Today's News: July 25, 2019

World News

U.S. may have downed more than one Iranian drone, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie says
CBS – The U.S. believes it may have brought down two Iranian drones last week, rather than just the one that has been reported, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told CBS News’ David Martin in an interview Tuesday aboard the USS Boxer, the ship that took action against the drones. Asked by Martin whether it was “only one drone,” McKenzie revealed that he believed the Boxer had engaged two drones “successfully” and perhaps even more.
“As always it was a complex tactical picture, we believe two drones. We believe two drones were successfully — there may have been more that we are not aware of — those are the two that we engaged successfully,” said McKenzie.
“So you, you actually brought down two drones, not just one?” Martin pressed.
“We are confident we brought down one drone, we may have brought down a second,” McKenzie replied.
Martin told CBSN on Tuesday that the incidents occurred about an hour apart during the nine-hour passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The first drone was viewed by the ship as approaching too close, so the Boxer took action, though it’s still not clear exactly what that action was.
US Sends Warship Through Taiwan Strait Hours After China Warns It Is Ready For War
ZeroHedge – The US military said on Wednesday that a guided-missile cruiser had sailed through the Taiwan Strait just hours after the Chinese military criticized Washington for “adding complexity to regional security” and warned it to stay clear of the island or else risk war.
Trump’s support for Taiwan, which recently was cleared by Congress to purchase over $2 billion in US weapons, is among a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and a growing geopolitical conflict in the South China Sea, where China has been expanding its military presence while the United States conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols.
The warship sent to the 112-mile-wide Taiwan Strait was identified as the Antietam. “The (ship’s) transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said in a statement. “The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows,” he added, quoted by Reuters.
150 feared dead in major shipwreck off Libyan coast
RT – Up to one hundred and fifty people are feared to have been killed in a shipwreck off the northwestern Libyan coast, according to the United Nations Refugee agency. Another 150 passengers were reportedly rescued
The ship embarked from the city of Khoms, about 75 miles (120 km) east of Tripoli, and some 300 were thought to be aboard, according to Reuters. It is still unclear whether one or two vessels were involved in the wreck.
North Korea fires new type of short-range ballistic missiles
AP – North Korea fired a new type of short-range ballistic missile in two launches into the sea Thursday, South Korean officials said. They were North Korea’s first weapons launches in more than two months and appeared to be a pressuring tactic as Pyongyang and Washington struggle to restart nuclear negotiations.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from near the eastern coastal town of Wonsan and flew about 430 kilometers (270 miles) and 690 kilometers (430 miles) respectively before landing off the country’s east coast.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff described both missiles as short-range but didn’t elaborate. But after a national security council meeting later Thursday, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said the weapons North Korea launched were assessed as “a new kind of short-range ballistic missiles.”
Ukraine seizes Russian tanker allegedly blocking its ships in Kerch Strait
RT – Ukraine’s security service has seized a Russia-registered oil tanker that allegedly blocked maritime traffic in the Kerch Strait. It comes as both countries discuss the release of Ukrainian sailors detained in the area last year.
The Russian-flagged ship ‘Nika Spirit’ was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and military prosecutors after it moored at the port of Izmail in southwestern Ukraine, according to the agency’s statement. Ukrainian authorities have searched the vessel, seized her logs and communications records, as well as interviewed the crew.
The SBU maintains that the tanker had blocked the passage of Ukrainian Navy ships through the Black Sea’s Kerch Strait in November last year. Citing international maritime codes, the service said that she was allegedly called ‘Neyma’ at the time.
Later in the day, the ship’s owner reported that Nika Spirit’s crew “is safe and heads home,” but the report wasn’t confirmed by the Russian Embassy in Kiev.
PM Boris Johnson addresses MPs for first time, signalling new tougher approach to Brexit
RT – After officially being installed as Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson made his first address to lawmakers in the House of Commons to outline his new government’s approach to solving the Brexit debacle.
Wednesday saw 17 of the 30 ministers who served in Theresa May’s cabinet either sacked or resign, as Johnson exerted his authority on day one.
Addressing MPs, Johnson promised to take Britain out of the EU – deal or no-deal – by the deadline day of October 31. In what ostensibly was a veiled threat to the EU and staunch remainers, he insisted the contentious Irish backstop had to be abolished as a time limit was “not enough.”
The new UK prime minister, a world away from his predecessor’s head teacher-like delivery, revealed that his government would not be nominating a new EU commissioner, to add to his optimism that he can achieve Brexit success.
On domestic policy, Johnson announced that he will commission a report on the UK moving to an Australian-style points-based system for immigration.

U.S. News, Politics & Government

Mueller’s Testimony Bad Result for Dems & Those Who Wanted Evidence to Impeach Trump – SF Politician
Sputnik – Former US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has yet again reiterated during testimony to Congress that his Russia investigation did not uncover evidence of any conspiracy between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.
Reacting to Mueller’s testimony, US President Donald Trump blasted “the phoney cloud” created by the Russia probe and said, “there was no defence to this ridiculous hoax, this witch hunt”.
Richie Greenberg, a delegate on the San Francisco GOP Central Committee and the California GOP, has commented on the impact of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony in Congress.
Sputnik: What do you think of Mueller’s testimony in the House of Representatives? Was it a last-ditch attempt to draw attention to the collusion narrative and begin impeachment proceedings?
Richie Greenberg: It was a very bad result for the Democrats and those who expected some different outcome or different information to be presented, which could give evidence to impeach Trump. But of course, this didn’t happen, there is no additional information nor smoking gun to lead to impeachment. Mueller’s testimony was terrible, scattered, he was a mess and clearly, he had problems understanding the questions he was being asked, or he did not know the information which was in the report/dossier he presented.
Embattled Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigns amid public outcry
NBC – Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced his resignation Wednesday days after demonstrators at the island’s largest protest in recent history called for his ouster over a scandal involving leaked private chats, as well as corruption investigations and arrests.
His resignation, effective Aug. 2, came late Wednesday night on a recorded video published on Facebook. In the message, he touted what he considered accomplishments of his tenure, saying he fought corruption and made strides for different communities.
Jeffrey Epstein ‘found semi-conscious’ in prison cell
BBC – Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein has been taken to hospital after he was found semi-conscious in his prison cell, US media report.
The 66-year-old, who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, was reportedly found sprawled on the floor with injuries to his neck on Wednesday.
Epstein has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
He is being held at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center after he was denied bail last week.
It is unclear how Epstein suffered the injuries and investigators are working to establish what happened. A suicide attempt or an assault have not been ruled out, according to unnamed sources quoted by NBC News.
He was taken to a nearby hospital in Manhattan but his condition has not been made public.
GOP Senator Blocks Election Security Bills After Mueller Testimony
Newsmax – Even after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned of additional foreign meddling in U.S. elections, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., blocked two election security bills and a cybersecurity measure, The Hill is reporting.
The two bills, pushed by Democrats, would require campaigns to notify the FBI and Federal Election Commission about offers of foreign assistance. And another bill would allow the Senate Sergeant at Arms to offer cyber assistance to senators and staff for personal devices.
Hyde-Smith blocked all three bills on Wednesday evening, without offering a reason why The Hill reported. She also did not say whether her objections were personal or if she was representing the Senate GOP caucus. The Hill noted a spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Senate rules stipulate any senator can ask for consent to pass a bill and any senator can object.

Economy & Business

US Treasury Department Announces New Venezuela-Related Sanctions
Sputnik – The United States has been imposing sanctions on Venezuela since a political-economic crisis erupted in the country in January and has frozen billions of dollars’ worth of Venezuelan assets.
The US has imposed a new row of Venezuela-related sanctions, the Treasury Department stated on its website. The new sanctions on Venezuela target 10 individuals and 13 entities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, and other countries, according to the US Treasury Department.
The new batch of sanctions comes after the US Treasury imposed restrictions on four individuals with ties to Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency on 19 July.
USDA Reveals Germany GMO-Free Labeling Program Erodes Demand for US GMO Soybeans
Sustainable Pulse – Germany’s voluntary GMO-free labeling program is gaining momentum, generating $11 billion in sales in the country in 2018, according to a report by the US Dept of Agriculture’s (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) service.
According to the report, German consumers’ increasing awareness of and preference for Ohne Gentechnik (“without genetic engineering”) labelled foods “is also driving demand in the market for GMO-free animal feed, leading to marketing opportunities for growers and producers of non-GMO feed ingredients and additives, while eroding demand for US exports of genetically engineered soy”.
The USDA’s report is a revealing admission from a body that has long been dedicated to promoting the US’s GM crop exports.
Russian gold reserves top $100 billion after adding another 600,000 ounces to its vast stockpile
RT – Russia’s gold reserves rose to more than $100 billion thanks to rising gold prices and the country’s efforts to boost its bullion holdings. In June alone, Russia added more than 18 tons of the precious metal.

Energy & Environment

Europe heatwave breaks more temperature records
BBC – Much of Western Europe is facing record-breaking temperatures again, with the second heatwave in a month set to reach its peak on Thursday.
Germany set a new temperature record, reaching 41.5C (106.7F) in the west.
A red alert was issued in northern France – with Paris temperatures hitting a record-breaking 42.4C.
The UK recorded a record temperature for July of 37.7C and trains were ordered to run more slowly to stop rail tracks buckling in the heat.
The Netherlands also recorded its highest ever temperature, at 39.4C.
California’s nuclear power plants found to be sitting on top of a massive supervolcano filled with 240 cubic miles of magma
NaturalNews -Right smack dab underneath the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California, where a pair of larger earthquakes struck on July 4th and 5th, respectively, sits a new “supervolcano” that a whistleblower from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) warns is brewing with 240 cubic miles of potentially ready-to-erupt magma.
According to the whistleblower, this hidden magma chamber below China Lake, which was only just recently discovered, is far larger even than Yellowstone, which bodes ominous for the future of California, including the handful of nuclear power facilities that sit above it in multiple locales throughout the state.
While the magma chamber is already becoming quite active, it is not yet rising to the surface, this whistleblower claims. But another major earthquake in the area could change all of that, creating a huge fracture that would allow magma to start shooting up from the ground, causing untold widespread destruction.
“FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), the National Guard and other agencies have been alerted and are on standby to evacuate key VIPs,” the whistleblower revealed in a message.

Science & Technology

Neil Armstrong’s Death, and a Stormy, Secret $6 Million Settlement
MSN – When Neil Armstrong died in a Cincinnati hospital two weeks after undergoing heart surgery in 2012, his family released a touching tribute addressing the astronaut’s millions of admirers around the globe.
“Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty,” they wrote, telling fans of the first man to walk on the moon that “the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”
But in private, the family’s reaction to his death at 82 was far stormier. His two sons contended that incompetent post-surgical care at Mercy Health – Fairfield Hospital had cost Mr. Armstrong his life, and even one expert retained by the hospital would find serious problems with his treatment.
The hospital defended the care, but paid the family $6 million to settle the matter privately and avoid devastating publicity, documents show. The hospital insisted on keeping the complaints and the settlement secret.
Mr. Armstrong had undergone bypass surgery in early August 2012, and his wife told The Associated Press afterward that he was “amazingly resilient” and was walking in the corridor. But when nurses removed the wires for a temporary pacemaker, he began to bleed into the membrane surrounding the heart, leading to a cascade of problems that resulted in his death on Aug. 25.
In a scorching July 2014 email to the hospital’s lawyers, Wendy R. Armstrong, a lawyer and the wife of Mr. Armstrong’s son Mark, noted that Mark and his brother, Rick, would soon be traveling to Florida to speak at a ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing.
“This event at Kennedy Space Center will receive national news coverage,” Wendy Armstrong wrote. “Rick and Mark have been solicited by several book writers and filmmakers for ‘information about Neil that no one already knows.’” The lawyer suggested that unless the parties reached a quick settlement, the hospital would be publicly lambasted for giving lethally flawed care to one of America’s most famous and revered public figures.
The medical dispute and secret settlement, never before reported, comes to light days after the 50th anniversary of Mr. Armstrong’s moon walk drew a flood of nostalgic coverage celebrating his feat. The New York Times received by mail from an unknown sender 93 pages of documents related to the astronaut’s treatment and the legal case, including dueling reports by medical experts for the two sides. Some of the documents, though marked “filed under seal,” are publicly available at the probate court’s website, confirming that the documents received by The Times are authentic. An unsigned note included in the envelope said the sender hoped the information would save other lives.
The legal settlement adds a grim footnote to the inspiring story of Mr. Armstrong, who avoided the limelight and never cashed in on his fame. It also illustrates the controversial but common practice of confidential settlements in medical malpractice and other liability cases, which protect reputations but hinder public accountability. And it shows how the extraordinary renown of a figure like Mr. Armstrong can become a powerful hammer in negotiations.
Technocrats Harvest Data from Millions of Underage High School Students
Technocracy news – Three thousand high school students from across the United States recently trekked to a university sports arena here to attend an event with an impressive-sounding name: the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders. Many of their parents had spent $985 on tuition.
Months earlier, the teenagers had received letters, signed by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, congratulating them on being nominated for “a highly selective national program honoring academically superior high school students.”
The students all had good grades. But many of them were selected for the event because they had once filled out surveys that they believed would help them learn about colleges and college scholarships.
Through their schools, many students in the audience had taken a college-planning questionnaire, called MyCollegeOptions. Others had taken surveys that came with the SAT or the PSAT, tests administered by the College Board. In filling out those surveys, the teenagers ended up signing away personal details that were later sold and shared with the future scientists event.
“It wasn’t like I sought out filling in my information for the College Board to sell to other companies,” said Adriana Bay, 19, a sophomore at Vanderbilt University this fall who was solicited by the future scientists event when she was in high school. “You are giving them the liberty to profit off your information.”
But the handling of student surveys is receiving heightened scrutiny, particularly in the wake of revelations about Cambridge Analytica, a voter-profiling company that siphoned off the data of Facebook users who took a personality questionnaire.
In May, the Department of Education issued “significant guidance” that recommended that public schools make clearer to students and their parents that surveys with the SAT and the ACT, a separate college admissions exam, are optional. The notice emphasized that pretest surveys could provide opportunities for families to learn about college choices. But it also reminded schools that parents had the right to inspect all surveys in advance. Parents also have the right to opt their children out of any school-required surveys that touch on sensitive topics like religion, family income or politics.
The new federal guidance could give school districts and state education agencies “leverage to push the College Board and the ACT to either eliminate the voluntary survey when it’s being given in a school,” said Amelia Vance, director of education privacy at the Future of Privacy Forum, an industry-funded think tank, “or take out any questions that would be considered sensitive in a particular state.”
Over the last few years, several states have passed laws that might also limit the spread of some student profiles. The laws generally prohibit online educational vendors to schools from selling students’ personal data or using it for targeted advertising.
ore than three million students who graduated in 2018 took surveys with the ACT, the SAT or the PSAT, which is a college scholarship test given to high school juniors. The College Board charges educational institutions 43 cents per student name. Starting in September, the ACT will charge 45 cents per name.

Health

Research highlights importance of good sleep for prevention of Alzheimer’s
Mercola – Between 1999 and 2014, the death rate for Alzheimer’s disease increased by 55 percent; as of 2014, the annual death toll from Alzheimer’s is thought to be well over half a million.
While genetic factors can raise your risk, Alzheimer’s is largely preventable through healthy lifestyle strategies; anything that promotes insulin resistance will ultimately raise your risk of Alzheimer’s.
Studies have found strong links between poor sleep and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, and, while rarely discussed, your exposure to sunlight and artificial electromagnetic fields also play an important role, as these exposures affect both sleep and brain function
Organic apples contain more ‘good’ bacteria
NaturalNews – To the heroes among you who eat the whole apple: besides extra fiber, flavonoids and flavor, you’re also quaffing 10 times as many bacteria per fruit as your core-discarding counterparts.
Is this a good thing? Probably. But it might depend on how your apples were grown.
Published in Frontiers in Microbiology, a new study shows that organic apples harbor a more diverse and balanced bacterial community – which could make them healthier and tastier than conventional apples, as well as better for the environment.
You are what you eat
Nowhere more so than your bowel.
“The bacteria, fungi and viruses in our food transiently colonize our gut,” says study senior author Professor Gabriele Berg, of Graz University of Technology, Austria. “Cooking kills most of these, so raw fruit and veg are particularly important sources of gut microbes.”
To help us choose our colonic colonists wisely, Berg’s group analyzed the microbiome of one of the world’s favorite fruits: the apple.
“83 million apples were grown in 2018, and production continues to rise,” says Berg. “But while recent studies have mapped their fungal content, less is known about the bacteria in apples.”
The researchers compared the bacteria in conventional store-bought apples with those in visually matched fresh organic ones. Stem, peel, flesh, seeds and calyx – the straggly bit at the bottom where the flower used to be – were analyzed separately.
The organic apple advantage
Overall, the organic and conventional apples were occupied by similar numbers of bacteria.
“Putting together the averages for each apple component, we estimate a typical 240g apple contains roughly 100 million bacteria,” reports Berg.
The majority of the bacteria are in the seeds, with the flesh accounting for most of the remainder. So, if you discard the core – for shame! – your intake falls to nearer 10 million. The question is: are these bacteria good for you?
When it comes to gut health, variety is the spice of life – and in this regard, organic apples seem to have the edge.
“Freshly harvested, organically managed apples harbor a significantly more diverse, more even and distinct bacterial community, compared to conventional ones,” explains Berg. “This variety and balance would be expected to limit overgrowth of any one species, and previous studies have reported a negative correlation between human pathogen abundance and microbiome diversity of fresh produce.”
Specific groups of bacteria known for health-affecting potential also weighed in favor of organic apples.
“Escherichia-Shigella – a group of bacteria that includes known pathogens – was found in most of the conventional apple samples, but none from organic apples. For beneficial Lactobacilli – of probiotic fame – the reverse was true.”
And there may even be vindication for those who can “taste the difference” in organic produce.
“Methylobacterium, known to enhance the biosynthesis of strawberry flavor compounds, was significantly more abundant in organic apples; here especially on peel and flesh samples, which in general had a more diverse microbiota than seeds, stem or calyx.”
Juul told a ninth-grade classroom the device is ‘totally safe’, teens tell Congress as lawmakers scrutinize the company’s marketing to kids
Daily Mail – A Juul spokesman told a ninth-grade classroom the controversial vaping device was ‘totally safe’, two teens from the class told Congress.
The company has been accused of aggressively targeting teens in the marketing of its e-cigarette, which contains the same amount of nicotine per ‘pod’ as an entire pack of cigarettes.
On Wednesday, in the first of two congressional hearings to scrutinize Juul’s actions, students-turned-anti-vaping advocates told lawmakers they were urged to promote Juul in their social circles, despite already grappling with Juul addiction.
They said the representative addressed the class in August 2017 – with no teacher present – as part of a seminar on mental health and addiction organized by an external group.
The man allegedly held up a Juul, and said it was ‘a safer alternative than smoking cigarettes’.
When asked what teens should do to help friends addicted to nicotine, the rep reportedly said they ‘should mention Juul’ to their friends.
I believe the presenter was sending mixed messages by saying Juul was ‘totally safe’ and following up every totally safe statement with ‘but we don’t want you as customers,” 17-year-old former vaper Caleb Mintz, now a youth advocate against e-cigarettes, told the hearing, according to CNN.
The latest CDC figures, which experts say are likely an underestimate, show 3.6 million teens vape, and Juuls are the preferred method.
US health officials, including former FDA director Dr Scott Gottlieb, brand it an ‘epidemic’ that has ‘come out of nowhere.’
Juul’s leadership, who will address the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy on Thursday, said the representative was dispatched as part of a youth addiction education program, which has since been terminated because ‘its purpose…was clearly misconstrued’ as promotion.