Today's News: August 10, 2018

World News

Airstrike by U.S.-backed Saudi coalition on bus kills dozens of Yemeni children
Washington Post – Dozens of civilians, mostly children, were killed or injured in an airstrike on Thursday by U.S. allies on a bus in a crowded market in northern Yemen, according to health officials and international aid agencies.

Israeli and Saudi Forces Strike Civilian Targets as War Heats Up in the Middle East
Need to Know – Israel military is attacking Palestinian civilians in retaliation against Hamas for launching rockets into Israeli territory.

Argentina defeats bill to allow killing babies in abortions
Life News – Members of the Argentina Senate voted Wednesday against legislation that would legalize abortions on unborn babies up to 14 weeks of age and older in some circumstances. Senators voted 38-31 against the measure while two lawmakers abstained.
Argentina currently prohibits unborn babies from being aborted except in cases of rape, severe disabilities or threats to the mother’s life.

Trump Authorizes Doubling Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Imports From Turkey
Sputnik – President Donald Trump said in a statement on Friday that he has doubled the steel and aluminum tariffs already in place against imports from Turkey.

Turkey Currency Collapses; Edges Closer to Finanical Meltdown
CNBC – The Turkish lira added to its steep losses on Friday, hitting a record low after President Donald Trump announced he was doubling metals tariffs on Turkey.

The lira traded down 15 percent against the U.S. dollar at 6.42 after Trump made the comment in a tweet. The currency also fell 20 percent earlier in the day, reaching a record low.

Korea says US ‘throwing cold water’ on denuclearisation progress
AFP – North Korea on Thursday accused the United States of acting in bad faith, saying Washington’s push for full sanctions pressure against Pyongyang would stall progress on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

Greece Recalls Ambassador From Russia – Source
Sputnik – Tensions between Athens and Moscow have been running high recently, as in July, Greece expelled two Russian diplomats from the country over national security concerns, prompting Russia to retaliate.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

DC Ramps Up Security For C’ville Rally Anniversary Event Outside White House
AP – Government and police officials in the nation’s capital say they are confident the city can manage this weekend’s planned white nationalist rally without violence. Meanwhile Washington’s robust local activist community is also gearing up for counter-protests.
The Unite the Right 2 rally will take place Sunday afternoon in Lafayette Park in front of the White House. The rally is timed for the one-year anniversary of the first Unite the Right in Charlottesville, Virginia, which devolved into chaos and violence resulting in the death of a counter-protester.

Russians ‘could have thrown switch’ on U.S. power grid
WND – An expert from the London Center for Policy Research has confirmed that the Russians could do the same thing with a few computer commands.
Writing for the New York Sun, Betsy McCaughey bluntly warned, “Kremlin-connected cyber-criminals are capable of turning off our electric power from afar while power-plant employees watch helplessly.”
She cited Department of Homeland Security briefings in recent weeks that warned Russian hackers already are practicing how to “throw the switch and cause a blackout.”

NRA, Second Amendment Foundation File Suit Against Edmonds, Wash., Gun Storage Law
Washington Free Beacon – The National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation filed a suit against a second city in Washington State this week.
In the lawsuit, the gun-rights groups claimed that the city of Edmonds, Wash., violated the state’s preemption law by passing their own ordinance requiring gun owners to store their firearms so that they are locked and inaccessible when the owner isn’t actively carrying or using them. The plaintiffs claimed that the city’s ordinance could hamper residents’ ability to defend themselves and their homes. The gun-rights groups said that when the ordinance goes into effect on August 23, 2018, their members as well as the two local residents who signed on to the suit could face up to $10,000 in fines per infraction.

Trump Slams NFL Players Again for Kneeling During Anthem: ‘Find Another Way to Protest’
Washington Free Beacon – President Donald Trump on Friday continued to slam NFL players’ national anthem protests, recommending players “Be happy, be cool” and “Find another way to protest.”
During Thursday’s warmup games, several players took a knee, raised a fist, or did not take to the field while the national anthem was played, CNN reported.
“The NFL players are at it again – taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem,” the president tweeted.

Nancy Pelosi Is ‘Number One Albatross’ for Democrats Heading Into Midterms, Chaffetz Says
Fox – With November’s midterm elections looming, some Democrats are distancing themselves from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Mueller To Subpoena Roger Stone’s Alleged “Backchannel” To WikiLeaks: MSNBC
Zero Hedge – Special Counsel Robert Mueller will reportedly subpoena Randy Credico – the man Roger Stone claimed was his backchannel to WikiLeaks, one day after Credico told MSNBC’s Ari Melber that Mueller had previously requested a voluntary interview, which he declined on the advice of his attorney.

West Virginia lawmakers move to impeach entire Supreme Court
Fox News – West Virginia’s House Judiciary Committee moved to impeach the state’s entire Supreme Court this week.
The committee filed 14 articles of impeachment against the four judges on Tuesday, and they will now go to the full House of Delegates for a vote.
The articles allege the justices – Chief Justice Margaret Workman and Justices Allen Loughry, Robin Davis and Elizabeth Walker – have engaged in corruption, incompetency, neglect of duty, maladministration and certain high crimes.
The justices are also accused of “wasteful spending of taxpayer funds on lavish office renovations,” using public vehicles for personal matters and creating a plan to pay certain senior judges more than is lawful, the committee said.

US College Rejects Student Applicant for Following Alex Jones on Twitter
Need to Know – Attorney Braley Shear says universities are attempting to reshape society by discriminating against students based on political ideologies and by marginalizing conservative viewpoints. He warned teens to audit their digital profiles and lock down their social-media accounts during the college-application process.

WikiLeaks says Senate panel requested Assange testimony for Russia probe
The Hill – WikiLeaks is claiming that the Senate Intelligence Committee has asked its founder, Julian Assange, to testify as part of the panel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The organization posted a letter on its Twitter account dated Aug. 1 that purports to come from committee leaders Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) requesting that he make himself available “for a closed door interview with bipartisan Committee staff at a mutually agreeable time and location.”

Proposed First Amendment Regulations In Washington, D.C. Could Set A Precedent
Activist Post – The National Park Service is asking for the public’s opinion on proposed revisions to Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 7.96 for the National Mall, President’s Park and other national parks in the Washington, D.C. area, proposing a First Amendment permit for those locations. Yes, you read that right a “First Amendment permit” with regulations is being proposed in Washington D.C., which could potentially set a precedent for anyone who wants to stand up for a cause elsewhere in the United States

Economy & Business

China Should Cut Its Losses In the Trade War By Conceding Defeat to Donald Trump
South China Morning Post – Xu Yimiao writes that China is running out of retaliatory tariffs against the US and has watched other major parties like the EU and Japan close ranks against it. Before the trade war gets more severe, Beijing’s leaders should seek direct talks with Trump, and may have to swallow their pride.
Some serious discussions are going on in China as the country faces an escalating trade war with the United States, slowing domestic growth and increasing investment restrictions in the US and Europe. There seems to be recognition that the previous playbook drafted by hardliners has not worked and Beijing needs to change its strategy.
Beijing’s strategy of a tit-for-tat retaliation over tariffs has clearly failed. In fact, this strategy escalated the conflict. The direct retaliation after the US announced the first batch of 25 per cent tariffs on US$50 billion in Chinese goods (with the increase from US$34 billion just finalised and coming into effect on August 23) brought few benefits for China. If anything, it gave the US an excuse to plan for a new batch of tariffs covering US$200 billion in Chinese goods. To be fair, it is possible that the US would have escalated the conflict even if China had not retaliated, but whatever the case may be, China’s strategy did not work.

What If Banks Were Publicly Owned? In LA, This May Soon Be A Reality
HuffPost – Public Bank LA, is leading the revival of an idea that had largely been discarded until the financial crisis. In November, Los Angeles voters will have the opportunity to approve a public bank for the city. If the measure passes, it would become the first government-owned bank developed in the United States since 1919.

Energy & Environment

Court orders ban on pesticide that could harm babies’ brains, says EPA violated law
USA Today – A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping a widely used pesticide on the market despite extensive scientific evidence that even tiny levels of exposure can harm babies’ brains.
Fire chief: Suspect in Holy Fire that put 20,000 under evacuation order texted, ‘The place is going to burn’
CNN – The man accused of starting a Southern California blaze that forced the evacuation of 20,000 residents sent a text to a volunteer fire chief two weeks ago saying, “The place is going to burn,” the chief said Thursday.
The Holy Fire started Monday in the Cleveland National Forest’s Holy Jim Canyon and has so far destroyed a dozen structures, according to fire authorities.
Holy Jim Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Milligan, 71, says he’s known the arson suspect, Forrest Gordon Clark, for decades and has long warned that he posed a danger to the community.

Medicine Residue Is Everywhere in Our Rivers and Lakes – and Fish Are Behaving Strangely
Natural Blaze – For all the well-documented sources of environmental pollution—think chemical manufacturers, energy plants, mining operations and agricultural processes—there’s another major source of contamination that continues to get short shrift by those charged with protecting the nation’s waterways and the public’s health: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
“Across the board, we don’t have our heads around this problem,” said Emma Rosi, senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. And considering America’s voracious appetite for pharmaceuticals—there were 3.7 billion drugs ordered or provided through physician visits alone in 2015—the scope of the problem is unsurprisingly staggering.
Chemical compounds found in pharmaceutical and personal care products are showing up ubiquitously in the nation’s rivers, lakes, groundwater and drinking water—even remote regions of national parks. Up to 80 percent of streams in the U.S. alone are contaminated with chemicals, including pharmaceuticals, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Science & Technology

Buzz Aldrin Calls Space Force ‘One Giant Leap’
Newsmax – Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, is impressed with the Trump administration’s Space Force plan.
On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence announced plans for a new, separate U.S. Space Force as sixth military service by 2020.
Pence said the force is needed to retain America’s dominance in space amid heightened completion and threats from China and Russia.
Trump tweeted on Thursday: “Space Force all the way!”
On Friday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine touted the plan during an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” saying it is not too ambitious to have up and running by 2020.

Gene-editing startups ignite the next ‘Frankenfood’ fight
Reuters – In a suburban Minneapolis laboratory, a tiny company that has never turned a profit is poised to beat the world’s biggest agriculture firms to market with the next potential breakthrough in genetic engineering – a crop with “edited” DNA.
Calyxt Inc, an eight-year-old firm co-founded by a genetics professor, altered the genes of a soybean plant to produce healthier oil using the cutting-edge editing technique rather than conventional genetic modification.
Seventy-eight farmers planted those soybeans this spring across 17,000 acres in South Dakota and Minnesota, a crop expected to be the first gene-edited crop to sell commercially, beating out Fortune 500 companies.

NASA counts down to launch of first spacecraft to ‘touch Sun’
AFP – NASA counted down Friday to the launch of a $1.5 billion spacecraft that aims to plunge into the Sun’s sizzling atmosphere and become humanity’s first mission to explore a star.
The car-sized Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to blast off on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida early Saturday.

Acclaimed Venezuelan News Site Latest Victim in Facebook Censorship Spree
Sputnik – Facebook has removed the page of yet another media outlet. This time, it’s not a far right fringe network like Infowars, but “Venezuela’s only independent, grassroots leftwing English media platform,” the outlet, Venezuela Analysis, noted on Twitter.
Publishers for the news outlet were informed by Facebook on Thursday that their page had been “unpublished” due to “recent activity” that “doesn’t follow the Facebook Pages Terms.” When a Facebook page is unpublished, it becomes no longer viewable to the public, only to the administrators. Venezuela Analysis will have the option to appeal the decision.
It isn’t clear what specific activity prompted the move.

Gardening, Farming & Homesteading

Six ‘Lost’ Off-Grid Lessons From The Amish Community
Off The Grid News – My Amish friend, Ezra, said that over the course of the past year or so, more and more folks that routinely engage the services of his community have mentioned the disturbing events going on in the world. Additionally, these people have asked for tips to help them rediscover the Appalachian ways of the past as well as traditional homesteading skills.
Amish Community Homesteading Skills:

How To Sew By Hand
How To Farm Without Machines
How To Take Advantage Of Off-Grid Power
How To Identify Plants And Trees
How To Use Hand Tools
How To Homeschool

Health

Norway to test free heroin for drug addicts
AFP – orway, which has one of the highest deadly drug overdose rates in Europe, will test prescribing free heroin to the most serious addicts to improve their living conditions, the government said on Friday.

Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Eyes Can Be ‘Read’ for Early Detection
Newsmax – The latest Alzheimer’s breakthrough is focused on eyes, which researchers are saying can be “read” for early detection of the disease.
A new study by the Washington School of Medicine, published in the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal, found a connection between degenerative eye diseases and Alzheimer’s disease, The Express reported.
People with eye conditions such age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma were found be at a higher risk of developing the degenerative brain disorder, which leads to cognitive decline and memory loss.

Top 7 Colloidal Oatmeal Benefits for Skin
Dr. Axe – Colloidal oatmeal is a natural product that is created by grinding oat grains (Avena sativa) into a very fine powder. By grinding the oats, they are capable of being evenly dispersed and completely mixed into a bath or into various skin care products. Colloidal oatmeal is scientifically known to have a complex chemical makeup, including proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, flavonoids, vitamins and minerals. This special form of oatmeal has a long history of use in skin care due to its cleansing, moisturizing, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. (2)
Can you eat colloidal oatmeal? It is not meant for internal use, but plain, pure colloidal oatmeal really is the same as regular oats; they’re just oats in a ground-up, powdery state. So colloidal oatmeal is definitely intended for topical use, but if you create it at home by grinding up your breakfast oats, then yes, you are using a perfectly edible skin care product, which is pretty awesome in terms of purity and safety!
7 Health Benefits of Colloidal Oatmeal:

Decreases Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema) Symptoms
Treats Psoriasis
Relieves Sunburn
Helps Manage Rashes and Bug Bites
Improves Dry, Irritated Skin
Naturally Treats Hives
Improves Skin Health for Pets

Pet News

Beware: Your Dog’s Food May Be Deadly
Newsmax – It’s been a “ruff” time lately for the pet food industry. Celebrity chef Rachael Ray was slapped with a $5 million lawsuit against her dog food brand, Nutrish, claiming that it contains harmful chemicals. According to reports, the food allegedly contains glyphosate, a herbicide found in common weed killers like Roundup.
In a separate blockbuster announcement, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert warning pet owners that popular grain-free foods containing peas, lentils, legumes or potatoes as the main ingredients cay cause a potentially fatal heart condition in dogs called canine dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM.