a team from the CBI arrived and whisked him away.A lawyer with a degree from Harvard Business School, Chidambaram is one of the most prominent members of the Congress party and is a lawmaker in the upper house of parliament.He’s been facing allegations since May 2017, when the CBI registered a case against his son and unknown officials from the finance ministry for corruption in an overseas investment approval when Chidambaram was the finance minister in 2007. Since then, the Enforcement Directorate, which investigates financial crimes, has also begun investigating a case of alleged money laundering.Chidambaram had sought interim protection in both cases, however the Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant him bail, saying he appeared to be the “kingpin” and “key conspirator” of the alleged scam. The Supreme Court will hear his plea on Friday seeking a stay of the High Court order.Now 73, Chidambaram was finance minister for more than six years in Manmohan Singh’s Congress-led coalition government until 2014 and was also the country’s home minister following the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.Chidambaram has denied all the allegations and earlier said the government was intimidating him to silence his criticisms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. The Congress party has accused the Modi government of targeting opposition leaders, calling the action a “political vendetta.”“This is quite unusual, unprecedented,” said Ajoy Bose, a Delhi-based independent political analyst, adding it’s difficult to understand whether the custodial interrogation of Chidambaram was necessary when he was already appearing before an investigating agency. “Obviously questions will be raised about whether this is just or if there is some political angle to it.”(Updates with court order in first and second paragraphs.)To contact the reporters on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net;Upmanyu Trivedi in New Delhi at utrivedi2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Abhay Singh, Tuhin KarFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Giant panda Bei Bei, soon to go bye-bye, turns four in US

The birthday celebration for Bei Bei -- his name is pronounced "Bay Bay" -- could be viewed live thanks to the zoo's "Panda Cam," which broadcasts scenes of the four-year-old and his siblings and parents from their enclosure round-the-clock. Bei Bei will soon be returned to China, under terms of the agreement that brought him to the US zoo on loan. Under the loan agreement, the zoo pays China $500,000 a year to support conservation efforts there, and any panda cubs born at the zoo may stay until age four, according to the Smithsonian website.

New poll shows Biden continues to lead the pack of 2020 Democratic candidates

According to a new poll released by CNN, former Vice President Joe Biden remains on top of the public polls, out-performing the rest of the Democratic presidential candidates.

Trial starts in case of fatal shooting over parking spot

A prosecutor told jurors Wednesday that a white Florida man who fatally shot an unarmed black man during a dispute over a parking space had initiated a similar confrontation just months before, while his defense attorney said the shooting was in self-defense. Prosecutor Fred Schaub said during opening statements of Michael Drejka's manslaughter trial in Clearwater that five months before he fatally shot Markeis McGlockton in July 2018, the defendant had threatened another driver about parking in a handicapped parking spot at the same convenience store. Five months later, Drejka confronted McGlockton's girlfriend for parking in a handicapped space.

US mental health staff warned not to contradict Trump after mass shootings

When Donald Trump targeted mental illness as the cause of the mass shootings that killed 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, federal health officials made sure no government experts might contradict him.A Health and Human Services (HHS) directive on 5 August warned communication staffers not to post anything on social media related to mental health, violence and mass shootings without prior approval.

The 591-HP Audi RS6 Avant Is Really, Truly Coming to America

No, this is not a drill: Audi thinks it’s time for Americans to circle back to wagons.

In the streets and on the run: Alligators are having a 'hot girl summer' of their own

From climbing fences in Florida to swimming in a Chicago lagoon, here are 11 of the best gator stories so far this year.

Troops Are Not the Answer to the Crisis at the Border

James Stavridis: I commanded the U.S. Southern Command, and I am skeptical that there is a military solution to the border challenges.

Migrants in limbo again after landing in Italy

Dozens of migrants who disembarked on Italy's Lampedusa island were again in limbo Wednesday as a European deal to redistribute them failed to materialise and Madrid said it could hit the Spanish charity with a huge fine for rescuing them. The prospect of a penalty comes after a protracted standoff between the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms and Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini finally came to an end. The boat spent six days anchored off Lampedusa before a local prosecutor ordered that the migrants be allowed to land and the vessel temporarily seized amid a probe of Salvini for banning their entry to port.

Putin says deadly military accident occurred during weapons systems test

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that a deadly blast at a military site in northern Russia earlier this month had taken place during the testing of what he called promising new weapons systems. Putin said that Moscow could not reveal everything about the blast because of its military nature, but that information exchanges about such accidents should be improved. "When it comes to activities of a military nature, there are certain restrictions on access to information," Putin told a news conference in Helsinki, standing alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it

White nationalists pervade law enforcement. Fighting far right violence means continuing our fight for police accountabilityProtesters shout anti-Nazi chants after chasing alt-right blogger Jason Kessler from a news conference on 13 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAs mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. We want justice, but we also want protection.So what are the solutions we’re hearing about following this month’s violence? One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn’t they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?White nationalists pervade law enforcement. There is a long history of the military, police and other authorities supporting, protecting or even being members of white supremacy groups. But it’s not just history. It was revealed last week that a black man in Michigan came upon KKK materials and Confederate flags in plain view while being shown a home for sale – the home of a police officer on the force for more than 20 years who shot and killed a black man in 2009 without consequence.It’s a widespread pattern. As early as 2006, the FBI flagged it. Another FBI report in 2015, not covered nearly enough, indicated that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers”. (And that’s the FBI, which has its own history of white supremacy affinity groups.)White nationalists connect through online networks and offline groups, and openly share tactics for infiltrating and influencing police departments, border patrol, the FBI and the military. That was the case for a Virginia police officer – assigned to a high school – who was revealed to be a longtime white nationalist and served as a recruiter for Identity Evropa, one of the groups behind the Charlottesville hate rallies and violence. He was not shy about his cover. In chat messages, he “discussed ways to downplay appearances of racism, while still promoting white nationalism”.Another thing many of those like him are not shy about: stoking and celebrating violence, and promoting hateful misinformation and rhetoric. The Plain View Project tracked publicly posted social media material from more than 3,500 confirmed current and retired law enforcement officers, and found that “about 1 in 5 of the current officers, and 2 in 5 of the retired officers, made public posts or comments ... displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process or using dehumanizing language”. The Center for Investigative Reporting was able to identify almost 400 current and retired law enforcement officials who were members of private Facebook “Confederate, anti-Islam, misogynistic or anti-government militia” groups.We have seen racist text messages and emails among active officers revealed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and more, including among those in management with direct authority over law enforcement practices. As the Portland case proved, we must come to terms with the depth of association between senior law enforcement and white nationalist leaders and groups – people they should be investigating and thwarting, not encouraging and helping to evade justice.Neo-Nazis and white supremacists at the University of Virginia after marching through the campus with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesIt would be naive to look at cases in which agencies have dismissed white nationalists from their ranks as an encouraging sign, whether in police departments, border patrol (an agent with a pattern of racist text messages ran over a Guatemalan migrant with a truck), the coast guard (a white nationalist aimed to “murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country”), military units (more Identity Evropa members in the Marines), or anywhere else.In truth, would the level of violence committed by law enforcement in communities of color, and at the border, even be possible if racial hatred weren’t part and parcel of police culture? White nationalists in law enforcement and in many roles in government, such as prosecutors, are dangerous because they routinely abuse their power to attack and debilitate communities of color, including harassment and coercion, financial exploitation, acts of sexual and racially-targeted violence and mass incarceration – all officially sanctioned, and all celebrated as part of the larger white nationalist agenda.Within the FBI, there has been an active movement among white nationalist sympathizers to protect their own by unfoundedly targeting nonviolent black activists: inventing the idea of a black extremist threat to justify surveillance of nonviolent black activists and divert attention from truly violent white nationalist perpetrators. This policy was codified in an internal “Race Paper” that a federal court allowed to remain secret, despite a move for transparency led by my organization, Color Of Change. (And people who have spoken out about internal racism at the FBI have not been treated well.)Investigations have not yet uncovered the extent to which people in law enforcement at all levels are actually involved in white nationalist violence more directly: training and mentorship, advice and tips, offering the social validation that people of color and others are, in fact, the enemy, or offering the social validation that violence is, in fact, the answer.More stories from those who know what’s happening inside law enforcement officers’ lives would help.But we already know enough. We must change the incentives for law enforcement and their unions – financial, social, cultural and otherwise – that allow the denial of this threat to persist. Instead of allowing news media to praise law enforcement as problem-solvers, we must hold them to account for the harm they enable. Lawmakers across the country must also play their role: investigating the extent of the problem, and forcing a purge of white nationalists and their sympathizers from positions of power and influence – everywhere. Fighting white nationalist violence means doubling down on our fight for police accountability.

A Michigan Court Case Shows the Right of Armed Self-Defense Is Broader Than You Might Think

Yesterday the Michigan Court of Appeals handed down a decision in a highly public and very controversial case that gun owners across the United States should applaud. In short, it demonstrates and validates the value of armed self-defense even when you do not pull the trigger and -- crucially -- have no cause to pull the trigger. It justifies the brandishing of a gun as pre-emptive measure to block the use of unlawful force.What do I mean? Hang with me for a moment, because this case is a bit complicated. At its heart is a dispute between Siwatu-Salama Ra, an African-American concealed-carry permit holder from Detroit, and a woman named Channel Harvey. Ra was put on trial for assault with a dangerous weapon and possessing a firearm while committing a felony after she brandished her unloaded pistol at Harvey during a heated confrontation outside Ra’s mother’s house.The facts are hotly disputed, but Ra claimed that during the course of an argument, Harvey backed her car into Ra’s vehicle -- while Ra’s two-year-old daughter was inside, playing. Ra claims she grabbed her daughter out of the car, then grabbed her unloaded gun, “pointed the gun at Harvey’s car” and then again demanded that Harvey leave. Harvey testified that Ra was the aggressor, and that she hit Ra’s car on accident only after Ra pointed the gun at her. The jury apparently believed Harvey’s version of events, and Ra received a two-year prison sentence.The case was immediately controversial, with critics of the verdict claiming that the case represented “yet another instance of a black gun owner, with the permits to legally carry, defending themselves against violence — and getting punished for it.” The NRA tweeted in support of Ra:> No one should be imprisoned for exercising their right to self-defense. https://t.co/ZWkYJ5dL3K 2A> > -- NRA (@NRA) May 7, 2018Yesterday the Michigan Court of Appeals threw out her conviction. It didn’t hold that the jury got the outcome wrong but rather that it didn’t have a true opportunity to get it right. It was improperly instructed on the law, and the trial court placed too high a burden on Ra to justify her decision to brandish her weapon.The jury was instructed only on the affirmative defense of self-defense through the use of “deadly force.” To prove that deadly force was appropriate, a defendant has to prove that she “reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the imminent death of or imminent great bodily harm to himself or herself or to another individual.” (Emphasis added.)Under this reasoning, a person could brandish a weapon only when she has the legal right to fire the weapon.The court of appeals, however, said that’s not the law. When one brandishes a weapon without firing it, they don’t, in fact, use “deadly force.” They use nondeadly force, and the legal standard for the use of nondeadly force only requires the defendant to prove that she “reasonably believes that the use of that force is necessary to defend himself or herself or another individual from the imminent unlawful use of force by another individual.” (Emphasis added.)Under this reasoning, a person can brandish a weapon to prevent the imminent use of force from escalating to a threat of imminent death.As the court noted, “merely to threaten death or serious bodily harm, without any intention to carry out the threat, is not to use deadly force, so that one may be justified in pointing a gun at his attacker when he would not be justified pulling the trigger.” There’s a commonsense element to this conclusion. Police officers, for example, sometimes point a weapon at an individual as a means of preventing unlawful force even when they don’t have the legal right to fire a shot.Crucially, this legal doctrine does not create a license to kill. Nondeadly force becomes deadly force the very instant a person pulls the trigger, and when a person pulls the trigger they have to prove the threat of imminent death or great bodily harm. The doctrine does -- as a practical matter -- allow citizens to use the threat of decisive force to deter unlawful violence.A contrary rule places civilians in an untenable position. They could not even pull their weapon until the threat of death is actively upon them. They would be forced to maintain maximum vulnerability right up until the point of maximum danger -- a legal position that would be most threatening to people of slight physical stature who lack alternative effective means of self-defense.Now, some important caveats. This is a Michigan case. It is not setting rules for other jurisdictions. Don’t rely on Michigan law to determine your actions in, say, Ohio. Moreover, even under legal standards similar to Michigan’s it’s still a grave decision to pull a weapon from a holster or from the glove compartment of your car. It’s legally consequential and extremely dangerous. But the Michigan case outlines what should be the proper legal standard. The sight of a gun has the power to deter violence, and banning its use outside of the threat of imminent death would -- perversely enough -- allow too many confrontations to escalate.Prosecutors have a right to appeal the decision to their state supreme court. They should not. Ra has suffered immensely. She gave birth while imprisoned, and her child was taken from her two days later. She spent months separated from her newborn – after a conviction under the wrong legal standard. The court of appeals reached the just result. Ra’s legal ordeal needs to end.