Pittsburgh shooting suspect appears in court over attack that left 11 dead
Three congregations were conducting Sabbath services at Tree of Life when the attack began on Saturday morning. A man accused of killing 11 Jewish worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend appeared in federal court on Monday to face multiple charges that federal law enforcement officials said could result in the suspect’s execution.
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Global wildlife populations fall 60 per cent as WWF declares state of emergency for natural world
Conservationists have issued a demand for urgent international action after a major report uncovered an unprecedented crisis in nature that threatens to devastate the world economy and imperil humanity itself. Only a global pact on the scale of the Paris Agreement on climate change will save the natural world from irreversible collapse, the World Wide Fund for Nature said after publishing a report showing a cataclysmic decline in global wildlife populations. Global vertebrate populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as human activity destroys their natural habitats in grasslands, forests, waterways and oceans, the organisation said. Until the turn of the 20th century, humanity’s consumption of the world’s natural resources was smaller than Earth’s ability to replenish itself. But over the past 50 years expanding agricultural activity and the over-exploitation of natural resources to feed a growing world population, particularly its booming middle class, has pushed many ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, is being cleared for soy monoculture Credit: Adriano Gambarni/ PA “Humans are living beyond the planet’s means and wiping out life on earth in the process,” the report warns. From the savannahs of Africa to the rain forests of South America and oceans across the world, few wildlife populations have been spared. While great attention has been given to the impact of poaching on elephants and rhinos in Africa, the story has been more dismal in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 89 percent of indigenous mammals like the jaguar and anteater have been wiped out. Statistics are just as grim in the world’s rivers, lakes and seas. More than 80 per cent of freshwater populations has vanished, with freshwater fish accounting for a higher rate of extinction than any other vertebrate. Since 1950 nearly 6bn tonnes of fish and other seafood have been removed from the world’s oceans. Employees move freshly caught fish at a factory in the Angolan coastal city of Benguela Credit: AFP For surviving populations the impact of human activity is also stark: some 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their stomach, compared to just 5 per cent in 1960. Plastic pollution now stretches across the seas of the earth, even reaching the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest natural point in the world. With just a quarter of the planet’s land now free from human impact, the space bird, reptile and mammal populations' need to recover is growing ever more limited. “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last that can do anything about it,” said Tanya Steele, chief executive of the WWF. “The collapse of global wildlife populations is a warning sign that nature is dying." As tragic as the collapse of wildlife populations is, the impact of habitat loss will have a profound impact on human wellbeing, conservationists say. Man’s encroachment on nature threatens agriculture itself, because crops pollinated by animals account for 35 per cent of global food production, while habitat loss means that the soil for crops to grow is not being replenished with nutrients. Under threat | The 19 species on the World Wildlife Fund's critically endangered list The loss of South American rainforests has reduced rainfall thousands of miles away, also imperilling crop production. As many as 70,000 species of plants are used commercially or in medicine, posing a danger to efforts to fight disease and protect industry. Yet the issue, conservationists say, is not being taken as seriously as climate change — even though protecting nature can help mitigate the impact of global warming — which is why it is essential for big business and government to come together to find a solution to the crisis. “The statistics are scary, but all hope is not lost,” said Ken Norris, director of science at the Zoological Society of London, which collaborated on the report. “We have an opportunity to design a new way forward that allows us to coexist sustainably with the wildlife we depend on.”
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Turkey presses Saudi to say who sent Khashoggi killers: Erdogan
Saudi prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb held talks with Istanbul's prosecutor on Monday and Tuesday about Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which has escalated into a crisis for the world's top oil exporter. Riyadh at first denied any knowledge of, or role in, his disappearance four weeks ago but Mojeb has contradicted those statements, saying the killing of Khashoggi, a critic of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was premeditated. The case has put into focus the West's close relationship with Saudi Arabia - a major arms buyer and lynchpin of Washington's regional plans to contain Iran - given the widespread scepticism over its initial response.
All 189 on board crashed Indonesian jet feared dead
All 189 passengers and crew aboard a crashed Indonesian Lion Air jet were likely killed in the accident, rescue officials said Monday, as they announced they had found human remains and would continue the grim search through the night. The Boeing-737 MAX, which went into service just months ago, vanished from radar 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, plunging into the Java Sea moments after it had asked to return to the Indonesian capital. Earlier, video footage apparently filmed at the scene of the crash showed a slick of fuel on the surface of the water and pictures showed what appeared to be an emergency slide and bits of wreckage bearing Lion Air's logo.
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Indonesia military chief 'strongly believes' crashed jet found
The smashed fuselage of a crashed Indonesian jetliner may have been found, the country's military chief said Wednesday, two days after the deadly accident feared to have killed 189 people. Hadi Tjahjanto said authorities were confident sonar technology had pinpointed the location of the Boeing 737-MAX plane that plunged into the sea on Monday. "We strongly believe we've determined the coordinates of the JT 610 fuselage," he told reporters in Jakarta.
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Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting: Iranian immigrant raises more than $650,000 for Jewish victims
Shay Khatiri first heard about the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue from a friend. Mr Khatiri, who had been crashing on his Jewish friend’s couch for several months, woke up to see his friend visibly shaken from the tragic news and wanted to do something. “I thought about [making] a small donation, and then I thought it’d be better if I start this campaign,” Mr Khatiri told The Independent.
Rabbi Has One Haunting Question For Trump Defender After Synagogue Shooting
Cesar Sayoc in court: Pipe bomb suspect allegedly 'had list of people in hundreds' to send packages to as another intercepted in Atlanta
Shackled and wearing a beige jumpsuit, the man accused of sending at least 14 pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and critics of the president has been formally charged with five federal crimes in a Miami courtroom. The first court appearance of Cesar Sayoc, 56, came just hours after a 15th suspicious package was intercepted in Atlanta on its way to the CNN headquarters - what may have been the last in a series the suspect was able to mail from a list of, reportedly, hundreds of potential targets. In response to that package, CNN president Jeff Zucker said all domestic mail had been screened at off-site locations since last week, when it received two other packages addressed to the network's contributors, and bomb squads were called in to the Atlanta post office where the package was detected.
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Saudi prosecutor at Istanbul consulate where Khashoggi was killed
Saudi Arabia's chief prosecutor on Tuesday visited the consulate in Istanbul where journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. The head of the Saudi investigation, Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, who last week acknowledged that the killing was "premeditated", did not make a statement as he arrived at the diplomatic compound. Earlier in the day he met Istanbul chief prosecutor Irfan Fidan for the second time.
Pittsburgh shooter suspect Robert Bowers appears in court in wheelchair as prosecutor seek death penalty
The man accused of shooting dead 11 people inside a Pittsburgh synagogue, an incident described by prosecutors as “a horrific act of violence”, has appeared in court in a wheelchair where 29 charges were read to him aloud. Robert Bowers, 46, who is said to have written a number of racist and antisemitic social media posts before carrying out the rampage, was wheeled into the court in handcuffs and was asked if he understood the charges levelled against him. CNN said that Mr Bowers, dressed in a blue shirt, briefly had the handcuffs removed so he could sign legal documents.
India Unveils World’s Tallest Statue, Twice the Size of Lady Liberty
Birthright citizenship: Trump claims only the US grants it, he's wrong - CNN
CNN |
Birthright citizenship: Trump claims only the US grants it, he's wrong
CNN (CNN) US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to end birthright citizenship -- the process by which babies born in the country automatically become citizens -- by executive order, while claiming the US was the only nation around the world to grant such ... Trump's proposal to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional In Campaign's Homestretch, Trump Tosses Out Ideas to See What Sticks Rewriting the Fourteenth Amendment |
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Former prosecutor hopes James 'Whitey' Bulger's death is 'the end of a very sad chapter in Boston's history' - CNN
CNN |
Former prosecutor hopes James 'Whitey' Bulger's death is 'the end of a very sad chapter in Boston's history'
CNN (CNN) In a 3-foot grave near a river not far from Boston, Paul McGonagle's body lay decaying, undisturbed until his remains were found nearly 20 years ago. Parts of a pelvic bone. A fractured skull with decomposed brain matter. A traditional Irish ring ... 'Whitey' Bulger dead: Inmate with Mafia ties investigated in killing 'My life was wasted': Whitey Bulger once sent three teens a rueful letter from prison How did 'Whitey' Bulger die? Here's what we know. |
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The Bizarre And Failed Attempt To Smear Robert Mueller - HuffPost
HuffPost |
The Bizarre And Failed Attempt To Smear Robert Mueller
HuffPost It's hoaxes all the way down in what appears to be an effort to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller with fabricated claims of sexual misconduct. Several media outlets, including HuffPost, received emails earlier this month from a woman claiming ... Plot to Smear Mueller Unravels as FBI Is Asked to Investigate An Apparent Scheme To Discredit Mueller May Have Backfired. He Referred It To The FBI Mueller asks FBI to investigate claims women were offered money to say he behaved inappropriately |
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I got to try out the new iPad Pro, and it's clear that it's Apple's biggest update to the iPad lineup in years - Business Insider
Business Insider |
I got to try out the new iPad Pro, and it's clear that it's Apple's biggest update to the iPad lineup in years
Business Insider NEW YORK CITY — If you want an iPad, any iPad, you can buy a new one for $329. But if you plan to run Photoshop, play advanced games, or use Apple's stylus, called Pencil, you'll want the iPad Pro. Apple updated its iPad Pro lineup on Tuesday with two ... Apple's newest iPad Pros hands-on: The iPad X we expected New iPad Pro 2018 And Pencil: 7 Things Nobody Told You 2018 iPad Pro hands-on: Improving on the world's best tablet |
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World's tallest statue opens amid surge in Indian mega-monuments - CNN
CNN |
World's tallest statue opens amid surge in Indian mega-monuments
CNN The idea that large statues might act as political tools is hardly a novel one. Immortalized figures from the past often serve the interests and ideologies of the present, whether it's Lord Nelson riding proudly above Trafalgar Square or North Korea's ... India unveils the world's tallest statue "World Is Watching": Sardar Patel's Family At Unveiling Of Statue Of Unity PHOTOS: World's Tallest Statue Ready For Its Inauguration In India |
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What if Everyone Voted? - New York Times
New York Times |
What if Everyone Voted?
New York Times In Hawaii, Illinois and Vermont, voters who haven't registered yet will be able to on Election Day, right before they cast a ballot. In Indiana, Mississippi and Georgia, the registration deadline is now weeks past, and registered voters who turn up ... Closed voting sites hit minority counties harder for busy midterm elections What kind of America do you want? 14 writers respond |
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Standing 'Against White Supremacy,' GOP Campaign Chief Rebukes Steve King - New York Times
New York Times |
Standing 'Against White Supremacy,' GOP Campaign Chief Rebukes Steve King
New York Times WASHINGTON — As Pittsburgh began burying the victims of Saturday's synagogue massacre, the head of the House Republican campaign arm all but jettisoned Representative Steve King of Iowa from the House Republican Conference, declaring, “We must ... Land O'Lakes, Purina Pull Support for Iowa Congressman Steve King Over Racial Remarks Land O'Lakes withdraws support for GOP Rep. Steve King after boycott calls |
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Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman on death row - BBC News
BBC News |
Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman on death row
BBC News A Pakistani court has overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, a case that has polarised the nation. Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours. Pakistan acquits Christian woman facing death for blasphemy Pakistan's Top Court Frees Christian Woman on Death Row for Blasphemy Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi has death penalty conviction overturned |
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