Donald Trump hit back at Michelle Obama's claims that he put her "family's safety at risk" by promoting a conspiracy theory that her husband was not born in the US.

The former first lady said she would never forgive Mr Trump for pushing for the birther conspiracy about Barack Obama.

Mr Trump actively promoted the idea that his predecessor was a secret Muslim born in Kenya, where his father is from, and not really an American citizen, for several years. Mr Obama eventually released his birth certificate which proved he was born in the US state of Hawaii.

In her forthcoming memoir, Becoming, Ms Obama writes: The whole [birther] thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed. But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts and kooks."

What if someone with an unstable mind loaded a gun and drove to Washington? What if that person went looking for our girls? Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my familys safety at risk. And for this Id never forgive him."

Mr Trump responded by accusing her of intentionally trying to be controversial in her memoirs.

I guess she wrote a book," he told reporters in Paris, where he was meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron.

"She got paid a lot of money to write a book. And they always insist that you come up with (something) controversial. Well Ill give you a little controversy back. Ill never forgive him (Barack Obama) for what he did to our United States military by not funding it properly, he added. It was depleted. Everything was old and tired and I came in and I had to fix it and Im in the process of spending tremendous amounts of money."

He said that he would "never forgive" Mr Obama "for what he did to our military."

He added: Ill never forgive him for what he did in many other ways, which Ill talk to you about in the future."

Trump attacks Michelle Obama and accuses her of apostrying to be controversialapos in her memoir


With hyperinflation gripping Iran and sanctions strangling the economy, Iranians are beginning to turn to gold to make everyday transactions, most notably to pay their rent.

The Iranian rial has depreciated rapidly since the US announced its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the reimposition of economic sanctions. After the US formally announced it was pulling out of the deal in May, the exchange rate peaked at around 45,000 rials to the dollar. But that official rate was only available to well-connected bankers, importers and businesses. Average Iranians were paying twice that.  By July 29, money-exchangers in Tehran were charging around 100,000 rials for one dollar. Within 24 hours, it increased to 110,000 rials to the dollar.

With inflation rapidly spiraling out of control, Iranians have turned to gold. According to Bloomberg, bar and coin sales tripled to 15.2 tons in the second quarter of this year. Thats the highest demand for the yellow metal in four years. Novin Investment Bank analyst Massoud Gholampour said Iranians are preparing for an economic crisis.

Demand for physical gold is very high and has been as the currencys been weakening. People want to invest in something thats safe if they think that a crisis may be on the way.

According to a report by the Middle East Eye, Iranians have traditionally saved gold coins for major purchases such as weddings, but they are increasingly turning to gold for more mundane transactions. Some landlords have started collecting rent in gold instead of rials. Rents have gone up as purchasing power has failed. As the Middle East Eye put it, The downward spiral of the rial has led some landlords to try to safeguard their income by turning to gold.

Esamil Jalali owns rental property in an affluent northern Tehran neighborhood. He now charges his tenants two gold coins per month for a 95-square meter apartment. With the rial depreciating so rapidly, hes turned to gold to protect the value of his rental income.

I know that many may not be able to afford it, but when I see that the currency I may get from my tenants would have less value compared to the previous month, then that leaves me with no choice. If I continue to rent out my apartment in return for rials, then I would face financial loss.

As the economic situation continues to deteriorate in Iran, the use of precious metals for barter will likely increase. Those who have invested in gold and silver will fare much better as the crisis deepens.

People often turn to barter, gold and silver in the midst of an economic crisis.

As the inflation rate approached 1 million percent, Venezuelans were forced to turn to barter just to survive. As a Reuters report put it, The rise of barter exchange, amid hyperinflation and a dearth of cash, is a reflection of how the once-prosperous country is reverting to the most rudimentary of mechanisms of commercial exchange.

Barter also spread through several European countries after irresponsible government spending led to a debt crisis and bailouts a few years ago. In 2012, Spain saw a noticeable increase in barter exchanges, as Spaniards sought alternative ways to do business with each other in an economy on the verge of a major debt crisis. Greeks also became fluent in barter and alternative means of trade when their financial system effectively collapsed in 2010. Greeks had their access to cash severely restricted during their countrys recent economic turmoil. It got so bad, a robust barter economy developed out of sheer necessity, as everyday Greeks had to find ways to cope with cash withdrawal limits and currency shortages.

More recently, Indians faced a major shortage of cash, with as many as 90% of ATMs in some regions of the country running completely out of currency. The cash crisis stemmed from a policy of demonetization the Indian government launched.

The key to weathering a currency crisis, hyperinflation and economic chaos is to be prepared. Once the meltdown happens, it will become much more difficult to buy precious metals. For more information on barter metals and preparing for an economic crisis, visit the SchiffGold barter metals page.

Iran Turns to Gold Amid Currency Crisis


Apple has acquired a company that specializes in building lenses for smart glasses that can display augmented reality images overtop the real world. Reuters said that Apple likely purchased the company, Akonia Holographics, sometime earlier this year.

Akonia describes its augmented reality lenses as thin, transparent, and capable of displaying vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images. As of two years ago, the company told VentureBeat that it was targeting a 60-degree field of view  which is small and less than most virtual reality headsets. But the company also described its lens in a way that suggested it offered higher-resolution images than its competitors without putting as many visual obstacles between an eye and the real world.

Apples said to be working on an AR product for 2020

Apple confirmed the acquisition to Reuters in its usual manner of not detailing why it bought the company. But the reason is hardly a secret: Apple has been moving quickly on developing augmented reality tech  you can already see it at work inside the iPhone  and the company is said to be working on an augmented reality headset, which Bloomberg reported could come out in 2020. Akonias lens tech (or its patent portfolio) will likely be a part of whatever Apple ends up making.

Akonia has been around since 2012, but it didnt start working on augmented reality lenses until about two years ago. According to VentureBeat, Akonia was first set on creating a holographic storage medium  as best as I can tell, it was some kind of futuristic take on CDs  but eventually, it realized that wasnt working. Around the same time, it also realized that augmented reality had a good chance of taking off, so the company changed gears and began working on lenses.

A lot of that is because of Apple. Tim Cook has publicly been very bullish on AR, calling it a big idea, like the smartphone, meaning its something that everyone will one day end up using. I think AR is that big, its huge, he said.

Apples AR tech has been developing surprisingly fast for whats currently just one of many features on the iPhone and iPad. Its capable of locking virtual objects in place, scaling them as you move around the room, and even letting users interact with them and play games. Few people are actually using this tech on a regular basis, but it seems clear that Apple is putting the tech in place for some much bigger purpose down the road.

Apple bought a company that makes lenses for AR smart glasses


Leftists spewed hate toward Kanye West Thursday night after the hip hop star appeared at the White House with the President and expressed his love for Trump, describing how haters had tried to scare him out of showing support.

The prime hater was CNNs Don Lemon, who called Wests appearance a minstrel show, and disgustingly suggested that Kanyes dead mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew he was hugging Trump.

Him sitting there, being used by the President of the United States. The President of the United States exploiting him, and I dont mean this in a disparaging way  exploiting someone who needs help, who needs to back away from the cameras, who needs to get off stage, who needs to deal with his issues, Lemon stated, adding This has nothing to do with being liberal or a conservative. This has to do with honesty.

This was an embarrassment. Kanyes mother is rolling over in her grave. Lemon spewed.

I spoke to one of her friends today or texted with one of her friends today from Chicago, Dondas friend. I used to live there. I know him. She said, Donda would be embarrassed by this. She would be terribly disturbed by this. And Kanye has not been the same since his mother died, Lemon declared.

CNN has been running programming all week suggesting that Kanye is mentally disturbed, with one panelist on Lemons show even declaring that West is a token Negro:

Lemons comments prompted football legend-turned-activist Herschel Walker, among others, to call for the CNN hosts firing.

The only pro-Trump voice allowed onto Lemons broadcast was Steve Cortes, who slammed the host for airing such vitriol:

You know, Don, you said this meeting was embarrassing. I think quite frankly whats embarrassing is the condescension youve shown to Kanye West, someone who I think is a brave, independent thinker, a creative genius, Cortes told Lemon.

Does he speak in a different vernacular? Of course he does like a lot of artists. Its one I dont always understand but I do understand hes a great thinker. And for you and a lot of guests to dismiss him as a token Negro and question his mental stability when youre not doctors, you havent examined him, I think is really unfortunate. Cortes continued.

And its an example unfortunately that is all too common on the left which is liberal- when a minority doesnt tow the party line, they are vilified and dismissed. Cortes further urged.

You said earlier today this was a minstrel show, Cortes said, adding I mean, could you be any more condescending to this man?

Lemon attempted to defend himself, exclaiming Im just telling the truth. Im not being condescending to him, Im telling the truth.

And Im saying this... not out of animus for Kanye West but because I feel sorry for him. And I think he needs to take care of himself. Lemon suggested.

In a further CNN broadcast Thursday, elderly white men Bill Kristol Jeremy Diamond, Jake Tapper, and white news hacks Julie Kucinich and Nayyera Haq all agreed that Kanye has betrayed the hip hop community.

As renowned leaders within the hip hop community, theyd know best, right.

Meanwhile, over at MSNBC, Stephanie Ruhle and Ali Velshi were disgusted with the meeting, labeling it an assault on OUR White House.

The pair suggested West is mentally ill and needs help.

In a later MSNBC broadcast, Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson described Kanyes appearance as a blitzkrieg of blathering ignorance, and White Supremacy by Ventriloquism:

A black mouth is moving, but white racist ideals are flowing from Kanye Wests mouth. Dyson spewed, adding Kanye West is engaging in one of the most nefarious practices yet. A black body and brain are the warehouse for the articulation and expression of anti-black sentiment.

Dyson also cited Wests dead mother, claiming the star has PTDS of his mothers passing and that we must intervene on his behalf.

This is time for us to say, Kanye, we as African American people cannot stand idly by while you give cover to a man who has proved to be a white supremacist, who has no interest in African American people, Dyson continued.

And I say this as a man who loves Kanye West, who admires his genius, and who considers him a friend. Dyson further remarked.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

LOW CNNs Lemon Calls Kanye West A Minstrel Show And Brings Up His Dead Mother


Facebook has rolled out its on-demand video service worldwide following a
trial run in the US.

Facebook Watch is set to challenge YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime by
offering a range of shows that viewers can choose from.

Facebook has said it expects to spend up to $2bn (1.55bn) to produce content
for Facebook Watch.

In comparison, Netflix expects to spend $8bn (6.21bn) on producing original
content in 2018, while Amazon Prime spent $4.5bn (3.49bn) in 2017.

The roll-out of Watch comes as Facebook is developing **[a talent show feature
for its app](https://news.sky.com/story/facebook-could-host-talent-shows-in-
future-app-release-11454583)** , which would allow users to pick a pop song
and submit a recording for review.

Although the company has not commented on whether the services will be
integrated, a music competition based on Facebook could be among the ways in
which the company could attempt to make the most of its 2.2 billion users to
contribute to its offerings on Watch.

Facebook will also allow content creators to upload original videos as well as
create room for existing hits, with advertisement breaks available for
uploaders in particular circumstances.

Image: Facebook's TalentShow feature could contribute to Watch. Pic: Jane
Manchun Wong

English-speaking audiences in the US and UK will join those from the Republic
of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand to monetise their video content.

The would-be broadcasters need to meet Facebook's standards before they can
include advertising breaks, however.

To sign up for the "Ad Breaks" service, content creators will need 10,000
followers or to generate more than 30,000 one-minute views per month - and
Facebook will collect 45% of all of the revenues generated by these
advertisements.

Market analysts have suggested that the revenues from video advertisements
could contribute substantially to Facebook's income.

Although Google-owned YouTube is a subsidiary of Google and does not report
separate revenues, analysts have estimated it brings in several billion a
year.

Facebook takes on YouTube and Netflix with launch of Watch


Globalists forces have infiltrated Fox News and the next targets in the purge of patriots appear to be Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham.

Globalists Now Control Fox News Plan To Take Carlson Hannity Ingraham Off Air


Paul Manafort has been running his mouth as of late, about the amazing life he has been given while incarcerated on charges on money laundering and bank fraud. Manafort was on house arrest until recently when Robert Mueller asked the judge on the case to revoke his bail based on evidence of witness tampering.

Now, Mueller has responded to Manaforts gloating about the alleged VIP treatment hes receiving in jail. According to Talking Points Memo:

Manafort was apparently caught on a recorded line bragging about getting around the prison system to use his private email, have access to a cell phone, and private living and lavatory areas. This is much more than any other prisoner is getting, and is in fact against the law.

Manafort also made a request to move his trial. An attempt that Mueller apparently saw right through. The report continues:

Manafort had argued in filings last week that the move by the judge in the D.C. case to put in him jail while he awaits trial  after allegations he engaged in witness tampering  had severely impeded his preparation for the trial in Virginia, which is slated to begin later this month. His filings included the claim that he was being held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day  prompting his supporters and conservative journalists to suggest he was being treated unfairly. Mueller, on Tuesday, alleged that last weeks delay request was the first time Manafort raised any concerns but how his detention was affecting his ongoing trial prep. The special counsel pointed to a number of details about his current detention  many of those details mentioned by Manafort himself on monitored phone calls  that suggested that the jail was going out of its away to facilitate his trial prep.

Now, Manaforts new mugshot has been released, and the image of him in a green jumpsuit is one that will go down in political history. Check it out below via TPM:

Thats just unsettling. Check out the court document here.

According to TPM, this mugshot was taken July 12th:

On Thursday, July 12, Paul Manafort was booked into the Alexandria Detention Center, formally known as the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center. According to Sheriff Dana Lawhorne, Mr. Manaforts arrival and booking process were routine. Sheriff Lawhorne added, Because he is a high-profile inmate, Mr. Manafort will be placed in protective custody which limits his interactions with other inmates. Specific details about Mr. Manaforts confinement will not be made public due to security and privacy concerns. We will work closely with the U.S. Marshals to ensure his proper care while he remains in our custody. The Alexandria Detention Center is operated by the Alexandria Sheriffs Office and houses approximately 400 inmates, including federal inmates under an agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service. In the past, the Alexandria Detention Center has housed several high-profile inmates including Robert Hanssen and Zacarias Moussaoui.

New Mugshot Of Paul Manafort Wearing Green Prison Jumpsuit Surfaces Its Pathetic


Trump and the Enemies of the People

The refusal to bend to President Trumps assault on the press is essential to the future of American democracy.

Trump and the Enemies of the People


The Country Music Awards are the biggest night in country music, and on the red carpet front it's all about big hair, sequins and high glamour.

At the 52nd Annual CMA Awards, the looks worn by the women behind the biggest country songs ranged from off-the-shoulder ruffles to more seasonally appropriate crushed velvet.

One style standout was Thomas Rhetts wife Lauren Akins, a breakout star in her own right with more than two million Instagram followers. The couple are fond of sharing their life and photos of their two sweet daughters on social media. My wife is very attractive and I feel very grateful to be nominated and to be here", her husband posted at the ceremony.

Carrie Underwood, currently pregnant with her second child, also made a memorable appearance on the red carpet in a heavily-embroidered gown by Italian label Uel Camilo. Underwood has had a rough year after undergoing plastic surgery for a fall that resulted in multiple stitches on her face. She laughed off the drama on stage later by coming out in a bubble wrap dress alongside her co-host Brad Paisley. Underwood also took her moment on stage to reveal the sex of her baby - she's having a boy.

Jason Aldeans wife Brittany Aldean, another Instagram favorite, walked the carpet in lemon yellow. Aldean is also currently pregnant with the couples second child. Meanwhile, Florida Georgia Line singer Tyler Hubbard brought his baby onto the red carpet, offering everyone a glimpse of what's to come next year for Underwood and Alden.

But the overall winner of the night was Kacey Musgraves, who wasn't just impeccably dressed but also won album of the year too. In a male-dominated country music field, it was a major win, especially since Musgrave's lyrics push the boundaries of country music, with songs that don't shy away from subjects like marriage equality. In a sea of glittery gowns, her Versace suit spoke volumes.

All the best red carpet looks from the Country Music Awards


A Florida parent sent this email to TGP this week.

 The Ruth K Broad  Bay Harbor K-8 administration sent a letter home with students saying kids who stand against the Second Amendment will be rewarded.

The attached is an email I received today from my daughters school located in Miami-Dade County regarding participation in a video and sale of never again t-shirts. This is a public school. In my opinion, while the proposed sculpture is a nice gesture, it is not appropriate for the school to be apparently soliciting participation in a video and sales of t-shirts that seemingly have political undertones. I have not decided whether to address my disappointment with the principal. It is obviously a sensitive issue in my community.

This is the type of garbage that is being promoted to American kids today.

FL Grade School Rewards Kids with T-Shirts and Spot in Video If They Stand Up Against the Second Ame


MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. Satellite footage provided by the Russian Space
Systems company (part of Roscosmos) helped volunteers from the Liza Alert
search and rescue team to pinpoint and save a senior citizen lost in the taiga
woods in the Irkutsk Region, the companys website informs.

On August 5, an elderly gentleman left his house and then vanished. For the
next 12 days, volunteers put great effort into searching for the missing
pensioner using general maps, but to no avail. The rescue team then made a
request to the Terra Tech company (part of Roscosmos), asking them to provide
up-to-date footage in order to study all existing roads in the area. "The
satellite footage significantly sped up the work of rescue teams and helped
pinpoint the missing person in a timely manner," the Russian Space Systems
representatives stated.

"We saw many new roads and paths not indicated on regular maps. The satellite
images made our whereabouts in the forest much easier, and boosted the
efficiency of the search and rescue operation. We managed to get much farther
than expected. As a result, the old-timer was saved," said Oleg Leonov, the
Liza Alert team coordinator.

The remote-sensing satellites Electro-L, Meteor-M, Resurs-P, and Kanopus-V
form part of the Russian Space Systems orbital network.

In other media

Eye in the sky Russian senior lost in woods rescued with help of satellite footage


Forty-four percent of Americans believe either that President Donald Trump has brought manufacturing jobs back to the country or that hes likely to do so, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll taken after a spate of General Motors layoffs. Thats roughly similar to the 49 percent who said this last April and nearly identical to the 45 percent who said the same in November of last year.

The optimistic group is divided roughly in half on what the president has accomplished so far: about 22 percent of Americans say that Trump has already succeeded in bringing manufacturing jobs back and about 23 percent say that hes likely to do so in the future. Some 36 percent of Americans think the president is unlikely to fulfill that promise.

Those people who believe Trump has already kept his promise to bring back blue-collar jobs are among his staunchest backers: 71 percent strongly approve of his job performance. The ones still waiting for Trump to revitalize the manufacturing industry are also supporters, but less enthusiastic ones: About 80 percent approve of his job performance, but just 39 percent say they approve strongly. The people who think its unlikely the jobs will return under Trumps watch are, overwhelmingly, critics of his presidency as a whole.

Let me tell you folks in Ohio and in this area, dont sell your house, the president told supporters in Youngstown in July 2017. Were going to get those jobs coming back, and were going to fill up those factories or rip them down and build brand-new ones. Its going to happen. This week, GM announced that its plant in Lordstown, Ohio, was among the locations the company plans to shutter as it cuts up to 14,000 jobs in North America.

Seventy-two percent of Americans consider those GM job cuts to be at least a somewhat serious problem for the U.S., although only 31 percent call it very serious. Americans say by an 11-point margin that the cuts werent inevitable  39 percent say the job losses could have been prevented by better government policies and 28 percent say they couldnt, with the rest unsure. But theyre split on how much responsibility, if any, Trump bears for the layoffs. While 38 percent say he shares at least some responsibility, 40 percent believe he deserves little or none of the blame.

Trump has long earned his best ratings for his handling of the economy, the strength of which has quite possibly kept his overall job rating from sinking lower than it stands.

He is not, however, broadly seen as a champion of the average American. Half the public says that Trumps economic policies favor the rich, compared to just 9 percent who believe he favors the middle class or the poor, and a quarter who think he treats all the groups equally. And while 36 percent believe the president is working for the interests of people like them when he makes decisions, half say hes either working against them or not considering them at all.

But so far at least, the presidents ratings on those metrics have remained remarkably stable. In six HuffPost/YouGov polls taken starting in April 2017, the percentage of Americans who think Trump has their interests in mind has stayed between 31 and 38 percent. And after a pre-inauguration poll in which 44 percent thought Trump would favor the wealthy, five subsequent surveys dating back to August 2017 have all found that number hovering around or just over the 50 percent mark.

HuffPost has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGovs nationally representative opinion polling. More details on the polls methodology are available here.

Most surveys report a margin of error that represents some, but not all, potential survey errors. YouGovs reports include a model-based margin of error, which rests on a specific set of statistical assumptions about the selected sample rather than the standard methodology for random probability sampling. If these assumptions are wrong, the model-based margin of error may also be inaccurate. Click here for a more detailed explanation of the model-based margin of error.

Many Americans Are Giving Trump The Benefit Of The Doubt On Manufacturing Jobs


Stephan Lichtsteiner has claimed he has the physicality of a player six years younger than him.

The Arsenal right-back, 34, has played nearly 600 games at club level as well as winning 103 caps for the Swiss national side.

Unai Emery opted to make Lichtsteiner the first signing of his Arsenal tenure because of the veteran experience he could bring to the squad but the defender believes he can be a far more youthful presence on the pitch.

Asked whether he would consider retiring from international football by Swiss media Lichtsteiner insisted: If I have to admit that I cannot keep the level of the last few years, then it is time.

But then I will not only retire from the Swiss national team, but finish my career. Based purely on performance data I have the physicality of a 28-year-old.

Lichtsteiner has been unable to show his exuberance to any great extent on the pitch so far this season, where his only appearance came as a replacement for the injured Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on the opening weekend.

The limited role he has been afforded did not come as a surprise to Lichtsteiner, who was signed on a free transfer from Juventus to provide Hector Bellerin with mentorship and competition.

I could have changed to five other clubs in the summer, knowing that I would certainly play 47 out of 50 serious matches, he said.

It doesnt irritate me, as in 2011, when I moved to Juventus, I wanted to join a big club. I was looking for a demanding challenge in a new league.

Thats why I knew from the very beginning at Arsenal that I had to fight for the regular spot against Hector Bellerin.

Arsenal defender Stephan Lichtsteiner claims he has the physicality of a 28-year-old


The Washington DC City Council voted 11-2 last week to decriminalize fare evasion on the DC Metro after councilmembers said 90 percent of the 20,000 riders cited for fair evasion were African-American.

A bill that would decriminalize fare evasion on the DC Metro system passed on Tuesday, with 11 councilmembers voting yes.

The bill prevents those who evade fares from getting jail time and lowers the maximum $300 fine associated with it. Now, a fine may be no more than $50. It is no longer a criminal offense, but a civil offense.

The bill, which was originally introduced by eight councilmembers, was vigorously debated on Tuesday afternoon, with Councilmember Allen and White recalling instances of offenders being arrested.

Allen said on Tuesday that something that these people who described have in common is that, theyre all residents of color.

Both White and Allen brought up a report released in September, that more 20,000 citations were issued for fare evasion in a two-year period and more than 90 percent of those riders were black.

DC City Council Passes Bill to Decriminalize Fare Evasion Cites Racism


In a shocking letter intended to undermine President Trump, and his authority over the Executive Branch, multiple high ranking Democrats sent a letter ordering intelligence agencies to ignore Trumps order to declassify numerous documents involving the Russia investigation until consulting with Congress.

The intelligence agencies serve at the pleasure of the president  and this clearly crosses the line separating the branches of government.

The letter was signed by Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Senator Mark Warner, and Senator Charles Schumer and sent to Director Coats, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Director Wray.

Here is a copy of the letter to Intelligence leaders.

Here are the paragraphs in question, via Conservative Treehouse:

It will be interesting to see how Dirty Cop Rosenstein, Wray and Coats respond to this allegation.

STUNNING ADMISSION Democrat Leaders Reveal Top Trump Intel Officials Agreed to Keep Information fro


The Interface is a daily column about the intersection of social media and democracy. Subscribe to the newsletter here .

Who deserves a verified badge? On Twitter, the issue has been surprisingly contentious. Last November, the company briefly verified the account of Jason Kessler, a white supremacist who organized the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA. Reaction to Kessler getting his badge was swift and negative, and Twitter used the occasion to say  as it now likes to do, all the time  that it would use the occasion to rethink everything. In the case of verification, the company would simply stop verifying anyone until it could say for certain what it meant to be verified.

As Ive written before, Twitters verification process was a mess from the start. It began as a panicked reaction to former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa suing the company for allowing someone to impersonate him. (LaRussa eventually dropped the suit.) But verification evolved into something both more important and more nebulous, as I wrote last year:

Over time, though, Twitter began granting special privileges to verified users. They got analytics, which were otherwise available only to advertisers, showing them how their tweets performed. They got a tab showing only their interactions with other verified users  a ham-fisted way of dealing with the abuse that celebrities received from regular accounts. When Twitter introduced new keyword filters designed to combat abuse, verified users got them first. Along the way, Twitter said very little about the criteria for verification. For years, there was no obvious way to apply. Either Twitter reached out to you, or you got to know someone at the company. And so the verification badge came to carry a sheen of authority: this person, the badge suggested, is a known quantity. This is an account that Twitter trusts.

The real trouble began in January 2016, when Twitter removed the badge from the profile of noxious right-wing personality Milo Yiannopoulos. No one disputed that the account belonged to Yiannopoulos. By removing his badge for bad behavior, the company suggested that the blue checkmark was also a mark of approval.

The next year, after the Kessler debacle, Twitter said it would begin taking users offline behavior into account in determining who should be verified. This March, CEO Jack Dorsey said Twitter could eventually let everyone verify their accounts. And then last month, in a comical final note to the entire affair, Twitter announced that it was abandoning the verification project indefinitely because it was busy working on other things.

I apologize for the lengthy preamble here. But in a world where trust in social feeds is collapsing, a workable verification system could serve as a powerful ally. And so I was heartened to see today that Instagram had quietly tackled the verification process on its own  and come up with something workable and useful.

The short version is that anyone can now apply to be verified on Instagram, though the company will continue to verify only those who meet a high set of standards, including notability. (Sorry, normals.) Cofounder Mike Krieger laid out the particulars in a blog post:

Here Krieger has laid out, in plain language, what it means to be verified on Instagram. The company has verified that you are who you say you are; that you only have one account; and that the account is notable in some way. What does that mean? The Help Center lays it out: Currently, only Instagram accounts that have a high likelihood of being impersonated have verified badges.

The policy isnt democratic in the sense of Dorseys spring proclamation that someday everyone could have a badge on Twitter. But it does open the door to more people getting badges on Instagram, and doing its part to improve trust on the service.

Notably, the announcement came with two other trust-improving measures. One, Instagram will now allow users to improve the security of their accounts by using third-party authenticator apps, an improvement over the more easily hacked SMS codes. And two, a new About this account feature attached to profiles will show you information that is helpful in identifying fake accounts:

These are smart measures that help Instagram build trust in its user base, while making it harder for bad actors to exploit its platform. By approaching the question of verification as narrowly as possible  focused only on eliminating the confusion that comes from impersonation and parody  Instagram arrived at a reasonable way to invite its entire user base to apply.

Of course, Instagrams historical status as a way to share cheerful brunch photos with friends means it hasnt been stress-tested in quite the same way Twitter has. Yiannopoulos has an Instagram account that would seem to meet all of Kriegers stated requirements for verification; will Instagram grant him a badge? If yes, than well see a reprise of the attacks Twitter faced when it verified Kessler. If not, then expect to see a bunch of conservatives who arent granted badges taking center stage in an eventual Congressional hearing about Instagram shadow banning Republicans.

But until then, Im struck by how a question that reduced Twitter to paralysis got such a straightforward answer from its rival. Journalists often wag their fingers when tech companies copy one another  but if Twitter wants to lift this idea wholesale, I promise to limit myself to a respectful nod.

Trump claims Google is suppressing positive news about him and will be addressed

President Donald Trump tweeted this morning that Google search results for Trump News have been rigged to show critical coverage of him, and said the situation will be addressed. Google explained that search results are not rigged in the political sense of the word. The Times Maggie Haberman pointed out that Trump doesnt actually use a computer. Matthew Gertz pointed out that the entire tweetstorm seemed to be predicated on a segment on Fox News Lou Dobbs Tonight, which itself was based on a nonsensical chart promoted by the hyperpartisan right-wing news outlet PJ Media. Trumps economic adviser said were taking a look at it. An exasperated Fox News Shepard Smith stared into the camera and shouted, what is he talking about?! Trump then sent out a fundraising pitch based on his comments.

Worlds Leading Human Rights Groups Tell Google to Cancel Its China Censorship Plan

A coalition of 14 organizations  including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Center for Democracy and Technology  wrote an open letter to Google on Tuesday calling for the company to abandon plans to launch a censored version of its search engine in China. Ryan Gallagher reports:

Clashes Over Ethics At Major Tech Companies Are Causing Problems For Recruiters

Tech companies government work is also causing problems for recruiters, Caroline ODonovan reports:

Dozens at Facebook Unite to Challenge Its Intolerant Liberal Culture

More than Facebook 100 employees have formed a group to promote conservative views and political debate, Kate Conger and Sheera Frenkel report:

U.S. tech companies would like you to know that there is only so much they can do with respect to fighting foreign influence campaigns, Ali Breland reports. But I liked this note of optimism from researcher Renee DiResta, with respect to the rising cost of influence campaigns:

Twitter suspends more accounts for engaging in coordinated manipulation

Twitter suspended more accounts for coordinated manipulation, and for the most part they were tweeting leftist anti-Trump stuff, Catherine Hsu reports:

Microsofts president explains how Gabs shutdown notice went from customer support to his desk

Microsoft nearly shut down hate-oriented Twitter alternative Gabthis month when it found genocidal anti-Semitic posts on the network. On The Vergecast this week, Microsofts president, Brad Smith, revealed that the posts were found by Microsoft customer support agents, and that top executives learned about the takedown notice they sent Gab after reading about it on The Verge and other tech sites.

If you work at Facebook, and are constantly explaining to your exasperated friends and family members that you are not selling their data, heres a story to make you pound your desk. It turns out Yahoo  now a division of Oath!  has been scanning Yahoo Mail inboxes for years and then selling that data to advertisers. Doug MacMillan, Sarah Krouse, and Keach Hagey have the scoop:

The Internet of Garbage by Sarah Jeong

The Verge republished Sarah Jeongs book The Internet of Garbage. First published in 2015, the book examines how online harassment works, and why the structure of the internet has enabled it to flourish.

YouTubers punching one another in the face is catnip to the large swath of YouTubers who make videos about YouTube drama. After this weekends Logan Paul-KSI face-punching contest, creators raced to upload their reaction videos, complete with footage of the event. Others streamed the fight in its entirety on Twitch, in blatant circumvention of the rules of the site. KSIs team sicced a bunch of copyright goons on them all, and now everyone is mad, Julia Alexander reports:

Facebook vows to run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2020

Remove climate change from the list of things that you blame Facebook for. Shannon Liao reports:

Tired of Swiping Right, Some Singles Try Slow Dating

OpenAIs Dota 2 defeat is still a win for artificial intelligence

This story by my colleague James Vincent has only the faintest connection to social media, but its still my favorite piece of the day. It chronicles how a cutting-edge team of bots lost to a team of professional humans at a tournament of Dota 2, an insanely complicated video game known as a MOBA. If, like me, youre subjected to daily messages from the social platforms about how AI will fix everything, this piece expertly illuminates the benefits and limits of state-of-the-art AI techniques such as reinforcement learning. And its also a very breezy read about humans eking out a victory over machines.

Facebook expands its Express Wi-Fi program for developing markets via hardware partnerships

Express Wi-Fi is a Facebook connectivity initiative that encourages local businesses to offer both free and paid high-speed internet access portals provided by Facebooks partner carriers and ISPs. Today it announced a set of partnerships that will enable manufacturers to make hardware that is certified as compatible with Express Wi-Fi, Sarah Perez reports. The long-term game appears to be to put Facebook on the free tier of services offered by these businesses.

Oculus offers another classroom VR option with new pilot program

Oculus is giving launching educational pilot programs in Taiwan, Japan and Seattle, Mariella Moon reports, seeding Rift and Go headsets to libraries, museums, and schools.

Google Gboard can use selfies to create a Mini version of you

Google rolls out the Mini its answer to Bitmoji, and they are ... horrible! Ugly, washed-out, South Park-style avatars that if nothing else suggest the technology behind Snaps Bitmoji product is more sophisticated than it appears.

Google is on the verge of making a huge mistake with China

Chen Guangcheng, an activist who has been blind since childhood, was detained in 2005 for exposing forced sterilization of women to meet Chinas one-child policy, says the Post. In 2012, he escaped from house arrest and was subsequently granted asylum in the United States. Chen says Google should back off of its plans for China:

Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao says de-platforming makes social networks better:

Facebook and Googles plan for a new federal privacy law is really about protecting themselves

Will Oremus casts a skeptical eye on tech giants plans to write a federal data privacy law to supersede Californias:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is many things: corrupt former president of Iran, conspiracy theorist, and nuclear weapons enthusiast. But its not just nukes he loves  he also loves Twitter, and he released the following tweet today to the global town square:

Autocrats: theyre just like us!

Send me tips, questions, comments, and requests for verification: casey@theverge.com.

Instagrams verification system is useful fair and Twitter should copy it


MURFREESBORO, Ark.  Thinking it was just a piece of glass, an Aurora woman gave a 2.63-carat diamond she found at Arkansass Crater of Diamonds State Park this month to her son to put in his pocket. It wasnt about an hour later the 71-year-old retiree realized that she made the find of a lifetime.

The Colorado woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, discovered the ice white diamond weighing nearly three carats about halfway between the East Drain and North Wash Pavilion in the parks 37.5-acre diamond search area.

According to a press release from the Arkansas park, About one out of every five diamonds registered by park visitors is found right on top of the ground, including many of the largest ever found at the Crater of Diamonds.

The park said the gem is the largest diamond found at the park so far this year. According to a press release, 256 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park so far in 2018. The largest diamond unearthed in the United States, named the Uncle Sam, was found at the park in 1924. The diamond weighed 40.23 carats.

Aurora woman finds largest diamond so far this year at Arkansas park


A Western Pennsylvania town is the subject of a federal lawsuit over their contentious interaction with an area gun range.

Robinson Township, located in a rural area just west of Pittsburgh, was named as a defendant along with the towns zoning officer, Mark Dorsey, in a complaint filed by range owner William Drummond last week.

Drummond, a USPSA/IPSC champion shooter, heads the Greater Pittsburgh Gun Club on land that has been run by his family off and on since 1967 as a shooting range. However, he argues that township officials have wanted to close down the operation for decades and took advantage of a change in management to do just that.

Gun range 2A group sue town in bid to stay in business after secret rezoning


Four people, including a one-year-old, have died after a vehicle being chased by police crashed into their car.

The deceased were travelling in a Volkswagen people carrier when it was hit by a VW Golf in the Darnall area of Sheffield just before 9pm last night.

Two men aged 35 and 50 and a woman aged 41 died at the scene, but the baby boy passed away later in hospital.

A further two women are in hospital - one aged 22 is in critical condition and the other is serious but stable. A three-year-old girl is also fighting for her life.

Three young men aged 23, 18 and 17 have been arrested. They were travelling in the Golf and sustained minor injuries.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation.

IOPC regional director Miranda Biddle said: As soon as we were informed, we sent investigators to the scene and we will be carrying out an independent investigation to establish what actions South Yorkshire Police took prior to the crash.

This is standard procedure when lives are lost following an incident involving the police.

By attending the scene we have been able to view dash cam footage which confirms that although a pursuit did take place prior to the crash, there is no indication that the police vehicle collided with either of the vehicles involved.

We have also obtained initial statements from the officers involved and will gather further evidence during the course of our investigation.

Detective chief inspector Jude Ashmore, of South Yorkshire Police, said he was thinking of the victims families following the incredibly tragic accident.

He said: A high number of resources were deployed to the scene last night, with officers from all of the emergency services working through the night and into this morning to assist.

Our priority now is to support the victims families and those affected, and work hard to determine the exact circumstances around what happened.

Main Road is expected to remain closed for most of the day as we continue to gather evidence and recover items from the scene.

Anyone who has information or dash cam footage should contact the force via 101.

Four Dead Including One-Year-Old After Car Being Chased By Police Crashes Into Them


Donald Trump may have been trying to persuade his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, that he has his longtime confidant and self-described fixers back. Trumps decision to pardon a Nixon Watergate criminal, Scooter Libby, was oddly timed, so that could have been a hint of future pardons. Yet, 45s recent action probably stepped over the line into illegal.

Cohen wanted to go with the commander-in-chief to Washington, D.C., and even told the president how much he missed him. That sounded more like an abusive relationship: an endless cycle of kindness followed by cruelty.

Now, it seems that the Trump campaign dished out almost $228,000 to handle a portion of Cohens rising legal fees, a source close to ABC News said. It is illegal to violate campaign finance laws, and this might fall right into that category.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) records indicated that Trumps campaign paid three payments to Cohens attorneys law firm. In the months between October 2017 and January 2018, the campaign made three payments for legal consulting. Coincidence? Maybe not.

Cohen has long held that he was not formally a member of the campaign. Yet, Trump and Cohen may have stepped into the trap that led to the ruin of former presidential candidate, John Edwards  using campaign funds for personal use.

The FEC holds that spending campaign funds on personal use is illegal:

Chief of strategy for the nonprofit watchdog organization Common Cause, Stephen Spaulding, said they were pushing the envelope:

The campaign may have paid for legal fees strictly related to Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russias attack on the 2016 presidential election and any Trump campaign involvement. If so, there would be no problem.

However, if those legal fees were paid for services related to the adult film actress and producer, Stormy Daniels, case against Trump and/or Cohen, that could spell trouble. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and her attorney are suing to release her from a nondisclosure agreement with the president and defamation of character.

Trump did not disagree with the contention that the two had sex. However, Cohen paid her $130,000 in hush money. She was later threatened to keep quiet by a strange man as she lifted her daughter from an infant car seat.

ABC sources said that the legal work was not for the Daniels issue.

Donors set up the Patriot Legal Defense fund to help with former campaign staff members and those in his administration pay for legal bills surrounding the Russia investigation. The fund will not disclose who benefitted from these funds.

The president and his close family members cannot benefit from the fund. either. Former national security adviser, Michael Flynn refused to accept money from that source. He did flip and provide states evidence.

Trump Illegally Stole Campaign Finances What He Used It On Will Enrage You


No matter how he ends up ever turning it into actual policy moves, the president has long made his anger with the nations justice system clear. He put that anger on full display yet again recently after, thanks in part to a reported referral from the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the FBI raided the home, office, and hotel room of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

The Department of Justice has since confirmed that Cohen is the subject of a criminal investigation that has been proceeding for months.

In response to the presidents continued threatening belligerence offered in response to these allegations, a huge group of former employees of the Justice Department have banded together to sign a letter asserting their support for not just Robert Mueller but Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as well.

Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to oversee the Russia investigation last year, has faced his own rounds of criticism from the president. Besides his role in appointing Mueller, he also had a hand in the raids on Cohen, and he was also involved in the surveillance on former Trump associate Carter Page that has so attracted the ire of the president and his allies.

The former Justice Department officials defending Mueller and Rosenstein note in their letter that they have immense personal experience with the integrity of the agency that the president has spent so much time going after.

The presidents attacks on the Justice Department have taken a variety of forms in recent months. The most prominent among these is no doubt his tweets, which include a statement he put up just recently reading:

He is speaking there of former FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who is accused by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department of having misled them about his supposedly improper role in leaking information from inside to the press. (We all know how they feel about the press.)

He jumped from those already contentious allegations to seeming to refer to the entire Justice Department as a den of thieves and lowlifes. That already low blow is made ironic by the fact that the president has lied thousands upon thousands of times since taking office. In other words, if there is a den of thieves and lowlifes in Washington, D.C., his White House is certainly included.

Besides his incessant angry tweeting, the president has also been reported to be interested in firing both Mueller and Rosenstein. When pressed about the possibility of firing the special counsel by reporters recently, he gave a conspicuously noncommittal answer.

In that light, the Justice Department veterans defending Mueller and Rosenstein call on Congress to act should the president actually fire any of the key players in the Russia investigation.

Some members of Congress have introduced measures protecting Mueller from the president, but none of those have passed yet.

Read the Justice Department alumnis full letter at this link.

Hundreds Of Justice Dept Members Team Up To Protect America From Trump Like Heroes


(Natural News) You dont have to be insane or dumb to drink Starbucks coffee, but you might want to stop thinking for a few minutes if youre trying to make sense of their environmentally-conscious (or unconscious in this case) efforts to reduce single-use plastic situations. Before you cast judgment though, this is not a one-time mistake or misrepresentation of a mission for conservation, because Starbucks isnt just replacing plastic straws with extra heavy plastic lids, but theyre replacing plastic single straws with paper straws sold in plastic wrappers that use MORE plastic than the single plastic straw did. If your brain is aching right now, thats because Starbucks isnt catering to you, but to their usual Leftists who like vying for causes that make no sense at all.

While certain businesses (and even U.S. cities) move to ban plastic straws and plastic utensils (and also make them illegal), nobodys considering the billions of plastic water bottles sold by those same polluting propagandists. You see, the War on Straws is not based on facts or even sensibility; its based on emotion and petty thinking. This supports the irrational idealism of the far Left, a cabal of hypocritical intolerant Millennials who only support causes that fit their immediate gratification lifestyles, but pay no mind to common sense, safety, important laws, and the big picture in general.

Quick, run to Starbucks and buy a sugar-laden customized frappuccino and celebrate conserving plastic while using a plastic lid that wastes even more plastic. Then, buy your kids a couple fancy flavored paper straws to save even more plastic  yes, the ones wrapped in enough plastic to make 10 plastic straws. Then, on your way out of the store, be sure not to trip on the homeless guy sleeping by the door, who wont be kicked out because its Starbucks policy.

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Believe it or not, the city of Seattle just imposed our countrys first ban on plastic straws. Starbucks is leading the charge, so expect more hypocritical corporate robber-barons to follow suit.

The best part of the new sippy-cup style lid at Starbucks is that it contains 4.11 grams of plastic, where the old lid and straw combo only contained 3.55 grams of plastic. Way to conserve! Thats like running over a family of ducks in the road in your rush to get your sugar fix at Starbucks while driving your car that brandishes a save the dolphins bumper sticker.

If you fall for one hoax this decade, you might as well fall for all of them. To be anti-Trump is hip for the brainwashed, spoiled, fake hippies (with Mommy and Daddys credit cards in their wallets and purses) who drink over-priced, luxury cafe mochas, lattes, and the Americano. To support liberalism while being completely intolerant of differing opinions and throwing temper tantrums if someone walks into Starbucks wearing a MAGA hat or t-shirt is quite typical of this recent generation of activists who are complete hypocrites.

Consumers falling for the Starbucks Ponzi scheme of investing in conservation efforts that literally pollute the Earth even more are the same consumers of fake news CNN and the socialism movement (thats really a communist front).

Regulars at Starbucks are giving their money to a corporation with 28,000 stores worldwide that sell Ethos brand bottled water by the thousands daily. Do you really think if you support the plastic straw ban that youre helping anybody with anything anywhere?

Ready to join the Straw-less in Seattle campaign? While Starbucks claims theyre saving our oceans from the pollution caused by single-use plastic straws, have you ever wondered where all the garbage from Starbucks plastic juice bottles and plastic water bottles ends up?

If youre really concerned about the environment, tune into GMO.news for updates on how pesticides and GMOs are polluting our world. Meanwhile, the whole War on Straws (and plastic utensils) is really just a litmus test to see how many morons are completely brain-washable, so Starbucks, Facebook and Twitter can track your smart phone locations and posts and advertise some socialist political propaganda this fall, in order to support another New World Order led by the crooked Clintons, George Soros, and Obumma. Beware.

Starbucks new plastic straw-less lids use MORE plastic than the old lid and straw combo the virtu


Several parents are outraged after a drag queen spoke to their children during Rocky Top Middle Schools career day. Now the principal is apologizing for not notifying parents ahead of time.

A police officer, an architect and a drag queen  a broad range of jobs on career day, but parents say one of them has no business inside a school.

I was pretty appalled. I was pretty surprised. It was a shock because no one was notified, parent Jen Payer said.

Parents outraged after drag queen speaks to students during career day


Say what you will about 2018, but it hasnt exactly brought a surfeit of slow news days. January alone felt like it delivered a years worth of big stories, from a spate of congressional retirements to the debate over shithole countries to the brief government shutdown.

Nearly half of the people who try to stay informed about politics find it stressful to stay on top of whats happening, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds, but far fewer say they have difficulty keeping up.

Among Americans who try follow political events  a group that makes up slightly less than two-thirds of the population, according to the survey  49 percent say its at least somewhat stressful to keep tabs on whats going on. An equal share say that its not very or not at all stressful.

Just 27 percent, however, say they feel like the political news is changing so quickly that they cant keep up, while 64 percent say they dont have any problem staying on top of things. The vast majority, 83 percent, say that its at least somewhat easy for them to follow whats happening in politics.

These results come with a few caveats: For one, the results dont include those Americans who have opted out of following politics altogether. For another, respondents may think its socially desirable to claim that theyre effortlessly well-informed.

But the results also show little consensus that the current news environment poses any sort of unique challenge. Fewer than a quarter say its been harder to keep up with the news so far this year than it had been in past years. An additional 28 percent say its easier, while the remaining 49 percent say that they havent noticed much difference or that they arent sure.

There are some divides along political lines, especially on the stressfulness of current events. Most voters who try to keep up with politics say they dont have any problem doing so, regardless of whether they backed President Donald Trump or Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in 2016s election. But 72 percent of those Clinton voters say they find following politics to be stressful, while just 3 in 10 Trump voters feel the same.

The overall results of the poll are similar to those of a HuffPost/YouGov survey taken last March, which also found that just 30 percent of respondents who say they generally try to stay informed have difficulty doing so.

The constant flow of news may actually make current events feel more accessible than ever, Ann Crigler, a political science professor at the University of South California, told HuffPost last year.

Use the widget below to further explore the results of the HuffPost/YouGov survey, using the menu at the top to select survey questions and the buttons at the bottom to filter the data by subgroups:

Feeling Overwhelmed By All The News This Year Youre In The Minority


West Ham United have reinstated academy coach Mark Phillips after investigating his involvement in a march organised by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA).

The Hammers suspended Phillips in October after he attended a DFLA march through central London and later defended the group, which has been accused of Islamophobia and racism, in a series of posts on Twitter.

"West Ham United can confirm that following suspension and subsequent investigation, academy coach Mark Phillips has been reinstated to his role in accordance with employment law, and has been reminded of his responsibilities," a club statement said.

West Ham launched an investigation due to concerns Phillips' social media posts may have broken club regulations and he was subsequently suspended.

It's understood the club's inquiry found there were not sufficient grounds for dismissing Phillips for breaching the Hammers' social media policy and bringing the club into disrepute.

But Phillips, who coaches West Ham's under-18s, has been given a final warning over his conduct.

He will resume his coaching duties at the club after attending courses on discriminatory issues and bias, compulsory for all West Ham employees.

Phillips said he had attended the DFLA march and later defended the group on Twitter against claims it was "far right" and to blame for violence with the police and anti-fascism protesters.

Follow the Independent Sport on Instagram here, for all of the best images, videos and stories from around the sporting world.

West Ham reinstate academy coach suspended for attending DFLA march


Its not about right-wing Americans. Its about China.

The Real Google Censorship Scandal


Donald Trump arrived at the NATO summit throwing around his boorish, uncouth attitude. Ever aimed at creating discord, he claimed that Russia was holding Germany captive. In return, the countrys Chancellor Angela Merkel hit him back  10 times harder.

Our commander-in-chief said the U.S. was guarding (Germany) against Russia. Reuters reported:

Were supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia. We are protecting Germany, we are protecting France, we are protecting all of these countries and then numerous of the countries go out and make a pipeline deal with Russia where they are paying billions of dollars into the coffers of Russia. I think that is very inappropriate.

Clearly, the president of these United States does not like strong women. He regressed to that 11-year-old bully when he interacted with Merkel.

Merkel powered back, saying her country supplied the most troops for NATO missions. Then, Merkel noted that Germany extracted itself from Russian control with the fall of the Berlin Wall, which used to divide the country.

The Guardian reported that Merkel grew up on the east side of the Berlin wall. At that time, the Soviet Union controlled East Germany. Needless to say, she knows something about Russian power and domination:

I have experienced myself how a part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union. I am very happy that today we are united in freedom, the Federal Republic of Germany. Because of that we can say that we can make our independent policies and make independent decisions. That is very good, especially for people in eastern Germany.

The chancellor went on to explain to Trump that Germany has consistently been the second largest provider of troops to NATO. Merkel also said her country has had a strong engagement in the Afghanistan conflict:

There are disagreements on trade. This is serious. My task is to try to minimize the negative impact on NATO. So far is hasnt impacted on NATO that much, I cannot guarantee that that will not be the case in the future. The transatlantic bond is not one, there are many ties, some of them have been weakened.

Trump was still stuck in his muddy track of contrariness. According to the Guardian, he said:

It should never have been allowed to happen. Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting 60-70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline. You tell me if thats appropriate because I think its not. On top of that Germany is just paying just a little bit over 1% (of GDP on Nato defense contributions) whereas the United States is paying 4.2% of a much larger GDP. So I think thats inappropriate also.

Angela Merkel Opens Up Can Of Whoop Ass On Trump In Front Of The Entire World


Matchday three of the 2018-19 Champions League season is upon us, with some huge games as the double-headers begin.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed an emotional return to his former club Manchester United on Tuesday as Juventus ran out comfortable 1-0 winners at Old Trafford.

Julen Lopetegui looks set to lose his job as Real Madrid coach regardless of a 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen, while Manchester City earned an easy 3-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk.

On Wednesday night, Liverpool and Barcelona earned comfortable wins while Tottenham's hopes hang by a thread after they drew 2-2 with PSV Eindhoven.

Read on for all the groups, fixtures and results...

Club Brugge vs Monaco Predictions live stream betting tips TV channel Champions League 2018-19


Todays Morning Brief is brought to you by the Mining Association of Canada. Global leaders in the advancement of Indigenous relations and participation in mining, as the largest private sector employer of Indigenous peoples in Canada. To learn more, visit: http://mining.ca/resources/canadian-mining-stories

A good Wednesday morning to you. Its caucus day in Ottawa and United Nations Day around the world. United Nations Day marks the organizations birthday, when the UN Charter was officially signed in 1947.

The most expensive word in the English language  principle  could cost Canadian taxpayers upwards of $1 billion if Canada were to scupper the sale of weapons and military vehicles to Saudi Arabia. In stark contrast to his tough talk in the Commons on Monday, PM Justin Trudeau told reporters that the governments options may be limited, adding he finds it incredibly frustrating.

While Trudeau has done his level best to pin responsibility for signing the 14-year deal with the Saudis in 2014 on former prime minister Stephen Harper, theres enough blood on hands to go around. The Prime Ministers offloading of responsibility for this deal squarely on the previous government is misleading at best, given that the relevant export permits were authorized under the current Liberal government, said Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares. If Western arms exporters to Saudi Arabia do not back their expressions of concern with concrete action, including the suspension or cancellation of export contacts to the known culprit, their human-rights credibility will have died with Jamal Khashoggi.

Meanwhile, Germany announced it will block any new sales to the Saudis and urged its European Union partners to do the same. (O)nly if all European countries agree will this make an impression on the government in Riyadh, said Germanys Economy Minister, Peter Altmaier.

When in doubt, blame the DComms. Communications teams often take the blame for the misdeeds of their bosses, but in the Khashoggi case, this DComms might have created his own PR nightmare. Saud al-Qahtani, the Kingdoms chief propaganda officer, was fired on Saturday amid recordings made by Turkish (or other) intelligence agencies quoting him as telling the team of assassins over Skype to bring me the head of the dog. Given that Khashoggis head (and body) has yet to be recovered, theres a good chance someone actually did just that. Qahtani, who is not known to freelance and in fact said he would never act without the approval of the ruling family, should know the golden rule: assume every mic is a hot mic.

While the Saudi affair grabs the international spotlight, a full on political brawl is unfolding in the shadows of Parliament Hill between the Trudeau government and the provinces over taxing carbon emissions. In a bid to rescue his plans for a carbon tax, Trudeau unveiled a rebate scheme earlier this week aimed at softening the blow of a carbon tax to lower-income Canadians. We recognize that there is an imperative to put a price on pollution and an imperative to help Canadian families adjust to the new reality of a society  of a country  in which pollution is no longer free, Trudeau said. But opponents to the tax say Trudeau is just buying votes at the same time as hurting Canadian businesses. Its just another Trudeau Liberal tax grab. Its a job-killing, family-hurting tax, said Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Yesterday, Ford also announced that he plans to cancel funding to three projects to create satellite university campuses in Markham, Milton and Brampton that would have accommodated about 8,000 students per year. Not surprisingly, Fords minister of higher education said blame the Liberals for the empty coffers. Our government committed to restore accountability and trust in Ontarios finances. This includes making difficult decisions about projects across the province, said Merrilee Fullerton.

What do you do when a combination of disruption and paralysis has begun to erode respect for rules-based trade?  You hold a conference.  Canadas other trade minister Jim Carr will host a meeting of a dozen likeminded countries hoping to breathe new life into the World Trade Organization. With U.S. President Donald Trump musing aloud that he might pull out of the international body, its up to smaller countries that want to do business with one another to keep the rules in place. The United States has been stressing the rule of power while undermining the rule of law in international trade. This is inexcusable, said James Bacchus, a former congressman from Florida who twice served as the chief judge of the WTOs appellate body. The meeting opens tonight with a dinner, which will be followed with an all-day conference tomorrow.

Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is expected to raise interest rates today when he issues his updated monetary policy report.

HERE AND THERE

Back to the Khashoggi affair, which President Trump has come around to calling the worst cover-up ever after previously taking a neutral stance. The United States vowed to revoke the visas of some of those believed to be responsible and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that he is working with the Treasury Department to consider slapping Magnitsky sanctions on those involved in the journalists killing.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made an unannounced appearance at an investment conference in Riyadh yesterday and received a standing ovation from the investors in attendance, many of whom kept their name tags obscured by their ties in a bid to maintain a low profile. The Crown Prince also shook hands with Khashoggis son, Salah, in front of video cameras at a palace in Riyadh  an image that was broadcast on state media. Salah Khashoggi has has been barred from leaving the kingdom.

Pakistan scored big in Riyadh yesterday, walking away with a pledge of at least $6 billion in financial support from the Kingdom.

In a first for the European Union, a member states proposed budget has been rejected by the bloc because it violates its fiscal laws and poses unacceptable risks. The EU returned the budget to Italy, but that countrys populist government refused to budge on Tuesday. The European Commission had repeatedly warned Italy to reduce the deficits in its 2019 draft budget to avoid heavy fines early next year. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte doesnt seem fazed by it.

Somebody in South Carolina is having a better hump day than most. A single ticket won the $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot. What would you do with $1.6 billion in the bank?

A ticket aboard the Titanic 2.0  the pet project of another billionaire  wouldnt even make a dent in that nest egg.

Morning Brief How much does a little principle cost


The BLS announced Julys job numbers on Friday and the results were impressive

Since Donald J. Trump became President more people are working in the US than at any time in history.  But the shocking news in Fridays jobs release was related to the increase in jobs since the President was elected in late 2016.

The BLS data shows the following number of jobs added since 1939.  But the number of new jobs is startling when compared to the GW Bush and Obama years

Since 2000 the US has added a net increase of 16.4 million new jobs.  Since 2007 the US has added a net increase of 10.7 million new jobs.  But in 2017 and 2018 the US has added a net of 3.7 million new jobs.

This means that more than one third of the increase in jobs over the past 12 years have occurred under President Trump.  Also, since the year 2000, nearly a quarter of the increase in jobs have been added during President Trumps economy.

By comparison, both Presidents GW Bush and Obama incurred net decreases in jobs in there first 19 months on the job.  GW Bush incurred a net decrease in jobs of (2.1) million while Obama lost a net (4.4) million jobs in his first 19 months on the job.

NEARLY ONE QUARTER of All Jobs Added in the US this Century Have Now Occurred Under President Trump


National Security Advisor to Donald Trump, John Bolton, has said the International Criminal Court (ICC) is dead to us in his latest speech.

He labelled the court as illegitimate and for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us.

Mr Bolton, who has long held an unfavourable view of the court, who was speaking at a meeting of the Federalist Society, a conservative group based in Washington DC, said the ICC was ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed outright dangerous.

The court, established in 2002 in The Hague in the Netherlands, has the power to prosecute individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The US never ratified the Rome Statute that established the court and George W Bush, in the early days of the still-ongoing war in Afghanistan, never ratified it.

The court is getting ready to investigate detainee abuse in Afghanistan, an investigation Mr Bolton called utterly unfounded, adding: We will provide no cooperation to the ICC.

The former US Ambassador to the United Nations under Mr Bush, went on to say the central aim of [the ICCs] most vigorous supporters was to constrain the US.

Mr Bolton said the courts statute had glaring, significant flaws and constituted an assault on the constitutional rights of the American people and the sovereignty of the US.

He also acknowledged his hecklers as Code Pink, an international charity which works to end US-funded wars, his friends who follow me everywhere.

Mr Bolton, following a trend in the Trump administration of criticising multilateralism, branded the ICC as a freewheeling global organisation governing over individuals without their consent.

He claimed American soldiers, politicians, and private citizens are at risk because the court assumes the automatic right to prosecute over everyone, even in countries which did not ratify the Rome Statute establishing the court.

Israel, Sudan, Russia, and the US under Mr Bush, are four signatories of the statute who renounced their signatures and informed the UN they would no longer be subject to the legal obligations under the statute.

Mr Bolton said the US unsigning of the Rome Statute was meant to protect Americans from the unacceptable overreach of the court.

He cited the 2002 American Service-members Protection Act, which some have dubbed the Hague invasion act Mr Bolton said and also prosecution within South Africa following the abolishment of apartheid as examples of why the court was superfluous.

The act authorised the US president to use all means, including force, to shield US military members from prosecution by the ICC, he noted.

The Trump aide said US courts and the military justice system already hold all Americans to the highest legal and ethical standards.

Mr Bolton repeatedly hit out at the global body of which 123 countries are part, asking: Would you consign the fate of American citizens to a committee of other nations [and] entities that arent even states like the Palestinian authority?

The US state department had earlier announced the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) office in Washington, partly out of a concern over the offices attempts to have the ICC investigate US ally Israel.

He supported the aggressive US stance against the ICC by citing internal management issues, like divulging confidential information to human rights ambassadors like actress Angelina Jolie.

Mr Bolton went as far as threatening ICC officials and prosecutors with sanctions and legal action to the extent permissible under US law and said those individuals could be barred from entering the country.

The overarching message of the National Security Advisor was that any perceived atrocity against humanity is to be deemed so by the people within those states, not by the international body.

We dont recognise any authority higher than the US Constitution, Mr Bolton said.

Trump official John Bolton declares International Criminal Court aposdangerousapos and aposdea


(Natural News) When you think of disease-fighting foods, celery might not be the first one that comes to mind. Sure, its a green vegetable, but its one that most of us take for granted. We might use it when making broth, soup or a sauce, but its rarely the star of a dish. However, studies show that we may be ignoring this vegetable to our detriment as celery is surprisingly powerful when it comes to destroying cancer cells.

The main compound responsible for celerys impressive benefits is apigenin. Studies in cells and animals alike have found that apigenin can stop tumors from forming, growing and metastasizing. Another quality that makes it particularly effective against cancer is the fact that it has several mechanisms of action, potentially helping more people as some patients cant benefit from a single chemopreventive compound on its own.

A recent review published in the Journal of Cancer Protection showed that the flavonoid in celery has vast and potent chemoprotective effects. For example, it can stop prostate cancer from progressing by slowing the proliferation of cancer cells, promoting apoptosis, lowering the levels of pro-inflammatory molecules that cause cancer, and reducing carcinomas. The reviewers concluded that apigenin can help to prevent and treat many different types of cancer.

Apigenin also stops the growth of the new blood vessels that tumors depend on for nourishment. Known as angiogenesis, its an essential process for cancer to proliferate. Apigenin stops this from occurring, depriving tumors of the nutrients, oxygen and blood needed to thrive.

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According to a study that was published in the journal Carcinogenesis, apigenin has the power to stop the expression of a protein that helps cancer break down healthy tissue and invade it. It has also been shown to promote the death of cancer cells.

Apigenin rightfully gets a lot of the attention, but it is not the only compound in celery that fights cancer. The vegetable contains polyacetylenes like those found in fennel, parsley and carrots, which can help prevent cancers of the breast, intestines, colon, lungs, and pancreas. It also contains luteolin, which was found in one study to reduce the oxidative stress in colon cancer genesis, which means it could one day serve in some form as a potential drug for treating colorectal cancer.

Celery also boasts several other benefits. For example, it can help to treat high blood pressure thanks to the 3-n-butylphthalide found in celery oil. Its high soluble fiber content, meanwhile, can help keep blood sugar levels in balance and lower cholesterol.

It also contains a high amount of vitamin K, which helps blood clot properly. Those who are deficient in this vitamin are at risk of bruising easily and bleeding profusely. It also plays a role in bone building, and those who are deficient could see their bones weaken. Just one cup of chopped celery contains 37 percent of the daily recommended value of this vitamin.

Now that you know how surprisingly beneficial celery can be, you may be looking for ways to incorporate more of it into your diet. Consume organic celery raw to get the most health benefits. Chop some up to dip in hummus or Greek yogurt mixed with herbs; add it to a green salad, egg salad, or tuna salad; or spread some homemade peanut butter inside of it for a quick and healthy snack.

Celery might not be as rich in vitamins as other vegetables, but its phytonutrients are more than enough to earn it a place on any list of foods that can benefit your health and prevent disease.

Celery is an underappreciated vegetable This nutritional superhero targets cancer cells at a molecu


The Nov. 6 elections are first and foremost about Donald Trump. The president is a dangerous authoritarian whose political party not only refuses to restrain him, but seems to take pleasure in emulating his most nihilistic impulses. The meaning of the midterms depends on whether the Democratic Party can win control of at least one chamber of Congress, allowing it to conduct official investigations and perform meaningful oversight.

But the midterms are also a critical test for the health of American democracy. And while we wont know the full story until Wednesday morning, there are some reasons for cautious optimism. Fear may be the most explosive force in our politics, but the most corrosive is apathy. So far, Americans appear to be responding to the Trump era with renewed political vigor.

In states that allow early voting, over 30 million ballots have already been cast, far surpassing the 20.5 million cast in 2014, with a few days left to go. New voter registration is smashing records in swing states including Colorado, Iowa and Virginia, all of which feature important congressional races. Surveys of interest and enthusiasm in the 2018 election indicate an electorate far more energized than it was four years ago. Fundraising from small donors is off the charts.

This is the sort of activity you would hope to see if you cared about the state of the worlds most powerful democracy. Its also the sort of activity youd want to see if you are emotionally attached to the beleaguered Democratic Party.

Nationwide, 31 states and the District of Columbia register voters according to party. Among these, Democrats enjoy an advantage of nearly 12 million, according to the University of Virginias Center for Politics. Democrats outnumber Republicans in 19 states, including West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisiana and Florida. The 12 million figure almost certainly understates the scale of the Democratic advantage, since of the 19 states that do not register by party, many are solidly Democratic  Hawaii, Washington, Minnesota and Illinois  while still others  New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Dakota, Missouri, Montana and, yes, Alabama  are currently represented by at least one Democratic official elected statewide. Of the 19 states that dont track party registration, only five  Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee  dont currently feature a Democratic senator or governor.

And yet. Twenty-six states exhibit unified Republican rule, while six more have a Republican governor and another six have a Republican-controlled state legislature. The Senate is split 51 to 49 and Republicans hold a 47-seat advantage in the House. When election day comes around, Democrats often have the voters, but not the votes.

Professional Democrats typically explain the gap between their registration advantage and their election-day results by emphasizing gerrymandering and voter suppression. Its a comforting narrative  Republicans win, but only because they cheat. And there is no doubt that gerrymandering and voter suppression are both very real, very destructive and very racist. Nationwide, Democratic candidates won 1,592,083 more votes than their Republican counterparts in 2012, yet Republicans secured 234 seats to Democrats 201. The tactics Republicans deploy to suppress the black vote seem endless.

Republicans resort to voter suppression and gerrymandering because it works. But Democrats have always had the ability to take the sting out of each by generating more enthusiasm and greater turnout. And they rarely deliver the goods. In 2014, only 36.7 percent of eligible voters bothered to show up, according to the United States Election Project at the University of Florida. In 2010, a wave year for Republicans, the figure was just 41 percent. Voter turnout hasnt eclipsed 50 percent in a midterm since 1914, but it took an 8.2 percentage point dive in 1974  proportionally almost one-fifth  and never really recovered. Bumping turnout by just a few percentage points in prior elections could have been the difference between a Republican triumph and a Democratic wave, dirty tricks notwithstanding.

Part of the problem is that Democrats just dont run. You cant win seats you dont compete for. In 2018, with the party in its weakest electoral position since the Civil War, a host of candidates decided to roll the dice on what seemed like long-shot bids in deep-red territory. In Californias super-rich (median income: $93,995) 45th District, Katie Porter, an acolyte of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is running neck and neck with cut-my-property-taxes Republican Mimi Walters. In Virginias 5th District  overwhelmingly rural territory gerrymandered to neutralize liberal votes in Charlottesville, lefty Leslie Cockburn is in a dead heat with her Bigfoot-friendly opponent Denver Riggleman.

Porter and Cockburn arent alone. A record number of women are running for office in 2018  good news for the representational part of representational democracy. There are 256 women on the ballot in House and Senate races this year, 197 of them Democrats. The 183 Democratic women running for the House is more than 50 percent higher than the partys prior record of 120.

We dont know if Rep. Beto ORourke will beat Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas or if Stacey Abrams will defeat Brian Kemp in Georgia. We dont know if Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten can dethrone white nationalist Republican Steve King in rural Iowa. But all of these races are solidly competitive heading into the final stretch, and Democratic Party leaders who scoffed at the idea of spending time and money in deep-red territory now look foolish. Democrats are running well in Kansas, and even the Oklahoma governors race isnt a lock for Republicans.

Much of this new competitiveness has been enabled by a new fundraising model. After years of emulating Republican campaign finance strategies  targeting big donors and catering to their interests  Democrats seem to have at last figured out how to raise money from people who are not millionaires or billionaires. This cycle, theyre out-raising Republicans more than 3-to-1 on donations of $200 or less. ORourke alone has raised $31 million from small donors, a staggering sum for a Senate race. Thats the money it takes to get the message out.

So what message will work? The midterms are about to test a bunch of different strategies. In the Senate, Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) are doing their best to survive in red states by yoking themselves to Trump  touting their support for his banking agenda and his anti-immigrant message. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are pursuing the opposite approach, presenting themselves as unapologetic populist progressives in Trump territory. In Arizona, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema  one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress  is essentially running as Mitt Romney, while ORourke is running as a progressive  some of his voting record to the contrary.

Will all of this be enough to give Democrats a congressional majority? Most polling suggests that a House takeover is likely and a Senate switch is a long shot. But it all depends on who shows up to vote on Tuesday. Polling models slightly misgauged turnout demographics in the Upper Midwest in 2016, making what had appeared to be a sure thing for Hillary Clinton into a narrow upset for Trump.

In The 2018 Midterms Democrats Have A Historic Opportunity Do They Have The Votes


We came across Turley recently and find him interesting because his basic argument is that there is a worldwide turn to conservative values, traditionalism, and nationalism, in the US, Eastern Europe, the EU, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, in fact, all continents, and that this change is being driven by the loosening of the liberal, globalist grip on information flow due to technology. You can see all his articles on RI here.

Turley is a theology, Greek, and rhetoric teacher in the booming classical education movement, which is predominantly conservative. He is a former Protestant from Connecticut who converted to Orthodoxy. He speaks about the Russian Orthodox Christian revival in this video.

Europe Is Undergoing a Conservative Christian Revival


Pep Guardiola is surprised Southampton have struggled to find a spark this season.

Guardiola's Manchester City, the champions, face Saints in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Mark Hughes' side have collected just seven points from their opening 10 games - 19 fewer than City - but Guardiola does not think that tally does them justice.

Guardiola said: "Always when I see Southampton, with the players they have, it's a surprise they are in the position they are in.

"It's the quality of the players they have. I'm impressed with the quality they have in front, it's strong, and especially in the middle, with (Oriol) Romeu, (Pierre-Emile) Hojbjerg. They have hugely talented players."

Saints proved one of City's most stubborn opponents last season. When they met at Eastlands in November it took a spectacular, injury-time Raheem Sterling goal for City to prevail.

The sides met again on the final day of the season. City had already been crowned champions by then but they were determined to win to become the first side to reach 100 points in the Premier League. Again, they were made to wait until the last minute to claim their winner.

"Last season we suffered a lot, both with (Mauricio) Pellegrino and Mark Hughes," said Guardiola.

"They played five at the back, four in the middle, so deep, so physical. It was so complicated to beat them.

"In this kind of game we have to be sharp, move well in the small spaces, be clever and concede few set-pieces because they are strong there too."

Southampton have won just once in the league this season but have drawn their last two games 0-0. City have played twice since Southampton's last game, beating Tottenham at Wembley on Monday and then seeing off Fulham in the Carabao Cup on Thursday.

Guardiola said: "We've had just three days for regeneration and they've had one week to prepare, so it will be a tough, tough game.

"In the Premier League now the big contenders miss few points, so that is why you have to be ready to get those points."

City suffered a blow on Thursday as Kevin De Bruyne sustained knee ligament damage that could keep him out for up to six weeks. Ilkay Gundogan could return after a hamstring injury but Nicolas Otamendi is out with a tendon problem.

Follow the Independent Sport on Instagram here, for all of the best images, videos and stories from around the sporting world.

Manchester City vs Southampton Pep Guardiola surprised by Saintsapos struggles this season


Home favourite Cameron Smith rolled in a birdie putt on the last hole to give Australia a share of the lead with England and South Korea after the first round of the $7m World Cup of Golf in Melbourne on Thursday.

On a blustery day at Metropolitan Golf Club, the baby-faced 25-year-old combined with Marc Leishman for a 10-under-par 62 in the opening round of four-balls, boosting the home nations hopes of a sixth title in the 28-nation team event.

Playing in the last group with the United States, the local duo reeled in Englands Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter, and Koreans Kim Si-woo and An Byeong-hun, while thrilling a large gallery.

There was quite a few people out here for a Thursday.

Hopefully we can keep them coming out over the weekend and give them something to cheer about.

The trio of leaders held a one stroke-lead over Danish defending champions Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen, Belgium and surprise package Malaysia.

The United States Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley started brightly on their nations Thanksgiving holiday with four consecutive birdies from the fourth to the seventh holes and an eagle on the par-five ninth.

But their celebrations were tempered by an underwhelming back nine featuring one birdie and a bogey, and they ended the day four strokes adrift.

Sandbelt veteran Poulter and Hatton, reunited after playing for the victorious Europe team in the Ryder Cup, grabbed six birdies on the back nine in a bogey-free day.

England are bidding for their third title and first since Paul Casey and Luke Donald won the 2004 event in Spain.

You cant make bogeys in this format and be happy, said Poulter.

Todays about attacking the golf course and making as many birdies as you can.

The first group out, Malaysias Gavin Green and Ben Leong grabbed the clubhouse lead, storming ahead with eagles at the seventh and ninth before being pulled in late.

We got along well and I think it was good, said 24-year-old Green, who became the first Malaysian to top the Asian Tours order of merit last year.

Hes (Leong) a little shorter than me and Im a little longer, so its always nice to have that little combination on some holes... Were looking forward to the next few days.

The two-man teams compete in foursomes in the second round on Friday.

Australia will be paired with England in a crowd-pleasing move to pit the traditional sporting rivals against each other on the eve of the meeting of the two nations in a rugby test in London.

Youve got the Ashes (cricket) and the rugby and all that, said Smith. So yeah, there is a rivalry ... Were looking forward to that.

Follow the Independent Sport on Instagram here, for all of the best images, videos and stories from around the sporting world.

World Cup of Golf Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter give England a share of the lead after opening rou


Youve managed to ruin the greatest country in world history.

Paul Manafort was Donald Trumps campaign manager for two months. Now he must be punished.

The US government is holding Paul Manafort in a tiny prison cell during his trial with no reading material and no television.

Paul Manafort faces 305 years in prison for tax evasion charges  a crime that typically has an average sentence of 1.5 years.

If he was an illegal alien Democrats would be outraged.

Via After the Bell:

BANANA REPUBLIC Paul Manafort Is Being Held in Tiny Prison Cell with No Reading Material or TV Duri


When Donald Trump was running for office, he all but said outright that he wanted to make sure the United States would no longer be the leader of the free world. Since he became president, his insane rhetoric and the policies hes put in place have insured that wed lose our standing in the world...and hes succeeded. We are no longer the shining city on the hill. That moniker now belongs to Canada. Yesterday their Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, showed that he deserves to be called the leader of the free world, after his response to Trumps tweet attack.

Trudeau said that Canada would be implementing tariffs to offset the unjust ones Trump used against his country. He said on CNN

It would be with regret, but it would be with absolute certainty and firmness that we move forward with retaliatory measures on July first, applying equivalent tariffs to the ones that the Americans have unjustly applied to us. I have made it very clear to the president that it is not something we relish doing, but it is something that we absolutely will do, because Canadians, were polite, were reasonable, but we also will not be pushed around.

Now that sounds like something a true leader would say. He didnt threaten to bomb our country, or isolate his from the rest of the world the way Trump would. No, he responded with a calm, cool demeanor that said he was going to stand up to the bully sitting in the White House.

Once Trumps ridiculous trade war starts hurting the pocketbooks of those who voted for him, it will be with absolute certainty that hell lose the support of his followers. And make no bones about it...Trumps trade war will hurt his followers most.

Its too bad we dont have a leader like Trudeau to lead this country. Canada is quite lucky to have someone like him. Were stuck with an ignorant, belligerent, petulant, man-child thats going to destroy this country, while their country is going to prosper. Justin Trudeau is the real leader of the free world.

Justin Trudeau Drops The Hammer On Trump With Badass Weekend Response To G-7