Light News Dump

Undermining Trump-Bolton War Narrative, British General Says No Evidence of 'Increased Threat' From Iran
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/15/undermining-trump-bolton-war-narrative-british-general-says-no-evidence-increased

Trump's 2020 Campaign Banners are Being Made in China
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/politics/2018/07/26/watch-trumps-2020-campaign-banners-being-made-china/37130181/

No ‘do-over’ on Mueller probe, White House lawyer tells House panel, saying demands for records, staff testimony will be illegally refused.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/no-do-over-on-mueller-probe-white-house-lawyer-tells-house-panel-saying-demands-for-records-staff-testimony-will-be-refused/2019/05/15/1ad19728-7715-11e9-b3f5-5673edf2d127_story.html?utm_term=.2d78a4d134a3

US Embassy in Iraq says the State Department has ordered all non-emergency government staff to leave Iraq right away
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-embassy-in-iraq-says-the-state-department-has-ordered-all-non-emergency-government-staff-to-leave-iraq-right-away/2019/05/15/

U.S. orders suspension of flights between the U.S. and Venezuela
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-usa-airlines/u-s-suspends-flights-between-the-u-s-and-venezuela-idUSKCN1SL2F2

After Standing Rock, protesting pipelines can get you a decade in prison and $100K in fines
https://grist.org/article/after-standing-rock-protesting-pipelines-can-get-you-a-decade-in-prison-and-100k-in-fines/

Dan Bishop, “Bathroom Bill” Sponsor, Wins North Carolina GOP Primary.  A state senator best known as the sponsor of a headline-grabbing “bathroom bill” that voided anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people won Tuesday’s Republican primary in a special election for a congressional seat vacant since last year’s election was deemed tainted by fraud.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/north-carolina-dan-bishop-bathroom-bill_n_5cdb69e7e4b0c39d2a131c2f

Kamala Harris Pledges To Ban Import Of AR-15-Style Assault Weapons If Elected President
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-ar-15-assault-weapons-import-ban_n_5cdb610fe4b0c39d2a131500

Ben Carson’s new rule targeting undocumented tenants of public housing may evict more than 55,000 children—all citizens or legal residents. He knows this. I wrote about him doing it for a @POTUS who, once upon a time, wouldn’t have rented him an apartment.
https://twitter.com/JamilSmith/status/1128714738714546177

White House says it won't sign international agreement to combat online extremism
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/white-house-says-it-won-t-sign-international-agreement-combat-n1006046

Trump administration opens up Minnesota wilderness area to copper mining
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interior-copper/trump-administration-opens-up-minnesota-wilderness-area-to-copper-mining-idUSKCN1SL2C5

Bristol academic finally deciphers 600-year-old Voynich manuscript and reveals it was written in lost language by nuns for great-aunt of Catherine of Aragon
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7031849/Worlds-mysterious-text-cracked.html

Wikipedia Is Now Banned in China in All Languages
http://time.com/5589439/china-wikipedia-online-censorship/

LGBT rights in Europe: Some countries 'moving backwards on equality for first time in a decade'
https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/14/lgbt-rights-in-europe-some-countries-moving-backwards-on-equality-for-first-time-in-a-deca

Audio reveals pilots angrily confronting Boeing about 737 Max feature before second deadly crash
https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/05/15/us/boeing-737-max-audio-meeting-with-pilots/

“Bomb Carbon” Has Been Found in Deep-Ocean Creatures - A group of scientists have now found radioactive carbon-14—at levels high enough to indicate it originated from the detonation of nuclear bombs—in the flesh of shrimplike crustaceans living in the trench.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bomb-carbon-has-been-found-in-deep-ocean-creatures/

‘Terrifying' Ebola epidemic out of control in DRC, say experts - More than 1,600 people infected in North Kivu province since outbreak began in August
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/15/terrifying-ebola-epidemic-out-of-control-in-drc-say-experts

Trump Doral Resort’s Income Drops 69% in Two Years
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-doral-resorts-income-drops-69-in-two-years

Spain withdraws warship from US-led combat group in Gulf
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/443758-spain-withdraws-warship-from-us-led-combat-group-in-gulf

The military already does this....Senator Warren proposes bill to adapt military's infrastructure and operations to climate change
https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-escobar-announce-legislation-to-require-dept-of-defense-to-adapt-to-climate-change-threat

The Trump Admin Is Removing The PPACA From Government Sites
https://www.wired.com/story/trump-scrubbing-obamacare-from-government-sites/

Pastor jailed for raping daughter given light sentence because of faith
https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-news-former-religious-leader-david-richards-jailed-for-12-years-for-raping-his-daughter/772280a6-4801-466d-8fb1-8617b38af816

Trump revolving door creates 'unprecedented' vacancy mess in government
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-revolving-door-creates-unprecedented-vacancy-mess-gov-t-n1004566

GOP Extremism Was Powerful Before Trump, and It Will Outlive Him
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/05/gop-extremism-was-powerful-before-trump-and-will-outlive-him.html

Pennyslvania sues maker of OxyContin, 'jet fuel' of America's opioid crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/14/pennsylvania-oxycontin-purdue-lawsuit-opioids-crisis

A federal grand jury has indicted Michigan State Representative Larry C. Inman (R). Inman is accused of attempting to secure a bribe from a union group in exchange for voting against a bill designed to repeal the state's prevailing wage law. Failing to secure that bribe, Inman voted in favor of the repeal, according to an official document.
https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/federal-grand-jury-indicts-state-rep-larry-inman

Koalas are 'functionally extinct with only 80,000 left in wild' - The number of koalas in Australia has fallen so low the species is “functionally extinct” and unlikely to produce a new generation, campaigners have warned.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/australian-koalas-functionally-extinct-with-only-80000-left-in-wild-animal-rights-campaigners-a4142486.html

'It would destroy it': new international airport for Machu Picchu sparks outrage
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/may/15/archaeologists-outraged-over-plans-for-machu-picchu-airport-chinchero