Top Palestinian Business Professionals to avoid Bahrain
US President Donald Trump’s Mideast team is back in the region trying to garner support for the White House’s planned economic “workshop” scheduled to be held in Manama, Bahrain, June 25-26. The team consists of Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner; Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s negotiator on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and Brian Hook, the special US representative for Iran.
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Top-Palestinian-Business-Professionals-to-Avoid-Bahrain-591284
Nasrallah: Trump’s Peace Plan is unjust and it is our duty to oppose it
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on the occasion of International Jerusalem Day that “in the past 40 years, the enemies of Jerusalem have been betting that they we will ignore it or about forget it, but year after year we find that people still express great interest.” “We have seen large demonstrations in several countries around the world and the demonstration of one million in Iran,” he said…
https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Nasrallah-Trumps-Peace-Plan-is-unjust-and-it-is-our-duty-to-oppose-it-591263
US ends special trade treatment for India amid tariff dispute
The US will end preferential trade status for India next week, President Donald Trump has confirmed amid a deepening row over protectionism. India had been the largest beneficiary of a scheme that allows some goods to enter the US duty-free. However that status will end on Wednesday, Mr Trump said. In March he announced that it would be revoked because India had failed to provide adequate access to its markets, but Mr Trump gave no date.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48482988
Mexico ‘won’t be provoked by US’ over migrant row
Mexico’s president has insisted his government will not be provoked, after President Donald Trump announced escalating tariffs on all goods unless Mexico curbed illegal migration. Andrés Manuel López Obrador described Mr Trump’s slogan “America First” as a fallacy and said universal justice was more important than borders. Stock markets saw sharp losses following Mr Trump’s announcement.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48477335
Justice Department Is Preparing Antitrust Investigation of Google
The Justice Department is gearing up for an antitrust investigation of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, a move that could present a major new layer of regulatory scrutiny for the search giant, according to people familiar with the matter. The department’s antitrust division in recent weeks has been laying the groundwork for the probe, the people said.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-is-preparing-antitrust-investigation-of-google-11559348795
Facebook lawyer says users ‘have no expectation of privacy’
A lawyer for Facebook argued in court Wednesday that the social media site’s users “have no expectation of privacy.” According to Law360, Facebook attorney Orin Snyder made the comment while defending the company against a class-action lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. “There is no invasion of privacy at all, because there is no privacy,” Snyder said.
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/facebook-lawyer-no-expectation-of-privacy/
G20 digital tax takes step closer
Global efforts to impose a unified tax policy on Google, Facebook and other internet giants have cleared a major hurdle ahead of a G20 summit in Japan, officials said Friday. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that 129 countries had signed off on a roadmap to grab a fairer tax share of the companies’ booming sales.
https://phys.org/news/2019-05-g20-digital-tax-closer.html
Gov. Newsom Welcomes Women Seeking An Abortion To Come To California
Governor Gavin Newsom took a step Friday to support women’s rights to have an abortion and even indicated women can come to California to have one if they want. Newsom signed Friday what he calls a “Proclamation on Reproductive Freedom.” He says it reaffirms the state’s commitment to protecting women’s reproductive choices, educates Californians about their rights to reproductive freedom, and welcomes women to the state to exercise that right.
https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2019/05/31/gov-newsom-welcomes-women-california-abortion/
Is Vermin Infestation Making People Sick At Downtown LAPD Station?
An infestation of vermin at a building in Downtown Los Angeles is allegedly making people sick. CBS2’KCAL9’s Sara Donchey reports that the people getting sick are work at one of LAPD’s stations. LAPD’s Central Division is in the heart of Skid Row. It appears the troubled areas problems are, in this case, stemming from inside the building.
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/05/29/is-vermin-infestation-making-people-sick-at-downtown-lapd-station/
The richest 10% of households now represent 70% of all U.S. wealth
The rich are getting richer. It is a refrain that has certainly been uttered before, and likely will again, as Deutsche Bank Securities’ chief economist points out that the gap between the haves and have-nots in the U.S. is, indeed, widening. Deutsche Bank’s Torsten Sløk says…the richest 10% of U.S. households representing 70% of all U.S. wealth in 2018, compared with 60% in 1989, according to a recent study by researchers at the Federal Reserve.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-richest-10-of-households-now-represent-70-of-all-us-wealth-2019-05-24
Mysterious flashes of light observed on the moon’s surface
Scientists have launched a bid to observe and understand mysterious flashes of light on the surface of the moon. The ‘transient luminous lunar phenomena’ occur several times a week and illuminate parts of the moon’s landscape for a brief period of time before disappearing. Sometimes, a reverse effect which causes the lunar surface to darken has also been observed.
https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/31/mysterious-unexplained-flashes-light-spotted-moon-9768936/
Border Patrol holding 900 at facility fit for 125 in situation that ‘could turn violent’
A government watchdog is warning of a potentially “violent” situation at one Border Patrol station on the U.S.-Mexico border where migrants are held in unsafe conditions. Even so, Homeland Security officials are not planning changes anytime soon. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General released a report Friday that found “dangerous overcrowding” among adults being held at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center in West Texas.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/border-patrol-holding-900-at-facility-fit-for-125-in-situation-that-could-turn-violent
FIFTY House Democrats and 1 lone Republican are now calling for Trump’s impeachment
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still isn’t ready to impeach Donald Trump but 50 members of her Democratic caucus – and one lone Republican – are out for the president’s political blood. Outside liberal groups say it’s time too, but even after special counsel Robert Mueller essentially called on Congress to pick up where his investigation left off, Pelosi isn’t budging.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7091131/51-House-members-including-1-Republican-calling-Trumps-impeachment.html
Beijing warns US not to underestimate Chinese military
Beijing warned Friday that the US should not underestimate China’s military as the top defence officials from both countries met on the sidelines of a security forum. As Beijing and Washington vie for influence in a region hosting potential flashpoints such as the South China Sea, Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan met Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe for 20 minutes Friday.
https://news.yahoo.com/sino-us-ties-spotlight-asian-security-forum-115054768.html
US Catholic Church reports big rise in sex-abuse allegations
Quantifying its vast sex-abuse crisis, the U.S. Roman Catholic Church said Friday that allegations of child sex abuse by clerics more than doubled in its latest 12-month reporting period, and that its spending on victim compensation and child protection surged above $300 million. During the period from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, 1,385 adults came forward with 1,455 allegations of abuse…
https://www.apnews.com/2953774dff6e40668121a7e4589daaa9
North Korea’s Kim visits factories linked to missile launches
The factories have innocuous names, but analysts say several ostensibly civilian facilities visited by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently are also used to build ballistic missile launchers and other weapons. On Saturday North Korea state news agency KCNA released reports of Kim providing “field guidance” at a number of factories and cities, without specifying when the visits occurred.
https://news.yahoo.com/north-koreas-kim-visits-factories-005325939.html
UK scientists create tiny shape-shifting ‘surgeon’ robots that can make cuts from within the human body
Tiny shape-shifting robots that can make precise cuts within the human body and one day replace surgeons are being developed by scientists in Edinburgh. A team at Heriot-Watt University is starting a project to manufacture the robots, which will be as small as 1 millimetre in diameter, using shape memory alloy. Thanks to this material, the robots will be able to change their shape in response to temperature, contracting to fit into tight spaces…
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/05/31/uk-scientists-create-tiny-shape-shifting-surgeon-robots-can/
Disgruntled city worker kills 12 in Virginia beach resort; suspect also killed
A disgruntled public utility employee opened fire with a handgun on co-workers at a municipal building in Virginia on Friday afternoon, killing 12 people and wounding at least four before he was fatally shot by police, authorities said. The mass shooting in the coastal resort of Virginia Beach was the deadliest instance of U.S. gun violence since November 2018, when a dozen people were slain at a Los Angeles-area bar and grill…
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-virginia-shooting/disgruntled-city-worker-kills-12-in-virginia-beach-resort-suspect-also-killed-idUSKCN1T12JX
U.S. begins collecting higher tariffs on Chinese goods arriving by sea
The United States began collecting higher, 25% tariffs on many Chinese goods arriving in U.S. seaports on Saturday morning in an intensification of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies and drawing retaliation from Beijing. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the tariff increase on a$200 billion list of Chinese goods on May 10, but had allowed a grace period for sea-borne cargoes that departed China before that date…
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-tariffs/u-s-begins-collecting-higher-tariffs-on-chinese-goods-arriving-by-sea-idUSKCN1T22W7
Trump to formally launch 2020 campaign on June 18 in Orlando, Florida
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday he will be formally launching his 2020 re-election campaign on June 18 in Florida, beginning what may prove to be a difficult bid for another four years at the White House. In a tweet, Trump said he would hold a rally with his wife, Melania, Vice President Mike Pence and Pence’s wife Karen at the 20,000-seat Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. “Join us for this historic rally!” he wrote.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump/trump-to-formally-launch-2020-campaign-on-june-18-in-orlando-florida-idUSKCN1T12LK