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N. Korea tests new 'super-large' multiple rocket launcher

North Korea said Sunday leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of a "newly developed super-large multiple rocket launcher," another demonstration of its expanding weapons arsenal apparently aimed at increasing its leverage ahead of a possible resumption of nuclear talks with the U.S. Kim underscored the need to "continue to step up the development of Korean-style strategic and tactical weapons for resolutely frustrating the ever-mounting military threats and pressure offensive of the hostile forces," according to the KCNA. The "hostile forces" likely referred to the United States and South Korea, whose recently ended regular military drills infuriated North Korea.

Ex-wife, children of Atlanta surgeon Christopher Edwards found dead in apparent murder-suicide

Authorities say they believe Marsha Edwards shot Christopher Edwards Jr. and Erin Edwards before turning the gun on herself.

Police are trying to arrest their way out of a mass shooting epidemic, and experts warn that law enforcement can't shoulder the entire burden

The arrests won't fully or permanently stop a person determined to inflict mass death — and the US is nowhere near close to tackling the root causes.

After night of clashes, Hong Kong braces for fresh rally

Protesters gathered at a sports stadium Sunday as Hong Kong braced for more anti-government rallies, a day after clashes returned to the city's streets following several days of relative calm. Hong Kong has been gripped by three months of street demonstrations that started against a proposed extradition bill to China, but have spun out into a wider pro-democracy movement. The MTR -- the city's metro -- is the latest Hong Kong business to be rebuked by the public, after appearing to bend to Chinese state-media attacks accusing the transport system of being an "exclusive" service to ferry protesters to rallies.

President Trump hikes tariffs, stocks plunge as China trade war escalates

Stocks tumbled on Wall Street after President Donald Trump said he "hereby ordered" U.S. companies to consider alternatives to doing business in China. He also said he would respond to Beijing's latest tariff increase later Friday.

Revered as a saint by online extremists, how Christchurch shooter inspired copycat terrorists around the world

“Brenton Tarrant was a catalyst for me personally. He showed me that it could be done. And that it needed to be done.”Those were the words written by John Timothy Earnest shortly before he stormed a synagogue in Poway, California, and opened fire on the Jewish congregation.

Russia's Chechnya inaugurates what it says is Europe's largest mosque

Authorities in the Russian region of Chechnya on Friday inaugurated what they said was the largest mosque in Europe in a pomp-filled ceremony attended by local and foreign officials. Named after the Prophet Mohammed, the marble-decorated mosque has capacity for more than 30,000 people and has been described by the Chechen authorities as the "largest and most beautiful" mosque in Europe. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the mosque -- located in Shali, a town of 54,000 just outside the regional capital Grozny -- was "unique in its design, and majestic in its size and beauty".

A floating nuclear plant in Russia features a gym, bar, and pool. An expert calls it 'Chernobyl on ice.'

Environmental activists worry about the perils of placing nuclear reactors at sea, where they could be vulnerable to climate-related disasters.

The Latest: Harris gets warm welcome at California meeting

California Sen. Kamala Harris is getting a rousing hometown welcome at the Democratic National Committee summer meeting in San Francisco. Harris is looking to California as a potentially key part of her path to the Democratic presidential nomination. With scores of supporters in the gallery Friday, Harris harkened back to her first political race for district attorney.

A man was training to get a gun permit. The instructor accidentally shot him, police say

The instructor, a Riverside County Sheriff's Department trainer, accidentally shot a student attending the class to get a concealed weapons permit.

A man with schizophrenia was found guilty of murdering a Saint Augustine's University student in 1979. 40 years later, a panel of judges decided he's innocent after all.

Blackmon's lawyers argued he was tricked by police and prosecutors into falsely confessing to a crime he didn't commit.

Journalist killed in Mexico

The head of a Mexican news website was found stabbed to death in the center of the country, authorities said Saturday, the 10th such killing this year. The body of Nevith Condes Jaramillo "was found Saturday morning... showing injuries from a sharp object," the state prosecutor said in a statement. Condes Jaramillo, 42, was the head of a local news site in Tejupilco and was also an announcer on a community radio station.

Trump's economic anxiety comes to a boil

The president directs U.S. businesses to pull out of China, but maintains that the "economy is doing really well."

Metal detectorist finds £10,000 gold ring in garage 40 years after discarding it as worthless

A metal detectorist who discarded a gold ring in his garage for 40 years after a museum told him it was worthless has discovered its real value is £10,000. Tom Clark, 81, dug up the buried treasure while scanning an area of farmland near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979, then put it inside a metal tin and forgot about it. But the retired leather craftsman came across the rare seal ring eight years ago while sorting through items from his mother's house after she passed away. He got the item valued and was astonished to discover that it was actually a 670-year-old medieval artefact dating back to 1350. It is due to be auctioned off in Derbyshire on Tuesday (Aug 27) and is expected to sell for between £8,500 and £10,000. The turn of events is similar to the plot of BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, when brothers Del and Rodney come across a watch in their garage which is then auctioned off for millions of pounds. Mr Clark said: "I had completely forgotten about it. At the time I'd only been metal detecting for 10 years and didn't realise the ring was anything special. It was all twisted and broken when I dug it up." He took the rare ring along with some others to a museum to have them valued at the time, but was told they were all fairly modern. "I put them all in a tin and left them in the garage at my mother's house," he said. "A few months ago, I was sorting through some stuff in my own garage that had come from my mother's house and there it was - the tin with the rings in it." Tom is auctioning off the ring, which is expected to make between £8,500 and £10,000 Credit: Hansons / SWNS/Hansons / SWNS Mr Clark, now a much more experienced collector, said he instantly knew it was a seal ring dating back to the 1300s and would have belonged to someone important given its decoration and quality. He added: "It's rare and elegant. I'd love to know who it belonged to." A Latin inscription on the ring translates as 'I hide the true message'. Mark Becher, Historica expert at auctioneer Hansons, said: "It's a fascinating piece of medieval jewellery and I'm delighted Tom rediscovered again after all these years."

Britain will withhold $37 billion from EU in no-deal Brexit: Mail on Sunday

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to tell European Union leaders he will withhold 30 billion pounds ($37 billion) from the Brexit divorce bill unless they agree to changes to the deal, the Mail on Sunday reported. If Britain leaves the bloc without a trade deal, lawyers have concluded the government's will only have to pay the EU 9 billion pounds, rather than 39 billion pounds, the newspaper reported.

The Latest: Hong Kong protest winds down after clashes

A large group of protesters has largely dispersed in Hong Kong after engaging in clashes with police for the first time in nearly two weeks. Riot officers used tear gas and nonlethal rounds Saturday after protesters took over a road in the city's Kowloon Bay area. The protesters regrouped several times to challenge police again before calling it a day as night fell.

Democratic presidential candidates have a new approach for tackling gun violence: Treat it as a public-health crisis

Candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker want to draw on tactics used by community-based organizations to fight gun violence.

Fast-moving wildfire erupts in California, forcing thousands to evacuate

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

Iceland Held Talks With U.S. Ambassador Over Pence Visit

(Bloomberg) -- Iceland’ prime minister is open to a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence during his trip to the Nordic island, should the visit be extended.The option was discussed during a pre-scheduled meeting on Friday between Katrin Jakobsdottir and ambassador Jeffrey Gunter, a government spokesman told Bloomberg.Jakobsdottir, a left-of-center feminist and LGBT advocate, is due to attend a conference by Nordic trade union leaders in Sweden on Sept. 4. That’s the same day in which Pence is due to arrive.Jakobsdottir’s decision to not change her schedule to accommodate the vice president’s visit has been criticized at home.Olaf­ur Hardar­son, a professor of political science at the University of Iceland, told local media Morgunbladid it would be “unusual” for the prime minister not to greet the American vice president.According to her spokeswoman, a final decision on whether the meeting can take place has not yet been made.The White House said Pence planned to discuss trade opportunities, the Arctic and NATO efforts to counter Russian aggression in the region.The scheduling snafu is the latest episode in a series of exchanges involving Donald Trump and the Nordics.Pence’s visit would take place in the wake of a very public spat between the U.S. president and Denmark over its refusal to sell Greenland.Trump said Saturday he had held a “nice” conversation with Mette Frederiksen, with the exchange coming just days after labeling the Danish prime minister as “nasty.”In 2017, Sweden reacted forcibly to Trump’s portrayal of the Nordic nation as being in a state of chaos and overrun by crime after an influx of refugees.(Adds quote in fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir in Reykjavik at rsigurdardot@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo, Andrew DavisFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Released from death row, then returned — forced to prove race discrimination a second time

Cases before N.C. Supreme Court show link between slavery, Jim Crow and modern death penalty is as connected as 'ropes of the lynch-man's noose'

Fear grips Bangladesh camp as 2 Rohingya refugees killed

Bangladesh police said they had shot dead two Rohingya refugees during a gunfight in a refugee camp on Saturday after the pair were accused of killing a ruling party official. Nearly a million Rohingya live in squalid camps in southeast Bangladesh, 740,000 of whom fled a 2017 military offensive against the Muslim minority in Myanmar. The incident comes two days after a second failed attempt to repatriate the refugees, which saw not a single Rohingya turn up to return across the border to conflict-scarred Rakhine state.

Dow, stocks dive off Trump's latest comments on US-China trade war

Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Friday after President Donald Trump called on U.S. companies to consider alternatives to doing business in China

An innocent man spent months in jail after customs officials thought honey he brought back from Jamaica was liquid meth

Leon Haughton told The Washington Post he was jailed for 82 days after customs officials in Baltimore alleged that the three jars of honey were meth.

2 women accused of shoplifting strollers and accidentally leaving their baby behind

Two women were arrested for allegedly shoplifting baby strollers and accidentally leaving their own baby behind as they tried to get away.

Cathay Pacific cabin crew union leader fired as Hong Kongers warn of spread of 'white terror'

Cathay Pacific fired a cabin crew union leader on Friday, the latest casualty in a fast-spreading “white terror” as mass protests in Hong Kong continue into their third month.  Rebecca Sy, head of the Cathay Dragon flight attendant’s association, said she lost her job of 17 years, without explanation,  after managers saw and confirmed her Facebook account,  which included messages in favour of the protests. “All the employees are being frightened, not just cabin crews, but even the management,” Ms Sy told reporters. “My colleagues are all terrified because of its white terror.” “White terror” is a term used to describe a slew of events that create a climate of fear particularly as companies and employees worry of serious repercussions for voicing their views. Her departure follows a surprise resignation last week by CEO Rupert Hogg, reported first by Chinese state media, underlining the political nature of the decision. Cathay has borne the brunt of Beijing’s anger as authorities look to punish companies with any link to the Hong Kong protests - a direct challenge to the power of the Communist Party. Rebecca Sy was dismissed from her position as flight attendant for Cathay Pacific's subsidiary Cathay Dragon Credit: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images In the crackdown, companies and employees could face serious repercussions for voicing their views. Hong Kong subway operator MTR has also come under fire for arranging additional trains to allow protesters to travel home, accused of “colluding with rioters” in Chinese state media.  Beijing authorities have long put the squeeze on companies over political issues by encouraging its 1.4 billion citizens to snub various brands or by throwing up a number of regulatory roadblocks – a move that can have devastating consequences for even the biggest firms. Simon Cheng, 28, a British consular official in Hong Kong and permanent resident of the city has been detained for two weeks in mainland China for allegedly visiting prostitutes.  Under Chinese law, Mr Cheng should have been released today after a 15-day administrative period but at time of publication he was still in detention. Hong Kong police said on Friday that they did not know Mr Cheng's whereabouts.  Protests in Hong Kong first kicked off over an extradition proposal that would have exposed people to China’s murky legal and judicial system, where authorities have also in the past detained foreigners to express political displeasure. Two Canadians - Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur - were detained in China last year during Beijing’s diplomatic dispute with Ottawa over its arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. It is widely viewed that both men - who are still being held and have been charged with spying – are being used as political pawns. Hong Kong protests | Read more A number of multinationals operating in Hong Kong have sought to stress their political neutrality to avoid their businesses being targeted and to protect staff from arbitrary detention.  Earlier this week, the world’s “big four” accounting firms came under attack after an anonymous group claiming to be made up of their employees took out a full-page newspaper advertisement to express support for protests in Hong Kong and condemn the firms for remaining silent on the issue. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers all sought to distance themselves from the advertisement, saying it didn’t represent the companies’ views. But Chinese state media had already seized on the situation, calling for the firms to identify and sack the employees behind the ad. FinnAir has also issued a warning to staff to remember to “keep work and politics separate,” reported the South China Morning Post, over concerns that any link to the protests might lead to a customer backlash or flight cancellations in China, its second-largest market for long-haul travel.   “China is obviously putting pressure on companies to ensure that they all hold the same political views,” said Keenan Chuk, 30, a finance manager who attended a lunchtime rally or accountants in Hong Kong’s central business district Friday.  “I am concerned that I will be fired,” he said, adding that “we still have to fight for our rights.” Even universities have warned students against discussing politics and participating in rallies.  “In a modern society, education should be free from politics so as to alleviate the escalation of anxiety and avoid the divisive society caused by chaos,” according to a statement from the City University of Hong Kong issued earlier this month. A woman said she experienced at a police station during her detention in Hong Kong Credit: REUTERS/Thomas Peter Some banks are also now taking precautionary measures, purchasing full page ads in newspapers to affirm their support for the government. Edwin, 26, an accountant who declined to give his last name, said senior partners in his firm had invited junior employees to lunch that day in an attempt to dissuade people from attending Friday’s protest.  But he participated in the demonstration anyway, turning up again in the evening to join a human chain meant to evoke the Baltic Way, when two million lined up across three countries to protest Soviet rule in 1989.  “In the industry, we switch firms quite often,” he shrugged. Hong Kong police came under renewed pressure on Friday when officers were accused of conducting an unnecessary strip search on a female protester. The alleged victim appeared at a press conference dressed in all black with a black face mask, cap and sunglasses. Facing the cameras in front of a "MeToo" sign, she claimed she was arrested weeks ago at a protest against the now-abandoned extradition bill and was admitted to hospital for injuries she suffered that night. By her account, one officer patted her thighs with a pen, instructing her to open her legs wider after ordering her to take off all her clothes in a police cell. The police said their body search procedures had not changed during the recent outbreak of citywide protests.

'Keep Marysville white': racist remark by would-be councilor shocks Michigan city

A question about diversity in a candidate’s forum produced a jaw-dropping response from first-time candidate Jean CramerJean Cramer, a candidate for the Marysville city council, gives her opening remarks during a candidate forum on Thursday at Marysville City Hall in Michigan. Photograph: Brian Wells/APFor the first hour of the election forum in Marysville, Michigan, on Thursday night the debate between the five candidates for a city council seat dealt with the local subjects you might expect – how to improve Little League fields, new real estate developments and the like.Then the question came: “Do you believe the diversity of our community needs to be looked at?”First to answer was Jean Cramer, a local resident running her first political campaign. She replied: “Keep Marysville a white community as much as possible.”Her response, reported by the Times-Herald newspaper in Port Huron, sent a ripple of laughter and then shock across the hall. Marysville, a small town of 10,000 north-east of Detroit, is 98% white and 0.3% African American.Cramer’s unalloyed remark was immediately denounced by other Marysville figures. The town’s acting mayor, Kathy Hayman, said: “I don’t even know that I can talk yet, I’m so upset and shocked.”Hayman added that her father was Syrian. “So basically, what you’ve said is that my father and his family had no business in this community.”The outgoing mayor, Dan Damman, called Cramer’s comments “as vile as they were jaw-dropping”.After the forum ended, Cramer doubled down on her racist outburst to the Times Herald.She insisted she was not “against blacks” but went on to say: “A husband and wife need to be the same race … That’s how it’s been [since] … God created the heaven and the earth. He created Adam and Eve at the same time.”Paradoxically, of the five candidates in November’s mayoral election, Cramer has the weakest roots within Marysville. The other four were born in the town or have lived there for decades, but as the Times Herald pointed out she only moved to the community within the last 10 years.

NJ Cop Sent to Psychiatric Ward After Wife’s Slaying Will Finally Face Judge

Chip East/ReutersA New Jersey cop accused of breaking into his estranged wife’s home, shooting her, and then chasing her into the streets to put a final bullet in her head—all while in uniform—will finally face a judge next week.Newark Lt. John Formisano was arrested a couple of hours after the July 15 slaying. But instead of being brought to court, he was taken to a psychiatric unit after telling investigators that he “blacked out” just before the shooting.According to a police affidavit, the 49-year-old exhibited “suicidal behavior.” Five weeks later, he was still in the hospital and had not been arraigned in a court of law—frustrating victim Christie Solaro-Formisano’s family.“What we feel is we want to have some justice. Any justice can bring a small fraction of peace and closure,” her aunt, Joy Mandara, said earlier this week. “Right now, it seems justice is working very slowly and differently from how we expected.”Uniformed Cop Who Allegedly Gunned Down Screaming Wife Hasn’t Faced JusticeAfter The Daily Beast and local media reported on the delay, the wheels of justice seemed to speed up. Prosecutors confirmed Saturday that there will be a hearing in the case on Wednesday, and that Formisano will appear via video hookup from the psychiatric unit.Before the hearing was scheduled, prosecutors had insisted Formisano was not getting special treatment because he is a police officer.“If this defendant was a house painter or a businessman on Wall Street in the same circumstances, it would have been handled in the same way,” a spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office told The Daily Beast earlier in the week.At the time of the shooting, Solaro-Formisano and the Newark lieutenant were in the process of getting a divorce.Formisano told investigators that he went to her home to drop off glasses for their 8-year-old daughter, the older of their two children. The mother of two was home with her boyfriend, and went down to the door.“He’s got a gun!” Solaro-Formisano yelled, according to the boyfriend. “Call 911!”A nightmarish scene ensued. Formisano allegedly chased his estranged wife through the house, shooting at her, then broke down the bedroom door and shot the boyfriend in the abdomen, thigh, arms, and hand.Bleeding from her wounds, Solaro-Formisano ran outside. She was scrambling up the steps to a neighbor’s house when the cop allegedly caught up to her and shot her in the head.The neighbor called 911 and identified the gunman. “He’s a Newark cop. He lives on the corner. I saw it. I saw him through my window. He’s in his uniform,” she told the dispatcher.N.J. Cop Claims He ‘Blacked Out’ Before Killing Estranged Wife, Shooting Her Boyfriend: AuthoritiesAccording to police, Formisano locked his service weapon in the trunk of his car, tossed his cellphone and drove 30 miles. He was nabbed in a parking lot.During a police interview, he did not deny his role in the bloodshed.“After entering the residence, Formisano stated he began to suspect that [his estranged wife] had a male guest in the bedroom, at which point he ‘blacked out,’” the police affidavit said.“He stated that he recalls firing his weapon numerous times.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Britain sends another warship to Gulf

A third British warship is heading to the Gulf, the Royal Navy announced Saturday, amid heightened tensions in the region. Britain has already sent the HMS Kent to cover for frigate HMS Montrose while it undergoes maintenance in nearby Bahrain, and is now redirecting the Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender from its mission to the Pacific. Britain outraged Iran by seizing one of its tankers -- the Grace 1 -- on July 4 on suspicion it was carrying oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.

Trump claim doctors treating mass shooting victims 'were coming out of operating rooms' to meet him dismissed by hospitals

Two hospitals have denied Donald Trump’s claim doctors “were coming out of operating rooms” to meet him when he travelled to Texas and Ohio to console victims of two mass shootings."At no time did, or would, physicians or staff leave active operating rooms during the presidential visit,” University Medical Center (UMC) spokesperson Ryan Mielke told local TV station KVIA. “Our priority is always patient care."

French police fire tear gas, water cannons at anti-G7 protesters

French riot police used water cannons and tear gas on Saturday to disperse anti-capitalism protesters in Bayonne, near the resort of Biarritz where President Emmanuel Macron and G7 nation allies were meeting for a three-day summit. A police helicopter circled as dozens of protesters, some hurling stones, shouted slogans and abuse at the lines of police in the Basque town's historic center. The protesters shouted "Everybody hates the police" and "anti, anti anti-capitalists" as the mood took a darker turn from peaceful protests earlier in the day in an authorized march on the French-Spanish border.

Russian doctor has trace of radiation after explosion

More than 100 Russian medical workers who helped treat victims of a recent mysterious explosion at a military testing range have undergone checks and one man has been found with a trace of radiation, officials said Friday. It was followed by a brief rise in radiation levels in nearby Severodvinsk, but the authorities insisted it didn't pose any danger. The Arkhangelsk regional administration said Friday that 110 medical workers have undergone checks that one man was found with a low amount of radioactive cesium-137 in his muscle tissue.

A youth sports organization is raffling off a semi-automatic weapon to help its cheerleading and football teams

As a result of the controversy, the president of the organization said he is considering doing away with the rifle raffle for future fundraisers.

Son of ex-NFL player accused of murdering parents arrested

Authorities say the son of a former NFL lineman wanted on murder charges in Minnesota for the shooting of his parents was arrested Saturday in Mexico. The Todd County Sheriff's Office says 22-year-old Dylan John Bennett was arrested on second degree murder charges at a hotel Saturday in Cancun. "The FBI is taking him into custody now and will transport him to Minnesota in the coming days," the statement said.

South Korea begins annual war games to defend against Japan

South Korea Sunday began two days of war games to practise defending disputed islands off its east coast against an unlikely attack from Japan, further stoking tensions between the Asian neighbours. The annual drills come just days after Seoul terminated a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, with the countries at loggerheads over Japan's use of forced labour during World War II. The two-day exercise will involve warships and aircraft, the South Korean navy said in a text message without providing more detail.

Qantas to test 'ultra long-haul' Sydney to NY, London flights

Qantas on Thursday said it will run "ultra long-haul" test flights in the coming months from New York and London to Sydney in order to assess the health of pilots and passengers, as it eyes commercial services on the marathon routes. Qantas last year introduced the first direct service from the western Australian city of Perth to London, with the 17-hour journey one of the longest passenger flights in the world. "Flying non-stop from the East Coast of Australia to London and New York is truly the final frontier in aviation, so we're determined to do all the groundwork to get this right," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement.

Kavanaugh’s High-School Classmate Sues HuffPost for Defamation

A former high-school classmate of Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh has filed suit against HuffPost over a “fabricated” report intended to detail the culture of debauchery at Georgetown Preparatory School during Kavanaugh's time there.HuffPost reporter Ashley Feinberg, now at Slate, published a report at the height of the Kavanaugh confirmation controversy entitled “Former Student: Brett Kavanaugh's Prep School Party Scene Was a ‘Free-For-All',” which purported to expose the degenerate culture that predominated at Georgetown Prep when Kavanaugh was a student. That hard-partying ethos supposedly culminated in the 1984 overdose death of David Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy's son, in a Palm Beach hotel.Feinberg, citing one anonymous Georgetown Prep alumnus, wrote that “two students — David's brother Doug, and his friend Derrick Evans — had helped score the coke” that ultimately killed David. Evans, an African American professor and community activist, filed suit on Wednesday alleging that Feinberg failed to contact him and fabricated his role in David's death in her “zeal to create a sensational article about Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s years at [Georgetown Prep] and thereby drive traffic to [HuffPost's] website.”“Indeed, if Ms. Feinberg or her HuffPost editors had done even the most basic research of publicly available sources, she and they would have known, if they did not already know, that Mr. Evans actively assisted law enforcement in identifying and prosecuting the individuals who actually sold the illegal narcotics,” the lawsuit reads.HuffPost initially corrected the article after Doug Kennedy's employer, Fox News, sent a letter to the outlet rebutting its allegations.“This article previously stated incorrectly that Doug Kennedy was involved in helping his brother to purchase drugs in 1984. Kennedy was only sharing a room with Derrick Evans, who helped David purchase the drugs, according to an affidavit obtained by the New York Times. We regret the error,” reads a correction appended to the article just one day after it was published.While the correction exonerated Doug Kennedy it also further defamed Evans, according to the lawsuit.“The September 21 correction was another complete fabrication published by HuffPost with actual knowledge that both it and the original publication were false or in reckless disregard of the truth, again without ever attempting to contact Mr. Evans for comment,” the lawsuit reads. “As HuffPost knew, there was NO affidavit reflecting that Mr. Evans ever helped anyone purchase illegal drugs. Defendants had no such affidavit in their possession, and they could not have had such an affidavit in their possession.”The original article has been significantly altered since its publication and, as of this writing, no longer contains any reference to David's death.The case, Evans v. Huffington Post.com Inc., is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.

VIDEO: 2 trans women, gay man ejected from DTLA bar after alleged altercation with other group

Two transgender women who were forcibly removed from a downtown L.A. bar say security guards used excessive force after they were allegedly verbally attacked with transphobic slurs.

The Latest: Serial killer pleads guilty to more slayings

A confessed serial killer just hours after pleading guilty and being sentenced for the slayings of two women in Cincinnati has pleaded guilty and been sentenced for killing two women in Cleveland. From a prison in California, 79-year-old Samuel Little pleaded guilty Friday afternoon via Skype to two counts of aggravated murder for killing 21-year-old Mary Jo Peyton in 1984 and 32-year-old Rose Evans in 1991. Cuyahoga County Judge John Russo sentenced Little in Cleveland to a minimum of 40 years in prison to be served after the sentences he's received in Texas, California and Cincinnati.

Syrian govt troops mass in northwest after gains

Syrian government forces massed Saturday in northwest Syria in an apparent bid to press an offensive against jihadists and allied rebels that has heightened tensions with neighbouring Turkey. The Syrian military has since Wednesday seized the key town of Khan Sheikhun from jihadists and allied rebels and overran the countryside to the south, encircling a Turkish observation post in northern Hama. In Khan Sheikhun, smoke still curled into the sky from multiple locations on Saturday among buildings partially or fully destroyed by the earlier fighting.

Pompeo says Huawei CEO is not a bargaining chip in Trump-China trade war

Mike Pompeo has rejected claims that detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is being used for leverage in the US-China trade war. Speaking with his Canadian counterpart, Chrystia Freeland, in Ottawa on Thursday, the US secretary of state appeared to rule out dropping the extradition request for Ms Meng to ease tensions with Beijing, insisting it is a legal matter. In December, US president Donald Trump implied he might intervene in the case to help secure a trade deal with China. “Whatever’s good for this country, I would do,” he said at the time. The US alleges Ms Meng – the Chinese technology company’s chief financial officer and the daughter of its chief executive – helped  Huawei circumvent sanctions on Iran. According to Vancouver court documents released this week, she told a Canadian border official that the company has an office in Iran. The US has charged Ms Meng, 47, with bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit both. She is currently on bail living under house arrest in one of her Vancouver mansions while her lawyers fight her extradition to the US. Asked on Thursday if she is a “bargaining chip” in US-China trade talks, Mr Pompeo replied simply: “No.” Since Ms Meng’s arrest in Vancouver airport on a US arrest warrant in December, ties between Ottawa and Beijing have fallen to a historically low ebb. Two Canadians, businessman Michael Svapor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig, were arrested and charged with espionage shortly afterwards in what is widely viewed as a reprisal by Beijing. “Our team is focussed on helping those two Canadians be released,” Mr Pompeo said later ahead of a meeting with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. Mr Trump spoke directly to Chinese president Xi Jinping about their “arbitrary detention” in June, he told journalists. Mr Pompeo, 55, also slapped down a question comparing their confinement with that of Ms Meng, accusing the journalist of taking “the Chinese line”. Mr Pompeo was visiting Canada ahead of the G7 meeting in France, where relations with China will be discussed. On Friday, Beijing escalated the trade dispute, announcing fresh tariffs on US imports worth $75 billion (£61 billion).