2019-04-28

Headlines:

From Al Jazeera, Associated Press, BBC News, Reuters, The Globe and Mail, New York Times, and Wired

Leaders struggle to make sense of fatal attack on synagogue – (Associated Press)
POWAY, Calif. (AP) — The rabbi who led a service on the last day of Passover suffered a gunshot wound to his hands and two others endured shrapnel wounds as political, civic and religious leaders…

Stephen Moore, Trump’s pick for Fed, cites ‘smear campaign’ over nomination – (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve said on Sunday there was a “smear campaign” being waged against him, after past writings and comments about women sparked renewed criticism by Democratic lawmakers.

Twitter terror: Arrests prompt concern over online extremism – (Associated Press)
GREECE, N.Y. (AP) — A few months after he turned 17 — and more than two years before he was arrested — Vincent Vetromile recast himself as an online revolutionary.Offline, in this suburb of…

Map of landmines: How Brexit might help the Scottish independence quest – (Reuters)
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s plans to lead her nation to independence from the United Kingdom have been muddled by Brexit, but the whirlwind at the center of British politics may yet advance her cause.

Spaniards flock to polls in wide-open election after tense campaign – (Reuters)
A divided Spanish electorate flocked to the polls on Sunday, responding to a plea from party leaders for a high turnout in what promises to be the country’s most open-ended and potentially pivotal election in decades.

Ukraine’s new leader mocks Russian passport plan – (BBC News)
President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky says the document would give people the “right to be arrested”.

AP FACT CHECK: Unraveling the mystery of whether cows fart – (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Let’s clear the air about cow farts.In the climate change debate, some policymakers seem to be bovine flatulence deniers.This became apparent in the fuss over the…

Thousands take to Hong Kong streets to protest new extradition laws – (Reuters)
Tens of thousands of people marched on Hong Kong’s parliament on Sunday to demand the scrapping of proposed extradition rules that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial – a move which some fear puts the city’s core freedoms at risk.

Running Out of Children, a South Korea School Enrolls Illiterate Grandmothers – (The New York Times)
As the birthrate plummets in South Korea, rural schools are emptying. To fill its classrooms, one school opened its doors to women who have for decades dreamed of learning to read.

11 of Our Best Weekend Reads – (The New York Times)
A jeweler’s dark secret. Missing the old Penn Station. Genealogy heats up cold cases. Tom Ford, family man. Finland’s hobbyhorse girls. And more.

Nominate a woman? Some Democratic women aren’t so sure – (Associated Press)
TIPTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa voters sent a record number of women to the Legislature during last year’s midterms. Women won two of the state’s most competitive U.S. House races, and a woman was…

How ‘laid back’ Sri Lanka became a soft target for Islamist strike – (Reuters)
A week ago, Sri Lankan tourist guide Ricky Costa was preparing for a typically easy Sunday ferrying backpackers between Colombo’s tea shops and beach bars in his canary-yellow rickshaw. Then the blasts began.

Serious flooding in Mozambique in wake of Cyclone Kenneth – (Associated Press)
PEMBA, Mozambique (AP) — Serious flooding raged on Sunday in parts of northern Mozambique hit by Cyclone Kenneth three days ago, with water waist-high in places, after the government urged people…

Spanish voter turnout at 41.4 percent at 2 p.m. – higher than in 2016 election – (Reuters)
Turnout in Spain’s national election stood at 41.4 percent at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday, according to interior ministry data, compared to 36.9 percent recorded at the same time during the previous election in June 2016.

How Egypt’s referendum deepened its human rights crisis – (Al Jazeera English)
Rights groups say Egypt’s constitutional amendments consolidate executive control of judiciary, placing army above law.

Cuts are coming. Can Pelosi and McConnell make a deal? – (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, Washington’s odd couple, have a limited set of mutual legislative interests in a capital beset by…

Afghan women fear gains could be bargained away in talks – (Associated Press)
HERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — For four hours, Khadeja begged her in-laws to take her to the hospital. The skin on her face and neck was peeling. The pain was excruciating. Her husband had thrown a pot…

Benin holds vote with no opposition – (BBC News)
Parties failed to met the electoral requirements, including a fee of $424,000 to field candidates.

London Marathon 2019: Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge wins as Mo Farah fifth – (BBC News)
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge runs the second fastest marathon in history to win the London Marathon as Britain’s Mo Farah finishes fifth.

Sri Lanka holds mass amid high security, forces look for suspects – (Al Jazeera English)
Catholics observe mass in homes via a TV broadcast as churches across the island nation shut over fears of more attacks.

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From various sources

Biden holds a slight advantage over nearest 2020 rival, but Democrats are far from making a decision – (The Washington Post)
Sanders runs just behind Biden, but more than half of all Democrats do not volunteer support for any candidate seeking the party’s nomination.

Cartoonist behind ‘NYT’ caricature has history of controversy – (The Jerusalem Post)
António Moreira Antunes drew ire with 1983 award-winning depiction of Israel and Lebanon.

Comptroller blasts Regev for handling of Independence Day ceremony – (The Jerusalem Post)
Report also attacks irregularities in gifting ceremony tickets.

Anti-Trump antisemitism: The link between Pittsburgh and Poway – (The Jerusalem Post)
The Poway and Pittsburgh shootings are connected by hatred of Jews and hatred of Trump, who is accused of being a “Jew-lover” and hosting an administration “infested” by Jews

Holocaust survivor Kaliv Rebbe passes away at 96 – (The Jerusalem Post)
The Rebbe of Kaliv advocated for fellow Holocaust survivors after helping rebuild his hassidic dynasty destroyed by the Nazis.

Human Rights NGO calls for Omar Barghouti’s Israeli Residency to be revoked – (The Jerusalem Post)
“Undoubtedly Barghouti’s leadership of the boycott movement against all citizens of the State of Israel severely harms the State of Israel.”

California Synagogue Shooting victim Lori Gilbert Kaye – a woman of valor – (The Jerusalem Post)
Gilbert Kaye was reportedly killed while trying to protect Chabad Poway’s rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, who sustained an injury to the hand.

Chabad rabbi to ‘Post’: It’s going to be tough, we’ll be strong – (The Jerusalem Post)
“Everyone was there together,” continued Goldstein. “We were all mourning, we all had tears in our eyes, but we were looking forward.

Leeds United vs. Aston Villa – Football Match Report – April 28, 2019 – ESPN – (ESPN)
Get a report of the Leeds United vs. Aston Villa 2018/19 English League Championship, Regular Season football match.

Japan refuses to give greater access to US farmers – (Financial Times)
Donald Trump unlikely to achieve quick trade deal without offering more concessions

La dolce vita on a road trip in Puglia and Basilicata – (Financial Times)
A new driving tour takes in cuisine, Greek heritage and palazzos restored as hotels

Axios AM – (Axios)
Mike Allen, the world’s most-wired reporter, narrates the ten most important stories of the day. Daily

Leeds United 1-1 Aston Villa: Record winning run ends in controversial Elland Road draw – (BBC Sport)
Aston Villa’s winning run is ended by Leeds United in a drawn hot-tempered game of two remarkable goals at Elland Road.

Valtteri Bottas cruises to win in Baku as Mercedes dominates again – (News24)
Valtteri Bottas held off Lewis Hamilton before cruising to victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday to continue Mercedes’ dominance of the title race

Harper Lee and her true crime story – (CBS News)
For years the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and a best friend of “In Cold Blood” author Truman Capote, had researched and written a true-crime novel based on a series of deaths in Alabama, for which a small-town preacher had been rumored to be responsibl…

17 Seriously Funny Notes Wives And Girlfriends Left Their Partners – (Buzzfeed)
“Sorry the quality of this sandwich is subpar, but I pushed our baby out of my vagina.”

Russian hackers were ‘in a position’ to alter Florida county voting records: Marco Rubio – (The Verge)
Russian hackers were able to breach one Florida county’s voting systems during the 2016 Presidential Election, Florida Senator Marco Rubio confirmed in an interview, noting that that hackers not only accessed the county’s systems, but had the ability to chang…

Barr warns House Dems he might not appear at hearing: report – (The Hill)
Attorney General William Barr has reportedly warned House Democrats that he might not appear as scheduled this week in front of the House Judiciary Committee.

“Network” and the changing state of TV news – (CBS News)
In the years since the premiere of Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning satire “Network,” in which TV news anchor Howard Beale became a “mad prophet of the airwaves,” 24-hour cable news operations have taken to heart the movie’s lesson: Success lies in the incitem…

Hate-fueled attacks continue to be accelerated by online platforms – (Axios)
Online messages from the California synagogue and New Zealand mosque shooters shared some distinct similarities.

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All about Trump

Anti-Trump antisemitism: The link between Pittsburgh and Poway – (The Jerusalem Post)
The Poway and Pittsburgh shootings are connected by hatred of Jews and hatred of Trump, who is accused of being a “Jew-lover” and hosting an administration “infested” by Jews

Japan refuses to give greater access to US farmers – (Financial Times)
Donald Trump unlikely to achieve quick trade deal without offering more concessions

Stephen Moore, Trump’s pick for Fed, cites ‘smear campaign’ over nomination – (Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve said on Sunday there was a “smear campaign” being waged against him, after past writings and comments about women sparked renewed criticism by Democratic lawmakers.

Pope Francis, Who’s Chided Trump’s Border Wall, Gives $500,000 To Migrants In Mexico – (The Huffington Post)
The donation will go toward helping those fleeing Central American who have found the U.S. border “closed to them,” the Vatican said.

Keith Ellison Warns Democrats Against Possible Drug Price Deal With Donald Trump – (The Huffington Post)
“It’s sort of a sellout to Big Pharma,” the Minnesota attorney general and former House progressive leader said.

President Trump’s Meeting With Jack Dorsey Tops This Week’s Internet News Roundup – (Wired)
President Trump met with Twitter’s CEO last week, but that’s not all you missed if you were too busy watching ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to go online.

Trump’s trade wars hammers Wisconsin’s ailing dairy farmers – (Axios)
Nearly 1,200 Wisconsin dairy farms have stopped milking cows since 2016, with 212 folding this year.

Trump warns Sanders he is being cheated again – (Google News)
“Here we go again Bernie,” the president tweets.

Biden takes the fight straight to Trump – (CNN)
Joe Biden kicked off his 2020 presidential bid this week with a video. He looked into the camera and talked about the torch-wielding white supremacists of Charlottesville, with an opening argument that aimed to leap over his primary opponents.

Trump tells Wisconsin rally: We’re sending migrants to sanctuary cities – (Axios)
“They ain’t too happy about it. I’m proud to tell you that was actually my sick idea.”

White House chief economist Kevin Hassett touts strength of US economy, Trump agenda – (Fox News)
The Commerce Department reports 3.2 percent growth in the first three months of 2019, far exceeding expectations; insight from Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

Trump says US is sending immigrants to sanctuary cities: ‘That was my sick idea’ – (The Hill)
President Trump said late Saturday that the U.S. is already sending undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities, and that it was his “sick idea.”

Can a woman beat Trump? Some Democrats wonder if it’s worth the risk – (NBC News)
Can a woman beat Trump? Some Democrats say don’t risk it.

‘Sarah … you’re fired!’: Trump jokingly tells Sarah Sanders at Wisconsin rally Saturday night – (Newsweek)
The president said his spokesperson has become too popular in his regime, all on the same night as the White House Correspondents dinner

Trump falsely claims babies are being legally executed, mimics Saudi king’s accent and calls former FBI officials ‘scum’ in wild rally speech – (Independent)
President also labels media ‘sick people” and revels in anti-Hillary Clinton ‘lock her up’ chants

Trump Rallies Supporters As White House Correspondents’ Gala Celebrates A Free Press – (Google News)
The president skipped the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in favor of a rally, where he touted economic growth and mocked Democratic presidential contenders.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran foreign minister, says Trump administration ‘dragging’ U.S. into conflict – (The Washington Times)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that key members of the Trump administration — including national security adviser John Bolton — as well as Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammad bin Salman, are “dragging the United…

New U.S. moon-landing timetable throws Canada’s Lunar Gateway role into question | CBC News – (CBC News)
“Canada is going to the moon,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Feb. 28. But now NASA is tearing up its Lunar Gateway schedule to pivot to a new target ordered by the Trump administration.

Donald Trump executive privilege threat invites messy legal battle – (The Washington Times)
It’s a strategy that could lead to a messy, protracted legal fight, but even if the White House is eventually defeated in court, the president and his allies could have the chance to run out the clock to the 2020 election.

Mexico deports Honduran migrants amid pressure from Donald Trump – (The Washington Times)
The migrants’ flight back to Honduras on Saturday came amid pressure on Mexico from the government of President Donald Trump to clamp down on migration to the U.S.

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