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Starr County, Texas, Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested and Detained on Bribery, Extortion and Drug Charges

A Deputy Sheriff for the Starr County, Texas, Sherriff’s Office has been ordered detained by a federal magistrate judge in the Southern District of Texas on charges of conspiracy, federal programs bribery, extortion and drug possession with intent to distribute.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Releases Investigative Findings on the Alamance County, N.C., Sheriff’s Office

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department announced today its findings that the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in North Carolina, under the leadership of Sheriff Terry S. Johnson, engages in a pattern or practice of misconduct that violates the Constitution and federal law. The department conducted its investigation, which it opened on June 2, 2010, pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Bryan County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Sentenced for Assaulting Detainee with a Taser

The Justice Department announced today that former Bryan County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, from Achille, Okla., was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, followed by 24 months of supervised release, for using a Taser to assault a detainee inside of the Bryan County Jail in Durant, Okla., in violation of the victim’s civil rights.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Wilcox County, Georgia, Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Inmate

The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael J. Moore announced today that Stacy Bloodsworth, the former sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga., pleaded guilty to assaulting an inmate inside the Wilcox County jail and subsequently conspiring to cover up the assault. Bloodsworth’s son, Austin Bloodsworth, also pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up the same assault. Three other defendants had previously pleaded guilty to civil rights and obstruction of justice crimes in connection with the July 23, 2009, assault.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former San Juan County, New Mexico, Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Violating Civil Rights of Man by Assaulting Him with a Flashlight

R. Dale Frazier, 57, of Flora Vista, N.M., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a federal civil rights charge in connection with the unlawful assault and beating of Dovovan Tanner with a flashlight.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Lincoln County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office Detective Sentenced on Sexual Abuse Charges

Scott Edwards, a former Lincoln County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department detective, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison followed by three years supervised release for violating the constitutional rights of five women through acts of aggravated sexual abuse and sexual contact while serving as their “drug court tracker,” when the women were participants in the Lincoln County Drug Court program.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against the Alamance County, N.C., Sheriff’s Office

The Justice Department today filed a civil rights lawsuit against Terry S. Johnson, in his official capacity as head of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in North Carolina.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Files Lawsuit in Idaho Against Jerome County Sheriff’s Office to Enforce the Employment Rights of Army National Guard Member

The United States Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today the filing of a complaint alleging that the Jerome County Sheriff’s Office willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by failing to reemploy and terminating Idaho Army National Guard Member Mervin Jones while he was recuperating from a knee injury that he sustained while performing military service.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Deputy Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violations

Craig Billings, 39, a former deputy sheriff with the Murray County Sheriff’s Office in Sulphur, Okla., pleaded guilty today in federal court to a one-count information charging him with Deprivation of Rights for using unreasonable force and violating the civil rights of an individual who was being booked into the Murray County Jail.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Lawsuit Alleging Sex Discrimination Against the State of Maryland, Queen Anne’s County and the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff

The Justice Department today moved to intervene in Murphy-Taylor v. State of Maryland, et al., a private lawsuit alleging sex discrimination by the state of Maryland, Queen Anne’s County and the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Oklahoma Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to the FBI

Dennis Frisbie Jr., 33, former deputy with the Muskogee County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office, who was assigned as a detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to one count of making material false statements to the FBI.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Forsyth County, North Carolina Sheriff to Resolve Employment Rights Claim of a North Carolina Army National Guard Soldier

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Forsyth County, N.C., and Sheriff William T. Schatzman of Forsyth County to resolve allegations that they violated the employment rights of North Carolina Army National Guard soldier Michael Russell under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Civil Rights, Bank Fraud, Computer Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Obstruction of Justice Violations

An indictment against former Jefferson Parish, La., Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Announces the Successful Resolution of Its Agreement with the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office

The United States announced today that the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has successfully implemented an agreement on the use of electronic control weapons, commonly referred to as Tasers.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Wilcox County, Georgia, Sheriff and Others Sentenced for Assaulting Inmate

Today, the Justice Department announced that former Sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga., Stacy Bloodsworth was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting an inmate inside the Wilcox County Jail and for conspiring to cover up the assault.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Settles Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against the Town of Griffith, Indiana

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the town of Griffith, Ind. that, if approved by the court, will resolve allegations that the Griffith Police Department discriminated against Sergeant Marlene Starcevich based on her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, or religion and retaliation for engaging in protected activity.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Pulaski County, Ky. Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Federal Civil Rights Violations

U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey of the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division, announced today that Stephen Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office in Pulaski County, Ky., was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of violating the civil rights of victims by using excessive force in October 2009 and October 2011.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Releases Findings on the Antelope Valley Stations of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

The Justice Department Civil Rights Division and Los Angeles County today announced that they have reached preliminary agreements to make broad changes to policing in the Antelope Valley and to the enforcement of the Housing Choice Voucher Program (commonly known as Section 8).



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Barren County, KY. Sheriff Sentenced on Two Counts of Obstructing Justice

Barren County, Ky., Sheriff Christopher Brian Eaton, 42, of Glasgow, Ky., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. to serve an 18-month prison term followed by two years of supervised release, after a jury convicted him on May 9, 2013, of two counts of obstructing justice during a federal criminal civil rights investigation conducted by the FBI.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Federal Civil Rights Violation

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels announced that Steven Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on one count of violating the civil rights of a victim by using excessive force in August 2008.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Jerome County Idaho Sheriff’s Office to Resolve the Employment Rights of Army National Guard Member

The Depatment of Justice and U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson for the District of Idaho announced today that they reached an agreement with the Jerome County, Id., Sheriff’s Office to resolve the allegations that Jerome County violated the employment rights of Idaho Army National Guard Member Mervin Jones while he was recuperating from a knee injury that he sustained while performing military service.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Arapahoe, Colo., Sheriff’s Office to Resolve Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the Arapahoe County, Colo. Office of the Sheriff resolving allegations that the Office of the Sheriff violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act(INA).



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Violations

Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, pled guilty today to one civil rights violation, five bank fraud violations and one aggravated identity theft violation, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite Jr. for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI New Orleans Field Office and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Indicted for Unlawfully Detaining and Assaulting Handcuffed Man at County Jail

The Department of Justice announced today that a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama has returned an indictment against J. Keith McCray, a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office for violating the rights of a man he unlawfully seized and assaulted.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Desoto County, Fla., Sheriff’s Deputies Indicted for Civil Rights and Obstruction Violations Regarding the Assault of an Inmate

A federal grand jury in Fort Myers, Fla., indicted former Desoto County Sheriff’s Office deputies Steven Rizza and Jonathan Mause today for charges related to the violation of the civil rights of an inmate who was assaulted by Rizza at the Desoto County Jail and the ensuing obstruction of the investigation into that offense.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Sentenced for Conspiracy and Bribery

A former sergeant of the Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office (PSO) was sentenced to serve 15 months in prison today for accepting bribes in exchange for favors and referrals. Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Handcuffed Man at Macon County Jail

J. Keith McCray, a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty in federal court today to assaulting a handcuffed man at the county jail, resulting in bodily injury to the victim.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Lowndes County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Conspiracy Charge

Jason Stacks, a former Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Deputy, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to use his law enforcement authority to unlawfully detain and take money from motorists.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Sentenced to 36 Months for Assaulting Handcuffed Man at Macon County Jail

J. Keith McCray, previously a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced today by Judge Myron H. Thompson to serve 36 months in prison and two years of supervised release for assaulting a handcuffed man at the county jail, announced the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.



  • OPA Press Releases

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Former Loudoun County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to Prison

ALEXANDRIA, Va



  • OPA Press Releases

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Season Interrupted: Middlebury-bound Riley Griffis can hang in the deep end

Loyola swimming star Riley Griffis quickly read the reality of life outside the pool: 'The time away has shown it's something I need to function."




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The Next King of the Saudis: Salman, the Family Sheriff


The announcement of King Abdullah’s death puts Saudi Arabia in the hands of his designated successor, Prince Salman. Salman has his own health issues and faces an immediate crisis on the kingdom’s southern border in Yemen. Continuity will be Salman’s hallmark, including close ties to Washington.

Now King Salman, born Dec. 31, 1935, who is also defense minister, has been chairing cabinet meetings for several months and handling almost all foreign travel responsibilities for the monarchy since he became the heir in 2012. He has visited China, Japan, India, Pakistan, the Maldives, and France since becoming crown prince after the death of his predecessor, Prince Nayif. He has hosted a series of Saudi allies like Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who paid their last respects quietly to Abdullah in the last week.

Before becoming crown prince, Salman was governor of Riyadh province for 48 years. When he became governor in 1963, Riyadh had 200,000 inhabitants; today, it has more than seven million. Salman presided over this remarkable transformation with a record for good governance and a lack of corruption. Since most of the royal princes and princesses live in Riyadh, he was also the family sheriff, ensuring any transgressions were dealt with smoothly and quietly with no publicity. He knows where all the bodies are hidden.

Salman also oversaw the collection of private funds to support the Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s, working very closely with the kingdom’s Wahhabi clerical establishment. In the early years of the war, before the U.S. and the kingdom ramped up their secret financial support for the anti-Soviet insurgency, this private Saudi funding was critical to the war effort. At the war’s peak, Salman was providing $25 million a month to the mujahideen. He was also active in raising money for the Bosnian Muslims in the war with Serbia.

Salman’s sons include the first Muslim astronaut, Prince Sultan, and the governor of Medinah, Prince Faysal. Another son, Prince Khaled, is a fighter pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force and led the first RSAF mission against Islamic State targets in Syria last year. The family controls much of the Saudi media. All will now be up-and-comers.

Salman has his own health issues and has had a stroke. (Persistent rumors of dementia are denied by the palace.) His successor was announced in February 2013 to ensure continuity. Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Muqrin was born Sept. 15, 1945 and was educated at the Royal Air Force College in England before becoming a pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force. Later, he was governor of Medinah province and then head of Saudi intelligence. Muqrin is now crown prince.

Abdullah, Salman, and Muqrin are sons of the modern kingdom’s founder, Abdelaziz Ibn Saud, who had 44 recognized sons. The survivors and their heirs constitute the Allegiance Council, which Abdullah created in 2007 to help choose the line of succession. In practice it has only ratified the king’s decisions after the fact.

Muqrin is widely believed to be the last capable son of Ibn Saud. So now that Muqrin has ascended to the crown prince position the kingdom will face the unprecedented challenge of picking a next in line from the grandsons of Ibn Saud. That will raise questions of legitimacy not faced in the last century of Saudi rule.

Abdullah has been the de facto ruler of the kingdom since King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995; he became king a decade later when Fahd passed away. A progressive reformer by Saudi standards, Abdullah gave the kingdom 20 years of stability. Salman is likely to provide continuity. The House of Saud values family collegiality and harmony highly. The two previous Saudi kingdoms in the 18th and 19th centuries were wracked by family internal squabbles which their foreign enemies exploited. Eleven of 14 successions were contested and the Saudis ended up in exile in Kuwait until Ibn Saud created the modern kingdom in 1902.

With the Arab world facing its worst crisis in decades, the royals will want to present an image of stability and strength. This is especially true with the collapse of the pro-Saudi government in Yemen, which will be Salman’s first crisis.

The Zaydi Houthi rebels who have all but disposed the pro-American government in Yemen this week have a slogan which reads, “Death to America, death to Israel, curses to the Jews and victory to Islam.” The collapse of President Abd Rabdu Mansour Hadi’s government, which openly supported American drone strikes in Yemen against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Pennisula for the last couple of years, puts a pro-Iranian anti-American Shia militia as the dominant player in a strategically important country. The Bab El Mandab, the straits between Asia and Africa, are one of the choke points of global energy and geopolitics. The leader of the Houthis gave a triumphal speech Tuesday and Iranian diplomats hailed his victory. The Houthis have fought a half-dozen border wars with the Saudis, who spent billions trying to keep them out of power.

The Houthis’ victory also ironically benefits AQAP by polarizing Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, between Shia and Sunni with AQAP emerging as the protector of Sunni rights. AQAP is fresh off its attack on Paris and has grown since 2009 into the most dangerous al Qaeda affiliate in the world. It is dedicated to overthrowing the House of Saud. Salman will have his hands full immediately.

This piece was originally published by The Daily Beast. 

Authors

Publication: The Daily Beast
Image Source: © Fahad Shadeed / Reuters
       




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New York Compost riffs on the city’s iconic muckrakers

The classic daily newspaper box gets updated by a New York artist.




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Why is the Trump administration putting a tariff on Chinese LEDs?

Could it be that more efficient lighting means less coal being dug to power it?




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Ecotricity launches "vegan electricity" tariff

Many vegans don't realize that there's 'meat' in their electricity supply.




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Dirty coal-fired aluminum gets a boost with new Trump tariff

But hey, it's all in the interest of national security; Americans have to be ready to defend themselves from Canada.




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Trump's tariff threats against China are 'largely bluster': Charles Schwab

It will be difficult for U.S. President Donald Trump to backtrack on the U.S.-China "phase one" trade deal after previously lauding it as "the best deal ever made", says Jeffrey Kleintop of Charles Schwab, adding that March trade data shows a pickup in U.S. exports to China.




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Cramer says Trump can't raise tariffs on China with 30 million unemployed: 'That is 1932'

Cramer warned that the U.S. economy may be too weak to handle another trade spat with China and discouraged Trump from imposing new tariffs.




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Tax-News.com: EU Hails Victory In WTO Russia Tariff Dispute

The EU has said that, as a result of dispute proceedings it launched in 2014, Russia has lowered tariffs on certain paper, refrigerators, and palm oil products.




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Tax-News.com: Australia 'Exempt From US Metal Tariffs'

The Australian Government has secured an exemption from new US metal tariffs, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo has said.




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Tax-News.com: EU Extends Anti-Dumping Tariffs On Chinese Steel

The EU is to apply existing anti-dumping measures on Chinese imports of seamless pipes and tubes of stainless steel for another five years.




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Tax-News.com: China Will Open Up To Foreign Investment, Lower Import Tariffs

China plans to actively expand imports and open up to foreign investment by reducing tariffs and taxes, according to a work report released by the Government ahead of the annual parliamentary session.




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Tax-News.com: US Taxpayer Body Argues Against Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

The National Taxpayers Union has called upon the US Department of Commerce to halt its investigation into steel and aluminum imports, claiming that imposing tariffs would be "an economically inefficient solution to a narrow problem."




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Tax-News.com: Latest Australia-Japan FTA Tariff Cuts In Force

The fifth round of tariff cuts under the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement have entered into force.




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Piggyback Heart Transplant Procedure in Chennai - Interview With Dr.Ejaz Ahmed Sheriff

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US-China trade war: Can you dodge Trump’s tariffs?

Try your hand at navigating the dispute




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Pinn’s illustration of the week: Tariff truce

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Miley Cyrus bares chiseled midriff as she goes hell for leather swinging by Marc Jacobs office

She has worked with Marc Jacobs for years. And Miley Cyrus was glimpsed swinging by his Manhattan offices Tuesday, the night before his New York Fashion week extravaganza.




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Michelle Keegan reveals her taut midriff as she joins husband Mark Wright at the gym

Michelle Keegan looked incredible as she joined hunky husband Mark Wright at the gym on Friday.




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Bebe Rexha flashes toned midriff in silver at the 2018 MTV VMAs

Bebe Rexha channeled her inner Moonman Award in a risque silver set at the 2018 MTV VMAs on Monday night.