New York Times
Japan spent mightily to soften nature’s wrath, but can it ever be enough?
After a typhoon’s record-breaking rains breached dozens of levees last weekend, Japan is wondering whether even the costliest systems can be future-proofed for the age of climate change.
Trump’s China deal leaves the global economy as uncertain as ever
The “agreement in principle” with China — which has yet to be finalized — would not roll back the hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs that China and the U.S. have placed on each others’ products.
Trump lashes out on Syria as Republicans rebuke him in House vote
The fireworks erupted as Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Robert C. O’Brien, the president’s new national security adviser, left for Turkey in an effort to persuade President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to agree to a cease-fire in Syria.
Hong Kong leader’s speech disrupted by jeering lawmakers, demand her resignation
Lam, who is under pressure from China’s central government to put an end to the increasingly violent protests that have gone on for more than four months, showed no signs of compromise in her address.
US Presidential candidate reported raising $5 last quarter. Yes, $5.
Messam reported about $43,500 in contributions in the first quarter and about $50,000 in the second quarter. Those numbers put him firmly at the back of the pack even before his dismal third-quarter filing.
2020 US Presidential Election: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to endorse Bernie Sanders
The endorsement by Ocasio-Cortez, among the most influential and visible progressives in the country — and also one of the youngest people ever elected to Congress — will provide a much-needed boost to Sanders’ campaign.
Warren comes under fire on funding for health care plan in Democratic debate
Warren, who has endorsed a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont for single-payer care, has consistently refused to say that she would embrace middle-class tax increases to finance the plan.
The US turned Syria’s North into a tinderbox. Then Trump lit a match
US officials knew that the northern Syria problem would have to be resolved and that only Washington had the leverage and relationships to do it. But other priorities took precedence.
Thai judge rebukes pressure to punish 5 Muslim men, then shoots himself
His dramatic courtroom act has drawn new attention to the simmering tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in southern Thailand, where more than 7,000 people have been killed by militants over the past 15 years and countless more have had their rights diminished by military rule.
Hong Kong protests: Homemade bomb detonated for first time; no injuries reported
The bomb caused no damage or injuries, but it was the first time such a device had been employed in weeks of clashes, police said.
Puerto Rico shooting: 6 killed as violence rattles San Juan
The shootout, its piercing sound captured on videos that were widely shared on social media, unnerved people in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, where authorities have faced a rash of drug crime and other violence.
Fictitious video of Trump shooting critics and media shown at his resort
The video, which includes the logo for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, comprises a series of internet memes. The most violent clip shows Trump’s head superimposed on the body of a man opening fire inside the “Church of Fake News” on parishioners who have the faces of his critics or the logos of media organizations superimposed on their bodies.
Fortnite goes dark. Gamers wonder what’s next
Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular video games, has gone quiet. Since Sunday afternoon, players eager to enter the game’s virtual world to fight one another have instead been confronted by a blank screen with a black hole at its center.
Harold Bloom, critic who championed Western canon, dies at 89
In addition to his wife, Bloom is survived by two sons, Daniel and David.
Trump imposes sanctions on Turkey as Syria conflict intensifies
Trump, under mounting political pressure to retreat from his earlier suggestions that the United States should remain uninvolved, also said he was halting negotiations over a $100 billion trade deal and doubling tariffs on imports of Turkish steel.
Chaos in northern Syria as ISIS detainees bolt during Turkish invasion
Turkey’s invasion upended a fragile peace in northeastern Syria and risks enabling a resurgence of Islamic State, which no longer controls territory in Syria but still has sleeper cells and supporters.
Typhoon Hagibis leaves as many as 35 dead as Japan continues rescue
More than 370,000 households were without power, and at least 15,000 homes were without water, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, told reporters, adding that the country was taking every measure to recover.
Afghans demanded a fair election. They could be waiting a while for results.
The critical question of whether Afghanistan will have an acceptable election or face yet another political crisis rests on a technically complicated process of tallying votes, playing out against an environment of mistrust that deepens as time passes.
What, exactly, is Tulsi Gabbard up to?
Among her fellow Democrats, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has struggled to make headway as a presidential candidate, barely cracking the 2% mark in the polls needed to qualify for Tuesday night’s debate. She is now injecting a bit of chaos into her own party’s primary race.
Trump defends Giuliani amid deepening Ukraine criminal probe
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are scrutinizing whether Giuliani violated federal lobbying laws with his dealings in Ukraine, especially his role in undermining Marie Yovanovitch, the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, The New York Times reported Friday.