es US says Russia working with Syria to send mercenaries to Libyan war By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 11:23:14 -0400 The US believes Russia is working with Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to send militia fighters and equipment to Libya, according to senior officials. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, US special envoy for Syria, Jim Jeffrey, said Libya’s increasingly shadowy battlefield could get even more complicated. “We know that, certainly, the Russians are working with Assad to transfer militia fighters, possibly third country, possibly Syrian, to Libya, as well as equipment,” he said. His comments came a day after a leaked UN report confirmed the presence of Russian and Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya in support of renegade military commander, Khalifa Haftar. The report revealed that Russian private military contractor, Wagner Group, has up to 1,200 mercenaries operating in Libya in support of General Haftar’s forces, which are already backed by the UAE, Russia and Egypt. The report, seen by Reuters, is one of the first indications of the scale of Wagner’s military operation in Libya’s messy battlefield, as well as the first time the UN has confirmed the presence of the shadowy Russian mercenaries. Since 2014, the oil-rich North African country has been split between areas controlled by the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the northwest, and territory held by Gen Haftar’s eastern-based forces in Benghazi. For almost six years Gen Haftar’s forces have been at war with a coalition of militias from the west of the country who support the government in Tripoli. Turkey is the only military backer of the Tripoli government that is currently trying to stave off Haftar’s year-long offensive on the capital. The UAE and Egypt have long strengthened Haftar’s forces with military equipment, including aircraft and helicopters, while Moscow provided private contractor forces. As the conflict has drawn on and involvement has increasingly become the stage for a struggle for power in the region, diplomats say both Turkey and the UAE have deployed drones and the use of mercenaries has increased, now seemingly including forces from Russia and Syria. Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO intervention helped topple Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and its battlefields increasingly populated with foreign fighters in a shadow-war. Russian mercenaries were first reported fighting alongside General Haftar’s forces in Libya in 2018. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, however, insisted that those mercenaries do not represent the Russian government. Yet when General Haftar visited Moscow in 2018, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with long-standing ties to Mr Putin and suspected owner of Wagner, was seen in the footage of the meeting, sitting near the Russian defence minister. Russia, which also backs Assad’s government in Syria, has maintained a delicate balancing act in Libya, forging ties with both the UN-recognised government and with the rebel commander. But Moscow’s patience with General Haftar began to run out earlier this year when he and his entourage in January abruptly left the much-anticipated cease-fire talks in Moscow mediated by Russia and Turkey without signing the deal. Henry Wooster, deputy assistant secretary at State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs also expressed increasing concern over the ties between the Libyan commander and Syria’s president, who are both bitter enemies of Turkey and fighting Turkish-backed militant groups on their soil. “Haftar’s establishment of so-called diplomatic relations with the Assad regime...is very much a part of the piece of the question of Syrian mercenaries, at least on his side of the equation,” he said. While the leaked report also confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries in Libya fighting alongside Haftar’s forces, Pro-Turkish Syrians are also known to be fighting with the Tripoli government, against General Haftar. Full Article
es The importance of the coronavirus R rate in other countries across the globe By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:27:25 -0400 In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been praised for her realism and flexibility when it comes to using her country's reproduction rate to inform lockdown policies. During a press conference on April 16 she explained: "The whole evolution (of the rate) is based on the fact that we assume that we have an infection figure that we can monitor, that we can track and that we have more protection concepts and that, thanks to those, we can loosen restrictions. "But it is thin ice," as Mr Tschentscher (the Hamburg Mayor) said, "or a fragile situation, or really a situation where caution is the order of the day and not overconfidence". The Robert Koch Institute, the government’s health agency, provides regular updates on the country’s rate. On May 5, it stood at 0.71, slightly declining two days later to 0.65. Mrs Merkel’s caution is reflected across the border in France, where the R has fluctuated as the country began easing lockdown measures. On May 1, Jerome Salomon, France's public health chief, said it had risen to between 0.6 and 0.7 on average from 0.5, due to the “progressive return to activity”. But officials are not solely relying on the R, instead reviewing several indicators to decide when to loosen restrictions. At the end of April Spanish authorities said almost all areas of the country had a reproduction number below one, but that they would not consider easing restrictions unless this continues. Full Article
es COVID-19 expected to peak in world's poorest countries soon, UN says By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:28:04 -0400 The United Nations said a "smart strategy" is to contain coronavirus in the world's most vulnerable countries to stem a "further phase of the pandemic." Full Article
es VP Pence's press secretary tests positive for coronavirus By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 12:35:06 -0400 Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. Full Article
es Exclusive: Iran-linked hackers recently targeted coronavirus drugmaker Gilead - sources By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 13:19:55 -0400 Hackers linked to Iran have targeted staff at U.S. drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc in recent weeks, according to publicly-available web archives reviewed by Reuters and three cybersecurity researchers, as the company races to deploy a treatment for the COVID-19 virus. In one case, a fake email login page designed to steal passwords was sent in April to a top Gilead executive involved in legal and corporate affairs, according to an archived version on a website used to scan for malicious web addresses. Ohad Zaidenberg, lead intelligence researcher at Israeli cybersecurity firm ClearSky, who closely tracks Iranian hacking activity and has investigated the attacks, said the attempt was part of an effort by an Iranian group to compromise email accounts of staff at the company using messages that impersonated journalists. Full Article
es Police drop investigation into Brexit campaigners accused of breaching spending rules By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 13:49:30 -0400 Police have dropped an investigation into two prominent Brexit campaigners accused of breaching spending rules during the referendum campaign. In 2018 the Electoral commission said that Alan Halsall, of Vote Leave, and Darren Grimes, founder of pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, failed to declare a payment related to the campaign. The watchdog said that BeLeave "spent more than £675,000 with (Canadian data firm) Aggregate IQ under a common plan with Vote Leave". This spending took Vote Leave over its £7 million legal spending limit by almost £500,000. Vote Leave paid a £61,000 fine, but denied wrongdoing, while Mr Grimes won an appeal against his £20,000 fine in July. The Commission also referred the pair to the Metropolitan Police but on Friday it was revealed that the investigations had now been dropped. A spokesman for the Leave campaigners said: "The Metropolitan Police has written to Vote Leave board member Alan Halsall and BeLeave founder Darren Grimes to confirm that it will not be acting on allegations made against them by the Electoral Commission and various Remain campaigners. "This marks the end of a two-year ordeal for both individuals." Mr Grimes, 26, said the development called into question whether the Electoral Commission was "fit for purpose". He had insisted since the allegations were first made that he was "completely innocent" of making false declarations in relation to the £680,000 donation. In a statement, Mr Grimes, a former fashion student originally from County Durham, said: "The Metropolitan Police has found, after investigation and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, that there is no case to be answered. "Once again the Electoral Commission has been found to be part of the mob, a quango out of control that isn't policing elections so much as punishing Leavers who have the temerity to win them. "My ordeal at the hands of the kangaroo court that is the Electoral Commission is now over, but questions must now be asked of whether that body is fit for purpose." Mr Halsall, the responsible person for Vote Leave, said he was "delighted to have been exonerated" and thanked the police for their "professional" investigation. "I was very disappointed that my colleagues at Vote Leave and myself were never given the opportunity of making our case in person to the Electoral Commission before being fined and reported to the police," he added. "It seems a rather unusual way of conducting an inquiry into such matters that only the so-called whistleblowers who made these allegations are interviewed by the regulator." A spokesman for the Met said an investigation into the Electoral Commission's allegations against Vote Leave and BeLeave, submitted on July 17 2018, was handed over in October to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). "On Tuesday, March 3 preliminary advice was received from the CPS," said the force spokesman. "This advice has now been duly considered and no further action will be taken." Full Article
es Virus restrictions reimposed amid patchwork re-openings By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 14:36:21 -0400 As coronavirus-induced economic pain grew around the world, some U.S. states moved forward Friday with plans to reopen their economies, while European countries held muted commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II on the continent. Around the U.K., residents were encouraged to stand on their doorsteps and sing together while socially distanced to commemorate the Allies' victory over Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, South Korea, seen as a model for containing COVID-19, ordered nightclubs closed for a month and considered delaying a school restart after an uptick in coronavirus cases. Full Article
es Lawyers: Investigators recommend whistleblower is reinstated By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 15:19:08 -0400 Federal investigators have found “reasonable grounds” that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, his lawyers said. Dr. Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a unit of Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on countermeasures to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. The OSC is an agency that investigates allegations of egregious personnel practices in government. Full Article
es Cuba, Russia, Saudi Arabia are repressive regimes. They don’t belong on U.N. Human Rights Council | Opinion By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 15:23:43 -0400 Full Article
es Libya gov't warns of escalation after attacks near embassies By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 15:36:12 -0400 Full Article
es Senate Fails To Override President Trump Veto Of Iran War Powers By www.newsy.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 16:54:00 -0400 The Senate failed to override President Trump's veto of legislation that would have prevented him from taking military action in Iran without congressional approval. On Thursday, the Senate voted 49-44 in favor of the override, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for it to be approved. Both chambers of Congress passed the bipartisan resolution earlier this year. Full Article
es Colombian company creates bed that can double as coffin By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 17:18:40 -0400 A Colombian advertising company is pitching a novel if morbid solution to shortages of hospital beds and coffins during the coronavirus pandemic: combine them. ABC Displays has created a cardboard bed with metal railings that designers say can double as a casket if a patient dies. Company manager Rodolfo Gómez said he was inspired to find a way to help after watching events unfold recently in nearby Ecuador. Full Article
es US objects to UN resolution on virus in dispute with China By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 18:10:34 -0400 The United States on Friday objected to a proposed U.N. resolution on the coronavirus pandemic after diplomats said it had agreed to compromise language with China that didn’t directly mention the World Health Organization, an issue of growing dispute between the world’s two major economic powers. The U.S. objection to the Security Council resolution drafted by France and Tunisia reflects rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. It also leaves the U.N.’s most powerful body impotent on reacting to the greatest crisis facing the world — and unable to back Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ March 23 call for global cease-fires to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, which diplomats said all 15 Security Council members agree on and is the main point of the resolution. Full Article
es No charges for family of boy who drove car onto highway By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 18:32:16 -0400 The family of a 5-year-old boy who drove the family car onto a Utah highway won't face criminal charges, authorities said Friday. Adrian Zamarripa was pulled over Monday by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper who spotted the SUV swerving on Interstate 15 in Ogden at 32 mph. He thought the driver might need medical attention. Full Article
es U.S. lawmakers urge support for Taiwan at WHO, amid COVID-19 fight -sources By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 20:55:47 -0400 Full Article
es Germany sees increased risk of hard Brexit if Britain refuses to extend deadline By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 22:00:00 -0400 Full Article
es Hard Brexit more likely because of coronavirus and lack of progress in talks, says German foreign minister By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 22:57:40 -0400 A hard Brexit is more likely due to the coronavirus crisis because Britain and the European Union have made so little progress in talks, Germany's foreign minister has said. Heiko Maas said that negotiations between Britain and the EU so far on the future trade relationship had yielded few gains with the UK disregarding the political declaration, which he said was "simply not on". Britain left the EU in January, and talks with the bloc are now focused on setting new trading terms from 2021, when London's status-quo transition period ends. However, the talks quickly hit an impasse when negotiations resumed last month, according to diplomats and officials. "It's worrying that Britain is moving further away from our jointly agreed political declaration on key issues in the negotiations," Mr Maas told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "It's simply not on, because the negotiations are a complete package as it's laid out in the political declaration." Mr Maas said there was currently neither common ground on how to shape a comprehensive trade deal or on whether to extend the negotiation period beyond the end of the year. "The British government is still refusing to extend the deadline," Mr Maas said. "If it stays that way, we will have to deal with Brexit in addition to the coronavirus at the turn of the year." Simon Coveney, Ireland's foreign minister, said on Friday that the coronavirus pandemic had made an already difficult timeline for a British-European Union trade deal "virtually impossible" and that it would make sense to seek more time. Full Article
es Coronavirus strikes staffers inside the White House By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 00:37:07 -0400 Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. Full Article
es Feeling your pain? Virus reaches into the lives of Congress By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 00:50:03 -0400 The beat against Congress has always been that its members are out of touch with average Americans. The result is a wide and deep imprint on the same Congress charged with helping a traumatized nation. “Everyone by now knows someone that had it," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., whose husband, John Bessler, recovered from a frightening coronavirus infection that sent him to the hospital. Full Article
es Coronavirus forces Russia to hold slimmed down Victory Day in blow to Putin By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 01:00:00 -0400 Full Article
es Egypt’s president expands powers, citing virus outbreak By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 01:53:15 -0400 Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has approved amendments to the country's state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to combat the coronavirus outbreak. An international rights group condemned the amendments, saying the government has used the global pandemic to “expand, not reform, Egypt’s abusive Emergency Law.” The new amendments allow the president to to take measures to contain the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining those returning from abroad. Full Article
es Coronavirus takes a toll in Sweden's immigrant community By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 02:24:28 -0400 The flight from Italy was one of the last arrivals that day at the Stockholm airport. A Swedish couple in their 50s walked up and loaded their skis into Razzak Khalaf's taxi. It was early March and concerns over the coronavirus were already present, but the couple, both coughing for the entire 45-minute journey, assured Khalaf they were healthy and just suffering from a change in the weather. Full Article
es Being ostracized: Virus leaves its mark for UK's elderly By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 03:00:51 -0400 Arriving at his retirement home, he immediately went into self-isolation with his wife of 55 years, Jean, who has shown no symptoms of the virus. Embleton, who received an MBE honor from Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for outstanding service to the Royal Navy, thinks the lockdown rules are too strict for some elderly people. Full Article
es Clashes and unity calls at UN on World War II anniversary By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 03:31:35 -0400 A U.N. Security Council meeting on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on Friday saw a clash between Russia and some Europeans, calls for unity to fight COVID-19, and warnings that the seeds of a new global conflict must be prevented from growing. Nearly 70 speakers, including more than 45 foreign ministers and the European Union’s top diplomat, took part in the informal video meeting organized by Estonia, which holds the council presidency this month, on lessons learned from the war for preventing future atrocities and the Security Council’s responsibility. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the world is facing “its biggest crisis since the end of World War II” triggered by the outbreak of the coronavirus, which “is shaking the foundations of our societies and exposing the vulnerabilities of the most fragile countries.” Full Article
es Iran reports more than 1,500 new virus cases By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 07:05:43 -0400 Iran warned Saturday that coronavirus infections were rising in the southwest despite falls in other regions, as it announced more than 1,500 new confirmed cases. "All provinces are showing a gradual drop in new infections... except for Khuzestan, where the situation is still concerning," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in televised remarks. The health ministry stopped publishing provincial figures for the coronavirus last month. Full Article
es U.S. continues media battle with Beijing, limits Chinese journalists' visas By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 08:08:01 -0400 The back-and-forth continues.The Department of Homeland Security said Friday the United States will shorten the visa length for Chinese journalists working for non-American news outlets to 90 days. Previously, journalists with Chinese passports were granted open-ended visas. They can apply for extensions under the new rules, but renewed visas will also last just 90 days. The new limit won't apply to reporters from Hong Kong Macau, or to mainland Chinese citizens who hold green cards.It's the latest development in a media war between Washington and Beijing that has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic. American officials said the rules were meant to counterbalance the "suppression of independent journalism" in China, whose government expelled journalists from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post in March. Before that, the U.S. reduced the number of Chinese citizens employed by multiple state-controlled Chinese news organizations to work in the country. The New York Times notes the move wasn't unexpected; U.S. intelligence officials have long believed some journalists at Beijing-run outlets are spies, and the Trump administration has designated some Chinese news agencies foreign government functionaries.The heightened tensions between the world's two biggest powers didn't just show up in the media world Friday. U.S. lawmakers wrote to nearly 60 countries asking them to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization, a move that likely won't sit well with China. And Washington also blocked a United Nations security council resolution calling for a global ceasefire during the pandemic because it indirectly referenced the WHO, which the U.S. has blamed in conjunction with China for failing to suppress the outbreak.More stories from theweek.com Outed CIA agent Valerie Plame is running for Congress, and her launch video looks like a spy movie trailer 7 scathing cartoons about America's rush to reopen Trump says he couldn't have exposed WWII vets to COVID-19 because the wind was blowing the wrong way Full Article
es Georgia man's death raises echoes of US racial terror legacy By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 08:29:17 -0400 Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery's life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead. The Feb. 23 shooting in coastal Georgia is drawing comparisons to a much darker period of U.S. history — when extrajudicial killings of black people, almost exclusively at the hands of white male vigilantes, inflicted racial terror on African Americans. It frequently happened with law enforcement complicity or feigned ignorance. Full Article
es US governors aim to boost production of medical supplies By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 09:25:00 -0400 Frustrated by scarce supplies and a chaotic marketplace amid the coronavirus outbreak, some U.S. governors are seeking to bolster their home-state production of vital medical and protective equipment to ensure a reliable long-term source for state stockpiles. The efforts come as states have been competing against each other, the federal government, hospitals, emergency responders and even other countries to get items such as N95 masks, gloves, medical gowns and hand sanitizer — often paying higher-than-usual prices because of the high demand. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. got much of its medical supplies from China. Full Article
es Putin pays a somber tribute to WWII dead as Russian coronavirus cases skyrocket By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 10:14:00 -0400 Cancellation of the ceremony was the second blow to Putin, who was forced to call off a referendum extending his time in power. Full Article
es Putin pays a somber tribute to WWII dead as Russian coronavirus cases skyrocket By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 10:14:00 -0400 Cancellation of the ceremony was the second blow to Putin, who was forced to call off a referendum extending his time in power. Full Article
es In Flynn Case, Barr Again Takes Aim at Mueller Inquiry By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 10:41:58 -0400 WASHINGTON -- Shortly after admitting guilt to a federal judge in December 2017 for lying to the FBI, Michael Flynn issued a statement saying what he did was wrong, and "through my faith in God, I am working to set things right."It turns out that the only higher power that Flynn needed was Attorney General William Barr.Barr's extraordinary decision to drop the criminal case against Flynn shocked legal experts, won President Donald Trump's praise and prompted a career prosecutor to quit the case. It was the latest in Barr's steady effort to undo the results of the investigation by Robert Mueller, the special counsel. Barr has portrayed his effort as rectifying injustice, and the president more bluntly as an exercise in political payback.In his decisions and public comments over the past year, Barr has built an alternate narrative to the one that Mueller laid out in his voluminous report. Where the special counsel focused on Russia's expansive effort to interfere in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign's openness to it and the president's determination to impede the inquiry, Barr has focused instead on the investigators. He has suggested that they were unleashed by law enforcement and intelligence officials bent on bringing political harm to Trump.Barr has also mischaracterized the findings of the Mueller investigation, questioned why it began in the first place, used legal maneuvers to undo its courtroom successes and opened his own investigation by a hand-picked prosecutor that could bring criminal charges against former U.S. officials who played a part in setting the original inquiry into motion. Mueller and Barr, once close friends, have been like two students standing shoulder to shoulder at a blackboard: What one has diligently written down, the other has tried to steadily erase.In an interview Thursday with CBS News, Barr said he considered the Flynn case to be "part of a number of related acts -- and we're looking at the whole pattern of conduct." (The same day, Trump called it "just one piece of a very dishonest puzzle.")Recent disclosures about the FBI's handling of the Flynn case raise questions about why the bureau's leadership sent agents to interview Flynn without coordinating with top Justice Department officials, the latest in a series of revelations about FBI abuses in politically charged investigations in recent years. Barr, however, even suggested that a theory of the case embraced by Mueller and his team might have made them blind to the facts."One of the things you have to guard against, both as a prosecutor and I think as an investigator, is that if you get too wedded to a particular outcome and you're pursuing a particular agenda, you close your eyes to anything that sort of doesn't fit with your preconception," he said. "And I think that's probably the phenomenon we're looking at here."But when Mueller made his findings public, many criticized him for doing the opposite. His conclusions, especially about whether Trump had committed any obstruction of justice offenses by impeding the inquiry, were dense, burdened by legalese and appeared to reflect a tortured debate among the special counsel's team. They delivered no easy sound bite that the president's opponents could seize upon -- allowing Trump to distort the judgments by calling them a vindication of his behavior.The Mueller report "bends over backwards" to show that the special counsel's team considered all of the legal and political ramifications of investigating a sitting president, said Matthew J. Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor and now a partner at Vinson & Elkins."It gives the benefit of the doubt to the subject of the investigation that in any quote-unquote normal criminal case doesn't happen and wouldn't exist," said Jacobs, who once worked for Mueller at the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco.Barr's decision to drop the charges against Flynn was "unlike anything I've seen before," Jacobs said, adding that he saw no evidence whatsoever "that Gen. Flynn was set up or entrapped."In an unsolicited memo he wrote to the White House while still a lawyer in private practice in 2018, Barr unspooled his thoughts about what he called a "fatally misconceived" obstruction of justice theory the special counsel was reportedly pursuing as part of his investigation. Trump named him attorney general months later, but during his confirmation hearing, he pledged not to interfere with the work of Mueller and his team.Barr drew criticism for the way he characterized Mueller's findings last year in a four-page letter that -- for weeks -- served as the public's only picture of Mueller's 22-month investigation. Mueller privately wrote to the attorney general, saying he had mischaracterized the findings -- a letter Barr described as "snitty" -- and over time, Barr has repeatedly tried to emphasize the harm done to the investigative targets of the FBI and the special counsel's office.Barr's handling of the Mueller findings prompted a stinging rebuke in March from a Republican-appointed federal judge, who said the attorney general put forward a "distorted" and "misleading" account of the findings and lacked credibility on the topic.Barr has long insisted that he works independently of the White House, and in February, he said that Trump's public comments about the Justice Department sometimes made it "impossible" for him to do his job. Those comments came after Barr and other top department officials intervened to try to reduce a prison sentence in another case brought during the Mueller investigation: That of Roger Stone, a longtime friend of the president's who was convicted of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction of justice in a bid to thwart a congressional inquiry that threatened Trump.The president has made it clear both to aides and foreign officials that he sees Barr as a crucial ally in the grinding battle against his perceived enemies. Last July, the day after Mueller's congressional testimony seemed to lower the curtain on a more than two-year drama that had imperiled the Trump presidency, Trump was on the phone with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine asking him to assist the attorney general in an investigation "to get to the bottom of" how the Russia investigation began."As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller," the president said. The requests to Zelenskiy helped form the basis of an impeachment case against Trump in the ensuing months.Weeks after that phone call, Barr was on a plane to Rome with John Durham -- the prosecutor leading the Justice Department's investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation -- to seek evidence from Italian officials that might bolster a conspiracy theory long held by Trump: That American intelligence and law enforcement officials plotted with American allies to try to prevent him from winning the presidency in 2016.They did not appear to find any evidence. It remains uncertain, however, what Durham will find over his investigation, expected to finish sometime this year, and what effect it will have on the legacy of the Mueller investigation.The president, of course, has not waited to pass judgment. He has long publicly complained that the Flynn case was a product of a cabal of former officials conspiring against him, and he seems certain to promote its collapse as he ramps up his campaign for reelectionOn Thursday, the day the Justice Department dropped the criminal charges against Flynn -- the first top White House official to have been ensnared in the Russia investigation -- Trump was on the phone with President Vladimir Putin of Russia to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.Trump boasted that the call came at an opportune time. Things are "coming in line showing what a hoax this whole investigation was -- it was a total disgrace.""I wouldn't be surprised," he said he told Putin, "if you see a lot of things happen over the next number of weeks."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company Full Article
es NY's Cuomo criticized over highest nursing home death toll By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 10:58:09 -0400 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has won bipartisan praise for rallying supplies for his ravaged hospitals and helping slow the coronavirus, is coming under increasing criticism for not bringing that same level of commitment to a problem that has so far stymied him: nursing homes. In part-lecture, part-cheerleading briefings that have made him a Democratic counter to President Donald Trump, Cuomo has often seemed dismissive and resigned to defeat when asked about his state leading the nation in nursing home deaths. “We’ve tried everything to keep it out of a nursing home, but it’s virtually impossible,” Cuomo told reporters. Full Article
es Ajit Pai uses bad data to claim ISPs are deploying broadband to everyone By arstechnica.com Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 19:48:28 +0000 Pai’s “baffling” report ignores broadband gaps and high prices, Democrats say. Full Article Biz & IT Policy ajit pai broadband FCC
es Comcast waives data cap until at least June 30 in response to pandemic By arstechnica.com Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 21:54:33 +0000 Comcast hasn't enforced data cap since March 13 because of pandemic. Full Article Biz & IT Comcast data cap pandemic
es Ubuntu 20.04: Welcome to the future, Linux LTS disciples By arstechnica.com Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 12:00:01 +0000 ZFS gets more accessible, security becomes a bigger priority, and Ubuntu speeds up overall. Full Article Biz & IT Features
es “Chickens**t” whistleblower firings are “poison,” resigning Amazon VP says By arstechnica.com Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 15:27:05 +0000 Firings highlight “toxicity running through the company culture,” Bray said. Full Article Biz & IT Policy Amazon labor tim bray
es CenturyLink still hasn’t met 2019 FCC deadline, now faces pandemic roadblocks By arstechnica.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 18:15:03 +0000 Pandemic disrupts broadband progress as cities halt construction. Full Article Biz & IT Policy centurylink FCC
es Hacker buys old Tesla parts on eBay, finds them full of user data By arstechnica.com Published On :: Tue, 05 May 2020 22:58:09 +0000 Data can be retrieved even after owners perform a factory reset, researcher says. Full Article Biz & IT Cars hacking infotainment systems media control units personal information privacy Tesla
es Wink smart hub users get one week’s notice to pay up or lose access By arstechnica.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 16:31:32 +0000 Devices will stop working for users who don't want to pay the new monthly fee. Full Article Biz & IT Policy internet of shit Internet of things smart home smart home hubs wink
es Comcast resists call to open home Wi-Fi hotspots, cites potential congestion By arstechnica.com Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 19:08:45 +0000 "Comcast's excuse simply does not add up," three US senators say. Full Article Biz & IT Policy Comcast Ron Wyden
es ‘It was so thick’: B.C. woman’s giant spider photo horrifies, but experts say not to fear By globalnews.ca Published On :: Sun, 03 May 2020 22:10:20 +0000 "I just always want to reiterate the spiders are our friends, and this isn't a dangerous spider," said Royal B.C. Museum entomologist Claudia Copley. Full Article Environment News Science b.c. spider Giant Spider large spider pacific folding door spider spider spider photo victoria spider
es ‘Murder hornet’: Asian invader is death on wings for bees in Canada, U.S. By globalnews.ca Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 17:40:45 +0000 The Asian giant hornet stings through clothing like a red-hot needle and slaughters honeybees by the thousands. Full Article Canada News Science Trending asian giant hornet giant asian hornet giant hornet Honey Bees hornet vs bees japanese giant hornet Japanese Hornet murder hornet vespa mandarinia
es Canada focuses on mitigating COVID-19, placing virus origin search on backburner By globalnews.ca Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 22:11:39 +0000 It will be important to one day learn the true origin story of the global pandemic to defend against similar outbreaks in the future, Health Minister Patty Hajdu acknowledged Monday. Full Article Canada Health Politics Science World Coronavirus coronavirus origin story Coronavirus Origins COVID-19 Donald Trump Fox News how did the coronavirus start Justin Trudeau mystery coronavirus origin Patty Hajdu theresa tam
es Focus on COVID-19 has disrupted funding for regular health research, scientists fear By globalnews.ca Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 02:47:36 +0000 The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) put off its regular $275-million competition this spring to focus on delivering federal grants related to the novel coronavirus. Full Article Canada Health Science Canada Coronavirus Canadian Institutes of Health Research CIHR Coronavirus Coronavirus Cases Coronavirus In Canada coronavirus news coronavirus update COVID-19 covid-19 canada covid-19 news health care funding Health Funding
es Green energy surpasses coal as top power source during coronavirus lockdowns By globalnews.ca Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 19:53:23 +0000 The slowing economy due to COVID-19 has allowed solar, wind and hydro power to overtake coal-fired power. Full Article Science Trending Coal Coronavirus Coronavirus Good News coronavirus in the usa coronavirus news Coronavirus Updates Coronavirus US COVID-19 Green Energy Pollution Renewable Energy
es South Korea experts say ‘reinfected’ coronavirus cases appear to be false positives By globalnews.ca Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 05:44:04 +0000 In some cases, the tests may detect old particles of the virus, which may no longer pose a significant threat to the patient or others, scientists say. Full Article Health Science World Coronavirus Coronavirus Cases coronavirus false positives coronavirus news coronavirus reinfected Coronavirus reinfection coronavirus South Korea coronavirus update COVID-19 covid-19 news South Korea south korea coronavirus
es Voices in AI – Episode 109: A Conversation with Frank Holland By gigaom.com Published On :: Thu, 19 Mar 2020 12:00:35 +0000 About this Episode On Episode 109 of Voices in AI, Byron speaks with Frank Holland about the nature of intelligence and… Full Article ai Artificial Intelligence Blog intelligence Machine learning
es Voices in AI – Episode 110: A Conversation with Didem Un Ates By gigaom.com Published On :: Thu, 02 Apr 2020 12:00:02 +0000 About this Episode On Episode 110 of Voices in AI, Byron speaks with Didem Un Ates, the Senior Director of AI… Full Article ai Artificial Intelligence Blog intelligence Machine learning
es Voices in AI – Episode 111: A Conversation with Robert Brooker By gigaom.com Published On :: Thu, 16 Apr 2020 12:00:26 +0000 About this Episode On Episode 111 of Voices in AI, Byron discusses the nature of intelligence and Artificial Intelligence within the… Full Article ai Artificial Intelligence Blog intelligence Machine learning
es Voices in AI – Episode 112: A Conversation with David Weinberger By gigaom.com Published On :: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 12:00:26 +0000 About this Episode On Episode 112 of Voices in AI, Byron speaks with fellow author and technologist David Weinberger about the… Full Article ai Artificial Intelligence Blog intelligence Machine learning