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July 19, 2018 at 6:27 pm
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company shot a capsule higher into space Wednesday than it's ever done before.
The New Shepard rocket blasted off from West Texas on the company's latest test flight. Once the booster separated, the capsule's escape motor fired, lifting the spacecraft to an altitude of 389,846 feet. That's 74 miles or 119 kilometers.
It's part of a safety system intended to save lives once space tourists and others climb aboard for suborbital hops.
Wednesday's passenger was Mannequin Skywalker, an instrumented dummy in a blue flight suit that's flown before, plus science experiments.
The booster and capsule — both repeat fliers — landed successfully. It was the ninth test flight and last...
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July 19, 2018 at 6:25 pm
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff claims the president rejected eight requests from President Donald Trump last year for one-on-one talks.
It’s the latest comment from Tehran suggesting Iran isn’t prepared to embark on bilateral negotiations with Washington.
Trump earlier this year pulled America out of the international deal meant to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. He said last week that with increased American sanctions, “at a certain point they’re going to call me and say ‘let’s make a deal.'”
State-owned IRAN newspaper quoted Rouhani’s chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi saying Thursday that “it’s been the reverse, so far,” with Trump seeking to initiate talks.
He says Iran reje...
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July 19, 2018 at 6:17 pm
Shreveport, LA - A robbery suspect used a stolen cellphone to snap a selfie and, in the process, gave authorities his identity.
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That’s according to police in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The Shreveport Times reports the victim of a July 10 robbery told police he was held up at gunpoint as he exited his car. The victim said he surrendered cash and two cellphones, and the robber fled.
Three days later, the victim told police the suspect had taken photos of himself that automatically uploaded to the victim’s cloud. The victim retrieved the photos, which investigators then released to the public. Two days later, a tipster gave a suspect’s identity via Shreveport Caddo Crime Stoppers.
Police say 27-year-old Tommy Lee Beverly Jr. is now being sought on...
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July 19, 2018 at 6:14 pm
As the Jewish nation stood at the threshold of entering Eretz Yisroel, Moshe Rabbeinu took the opportunity to remind the Jewish nation of the sin of the Spies, whose sin was what prevented them from entering Eretz Yisroel in the first place. He implored them, and in a deeper sense, every Jew in the future, to never to repeat the Spies’ mistake.
What exactly did the Jews do wrong in the episode of sending the spies? The Jewish nation was following the normal practice of combat by sending them. Furthermore, can we blame them for hesitating from entering the land? The spies reported truthfully that the land was filled with powerful giants. Furthermore, they reported that everywhere they went, the populace was dying in droves from some sort of plague. Even the righteous Kalev and Yehosh...
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July 19, 2018 at 6:13 pm
San Francisco - Wells Fargo & Co. is in the process of refunding tens of millions of dollars to customers for products such as pet insurance, legal services and other add-on services that were added to customers’ accounts without their full understanding, a report says.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported Thursday that the bank for years charged monthly fees to hundreds of thousands of customers for dozens of products they didn’t fully understand or know how to use.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking into the matter, the newspaper reports.
Wells Fargo said in a statement emailed to the Associated Press that it is reviewing the add-on products and is working with regulators.
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July 19, 2018 at 5:09 pm
Albany, NY - New York state tax officials have opened an investigation into the Trump Foundation to determine whether President Donald Trump or his charity violated state law.
The probe into whether the Republican president or his foundation committed any violations or made misrepresentations to the state with respect to tax liability began about a month ago. It was confirmed Thursday to The Associated Press by an official with knowledge of the case. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about active investigations and spoke of condition of anonymity.
If evidence of alleged crimes is found, the matter could be referred to prosecutors, who could pursue criminal charges and seek the release of Trump’s tax returns.
“For the Trump Foundation, the law is the law. It d...
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July 19, 2018 at 5:08 pm
Brussels - The European Union on Thursday said it was concerned about a new Israeli law which declares that only Jews have the right of self determination, and said it would complicate a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Israel passed the “nation-state” law earlier on Thursday after months of political argument. It was sharply criticized by the country’s Arab minority, who called it racist and verging on apartheid.
“We are concerned, we have expressed this concern and we will continue to engage with Israeli authorities in this context,” a spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini told a news briefing.
“We’ve been very clear when it comes to the two-state solution, we believe it is the only way forward and a...
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July 19, 2018 at 5:05 pm
Washington - President Donald Trump accused the news media Thursday of trying to provoke a confrontation with Russia that could lead to war, as he continues to push back against criticism of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war,” the president said on Twitter. “They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country!”
Trump also complained that many news reports about him are “total fiction.”
The media “is going Crazy!” he tweeted.
“They make up stories without any backup, sources or proof. Man...
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July 19, 2018 at 5:03 pm
Paris - A video showing one of French President Emmanuel Macron’s security chiefs beating a student demonstrator, until now cloaked in secrecy, is drawing a fierce public backlash over what is seen as mild punishment and a possible cover-up.
The video of the May 1 event in Paris, revealed by Le Monde on Wednesday evening, shows Alexandre Benalla in a helmet with police markings, and surrounded by riot police, brutally dragging off a woman from a demonstration and then repeatedly beating a young man on the ground. The man is heard begging him to stop. Another man in civilian clothing pulled the young man to the ground.
Police, who had hauled the man from the crowd before Benalla took over, didn’t intervene. Benalla then left the scene. The second man was apparently a gendarme ...
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July 19, 2018 at 5:02 pm
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's military is testing an array of new nuclear and other weapons, from a high-powered laser weapon system to a nuclear-powered cruise missile with "unlimited" range.
The Defense Ministry made a string of announcements about progress on the weapons, unveiled in a speech by President Vladimir Putin in March.
The ministry said it has tested the Burevestnik cruise missile on the ground and is now readying flight tests. Military officials said they are practicing use of the Peresvet high-powered laser weapon system, and launching trials of the Poseidon underwater nuclear drone.
Putin has sought to flex Russia's muscle amid tensions with the West. But Thursday's announcements came as Putin stressed the need for talks with Washington on nuclear arms con...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Jerusalem - Two Palestinian families on Thursday demolished the homes they had lived in for nearly two decades, saying they would rather destroy them than face the prospect of Israeli settlers moving in.
Within two hours, two mechanical diggers smashed through the ceilings, walls and floors of the two buildings in Beit Hanina, a village on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and then annexed in a move not recognized internationally.
Jihad Shawamreh, 50, a taxi driver, said that he built his six-room house in 2000 and that his ex-wife Fawzia, their six children and other relatives lived there until Thursday.
The demolition was the culmination of a lengthy legal battle. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in January that the land on w...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:51 pm
Washington - Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have blocked a move to subpoena the American translator from the Helsinki summit to testify about the private talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, said Thursday he wanted the translator, who works for the State Department, to appear in closed session, saying Congress must “find out what was said” during the two-hour meeting.
“It is incumbent on us, given what the president said publicly that was of such great concern to our country, to our NATO allies, that we find out what was said privately,” Schiff said.
The California lawmaker said he realizes it’s an “extraordinary” step to subpoena the interpr...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:42 pm
Washington - So which Democrat would President Donald Trump most like to run against in 2020?
He says it’s Joe Biden. Trump tells CBS News in an interview broadcast Thursday that “I dream about Biden.”
Biden, who was vice president under Barack Obama, sought the Democratic presidential nomination twice but eventually dropped out of each race. Biden considered running in 2016, but decided against it, citing the trauma of his son Beau’s death from cancer in 2015.
Now Biden is seen as a possible 2020 Democratic contender. And unlike Obama, he’s shown no reluctance to criticize Trump directly.
Trump returned some of the criticism in the interview, saying Obama took Biden “out of the garbage heap, and everybody was shocked that he did. I’d love to h...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:36 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday cast aside concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence, saying he was "not happy" with the Fed's recent interest rate increases.
Trump told CNBC in an interview: "I don't like all of this work that we're putting into the economy and then I see rates going up."
Last month, the Fed raised its benchmark rate for a second time this year and projected two more increases in 2018. Its rate hikes are meant to prevent the economy from overheating and igniting high inflation. But rate increases also make borrowing costlier for households and companies and can weaken the pace of growth. In particular, the Fed's most recent rate hikes could dilute some of the benefit of the tax cuts Trump signed into law last y...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:35 pm
New York - Travelers at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York will soon experience a test of more advanced, three-dimensional imaging to screen carry-on bags.
The Transportation Security Administration and American Airlines said Thursday that a test of computed-tomography scanners will start later this month at JFK’s Terminal 8.
The machines let screeners manipulate 3-D images to get a better idea of what’s inside a bag.
TSA has been running similar tests in Phoenix and Boston since last year.
TSA uses 3-D imaging to scan checked bags, but until recently the scanners have been too large and heavy for use at security checkpoints. Instead, screeners use older X-ray technology to inspect carry-on bags.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske says 3-D scanning will improve security righ...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:21 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump "disagrees" with Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to allow the U.S. to question 12 Russians accused of interfering in the 2016 election in exchange for permitting Russia to interview Americans the Kremlin accuses of unspecified crimes, the White House said Thursday.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the proposal was "made in sincerity" by Putin, but Trump "disagrees with it." She said the U.S. hopes Putin will have the Russians indicted on charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice "come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt."
In an afternoon of swift Washington political stagecraft, the White House rejected Putin's offer as the Republican-controlled Senate prepared to issue a r...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:21 pm
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says she has not seen evidence that the Russians meddled in the 2016 election to help elect Trump, countering the U.S. intelligence agencies assessment on the issue.
Intelligence agencies concluded in early 2017 that President Vladimir Putin ordered "an influence campaign" aimed at helping the Trump campaign and harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
Nielsen said: "I haven't seen any evidence that the attempts to interfere in our election infrastructure was to favor a particular party."
And yet Nielsen still says she stands behind the intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia meddled in the election. She added that Russia's influence operations were aimed at causing chaos on both sides.
...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Berlin - Hundreds of Germans wearing skullcaps rallied in the western city of Bonn on Thursday in support of a Jewish professor who was first the victim of an anti-Semitic attack and then was hit again by police who mistook him for the assailant.
Yitzhak Melamed, a philosophy professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, was visiting to give a guest lecture at Bonn University when he was attacked by a 20-year-old Palestinian-German man who shouted: “No Jews in Germany”.
The protest rally was backed by Bonn’s local government and other civic groups. They called for people to wear the kippah, or Jewish skullcap, in solidarity with Melamed who had been wearing the symbol of Jewish identity when attacked.
Far from coming to the 50-year-old’s aid when they arriv...
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July 19, 2018 at 4:12 pm
Seoul - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s strident rebukes of officials during recent trips to industrial sites were aimed at rallying support at home for his economic drive and convincing outsiders about his willingness to denuclearize.
After racing toward his goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States, Kim in April shifted his focus to the economy. In June, Kim held an unprecedented summit with President Donald Trump in Singapore, where he lauded the city-state’s economic progress and “world-class” amenities.
This month, the young leader has toured industrial facilities and special economic zones near North Korea’s border with China, often lambasting officials over delayed construction projects or lackluster modernizat...
