Alexandria

Six people aged 62 to 85 arrested for 'sexual activity' in woods after police surveillance operation

Six people aged 62 to 85 have been arrested after police officers went into the woods to watch them having sex.The group was arrested in a conservation area in Fairfield, Connecticut, which is some 87 acres in size.

Trump Claims He Is ‘Seriously’ Considering Ending Birthright Citizenship for Children of Illegal Immigrants

President Trump said Wednesday that he is “seriously” considering issuing an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump argued that it is “frankly ridiculous” that the U.S. affords citizenship to babies born to immigrants who entered the country illegally.“We’re looking at that very seriously, birthright citizenship, where you have a baby on our land — you walk over the border and have a baby,” Trump told reporters. “Congratulations, the baby is now a U.S. citizen. We’re looking at it very, very seriously. I don’t know how you found that out, but that’s very good. We are looking at birthright citizenship very seriously.”Wednesday's comments represent the second instance in which Trump has publicly criticized birthright citizenship, particularly as it relates to the children of recent illegal immigrants, whom Trump has described as “anchor babies” on numerous occasions.Trump told Axios in October 2018 that he planned to issue an executive order curtailing birthright citizenship, but never followed through. “We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States . . . with all of those benefits,” he said. “It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And it has to end.”Any attempt to restrict birthright citizenship through an executive order would likely face stiff legal challenges and might ultimately require a constitutional amendment — a point Trump disputed during the Axios interview.

U.S. removed almost 2.7 million barrels daily of Iranian oil from market: Pompeo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has removed nearly 2.7 million barrels of Iranian oil from global markets daily as a result of Washington's decision to reimpose sanctions on all purchases of Iran's crude, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.

Putin says US missile test raises new threats to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the test of a new U.S. missile banned under a now-defunct arms treaty has raised new threats to Russia and will warrant a response. The U.S. tested a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile that accurately struck its target more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. Sunday's test came after the U.S. and Russia withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that banned such weapons.

Farmer Behind the U.S.'s Largest Organic Food Fraud Scheme Dies by Suicide

A Missouri farmer blamed for running the largest organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history has died by suicide, weeks before he was to report to federal prison to begin serving a 10-year term, a coroner said Tuesday.

The northernmost reaches of the Earth are on fire. Here's what this record-breaking hot summer looks like from space.

Climate change comes with a higher risk of wildfires. This summer, fires have ravaged the Arctic, and the flames can be seen from space.

The Satanic Sex Cult Leader Who Loved Animal Sacrifices, Orgies, and Murder

VicePazuzu Algarad (real name: John Lawson) was a self-proclaimed Satanist who reveled in extremeness. With a moniker borrowed from The Exorcist, a face covered in tattoos and his teeth sharpened to fine points, Pazuzu spent his days and nights in his Clemmons, North Carolina, home cutting himself and his buddies, drinking the blood of birds, doing copious drugs, performing ritual sacrifices of rabbits, staging nude orgies, and letting people do whatever they pleased to his abode—including popping a squat in the corner of a room, and then leaving the mess to be eaten by one of his many dogs.“You know, all around having a good time,” as one former friend puts it.Pazuzu was, it’s safe to say, an unhinged lunatic. But when he began boasting that he had committed murders, and had stored a body in his basement, covered in cat litter and bleach to hide the stench—a tactic that didn’t work, as most attest to the house reeking of filth and death—no one initially took him seriously. Including the cops.That turned out to be a terrible mistake, as recounted by The Devil You Know, a five-part true-crime series premiering on Viceland Aug. 27. Its story is an inherently sensationalistic one filled with gory tales about Pazuzu’s heavy metal-scored psychosis, which drove him to recruit willing acolytes (including female lovers he donned “fiancées”) into his “fake Charles Manson” cult, and compelled him, post-9/11, to wear Islamic garb and claim Iraqi descent. “He wanted to be the bad guy,” says a former high school classmate, and in that regard, he succeeded, transforming himself from a miserable kid into a nightmarish adult who constructed a mini kingdom of anything-goes mayhem at 2749 Knob Hill Drive, with him as its charismatic king.The Manson Family’s Youngest Member Tells All: ‘If He Could Kill Strangers, He Could Kill Me’Satanic Temple Leader Lucien Greaves: ‘Mike Pence Really Scares Me’Writer/director/producer Patricia E. Gillespie’s miniseries doesn’t skimp on gruesome details—not that doing so would be possible, given how far Pazuzu chose to go in every facet of his life. The Devil You Know, however, wants to be about more than just a shocking case of degradation and murder. Its aim is to cast Pazuzu’s saga as emblematic of larger cultural forces at play in America: the tension between the haves and have-nots; the way mainstream society ignores those falling through the cracks due to economic hardship; and the failings of law enforcement to treat everyone in an equal manner. It’s a noble endeavor, except for the fact that Pazuzu’s case can’t shoulder such weighty significance—not to mention that it’s carried out in a manner that’s more aggravating than enlightening.Before it begins trying to derive Meaningful Lessons from its material, The Devil You Know proves a riveting case study of a unique madman. Residing with his mother in Clemmons (a suburb of Winston-Salem), Pazuzu lived and breathed his depraved ethos, which was influenced by a combination of horror movies, ‘80s black metal, and Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan. In copious old photographs, Pazuzu appears to be just as scary as his reputation suggested—minus the split tongue that rumors said he gave himself. He routinely bragged about killing people, and in 2010, he and cohort Nicholas Rizzi were charged in connection with the shooting death of an African-American man, Joseph Emmrick Chandler, near the Yadkin River.Amazingly, Pazuzu didn’t serve any time for Chandler’s death—this despite it appearing like an obvious assassination. More stunning still, by that point, cops had already begun receiving reports about bodies buried in Pazuzu’s backyard. After a first search of the home turned up nothing—a next-to-inconceivable development, given the hoarder-style insanity of the place—Pazuzu’s friend, Iraq war vet Matt Flowers, reported his own suspicions to the cops. A second, more thorough examination of the property followed, and led to the discovery of two bodies: Tommy Dean Welch and Josh Wetzler, the latter of whom had been missing, much to the concern of former girlfriend Stacey Carter (with whom he’d had a young son), for five years.Pazuzu had killed and buried these men with the help of two fiancées, Amber Burch and Krystal Matlock, and he had dispatched them in the presence of his mother Cynthia, with whom he lived. Those facts, coupled with Pazuzu’s devil worship, attracted national media attention, and The Devil You Know benefits from the participation of many key figures, as well as considerable archival news reports and police footage of the inside of Pazuzu’s house, which lives up to stomach-churning expectations. While there’s an overreliance on soundbite-y comments from talking heads, and its timeline of events isn’t always totally lucid, The Devil You Know conveys the monstrousness of its central figure, and the way he used his maniacal charm to prey upon outcasts looking for both acceptance and permission to lash out at a world that had abandoned them.Pazuzu Algarad, subject of The Devil You Know.ViceIn later installments, Gillespie’s show digs into Pazuzu’s backstory, explaining how his crazed behavior was a byproduct of trauma from childhood divorce, severe mental-health problems, and a milieu that—boasting few employment opportunities—left many “bored” and at loose ends. Furthermore, it suggests that local police took far too long to step in and stop Pazuzu, even after receiving multiple tip-offs about his conduct, thanks to good old-fashioned negligence.Where The Devil You Know stumbles, though, is in trying to go beyond that, via portraits of local blogger Chad Nance and his quest to investigate the Pazuzu case, and Pazuzu compatriots and heroin addicts Nate Anderson and Jenna Woodring. The former spends an inordinate amount of time trying to make Pazuzu an emblematic victim of systemic American failures, which comes across as overreach. Nance also says that he’s being denied “the truth” about what happened to Pazuzu—an assertion that doesn’t jibe with the reasonably comprehensive evidence presented here. His sleuthing-narrator participation contributes to a conspiracy-theory vibe that feels unjustified, especially in light of the fact that justice was, in most respects, eventually served.Nate and Jenna’s plight, on the other hand, does indicate that parental enabling and neglect is a prime factor in kids’ drugs-and-anarchy behavior. Yet in the end, the couple’s attempts to find smack by any means necessary (including prostitution), along with Matt’s drinking-and-destitution circumstances, receive an undue amount of Intervention-esque attention. Like Chad, they prove increasingly irksome distractions for a series that’s most gripping—and terrifying—when it’s not trying so hard to inflate its story’s importance.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

A Mexican judge says 2 people can legally use cocaine — but they can't buy or sell it

A court in Mexico ordered the government to allow plaintiffs to "possess, transport and use cocaine," but not to sell or buy it.

Teens swept up in night raids in Kashmir clampdown

Ali Mohammad Rah sat on the pavement outside a police station in Kashmir's main city of Srinagar on Tuesday, waiting to see his teenage sons, who were swept up in government raids overnight. Government sources say at least 4,000 people have been detained in Kashmir since India revoked the restive Himalayan region's autonomy on August 5 and imposed a massive security lockdown on the restive region. To try and stop the raids, residents in Srinagar's Soura area have erected barricades and dug trenches in roads that lead to their cluster of homes.

US mental health staff warned not to contradict Trump after mass shootings

When Donald Trump targeted mental illness as the cause of the mass shootings that killed 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, federal health officials made sure no government experts might contradict him.A Health and Human Services (HHS) directive on 5 August warned communication staffers not to post anything on social media related to mental health, violence and mass shootings without prior approval.

Mexican president says government not talking with criminal gangs

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday said his nine-month-old administration's efforts to bring down record rates of violent crime do not include talks with criminal gangs or armed self-defense groups. On Tuesday, Mexico's interior minister told reporters the government was holding talks with "various groups" in states hard hit by violence, in response to a question about organized criminals.

Huawei’s founder just sent a desperate but brutal memo to workers

When he was a younger man, Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei joined China's People's Liberation Army as an engineer, at one point heading out with the army for China's frigid north as part of a crew tasked with building a synthetic fiber factory.That background no doubt inspired the overtly military-themed tone of a desperate memo Zhengfei distributed internally at the company on Monday as the US ban against it lingers, with the company founder warning that workers need to band together in "commando squads" to survive this "live or die moment."The overarching message was that employees of the company, which is the subject of a now stepped-up ban as of Monday, need to redouble their efforts if Huawei is to survive. Workers need to "either form a 'commando squad' to explore new projects -- in which case they could be promoted to company commander if they do well," Zhengfei wrote in the memo. "Or they can find jobs in the internal market. If they fail to find a role, their salaries will be cut every three months."Zhengfei sent out the memo on the same day US officials announced the addition of more than 40 more Huawei units to the existing blacklist, while also extending by three months a reprieve that allows Huawei to keep buying components from the US -- essentially allowing the company time to wean itself away from the US."If you cannot do the job, then make way for our tank to roll," Zhengfei's memo reads at one point, per Reuters. "And if you want to come on the battlefield, you can tie a rope around the 'tank' to pull it along. Everyone needs this sort of determination!"Huawei employs almost 190,000 people globally and is the second-largest smartphone vendor in the world after Samsung, but unfortunately, the Chinese company finds itself caught in the larger crossfire of an ongoing trade dispute between the US and China. Huawei's consumer division, the unit that sells products including smartphones, accounted for almost half of the company's revenue in 2018, and while that division has historically been a reliable profit center for the company, it's been hammered hard by the US sanctions.The founder's memo laid out the challenges in stark terms. The first half of this year "looked good," but mostly because Chinese clients "were sympathetic," a sentiment that Huawei can't exactly count on to make up for lost international business. The founder's plan includes putting more power in the hands of ground-level workers and trimming the company's fat and any unnecessary workers and layers of management."In 3-5 years time, Huawei will be flowing with new blood," the memo declares. "After we survive the most critical moment in history, a new army would be born. To do what? Dominate the world."

CNN Pundit’s Bodyguard Charged with Assault after Removing Reporter Covering Her Speech

CNN pundit April Ryan's security guard has been charged with assault after he forcibly removed a local New Jersey reporter from an event at which Ryan was delivering a speech.Charlie Kravotil, editor of New Brunswick Today, claims that Ryan's bodyguard, 30-year-old Joel Morris, approached him during Ryan's speech at The Heldrich Hotel on August 3 and stole his camera after he refused to stop filming.A video of the incident shows Kravotil, who secured press credentials for the event, following Morris into the lobby of the hotel to retrieve his camera. After the local journalist reclaimed his camera, Morris grabbed his arm, placed it behind his back, and shoved him out of the hotel.Morris has been charged with harassment, assault, and theft in connection with the incident.Kravotil says he was invited to the event and was allowed to film for roughly two hours before Ryan took the stage to deliver a speech, at which point Morris stole his camera but allowed other people in the room to continue filming. He called on Ryan to apologize for the incident in a Monday tweet.“She’s been silent about the unacceptable and illegal behavior of her bodyguard, Joel Morris, and we are still waiting for her comment on this unfortunate incident,” Kravotil said in a video posted to Twitter. “Maybe now that there are criminal charges, we might hear something from her. I hope, sincerely, that she does comment and I hope she does condemn this. This is unacceptable. . . . In our country, we have freedom of the press.”Ryan is a vociferous critic of President Trump and routinely disparages him for his rhetorical attacks on the press, even authoring a book on the subject last year entitled Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House.

Drivers in Idaho keep harassing busloads of immigrants' children on their way to pre-school

One driver reported experiencing threatening incidents with other drivers while she was driving a busload of children under the age of five.

Beijing hits back after Trudeau vows to stand up to China

Beijing on Thursday accused Ottawa of worsening bilateral relations after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to stand up to China amid deepening diplomatic and trade disputes. The two countries have been locked in a feud since last December, when Canada detained top Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and -- in apparent retaliation -- China detained two Canadian nationals over espionage-linked accusations. On Wednesday, Trudeau pushed back against Beijing in a speech that promised to "always defend Canadians and Canadian interests" and to not "back down".

Guns are a huge part of American society; taking them away won't help: Today's talker

Guns are vital for protection in America. The acts of the few shouldn't affect citizens' rights to guns, which is protected by the Second Amendment.

Man punches his own lawyer in court

A defendant standing trial for attacking a corrections officer punched his own lawyer during a hearing in an Arizona courtroom.Footage of Lamont Payne's violent assault in Maricopa County was caught on court camera and released by officials.

Police Arrest Two Louisiana Men in 39-Year-Old Cold Case Murder of Teen

Rapides Parish Sheriff's OfficeAfter nearly four decades, Louisiana police have charged two men they believe brutally raped and murdered an 18-year-old girl before disposing of her body in the woods.Leo Laird, 64, and Gary Haymon, 54, were both charged on Monday in the death of 18-year-old Donna Gayle Brazzell, according to the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office. The young woman’s skeletal remains were found near Nichols Cemetery Road in 1980, but authorities were unable to identify them until last month.The Daring DNA Hunt That Cracked France’s Gruesome Cold Case“These cases never, ever leave a policeman’s mind,” Officer William Earl Hilton, who was first assigned the case, told KBLA. “They prey on you all the time. Especially cases like this that you never solve.”Authorities declined to elaborate on what evidence led to Laird and Haymon’s arrest, but said “sufficient probable cause was established.” Both men have been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and aggravated kidnapping.The mystery began on November 5, 1980, when the sheriff’s office responded to a call about “skeletal remains found in a wooded area” near Nichols Cemetery Road. Working alongside Louisiana State University’s Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons, investigators were able to determine that the remains, which were likely in the woods for at least two months, belonged to a female victim between the ages of 16 and 21.  The lab also created a DNA profile and a facial sketch of the victim but were still unable to make a positive identification. In 2014, the sheriff’s office “received information in reference to the case” that led them to name Laird and Haymon as suspects. It remains unclear what new evidence pointed to the two men.Vatican to Open Tombs in Hunt for Teen Missing for 30 YearsThe sketch of the victim proved key to cracking the case five years later, when a woman contacted authorities claiming the picture resembled her long lost granddaughter. After a DNA comparison last month, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to the woman’s relative, Donna Gayle Brazzell.Laird, who would have been in his 20s at the time of the alleged murder, was arrested on August 14 and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center. He is currently being held on a $1 million bold. Haymon is already serving a 49-year prison sentence for second-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, and public bribery, authorities said. While he was originally set for release in 2047, authorities said arrangements “are in place to have Haymon booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center in reference to his new charges.”Quadriplegic Charged in Cold-Case Murder of Bay Area MomRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Ford's "Mustang-Inspired" Mach E Electric SUV Steps Out in Prototype Form

Said to arrive next year, this new battery-powered crossover promises 300 miles of range and a relatively affordable starting price.

Greece says it won't assist Iranian tanker sought by US

Greece said on Wednesday it won't endanger its relations with the United States by aiding an Iranian supertanker sought by the U.S. but released by Gibraltar that's currently in the Mediterranean Sea, believed heading for a Greek port. Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said Athens is under pressure from U.S. authorities, which claim the Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1 is tied to a sanctioned organization. The vessel can still enter Greek waters or anchor offshore, in which case Athens will "see" what it will do, Varvitsiotis added.

Russia's new high-altitude drone just flew for the first time, and they want to arm it with one ton of bombs

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense shared video of a test flight for the Altius-U, a major step forward in its drone program.

Here's How Aliens Might See Earth

It looks a bit different from the pale blue dot.

Verdict due in Germany knife killing that sparked racist riots

A 24-year-old Syrian man is expected to face a court verdict Thursday over a knife killing that sparked far-right street violence and protests in the eastern German city of Chemnitz. The ruling comes at a sensitive time, one year after thousands of neo-Nazis and enraged citizens marched through Chemnitz, and just over a week ahead of state elections in the ex-communist region. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has railed against immigrants and Islam, is forecast to poll strongly in the state of Saxony and neighbouring Brandenburg on September 1.

A shark attacked a woman in Hawaii, and authorities are warning it's 'still in the area'

A 27-year-old woman was bitten twice by a shark while swimming on Tuesday. She is reportedly recovering and in "good health."

Hannity: There has never been a better friend and ally to the state of Israel than Donald J. Trump

Sean Hannity weighs in on President Trump's relationship with Israel and 'the Squad's' feud.

Neo-Nazi arrested over threat to exterminate Hispanics said 'I thank God every day Trump is president'

A man arrested by the FBI on suspicion of threatening to kill Hispanic people in Miami allegedly wrote that he thanked God every day that Donald Trump was president.Eric Lin, 35, made a series of threats against the Hispanic community in the Miami area before being arrested in Seattle.

Hong Kong police in standoff with protesters after sit-in

Near the end of the event, the police began what they called a "dispersal operation, using minimum force" after some protesters blocked roads and flashed laser pointers at officers. Police with riot shields faced off at the station entrance against a group of remaining protesters, who sprayed a firehose and spread soap on the floor to slow a police approach, while piling up trash bins, a wheelchair and umbrellas in a makeshift blockade. The station's entrance shutters were lowered, barricading the protesters inside.

Prosecutor: Cannibalism victim was butchered 'like you wouldn't kill a livestock animal'

Joseph Oberhansley, 38, is accused of killing his estranged girlfriend and eating parts of her brain and organs in 2014.

Luntz: ‘I was wrong’ on climate change

Luntz urged Democrats to "personalize, individualize and humanize" the impacts of climate change

Iran unveils home-grown missile defence system

Iran unveiled its new home-grown air defence system on Thursday at a time of increased tensions with the United States. Iranian officials have previously called Bavar-373 the Islamic republic's first domestically produced long-range missile defence system. Tehran began making Bavar -- which means "believe" -- after the purchase of Russia's S-300 system was suspended in 2010 due to international sanctions.

Carrie Symonds 'barred from entering the US over Somaliland trip'

Boris Johnson's girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, has been barred from visiting the US. She had applied for permission to go to the US in the next few days as part of her job with environmental group Oceana but the request was blocked by the American authorities, the Daily Mail reported. The situation could prove embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in France which begins on Saturday. The problem with Ms Symonds' travel plans could be linked to a trip to Somaliland last year. The US does not recognise Somaliland as an independent country, instead viewing it as part of Somalia. Applicants under the electronic system for travel authorisation (Esta) visa waiver programme, which allows Britons to spend up to 90 days in the US, are asked whether they have visited Somalia since March 2011. Ms Symonds visited Somaliland last year with her friend Nimco Ali, a campaigner against female genital mutilation. Following the reports of Ms Symonds' travel difficulties, Ms Ali said on Twitter: "Somaliland is Africa's best kept Secret, it's my birth place and it's stunning. "For 28 years without international assistance we have rebuilt our Country and are the only democracy in the Horn of Africa. I am happy to personally show anyone around the land I was sourced from." Ms Symonds has no official role in Downing Street and no taxpayer-funded support, although she has been pictured at functions in Number 10 with Mr Johnson. Downing Street declined to comment. Ayan Mahamoud, Head of the Somaliland Mission to the UK said, the country is an "independent, peaceful and stable" nation often wrongly confused with neighbours Somalia. She said: "We have a longstanding and positive relationship with the UK Government, and we have been proud to host members of the Government within the last 12 months, numerous Members of Parliament, and thousands of tourists from the UK every year. “We continue to call on the UK Government to support our calls for international recognition and to support Somaliland as we seek to overturn the damaging and unjustified travel restrictions unfairly imposed on our citizens by the US Government.”

Where Does the Oxygen in the Universe Come From, Exactly?

Scientists still don't quite understand. But they're getting closer.

Farmer's threat prompts U.S. Agriculture Department to pull staff from crop tour

CORALVILLE, Iowa/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday it had pulled all staff from an annual crop tour after an employee was threatened, and three sources said the threat of violence was made during a phone call from an angry farmer. U.S. farmers have complained this month that a government crop report did not reflect damage from historic flooding this spring. Lance Honig, crops chief at the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, was among the USDA staffers who had to leave the privately-run Pro Farmer tour, three sources with knowledge of the situation said.

We can't trust police to protect us from racist violence. They contribute to it

White nationalists pervade law enforcement. Fighting far right violence means continuing our fight for police accountabilityProtesters shout anti-Nazi chants after chasing alt-right blogger Jason Kessler from a news conference on 13 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAs mass violence continues, many of us have become rightly afraid for the people we love. We want justice, but we also want protection.So what are the solutions we’re hearing about following this month’s violence? One idea we must reject is the idea of trusting law enforcement to protect us from white nationalist violence, given how much they contribute to it. If people in law enforcement want to be seen as experts on defeating white nationalism, shouldn’t they have to get rid of all the white nationalists in their own ranks first?White nationalists pervade law enforcement. There is a long history of the military, police and other authorities supporting, protecting or even being members of white supremacy groups. But it’s not just history. It was revealed last week that a black man in Michigan came upon KKK materials and Confederate flags in plain view while being shown a home for sale – the home of a police officer on the force for more than 20 years who shot and killed a black man in 2009 without consequence.It’s a widespread pattern. As early as 2006, the FBI flagged it. Another FBI report in 2015, not covered nearly enough, indicated that “domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers”. (And that’s the FBI, which has its own history of white supremacy affinity groups.)White nationalists connect through online networks and offline groups, and openly share tactics for infiltrating and influencing police departments, border patrol, the FBI and the military. That was the case for a Virginia police officer – assigned to a high school – who was revealed to be a longtime white nationalist and served as a recruiter for Identity Evropa, one of the groups behind the Charlottesville hate rallies and violence. He was not shy about his cover. In chat messages, he “discussed ways to downplay appearances of racism, while still promoting white nationalism”.Another thing many of those like him are not shy about: stoking and celebrating violence, and promoting hateful misinformation and rhetoric. The Plain View Project tracked publicly posted social media material from more than 3,500 confirmed current and retired law enforcement officers, and found that “about 1 in 5 of the current officers, and 2 in 5 of the retired officers, made public posts or comments ... displaying bias, applauding violence, scoffing at due process or using dehumanizing language”. The Center for Investigative Reporting was able to identify almost 400 current and retired law enforcement officials who were members of private Facebook “Confederate, anti-Islam, misogynistic or anti-government militia” groups.We have seen racist text messages and emails among active officers revealed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and more, including among those in management with direct authority over law enforcement practices. As the Portland case proved, we must come to terms with the depth of association between senior law enforcement and white nationalist leaders and groups – people they should be investigating and thwarting, not encouraging and helping to evade justice.Neo-Nazis and white supremacists at the University of Virginia after marching through the campus with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Photograph: Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesIt would be naive to look at cases in which agencies have dismissed white nationalists from their ranks as an encouraging sign, whether in police departments, border patrol (an agent with a pattern of racist text messages ran over a Guatemalan migrant with a truck), the coast guard (a white nationalist aimed to “murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country”), military units (more Identity Evropa members in the Marines), or anywhere else.In truth, would the level of violence committed by law enforcement in communities of color, and at the border, even be possible if racial hatred weren’t part and parcel of police culture? White nationalists in law enforcement and in many roles in government, such as prosecutors, are dangerous because they routinely abuse their power to attack and debilitate communities of color, including harassment and coercion, financial exploitation, acts of sexual and racially-targeted violence and mass incarceration – all officially sanctioned, and all celebrated as part of the larger white nationalist agenda.Within the FBI, there has been an active movement among white nationalist sympathizers to protect their own by unfoundedly targeting nonviolent black activists: inventing the idea of a black extremist threat to justify surveillance of nonviolent black activists and divert attention from truly violent white nationalist perpetrators. This policy was codified in an internal “Race Paper” that a federal court allowed to remain secret, despite a move for transparency led by my organization, Color Of Change. (And people who have spoken out about internal racism at the FBI have not been treated well.)Investigations have not yet uncovered the extent to which people in law enforcement at all levels are actually involved in white nationalist violence more directly: training and mentorship, advice and tips, offering the social validation that people of color and others are, in fact, the enemy, or offering the social validation that violence is, in fact, the answer.More stories from those who know what’s happening inside law enforcement officers’ lives would help.But we already know enough. We must change the incentives for law enforcement and their unions – financial, social, cultural and otherwise – that allow the denial of this threat to persist. Instead of allowing news media to praise law enforcement as problem-solvers, we must hold them to account for the harm they enable. Lawmakers across the country must also play their role: investigating the extent of the problem, and forcing a purge of white nationalists and their sympathizers from positions of power and influence – everywhere. Fighting white nationalist violence means doubling down on our fight for police accountability.

Walmart sues Tesla after solar panels start bursting into flames on store roofs

In something of a bizarre story, Walmart is suing Tesla after solar panels it purchased from the EV company caught fire on a number of Walmart stores. As it stands now, Tesla solar panels can be found on as many as 240 Walmart stores across the country. Following a few incidents involving seemingly spontaneous fires, Walmart now wants Tesla to remove the solar panels and foot the bill for all the corresponding damage.As a result of the fires, Walmart is suing for breach of contract and alleges that Tesla's actions in designing and installing the panels failed to live up industry standards.All told, roof fires impacted a total of seven Walmart stores and resulted in damage that ended up costing the nationwide retailer millions.The complaint (via the Los Angeles Times) reads in part:> To state the obvious, properly designed, installed, inspected, and maintained solar systems do not spontaneously combust, and the occurrence of multiple fires involving Tesla's solar systems is but one unmistakable sign of negligence by Tesla.> > ...> > To this day, Tesla has not provided Walmart with the complete set of final 'root cause' analyses needed to identify the precise defects in its systems that caused all of the fires described aboveWalmart's complaint further adds that a subsequent inspection into the fires revealed that Tesla was "engaged in widespread, systemic negligence and had failed to abide by prudent industry practices in installing, operating and maintaining its solar systems."It's worth noting that Tesla, as part of its deal with Walmart, was on the hook for maintenance and any upkeep issues arising from the solar panels. That said, Walmart alludes to the fact that the fires were most likely caused by improper installation.Interestingly, Walmart has an outstanding order with Tesla for 45 Tesla Semi Trucks, though it remains to be seen if Tesla will be able to ship those on time.

The Latest: Philadelphia police commissioner resigning

A Philadelphia official says the resignation of Police Commissioner Richard Ross is related to allegations made by a corporal and a patrol officer against several department employees. Deana Gamble is a spokeswoman for Mayor Jim Kenney. Kenney's announcement Tuesday referred to a sexual harassment prevention policy and efforts to prevent discrimination and harassment that were implemented a year ago.

Marianne Williamson pledges to remove Oval Office portrait of Andrew Jackson put there by Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson pledged to remove the portrait of former President Andrew Jackson that President Donald Trump chose to hang in the Oval Office if she is elected to be its next occupant.

America has no good options in Afghanistan and is literally negotiating with terrorists because of it

President Trump's officials have been negotiating with the Taliban to get out of Afghanistan, while the Taliban has been attacking Afghans.

Canada accused of unlawfully questioning Huawei's Meng

Lawyers for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou alleged in court documents released Wednesday that she was unlawfully detained and questioned by Canadian border agents in Vancouver last year. Border agents detained her under the pretense of an immigration matter and never alerted her to a US warrant for her arrest, questioning her for hours before eventually handing her over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the lawyers said. "From the outset of the applicant's detention," the RCMP and border agents were acting on behalf of "the FBI for the purpose of obtaining and preserving evidence," Meng's lawyers said.

'This Case is Hot': Key Evidence from Boat Possibly Linked to Illinois Girl Missing for 23 Years

Police in Moline say they're getting closer to answers as the FBI investigates what could be a key piece of evidence tied to the prime suspect in the case of Trudy Appleby.

Iran's Zarif says will see if scientist's death sentence can be delayed

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday Tehran "will do its best" to see if the death sentence on Swedish-Iranian scientist Ahmadreza Djalali can be delayed. Djalali, a medical doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute in the Swedish capital, was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage, having been accused of providing information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists.

Catholic Priest Abuse Survivors' Group Says It's 'Cowardly' That Convicted Cardinal Has Not Been Defrocked

'I don't know what other proof any organization needs other than a conviction'