Amid revelations about the circumstances around Jeffrey Epstein’s death , federal authorities have intensified parallel inquiries into what went wrong at the Manhattan jail where he was behind bars and who now may face charges for assisting or enabling him in what authorities say was his rampant sexual abuse of underage girls.

One of the new details provided by people familiar with the Metropolitan Correctional Center was that one of Epstein’s guards the night he died in his cell wasn’t a regular correctional officer.

Serene Gregg, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3148, told The Washington Post that one of the guards was a fill-in who had been pressed into service because of staffing shortfalls.

In addition, Epstein was supposed to have been checked on by a guard about every 30 minutes. But investigators have learned those checks weren’t done for several hours before Epstein was found, according to one of the people familiar with the episode. That person was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Disgraced Financier Epstein Found Dead in Apparent Suicide

He was being held without bail on sex-trafficking charges; US attorney general says death ‘raises serious questions’

A second person familiar with operations at the jail said Epstein was found with a bedsheet around his neck. That person also wasn’t authorized to disclose information about the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Epstein, 66, was found Saturday morning in his cell at the MCC, a jail previously renowned for its ability to hold notorious prisoners under extremely tight security. At the time of his death, he was being held without bail and faced up to 45 years in prison on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges unsealed last month.

Attorney General William Barr at a police conference on Monday said that he was “frankly angry to learn of the MCC’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner.”

He added: “We will get to the bottom of what happened and there will be accountability.”

At the same time, Barr warned on Monday that any co-conspirator in the ongoing criminal probe “should not rest easy. … The victims deserve justice, and they will get it.”

In the days since Epstein’s death while awaiting charges that he sexually abused underage girls, a portrait has begun to emerge of Manhattan’s federal detention center as a chronically understaffed facility that possibly made a series of missteps in handling its most high-profile inmate.Epstein had been placed on suicide watch after he was found in his cell a little over two weeks ago with bruises on his neck. But he had been taken off that watch at the end of July and returned to the jail’s special housing unit.

Federal New York Lockup Draws New Scrutiny in Epstein Death

The apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein has brought new scrutiny to a federal jail in New York that, despite chronic understaffing, houses some of the highest-security inmates in the country

The manner in which Epstein killed himself has not been announced publicly by government officials. An autopsy was performed Sunday, but New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson said investigators were awaiting further information.

The Associated Press does not typically report on details of suicide, but has made an exception because Epstein’s cause of death is pertinent to the ongoing investigations.

In the criminal case, authorities are most likely turning their attention to the team of recruiters and employees who, according to police reports, knew about Epstein’s penchant for underage girls and lined up victims for him. The Associated Press reviewed hundreds of pages of police reports , FBI records and court documents that show Epstein relied on an entire staff of associates to arrange massages that led to sex acts.

If any Epstein assistants hoped to avoid charges by testifying against him, that expectation has been upended by his suicide.

“Those who had leverage as potential cooperators in the case now find themselves as the primary targets,” said Jacob S. Frenkel, a former federal prosecutor.

…

From: MeNeedIt

British beverage giant Diageo Plc signed a joint venture deal with state-run Cuba Ron SA on Monday to market Santiago de Cuba Rum, in defiance of U.S. efforts to dissuade investment in the Communist-run country.

The new 50-50 venture, Ron Santiago SA, will have exclusive international rights to the premium brand, considered the best by local residents along with Havana Club, which is marketed by French firm Pernod Ricard under a similar arrangement signed in the 1990s.

The agreement comes at a time when the United States is ramping up sanctions on Cuba and trying to thwart foreign investment there.

The Trump administration in May allowed Title III of the 1996 Helms Burton Act to take effect, enabling U.S. citizens to bring lawsuits against foreign companies profiting from property taken from them after Cuba’s 1959 revolution. It had been suspended by President Donald Trump’s predecessors. The Santiago distillery and related properties were reportedly nationalized.

Cuban rum is banned in the United States, but popular throughout Europe and other parts of the world.

“Cuban rum represents 9% of retail sales of premium rum worldwide,” a news release from the new company said.

Regarding the implementation of the long-dormant section of the Helms-Burton Act, Luca Cesarano, general director of the new joint venture, said he was confident the company would not be affected.

Cesarano said a subsidiary of Diageo with no ties to the United States was the partner and no company personnel who work with or in the United States were involved in the project or would be in the future.

“Neither the subsidiary of Diageo which is the partner, nor the venture, will interact with any Diageo entity or person that interacts with the United States,” he said at a Havana news conference.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Catholic authorities in Mexico said that Cardinal Sergio Obeso Rivera has died at the age of 86.

The Episcopal Conference of Mexico said Monday that the cardinal from Veracruz state spent 65 years as a priest and was president of the conference for three terms. The Episcopal Conference is the leadership council of the Catholic Church in Mexico.

It added that Obeso Rivera was instrumental in improving ties between Mexico and the Vatican in the 1980s. He also participated in peace negotiations with the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in 1996. 
 
The Episcopal Conference did not mention a cause of death, but local media had reported on recent health problems.

Obeso Rivera was named a cardinal in 2018 by Pope Francis after being named as a bishop in 1971.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Apple is giving a first look at its upcoming web television series that is centered on a behind-the-scenes view of early morning TV news.

The company posted a teaser Monday of “The Morning Show.” It stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell and is set to debut will debut this fall on AppleTV+.

Apple’s new original video subscription service will feature original shows, movies and documentaries without ads and will be available on demand.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Bill Cosby’s lawyers will fight to overturn his sexual assault conviction Monday as the 82-year-old comedian serves a three- to 10-year prison term in Pennsylvania.

Cosby was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the(hash)MeToo era. He insists the sexual encounter with a young woman seeking career advice was consensual.

A jury last year found Cosby drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia estate in 2004.

Defense lawyers contend the trial judge erred in letting five other accusers testify to bolster the prosecution’s case.

A three-judge Superior Court panel will hear arguments Monday but is not expected to rule for several months.

The decision will be closely watched by both sexual assault victims and lawyers for Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile men accused of similar misconduct.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Once considered the Islamic State’s de facto capital, the Syrian city of Raqqa is slowly recovering, nearly two years after its liberation from the terror group.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) liberated Raqqa from IS in October 2017. But during the 3-month-long battle, much of the city’s infrastructure was reduced to rubble.

Local officials complain the international coalition to defeat IS, which helped free the city, lost interest in rebuilding Raqqa as the focus has shifted to other areas recently liberated from IS.

“We used to meet second-tier coalition officials – sometimes from the first tier,” said Abdullah Aryan, head of the planning department at the Raqqa Civil Council, which has been largely responsible for reconstruction.

“But now we only get visits by an employee from the French ministry of defense or British ministry of agriculture or an employee responsible for civil society in the U.S. government,” he told VOA.

Emergency solutions

The lack of funding is forcing local officials to concentrate the limited money on restoring essential services, which will allow more displaced people to return.

For other restoration projects, they rely on low-cost efforts.

“To repair roads and bridges, we had to use primitive methods. We basically brought rubble from elsewhere in the city and used it to backfill destroyed bridges and roads,” Abdullah al-Ali, an engineer with the Raqqa Reconstruction Committee, said.

“We have too little money for anything more than this emergency solution,” al-Ali added.

According to local officials, the battle against IS destroyed nine main bridges over the Euphrates River and nearby irrigation canals. So far only three bridges have been repaired.

City in ruins

Upon returning, Raqqa residents find much of the city still littered with wreckage.

“We found our properties were knocked to the ground,” said Abdulkarim Issa, 41, who returned to Raqqa five months after it was liberated.

Issa pointed to a nearby building, destroyed in fighting, but that recently had been rebuilt. “But the owners of another building were asked to pay 1 billion Syrian pounds (roughly US $2 million) to rebuild it. But they didn’t have that money, so they went to regime-controlled areas,” he told VOA.

The deteriorating local economy makes some returnees question their decision.  

“The economic situation is bad,” said Um Hassan, whose children chose not to return to Raqqa, citing a lack of job opportunities.

“The market movement is slow and prices are too high. And there is no electricity,” she added.

Return of extremism?

If some progress isn’t made soon in Raqqa, local officials warn, they worry extremism could rise again, here and in other areas liberated from IS.

“War on terror isn’t only military. If we don’t pay attention to agriculture, education and health care in the next 10 years, a new generation of terrorists will rise here,” Aryan, of the Raqqa Civil Council, said.

He said that during four years of IS rule, children, in particular, were educated with the most extremist curriculum.

“We need to act fast and amend the situation before it’s too late,” Aryan said.

US contribution

The United States last year cut about $230 million in funding for northeast Syria. Washington said other members of the anti-IS coalition, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, should increase financial contributions to the Syrian rebuilding effort.

Despite the cuts, the U.S. remains the largest single national humanitarian donor for the Syrian response, providing nearly $8.1 billion in humanitarian assistance since the start of the crisis for displaced people inside Syria and in the region.

The U.S. has also been a major contributor of mine-clearance efforts in Raqqa and other parts of Syria, where IS and other militant groups have left behind thousands of landmines and other improvised explosives.

From 2013 to 2018, the U.S. contributed more than $81 million to humanitarian mine action efforts in northeast Syria, according to a State Department annual report on U.S. mine removal efforts worldwide.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Gold medal fencer Race Imboden says he has no regrets about getting down on one knee instead of standing before the U.S. flag at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Imboden is one of two U.S. athletes facing sanctions from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for their acts of protest at the medal ceremonies.

African American hammer thrower Gwen Berry raised a clenched fist while the “Star Spangled Banner” played during her team’s gold medal ceremony on Saturday.

Imboden told CNN television Sunday that the two mass shootings last week in El Paso and Dayton while he was in Peru were the catalyst for his protest during the medal ceremony on Friday.

Imboden said he represents what he calls “white privilege” and that it is time for a different face to be seen objecting to what is going on in the U.S. and the world.

“Racism, gun control, mistreatment of immigrants and a president who spreads hate” are more important to him at this time than a gold medal, he said.

Berry said she raised her clenched fist to protest injustice in the U.S. and what she described as a “president who’s making it worse.”

Trump has not commented on the protests. But U.S. Olympics officials said, “Every athlete competing at the 2019 Pan American Games commits to terms of eligibility, including to refrain from demonstrations that are political in nature. … We respect their (Imboden and Berry) rights to express their viewpoints, but are disappointed that they chose not to honor their commitment. Our leadership are reviewing what consequences may result.”

Imboden’s “taking a knee” came three years after National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem at his San Francisco 49ers games, setting off a nationwide debate. He said he was protesting police brutality against young black men.

The 49ers released Kaepernick and he has not been able to find another NFL job since.  

Berry’s raised fist hearkened back to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, when U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists to protest violence and racism. A photo of their gesture has since become a symbol of dissent.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Two French charities pulled another 81 migrants from the waters off Libya Sunday, bringing the number of those it rescued at sea since Friday to 211.

Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranean jointly operate the Norwegian-flagged rescue ship Ocean Viking.

Most of those it picked up over the past three days are Sudanese men, including the 81 rescued from a flimsy rubber dinghy Sunday. Witnesses on the Ocean Viking say the men on the raft waved and cheered when they saw the ship approaching.

“We’re the only ones in the area, the Libyan coast guard doesn’t respond,” SOS Mediterranean rescue coordinator Nicholas Romaniuk told an AFP reporter.

He said he expects more migrants leaving Libya over the next few days because of good weather and the Eid al-Adha holiday reducing the number of police patrolling the beaches.

Meanwhile, a Spanish aid group, Open Arms, said it has 160 migrants aboard its rescue ship, including three who need “specialized medical attention.”

Open Arms founder Oscar Camps made another appeal Sunday to European governments for help, especially Italy, which is the closest safe port.

“Tenth day on board on a scorching Sunday in August. We have 160 reasons to carry on, 160 human beings who have the right to disembark at a safe port. Shame on you, Europe,” Camps tweeted.

Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Italy is not “legally bound nor disposed to take in clandestine unidentified migrants.”

Italy has complained it has done more than its share of allowing migrants to dock and wants other EU nations to do more to help.

Thousands of migrants from Africa try to reach EU shores from Libya every year. Those who are not rescued by charities are either left on unsafe boats to or picked up by the Libyan coast guard and returned to Libya, where they are housed in detention facilities.

Some of those facilities have been caught in the fighting between rival governments in Libya. A missile slammed into one detention building outside Tripoli in July, killing 53.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Voters in Guatemala went to the polls on Sunday to choose the central American country’s next president, who will be under immense pressure from the United States to implement a controversial migration pact.

Both candidates — former first lady Sandra Torres and conservative Alejandro Giammattei — have avoided committing to strong positions over the pact, which would permit the United States to send most Honduran and Salvadoran asylum seekers who passed through Guatemala back to the poor, crime-stricken country.

As they cast their ballots, Torres and Giammattei urged voters to turn out and reiterated their pledges to fight unemployment, improve health care and education, and rid the country of corruption and violence.

The winner of the runoff vote will take office in January to replace the corruption-tainted Jimmy Morales, who leaves with his popularity at rock bottom.

“All we want is for the next president to end crime so that you can go out in public without fear,” elevator technician Edgar Chiquito told AFP in the western indigenous town of Sumpango.

“All I hope” is that the new president “doesn’t forget the people,” the 43-year-old added.

Electoral court president Julio Solorzano urged citizens to avoid violence if the vote doesn’t go their way, saying that preliminary results would be published in real time on the court’s official website to provide transparency.

Corruption was the main issue leading up to the first round of elections in June — which Torres topped — but that has been superseded by the political scandal over the migration deal with the United States.

Neither candidate arrives with a glowing reputation.

The center-left Torres, whose ex-husband Alvaro Colom was president from 2008-12, has been suspected of involvement in corruption before.

Influential businessman Dionisio Gutierrez recently described her as “a questionable politician with a history that should worry any citizen.”

Giammattei, a conservative and opinion poll frontrunner, has hardly come off any better. Investigative website Nomada branded him as “impulsive… despotic, tyrannical… capricious, vindictive,” among other undesirable traits.

But the 63-year-old, a doctor by profession, scores well on voter concerns such as the economy, corruption and security, according to Risa Grais-Targow of the Eurasia Group.

Should he win, though, he “would face a lose-lose scenario” regarding the migration pact, Grais-Targow said.

One of Morales’s last acts as president was to authorize an agreement with the US administration of Donald Trump designating Guatemala as a “safe third country,” which would permit Washington to turn away asylum seekers who have passed through Guatemala without seeking refuge there.

The pact — part of Trump’s campaign to stem the flow of migrants to the southern US border — has proved highly unpopular in Guatemala, with demonstrators blocking roads and occupying the University of San Carlos.

In a poll by Prodatos for the Prensa Libre newspaper, 82 percent of respondents opposed it.

But rejecting the migration pact would run the “risk of retaliation from Trump,” Grais-Targow said, after the US leader threatened a travel ban, tariffs and remittance fees if the country didn’t bend to his will.

Remittances from Guatemalans in the US are a crucial part of the economy, reaching a record $9.3 billion last year. That compares to Guatemala’s export revenue of $10.5 billion.

According to the World Bank, remittances account for 12 percent of the country’s GDP.

The agreement was reached last month despite Guatemala’s constitutional court having granted an injunction blocking Morales from signing the deal.

Almost 60 percent of Guatemala’s 17.7 million citizens live in poverty in a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world.

Around half the killings are blamed on drug trafficking and extortion operations carried out by powerful gangs.

Morales, barred by Guatemalan law from seeking a second term, turned up to vote wearing his favorite football team’s jersey.

He urged his replacement to reduce undocumented migration, improve education and tackle chronic malnutrition in the under-fives, which affects 46 percent of infants.

He has his own problems as the attorney general’s office is looking to investigate him for corruption.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Guatemalans go the polls Sunday in the second-round presidential runoff, pitting ex-first lady Sandra Torres against conservative Alejandro Giammattei in a nation beset by poverty, unemployment and emigration.

Giammattei, making his fourth bid for the presidency, is the favorite in a CID-Gallup poll which surveyed 1,216 people between July 29 and Aug. 5. The poll estimated support for Giammattei at 39.5%, compared with 32.4% for Torres. It had a margin of error of 2.8 points.

Running for the conservative Vamos party, Giammattei has earned a reputation of being tough on crime and wants to re-introduce the death penalty. The 63-year-old doctor, who uses crutches because he has multiple sclerosis, stridently opposes gay marriage and abortion and endorses family values.

Torres was married to, and later divorced, former President Alvaro Colom (2008-2012), but has a record of her own as a businesswoman, having run a textile and apparel company.

Her campaign platform has focused on improving education, health care and the economy. She also has proposed an anti-corruption program, but her Unity for Hope party (UNES) has come under fire because some of its mayoral candidates have been accused of receiving contributions from drug traffickers for their campaigns.

Migration issue

Polling stations open at 7 a.m. local time and close at 6 p.m., with preliminary results expected by late Sunday. There are about 8 million registered voters, but boosting turnout above 50% will be a challenge.

The country’s general elections were June 16, but no candidate won the necessary votes to assume the post after the first round.

Sunday’s winner will take office Jan. 14 and be tasked with attempting to stem the large flow of migrants headed toward the United States. At least 1% of Guatemala’s population of some 16 million has left the country this year.

On July 6, outgoing President Jimmy Morales signed a pact with the United States that would require Salvadorans and Hondurans to request asylum in Guatemala if they cross through the country to reach the U.S. The next president will be forced to decide whether to nullify or honor the so-called “third safe country” agreement, which could potentially ease the crush of migrants arriving at the U.S. border.

Entrenched corruption

In addition to migration, voters say they are concerned about crime, unemployment, the rising costs of living and entrenched corruption.

Three of the last four elected presidents have been arrested post-presidency on charges of graft, and Morales himself decided to disband and bar the U.N. anti-corruption commission after he became a target for alleged campaign finance violations.

The campaign season has been marked by a chaotic flurry of court rulings, shenanigans, illegal party-switching and allegations of malfeasance that originally torpedoed the runs of two of the three presidential front-runners.

…

From: MeNeedIt

Myanmar troops deployed to flood-hit parts of the country Sunday to help with relief efforts after the death toll from a deadly landslide jumped to 48.

Every year monsoon rains hammer Myanmar and other countries across Southeast Asia, submerging homes, displacing thousands and triggering landslides.

But the disaster Friday in southeastern Mon state was the worst in recent memory, and hundreds of emergency response workers were still pulling bodies out of the muddy wreckage early Sunday.

“The total death toll reached 48. Search and rescue is still ongoing,” Paung township administrator Zaw Moe Aung told AFP.

Heavy rains pounded Mon, Karen and Kachin states, flooding roads and destroying bridges.

As the rainy season reaches its peak, the country’s armed forces are pitching in.

“Our regional military commands are working to help with the search and rescue process in disaster areas,” Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told AFP. “Helicopters will be used to supply food.”

The bulk of the effort is focused on hard-hit Mon state, which sits on the coast of the Andaman sea.

Floodwaters have submerged more than 4,000 houses in the state and displaced more than 25,000 residents who have sought shelter in monasteries and pagodas, according to state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar.

Vice President Henry Van Thio visited landslide survivors in a Paung township village Saturday and “spoke of his sorrow” while promising relief assistance, the paper reported.

Around 89,000 people have been displaced by floods in recent weeks, although many have since been able to return home, according to the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

…

From: MeNeedIt

A powerful typhoon left at least 28 people dead in southeastern China, after a landslide backed up a river that broke through debris and inundated homes, state media reported Sunday.

Another 20 people remained missing in Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Typhoon Lekima made landfall at 1:45 a.m. Saturday in Wenling city, about 300 kilometers (190 miles) south of Shanghai, the China Meteorological Administration said.

The deaths occurred in Yongjia county on the outskirts of Wenzhou, a major port city. The river blocked by a landslide rose to a level of 10 meters (30 feet) within 10 minutes, trapping 120 villagers, Xinhua said.

More than 1 million people were evacuated before the storm struck, including 253,000 in Shanghai.

Shanghai Disneyland was closed, as were some popular tourist areas along the riverfront in the city’s historic Bund district.

“Of course, it’s a little disappointing, but it’s because of the weather so we can all understand, right. This is a natural disaster, isn’t it?” said Wang Chunguang, who was visiting from Jiangsu province north of Shanghai.

CCTV said 3,023 airline flights in Shanghai, Hangzhou and other cities and some train services were canceled. Authorities in Shanghai also shut down the high-speed magnetic levitation train to Pudong International Airport.

Lekima, downgraded to a tropical storm, was heading slowly northward along China’s east coast Sunday morning.
 

…

From: MeNeedIt