Joe Biden pondered a most serious, and awkward, question at a campaign stop Friday: What if Barack Obama had been assassinated during his presidential campaign in 2008? Toward the end of an event in Hanover, Biden evoked two of his political heroes, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. Both were assassinated in 1968, Kennedy while running for president.
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:50:41 -0400

Russia will launch the world's first floating nuclear reactor and send it on an epic journey across the Arctic on Friday, despite environmentalists warning of serious risks to the region. Loaded with nuclear fuel, the Akademik Lomonosov will leave the Arctic port of Murmansk to begin its 5,000 kilometre (3,000-mile) voyage to northeastern Siberia. Nuclear agency Rosatom says the reactor is a simpler alternative to building a conventional plant on ground that is frozen all year round, and it intends to sell such reactors abroad.
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 03:01:09 -0400

Only America has more guns than people. Follow the lead of moms demanding action and students marching for their lives, writes candidate Beto ORourke
Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:17:44 -0400

(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here.Hong Kongs rolling political turmoil could prove a tipping point for the world economy, Harvard University economist Carmen Reinhart said.Noting an incidence of shocks that have rattled global growth, including the intensifying U.S.-China trade war, Reinhart cited Hong Kong as among her main concerns. Having previously warned that Hong Kong faces a housing bubble, she said the world economy could be hit by shocks with a bang or with a whisper.One shock that is concerning me a great deal at the moment is the turmoil in Hong Kong, which could impact growth in China and Asia generally, Reinhart said in an interview with Bloomberg Televisions Kathleen Hays.These are not segmented regional effects, these have really global consequences. So what could be a tipping point that could trigger a very significant global slowdown, or even recession -- that would be a candidate, that could be a candidate, said Reinhart, who specializes in international finance.Anti-government protests that began nearly three months ago are pressuring Hong Kongs economy, which already was being squeezed by Chinas slowdown and the trade war.The academics warning comes days after Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said Hong Kongs crisis is on his global worry list.There are clearly problems in Hong Kong that could spill over in a broader sense into international markets, Rosengren told Bloomberg Television this week. Its one of the great global cities so we do have to be concerned about how that all gets resolved.On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who authored a 1992 law that granted special trading privileges to Hong Kong, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the Senate will reconsider that special relationship, among other steps, if Hong Kongs autonomy is eroded.The less dramatic part, but nonetheless very real, is already taking a situation that was weaker, where we have seen a slowdown of significant proportions, and just making it worse, Reinhart said.Economists say new tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened on $300 billion of Chinese goods would drag Chinas annual economic growth below 6%, according to a Bloomberg survey, which would be the slowest expansion since 1990.Tipping points dont always need big drama, Reinhart said.To contact the reporter on this story: Enda Curran in Hong Kong at ecurran8@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Chris BourkeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 01:03:52 -0400

A Chinese survey vessel on Saturday extended its activities to an area closer to Vietnam's coastline, ship tracking data showed, after the United States and Australia expressed concern about China's actions in the disputed waterways. The Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel first entered Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) early last month where it began a weeks-long seismic survey, triggering a tense standoff between military and coastguard vessels from Vietnam and China. The Chinese vessel continued to survey Vietnam's EEZ on Saturday under escort from at least four ships and was around 102 kilometres (63 miles) southeast of Vietnam's Phu Quy island and 185 kilometres (115 miles) from the beaches of the southern city of Phan Thiet, according to data from Marine Traffic, a website that tracks vessel movements.
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 01:35:00 -0400

A strain of Salmonella found in beef and soft cheeses in the United States and Mexico has been found resistant to antibiotics, according to the CDC.
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 12:34:17 -0400

Leon Haughton told The Washington Post he was jailed for 82 days after customs officials in Baltimore alleged that the three jars of honey were meth.
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 16:42:21 -0400

The president has crowed about the state of the economy despite words of caution from within his administration.
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 08:19:22 -0400

Mountain fire races across hundreds of acres in just hours as wildfire season looms large over the stateThis photo provided by Cal Fire shows an aerial view of the Mountain Fire on 22 August. Photograph: APA fast-moving wildfire that broke out on Thursday in northern California has forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 residents, racing across at least 600 acres within just a few hours, officials say. The Mountain fire, which erupted on the outskirts of a national forest in northern California, has threatened 1,110 homes and structures. As of Friday morning the fire was 40% contained , according to Cal Fire.The cause of the fire is under investigation.Photos of the blaze posted on Twitter by the Shasta county sheriffs office showed thick black and gray smoke billowing into the area over a highway near the Shasta-Trinity national forest.Jones Valley and Bella Vista area residents! This situation is very fluid and rapidly changing, if you do not see your road listed but feel you are in danger YOU MAY EVACUATE to Shasta College Gymnasium, the sheriffs department said in a separate tweet.The Mountain fire is threatening thousands of homes and forcing evacuations. Photograph: APThe Shasta College campus was closed along with Highway 299 and about a dozen smaller roads. Residents of small communities in the path of the flames were told to evacuate or be prepared to flee on short notice.California was hit by some of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in a century last year and state officials have warned this years fire season could be similarly intense.The Camp fire, which broke out in Butte county in November and overran the town of Paradise, killed 86 people and left thousands of others homeless. State fire investigators determined that the Camp fire was sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric Co transmission lines.The Mountain fire broke out on the same day that Bernie Sanders, the senator and Democratic presidential candidate, unveiled his $16.3tn climate change plan and toured Paradise, which he called a wake-up call for our entire nation.Climate change is a major, major crisis for our country, and the entire world, and one of the manifestations of that crisis is what happened here, Sanders said as he walked through a burned-out mobile home park in Paradise alongside people who lost their homes in last Novembers deadly blaze.
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:23:16 -0400

The campaign manager for Bernie Sanders emphasized Thursday that New Hampshire is a critical presidential primary state he expects Sanders to win, but he's leaving room for a scenario in which Sanders falls short. Faiz Shakir said he doesn't "like the language of must-win," though he does believe it is an important early voting state.
Thu, 22 Aug 2019 20:44:00 -0400