Gingrich
On Speaker Fight: 'This Is A Serious And Sobering Period In American History'
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Sean Hannity on Thursday that
he supported Kevin McCarthy for the job Gingrich once held, because "I
thought Kevin was the best-prepared person." When Hannity asked him if
he would consider being "interim speaker," Gingrich said that although
he "can't quite imagine the circumstances" in which he would be drafted
if someone "were to say to me 218 guys have called you up and given you
their pledge, obviously no citizen, I mean, could ever turn down that kind
of challenge." "This is a serious and sober period in American history
he said. Hannity: "But my question is maybe this is the time for Newt Gingrich
to come back with a flurry of ideas and a new contract that would advance
a conservative agenda to help the country solve these horrible problems.
CNS
News
VOA VIEW: Gingrich was and would be a
strong knowledgeable speaker.
U.S.
Court Places Hold On Clean Water Rule Nationwide
A U.S. court on Friday issued an order temporarily blocking the implementation
of a federal water rule across the country, the latest in a series of legal
setbacks for Obama administration environmental regulations. The U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 6th Circuit granted a nationwide stay against the so-called
Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which is intended to clarify
which bodies of water are covered by the Clean Water Act. The rule was
finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers in May but still faces political and legal opposition. The
appellate court said that the 18 states challenging the new standards were
unlikely to face immediate irreparable harm from the rule, but there was
also no evidence that the nation's waters would suffer "imminent injury"
if the regulation was put on hold. Reuters
Obama
Weighs White House Moves On Gun Control
As President Obama heads to Roseburg, Oregon for closed-door visits
with families of the victims of last week's shootings at Umpqua Community
College, the White House is considering wading once more into the politically-fraught
issue of gun control. The administration is reconsidering a major gun control
proposal that would establish new guidelines for who is legally defined
as a licensed gun dealer and therefore required to conduct background checks
on potential buyers, administration officials tell NBC News. The proposal
would define anyone that sells more than a certain number of guns each
year "in the business" of selling guns and therefore subject to laws for
gun dealers. MSNBC
Black
Men Gathering For Million Man March 20th Anniversary
Black men from around the nation are gathering on the National Mall
to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March and call for
policing reforms and changes in black communities. Nation of Islam leader
Louis Farrakhan, who spearheaded the original march, will lead an anniversary
gathering Saturday at the Capitol called the "Justice or Else" march. "I
plan to deliver an uncompromising message and call for the government of
the United States to respond to our legitimate grievances," Farrakhan said
in a statement. Philadelphia
Inquirer
VOA VIEW: What about the grievances of
the American people resulting from black violence, rioting, looting, heavy
dependence on welfare and failure to properly parent their children - change
is needed.
House
Votes To End Ban On Exporting Oil
The House voted Friday to end the 40-year-old ban on exporting American
oil to foreign nations, launching a showdown with the Senate and the president
in the nation's latest battle over energy and climate change. The ban was
a response to the 1970s Arab oil embargo, ostensibly to protect Americans
from gasoline shortages and price spikes. The oil industry is lobbying
furiously to end the ban, calling it outdated in an era of enormous U.S.
oil production and saying that exports would spur more drilling. The industry
won a major victory when a bill by Rep. Joe Barton (R., Texas) to end the
ban passed 261-159, with 26 Democrats joining 235 Republicans in favor.
Barton argued that the bill would lead to the creation of jobs nationwide.
"Those are real people, that's not Big Oil," Barton said. Philadelphia
Inquirer
Reid
Ribble Becomes Second Republican To Resign From House Freedom Caucus
Rep. Reid Ribble announced Thursday that he is resigning from the House
Freedom Caucus, making him the second Republican to leave the conservative
group since its founding. The Wisconsin Republican said hes resigning
over the groups role in the GOP leadership debate following Speaker John
Boehners resignation announcement, Roll Call reported. I was a member
of the Freedom Caucus in the very beginning because we were focused on
making process reforms to get every Members voice heard and advance conservative
policy, Mr. Ribble said in a statement. When the Speaker resigned and
they pivoted to focusing on the leadership race, I withdrew. Washington
Times
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This
Tech Helps You Find Your Lost Stuff
Whether youre directionally challenged, suffer from short term memory
loss, or lose your items on a regular basis, it can be very frustrating
to find something youve misplaced. Thankfully, technology can help with
all of the above. Smart apps and inexpensive gadgets can help you locate
your stuff, whether its your parked car in a crowded lot, missing house
keys or smartphone, or lost luggage at an airport. Some of these solutions
can also help you find a friend youre supposed to meet up with.
The following are a few worthy suggestions. USA
Today
Strong
Emotions As Obama Visits Grieving Oregon Town
Gun-rights activists and others gave voice to strong emotions when
President Barack Obama came to meet privately with grieving families whose
loved ones were killed on a college campus in Roseburg, Oregon. During
Obama's brief visit on Friday, many residents showed anger over the call
he made soon after last week's shootings for more gun restrictions. However,
there were also Obama supporters among the people waiting behind a security
fence near the airport to catch a glimpse of the president. They included
two men on bicycles Phil Benedetti and John Poole. "I want to support
our president," said Benedetti, a Roseburg physician. "This isn't about
gun control, it's about caring about the welfare of the small town and
every small town when tragedy happens." He said he owns several guns for
hunting and chasing deer from his garden, but he believes assault weapons
shouldn't be available to the general public. Houston
Chronicle
John
Boehner's Here To Stay, For Now, With Nothing To Lose
Speaker John Boehner wants out. He really does. But the Ohio House
Republican is staying put, for now and that could improve the chances
for a debt limit increase by early next month to avoid a market-shattering
government default. His continued presence also might help lawmakers reach
a bipartisan budget deal to head off a government shutdown in December.
The tea party forces that pushed Boehner to plan his exit after nearly
five years in the top job now have less leverage against a man with nothing
to lose. Conservative hard-liners have caused further chaos by blocking
the ascension of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Houston
Chronicle
Pentagon
Ends Program To Train Syrian Rebels, Starts Revamped Initiative
The Pentagon on Friday announced it was ending its failed $500 million
program to "train and equip" Syrian rebels and replacing it with a far
less ambitious plan, defense officials said. The "training" part of the
program which managed to field only "four or five" Syrian rebels into
the battle against ISIS at a $50 million price tag has been halted, according
to senior defense officials. Instead of combat training for the rebels,
they will now be used as "enablers" to identify ISIS targets on the ground
for U.S. and coalition airstrikes. They will also be advised on how to
interact with U.S. military "at a distance," and there will be no American
forces on the ground in Syria. The "equip" part of the program, which provided
small arms, ammunition and vehicles, will be dramatically reduced to providing
weapons to some 5,000 friendly moderate Syrian rebels to carry on the fight
against both ISIS and presumably, the regime of Syrian President Bashar
Assad. MSNBC
VOA VIEW: It took too long to accept the
failure.
Hillary
Clinton Heckled At Hispanic Caucus: My Deportation Will Be Your Funding
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was interrupted
Thursday by an immigration activist protesting her campaigns acceptance
of donations from corporations that run private prisons. Mrs. Clinton was
presenting the 2015 Medallion of Excellence Award to Spanish-American chef
Jose Andres at the annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala
in Washington when she was interrupted by Juan Carlos Ramos of the advocacy
group United We Dream Action, BuzzFeed reported. Mr. Ramos, 22, of Maryland,
stood near the stage chanting Hillary were watching. My deportation will
be your funding, and held a sign that read Hillary for immigrants in
prisons, BuzzFeed reported. Washington
Times
Houston
Police: 1 Dead In Texas Southern University Shooting
Texas Southern University is on lockdown after two people were shot
at a student housing complex. Houston Police said in a tweet that one person
is dead and a possible suspect is detained. Houston police responded to
the shooting at the Courtyard Apartments around 11:30 a.m. Police say the
campus remains on lockdown while they search for the suspect. The rest
of Friday's classes have been cancelled. According to the Houston Chronicle,
the shooting is the third in recent weeks on or near the TSU campus. The
shooting happened at the same student housing complex where another person
was shot overnight, CBS affiliate KHOU reports. That victim was treated
and released. CBS
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California
Gives VW November 20 Deadline For Technical Fix In Diesel Scandal
California has given carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) until November
20 to come up with a plan to fix the diesel cars affected by its rigging
of emissions tests, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board
(CARB) said on Friday. Volkswagen has said up to 11 million diesel vehicles
worldwide need to be refitted because they could carry software designed
to manipulate emissions tests. The CARB spokesman said the deadline represents
45 business days from an in-use compliance letter sent to Volkswagen dated
Sept. 18. The November deadline was first reported by a group of German
regional daily newspapers, which cited Mary Nichols, chair of the California
Air Resources Board, as saying the affected cars could be banned if a technical
solution was not found by then. Reuters
DHS
Investigating Wikipedia Entries Alleging Kevin McCarthy Affair
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether one of
its employees changed Wikipedia pages for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy
and Rep. Renee Ellmers alleging that they had an affair. "DHS has immediately
launched an investigation into this serious matter. If it is discovered
that a DHS employee, using Government property, is responsible for these
alleged actions, immediate and appropriate disciplinary action will be
taken," said DHS spokeswoman Marsha Catron.
DHS discovered a day earlier that changes made to the lawmakers' Wikipedia
pages were tracked to an IP address at the department's office in Springfield,
Virginia. CBS
Jeb Bush's 'Bush'
Problem Hasn't Gone Away
Inside local eatery the Pizza Ranch, Republican presidential candidate
Jeb Bush was in the process of selling himself to a roomful of Iowa voters
when a man asked Bush what his biggest mistake had been as governor of
Florida and how he would change it. Seated in the back row, Dorene Oliver
muttered audibly, "Not changing your last name." "That's not a mistake,"
Bush shot back. "I'm proud of my family." "I can understand you being proud
of your dad," Oliver chimed in. "I'm very proud of my dad." ABC
Obama
Insists Putin Hasnt Taken Over Americas World Leadership
Russia has dispatched troops to Ukraine and is sending jet bombers
to change the course of the war in Syria, but President Obama says Vladimir
Putin hasnt taken over Americas leadership role in the world. CBS Steve
Kroft raised the issue during an interview for 60 Minutes in which he
questioned whether the Russian leaders actions have forced the United
States to take a back seat in world events. Well, Steve, Ive got to tell
you, if you think that running your economy into the ground and having
to send troops in, in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then
weve got a different definition of leadership, Obama responded. NY
Post
VOA VIEW: Obama is in deceptive denial
- Putin has forced Obama out of world leadership.
France
Train Hero Was Stabbed Trying To Protect Woman
The American train hero who was stabbed during a street-fight on Thursday
was protecting a woman who was being beaten by her boyfriend, a witness
claimed.
He was defending her, said Eric Cain, an employee at the A&P
Liquor store who witnessed the brawl between Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone
and a group of men.
I figured it was a girlfriend dispute or something like that, he
told the Daily Mail. She got hit twice, and that was mainly what I saw
started the fight. NY
Post
Top
New Hampshire Republicans Tell Christie To Keep Going
Despite his single-digit poll numbers and the dominance of another
tough-talking candidate, Chris Christie is hearing a clear message from
influential Republicans in the early voting states of New Hampshire and
Iowa: Keep going. What he's not hearing are enough commitments. With Donald
Trump still commanding the field and se "Maybe he's the tortoise in this
race," said Donna Sytek, a former speaker of the New Hampshire House whose
support Christie is courting heavily. "He's authentic," she said. "He's
not scripted. He'll tell you a story from his own experience that illustrates
these serious issues." Tampa
Tribune
Donald
Trump, Brash New Yorker, Picks Up Southern Campaign
Donald Trump is a brash New Yorker who knows the path to the Republican
presidential nomination runs through a swath of Southern states where residents
pride themselves on graciousness and gentility. He leads many state polls
in the region just as he does nationally. In the last few weeks he's hired
staff members in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
to go along with staff in South Carolina, which hosts the South's first
primary. "It's almost like we're running a campaign for president of the
United States," quipped Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski when asked
about the expansion. Tampa
Tribune
YOU can speak out and be heard by having your own "Column" - Visit the "Public Opinion" Section above.
Lankford:
ISIS Threat 'Spectacular,' But Narco-Terrorists 'Accelerating At A Pace
We Haven't Seen Before'
Yes, radical Islamic terrorists are a threat to the homeland; but Americans
are undermining themselves with their insatiable demand for illegal drugs,
the Senate Homeland Security Committee was told on Thursday. "We talk about
the threat from ISIS; it's spectacular," committee member Sen. James Lankford
(R-Okla.) told members of the Obama administration. But, he added, "Last
year we had over 10,000 deaths by heroin on the streets of the United States.
Hotel rooms, houses, on the streets, homes -- people quietly dying from
heroin and from narco-terrorists moving into our borders, distributing
this incredibly toxic substance across our nation. CNS
International
War Crimes Charge Against US Unlikely After Kunduz Hospital Bombing
Despite claims by Doctors Without Borders that the U.S. bombing of
a hospital in Afghanistan was a "war crime," a top legal expert ABC News
spoke with said it is unlikely that international charges will be leveled
in the incident, which left 22 dead. However, there is the possibility
that those involved in the bombing could be prosecuted by a U.S. military
court. Following the tragedy, officials with Doctors Without Borders, known
internationally as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, called the airstrike
an "abhorrent and a grave violation of international humanitarian law,"
and suggested that a "war crime has been committed." ABC News spoke to
a number of leading war crimes experts, including the prosecutor of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and former DePaul
University law professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, who explained that the motive
behind the strike will matter a great deal. ABC
Lacker
Says Fed Taking Risks With Economy At Full Employment
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said the
U.S. is already at full employment and the central bank may risk overheating
the economy as it attempts to drive additional job gains. With the unemployment
rate at 5.1 percent, the central bank has achieved its goal and exhausted
relevant slack in the labor market, the Richmond Fed chief said. Were
there, Lacker said in an interview in his office Thursday, referring to
the central banks mandate to lower joblessness to the level consistent
with stable price pressures. The median forecast of that rate among Fed
officials is 4.9 percent, according to estimates released following last
months meeting of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee. Bloomberg
Judge
Sends Abuse Victim To Jail For Not Appearing In Court
A Florida judge ignored the pleas and tears of a domestic abuse victim
and sent the woman to jail for three days for ignoring a subpoena and failing
to show up at her abusers trial. Prosecutors wanted the Lake Mary, Florida,
woman to testify against the father of her child at a July hearing. He
was charged with domestic battery and aggravated assault, and police say
he choked her and threatened her with a knife. But the woman didnt show
up, so she was ordered to stand before Seminole County Circuit Judge Jerri
Collins in a contempt hearing and answer why she had ignored the subpoena.
Kansas
City Star
New
York Public Colleges Say Armed Officers Prep For Shooter
What used to be an unthinkable scenario, an active shooter on campus,
is not only thought about at New York's public colleges but planned for
the same way they prepare for weather disasters or fire. All 29 four-year
campuses in the State University of New York system have their own armed,
full-time police officers and are required to plan and practice for active
shooters as part of emergency management plans. But even with preparedness
written into mandates, the Oct. 1 shooting that left nine victims dead
at picturesque Umpqua Community College in Oregon has campuses again contemplating
if that's enough. Days after the latest high-profile shooting, SUNY Cortland
President Erik Bitterbaum announced two active shooter training sessions
for staff and a seminar on deterring college shootings to better the odds
his campus would "survive a similar act of violence." SF
Gate
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A
U.S. Recession Just Got A Little More Likely
A delayed Federal Reserve rate hike, turmoil in global equity markets...
and now increased expectations for a downturn in the U.S. The probability
that the world's biggest economy will enter a recession in the next 12
months jumped to 15 percent, its highest level since October 2013, according
to economists surveyed Oct. 2-7 by Bloomberg. The median had held at 10
percent for 13 consecutive months. Concerns over China, and the potential
spillover to other economies, have led economists to cut their third-quarter
growth forecasts to 2 percent from as high as 3 percent in July. China
also is worrying Fed officials, who cited it as a risk to their outlook
for economic growth and inflation so much so that they delayed what would
have been the first increase in the benchmark interest rate since 2006.
Bloomberg
Jeb
Bush Embraces The SEC And Its Logo With Visit To Georgia-Tennessee
Game
Jeb Bush will attend the Georgia-Tennessee game Saturday to rev up
students before another football matchup, his second of four trips this
football season for tailgates deep in SEC country.jeb-bush-sec-logo. The
former Florida governor and his SEC-inspired logo are headed to Neyland
Stadium for what his campaign promises to be a selfie-riddled showcase
for a successful conservative governor from an SEC state. Most of the
crowded Republican field of candidates have stumped at college football
games this fall. But no one has embraced it quite like Bush, who also released
the above video about his love for the SEC. He has already tailgated at
the University of Georgias North Campus before the home teams 52-20 thrashing
of South Carolina in September, wading through more than an hour of selfies
with students and fans before and after his brief campaign speech. Atlanta
Journal
Thousands
Demonstrate In Germany Against EU-US Trade Deal
Protesters, organized by the Confederation of German Trade Unions,
known by its acronym DGB, worry that an agreement could lower food safety
standards and undermine local regulations by giving international arbitration
panels the power to rule over disputes. One float in the protest showed
Chancellor Angela Merkel lighting the fuse of a bomb while sitting on a
building labeled "Democracy." The European Union and United States have
been negotiating since 2013 on TTIP and supporters hope it will gain momentum
now that the U.S., Japan and other Pacific Rim nations have reached an
agreement on a separate trade deal. Charlotte
Observer
'Black
Lives' Leader Defends Looting In Yale Lecture
The Black Lives Matter leader who landed a teaching gig at Yale University
delivered a lecture this week on the historical merits of looting as a
form of protest, backing up his lesson with required reading that puts
modern-day marauders on par with the patriots behind the Boston Tea Party.
DeRay McKesson, who was hired by the Ivy League institutions divinity
school to lecture for two days on "Transformational Leadership in the #BlackLivesMatter
Movement," had students read an essay written at the height of the rioting
and looting that plagued the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson just over a year
ago after a white police officer shot and killed a black man. Fox
News
VOA VIEW: A lowlife.
Gun-Rights
Activists Protest Obama Visit In Oregon
Gun-rights activists gathered near an Oregon airport on Friday to protest
President Barack Obama's visit to meet with families of victims of last
week's deadly college shooting. Obama was scheduled to arrive in rural
Roseburg late Friday morning. Many locals are angry with Obama for calling
for tighter gun restrictions in the wake of last week's shootings at Umpqua
Community College that killed eight students and a teacher. About 200 protesters
were milling around outside Roseburg airport Friday, some carrying placards
saying Obama was not welcome and "Obama Go Home." At least one person was
wearing a sidearm. "By coming here, Obama is going to politicize a tragedy
by saying that you have to have gun control," said George Starr as he held
a small American flag. Las
Vegas Sun
Afghanistan
And Russia To Sign Delivery Deal For Mi-35 Helicopters
Afghanistan and Russia are set to sign an agreement for the delivery
of Mi-35 gunship helicopters as Afghan forces seek to boost their capabilities.
Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's representative to Afghanistan,
says the agreement is expected to be signed this month. The details of
the agreement are unknown, however Khaama Press reports Russia will provide
Afghanistan with both the weapons and training. This comes as further reports
say First Vice President, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum has requested military
assistance from Moscow. UPI
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Lockheed
Martin's Modular ATHENA Laser Weapon Is Headed To Production
The US military already has a few high-powered laser weapons at its
disposal, but it's about to get a hell of a lot more. Earlier this week,
defense contractor Lockheed Martin began production of its modular, Advanced
Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) laser system for the US Army -- a weapon
that's expected to roll out on the battlefield sometime next year. If you're
not familiar with the ATHENA system, all you really need to know is that
Lockheed has been working on it for the past few years, and demonstrated
its power a few months ago by disabling a truck with it. This feat was
accomplished by firing a sustained 30 kilowatt burst at the vehicle's hood,
and burning a hole through the engine block. It's ridiculously powerful
-- but power alone isn't its most revolutionary feature. Fox
News
The
Dalai Lama Says Buddhist Culture Most Important To Him
The Dalai Lama said Saturday he considered it most important to preserve
the Buddhist culture that has helped the Tibetan people live together even
in exile. "Our values have helped us Tibetans live together as a people,"
the 80-year-old spiritual leader said at his first public event after returning
last week from a medical check-up in the U.S. "So after coming into exile,
I have considered it most important to preserve this rich and profound
culture that we have." Many Tibetans fear that their culture may not endure
for long and may weaken after the Dalai Lama is gone. Carrying white silk
scarves, dozens of school children in traditional Tibetan costumes welcomed
the Dalai Lama to the event, the 10th anniversary of the opening of a Tibetan
school in Dharmsala, the Tibetan government-in-exile's headquarters in
northern India. Charlotte
Observer
Good
News On Electronic-Privacy Front
One of my pet peeves involves legislators who routinely cite the rights
protected in the U.S. Constitution during their news conferences and floor
speeches, yet who cant manage to support bills that do little more than
protect some clearly enumerated right. Its always easier to use rhetoric
than display courage at the Capitol. Not long ago, after some muscle-flexing
by police organizations, the Assembly killed a bill that would simply have
required cops to secure a conviction before seizing homes, cars and personal
property. Its a basic matter of the Fifth Amendment, which says no one
should be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process
of law." San
Siego Union
Paul
Ryan Considering Running For House Speaker
Rep. Paul Ryan is telling House Republicans privately he is considering
running for speaker, several members say. Ryan informed several members
on the House floor of his deliberations, Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, told
CNN. Stewart added that he urged Ryan to run, with the Wisconsin Republican
replaying that he was "thinking and praying on it." Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy, who shocked Capitol Hill by deciding Thursday not to try and
succeed retiring Speaker John Boehner, also said Ryan is weighing a run.
CNN
VOA VIEW: Republicans need a leader with
a conservative backbone.
U.S.
Official: North Korea 'Likely Preparing' Weapons Test
The U.S. "sees indications" that North Korea is "likely preparing"
for some type of weapons test in association with the 70th anniversary
of the founding of the ruling Workers Party on October 10, a U.S. official
told CNN. A likely scenario is that North Korea will attempt, for the first
time, to test a submarine-launched medium-range ballistic missile at sea
off its eastern coast, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the
latest intelligence. The test is seen by the U.S. as part of the regime's
"usual provocative efforts." In May, the regime published photos of what
it said was leader Kim Jong Un standing in front of a submarine at sea,
launching a missile, but U.S. intelligence experts said there was no electronic,
infrared or satellite data to suggest a launch had occurred and that only
the on-board ejection system was tested. CNN
Cell
Proteins Are Foppy But Fast
Proteins are key to the life of a cell. They travel in and out of cells
carrying information to and fro. Until recently, researchers couldn't figure
out how these cellular communicators could move so quickly in and out of
cells without compromising security. How do you allow for the flow of messengers
without letting in foreign invaders?m A new study by a team of researchers
from Germany, France and Britain is offering answers. What the scientists
found was that flexible and disordered proteins, spaghetti-like in shape,
are key to fast-paced inter-cellular communication. UPI
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Netanyahu
Offered Vague Terms For West Bank Withdrawal, Former US Peace Negotiator
Says
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United States five years
ago that Israel could withdraw from most of the West Bank if his country's
security needs were met, former US Middle East peace negotiator Dennis
Ross recounts in a book to be published next week. Prodded by US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton in 2010 to say what he could do to advance peace
talks and citing Israeli security needs, "he said that Israel could withdraw
from most of the territory," Ross writes in Doomed to Succeed: the US-Israel
Relationship from Truman to Obama. "He did not want to give percentages,
but he understood what the Palestinians wanted, and if the Israeli security
needs were accepted by us and met, he could be generally responsive," Ross
writes. Jerusalem
Post
Wave
Of Violence Sweeping Israel Is 'Terrorism,' US Says
The Obama administration characterizes the recent wave of violence
sweeping Israel as "terrorism," a US official told The Jerusalem Post on
Friday. A State Department official had previously told the Post the administration
would refrain from using the term pending a full investigation of the attacks.
But the tempo of violence only increased in recent days, with over fifteen
attempted or successful stabbings and shootings of Israelis by Palestinians
across the country and throughout the West Bank. One attack perpetrated
by a Jewish Israeli against four Arab Israelis also occurred in Dimona
earlier in the day, raising the specter of revenge strikes and vigilantism.
Israeli officials warned against such actions in a press conference on
Thursday evening. Jerusalem
Post
One In Three
Young Chinese Men Will Die From Smoking, Study Says
The research, published in The Lancet medical journal, says two-thirds
of men in China now start to smoke before 20. Around half of those men
will die from the habit, it concludes. The scientists conducted two nationwide
studies, 15 years apart, covering hundreds of thousands of people. In 2010,
around one million people in China died from tobacco usage. But researchers
say that if current trends continue, that will double to two million people
- mostly men - dying every year by 2030, making it a "growing epidemic
of premature death". BBC
North Korea
To Hold Huge Parades For 70th Anniversary
A cavalcade of armoured vehicles and ballistic missiles is expected
to rumble through the capital Pyongyang accompanied by marching troops.
North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un will preside over the ceremony,
but no world leaders will be attending. Analysts say the event will be
closely watched for any new military hardware. When it announced plans
for the anniversary earlier this year, the government spoke of "cutting-edge"
weaponry suitable for modern warfare. BBC
Medical
Marijuana: California Governor Signs Bills To Regulate Industry
Three bills aimed at bringing order and oversight to Californias medical
marijuana industry nearly 20 years after the state became the first to
legalise the drug for medical use have won Governor Jerry Browns signature,
his office said on Friday. The Democratic governors endorsement of the
70-page Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act hammered out by lawmakers
in the closing hours of the legislative session was expected because
his office crafted many of the exhaustive details. The bills create the
first statewide licensing and operating rules for pot growers, manufacturers
of cannabis-infused products and retail weed outlets since California voters
legalised medical marijuana in 1996. Guardian
Hamas
Leader In Gaza Declares Intifada As Deadly Attacks Continue
Hamass leader in Gaza has declared the current unrest in Jerusalem
and the West Bank an intifada, as six Palestinians were shot dead protesting
at the border fence, further raising the stakes after a week of escalating
violence. The comments by Ismail Haniyeh contradicted recent remarks by
Fatahs leadership, including the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
There has been increasingly widespread use of the hashtag #intifada on
Palestinian social media. In a sermon for Friday prayers at a mosque in
Gaza City, Haniyeh said: We are calling for the strengthening and increasing
of the intifada. It is the only path that will lead to liberation. Gaza
will fulfil its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready
for confrontation. Guardian
UN
Security Council Authorizes Operations To Disrupt Migrant Smuggling Of
Coast Of Libya
Acting to help save the threatened lives of migrants or of victims
of human trafficking and to disrupt criminal enterprises operating on
the high-seas off the coast of Libya, the United Nations Security Council
today authorized for one year operations by the European Union (EU) and
individual countries to inspect and or seize vessels of suspected of people
smuggling in the Mediterranean. By a vote of 14 in favour, with Venezuela
abstaining, the Council adopted a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN
Charter, which authorizes the use of force, through with countries and
regional organizations could board ships for inspection, seize and even
dispose of vessels suspected of being used by migrant smugglers. UN
News
The
Stakes Are High, UN Chief TellsClimate Finance Meeting In Peru
Stressing that financial resources are central to meeting the goals
of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Agenda, United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that in order to create
a low-carbon, climate-resilient future that benefits everybody, allocating
appropriate finance is of key importance. The first step must be a politically
credible trajectory for mobilizing $100 billion dollars per annum by 2020.
The methodology for deciding what is climate finance, and how private finance
is counted, needs to be developed by all concerned developed and developing
countries alike, Mr, Ban told a gathering of Climate Finance Ministers
in Lima, Peru. UN
News
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