Weinstein accuser Asia Argento made deal to pay her own sexual assault accuser, bombshell report says
The actor claimed that the assault took place in a California hotel room in 2013, according to the report. The newspaper obtained documents sent between lawyers for Argento and the accuser that laid out a payment schedule. Argento, now 42, played a prominent role in the downfall of Weinstein, the former head of Miramax. In October of last year, The New Yorker published allegations by Argento that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 1997. Argento added that she occasionally had consensual sexual encounters with Weinstein over the years, because she felt she "had to" and "didn't want to anger him."
Source:Fox News
August 20, 2018 02:17 UTC
Armed furniture store owner fights back would-be robber in Indianapolis
An Indiana furniture store owner turned the tables on a would-be armed robber last month, pulling out his own firearm and forcing the suspect to bolt. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the suspect walked into the store and spoke to owner Doyle Stinson on the morning of July 5. "Once he gets me back to the back room, that was a mistake," Stinson told Fox 59. Stinson told the station that he knew the would-be robber's gun wasn't loaded. When the pair got to his office, the store owner grabbed his own .40-caliber weapon.
Source:Fox News
August 20, 2018 02:15 UTC
WSJ: White House rejects Turkey's offer tying pastor's release to bank's fine relief
The rejection could lead to the US imposing additional sanctions against Turkey sometime this week, the Journal reported. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that the United States is willing to do so if Brunson isn't released. "A real NATO ally wouldn't have arrested Brunson in the first place," the senior White House official told the Journal, referencing how Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Brunson's incarceration in a Turkish prison has soured the two countries' relationship, sparking a crisis that has contributed to a sharp decline in Turkey's currency. On Friday, a Turkish high criminal court rejected Brunson's appeal to be released from house arrest and allowed to travel abroad after his appeal was rejected by a lower court.
Source:CNN
August 20, 2018 01:18 UTC
Prosecutors preparing charges for Michael Cohen; could announce by end of August
(CNN) Federal prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen and could announce them by the end of the month, people familiar with the matter tell CNN. Criminal charges against Cohen would be a major setback to President Donald Trump because Cohen has long been in his inner circle. Cohen has prided himself over the years on his reputation as Trump's pit bull and once said he "would take a bullet" for Trump. Cohen has expressed a willingness to cooperate with the investigation, but it isn't clear if prosecutors are interested in a deal or what information he has to offer them. The US Attorney's office operates under the guidelines of the Justice Department, which advises against indicting a sitting president.
Source:CNN
August 20, 2018 00:34 UTC
Erdogan capitalizes on Trump’s effort to break and isolate Turkey
More than three weeks after the crisis started, the pastor, Andrew Brunson, is still under house arrest in Turkey. Turkey has also received timely displays of support from foreign allies that have undermined the Trump administration’s effort to isolate it. The feud has been costly for Turkey, pushing its currency, the lira, to record lows against the dollar. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife, Emine, greet supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Ankara on Saturday. And it might not even be an economic crisis, but economic warfare by the United States,” he said.
Source:Washington Post
August 20, 2018 00:11 UTC
Avenatti, mulling WH run, tells anti-Trump Dems in New Hampshire to 'fight fire with fire'
And above all else, we will make America America again.”Avenatti arrived in New Hampshire from Florida, where he headlined a Democratic Party event in Tampa Saturday night. I don’t think [President Trump is] very quick on his feet. I don’t think he’s that intelligent and I think he’d be completely outclassed. There’s no question about that.”“I think he’s a bully and I think he doesn’t like people who punch back and I think I’d be incredibly effective against him,” Avenatti added. “I don’t think he’s very quick on his feet.
Source:Fox News
August 20, 2018 00:00 UTC
They’ll Check on You After Surgery: Meet the Times’s Crossword Puzzlers
Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times. The commenters on The New York Times’s crossword column, Wordplay, wanted to know. “I’m a little worried,” wrote Rich in Atlanta. “It’s unlike her not to show up.”Deb Amlen, who writes and edits Wordplay, sent Ms. Engle an email to see if she was O.K. When Ms. Engle reappeared, she explained she had been bedridden with a twisted knee and ankle, unable to gain access to her computer.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 23:37 UTC
Are Teachers About To Be Replaced By Bots?
The team analyzed a botteacher named Botty that operated on Twitter by searching for and responding to a course-specific hashtag and keywords. A reason such as a bot’s ability to be “friendly and tireless” may do nicely. As the report conveniently points out, “It is always on, always there, and always ready.” Bots are also almost certain to be less expensive than actual teachers too. Since those who run online education programs already turn to less expensive, less experienced teachers, a bot that can do part of a teacher’s job is likely to be an enticing alternative to having any teacher whatsoever. Even so, that Botty was made, used and favorably assessed, should make clear that fears of teachers being replaced by technology are no longer hyperventilated hyperbole.
Source:Forbes
August 19, 2018 23:26 UTC
Trump understands something that the world’s other power-hungry leaders don’t
Deputy Editorial Page EditorWe have entered an era of power-hungry, reckless and delusional leaders. They are able to do all this in part because the power that used to restrain them, the United States, has retreated from global leadership. Xi and Putin clearly calculated that the United States would not stop them, and that any subsequent punishment would be bearable. For the most part, they have been proved right — which is why Erdogan, Mohammed, Sissi and others were encouraged to imitate them. But Trump understands something that Erdogan and a few other leaders have evidently forgotten: The United States remains capable of imposing crippling punishment on regimes that wantonly challenge it.
Source:Washington Post
August 19, 2018 23:15 UTC
Israel’s Latest Culture War Plays Out Under the Wedding Canopy
“Both of us are Jewish from the ‘wrong’ side,” said Ms. Vilenchik, 25, meaning their fathers are Jewish but not their mothers. The couple rewrote their seven blessings “to be more secular, without God, God, God all the time,” Ms. Vilenchik said. Ms. Vilenchik chose not to because she was in heels. Pola Barkan, 28, director of the Cultural Brigade, a group that promotes Russian culture in Israel, married Mark Barkan, 29, in an Orthodox Rabbinate ceremony. Still, Ms. Barkan insisted on adding an eighth blessing, praying for all her friends to be able to marry without exception or exclusion.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 23:12 UTC
NYT: Trump's legal team unaware of extent of McGahn's cooperation with Mueller
(CNN) President Donald Trump's legal team does not know the extent to which White House counsel Don McGahn has been cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller, The New York Times reported Sunday. The news follows a Saturday report by the Times that McGahn had been cooperating with Mueller extensively. This person said the White House never asked for a complete debriefing. Ask Rudy," a reference to Trump's current lead lawyer in the special counsel investigation, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday morning that he had not debriefed McGahn , but nevertheless the legal team had "a good sense" of what McGahn told Mueller's team through Dowd.
Source:CNN
August 19, 2018 23:09 UTC
Cohen, Trump’s Ex-Lawyer, Investigated for Bank Fraud in Excess of $20 Million
Federal authorities investigating whether President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud have zeroed in on well over $20 million in loans obtained by taxi businesses that he and his family own, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators are also examining whether Mr. Cohen violated campaign finance or other laws by helping to arrange financial deals to secure the silence of women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. Any criminal charges against Mr. Cohen would deal a significant blow to the president. Mr. Cohen, 52, worked for the president’s company, the Trump Organization, for more than a decade. He was one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal and visible aides and called himself the president’s personal lawyer after Mr. Trump took office.
Source:New York Times
August 19, 2018 22:55 UTC
Exclusive: Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif says US addicted to sanctions
Tehran, Iran (CNN) The United States is addicted to applying sanctions on Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday in an exclusive interview from Tehran. "I believe there is a disease in the United States and that is the addiction to sanctions," he told CNN, adding that, "Even during the Obama administration the United States put more emphasis on keeping the sanctions it had not lifted rather than implementing its obligation on the sanctions it lifted." The US-educated minister gave the interview in fluent English on the 65th anniversary of a US-backed coup that overthrew democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. Zarif retained a clear belief during the hourlong interview in the foreign ministry that the nuclear deal could be revived regardless of the Trump administration denunciation of it. JUST WATCHED How US sanctions hit ordinary people in Iran Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH How US sanctions hit ordinary people in Iran 02:08Zarif expressed his dismay that the United States has not learned that sanctions are ineffective in changing the political climate in Iran.
Source:CNN
August 19, 2018 22:52 UTC
Maryland private school investigating alleged sexual abuse
— A private school in Maryland has launched an investigation into allegations that a culture of sexual abuse existed in the 1970s with administrators’ knowledge, a newspaper reported. The Washington Post reports two Baltimore lawyers are leading the investigation into allegations at the Key School in Annapolis, Maryland. That was a reference to the #MeToo movement in which women have spoken out about sexual harassment and assault. The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify those who report they’ve been victims of sexual abuse or misconduct. The investigation into the allegations at the school will be conducted by Baltimore lawyers Andrew Jay Graham and Jean E. Lewis.
Source:Washington Post
August 19, 2018 22:40 UTC
Social Media Roundup: Free WhatsApp Data Backups On Google Drive, Facebook Fundraisers, Bumble Fund
“Social Media Roundup” is a weekly roundup of news pertaining to all of your favorite websites and applications used for social networking. Published on Sundays, “Social Media Roundup” will help you stay up-to-date on all the important social media news you need to know. BumbleBumble Fund To Focus On Female-Founded StartupsDating app Bumble has announced that it has launched the Bumble Fund, which is an investment arm that focuses on female-founded and female-led businesses. Jones Simmer said that the Bumble Fund is also hoping that investments will surface through Bumble’s professional networking tool Bumble Bizz. However, a number of those publishers benefitted from the revenue from the traffic spikes of their viral stories featuring false information before it gets debunked.
Source:Forbes
August 19, 2018 22:30 UTC