Search under way after US marines aircraft suffers ‘mishap’ off Australia

A major search was under way on Saturday off the coast of Australia, after a “mishap” involving a US military aircraft. Reports said at least two service members were missing and feared dead.

US Marine Corps sources in Japan said there was “an active search and rescue operation ongoing for service members involved in an MV-22 mishap off the east coast of Australia”.

The MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor is the primary assault support aircraft for the marines, with two engines positioned on fixed wing tips that allow it to land and take off vertically. It also has the ability to travel much faster than a helicopter.

The US Marine Corps said in a statement small boats and aircraft were involved in the search.

Australia’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper said two people were missing and feared dead, with unconfirmed reports that the rest of the 25 personnel on board had been rescued.

The Osprey was believed to be in the region as part of the Australian-US joint military exercise Talisman Saber, which has just concluded in Queensland.

Source: Search under way after US marines aircraft suffers ‘mishap’ off Australia | US news | The Guardian

‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli found guilty of securities fraud

Prosecutors call Martin Shkreli – who added more than $700 to the price of a HIV drug overnight – “a con man who stole millions”.

Martin Shkreli, who found infamy after he hiked the price of a life-saving drug by hundreds of dollars, has been convicted of securities fraud.

The former pharmaceutical company CEO – once dubbed “the Most Hated Man In America” – was found guilty on three of the eight counts after a month-long trial.

Shkreli was accused of duping investors into putting money in two failing hedge funds. Prosecutors said he claimed one fund contained $40m (£31m) when there was just $300 in it.

He also lied to investors about his record with such funds and falsely told them they were low risk, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor Jacquelyn Kasulis said the trial “exposed Martin Shkreli for who he really is – a con man who stole millions”.

But outside the court, Shkreli said he was “delighted to report” that he had been acquitted of “the most important charges”.

The 34-year-old thanked his defence saying he is “the greatest lawyer on the planet”.

In closing arguments, Ben Brafman argued some investors had admitted during the trial that partnering with Shkreli was “the greatest investment I’ve ever made”.

Source: ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli found guilty of securities fraud

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Spills and Thrills for day one of the 124km Avon Descent

NEAR-PERFECT water levels made for plenty of spills and thrills for day one of the 124km Avon Descent.

Extracts Weir challenged the 370 competitors, with many participants capsizing over the man-made rock obstacle.

Renee Bijl fell victim to the white water race, falling out of her power boat and injuring her leg at the bottom of Extracts and was taken to Northam Hospital.

Mild and humid overnight temperatures caused a thick shroud of fog in the Avon Valley, but did not impact competitors. Warmer temperatures helped to increase spectator numbers, with hundreds cheering on the riverbank to watch the power boats.

Jay Branson and David North lead the way in the power boats, finishing first across the line on day one at Cobblers Pool.

Josh Kippin, who took out first place in the single kayak in 2016, and Brendan Rice, who was runner-up, formed a team this year and look set to break race records. Darryl Long is first in the solo single ski.

“We’ve had similar water levels to last year, so near perfect,” Avon Descent sport co-ordinator Sean Dunstan said.

Paul Ranger, a semi-finalist in hit TV show Ninja Warrior, took on the challenge on a stand-up paddle board after signing up on Friday, but didn’t make it to Extracts Weir.

Competitors will cross the finish line at Bayswater on Sunday.

Source: Avon Descent 2017: Live Updates | Perth Now

AFL: Giants 14.13 (97) bt 10.2 (62) Demons FULL-TIME: Bombers 11.18 (84) bt 11.10 (76) Blues

FULL-TIME: Giants 14.13 (97) bt 10.2 (62) DemonsFULL-TIME: Bombers 11.18 (84) bt 11.10 (76) Blues

The Greater Western Sydney Giants have consolidated their spot in the AFL’s top four with a 35-point victory over Melbourne.

GWS outclassed the Demons, winning 14.13 (97) to 10.2 (62) in front of 14,274 fans on on Saturday afternoon at Manuka Oval.

It was a costly loss for Melbourne, who could drop out of the top eight by the end of the round, while GWS jumps to second.

The Giants’ tackling was sensational, with their high-pressure game choking a Dees side who lacked creativity in attack.

External Link: Giants v Demons summary

Source: GWS v Melbourne, Essendon v Carlton, Brisbane v Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne v Collingwood, Fremantle v Gold Coast: AFL round 20 live scores, stats and commentary – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Your Android phone can become a real Game Boy with this gadget

A product that began life as an April Fools joke has graduated to a real thing you can order right now: Hyperkin’s SmartBoy is an accessory for Android smartphones with a USB-C connector, and brings Game Boy-style physical controls and actual Game Boy game cartridge compatibility to the gaming device you carry with you everywhere in your pocket anyways.

The Hyperkin SmartBoy is up for pre-order now, with shipments beginning on August 21. It features a familiar button configuration and color scheme for original Nintendo Game Boy fans, and even grooves on the back that will prompt some tactile nostalgia. The accessory works with the SmartBoy companion app, and also pairs well with any of the many Android emulators available on the Google Play Store.

The accessory can also play official Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, as mentioned, though these apparently take a little while to load, since it actually dumps their contents to the device. The device was built specifically for the Samsung Galaxy S8, but supports a long list of other USB C phones including Google Pixel and Pixel XL, Moto Z and Z Force, and more, with a full list of compatible smartphones available at the Hyperkin site…

 

Source: Your Android phone can become a real Game Boy with this gadget | TechCrunch

Weekend of wild weather for Victoria

A strong cold front will move over Victoria on Saturday bringing severe weather to parts of the state.

Victoria is bracing for wild winds, rain, freezing temperatures and severe weather for parts of the state.

A strong cold front will move over western Victoria in the early evening on Saturday, which will then cross the state during the night and into Sunday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

Gusts up to 90 km/h are possible over the far southwest on Saturday afternoon, moving through to Melbourne’s bayside suburbs during the night.

There will be blizzards in alpine areas with up to a metre of snow expected and winds of up to 110km/h for much of the weekend.

People heading to alpine areas are being advised to listen to emergency broadcasts and check the VicRoads website for possible road closures.

The front will also send temperatures plummeting across the state with a sheep graziers warning in place.

The State Emergency Service is warning people to move vehicles under cover or away from trees and secure loose items around houses.

Source: Weekend of wild weather for Victoria

Special counsel Mueller asks White House for Flynn documents: New York Times

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Investigators working for U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia, have asked the White House for documents related to his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the New York Times reported on Friday.

“Though not a formal subpoena, the document request is the first known instance of Mr. Mueller’s team asking the White House to hand over records,” said the Times, which cited unnamed people close to the investigation for the report.

The Times also said the investigators had questioned witnesses about whether Flynn was secretly paid by the Turkish government during the final months of the 2016 campaign.

The White House and Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

The Times quoted Ty Cobb, special counsel to Trump, as saying “We’ve said before we’re collaborating with the special counsel on an ongoing basis.”

Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia and called the investigation a witch hunt.

The Republican president fired Flynn in February after it became clear that he had falsely characterized the nature of phone conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to Washington in December.

Reuters reported in June that according to a subpoena, federal prosecutors in Virginia were investigating a deal between Flynn and Turkish businessman Ekim Alptekin as part of a grand jury criminal probe. [nL1N1IZ171]

Alptekin’s company, Netherlands-based Inovo BV, paid the now-inactive Flynn Intel Group $530,000 between September and November 2016 to produce a documentary and research on Fethullah Gulen, an exiled Turkish cleric living in the United States. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan blames Gulen for a failed coup last year.

Source: Special counsel Mueller asks White House for Flynn documents: New York Times

American Airlines plane bursts into a fireball during take-off in dramatic video

DRAMATIC footage has emerged showing the moment an American Airlines plane burst into a fireball during take-off.

The jet was taking off from an airport in Chicago when a piece of the plane’s mechanics blew apart and smashed through fuel lines, sparking the blaze.

An estimated 2,040 gallons of fuel gushed from the wing, engulfing the right side of the plane in flames.

The shocking incident happened in October last year, but the incredible new footage of the incident has now come to light after being shared by NBC.

Part of the clip, filmed from the control tower, shows the engine exploding in flames as the aircraft speeds up to take off.

Another part of the clip shows the perspective of the fire trucks as they speed up to douse the flames.

Terrified passengers jumped out of the plane, giving themselves a softer landing by falling onto luggage.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro said at the time that the pilot aborted the takeoff of Flight 383 and evacuated all on-board…

VIDEO: American Airlines plane bursts into a fireball during take-off in dramatic video

Prince Harry: tender arm around Meghan Markle + gives thumbs-up head off on African safari

BESOTTED Prince Harry hugs girlfriend Meghan Markle yesterday as the smiling couple start a romantic African holiday on her 36th birthday. Loved-up Prince Harry appeared to give a thumbs-up

The couple’s holiday destination — hugely popular for engagements and honeymoons — will only heighten speculation the prince, 32, is about to propose

The 32-year-old royal draped a protective arm around the Suits actress as they arrived for the safari trip. She appeared to be carrying a gift from him — a picture swathed in bubble wrap.

The couple’s holiday destination — hugely popular for engagements and honeymoons — will only heighten speculation the prince, 32, is about to propose.

A royal source said: “Harry has been planning this holiday for a long time.

“He’s made the trip incredibly romantic. They’ll go on boats across the lake, walk in the bush at dawn and camp under the stars.

“Who knows what will happen when they’re watching a sensational African sunset together? Maybe he’ll get down on one knee. Harry regards Africa as his spiritual home and has often talked of how he can get away from it all there.

“Obviously he wants to show Meghan what an amazing place it is and create new memories together.” The source added: “Harry’s done a lot of conservation work in Africa with endangered el­e­phants and black rhinos and he’ll show them to the woman he wants to marry…

MORE: Prince Harry puts a tender arm around Meghan Markle and gives thumbs-up as they head off on African safari to celebrate her 36th birthday

U.S. submits formal notice of withdrawal from Paris climate pact

reut.rs/2wtO6mL

U.S. submits formal notice of withdrawal from Paris climate pact https://t.co/Av08MzrRRS http://pic.twitter.com/6ipHS15kTM

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 5, 2017

Kansas City: 10 IRS employees reported feeling sick after suspicious package in IRS mailroom

Ten IRS employees in Kansas City, Missouri, reported feeling sick after a suspicious package was delivered to the IRS mailroom, fire officials said, according to ABC affiliate KMBC in Kansas City.

The employees are being treated at the scene, according to KMBC. No one was evacuated and all other workers are safe, KMBC said.

KMBC reported that the suspicious package had a scent of ammonia.

Firefighters have the package isolated, KMBC said, and authorities are investigating.

Source: Kansas City IRS workers reportedly sickened by suspicious package – ABC News

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Game of Thrones episode leaked online after HBO suffers week of chaos

How can Kelly tell Trump the truth when his entire presidency is built on lies?

The newest White House chief of staff has a tough task ahead.

Former White House chief of staff, CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta gives some solid advice to new chief of staff John F. Kelly, including this:

Panetta’s advice is sound, but it got me thinking about what kind of truths Kelly would need to tell President Trump:

• There was no massive voting fraud in 2016. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by about 3 million votes.
• None of the health-care plans put forth by Republicans that you endorsed cover “everybody”; they all resulted in millions fewer insured people. The House bill for which you threw a celebratory Rose Garden gathering cut Medicaid substantially. You promised you wouldn’t do that in the campaign.
• The Russia investigation is not fake news or a hoax. Contrary to your representations, the campaign had multiple contacts with the Russians. Michael Flynn, Jeff Sessions and Jared Kushner all made representations that were not true concerning contacts with Russian officials.
• You involved yourself in creating a fake cover story for the June 2016 meeting with Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort. Combined with the firing of James B. Comey, the special prosecutor may have a case for obstruction of justice.
• If you fire Robert S. Mueller III, it is quite possible Congress will move to impeach you.
• Russia did interfere with our election and is engaged in widespread cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns against the West. These are facts. Denying them makes you seem like a Russian pawn, or crazy. Congress is not responsible for the state of relations with Russia; Russia is.
• Your approval is really, really low and you are losing some of your core base, including whites with no college degree. As a result of that and failure of health-care reform, Republicans in Congress now ignore you. They will be more likely to send legislation you don’t like and to insist on vigorous investigation of the Russia scandal.
• The vast majority of Americans really want you to stop tweeting. You sound uninformed and unhinged in many of these missives. You’ve diminished the office of the presidency.
• Your son-in-law and daughter are unqualified to be senior advisers. Jared has made some really bad recommendations (like hiring Anthony Scaramucci and firing Comey). They should go back to New York. Honestly, you’d be doing them a favor.
• Stephen Miller is awful on TV. He came across as a bully and someone who does not like immigrants (which may be candid but is nevertheless unacceptable to most Americans). He should not go on TV again.
• You ran as a populist but your agenda on taxes is tilted toward the very rich. You will allow Democrats to take back their white working-class voters if you keep governing like a pro-billionaire right-winger. You should not have so many Goldman Sachs billionaires in the Cabinet. Rich people are not necessarily smart or good at governing.
• The State Department is a hot mess. You need a new secretary of state.
• Trade protectionism is bad for America; NAFTA did not cause us to lose millions of jobs.
• We need immigrants for economic growth. The Cotton-Perdue bill, according to more than a thousand economists, would be a disaster.
• A wall on the southern border is an expensive, unnecessary boondoggle.

You see, without the lies there would be virtually nothing for Trump to say and nothing left of his presidency. If Kelly ever decided to level with Trump, he’d need to tell the president that his behavior is unbecoming and that his “ideas” are daft. And that’s the problem. There’s no way to tell this president the truth and remain in the administration.

Source: How can Kelly tell Trump the truth when his entire presidency is built on lies? – The Washington Post

There’s no time to vacation or golf when you’re president, unless name is Trump; CLIP

There’s no time to vacation or golf when you’re president, unless your name is Donald Trump, apparently. http://pic.twitter.com/maYGVeMA20

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) August 4, 2017

Tennessee jail surveillance shows police officer repeatedly tasering teenager tied to chair

A US teenager files a federal lawsuit after he was tied into a chair and tasered by police officers while in custody on drug and weapons charges.

‘I’ll keep on doing that until I run out of batteries’

Newly released surveillance footage captured 18-year-old Jordan Norris restrained and then stunned with a taser by three police deputies.

The officers involved have been put on administrative leave, according to local news outlet The Tennessean.

Norris was arrested on November 3, 2016, and held at Cheatham County jail on drug-related charges and possession of prohibited weapons.

Two days later he was still held in the booking cell over behavioural issues and placed on suicide watch, according to The Patch.

 

Source: Tennessee jail surveillance footage shows police officer repeatedly tasering teenager who is tied to chair – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Qantas QF7 to Dallas and QF63 to Jo’burg return to Sydney due to mechanical issues

Mid-air mechanical issues forced back two Qantas flights after they left Sydney this afternoon, with one forced to dump fuel over the ocean before landing.

Flight QF7 to Dallas turned around after experiencing a mechanical issue, Qantas said.

The flaps on the Airbus A380 were unable to retract, which meant the plane could not fly efficiently, a statement from the airline said.

As the Dallas route is the longest in the Qantas network, the captain made the decision to turn around and return to Sydney.

The plane circled for 35 minutes and had to dump fuel east of Wollongong but has now landed in Sydney and will undergo inspections by engineers.

Another flight, QF63 to Johannesburg, returned to Sydney this afternoon due to a cracked pane of glass on the windscreen.

An aircraft windscreen is made up of three layers of glass, the outer pane had cracked but did not compromise the integrity of the aircraft.

The flight was safe to continue to Johannesburg but the captain made the decision to return to Sydney as the windscreen will be replaced there at Qantas’ engineering base.

The aircraft, a Boeing 747-400, landed safely.

Qantas said it was working to accommodate affected passengers or offer them transport home before replacement services were organised.

Rebecca Cushway, who was on board flight QF7 to Dallas, said passengers were told the plane could only reach 5,000 feet after take off.

Source: Qantas flights QF7 to Dallas and QF63 to Johannesburg return to Sydney due to mechanical issues – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)