RT

The US market saw a significant plunge in investment from China in the first five months of the year amid a growing trade row between the world’s two largest economies.

Chinese investments totaled $1.8 billion from January through May, representing a 92-percent drop against the same period a year ago. That’s the lowest level in seven years, according to the latest report by Rhodium Group, a research provider that tracks Chinese foreign investment.   Continue reading “China cuts US investments by 92% amid escalating trade war”

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After repeatedly suing the Trump administration over U.S. immigration policies, California will find itself in an unusual position Wednesday: defending protections for people in the country illegally against a court challenge by the federal government.

U.S. Judge John Mendez in Sacramento will hear arguments from attorneys for the state and the U.S. Justice Department about a federal request to block three California laws. He was not expected to rule immediately.   Continue reading “California to defend immigration laws against Trump”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors were expected to begin making their case Wednesday against a Southern California couple suspected of starving and shackling their children in a case that drew worldwide headlines when the parents were arrested last winter.

David and Louise Turpin are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in Superior Court in Riverside, where a judge will weigh whether authorities have amassed enough evidence for a trial. The couple has pleaded not guilty to torture, child abuse and other charges. They were arrested after their 17-year-old daughter jumped out of a window to escape the family’s Perris, California, home in January and called 911.  Continue reading “Hearing set for California parents accused of shackling kids”

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CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago teenager will be sentenced Wednesday for using a gun given to her by an uncle to kill another girl in what started as a Facebook feud over a boy, ending a chapter in a case that came to symbolize how the gun violence that plagues parts of the city passes from one generation to the next.

The teen, who turns 19 next month, pleaded guilty in January to first-degree murder in the April 2014 killing of Endia Martin, when both were 14 years old, and attempted first-degree murder in the wounding of Lanekia Reynolds, the girl she went to fight that day.  Continue reading “Chicago teen to be sentenced in 2014 Facebook feud slaying”

RT

As many as 85 percent of the world’s one billion legal and illicit firearms are held by civilians – far exceeding the number of those held by modern armed forces and law enforcement agencies, a Swiss-based think tank revealed.

There are roughly one billion firearms in the world, and the vast majority of them are in civilian – not military – hands, according to a new study by a think tank in Switzerland.  Continue reading “85% of world’s 1bn firearms held by civilians, study shows”

RT

US Senators have voted to block the sale of F-35s to Turkey, slamming their NATO ally for plans to buy Russian S-400 missile batteries. Ankara warned of “an alternative” should the deal be called off.

The first of the 100 US-made F-35 fighter jets were to be delivered to Turkey on June 21 but now the whole deal might be off as the US Senators voted to kill the sale. The bill, which is yet to be approved by President Donald Trump, passed the Senate floor on Monday, with 85 votes in favor and 10 against.   Continue reading “No F-35s for Turkey: US Senate blocks sale of fighter jets to Ankara”

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A coalition of Democratic attorneys general demanded Tuesday that the Trump administration end a “zero tolerance” policy that has resulted in children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Led by New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, 21 top state prosecutors from California to Massachusetts sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Tuesday, calling the policy inhumane and draconian.   Continue reading “Democratic attorneys general urge end to border separations”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports as the two nations move closer to a potential trade war. The tariffs, which Trump wants set at a 10 percent rate, would be the latest round of punitive measures in an escalating dispute over the large trade imbalance between the two countries. Trump recently ordered tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods in retaliation for intellectual property theft. The tariffs were quickly matched by China on U.S. exports, a move that drew the president’s ire.  Continue reading “In tit-for-tat, Trump threatens more tariffs against China”

RT

A global shortage of sand is prompting black-market gangs to steal large amounts from rivers and beaches. Scientists are warning that the global supply of sand is slipping through our fingers.

Statistics show that worldwide, we go through 50 billion tons of sand every year – twice the amount produced by every river in the world during the same period.  Continue reading “World running out of sand, making it the black market’s hot commodity”

RT

Moscow will continue dumping US debt, according to analysts who spoke to RT. Latest US Treasury Department data shows Russia cut its holdings by half in April.

That month, Russia sold $47.4 billion out of the $96.1 billion held in March. The latest statistics released by the US Treasury on Friday showed that, Russia had only $48.7 billion investment in American debt, dropping from 16th to the 22nd place of major foreign holders of US T-bills. Russia now holds less US debt than the small island nation of Bermuda.   Continue reading “Russia holds less US debt than Bermuda after dumping half its holdings”

Mail.com

The Trump administration’s move to separate immigrant parents from their children on the U.S.-Mexico border has grabbed attention around the world, drawn scorn from human-rights organizations and overtaken the immigration debate in Congress.

It’s also a situation that has been brewing since the week President Donald Trump took office, when he issued his first order signaling a tougher approach to asylum-seekers. Since then, the administration has been steadily eroding protections for immigrant children and families.  Continue reading “Protections for immigrants erode under Trump since inaugural”

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TOKYO (AP) — Residents in western Japan were cleaning up debris Monday evening after a powerful earthquake hit the area around Osaka, the country’s second-largest city, killing four people and injuring hundreds while knocking over walls and setting off fires.

The magnitude 6.1 earthquake that struck the area early Monday damaged buildings and left many homes without water or gas. The quake also grounded flights in and out of Osaka and paralyzed traffic and commuter trains most of the day.   Continue reading “Strong quake near Osaka, Japan, kills 4, knocks over walls”

RT

A three-month operation has resulted in the arrest of more than 2,300 suspected child sex offenders, including a Secret Service employee, the Justice Department has announced. The investigation also identified 383 abused children.

The nationwide operation, dubbed “Broken Heart,” ended in May. Conducted by Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) taskforces working in all 50 states, the operation was carried out by more than 4,500 law enforcement agencies at federal, state, local and tribal levels.   Continue reading “US Secret Service employee among 2,300 suspected child sex offenders nabbed in nationwide operation”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is expected to criticize the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, stepping into a political minefield while examining how a determinedly nonpartisan law enforcement agency came to be entangled in the 2016 presidential race.

The inspector general’s report, set for release Thursday afternoon, is expected to be painstakingly detailed and represents the culmination of an 18-month review into one of the most consequential FBI investigations in recent history.  Continue reading “Report on FBI actions in Clinton email case set for release”

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DENVER (AP) — A fast-moving brush fire destroyed eight homes in the Utah tourist town of Moab, while more than 3,000 people in Colorado and Wyoming fled multiple wildfires scorching the drought-stricken U.S. West on Wednesday.

The blaze in Moab, known for its dramatic red rocks, started in a wooded area Tuesday night and quickly spread to homes over less than a square mile (kilometer), Police Chief Jim Winder said. Crews were extinguishing embers Wednesday.  Continue reading “‘Like dominoes’: Utah homes burn as wildfires menace US West”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Californians will face a choice this November of whether to divide the nation’s most populous state into three, an effort that would radically shake up not only the West Coast, but the entire nation.

The “Cal 3” initiative is driven by venture capitalist Tim Draper, who has tried and failed in the past to place an effort to break up California on the ballot, including a bid in 2016 to create six separate states. Backers of the measure argue California has become “ungovernable” because of its economic and geographic diversity as well as its population approaching 40 million people.   Continue reading “Big hurdles for bold push to split California into 3 states”

RT

As US intelligence services struggle to store the trove of data collected during its snooping operations, a team of researchers are developing radical new storage technology based on an unusual model – human DNA.

The Molecular Information Storage program, run by the rather protractively-named Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), is recruiting scientists to help develop a system for storing huge amounts of data on “sequence-controlled polymer,” molecules with a similar makeup and structure to DNA.  Continue reading “US intelligence developing human DNA-like models to hoard your personal data”

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SEATTLE (AP) — A tax on large companies such as Amazon that was meant to fight a growing homelessness crisis got rolled back during a raucous Seattle City Council meeting that exposed divisions over how much companies that have fueled booming economies should help pay to alleviate the downsides of success.

A divided crowd chanted, jeered and booed at the meeting, drowning out city leaders as they cast a 7-2 vote Tuesday. People shouted, “Stop the repeal,” as others unfurled a large red banner that read, “Tax Amazon.” An opposing group held “No tax on jobs” signs.  Continue reading “Will Amazon’s work to kill Seattle tax spook other cities?”

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters’ decision to reduce penalties for drug and property crimes in 2014 contributed to a jump in car burglaries, shoplifting and other theft, researchers reported.

Larcenies increased about 9 percent by 2016, or about 135 more thefts per 100,000 residents than if tougher penalties had remained, according to results of a study by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California released Tuesday.  Continue reading “Thefts rise after California reduces criminal penalties”

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AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine Republicans and Democrats wrestled Tuesday with new ballots that let them rank some candidates for the first time. The ballots asked voters to fill in ovals to rank gubernatorial candidates and a few legislative and federal hopefuls from first to last.

Maine became the first state to adopt a system called ranked-choice voting, which made its statewide debut in the primary election. What will ranked-choice voting mean for Maine? Some of Maine’s 11 Democratic and Republican candidates hoping to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Paul LePage encouraged supporters to test the limits of the never-before-used statewide primary system.   Continue reading “AP EXPLAINS: What does ranked-choice voting mean for Maine?”