Brazil feels pressure over Amazon deforestation data

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that if a senior government scientist had betrayed his confidence regarding deforestation data, he would be fired, underlining how growing international pressure to protect the Amazon is weighing on his government.

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5 key takeaways from the 2nd Democratic debate

Wednesday night’s Democratic primary debate saw the two highest-polling candidates on the stage — former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris — take fire from all sides.

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F-14 Tomcat: The Jet the Navy Has Never Been Able to Fully Replace

The report notes that both the Super Hornet and the F-35C are severely challenged by new enemy fifth-generation fighter aircraft such as the Russian-built Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA and Chengdu J-20. While the requirement for a carrier-based long-range strike capability is a frequent subject of discussion around Washington, the U.S. Navy’s need for improved air superiority capabilities is often neglected.The service has not had a dedicated air-to-air combat aircraft since it retired the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in 2006. But even the Tomcat was adapted into a strike aircraft during its last years in service after the Soviet threat evaporated. Now, as new threats to the carrier emerge and adversaries start to field new fighters that can challenge the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), attention is starting to shift back to this oft-neglected Navy mission—especially in the Western Pacific.(This first appeared in 2016.)(Recommended: Is It Time to Bring Back the Battleships?)

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Former Kamala Harris opponent: She has a glass jaw and last night's debate proved it

Former California GOP Chair Tom Del Beccaro, who ran against Harris for Senate in 2016, says the presidential hopeful does not perform well when being put on the spot.

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Top Navy SEAL commander writes scathing letter saying the force has a problem in the wake of SEAL scandals

Rear Adm. Collin Green wrote a scathing letter to his forces, saying special operators need to shape up in the wake of SEAL scandals.

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Dubai sheikh posts cryptic poem as wife Princess Haya attends court for start of custody battle

The ruler of Dubai published an online poem about “shining swords with sharp blades” on the day his estranged wife asked a British judge to make an arranged marriage protection order.  The billionaire Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, posted a verse online called “Swords of the Excellencies” as Princess Haya attended the High Courts of Justice in London for the start of their bitter legal battle over their two children She was seen in public for the first time on Tuesday after fleeing United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the youngsters earlier this year while apparently “in fear for her life”. The vice-president and prime minister of the UAE has applied to the British courts for the “summary return” of his two children from Britain. On Tuesday afternoon - the first day of the preliminary hearing - Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Courts Division, allowed the media to report how the princess was applying for a “forced marriage protection order.”  The 45-year-old Jordanian princess is also asking seeking a non-molestation order, it emerged. As those details became public triggering headlines around the world, the sheikh, a self-proclaimed poet, posted his latest poem. The verse was uploaded at 4.06pm British time.  Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein (R) and her husband Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (L) arrive for the Epsom Derby Credit: Rex The sheikh has earlier published a poem which accused an unnamed woman of “treachery and betrayal”.  The verse, called ‘Live or Die’, includes the line: “You no longer have a place with me. I don’t care if you live or die.” However, in the latest poem released on Tuesday, it has locally been interpreted as an ode to the UAE’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, or MBZ as he is known in the region. “He (his Excellency) has shining swords with sharp blades. In their sheaths, they can cut if drawn,” he wrote on his official Instagram page. “For confronting and keeping away the enemies, he has many soldiers. He has protected heroes so that nobody will conspire against them.” In Arabic, he appears to be speaking figuratively but it could be viewed as a veiled threat, possibly to regional enemies such as Iran or Qatar, with whom the UAE has had strained relations in recent years. Sheikh Maktoum suggests the UAE has not shown its true power and asks what would happen if this sword were ever to be used. The sheikh, thought to have more than 20 children by six wives, is known regularly to write poetry. Before he and his sixth wife split earlier this year, they were often photographed together with the Queen, a friendship cultivated from their shared passion for horses.  The Queen greets Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Credit: AP As the founder of the Godolphin horse racing stable, the Sheikh this year received a trophy from the Queen after one of his horses won a race at Royal Ascot. The break up - likely to result in a £4 billion divorce battle - has become increasingly acrimonious in recent months. It is understood the Princess, the sheikh’s youngest wife, flew on a private jet with her children to the UK in April. It is not known why she left, but speculation has focused on how two of the sheikh’s children - Princess Shamsa and Princess Latifa - had tried unsuccessfully to flee the emirate. Full details about the orders applied for and the identities of the children discussed in the two-day preliminary hearing, which ended yesterday, cannot be reported for legal reasons.  The trial is due to start properly in November.

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UK, France and Germany condemn North Korea missile launches

The United Kingdom, France and Germany on Thursday condemned North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches as violations of U.N. sanctions and urged Pyongyang to engage in "meaningful negotiations" with the United States on eliminating its nuclear weapons. The three countries also urged North Korea "to take concrete steps toward its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization" and said international sanctions should remain in place and be fully enforced until its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are dismantled.

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Meghan McCain Clashes With ‘View’ Co-Hosts on Tulsi Gabbard: She’s No ‘Russian Stooge’

Meghan McCain rallied to Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard’s defense Thursday on The View, as she pushed back against her co-hosts’ concerns that the Hawaii congresswoman could be a “Trojan horse” getting a boost from Russian propaganda outlets.During Wednesday night’s Democratic primary debate, Gabbard had a brief breakout moment when she called out California Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on her record as a prosecutor and on criminal justice. Following the debate, however, Harris dissed Gabbard’s low poll numbers while criticizing the congresswoman for being an “apologist” for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.“The Republicans like her, and I think she’s a real Trojan horse here because when you look at her record, in particular, she’s apologized for it but she was very anti-LGBTQ community,” co-host Sunny Hostin said Thursday on The View. “She also has praised Trump for meeting with Kim Jong Un three times.”“That’s why they like her,” liberal host Joy Behar quipped.Hostin, meanwhile, went on to highlight that Gabbard voted for a measure that would prevent Syrian refugees from settling in America, adding that the Democratic lawmaker also has refused to call Assad a war criminal.“Per an NBC News report, Russian propaganda machines favor Gabbard,” she continued. “When I look at that, I’m concerned she is attacking Harris and I’m concerned that she has any traction.”McCain, however, praised Gabbard for getting a “really good blow” on Harris before dismissing the notion that the Hawaii representative is a Trojan horse is “just political posturing.”This prompted co-host Ana Navarro to note that she may just be “paranoid” but Gabbard has suddenly received a lot of support from people “who used to dislike her tremendously.”“There is a lot of writings in Russia Today and Russian traffic around Tulsi,” Navarro stated, referencing the notorious Russian propaganda media arm. “There is something going on. I suspect it’s not knowingly by her because I think she’s a decent human being who served this country, but I’m paranoid.”McCain seemingly took this to mean that any Republican who found Gabbard intriguing was being influenced by Russia, bringing up the fact that her family is sanctioned from traveling to Russia while explaining why she liked Gabbard.“Nobody is saying you,” Navarro shot back. “I’m talking about other people. Just because I’m making a reference, doesn’t mean it’s a reference to you.”McCain and Navarro went back and forth a bit more, with Navarro pointing out that a GOP congressman ended his friendship with Gabbard over her Assad apologia. “I’m not supporting her,” McCain asserted. “I’m just saying she’s interesting, and the idea because she got a big hit on Kamala and now she’s a ‘Russian stooge’—”“I’m not saying that!” Navarro exclaimed, leading the rest of the table to argue until, of course, Whoopi Goldberg jumped in to break it up.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet 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.

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View Photos of the 2020 BMW Alpina B7 Sedan

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Hong Kong financial workers stage flash protest

Hundreds of financial workers braved pouring rain to gather in central Hong Kong Thursday, giving that sector's support to mass protests that have roiled the territory for weeks. According to organisers on the messaging app Telegram, workers from around 80 banks gathered at Chater Gardens in the heart of the financial district and more than 700 workers posted photos of their staff cards to declare they would also join a city-wide strike called for next Monday.

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'We're in pain': Family remembers Keyla Salazar, teen killed in Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting

Family and friends held a vigil for Keyla Salazar Tuesday evening, lamenting how a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival ended her life at 13.

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Trump dismisses Baltimore backlash: 'I am the least racist person anywhere in the world'

President Trump on Tuesday tried to defend his most recent attack on a lawmaker of color, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Baltimore, claiming the city’s African-American residents “really appreciate what I’m doing.”

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The 2 Canadian teen fugitives were searched at an alcohol checkpoint the day they were charged with murder, but authorities let them go

Tataskweyak Cree Nation checkpoint guards stopped the pair as they entered an alcohol free county, but let them pass after no contraband was found.

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