‘That can’t be the standard’: Durbin blasts Trump’s comments downplaying Russian poisonings, assassinations
Among the many Putin critics to have allegedly been poisoned are Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter, who were the targets of an alleged nerve-agent attack in Britain by Russian operatives. Other Putin critics have died under mysterious circumstances. A Putin spokesman on Monday played down Trump’s comments and suggested that the president may have misspoken. Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement, despite mounting evidence that the Saudi regime was implicated in the case. Trump also mused that “maybe these could have been rogue killers” and said that the Saudi king had firmly denied any involvement.
Source:Washington Post
October 15, 2018 19:48 UTC
Photos of the Day: Oct. 15
Saudi officials arrive in Turkey, and more, in WSJ Photos of the DaySaudi officials arrive in Turkey, flooding affects southwest France, search and rescue continues in Florida after Hurricane Michael, and moreFrom To MessageSENDAn error has occurred, please try again later.
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 15, 2018 19:41 UTC
Review: Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury daringly deconstructs the theater of black identity in 'Fairview' at Berkeley Rep
Beverly (Natalie Venetia Belcon), who likes everything just so, is preparing a feast in honor of Mama Frasier’s birthday. As she orders Dayton (Charles Browning), her attentive husband, to help out with last-minute details, the doorbell rings and in walks Jasmine (Chantal Jean-Pierre), Beverly’s sassy sister who has an opinion on everything. Aunt Jasmine even has a little advice on how to raise Keisha (Monique Robinson), Beverly and Dayton’s college-bound daughter, who’s starting to buckle under the weight of her family’s expectations.
Source:Los Angeles Times
October 15, 2018 19:41 UTC
Myanmar, China, Harvard: Your Tuesday Briefing
Lopez avoids earnest talk about the joke, though he told Live Wire Radio in 2014 that he liked to goof off before games to ease his nerves. “I feel like my earliest encounters with mascots, they were never too receptive of me,” Lopez told Bleacher Report in 2015. _____Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Sign up here to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. You can also receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights.
Source:New York Times
October 15, 2018 19:34 UTC
Saudis preparing to admit Jamal Khashoggi died during interrogation, sources say
Ankara, Turkey (CNN) The Saudis are preparing a report that will acknowledge that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death was the result of an interrogation that went wrong, one that was intended to lead to his abduction from Turkey, according to two sources. The Washington Post columnist was last seen in public when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in Turkey on October 2. Previously, Saudi authorities had maintained Khashoggi left the consulate the same afternoon of his visit, but provided no evidence to support the claim. CCTV footage shows Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate on October 2. Khashoggi's fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside the consulate, says she did not see him re-emerge.
Source:CNN
October 15, 2018 19:34 UTC
Senate intelligence staffer who dated reporter pleads guilty to lying to FBI about leaks
James A. Wolfe, 58, was in charge of maintaining all classified information coming from the executive branch to the Senate panel. D.C. district court judge Ketanji B. Jackson asked Wolfe in court on Monday. Wolfe had been scheduled to appear for a routine status hearing, before prosecutors announced that "substantial" negotiations had produced a guilty plea. Wolfe lied to the FBI in December 2017 about contacts he had with three reporters, according to a statement of offense released Monday as part of his guilty plea. Republicans have charged that the FBI provided misleading or inaccurate information to the FISA court to obtain the warrant.
Source:Fox News
October 15, 2018 19:30 UTC
Supreme Court deals final blow to lead paint manufacturers' years-long effort to avoid cleanup costs
After the California appeals court ruled against them, the lead paint companies tried the end run of promoting a ballot initiative that would absolve them of liability and create a $2-billion bond-financed fund to abate the lead problems. They disingenuously labeled their measure the Healthy Homes and Schools Act of 2018, but Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra put the kibosh on that subterfuge by issuing his own title and summary for the initiative, redefining it as a measure that “eliminates certain liability for lead-paint manufacturers." A few months later, the companies withdrew the initiative.
Source:Los Angeles Times
October 15, 2018 19:30 UTC
The latest on the missing Saudi journalist
Khashoggi is a prominent Saudi journalist, best known for his interview with terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. A royal court insider-turned-critic, Khashoggi left the country in 2017 and began writing for the Washington Post. On Tuesday, Oct. 2, Khashoggi went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork that would allow him to get married. Saudi Arabia faces international backlashSome of the biggest names in US business and finance have canceled plans to attend a big investment conference in Saudi Arabia, and media sponsors including the New York Times and CNN have pulled out of covering the event. Media and leaders worldwide are demanding Saudi Arabia explain what happened, with the UK, France and Germany all calling for a "credible investigation" into the events.
Source:CNN
October 15, 2018 19:22 UTC
Beer Makers’ Steps to Mitigate Climate Change Might Not Be Enough, Study Shows
Brewers including Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Carlsberg A/S are taking steps to maintain supplies of barley, the main crop used in beer, amid climate change. A new study suggests their preparations might not be enough. The researchers say the study is the first quantifying how barley production could be affected by heat waves and droughts, a subject of intense interest—and uncertainty—among beer makers.
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 15, 2018 19:16 UTC
Budget Deficit Ballooned in 2018, Treasury Says
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficit swelled to $779 billion in fiscal year 2018, the Treasury Department said on Monday, driven in large part by a sharp decline in corporate tax revenues after the Trump tax cuts took effect. The deficit rose nearly 17 percent year over year, from $666 billion in 2017. The deficit for the 2018 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, was the largest since 2012, when the economy and federal revenues were still recovering from the depths of the recession. Administration officials attributed the deficit’s rise to greater federal spending, including the military and domestic spending increases that President Trump approved this year, not the $1.5 trillion tax cut. “President Trump prioritized making a significant investment in America’s military after years of reductions in military spending undermined our preparedness and national security,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Source:New York Times
October 15, 2018 19:13 UTC
Saudi Arabia owns $166.8 billion in US debt
New York (CNN Business) Tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi could have a big impact on oil prices. But will it affect the bond market and interest rates? Saudi Arabia held $166.8 billion in Treasury securities as of July, According to the US Treasury Department. So if Saudi Arabia wanted to inflict pain on the United States, it could -- in theory -- weaponize those bonds by selling them off en masse. A spike in bond yields could make it more expensive for consumers to take out mortgages and other loans and also increase the interest costs that companies have to pay on their existing debt.
Source:CNN
October 15, 2018 19:09 UTC
Michael Goodwin: Democrats reveal yet again that diversity of thought cannot be tolerated
In the beginning, it was safe to ignore Kanye West and his growing bromance with President Trump. If conservatives criticized a black liberal in those words, the liberal media would let loose a chorus of “racism” and demand that every Republican denounce the commentators. But this time, it was the liberal media itself making the offensive comments, so Democratic politicians were not required to take a stand. Democrats, regardless of their race, generally count on getting upwards of 90 percent of the black vote. Not surprisingly, exit polls from the 2016 presidential contest showed Clinton getting about 89 percent of the black vote and Trump just 8 percent.
Source:Fox News
October 15, 2018 19:07 UTC
Syria and Jordan Reopen Vital Commercial Corridor
BEIRUT—Syria and Jordan reopened a border crossing between the two countries on Monday, more than three years after the vital commercial gateway linking several Middle East economies was closed due to the Syrian war. The reopening of the Nassib border crossing could be an economic boon to the two nations’s troubled economies. Syria’s economy has been devastated by more than seven years of conflict and Jordan faces its own economic crisis.
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 15, 2018 19:07 UTC
Dems worry of 2016-style stumbles, as GOP sees chance of holding off 'wave'
In Tennessee, Blackburn has surged to a double-digit lead, even as Bredesen won the endorsement of music superstar Taylor Swift. According to the Fox News Power Rankings, 207 House seats are likely or lean Democrat, while 197 seats are likely or lean Republican. Democrats hold an 11-point lead on Republicans on a generic congressional ballot, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll. “I don't think the Democrats take back the House,” outgoing Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Ryan Costello said Sunday on MSNBC. “Democratic energy is at nuclear levels,” Steve Israel, the former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, told McClatchy.
Source:Fox News
October 15, 2018 19:07 UTC
Longtime CNN producer Wendy Walker’s Rancho Sante Fe compound goes up for auction
Walker, who bought the property the year it was built in 1999, has had the estate on and off the market for the last two years. The home first hit the market in 2016 for $9.2 million, but saw its price cut by $1 million three months later, according to the Multiple Listing Service. It is now set to be sold through Concierge Auctions with no reserve on Nov. 20.
Source:Los Angeles Times
October 15, 2018 19:07 UTC