| Need To Know |
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| Afghans Stay Away From Polls |
| Afghanistan held its first presidential election since 2014, with low turnout leaving officials worried about the stability of the eventual winner's government. Exit polls suggest just 20% of registered voters cast a ballot, the fewest since 2001, with many driven away by the specter of Taliban violence and concerns of election fraud. The Taliban carried out a number of devastating attacks in the run-up to the election, including a bombing that killed 26 during a rally for incumbent candidate Ashraf Ghani. The violence led the US to cut off a year-long effort to broker a peace deal between the militant group and the Afghan government as it prepares to draw down the 15,000 remaining troops in the country. No mass casualty attacks occurred over the weekend, though dozens of smaller attacks killed 3 and injured almost 40. |
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| Impeachment Probe Marches On |
The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena over the weekend seeking details and testimony from top State Department officials around a controversial summer call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The request is part of an impeachment inquiry launched by House Democrats last week, which has been narrowed to focus on allegations President Trump withheld US aid in an attempt to push Zelensky to investigate corruption rumors ($, WashPo) around presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. The White House - which released a transcript of the call and the whistleblower complaint it generated - has argued no potential deal was ever referenced during the call. Officials also countered reports that details of the call (and others with foreign leaders) were moved to a server meant for highly sensitive information, citing the need to protect against leaks.
The anonymous whistleblower responsible for the initial complaint will reportedly testify before Congress. |
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| Starship Unveiled |
| Private spaceflight company SpaceX revealed its latest rocket design yesterday, one at the center of CEO Elon Musk's ambitions to colonize Mars. Named Starship, the massive 260,000-pound vessel is a fully reusable, long-duration spacecraft designed to carry cargo and passengers and is intended to become the company's flagship space vehicle, replacing its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon space capsules early next decade. Working on an aggressive timeline, Musk promised a prototype would launch to an altitude of 65,000 feet and land again within two months, reach orbit within six months, and carry passengers - presumably to destinations like the International Space Station - within a year. See photos of the sleek, somewhat retro design here. |
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| In The Know |
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| Sports, Entertainment & Culture |
| > José José, legendary Mexican singer and actor known as "The Prince of Song", dies at 71 (More) |
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| > Americans Christian Coleman, Justin Gatlin finish 1-2 in 100m at World Track and Field Championships in Doha, Qatar (More) | Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce wins gold in Women's 100m race (More) |
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| > New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso breaks all-time MLB rookie home run record with 53 (More) | MLB regular season ended yesterday; see full postseason schedule that begins tomorrow (More) |
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| Science & Technology |
| > Russia begins installing equipment to enable disconnection from the global internet; plan will allow Russia-controlled internet to be "switched on" at will within the country (More) |
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| > New theory proposes yet-to-be-discovered Planet Nine may be a black hole (More) | ...and read more about "Planet Nine" (More) |
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| > CDC report finds majority of vaping illnesses linked to range of off-market cartridges containing THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana; 66% reported using products from company named Dank Vapes (More) |
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| Business & Markets |
| > Teenage clothing retailer Forever 21 files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to close 178 of 800+ stores (More) |
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| > Following string of scandals, Wells Fargo names BNY Mellon’s Charles Scharf as new CEO (More) |
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| > Shares of Chilean airline LATAM Airlines soar ~30% as Delta purchases 20% stake for $1.9B (More) |
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| Politics & World Affairs |
| > Protests erupt in Hong Kong for 17th straight weekend, days ahead of 70th anniversary of the establishment of modern China (More) |
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| > US State Department contacts over 130 aides of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in probe over whether sensitive emails were improperly transmitted to private email server (More) |
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| > Rare fall snowstorm system hits Rocky Mountains, dumps record snow in Montana (More) |
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"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor."
- Truman Capote |
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