Donald Trump threatens Iran for insurgents storming of US Embassy in Iraq

Supporters of the Iraq Shiite militia, which is backed by Iran, broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad earlier Tuesday.

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Drones are appearing in the Colorado and Nebraska skies

Mysterious groups of giant drones have appeared in the Colorado and Nebraska night sky since last week, the Denver Post reported.

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Attack on US Embassy in Iraq shows stark choices for Trump

The attack on the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iran-supported militiamen Tuesday is a stark demonstration that Iran can still strike at American interests despite President Donald Trump's economic pressure campaign. Trump said Iran would be held “fully responsible” for the attack, but it was unclear whether that meant military retaliation.

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Thousands flee to beaches amid devastating Australian wildfires

Thousands of Australians were forced to flee to beaches on Tuesday as wildfires continued to blaze in New South Wales and Victoria.About 4,000 people sought refuge on nearby beaches in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria, with thousands along the New South Wales coast needing to evacuate their homes, CNN reports. Fires have been raging in Australia for the past several months, and 70 new fires reportedly started in Victoria on Monday, while more than 60 fires haven't yet been contained in New South Wales."It was like we were in hell," a vacationer in New South Wales told CNN. "We were all covered in ash.""It should have been daylight but it was black like midnight and we could hear the fire roaring," a local business owner in Mallacoota told BBC News. "We were all terrified for our lives."After the death of a father and son in Cobargo, at least 11 people have died amid Australia's devastating fire season, during which more than 900 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales, The New York Times reports. Victoria Emergency Services Commissioner Andrew Crisp said there have been "significant" property losses, The Associated Press reports.Australian military aircraft and vessels will assist in the emergency services, BBC News reports, and the United States and Canada have also been asked to help in the effort. CNN reports that weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours before worsening by the end of the week, again "bringing dangerous fire conditions."More stories from theweek.com The Obama legacy is not what many liberals think Trump's scandals will haunt America for years The first decade in history

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China took their parents: the Uighur refugee children of Turkey

The school on the outskirts of Istanbul is a rare place where Uighur child refugees from China can study their language and culture. Having fled a worsening crackdown on Uighur Muslims in northwest China, some of their parents thought it was still safe to return occasionally for business and to visit family, only to disappear into a shadowy network of re-education camps from which no communication is permitted. Nine-year-old Fatima has only vague memories of her homeland -- and now, of her father, too.

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Does Russia Really Have A 100 Megaton Nuclear Torpedo Called Status-6?

The Pentagon thinks so.

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Thousands of Google cafeteria staff have unionized, and it's the latest group of Google's 'shadow workforce' to join a union

The union organizing comes as Google is facing a wave of internal activism from its own employees protesting the company's treatment of workers.

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Iranian-backed militia threatens retaliation for US strikes on their forces in Iraq and Syria

An Iran-backed militia vowed on Monday to retaliate for US military strikes in Iraq and Syria which killed 25 of its fighters and wounded dozens. "Our battle with America and its mercenaries is now open to all possibilities," Kataib Hizbollah said in a statement. "We have no alternative today other than confrontation and there is nothing that will prevent us from responding to this crime."   Iraq described the attacks on Kataib Hizbollah as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, and Iran said the airstrikes were “an obvious case of terrorism”. Moqtada al-Sadr, the notorious Iraqi Shia cleric, said on Monday that he was willing to work with Iran-backed militia groups - his political rivals - to end the United States military presence in Iraq through political and legal means. If that does not work, he will "take other actions" in cooperation with his rivals to kick out US troops. Sadr's militia fought US troops for years following Washington's invasion of Iraq in 2003. Iraqi Shiite cleric and leader Moqtada al-Sadr attends a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister in Najaf on June 23, 2018 The US launched strikes against five targets in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, aiming to damage Kataib Hizbollah – a separate entity to the better-known Hizbollah, based in Lebanon. The US blames the group for the killing last week of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base. The US attack - the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia since 2011 - represents a new escalation in the proxy war between the US and Iran playing out in the Middle East. Russia’s foreign ministry called the “exchange of strikes” between Kataib Hizbollah and US forces in Iraq “unacceptable,” and called for restraint from both sides. “We consider such actions unacceptable and counterproductive. We call upon all parties to refrain from further actions that could sharply destabilise the military-political situation in Iraq, Syria, and the neighboring countries,” a ministry statement said. Thousands of protesters blocked roads and bridges across southern Iraq on Dec 23, condemning Iranian influence and political leaders who missed another deadline to agree on a new prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, praised the “important” strikes, in a phone call to Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. Mr Netanyahu “congratulated him on the important US action against Iran and its proxies in the region,” according to a statement issued by the Israeli leader’s office. Mr Pompeo said the strikes send the message that the US will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardise American lives. “We have repeatedly – the president, the secretary of state - made clear that if we are attacked by the regime or its proxies we will respond,” said Brian Hook, Donald Trump’s special envoy to Iran.  He refused to comment on further possible actions. The US has maintained some 5,000 troops in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, to help assist in the fight against the Islamic State group. But on Monday Iraq’s prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said that invitation could now be rescinded. "The prime minister described the American attack on the Iraqi armed forces as an unacceptable vicious assault that will have dangerous consequences," his office said.

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Russian court jails 2 terrorism suspects arrested on US tip

A St. Petersburg court on Monday ordered the detention of two Russian men who were arrested on a tip provided by the U.S. and are suspected of plotting unspecified terrorist attacks in the city during the New Year holidays. The Dzerzhinsky District Court ruled that the suspects identified as Nikita Semyonov and Georgy Chernyshev should remain in custody pending their trial. The FSB didn't elaborate on their alleged motives or targets, but Russia's state television reported that the suspects had recorded a video swearing their allegiance to the Islamic State group.

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Bosnia indicts Serb army general over Srebrenica genocide

A Bosnian war crimes prosecutor on Tuesday indicted a Bosnian Serb former army general for taking part in the 1995 massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, an atrocity described as genocide by two international courts. Milomir Savcic, 60, is accused of commanding the Bosnian Serb Army headquarters 65 Protection Motorised Regiment, which included a military police battalion, to capture, kill and bury adult Muslim Bosniaks from the U.N.-protected eastern enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995. Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic attacked Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, separated men from women and children, and killed about 8,000 Muslims, who were then buried in mass graves.

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In Leaked Memo, Andrew Yang Asks DNC for More Debate Polls

Andrew Yang is urging the Democratic National Committee to take an unorthodox step in its debate oversight process: commission more polling over the next several days. In a letter sent to DNC Chairman Tom Perez on Dec. 21, obtained by The Daily Beast, the Democratic contender calls for the DNC to commission four early-state polls before Jan. 10 as part of an effort to encourage more diversity on the debate stage in Iowa. “With the upcoming holidays and meager number of polls currently out in the field, a diverse set of candidates might be absent from the stage in Des Moines for reasons out of anyone’s control,” Yang wrote. “This is a troubling prospect for our party. Regardless of the DNC’s best intentions, voters would cry foul and could even make unfounded claims of bias and prejudice.”Yang, who qualified for the first six debates but has yet to reach the polling threshold for the seventh, was the only candidate of color on stage at the recent Los Angeles event. Andrew Yang Goes Mainstream in New Million-Dollar Ad CampaignSo far, the five candidates who have qualified for the CNN-hosted Jan. 14 event at Drake University—former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg—are all white.Yang has met the individual donor requirement and one qualifying poll, but has three left before he can clear the criteria, and believes commissioning more qualifying polls would be a “simple solution.” Yang, an entrepreneur who’s had flashes of momentum throughout the Democatic primary in some early states, contends the biggest barrier to allowing “a diverse set of candidates” to debate at the next event is the lack of recent qualifying polls that meet the committee’s specifications.It’s been over a month since a poll in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina has been taken, the letter contends, which would not take into account any potential polling bumps from candidates’ recent performances at the sixth debate earlier this month. “As you know, big shifts can happen within short periods in this race, as we’ve already witnessed multiple times,” Yang wrote.Democrats Must Not Have an All-White Debate—and the White Candidates Should Say SoMore polls, “would provide an accurate snapshot of the current state of the race and where voters’ hearts and minds are, thus getting ahead of an imminent problem,” he wrote. A DNC official pointed to 26 total qualifying polls for the December debate. For the January event, the qualifying window was one week longer, in part to account for holidays, the official said.    “The DNC has been more than inclusive throughout this entire process with an expansive list of qualifying polls, including 26 polls for the December debate, more than half of which were state polls,” the official told The Daily Beast. “The DNC will not sponsor its own debate-qualifying polls of presidential candidates during a primary. This would break with the long standing practice of both parties using independent polling for debate qualification, and it would be an inappropriate use of DNC resources that should be directed at beating Donald Trump.”The correspondence is the first time Yang has written Perez. A senior campaign official said the team has not heard back from the chairman directly, but did receive an acknowledgement that it was received from DNC staff. “Andrew Yang has managed to create a broad coalition for the future of our country and we, as a party, need to keep bringing more people into the fold instead of trying to keep people out of the political process,” a senior Yang campaign official said, noting that the team now has nearly 400,000 donors and 1 million contributions, figures first shared with The Daily Beast. Yang’s campaign expects to raise at least $12.5 million in the fourth quarter, 25 percent more money than in the previous one, his campaign said. 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.

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Officials struggle to determine cause of fatal Louisiana plane crash

"The wreckage is in pretty tough shape. Between impact damage and fire damage, there's not a lot to work with," an aviation official said.

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Hanukkah candles burn in Iraqi Kurdistan

Al-Qosh (Irak) (AFP) - In the glow of the nine-candled menorah, with kippa skullcaps on their heads and tallit prayer shawls around their shoulders, a small association is working to revive Hanukkah in Iraq. The country has been nearly emptied of its Jewish community amid regional conflict and violence within its borders, but this year, the town of Al-Qosh hosted its first Hanukkah celebrations. Al-Qosh is a majority Christian town around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Mosul, the former self-proclaimed "capital" of the Islamic State group (IS) in Iraq.

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U.S. Taking Democracy for Granted, Chief Justice Roberts Says

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has “come to take democracy for granted,” Chief Justice John Roberts said, urging his fellow judges to keep educating the public about the workings of the federal government and the Constitution.Roberts, who is slated to oversee the Senate‘s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the coming weeks, used his year-end report Tuesday to laud the federal judiciary’s work on civic education, while issuing a thinly veiled warning about the fragility of American democracy in a fractious time.“We have come to take democracy for granted, and civic education has fallen by the wayside,” Roberts wrote. “In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public’s need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital.”Roberts described a 1788 riot that incapacitated John Jay while he was working with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison on the Federalist Papers, a series of articles published to promote the ratification of the Constitution. Jay was hit in the head with a rock while trying to quell the riot, which was sparked by a rumor that medical students were dissecting the body of a recently deceased woman. Jay later became the first U.S. chief justice.“It is sadly ironic that John Jay’s efforts to educate his fellow citizens about the framers’ plan of government fell victim to a rock thrown by a rioter motivated by a rumor,” Roberts wrote.Roberts has become the nation’s leading champion of judicial independence since being appointed to the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush in 2005. In his new report, the chief justice called the judiciary “a source of national unity and stability” but added a cautionary note.“We should also remember that justice is not inevitable,” Roberts wrote in a passage directed at his judicial colleagues. “We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch.”Roberts, 64, is in the middle of a challenging Supreme Court term that includes cases on LGBTQ discrimination, abortion and gun rights. In late March or early April the court will hear arguments on Trump’s effort to prevent his financial information from being turned over to Congress and a New York grand jury.Roberts released the report three days after his mother, Rosemary A. Roberts, died at age 90. Her obituary said she was surrounded by her family when she passed away.To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, Anna EdgertonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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What Are Those Mysterious Drones Doing in Colorado?

The swarm appears to be practicing a search for ... something.

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Carlos Ghosn reportedly fled prosecution in Japan by hiding in a box on a private jet. Meet Nissan's disgraced former chairman, who was charged in 2018 with underreporting his compensation.

Ghosn said he'd "no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied."

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Raging wildfires trap 4,000 at Australian town's waterfront

Wildfires burning across Australia's two most populous states Tuesday trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions and killed at least two people while more property along the country's east coast fell victim to a devastating fire season. About 4,000 residents in the southeastern town of Mallacoota in Victoria state fled toward the water Tuesday morning as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire toward their homes.

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Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan is a nightmare for the country's justice system — and the ousted Nissan exec may now be looking to put that system on trial

Ghosn is an auto-industry celebrity who should now have the opportunity to tell his side of the story in detail.

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Indonesia protests to China over border intrusion near South China Sea

Indonesia said on Monday it had protested to Beijing over the presence of a Chinese coastguard vessel in its territorial waters near the disputed South China Sea, saying it marked a "violation of sovereignty".

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Swiss Embassy worker detained in Sri Lanka gets bail

A Sri Lankan Court on Monday granted bail to a Swiss Embassy employee who was detained pending charges that she made statements to create disaffection toward the government and fabricated evidence. Before her arrest, the employee, a Sri Lankan national, had reportedly said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Sri Lankan authorities have said they investigated her complaint but found no evidence to file charges against anyone.

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Lev Parnas Pushes to Share His Info With House Intel

Lev Parnas, a former Rudy Giuliani associate charged with financial crimes, is looking to share more material with congressional investigators, according to a letter his lawyer has sent to a federal judge. The letter, filed in court on Monday evening, indicates that the committee first tasked with helming the impeachment inquiry is gathering additional evidence about Trump World. In the letter, Parnas’ lawyer Joseph Bondy said the Justice Department will share materials with his client on Tuesday that it seized from his home and at his arrest. The materials include documents and the contents of an iPhone. Bondy then asked Judge Paul Oetken of the Southern District of New York to allow him to share those materials with the House Intelligence Committee; a court order currently bars him from sharing them with anyone. The Justice Department has said it does not object to him giving the material to Congress. “Review of these materials is essential to the Committee’s ability to corroborate the strength of Mr. Parnas’ potential testimony,” Bondy wrote. The potential new document dump comes as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deliberates on when to send the House’s articles of impeachment to the Senate. The House voted largely along party lines to pass two articles of impeachment on President Donald Trump earlier this month. The next step, which Pelosi has not yet taken, is to send the articles to the upper chamber for trial. Trump’s relationship with Ukraine—in particular through his intermediary and personal lawyer Giuliani—is at the center of the impeachment process. Parnas had a front-row seat to much of Giuliani’s Ukraine-related activity. Federal authorities arrested Parnas and his associate Igor Fruman at Dulles Airport in October and charged them with conspiring to illegally funnel money from a foreign national into an American election. For many months before their arrest, the two worked with Giuliani to investigate allegations about former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who served for a time on the board of a scandal-dogged Ukrainian energy company. At the same time, the trio pushed for the ouster of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch from her post as the top U.S. diplomat in Kyiv. Their efforts succeeded, and Trump removed her from the job in May.Two months after removing Yovanovitch, Trump had the now-infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he asked the newly elected leader to work with Giuliani to scrutinize the Biden-linked company, as well as allegations about Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump’s former top Russia official, Fiona Hill, said the Kremlin is pushing those allegations as part of a disinformation campaign designed to harm Ukraine. Parnas and Fruman, both Soviet-born U.S. citizens, made hefty political contributions through an entity they started called Global Energy Partners. And they built connections on Capitol Hill; after then-Rep. Pete Sessions sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling for Yovanovitch’s removal, a PAC the pair supported shelled out a huge sum to boost his re-election bid. Sessions’ name was also batted around within the Trump administration as a potential replacement for Yovanovitch, though any efforts to install him there didn’t get traction. Parnas and Fruman have both pleaded not guilty. And Parnas indicated he would cooperate with the congressional impeachment inquiry. Because of his close proximity to Giuliani, he may have significant visibility into Giuliani’s actions that other witnesses lack. For instance, a senior Zelensky aide confirmed to The Daily Beast that Parnas was present for a meeting he had with Giuliani where they discussed the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. Parnas’ lawyer also said the Floridian worked to help Rep. Devin Nunes’ team with its investigative work. Phone records released later by impeachment investigators indicated there was communication between Parnas and Nunes himself, though Nunes has said he doesn’t remember talking with the Giuliani pal.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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A Plan for World War III: How the Warsaw Pact Planned to Defeat NATO

History had other ideas.

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China sentences Protestant pastor to 9 years for subversion

China has sentenced a prominent pastor who operated outside the Communist Party-recognized Protestant organization to nine years in prison for subversion. Wang Yi had led the Early Rain Covenant Church and was arrested a year ago during China's ongoing crackdown on all unauthorized religious groups in the country. The government requires Protestants worship only in churches recognized and regulated by the party-led Three-Self Patriotic Movement.

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U.S. presidential candidate Sanders given clean bill of health after October heart attack

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders passed a stress test this month after a heart attack required him to have two stents inserted in an artery in October, doctors to the Democratic presidential candidate said on Monday. Sanders' campaign released letters from his main doctor and two heart specialists, who all gave the 78-year-old White House hopeful a clean bill of health after physical exams, electrocardiogram monitoring and a treadmill stress test. "Mr Sanders is more than fit enough to pursue vigorous activities and an occupation that requires stamina and an ability to handle a great deal of stress," said Philip A. Ades, the director of cardiac rehabilitation at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVM), where the senator had the stress test on Dec. 11.

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Rep. John Lewis diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer

Rep. John Lewis, who helped organize the March on Washington in 1963, asked for prayers in his statement and said he has a "fighting chance."

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Greta Thunberg calls world leaders' attacks on her 'just funny'

Greta Thunberg says it's "just funny" when she's personally attacked by world leaders like President Trump.The 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist, who earlier this month was named Time's person of the year, spoke with Today on BBC Radio on Monday and was asked about recent attacks on her, such as when Trump lashed out at her in a tweet by claiming she has an anger management problem or when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called her a "brat.""Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don't mean anything," Thunberg said. "Well, I guess, of course, it means something. It means they are terrified of young people bringing change, which they don't want."Thunberg went on to say that these attacks are "proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat."This comes after Trump went after Thunberg on Twitter in response to Time's decision to name her person of the year, writing she "must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend!"Asked in the BBC interview whether Trump is one of those people who sees her as a threat, Thunberg said "it's possible.""Not me, of course, me myself alone am not much of a threat," she added. "But it's that I'm a part of a big movement that they probably see as a threat."Thunberg also reiterated that a meeting with Trump at the United Nations earlier this year would not have been productive, saying that even if she did have an opportunity to speak with the president, she "wouldn't have wasted my time."More stories from theweek.com The best headlines of 2019 Giants, Browns fire head coaches on otherwise quiet 'Black Monday' Republicans are still trying to steal your health insurance

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Plane crash before LSU Peach Bowl: Carley McCord among 5 victims identified

A plane crashed Saturday in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing five people. One person on board survived. Passersby pulled person from flaming wreckage.

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New York Jews scared, defiant as mayor decries anti-Semitism 'crisis'

At a Hasidic synagogue in Brooklyn, police, state troopers and civilian volunteers stand guard as Orthodox Jews mark the end of Hanukkah under heightened security following a spate of attacks. New York, home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, had long been a place where Jews felt safe.

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A survivor of the Kazakhstan plane crash that killed at least 12 said the aircraft was crushed 'like a tin can'

Aslan Nazaraliyev told Sky News that the Bek Air plane started "swaying" and "vibrating" seconds after taking off from Almaty.

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Maximum Pressure on Iran is Working. That’s Why It’s Lashing Out. Let’s Keep It Up.

In a clear sign that the Islamic regime in Iran is worried about its survival, it has increased its attacks on American interests in the region, including the launch of missiles by its proxy Kataib Hizbollah on Friday that killed one American civilian contractor and injured several U.S. and Iraqi military officers. In response, the Trump administration engaged in some signaling of its own, hitting five targets in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, reportedly destroying the group’s munitions depot and control center and killing one commander. Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman, warned Iran that unless it stops its malign behavior the United States will continue to defend itself. Iran Demands a $15 Billion Credit Before Resuming Talks With Trump and EUSo while the Iranian regime may have gambled on a show of force to rally its base, the response from Washington was likely more than the clerics bargained for. Washington is calling the regime’s bluff, in fact. Tehran may have believed that America would not retaliate. In the past, Donald Trump showed restraint when a U.S. drone was shot out of the sky and Saudi oil facilities were hit by missiles reportedly coming out of Iran. But the attacks on Friday demanded a military response, and they got one.Good. Exposing the regime’s weaknesses, economically and now militarily, may be the best strategy yet of putting the squeeze on Tehran.   The 13th century Iranian poet Saadi Shirazi had a saying that perfectly captures Donald Trump’s understanding of the regime in Iran: "If you want to bring a mullah down from his high horses, make sure both he and the four-legged animal are hungry." By all accounts the campaign of ‘maximum pressure’ is wreaking economic and psychological havoc on the regime and the mullahs are scared. During the recent uprisings the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC ) cracked down brutally on the protestors and killed more than 1,500 in the deadliest uprising since the Iranian Revolution.The Islamic leadership continues to blame America, Israel, dissidents like Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s late Shah, and Masih Alinejad, Iranian activist and the founder of the grassroots campaign of civil-disobedience My Stealthy Freedom, for the country’s troubles. But the reality is starkly different. Decades of economic mismanagement and political isolation have ruined the lives of Iranians and dashed the hopes of young people. To make matters worse, recent droughts and destructive floods have hurt the farmers and low-income households who traditionally form the base of the regime’s support. So while the sanctions are in fact hurting the Iranian people, in a rebuttal to the regime the Iranians refuse to blame America for their misery. Instead, their chants are "Death to the Dictator" and if they feel especially brave "Death to Khamenei," referring to the country's Supreme Leader, who they see as having sold Iran to an outdated revolutionary ideology. Multiple accounts have emerged of Iranian officials demanding grieving parents reimburse the cost of ammunition used to slaughter their children and keep silent if they want to retrieve their bodies. The mullahs are still riding the horse, but the horse, bone-tired and hungry, is refusing to go along.How did we get here?The Iranian Regime has long been running on ideological fumes, imposing strict Islamic law on one of the Middle East’s most moderate, well-educated populations. While wide-ranging social freedoms were curtailed, the oil-rich regime stayed in power through a rentier system, providing heavily subsidized goods and a wide social safety net, all funded through oil sales.The U.S. maximum pressure campaign has brought Iranian oil sales crashing down, from 2.1 million barrels in 2017 to as low as 160,000 barrels in August 2019. With the oil valves almost shut, the mullahs have realized that their tired ideology cannot feed the people or grease the machinations of their regional meddling. Can Trump Lie His Way Out of War With Iran? Yep. That’s What He’s Been Doing.In response to the wide-ranging protests which spread to 29 of Iran’s 31 provinces, Iran authorized a brutal crackdown and shut off Iran’s internet to keep the world from bearing witness. Many hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests seemed cow the population into relative submission and the latest protests have for the most part fizzled out. But the “moderate” Rouhani regime which seeks engagement with Europe eventually got the internet restored—and then what began as a trickle of videos in response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s request for footage of the crackdown has, at last count, cascaded into over 20,000 videos showing countless horrors. Where do we go from here?Successive American administrations have sought accommodation with Tehran to no avail. From secret negotiations to multilateral treaties like the landmark nuclear deal, America has failed to curb Iran’s malfeasance. The U.S. also has tried and failed to empower reformists and moderates on the streets and in Iranian political circles by funding television broadcasts such as the Voice of America. But Iranian civil rights activist Masih Alinejad believes that “reformers” and “moderates” are a western miscategorization when applied to the Iranian context where the reformists and the conservative are all the same. One need only look at the statements, or silence, of Iran’s most prominent reformist and moderate politicians to see that she is correct. True reformers would vigorously defend Iranian protesters—who, under Article 24 of the Islamic Revolution’s own constitution, have the right to freedom of expression. True moderates would condemn the killing of unarmed children by the country’s security services. But instead, Iranian leaders argued that the protests were sponsored by foreigners or they have kept quiet altogether.  As such, we need to realize that the people who need empowering are not in the Iranian parliament or in the President’s Office. Rather, they are on the streets of Iran and right here in the U.S., and efforts should be made to widen their audience so their practical ideas about the future of Iran could be heard.We also need to continue the maximum pressure campaign, provide Iranians with the right cyber technology that evades internet shutdowns, blacklist Iranian operatives involved in the slaughter, make public the secret bank accounts of the regime elite, shine light on the opulent lifestyle of their children in western countries, and name and shame the regime for its human rights abuses as ambassador Nikki Haley did when she was at the United Nations.  Since the 1979 Revolution, the Islamic regime has repeated the narrative that America is the bane of its existence regardless of what America does. The Obama administration stood by during Iran's violent 2009 uprisings, calculating that any word of support would be used by the regime to blame “the Great Satan.” The result? America was blamed anyway, even in the face of a measured, and some say, half-hearted response. The question is, if Washington will be seen as a culprit, why not do something helpful?There is no shame in opposing a heinous regime that kills its own people and President Trump was right to call out the mullahs for their duplicitous ways and dangerous  and destabilizing meddling in the region. Judging from the reaction of the Islamic regime to the latest round of protests, this regime’s demise may already have begun. The challenge for this administration and the next is making sure to stay the course.   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.

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UK and US considered Nigeria naval blockade over Saro-Wiwa execution

The UK and US considered an oil embargo after activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged, document reveals.

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Cuomo Calls Hanukkah Stabbing Attack ‘Domestic Terrorism’

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called a multiple stabbing during Hanukkah celebrations on Saturday night “an act of domestic terrorism,” and President Donald Trump urged the nation to unite against antisemitism. The attack, which Cuomo said was one of about 13 antisemitic incidents in the past few weeks, took place in Monsey, a suburban hamlet in Rockland County, north of New York City.“I believe the situation has gotten so bad, frankly, that we need to increase our legal enforcement,” Cuomo said Sunday during a televised press briefing.A man reportedly entered the home of a Hasidic rabbi during Hanukkah celebrations Saturday evening and stabbed people gathered there with a large knife, injuring five people. Five CountsThe Ramapo Police Department said in a statement Sunday that 37-year-old Grafton Thomas had been arraigned on five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Thomas was transported to Rockland County Jail, according to the police department.Earlier, Cuomo said on CNN that attacks like the one in Monsey should be “punished as if it is an act of terrorism.” He said New York state would take the lead, and that he would outline those plans in his State of the State address in January.Cuomo said in an interview on Fox News that he would also increase the police presence.Adding OfficersNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he’ll add additional police officers in certain New York neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, like Brooklyn’s Crown Heights and Williamsburg. On Sunday in an interview with Fox News, the mayor said that the country was experiencing a “crisis of antisemitism.” “We have seen enough in New York,” Cuomo said on CNN‘s “State of the Union.” “This is violence spurred by hate. It is mass violence and I consider this an act of domestic terrorism.”The Anti-Defamation League has identified 10 anti-Semitic incidents in New York and New Jersey since the eight-day Hanukkah festival began Dec. 22.On Dec. 23, a 65-year-old Orthodox man was punched in the face in Manhattan by someone screaming anti-Semitic slurs, according to the league. Later an Orthodox man was chased by a group yelling anti-Semitic slurs in Brooklyn. The attacks have continued, culminating in the stabbing Saturday night.“At this point we are in an epidemic in New York City, of all places,” Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said on CNN. “There’s a lot of fear and anxiety.”Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon that the attack was “horrific. We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of antisemitism.” On Twitter, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders said he was “outraged by this knife attack in Monsey. We must confront this surge of antisemitic violence, prioritize the fight against bigotry, and bring people together -- instead of dividing people up.”Other 2020 White House hopefuls weighed in. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter that she was “heartsick” and “bigotry has no place in our society.” Former Vice President Joe Biden said the county needs to “fight these flames of hatred.”Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said on CNN that it was right to get “evil” people off the street, but that he’d want to see the law Cuomo is proposing before supporting such a measure on a national level.“America is a big, wide-open, pluralistic country. I don’t think any of us want to live in a police state,” Kennedy said. “Freedom has risk.” (Updates with Trump tweet from first paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Newcomer in San Francisco at enewcomer@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve GeimannFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Cyprus court finds British woman guilty of false rape claim

A court in Cyprus on Monday found a British woman guilty of falsely claiming she was gang-raped by a group of Israeli tourists in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa. "The statements you have given were false," the judge told the defendant in remarks translated by the court interpreter. The Israelis, aged 15 to 18, were released without charge the same month after the woman was arrested on suspicion of making a false statement.

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19-year-old found guilty of lying about being gang-raped

A British teenager has been found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus. The woman, 19, was convicted of a single count of public mischief at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, Cyprus, on Monday.

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Put away phones at mealtimes and talk to each other, says pope

Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to talk to each other at mealtimes instead of using their mobile phones, citing Jesus, Mary and Joseph as an example for families to follow. "I ask myself if you, in your family, know how to communicate or are you like those kids at mealtables where everyone is chatting on their mobile phone ... where there is silence like at a Mass but they don't communicate," the pope said. "We have to get back to communicating in our families," Francis said in his unscripted remarks.

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GOP Senator: ‘There Are No Rules’ for Senate Impeachment Trial

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) claimed on Sunday’s broadcast of State of the Union that there are no “substantive rules” when it comes to holding an impeachment trial and that the Constitution doesn’t provide much guidance to the Senate.CNN anchor Jake Tapper noted that Kennedy had previously said his objective in President Donald Trump’s impeachment is to be fair to both sides. He asked the lawmaker about Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) saying she was “disturbed” that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would coordinate with the White House on impeachment.“Were you also bothered when Majority Leader McConnell said there would be no daylight between him and the White House?” Tapper asked.“I think Senator McConnell is entitled to his opinion and his approach. So is Senator Murkowski,” Kennedy stated, adding that if you look at specific case law on impeachment, “the rule is there is no substantive rules.”“It is not a criminal trial,” he continued. “The Senate is not really a jury. It is both jury and judge. The chief justice is not the judge, he’s the presiding officer. There are no standards of proof. There are no rules of evidence.”The guidelines provided by Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution say that the Senate has the “sole Power to try all Impeachments,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside over the trial, and a president will only be removed from office if two-thirds of the Senate convicts.Kennedy went on to say that every member of the Senate is entitled to approach impeachment any way they want until a majority of the chamber votes on passing new rules, reiterating that he wants it “to be fair to both sides.”“I thought that the House proceedings were unnecessarily unfair and when the American people walk away from the Senate trial, if we ever have one, I don’t want them saying: ‘Well, we were just run over by the same truck twice. It was unfair in the house and it was unfair in the Senate,’” the Louisiana senator said. “I want people to think that it was a level playing field.”Asked whether his idea of fairness would be for both House impeachment managers and the president’s team to call the witnesses they deem worthy, Kennedy said they first need to decide whether Senate will hear evidence during the trial.“But, look, there are no rules here,” he asserted. “For example, what is an impeachable offense? I think the precedent shows that not all impeachable offenses are crimes. But it also shows that not all crimes are impeachable offenses.”Kennedy, meanwhile, concluded by saying it would be proper for Trump to continue blocking key White House witnesses from testifying if called by Congress.“I fully expect the president to do two things,” he said. “Claim executive privilege, which is his right. And number two, demand his own list of witnesses.”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.

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Saudi Arabia Sentences Man to Death for Theater Stabbings: TV

(Bloomberg) -- A Saudi Arabian court sentenced a Yemeni man to death for stabbing three performers at a theater show in the capital last month in an attack ordered by al-Qaeda, state-run TV reported.Another defendant was jailed for 12 1/2 years, Al Ekhbariya channel reported, citing the criminal court. The attack, in which three people were injured, was ordered by al-Qaeda in neighboring Yemen, the broadcaster said. It didn’t specify where it got the information.The mid-November attack in Riyadh came as the conservative kingdom undergoes a drastic overhaul of its social norms spearheaded by its young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Saudis have been granted freedoms that include the loosening of rules on women’s attire and travel as well as the mixing of genders in conjunction with a plan to wean the economy off oil.The court rulings were preliminary and both defendants can file appeals.\--With assistance from Sarah Algethami.To contact the reporter on this story: Reema Alothman in Riyadh at ralothman1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Donna Abu-Nasr at dabunasr@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn, Bruce StanleyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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US hits pro-Iran group with deadly strikes in Iraq, Syria

The US has carried out air strikes against a pro-Iran militant group in Iraq, killing 19 fighters, two days after a rocket attack that killed an American civilian contractor. The Pentagon said on Sunday it targeted weapons caches or command and control facilities linked to Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) in Western Iraq, as well as Eastern Syria, in response to a barrage of 30 or more rockets fired on Friday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "we will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy".

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Ukraine holds big prisoner swap with pro-Russian separatists

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the east completed a large-scale prisoner swap on Sunday after bussing scores of detainees in the five-year conflict to an exchange point in the breakaway Donbass region. The swap should help build confidence between the two sides, who are wrangling over how to implement a peace deal after the loss of more than 13,000 lives, but major disagreements remain and full normalization is far off. Ukraine said 76 pro-government detainees were handed over, while separatists said they took 120 of their prisoners during the swap at a checkpoint near the industrial town of Horlivka.

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Greta Thunberg: 'I wouldn't have wasted my time' speaking to Trump

* Swedish activist and president attended UN climate summit * ‘He’s not listening to experts … why would he listen to me?’Greta Thunberg has said she wouldn’t have wasted her time talking to Donald Trump about climate change at the UN climate change summit in New York earlier this year – the same event she was pictured glaring at the one of the world’s leading climate-change deniers.The Swedish climate activist made the comment during an interview on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning, where she had been invited to guest-edit the programme.Thunberg, 16, was asked what she would have said to the leader who pulled the US – one of the world’s leading carbon emitters – out of the Paris climate accord, and who has taken radical steps to undo decades-old US pollution standards.She said: “Honestly, I don’t think I would have said anything. Because obviously he’s not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?”She added: “So I probably wouldn’t have said anything, I wouldn’t have wasted my time.”Thunberg’s comments came several weeks after Trump attacked her for being named Time magazine’s person of the year.“So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” Trump tweeted at the time.She has also been attacked by Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.“It is staggering, the amount of coverage the press gives that brat,” Bolsonaro said at the time.Invited to respond to her critics, Thunberg told the program “those attacks are just funny because they obviously don’t mean anything”.She said: “I guess of course it means something – they are terrified of young people bringing change which they don’t want – but that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat.”

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Australian Jews decry Israeli health minister's appointment

Australia's Jewish community has slammed an Israeli government decision to promote to the post of health minister a legislator who is suspected of aiding an alleged sexual abuser wanted in Australia. The Israeli government on Sunday appointed Yaacov Litzman as health minister, sparking a litany of condemnations from Australia's staunchly pro-Israel Jewish community. In an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia, called the decision "a slap in the face to the Australian Jewish community, the Australian people," as well as to the survivors of the alleged abuse.

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China sentences 3 researchers involved in creating 1st gene-edited babies

A court in Shenzhen, China, sentenced a Chinese scientist and two researchers Monday for creating the world's first genetically edited babies last year, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. The lead scientist, He Jiankui, was handed three years in prison and a fine of 3 million yuan ($430,000) on charges of falsifying ethical review documents, practicing medicine without a license, and other infractions. The two researchers who helped He got lesser sentences: Zhang Renli was handed two years in prison and a 1 million yuan fine, and Qin Jinzhou received 18 months in jail, but with a two-year reprieve, and a 500,000 yuan fine."The three accused did not have the proper certification to practice medicine, and in seeking fame and wealth, deliberately violated national regulations in scientific research and medical treatment," Xinhua reported, citing the court's ruling. "They've crossed the bottom line of ethics in scientific research and medical ethics." The news agency said He and his team edited the genes of three children born to two women.He shocked the medical and scientific world in November 2018 when he announced that he had used the CRISPR gene-editing technology to genetically modify the embryos of infant twin girls to disable a gene that allows the AIDS virus to enter a cell. He disappeared soon after making his announcement, apparently detained by Chinese authorities. It's not clear if the experiment worked on the two unidentified girls He discussed publicly, but the experiment was widely condemned by medical ethicists and researchers around the world.More stories from theweek.com The best headlines of 2019 Giants, Browns fire head coaches on otherwise quiet 'Black Monday' Republicans are still trying to steal your health insurance

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Nicaragua releases dozens of political prisoners

Nicaraguan authorities on Monday released more than 30 political prisoners held following a deadly crackdown on 2018 protests in the Central American country, a human rights body said. Among those released was Belgian-born student leader Amaya Coppens, her family and a local rights organization said. Coppens was arrested in mid-November for being part of a group of volunteers trying to deliver water to hunger-striking mothers of political prisoners.

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Duterte Renews Attacks on TV Network, Urges Owners to Sell

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continued his attacks on a local television network he’s accused in the past of bias, and urged owners of ABS-CBN Corp. to sell before its franchise expires in March.In a televised speech delivered in the local language at Davao City on Monday, Duterte suggested the media firm’s franchise renewal is uncertain. He had earlier threatened to block the network’s bid to extend the franchise for 25 years.“Your contract is expiring. I’m not sure what will happen if you renew,” he said. “If I were you, I would just sell.”Duterte has accused ABS-CBN as well as privately-owned Philippine Daily Inquirer of unfair reporting, allegations that the media companies have denied. The president’s criticisms of ABS-CBN pushed its share price to a decade low earlier this month. The stock ended 2019 with a 21% loss compared with the local benchmark index’s 4.7% gain for the year.Duterte also resumed his criticism of water utilities for alleged corruption, threatening to arrest and jail the owners of Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. He reiterated a plan for a military takeover of the operations.Manila Water of Ayala Corp. and Maynilad owners Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings Inc. are among the worst-performing Philippine stocks this year, plunging since early December when Duterte started his censure.“For those of you asking where are the big fish in my fight against corruption, I’ll deliver them: Ayala and Pangilinan,” he said. “If they do something wrong, I’ll really jail them,” Duterte said, referring to the family of Jaime Augusto Zobel, which owns Manila Water and Manuel Pangilinan, who chairs Metro Pacific.The two tycoons didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.Manila Water plunged 63% this year despite a rebound in the final week of trading ending Dec. 27. Metro Pacific was down 25%, while DMCI tumbled 48%.To contact the reporters on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net;Clarissa Batino in Manila at cbatino@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Nagarajan at samnagarajan@bloomberg.net, ;Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Clarissa BatinoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Turkey evacuates wounded after deadly Mogadishu blast

A Turkish military cargo plane landed in the Somali capital on Sunday to evacuate people badly wounded in a devastating truck bombing that killed at least 90 people including two Turkish nationals. The plane also brought emergency medical staff and supplies, the Turkish embassy said in a tweet, adding these had been taken to a Turkish-run hospital in Mogadishu. Somali Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir Mareye told state media that 10 Somalis who were badly wounded in Saturday's blast would be evacuated to Turkey.

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Swiss Embassy worker detained in Sri Lanka gets bail

A Sri Lankan Court on Monday granted bail to a Swiss Embassy employee who was detained pending charges that she made statements to create disaffection toward the government and fabricated evidence. Before her arrest, the employee, a Sri Lankan national, had reportedly said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Sri Lankan authorities have said they investigated her complaint but found no evidence to file charges against anyone.

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NYT Cuts Controversial Study From Bret Stephens’ ‘Jewish Genius’ Column

After a public uproar, The New York Times has revised a column by Bret Stephens that cited an academic paper co-authored by an anthropologist who has been branded a white nationalist.An editor’s note, appended to the column headlined “The Secrets of Jewish Genius,” says a reference to the 2005 study was removed and that Stephens did not know the author “promoted racist views.”“Mr. Stephens was not endorsing the study or its authors’ views, but it was a mistake to cite it uncritically,” the note said. “The effect was to leave an impression with many readers that Mr. Stephens was arguing that Jews are genetically superior. That was not his intent.” It noted that he “went on instead to argue that culture and history are crucial factors in Jewish achievements.”In the column, Stephens posed a question about Jews: “How is it that a people who never amounted even to one-third of 1 percent of the world’s population contributed so seminally to so many of its most pathbreaking ideas and innovations?”New York Times Columnist Bret Stephens Cites White Nationalist in ‘Jewish Genius’ ColumnHe said that Jews “are, or tend to be, smart” and then cited the 2005 paper “Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence” by Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy, and Henry Harpending, which declares that Ashkenazi Jews have the highest average I.Q. of any ethnic group.It was quickly pointed out on social media that Harpending, who died in 2016, was listed as an extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which listed his ideology as “white nationalist.” “Harpending has given talks on these ideas at white supremacist conferences, and is widely celebrated among white supremacists on forums like Stormfront and the Vanguard News Network, who see a champion for their cause behind his academic rhetoric,” the center said.Nieman Lab scholar Joshua Benton also pointed out in a Twitter thread that Cochran has a history of homophobia.In the paper “An Evolutionary Look at Human Homosexuality,” Cochran wrote that homosexuality, from a biological perspective, is “surely a disease.” “So it’s a bug,” Cochran wrote. “Somehow, the brain has been damaged, but in a limited and focused way.”Stephens—who previously stirred outrage by calling a professor’s boss to complain he compared him to a bedbug on Twitter—has not commented directly on the last controversy.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.

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Iran blasts France for 'interference' over jailed academic

Tehran accused Paris on Sunday of "interference" in the case of an Iranian-French academic held in the Islamic republic, saying she is considered an Iranian national and faces security charges. France said on Friday it summoned Iran's ambassador to protest the imprisonment of Fariba Adelkhah and another academic, Roland Marchal of France, saying their detention was "intolerable". Their imprisonment has added to distrust between Tehran and Paris at a time when French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to play a leading role in defusing tensions between Iran and its arch-foe the United States. "The statement by France's foreign ministry regarding an Iranian national is an act of interference and we see their request to have no legal basis," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement. "The individual in question (Adelkhah) is an Iranian national and has been arrested over 'acts of espionage'," he said, adding that her lawyer had knowledge about the details of the case which is being investigated. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and has repeatedly rebuffed calls from foreign governments for consular access to those it has detained during legal proceedings. France's President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to play a leading role in defusing tensions between Iran and the US Credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP In its statement on Friday, the French foreign ministry reiterated its call for the release of Adelkhah and Marshal. It also reaffirmed France's demand for consular access. In response, Mousavi said Marshal was detained for "conspiring against national security", that he has had "consular access multiple times" and that his lawyer was in touch with the judiciary. A specialist in Shiite Islam and a research director at Sciences Po University in Paris, Adelkhah's arrest for suspected "espionage" was confirmed in July. Her colleague Marchal was arrested while visiting Adelkhah, according to his lawyer. A judge had decided to release the two on bail this month, as they had been entitled to it after six months in detention, their lawyer said. But this was opposed by the prosecution, and as a result the case was referred to Iran's Revolutionary Court to settle the dispute, Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA reported. The Revolutionary Court typically handles high-profile cases in Iran, including those involving espionage. The university and supporters said this week that Adelkhah and another detained academic, British-Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, had started an indefinite hunger strike just before Christmas. British-Australian national, Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, has gone on indefinite hunger strike in Iranian prison Credit: Nicholas Razzell  The French statement said the ministry had made clear to the ambassador "our grave concern over the situation of Mrs Fariba Adelkhah, who has stopped taking food". "Creating hype cannot stop Iran's judiciary from handling the case, especially considering the security charges the two face," Mousavi said. Mousavi had previously dismissed similar calls from France, saying it should remember that "Iran is sovereign and independent" and interference in its affairs is "unacceptable". The latest tensions come after Xiyue Wang, an American scholar who had been serving 10 years on espionage charges, was released by Iran this month in exchange for Massoud Soleimani, an Iranian who had been held in the US for allegedly breaching sanctions. Iran has said it is open to more such prisoner swaps with the United States. Tehran is still holding several other foreign nationals in high profile cases, including British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and his father Mohammad Bagher Namazi. US-Iran tensions have soared since Washington pulled out of a landmark nuclear agreement with Tehran last year and reimposed crippling sanctions.

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Navy SEAL cleared by Trump called 'freaking evil' by comrades

A Navy SEAL platoon leader controversially pardoned of war crimes by US President Donald Trump was described as "toxic" and "freaking evil" by veterans who served with him in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday. Video testimony provided to war crimes investigators and published by the newspaper showed former members of Eddie Gallagher's elite commando unit accusing him of shooting at a 12-year-old and discussing the accusations that Gallagher targeted civilians. "The guy is freaking evil," special operator first class Craig Miller, one of the most experienced members of Alpha Platoon's SEAL Team 7, told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

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Biden would "honor" whatever Congress "legitimately" asks

Some Republicans and President Trump have floated subpoenaing Joe and Hunter Biden to appear before the Senate.

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Hanukkah stabbing that injured five called 'domestic terrorism' by New York governor

A stabbing at the house of a Hasidic rabbi in New York which left five injured has been condemned as “domestic terrorism” by the state’s governor.  Andrew Cuomo said the attack during a gathering to celebrate Hanukkah was evidence of a “cancer” spreading in America as he warned of a surge in “hatred”. Police named the suspect arrested as Grafton E. Thomas, 37. He will face five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary.  The attack happened around 10pm  on Saturday in Monsey, an area with a large population of ultra-Orthodox Jews which is about 35 miles north of the city of New York.  Witnesses described a man bursting into the home of the rabbi, Chaim Rottenberg, where dozens of people had gathered on the seventh night of Hanukkah. The assailant’s face was said to have been partially covered by a scarf and he brandished a large knife. Guests reportedly fought back by throwing tables and chairs.  Police said the stabbings happened at around 10 p.m.  Credit: REUTERS  The exact status of the victims was unclear on Sunday evening but one person was said to have been very seriously wounded. The rabbi’s son was among those injured.  Aron Kohn, 65, who witnessed the attack told The New York Times: “I was praying for my life. He started attacking people right away as soon as he came in the door. We didn’t have time to react at all.” “We saw him pull a knife out of a case. It was about the size of a broomstick.” The attacker later attempted to enter a synagogue next door before fleeing the area. A witness noted the assailant’s license plate number and alerted the police, with a suspect later being arrested in Harlem.  Extra police patrols were organised for three areas of Brooklyn, a New York borough with a large Jewish population, in the wake of the stabbing. In Britain, the chief constable of West Midlands Police said he would provide reassurance to local Jewish communities. Investigators cordoned off the large home on Forshay Road yellow crime scene tape Credit: Seth Harrison/The Journal News via AP Mr Cuomo, who has been New York governor since 2011, said: “It is domestic terrorism. These are people who intend to create mass harm, mass violence, and generate fear based on race, colour, creed. That is the definition of terrorism. “Just because they don't come from another country doesn't mean they are not terrorists. They should be prosecuted as domestic terrorists." "We are not going to let this poison spread. No one else can defeat this county, but this country can defeat itself.” The stabbing is the latest in a string of brutal attacks that have alarmed the Jewish community, leading to renewed concerns about anti-Semitisim in America. Earlier this month a shooting in a Jersey City kosher market saw three people inside the store and a police officer killed. The two attackers also died in a standoff with police.  In October 2018, a gunman killed 11 worshipers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history. Mr Coumo, speaking outside the rabbi’s house on Sunday, said: “This is an intolerant time in our country. We see anger, we see hatred exploding." He added: “It is an American cancer on the body politic." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country “unequivocally condemns” the “vicious attack”. He pledged to “cooperate in every way” with the local authorities to help stamp out anti-Semitism.  It is not known how the suspect will plead.  Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser and daughter of the US president, issued a call for more political action to tackle anti-Semitism in the wake of the attack. She tweeted: "The increasing frequency of anti-Semitic violence in New York (and around the country) receives far too little local governmental action and national press attention."

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