Democrats divided as pressure to impeach builds: ‘What are you waiting for?’

Dozens of Democrats have called for Trump impeachment proceedings in wake of Mueller’s report – but Pelosi has remained steadfast in opposing an inquiryNancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on 27 June. ‘I don’t think we should go down that path,’ she said of impeaching Trump in March. Photograph: Alex Brandon/APIn the House of Representatives the apparently frustrated Democratic congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, had one question for the leadership of her party: when would they impeach Donald Trump?“The thing that we’re struggling with is that we don’t know what we’re waiting for in terms of a caucus. And folks that are saying, ‘No, not yet. Not yet.’ OK – accepting that that’s your position, what are you waiting for?” the New York socialist said to reporters this week. “Are you waiting for some kind of revelation?”That’s a question a growing number of Democrats are asking. Dozens of Democrats on Capitol Hill, including 2020 hopefuls such as Elizabeth Warren, have called for impeachment proceedings in the wake of the special counsel Robert Mueller’s damning report into Russia interference in the 2016 election, which also outlined numerous instances of obstruction of justice on the part of the president.Nor is it just leftwing firebrands like Ocasio-Cortez. One notable recent convert to the impeachment cause was California congresswoman Katie Porter, who announced her support by admitting: “I didn’t come to Congress to impeach the president.” But Porter added: “When faced with a crisis of this magnitude, I cannot with a clean conscience ignore my duty to defend the constitution.”Porter’s support struck a chord in Washington because, as the representative of a swing district, her announcement carried personal political risk. Most others who have called for impeachment hail from safely blue districts. Only one Republican – Michigan congressman Justin Amash – has signed up to the cause.The question now is, will the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, succumb to the growing pressure, or will she stand her ground? It is a fierce debate that is increasingly dividing the party, pitting pragmatists against ideologues, the leadership against its own members and advocates of policy who believe they have a constitutional duty to act against wrongdoing against those who prefer to wage politics and want to remove Trump by thrashing him at the 2020 ballot box.Pelosi has so far remained steadfast in opposing an impeachment inquiry on the grounds such a move would fail in the Republican-controlled Senate and could be politically divisive, potentially jeopardizing Democrats’ chances at ousting Trump via the ballot box in 2020.In March, she said in an interview with the Washington Post that impeachment would be “so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path”.A four-page summary later that month of Mueller’s report by William Barr, the Mueller critic Trump installed as attorney general, made that position seem prescient. Barr wrote in a letter to lawmakers that Mueller did not establish collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government and that he’d punted on the issue of obstruction. Barr and his then deputy, Rod Rosenstein, cleared Trump of charges that he sought to interfere with the inquiry.> When faced with a crisis of this magnitude, I cannot with a clean conscience ignore my duty to defend the constitution> > Katie PorterBut in April, Barr released a redacted version of Mueller’s 448-page report that revealed his initial summary – and a bizarre, pre-publication press conference in which the attorney general sought to spin the findings like he was a member of Trump’s defense team – to be wildly misleading.On the question of obstruction of justice, Mueller laid out a series of episodes in which Trump personally sought to undermine the investigation, including by firing former FBI director James Comey and attempting to fire the special counsel himself. The reason Trump was not charged with a crime, Mueller implied, is because he did not believe justice department protocol allowed for a sitting president to be indicted.Holding the president accountable, he suggested, would necessarily be Congress, not the criminal justice system.For some Democrats, like the congressman and 2020 presidential candidate Eric Swalwell, that was a call to action.“The congressman is concentrated on protecting our democracy and believes that a fair process will either remove a corrupt president or acquit him but inaction is no longer an option,” a representative for Swalwell said.The momentum behind impeachment may be having some impact. Pelosi has introduced the word into her vocabulary as of late, implying that she was keeping the door open to the possibility. But she has also stayed the course, tamping down criticism from her ranks that it’s Congress’s duty to hold the president accountable – regardless of whether it would succeed or not.Instead, she has called for Democrats to press on with their investigations, as well as to focus on kitchen table issues such as healthcare, which helped them take back the House in the 2018 midterms and can, she hopes, propel them to victory again in 2020.As the 2020 race heats up – the Democrats have had their first televised debate and Trump has officially launched his campaign – it is hard to say what Democrats will, or should, do.On the one hand, impeachment could prove divisive. While a growing majority of Democratic voters support such a move, some polls suggest that Americans overall remain split on the matter. There are fears that impeachment could backfire on Democrats in 2020 and gift Trump another four years in office are not completely unfounded. After all, Republicans lost House seats in 1998 and 2000 as they pursued the impeachment of Bill Clinton – something that has weighed on Pelosi, her colleagues told the Atlantic.Those losses are often overstated, however, and the situations are different, both in terms of the two presidents’ statures in the public’s eye and the nature of their conduct. Clinton, who retained high approval ratings during the course of his proceedings, was impeached over conduct largely unrelated to his presidency.Activists call for the impeachment of Donald Trump in New York City, on 15 June. Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Getty ImagesTrump, on the other hand, has seen underwater job approval ratings for the entire duration of his presidency. What’s more, the justification for his potential impeachment cuts to the heart of his duties as president. Trump has not only continued to insist he did nothing wrong and to block oversight investigations – he also said in a stunning interview recently that he would welcome foreign interference in the 2020 election if he thought it could help him win.Though Democrats appear uniformly frustrated and outraged by Trump’s conduct, some aren’t yet ready to greenlight impeachment.“I’m not yet calling to start an impeachment inquiry,” Florida congressman Ted Deutch, a Democrat on the House judiciary committee, told the Guardian. “But I will also not keep waiting as the White House engages in this unprecedented stonewalling. Obstruction of an investigation of obstruction of justice is itself obstruction of justice.”For more than 70 lawmakers and counting, though, it’s time to start moving on the matter – both as a practical way of holding the president accountable and as an ethical and constitutional responsibility to send a message that nobody is above the law, even if they sit in the Oval Office.“The administration has refused to respect the rule of law,” Porter said announcing her support for an impeachment inquiry.“The question is not whether a crisis is in our midst,” she continued, “but rather whether we choose to fight against it.”

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Beto O'Rourke visits children at migrant housing facility downtown

During his visit to Southwest Key's Casa Sunzal, O'Rourke said the children's situation is like the U.S. turning away Jewish refugees during World War II.

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Biden and school busing: Where he stood, what it means

That Joe Biden, the man picked by America's first black president as his number two, should now be suffering attacks over his record on race might seem surprising. Senator Kamala Harris, the only black woman in the Democratic presidential field, forcefully questioned Biden on his opposition in the 1970s to court-ordered busing programs aimed at integrating public schools. Harris noted, in a quavering voice, that as "a little girl in California" she was "part of the second class to integrate her public schools" in a busing program.

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U.S. federal judge blocks use of some funds for border wall

U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but has so far proven unsuccessful at receiving congressional approval to do so. In February, the Trump administration declared a national emergency to reprogram $6.7 billion in funds that Congress had allocated for other purposes to build the wall, which groups and states including California had challenged. U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California said in a pair of rulings that the Trump administration's proposal to transfer Defense Department funds intended for anti-drug activities was unlawful.

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U.S. federal court delays adoption of healthcare rule on abortion

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its opponents in a California lawsuit agreed on Friday to delay implementing a rule that would allow medical workers to decline performing abortions or other treatments on moral or religious grounds, according to a federal court filing. The move comes after President Donald Trump's administration announced the rule earlier in May. It has also championed several policies to restrict abortion both in the United States and abroad. Delegations of Authority," the measure aims to protect conscience and religious rights surrounding abortion, sterilization and assisted suicide, HHS officials have said.

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Ten people confirmed killed when small plane crashes into Texas hangar

All 10 people aboard a small airplane were killed on Sunday when their aircraft crashed into a hangar during takeoff from an airport in Addison, Texas, near Dallas, an airport official said.

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Trump: If There Was a Wall, Immigrant Dad and Daughter Who Drowned ‘Would Be Saved’

Kevin Lamarque/ReutersPresident Donald Trump said that if the wall along the southern border with Mexico had been built, the migrant dad and daughter who drowned this week “would be saved.”Speaking at a press conference in Osaka, Japan, where world leaders are gathered at the G20 summit, Trump took a moment to offer his take on the global shock in response to the photo of Salvadorian man Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter, Valeria, who were found face down and clinging to each other in the Rio Grande river. The two were attempting to make it across the river after failing to gain asylum from U.S. authorities.“The father and the beautiful daughter who drowned... if they thought it was hard to get in, they wouldn’t be coming up,” Trump said.Trump then called for tougher border patrol policies, adding that illegal immigration is “very unfair.”“You have millions of people on line for years to get into a country. They take tests, they study... and these people have worked hard, they’ve been on line for seven, eight, nine years, then someone walks in. Honestly it’s very unfair,” he said.Trump’s comments came hours after a U.S. judge’s ruling that blocks his administration from using $2.5 billion in funds intended to be used for anti-drug activities to instead build a wall along the border with Mexico. Trump said that he is planning to immediately appeal the ruling.In February, the Trump administration declared a national emergency to use $6.7 billion in funds that Congress had allocated for other purposes to instead be used for constructing the wall. U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California said in a pair of court decisions Friday that the Trump administration’s proposal to transfer the funds was unlawful.“We think we’ll win the appeal,” Trump said during another press conference at the G20 summit. “There was no reason that that should’ve happened.”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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Booker: Biden is 'causing a lot of frustration and even pain with his words'

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., criticized 2020 presidential rival Joe Biden on Sunday, saying the former vice president was doing a poor job of healing racial divisions in the country.

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UPDATE 1-Putin says Britain's May tough on Skripal poisoning case

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he wanted to improve ties with Britain after they were strained by the poisoning of a former Russian spy on British soil, but said Prime Minister Theresa May was taking a tough line on the issue. Putin met May at the G20 summit in Osaka on Friday. May's office said she asked Moscow to hand over the Russian suspects Britain blames for poisoning a former double agent and his daughter with a nerve agent in Salisbury, England last year.

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Newark Airport reopens after being shut down due to 'airport emergency'

Newark Airport has reopened after it was shut down Saturday morning due to an "airport emergency."

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The new and improved Gay Street sign is all over NYC Pride Twitter

This year the New York City Pride March marks 50 years since the Stonewall Riot, and the parade is  bigger and more colorful than ever. As the march makes its way to Greenwich Village, one street sign in particular is popping up on social media as a symbol of 2019's much-needed focus on inclusion in the queer community. It's pure coincidence that Gay Street intersects with Christopher Street right near the Stonewall Inn -- the "Gay" of Gay Street is a family name -- but its location on the parade route makes it prime real estate for a statement on what pride means in 2019. Take a look:> The famous Gay Street sign, representing a wide spectrum of gender expression. Near Christopher Park in Greenwich Village, NYCPride pic.twitter.com/8vTUJKsr50> > -- ken ┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴ (@kensadahiro) June 29, 2019The sign was one of many changes made around the city to celebrate Pride Month. > For the LGBT folks in the city today, I hope you all know that New York City will always stand with you. Enjoy PrideNYC today!!!! pic.twitter.com/FKpz1tEXQx> > -- Craig Anderson (@canderson1989) June 30, 2019The temporary changes to the Gay Street sign were part of an "Acceptance Matters" campaign by MasterCard, which raises questions about the place of corporations in New York's Pride Month celebrations. This particular installation seems to be popular on social media, however, for its reminder that every element of the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to feel proud of their identity.  WATCH: 'History repeats itself': LGBTQ elders discuss how Stonewall impacted their organizing during the AIDS crisis

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Undocumented immigrants should get health care, Julián Castro affirms

“We're not going to let people living in this country die because they can't see a doctor.“

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UPDATE 2-Fighting rages across Afghanistan as peace talks continue

Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 19 people in an attack on a government office on Saturday night, officials said, in the latest episode of violence in Afghanistan as peace talks continue to end the war. The Taliban, which rejects the election process, claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the group's fighters also killed 57 members of the Afghan security forces in the attack and captured 11 others, but Afghan officials disputed the account.

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Biden scrambles after slipping in Democrats' debate

A wounded Joe Biden scrambled to defend his frontrunner status Friday after getting pummeled over his record on race relations at a Democratic election debate, throwing the battle for the party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump wide open. Watching from Japan, where he was attending the G20 summit, Trump licked his chops as the 10 Democrats at the Thursday night debate in Miami veered sharply to the left on immigration, health care, taxes and the ever-emotional subject of gun ownership. Biden, vice president under still highly popular ex-president Barack Obama, came in as the favorite, polling well ahead of Trump and all Democratic rivals.

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Your iPhone will charge from 0% to 80% in under an hour with these two accessories

Here's the good news: all of Apple's iPhones from 2017 and later support 18W fast charging that can charge your phone from 0% all the way up to 80% in about 55 minutes! And now for the bad news: Apple's cheaped out and didn't include a fast charger in the box with any of its iPhone models. Seriously, you can buy a $1,500 iPhone XS Max and Apple still doesn't include a fast charger in the box. Ugh. Getting the charger and cable you need from Apple to fast charge your iPhone costs about $50, which is obscene. Instead, pick up an AUKEY USB C Charger with 18W Power Delivery for $19.99 and an Anker USB C to Lightning Cable for $15.99. AUKEY USB C Charger * High-Speed Charging: Fast charge your iPhone XS/XS Max/XR, Google Pixel 2 / 2 XL, or other compatible USB-C devices that support USB Power Delivery * USB Power Delivery: Next-generation, future-proof fast charging technology that charges your USB Type-C phone or tablet at up to 18W * Compact & Portable: Extremely compact form factor and foldable plug ensure maximum portability wherever you go. Handy for home, office, and vacations * Safe & Reliable: Built-in safeguards protect your devices against excessive current, overheating, and overcharging * Package Contents: AUKEY PA-Y18 18W Power Delivery Wall Charger, User Manual, 45-Day Money Back Guarantee and 24-Month Product Replacement Warranty Card Anker USB C to Lightning Cable * Power Delivery: Use this cable with your USB-C Power Delivery charger (including Apple 18W 29W, 30W, 61W, or 87W USB-C Power Adapter) to charge your iOS device, and access fast-charging for iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, XR, XS Max, and later models. * Charge and Sync: Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to your USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) enabled Mac and iPad Pro to seamlessly sync And charge. * Ultimate Durability: Lasts 12× longer than other cables and proven to withstand over 12000 bends in strict laboratory tests. * MI: MI certification and strict quality testing ensure your Apple devices are charged safely, at their fastest possible speed. . * A Cable for Life: We're so confident about Power line II's long-lasting performance that we gave it a hassle-free, lifetime .

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GOP senators set to return to Oregon Capitol after prolonged walkout over cap-and-trade bill

Oregon's 11 Republican senators are ending a walkout protest over climate legislation that lasted more than a week and garnered national attention.

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'Back on track': Trump, Xi seal trade war truce

US President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed trade talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as "far better than expected" and vowed to hold off on further tariffs as negotiations continue. The ceasefire that halts damaging trade frictions came after a hotly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world's top two economies on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

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Childcare might become 'available only in rich areas'

MPs warn that childcare in England risks becoming accessible only to the wealthy.

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Syrian state media: Israeli missile strike kills four civilians

Israeli warplanes fired missiles targeting Syrian military positions in Homs and the Damascus outskirts in an attack that killed at least four civilians, Syrian state media said.

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What's happening in the news this week?

This week, Bonnie Tyler makes an appearance, alongside some reconstituted meat products.

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Tunisia - the birthplace of the Arab Spring which lost its hope

Tunisia is seen as one of the few success stories of the Arab Spring so have so many of its people lost hope?

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Medicinal cannabis: The family that changed Australia's debate

Their heartrending story shifted perceptions on medical cannabis - but, they argue, not far enough.

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Greek election: Why frustrated young voters are turning conservative

As Greece goes to the polls on 7 July, many young Greeks are turning from the left-wing Syriza.

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Ethics panel launches Gaetz investigation over Cohen tweet

Matt Gaetz sent a tweet in February in which he threatened to release embarrassing personal information about Michael Cohen.

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Conservative organization using claims of 'secret list' of liberal judges to rally Republican base

The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative organization instrumental in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation fight, is calling on 2020 Democratic candidates to release what it says is a secret list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court.

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Israel and Hamas Reach Truce to Restore Quiet, Army Radio Says

(Bloomberg) -- Israel and Hamas reached a truce on Friday that would halt attacks against Israeli farmland in return for measures to ease the economic blockade on Gaza, according to a report by Israeli Army Radio.Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, would stop launching incendiary balloons that for the past year have torched thousands of acres of forest and agricultural land, and in exchange Israel would expand the enclave’s fishing zone, and return 60 confiscated boats and diesel supplies for the area’s main power plant, according to the radio station.Though the concessions made by Israel are small, they would provide some relief for Gaza and its roughly 2 million residents, who are cut off from other economies by their immediate neighbors, Israel and Egypt.To contact the reporter on this story: Yaacov Benmeleh in Tel Aviv at ybenmeleh@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Constantine Courcoulas, Taylan BilgicFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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Mika Brzezinski on the success of ‘Morning Joe’: ‘I’m the reason it’s still going’

MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski says “Morning Joe” was her husband’s idea, but she’s “the reason it’s still going.” Brzezinski explains that when the show first started, she was booking the guests and managing the show. “I did everything from the get-go, tried to make a space for [Joe Scarborough]’s incredible voice.”

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Kamala Harris Uses Her Story to Force Dems to Really Consider Race

It took a while to get there, but as anticipated, former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on race led to one of the most heated moments of Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate.Sen. Kamala Harris, who demonstrated her fierce prosecutorial acumen throughout the night, came at Biden for his “hurtful” comments about his friendly relations with segregationist senators in the 1970s, and then deftly pivoted to Biden’s own opposition to busing during that era, revealing that she was one of the young African-Americans who benefited from that desegregation program.Kamala Harris Hammers Biden for His Past Work With RacistsTrue to form, Biden reasserted his personal history on civil rights — ignoring the fact that Harris opened her attack by conceding that he is not a racist — and refused to apologize for his remarks about how “we got things done” with segregationists Democrats in the 1970s  or renounce his now politically untenable old position on busing.He condescendingly told Harris that it was her local City Council’s fault that she had to participate in busing in the first place, but his answer betrayed no empathy or compassion, just a stern defense of his own controversial record. When it comes to Biden’s long record in the Senate, he has failed to acknowledge how the compromises he is so proud of having forged frequently resulted in bad policy — ones whose impact often disproportionately landed on the backs of African-Americans. As Harris said of Biden’s old political allies in a post-debate interview, again stressing that she did not see Biden himself as a racist: “The consequences of their actions were very real, and on the shoulders of a history in our country of — really a very bad awful dark dangerous and lethal time.”This is not a problem singularly for Biden. The Democratic Party has been disappointing black voters for decades—and they may not be able to afford to come up short for them again.In a debate full of interruptions, forced talking points and uncomfortable exchanges, it may have been the discussion of racial matters that knocked a few of the top tier candidates off their game.Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who was smoother than many of the more seasoned politicians on stage for the most part, didn’t navigate a question well about the racial tensions back home in South Bend, Indiana where a police shooting has resurrected past complaints about his sensitivity on race.Buttigieg, who has struggled to connect with black voters, at first seemed to take total responsibility for his local department’s lack of diversity (just 6 percent black, even though South Bend is about 26 percent black), but he also absolved himself of making a judgment call, since an investigation was still ongoing.Rep. Eric Swalwell, who spent most of the night trying to remind viewers how young he was, goaded the mayor by saying he should “fire the police chief,” by the end of the exchange Buttigieg could only shoot Swalwell an exasperated stare.Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose own struggles with winning over African-Americans are well-documented, also failed to seriously address a question about a previous comment he’d made which seemed to dismiss the significance of representation of women and minorities in the race.Meanwhile, Sen. Harris was able to steal focus repeatedly, and in this case she pulled rank on race as the often overpowered MSNBC moderators had to helplessly seed the floor to her. These exchanges laid bare the challenge before the Democratic contenders, who fate in the primaries and eventually the general election will have a lot to do with how much they can inspire and appeal to voters of color.There was plenty of talk about systematic racism, voting rights and even reparations, but there was only one person on stage who consistently was able to weave an accessible narrative around these issues.Harris spoke about race in very personal terms — pointing out that there isn’t a single black man she knew who hadn’t experienced some form of racial profiling. And she talked about being told by a white neighbor as a child that they could no longer play together because she was black.It was a different side of the senator than the no-nonsense Senate committee questioner that those who are casually familiar with her might have previously seen. And her performance tonight should earn her a second look or first look from Democratic voters.Arguably the greatest hinderance to her candidacy to date, may be the perception that a black woman may be deemed less electable than established white politicians like Sanders or Biden, but the rapturous applause that greeted her reference to the president and “her hand,” suggests that previously held perceptions of electability can and should be thrown out the window.Tonight, the most coherent compelling candidate onstage was a black woman and a distant second was a gay man. Electability is the eye of the beholder. And when Biden’s camp released a statement saying that the debate was “exactly what Trump wants,” it failed to see that this kind of reckoning on representation is actually exactly what Democratic voters want..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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Atlanta airport to expand security checkpoint

The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport plans to expand a security checkpoint within the next year to help alleviate a crowded waiting area, officials said. Officials expect to open five additional lanes at the South Security Checkpoint within the next year, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . This would provide nine lanes for TSA screening near Delta Air Lines' check-in counters.

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This Is the Battle That Decided World War II (Not What You Think)

While the tactical result of the battle was stunning – the U.S. sunk four Japanese fleet carriers Hiryu, Soryu, Kaga and Akagi, a heavy cruiser and destroyed 248 enemy aircraft – it is the perilous backdrop of America’s war fortunes in 1942 that make Midway’s tide-turning outcomes all the more significant.  Thursday, June 6th saw the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion at Normandy, the amphibious assault phase of Operation Neptune, or what we commonly remember as D-Day.  U.S. troops who landed at Normandy – particularly at Omaha Beach – waded ashore amidst a storm of chaos, a blizzard of machine gun fire, and a hail of plunging mortars.  Despite great confusion and casualties, at the squad level and below, the men at Omaha rallied and pressed forth with tenacity and nerve to breach sand-berms and barricades, neutralize enemy positions, and salvage their sectors.  Losses at Omaha were immense – but American resolve helped establish a foothold on the coast of France – and “the rest,” they say, “is history.”(This appeared earlier in June 2019.)Without doubt, the enormous importance of D-Day as a logistical and operational undertaking – and the gallantry of Allied forces that June morning is unquestioned.  It rightfully exemplifies American character, courage, and commitment. However, it is important to note that as far as the battle’s strategic significance is concerned, a strong case can be made that other battles of World War II are more critical than D-Day.The Battle of Midway in 1942 is one.

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Western liberalism is obsolete, warns Putin, ahead of May meeting

Russian president says the Salisbury poisonings are not worth ‘all this fuss’ and that liberals can no longer ‘dictate’ to anyone‘The average person listens and says “who are these Skripals?”’ Vladimir Putin said in an interview with the Financial Times. Photograph: SPUTNIK/ReutersVladimir Putin has said ahead of his meeting with Theresa May at the G20 summit in Japan that relations between Britain and Russia should not suffer because of last year’s nerve agent attack on the former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.The Russian president also used the interview with the Financial Times to claim that the election of Donald Trump as US president and the rise of nationalist-populist movements in Europe signaled the death of liberal policies in the west.“[Liberals] cannot simply dictate anything to anyone just like they have been attempting to do over the recent decades,” he said. “The liberal idea has become obsolete. It has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population.”The claims brought a short response from European council president Donald Tusk at the G20 summit in Osaka on Friday.“I strongly disagree with the main argument that liberalism is obsolete. Whoever claims that liberal democracy is obsolete, also claims that freedoms are obsolete, that the rule of law is obsolete and that human rights are obsolete,” he said. “For us in Europe, these are and will remain essential and vibrant values. What I find really obsolete are: authoritarianism, personality cults, the rule of oligarchs. Even if sometimes they may seem effective.”On the Skripals, Putin told the FT in an interview at the Kremlin that: “All this fuss about spies and counterspies is not worth interstate relations. This spy story, as we say here, is not worth 5 kopecks.“I think Russia and UK are both interested in fully restoring our relations – at least I hope a few preliminary steps will be taken.”Bilateral ties between Britain and Russia plummeted to a post-Cold War low last year when London accused Moscow of the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury.The Kremlin denies sending GRU military intelligence agents to Britain to carry out the attack, which triggered scores of diplomatic expulsions between Moscow and western countries.“The average person listens and says ‘who are these Skripals?’” Putin said. “Treason is the gravest crime possible and traitors must be punished. I am not saying that the Salisbury incident is the way to do it … but traitors must be punished.” Putin has previously called Skripal a “scumbag.”The G20 summit takes place in Osaka on Friday and Saturday. May’s spokesman has said she will use the meeting with Putin to ensure that Britain’s stance on “Russia’s wider pattern of malign behaviour” has been fully grasped by the Kremlin.Putin described German chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to allow more than a million refugees – most of whom were fleeing the war in Syria – into Germany as a “cardinal mistake”.In contrast, he was full of praise for Trump’s attempts to prevent migrants from entering the US from Mexico. “This liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done. That migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants have to be protected.”Putin also tried to defend Russia’s record on LGBT+ rights. “I am not trying to insult anyone because we have been condemned for our alleged homophobia. But we have no problem with LGBT persons. God forbid, let them live as they wish,” Putin said. “But some things do appear excessive to us. They claim now that children can play five or six gender roles.”Moscow has been criticised internationally for its so-called anti-gay propaganda law, which bars the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” to children. Human rights groups say the law, which Putin approved in 2013, has sparked a spike in homophobic violence. A UN panel ruled last year that the law was in violation of a legally binding international treaty on human rights.

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China warns of 'severe threats' to global order at G20

China warned on Friday that protectionism and "bullying" were threatening the world order as President Xi Jinping met other leaders at the G20 summit ahead of high-stakes talks with Donald Trump. Xi met three of his African counterparts Friday morning on the sidelines of the G20 summit of major world economies, which opened in Osaka amid the US-China trade war, geopolitical tensions, and divisions over climate change. "All leaders in the meeting stressed that unilateralism, protectionism, and bullying practices are on the rise, posing severe threats to economic globalisation and international order, and severe challenges to the external environment of developing countries," Chinese foreign ministry official Dai Bing told reporters.

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Man charged with murder, kidnapping in case of missing Utah student Mackenzie Lueck

A man has been charged in connection with the disappearance of missingUniversity of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck, CBS News reports

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Your pictures on the theme of 'pathway'

Each week, we publish a gallery of readers' pictures on a set theme. This week it is "pathway".

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The Killers bring out the Pet Shop Boys and Johnny Marr at Glastonbury

The Killers put on a triumphant headline show, putting to rest the memory of their flawed 2007 set.

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Sudan: Dying for the revolution

Meet the young protesters in Sudan prepared to die to keep the country's revolution alive.

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Biden responds to attack on his age: 'I'm still holding on to that torch'

Rep. Eric Swalwell went after former Vice President Joe Biden in the second Democratic presidential primary debate. Swalwell said Biden, who is 76 years old, should “pass the torch.” Biden rejected the California lawmaker’s critique.

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Iraqi general, U.S. Marine dispute murder charge against Navy SEAL

An Iraqi general and a U.S. Marine testifying in the murder trial of a U.S. Navy SEAL said on Thursday they never saw the platoon leader stab a wounded detainee in the neck, disputing the central allegation in the prosecution's war crimes case. A sworn deposition of Major General Abbas al-Jubouri, videotaped in San Diego earlier this month, was played for the seven-member jury on the second day of defense testimony in the court-martial of Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher. Contrary to prior testimony that Gallagher, or a medic on his team, had acted deliberately to cause the death of a helpless Islamic State fighter in their custody, Jubouri said the Navy SEALs did all they could to save the teenager's life.

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Kamala Harris Is Surging and Birtherism Is Back

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyKamala Harris broke out from the other nine Democrats onstage during the second Democratic presidential primary debate on Thursday, calling on her personal experiences of racial injustice as a black woman.“As the only black person on this stage, I would like to speak on the issue of race,” Harris said.That’s when she was attacked on Twitter by a conservative provocateur for not being an “American black.” It’s a play straight out of the racist birther playbook used against Barack Obama when he ran for president a decade earlier. This time, though, those kinds of allegations don’t have to circulate for years on obscure right-wing forums before they reach a mainstream audience. On Thursday night, spammers and even one of President Trump’s sons spread the attack to millions of people within hours. Kamala Harris Shows She’s Here to Capture the CrownHarris, 54, was born in Oakland, California to a father from Jamaica and a mother from India. She spoke of her experience growing up black in the debate, recalling a story about neighbors who wouldn’t let their children play with Harris and her sister because of the color of their skin.The attacks on Harris’s background started Thursday when Ali Alexander tweeted she is not an “American black.” “She is half Indian and half Jamaican,” Alexander wrote. “I'm so sick of people robbing American Blacks (like myself) of our history. It's disgusting. Now using it for debate time at DemDebate2? These are my people not her people. Freaking disgusting.”Alexander’s claim was picked up by Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted it to his nearly 3.6 million followers. “Is this true?” Trump Jr. wrote. “Wow.”Trump Jr., who later deleted his tweet, wasn’t the only one using Alexander’s tweet to question Harris’s ethnicity. Harris’s team denounced the comment as racist. “This is the same type of racist attacks his father used to attack Barack Obama. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now,” a Harris spokesperson told The Daily Beast.More Twitter users copied and pasted Alexander’s message verbatim and tweeted it as their own, according to screenshots posted by writer Caroline Orr. Some of those accounts, like “@prebs_73,” have copy-pasted other popular right-wing tweets verbatim. Other accounts with right-wing references in their usernames and biographies piled on, accusing Harris of not being black.“Ummmmm @KamalaHarris you are NOT BLACK. you are Indian and Jamaican,” wrote a Twitter user with a cross emoji, the word “CONSERVATIVE,” a red “X” emoji (a right-wing Twitter trope), and three stars (a QAnon symbol) in their username.At least one known network of bot accounts was found spreading Alexander’s original tweet, BuzzFeed reported.Shireen Mitchell, a technologist and founder of the group Stop Online Violence Against Women, said the accusation against Harris plays into a long-running debate that has been used to drive a white nationalist wedge through black communities.“We are and have always been, for centuries in this country, having this little fight about who gets opportunities as black people and who doesn’t,” Mitchell said. “That includes colorism; that includes distinctions of where the ship actually landed; it includes if you are (and I am) a descendant of a slave who was born here versus a descendant of slavery from another country. Those distinctions, from my perspective, make no sense ever. But what it does is allow for white nationalist and nativist conversations to be planted in my community.”A spokesman for Trump Jr. said Trump sent the tweet originally because he had not known that Harris’s mother was Indian. “Don’s tweet was simply him asking if it’s true that Kamala Harris was half-Indian because it’s not something he had ever heard before and once he saw that folks were misconstruing the intent of his tweet he quickly deleted it,” the spokesman said. Alexander, who describes himself as black and Arab, said that Harris has a “nasty, lying history with Black people.” “Me pointing out that Kamala Harris has a mother from India and a father from Jamaica went viral last night because many people assume she descends from Black American Slaves,” he said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “She does not. I corrected Kamala Harris last night because she stole debate time under the premise that she is an African-American when she is in fact a biracial Indian-Jamaican who is a first generation American.”This isn’t the first time pro-Trump activists have tried to undermine Harris and her authority to speak on issues of race based on her parents. In January, right-wing operative Jacob Wohl, an associate of Alexander, argued on Twitter that Harris was ineligible to be president because her parents weren’t from the United States, even though she was born in California. Wohl’s claims were circulated by other right-wing figures online, in an attempt to create a birther-style question about whether Harris could legally run for president.Mitchell, who has monitored harassment campaigns against black women since 2013, said Harris is facing a new, digital permutation of the birther conspiracy theory attacks President Trump levied against Obama.“It’s a different iteration of birtherism: ‘where were you born?’ She was born in Oakland!” Mitchell said, referring to the conspiracy theory that falsely accused Obama of being born outside the U.S. “The conversation is, no matter who we are, our blackness should be challenged because what we look like is not ‘American enough.’”Mitchell draws a distinction between two kinds of fraudulent accounts that try to discredit black people online. Botnets, an automated network of fake accounts, often tweet the same message. The technique allows a message to spread far and fast, with little effort. Some of the copy-paste accounts sharing Alexander’s message appear to be operated by real people. Mitchell also monitors a trend called “marionetting,” in which someone will falsely pose as a black person online to push ideas that many black people might otherwise find objectionable. Recent examples of marionetting include a troll who stole a black transgender activist’s picture to pose as a Trump supporter, and Russian-run accounts like “Blacktivist” that impersonated black Americans to sway black voters away from Hillary Clinton in 2016.“I actually thought the botnet was going to die, because I felt like more marionetting was happening ... After this debate, I saw more botnets responding again, versus just marionetting.”Fraudulent accounts often rely on stereotypes that trolls hope to apply to a collection of fake accounts, Mitchell said.“The ‘black enough’ line has been a stereotypical frame,” she said. “It has always been a systemic narrative. It’s just being expanded in this national debate”‘Digital Blackface’: Pro-Trump Trolls Are Impersonating Black People on TwitterRead 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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Landfill Investigated Amid Search for Missing Virginia 2-Year-Old

The search is still on for a Hampton toddler who went missing Monday morning. Hampton Police focused on the city landfill on Thursday four days days after 2-year-old Noah Tomlin went missing.

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Senate fails to limit Trump war powers amid Iran tensions

Political unease over the White House's tough talk against Iran is reviving questions about President Donald Trump's ability to order military strikes without approval from Congress. The Senate fell short Friday, in a 50-40 vote, on an amendment to a sweeping Defense bill that would require congressional support before Trump acts.

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5 takeaways from Thursday night’s Democratic debate

A tense exchange between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden highlighted the 2020 cycle's second Democratic primary debate.

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US deploys F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar amid Iran tensions

The US has deployed F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar for the first time, its military said Friday, adding to a buildup of US forces in the Gulf amid tensions with Iran. The Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters have been deployed "to defend American forces and interests," the US Air Forces Central Military Command said in a statement that did not specify how many of the hi-tech planes had been sent. A photo handout showed five of the jets flying above the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

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MacKenzie Lueck case: Utah police arrest man on suspicion of kidnapping, murder of SoCal college student

Police took a person into custody as the search continues for missing Southern California college student MacKenzie Lueck, authorities said.

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'Madrid Central' protest: Thousands oppose suspension of anti-pollution plan

Protesters are calling on Madrid’s conservative mayor to reimpose strict car pollution restrictions.

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Facebook page of Australian missing in North Korea mysteriously reappears

The Facebook page of an Australian man missing in North Korea reappeared then disappeared again on Saturday hours before Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia is still trying to find out what has happened to him.

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Everest queues: 'This person had crampons on the wrong feet'

Tim Mosedale has climbed Everest six times and believes that whilst the queues look bad they're often not the reason people die whilst climbing.

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There are calls for models wearing fake pregnancy bumps in ad campaigns to be banned

There are calls for fashion firms to stop using fake bump models, after reality star Arabella Chi was used as ASOS's maternity model despite never having been pregnant.

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Week in pictures: 22-28 June 2019

A selection of the best news photographs from around the world, taken over the past week.

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Berlin Brandenburg: The airport with half a million faults

Billions over budget, years late in opening, and still being rebuilt before a single plane has landed. What's gone so wrong at the new Berlin airport?

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Japan whaling: Commercial hunts to resume despite outcry

Hunters could be back in Japanese waters from 1 July, ending a three-decade halt to commercial whaling.

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Trump arrives at G20 complaining about allies Germany, India and his host, Japan

Trump criticized India for imposing tariffs on U.S. products, and again complained that Japan and Germany were not contributing enough to mutual defense treaties.

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SCOTUS Won’t Revive Alabama Law Banning Dismemberment Abortion

The Supreme Court declined Friday to revive an Alabama law that would ban dismemberment abortions.The state was forced to appeal to the High Court after a lower court ruled that its 2016 Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act, which bans so-called “dilation and evacuation” abortions, violated the precedent established by Planned Parenthood v. Casey in placing an "undue burden" on abortion access.Justice Clarence Thomas was the only justice to comment on the Friday decision. In his concurring opinion, Thomas agreed that the law should not be revived on procedural grounds, but lambasted the legal "aberration" that constrained the court.“The more developed the child, the more likely an abortion will involve dismembering it,” Thomas said. “The notion that anything in the Constitution prevents States from passing laws prohibiting the dismembering of a living child is implausible. But under the ‘undue burden’ standard adopted by this court, a restriction on abortion — even one limited to prohibiting gruesome methods — is unconstitutional if ‘the purpose or effect of the provision is to place a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability.’”“This case serves as a stark reminder that our abortion jurisprudence has spiraled out of control,” he added.The declination comes after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled in August that dismemberment abortions, which are the most popular form of second-trimester abortion, cannot be prohibited because there are no alternatives that would not present an “unsurmountable obstacle” to women.Writing for the panel, Chief Judge Ed Carnes, like Thomas, held that he and his colleagues were bound by what amounts to an “aberration” in constitutional law.“Some Supreme Court Justices have been of the view that there is constitutional law and then there is the aberration of constitutional law relating to abortion,” Carnes wrote, referring to previous dissents from Thomas and the late Justice Antonin Scalia. “If so, what we must apply here is the aberration.”

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Did Biden’s debate performance help narrow polling gap between front-runner and the rest of 2020 Democratic field?

Reaction and analysis from Republican strategist Ned Ryun and University of Maryland lecturer Jason Nichols.

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Sparks fly as Kamala Harris challenges Joe Biden's record on race

The California senator sharply criticized the former vice president for his fond recollection of serving with two segregationist senators, and for opposing integration through busing in the 1970s.

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