The FBI Is Tracking Our Faces in Secret, and We’re Suing
409 by dredmorbius | 122 comments on Hacker News.
New best story on Hacker News: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
556 by fieryscribe | 269 comments on Hacker News.
556 by fieryscribe | 269 comments on Hacker News.
Fox News Breaking News Alert
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Divided House passes Dem-backed guidelines for Trump impeachment as Republicans fume
10/31/19 8:33 AM
Divided House passes Dem-backed guidelines for Trump impeachment as Republicans fume
10/31/19 8:33 AM
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House begins debate on Democrat-backed rules for impeachment inquiry
10/31/19 6:10 AM
House begins debate on Democrat-backed rules for impeachment inquiry
10/31/19 6:10 AM
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Washington Nationals top Houston Astros in Game 7 to claim World Series title
10/30/19 9:12 PM
Washington Nationals top Houston Astros in Game 7 to claim World Series title
10/30/19 9:12 PM
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Washington Nationals top Houston Astros in Game 7 to claim World Series title
10/30/19 8:53 PM
Washington Nationals top Houston Astros in Game 7 to claim World Series title
10/30/19 8:53 PM
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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California, surrounding area ordered evacuated amid wildfire threat
10/30/19 7:40 AM
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California, surrounding area ordered evacuated amid wildfire threat
10/30/19 7:40 AM
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Jeffrey Epstein’s fatal injuries consistent with homicide, famed medical examiner tells ‘Fox & Friends’ in exclusive interview
10/30/19 4:35 AM
Jeffrey Epstein’s fatal injuries consistent with homicide, famed medical examiner tells ‘Fox & Friends’ in exclusive interview
10/30/19 4:35 AM
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Famed forensic pathologist Michael Baden to make explosive claim regarding death of Jeffrey Epstein in ‘Fox & Friends’ interview
10/30/19 4:20 AM
Famed forensic pathologist Michael Baden to make explosive claim regarding death of Jeffrey Epstein in ‘Fox & Friends’ interview
10/30/19 4:20 AM
New world news from Time: The Forgotten Women Who Shaped China in the 20th Century
The three Soong sisters were precocious from a young age. But few could have predicted the level of influence they eventually had on the course of history in 20th-century China. Born in Shanghai in the 1890s to Charlie Soong, a wealthy merchant and missionary, the sisters were all educated at Wesleyan College in Georgia, traveling to the U.S. without an accompanying guardian. “Big Sister” Ei-Ling, was known as the brightest mind in the family, gaining fortune through her marriage to banker and eventual finance minster of China H.H. Kung. “Little Sister” May-Ling, married Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and became first lady of the mainland known around the world, even gracing the cover of TIME three times. And “Red Sister” Ching-Ling married Sun Yat-sen, the first President of the Republic of China and the opponent of Nationalist leader Chiang, before becoming Mao’s vice-chair.
One biography of the Soong family was published in 1986, and several biographies have since been written about Little Sister in her role as Madame Chiang Kai-shek. But a new book by historian and writer Jung Chang, Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China, reveals the fascinating intertwined story of the three sisters for the first time. Best known for her 1991 international-bestseller Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, which explored her own family history in China through the twentieth century, Chang researched previously unused documents from archives, including personal letters written by the sisters, to chart their fascinating personal and political lives. Chang spoke to TIME about the Soong sisters, their impact on history, and what has changed for women in China since their time.
What prompted you to write about the Soong sisters?
After my last book, the biography of Empress Dowager Cixi, was published in 2013, I was thinking about my next subject. I wanted to write about another program setter, so I started researching Sun Yat-sen, who is often called the father of China. Then I changed my mind — I was a little bored. I found that his wife and her sisters were much more interesting than him. They were political, but they also had other aspects about them: Their personal, emotional ups and downs, their dramatic lives, and their relationships. So I decided to write about them.
What was your most surprising discovery?
I was surprised about the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. For many years after her marriage to Chiang Kai-shek, May-Ling was in a deep depression, and he wanted to get her out of it, so he gave her this present, which was a “necklace,” for her birthday in 1932. It encircled a whole mountain, and the jewel of the necklace was a villa, called the May-Ling Palace outside Nanjing. The roof of this villa has blue-green tiles which sparkle in the sun, and made it look like a real jewel. The chains of the necklace are made of French pine trees which Chiang had imported to China and planted like a real necklace around the whole mountain. The pine trees colour in a different way to the local trees, so in the autumn, if you took a private plane, which of course you could do if you were May-Ling, you see this spectacular necklace. This side of Chiang Kai-shek, in the personal relationship and his imaginativeness and sensibility to May-Ling was a bit surprising to me.
Why had their histories not been explored in depth before?
I think in Chinese history, so many things have not been written about which ought to have been written about. With the three sisters, there is too much politics involved with their lives, and inevitably you don’t get truthful, honest, scholarly writing. When I was growing up in mainland China for example, we all heard that May Ling had a bath every day in milk, which is why her skin was so fine. I remember our teacher saying gently, do you really think bathing in milk is pleasant? And of course, he was condemned as a rightist.
In this book, the paths of these three sisters were part of a major period in Chinese history. Between 1913, and 1938 when Chiang Kai-shek seized power, China was a democracy. This came as such a revelation to me, because no one talked about that period, and still they don’t talk about this in China. China had an artistic, literary, linguistic and creative renaissance simply because it was a democracy. During this time, there were three general elections, a functioning parliament, press freedom and freedom of expression, and of course women’s emancipation.
In a way, Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister is similar to your earlier autobiography Wild Swans in intertwining the personal histories of a family with the broader arc of Chinese history. Is it your conscious choice to tell stories that way?
Wild Swans is about three women on the receiving end of history. We were small people in society. These three women were at the heart of power and they contributed in making these policies, they had a certain influence and an impact on how China evolved in those years. It is my conscious decision to write about characters and people whose private personal lives are intimately connected with the politics and history of the country. I think that’s much more interesting. For me, it helps me find answers to all these questions, the big holes in history books that don’t satisfy me.
Had there been any Chinese women as much as political power as the Soong sisters before? And would you say there have been any since?
No. The Empress Dowager was really powerful, and she was the ruler of China on and off for nearly half a century. She was the first modernizer of China, bringing medieval China into the modern age. The sisters were not policymakers on the same level as the Empress Dowager, but still they had extraordinary influence. Ching-Ling was Mao’s vice chair. May-Ling was China’s first lady for many years, and during the Second World War, she was one of the most famous women in the world. She was the face of wartime China and did a lot for the country. At the Cairo conference in 1943, she went with Chiang Kai Shek and she personally negotiated with Roosevelt’s representative. She made a difference and was a politician in her own right. Big Sister, Ei-Ling, also had tremendous influence on Chiang Kai-shek. For one thing, she converted him to Christianity and that softened his dictatorship, making it less harsh. The sisters made his dictatorship less harsh than it might have been.
No, there have not been people like them. The sisters were from a time when big things were happening and people of greatness were emerging because that was a very liberating period. After so many years of dictatorship, from Chiang Kai-shek to Mao’s, right up to the repressive regime of today, there isn’t this atmosphere or soil for people like them to blossom.
One passage from an essay by Ei-Ling referring to Confucius is striking: “His grossest mistake was the failure to regard womankind with respect.” How progressive were the sisters for their time?
This surprised me because she was a teenager when she wrote that and it was the beginning of the twentieth century. She was so perceptive: Without denigrating Confucius, she put her finger spot on on the major weakness of Confucianism, which is its contempt for women. She said words to the effect that a nation would not really become great without the liberation of its womenfolk. I found it extraordinary that she saw that then, when one hundred years later, many people still haven’t grasped that.
How has the role of women in Chinese society changed overall since the time of the Soong sisters?
As I live in Britain now, not China, my views and my experience there is very limited. Since writing the biography of Mao, I lost my freedom to travel in China. I can only go back for two weeks a year to see my mother. I have no contact while I’m there with the public and people beyond my immediate family. Any views of mine are bound to be not only limited, but may not be quite right.
But from the little I know, when I was in China under Mao, women were told that we held up half the sky. For me at the time, that meant we did things which were traditionally not for women. I was a steelworker and an electrician, although I dreaded going near wires. For people of my generation, women did a lot of physical labour and were traditionally reserved for men. One was also less conscious of one’s sexuality in those years. Any sign of people’s sexuality or female mind and character was not allowed to come to the surface. In those days, we couldn’t show what we wanted as a woman. I think today’s China has changed since then. All I can say is that it’s probably more difficult for women to excel.
Given that you’ve spent a large part of your life outside mainland China — although of course, not voluntarily — do you still feel like it is home?
No. My home is London, where my husband and my friends are, and where I feel most at ease. Having said that, of course I take an intense interest in China. That’s my native country, and it’s the country I somehow care so much about, and I worry so much about what might go wrong there. I really care and feel for the country and the people who have been so much and really deserve good lives. It’s a country I feel very emotional about.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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Masked Iraqi security forces open fire on protesters, killing 18: report
10/29/19 2:35 AM
Masked Iraqi security forces open fire on protesters, killing 18: report
10/29/19 2:35 AM
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ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, considered potential al-Baghdadi successor, also killed in Syria, official says
10/28/19 11:53 AM
ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, considered potential al-Baghdadi successor, also killed in Syria, official says
10/28/19 11:53 AM
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Attorney General Barr defends Durham probe, rips Comey's FBI leadership in exclusive interview
10/28/19 8:21 AM
Attorney General Barr defends Durham probe, rips Comey's FBI leadership in exclusive interview
10/28/19 8:21 AM
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Rep. Katie Hill resigns amid ethics probe into reported affair with staffer
10/27/19 4:10 PM
Rep. Katie Hill resigns amid ethics probe into reported affair with staffer
10/27/19 4:10 PM
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President Trump confirms al-Baghdadi death, says he spent last minutes 'whimpering' in dead-end tunnel
10/27/19 7:08 AM
President Trump confirms al-Baghdadi death, says he spent last minutes 'whimpering' in dead-end tunnel
10/27/19 7:08 AM
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ISIS leader Baghdadi confirmed dead after apparent suicide during U.S. operation, sources tell Fox News
10/27/19 4:52 AM
ISIS leader Baghdadi confirmed dead after apparent suicide during U.S. operation, sources tell Fox News
10/27/19 4:52 AM
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Are there books for mathematics like Feynman's lectures on physics?
Ask HN: Are there books for mathematics like Feynman's lectures on physics?
702 by jagira | 164 comments on Hacker News.
I have started re-learning college level Physics and am thoroughly enjoying Feynman's Lecture on Physics. Are there similar books available for Mathematics (& Chemistry) - books that are fundamental and easy to read?
702 by jagira | 164 comments on Hacker News.
I have started re-learning college level Physics and am thoroughly enjoying Feynman's Lecture on Physics. Are there similar books available for Mathematics (& Chemistry) - books that are fundamental and easy to read?
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Felicity Huffman released from prison after serving 11 days in college admissions case
10/25/19 8:20 AM
Felicity Huffman released from prison after serving 11 days in college admissions case
10/25/19 8:20 AM
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Durham's investigation into possible FBI misconduct is now criminal probe, sources say
10/24/19 6:37 PM
Durham's investigation into possible FBI misconduct is now criminal probe, sources say
10/24/19 6:37 PM
New best story on Hacker News: We are leaving the Apple App Store and all its problems
We are leaving the Apple App Store and all its problems
577 by bangonkeyboard | 397 comments on Hacker News.
577 by bangonkeyboard | 397 comments on Hacker News.
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Dozens of Republicans stormed a closed-door House session in a bid to call attention to transparency concerns in Trump impeachme
10/23/19 10:04 AM
Dozens of Republicans stormed a closed-door House session in a bid to call attention to transparency concerns in Trump impeachme
10/23/19 10:04 AM
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President Trump announces 'permanent' cease-fire on Syria-Turkey border, end to sanctions on Ankara
10/23/19 8:45 AM
President Trump announces 'permanent' cease-fire on Syria-Turkey border, end to sanctions on Ankara
10/23/19 8:45 AM
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Successful one-person online businesses?
Ask HN: Successful one-person online businesses?
645 by gajus | 285 comments on Hacker News.
This question was asked 2 years ago ( https://ift.tt/2hUtQTF ) by mdoliwa, and I'm curious what it looks nowadays. > How many people on hacker news are running successful online businesses on their own? What is your business and how did you get started? > Defining successful as a profitable business which provides the majority of the owners income.
645 by gajus | 285 comments on Hacker News.
This question was asked 2 years ago ( https://ift.tt/2hUtQTF ) by mdoliwa, and I'm curious what it looks nowadays. > How many people on hacker news are running successful online businesses on their own? What is your business and how did you get started? > Defining successful as a profitable business which provides the majority of the owners income.
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39 bodies discovered in truck container in southeast England, suspect arrested
10/23/19 2:17 AM
39 bodies discovered in truck container in southeast England, suspect arrested
10/23/19 2:17 AM
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Hong Kong formally withdraws extradition bill
10/23/19 12:45 AM
Hong Kong formally withdraws extradition bill
10/23/19 12:45 AM
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?
Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?
671 by richtapestry | 553 comments on Hacker News.
What's an area that people think is up and coming? (e.g. like social networks were in 2004, mobile apps in 2010, or vlogging in 2014) I've finished several projects simultaneously and I'm looking to work in an area with lots of users, but as yet few producers. Wouldn't even need to involve programming, but probably would need to be online, as I'm pretty introverted!
671 by richtapestry | 553 comments on Hacker News.
What's an area that people think is up and coming? (e.g. like social networks were in 2004, mobile apps in 2010, or vlogging in 2014) I've finished several projects simultaneously and I'm looking to work in an area with lots of users, but as yet few producers. Wouldn't even need to involve programming, but probably would need to be online, as I'm pretty introverted!
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British Parliament finally approves Boris Johnson's Brexit bill - but moments later votes down three-day timetable
10/22/19 11:38 AM
British Parliament finally approves Boris Johnson's Brexit bill - but moments later votes down three-day timetable
10/22/19 11:38 AM
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Trump congratulates Trudeau on second-term win
10/21/19 11:17 PM
Trump congratulates Trudeau on second-term win
10/21/19 11:17 PM
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Justin Trudeau's party projected to keep control of Canadian government
10/21/19 7:34 PM
Justin Trudeau's party projected to keep control of Canadian government
10/21/19 7:34 PM
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: How do you share/organize knowledge at work and life?
Ask HN: How do you share/organize knowledge at work and life?
599 by gavribirnbaum | 249 comments on Hacker News.
I find it hard right now to share knowledge with everyone on the team and to turn knowledge into actual learnings. I don't know how you guys do it, but I would love to know. We are now 50 people in the company and I don't know anymore how to make this scale. What is your process? Do you use any tool for it? How good is it? What needs improving?
599 by gavribirnbaum | 249 comments on Hacker News.
I find it hard right now to share knowledge with everyone on the team and to turn knowledge into actual learnings. I don't know how you guys do it, but I would love to know. We are now 50 people in the company and I don't know anymore how to make this scale. What is your process? Do you use any tool for it? How good is it? What needs improving?
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Three soldiers were killed and three others were hospitalized after a training accident at Fort Stewart in Georgia, according to
10/20/19 8:53 AM
Three soldiers were killed and three others were hospitalized after a training accident at Fort Stewart in Georgia, according to
10/20/19 8:53 AM
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FOX EXCLUSIVE: Mulvaney insists no quid pro quo with Ukraine after White House comments
10/20/19 7:19 AM
FOX EXCLUSIVE: Mulvaney insists no quid pro quo with Ukraine after White House comments
10/20/19 7:19 AM
New world news from Time: U.S. Troops Leaving Syria Will Move to Western Iraq, Defense Secretary Says
(KABUL, Afghanistan) — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the American military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence.
Esper, who arrived in the Afghan capital on Sunday, did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he told reporters traveling with him that those details will be worked out over time.
His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they shift from Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like. Esper, who flew overnight to Afghanistan, said he has spoken to his Iraqi counterpart about the plan to shift about 1,000 troops leaving Syria into western Iraq.
The developments made clear that one of President Donald Trump’s rationales for withdrawing troops from Syria was not going to come to pass any time soon. “It’s time to bring our soldiers back home,” Trump said Wednesday. They are not coming home, although Trump tweeted Sunday: “USA soldiers are not in combat or ceasefire zones” and “Bringing soldiers home!”
As Esper left Washington on Saturday, U.S. troops were continuing to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion into the border region. Reports of sporadic clashes continued between Turkish-backed fighters and the U.S.-allied Syria Kurdish forces despite a five-day cease-fire agreement hammered out Thursday between U.S. and Turkish leaders.
Turkey’s defense ministry said one soldier has been killed amid sporadic clashes with Kurdish fighters.
Trump ordered the bulk of the approximately 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria to withdraw after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear in a phone call that his forces were about to invade Syria to push back Kurdish forces that Turkey considers terrorists.
The pullout largely abandons America’s Kurdish allies who have fought IS alongside U.S. troops for several years. Between 200 and 300 U.S. troops will remain at the southern Syrian outpost of Al-Tanf.
Esper said the troops going into Iraq will have two missions.
“One is to help defend Iraq and two is to perform a counter-ISIS mission as we sort through the next steps,” he said. “Things could change between now and whenever we complete the withdrawal, but that’s the game plan right now.”
The U.S. currently has more than 5,000 American forces in Iraq, under an agreement between the two countries. The U.S. pulled its troops out of Iraq in 2011 when combat operations there ended, but they went back in after IS began to take over large swaths of the country in 2014. The number of American forces in Iraq has remained small due to political sensitivities in the country, after years of what some Iraqis consider U.S. occupation during the war that began in 2003.
Esper said he will talk with other allies at a NATO meeting in the coming week to discuss the way ahead for the counter-IS mission.
Asked if U.S. special operations forces will conduct unilateral military operations into Syria to go after IS, Esper said that is an option that will be discussed with allies over time.
He said one of his top concerns is what the next phase of the counter-IS missions looks like, “but we have to work through those details. He said that if U.S. forces do go in, they would be protected by American aircraft.
While he acknowledged reports of intermittent fighting despite the cease-fire agreement, he said that overall it “generally seems to be holding. We see a stability of the lines, if you will, on the ground.”
He also said that, so far, the Syrian Democratic Forces that partnered with the U.S. to fight IS have maintained control of the prisons in Syria where they are still present. The Turks, he said, have indicated they have control of the IS prisons in their areas.
“I can’t assess whether that’s true or not without having people on the ground,” said Esper.
He added that the U.S. withdrawal will be deliberate and safe, and it will take “weeks not days.”
According to a U.S. official, about a couple hundred troops have left Syria so far. The U.S. forces have been largely consolidated in one location in the west and a few locations in the east.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations, said the U.S. military is not closely monitoring the effectiveness of the cease-fire, but is aware of sporadic fighting and violations of the agreement. The official said it will still take a couple of weeks to get forces out of Syria.
Also Sunday, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a group of American lawmakers on a visit to Jordan to discuss “the deepening crisis” in Syria.
Jordan’s state news agency Petra said that King Abdullah II, in a meeting with the Americans, stressed the importance of safeguarding Syria’s territorial integrity and guarantees for the “safe and voluntary” return of refugees.
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Astros top Yankees 6-4 to win ALCS, advance to World Series
10/19/19 9:28 PM
Astros top Yankees 6-4 to win ALCS, advance to World Series
10/19/19 9:28 PM
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Pelosi, other US lawmakers arrive in Jordan for talks on Syria
10/19/19 7:55 PM
Pelosi, other US lawmakers arrive in Jordan for talks on Syria
10/19/19 7:55 PM
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President Trump says Miami resort will no longer host G7 summit in 2020
10/19/19 7:14 PM
President Trump says Miami resort will no longer host G7 summit in 2020
10/19/19 7:14 PM
New best story on Hacker News: Mozilla’s 18-month effort to market without Facebook
Mozilla’s 18-month effort to market without Facebook
431 by watchdogtimer | 183 comments on Hacker News.
431 by watchdogtimer | 183 comments on Hacker News.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to endorse Democratic 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders at New York rally
10/19/19 11:30 AM
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to endorse Democratic 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders at New York rally
10/19/19 11:30 AM
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Decisive Brexit deal postponed, dealing blow to Boris Johnson
10/19/19 7:04 AM
Decisive Brexit deal postponed, dealing blow to Boris Johnson
10/19/19 7:04 AM
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Trump nominates new energy secretary
10/18/19 12:57 PM
Trump nominates new energy secretary
10/18/19 12:57 PM
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Fighting, shelling reported in Syrian town despite cease-fire
10/18/19 12:58 AM
Fighting, shelling reported in Syrian town despite cease-fire
10/18/19 12:58 AM
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Pence, Pompeo secure cease-fire agreement in Syria
10/17/19 10:39 AM
Pence, Pompeo secure cease-fire agreement in Syria
10/17/19 10:39 AM
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Rep. Elijah E Cummings dead at 68
10/17/19 2:31 AM
Rep. Elijah E Cummings dead at 68
10/17/19 2:31 AM
New world news from Time: Litany of Defeat: Trump Defends Rising Costs of “Strategically Brilliant” Mideast Retreat
Declaring his abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops in northern Syria “strategically brilliant,” President Donald Trump Wednesday scrambled to contain the damage from what outraged Republicans and Democrats said was an expanding litany of losses for American national security interests in the region.
Trump welcomed Russia’s rapid takeover of American positions in the region. He said that the Kurds, long Washington’s ally against ISIS, were “no angels” and that some were in fact worse terrorists than ISIS itself. And he described mounting violence that has killed scores of civilians and has included multiple reports of war crimes, as a fight over sand that didn’t concern the U.S.
It was a dizzying series of statements by the President that contradicted policies touted by Trump’s own administration as recently as two weeks ago. The result, said worried foreign policy experts, was not just a short term danger of a resurgent ISIS and the human cost as foreign forces swept through the power vacuum left by the U.S. withdrawal, but a larger shift in power in the region. “The world sees a U.S. President with no plan or understanding of the lasting and severe consequences of both his actions and inactions,” said Chuck Hagel, a former U.S. Defense Secretary and Republican Senator from Nebraska.
Trump’s sharp break with his own recent policies reflected how rapidly and unfavorably events in Northern Syria have unfolded in the wake of his Oct. 6 phone call with Turkey’s leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Trump said it was “a good thing” that Russian forces had begun supporting the Kurds. On Tuesday, Russians were already sleeping in bunks at bases that American troops had spent years building and provisioning only to abandon them in haste just hours earlier. Trump’s former counter-ISIS envoy Brett McGurk wrote on Twitter that U.S. forces were “executing [an] emergency ‘break glass’ evacuation procedure reserved for an extreme worst-case scenario.” The result, says Hagel is a big win for Russian president Vladimir Putin. “Russia comes out the big winner in the Middle East,” Hagel said. “Putin now is the go-to guy in the Middle East. Assad will do what Putin wants.”
Trump likewise downplayed his abandonment of the Kurds, who had fought ISIS alongside U.S. troops since 2015. Following the U.S. retreat, the Kurds switched military allegiances for their own survival, aligning themselves this week with Syria’s President Bashar Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “The Kurds are very well protected,” Trump said, “Plus, they know how to fight. And, by the way, they’re no angels.”
Republican Senators like Lindsey Graham were particularly vocal in criticizing Trump’s abandonment of the Kurds in the fight against ISIS. “I worry we will not have allies in the future against radical Islam, ISIS will reemerge, & Iran’s rise in Syria will become a nightmare for Israel,” Graham tweeted, “I fear this is a complete and utter national security disaster in the making.” Although ISIS is no longer in control of any major city in Iraq or Syria, the fighting is not over. The U.S. had been relying on the Kurds to destroy remaining underground ISIS cells and to guard more than 30 detention facilities that hold about 11,000 ISIS detainees spread across northern Syria.
Trump also dismissed reports of mounting violence, which the U.N. said has displaced 130,000 people and killed scores of others. “It’s a problem we have very nicely under control,” Trump told reporters. “It’s not our problem,” Trump said. “They’ve got a lot of sand over there… There’s a lot of sand they can play with.”
Regardless of how Trump describes the developments, he and his aides spent much of Wednesday scrambling to contain the damage.
Trump sent Erdogan a remarkably undiplomatic letter, first reported by Fox Business, cajoling and threatening the Turkish president. Trump wrote, “History will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool! I will call you later.”
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are scheduled to travel to Ankara in search of a ceasefire in coming days. But Erdogan has already publicly dismissed the idea. By unleashing chaos and then declaring the U.S. will play no role in containing it, says Anthony Cordesman, a former Pentagon intelligence official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Trump has left Erdogan “little to gain from backing down from an operation that is extremely popular in Turkey.” If Erdogan halts now, Cordesman says, there “is no clear prospect of the U.S. doing anything to actually bring stability back to the Kurdish parts of Syria.”
On Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats joined in a desperate effort to constrain Turkey. The House delivered a rare bipartisan condemnation of the decision to abandon the Kurds with a 354-60 vote. The measure, which is largely symbolic, calls on Turkey to immediately end the military assault in northern Syria. “At President Trump’s hands, American leadership has been laid low,” said Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, who introduced the measure and serves as Foreign Affairs Committee chairman.
Trump held a contentious meeting with leaders from both parties in Congress at the White House, during which he argued he was ensuring American security through the withdrawal. Trump told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that fewer that 100 ISIS fighters had escaped, and claimed they were the least dangerous of those who had been detained, according to a Democratic source familiar with the meeting.
Schumer asked Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who was present at the meeting, whether the escapees were in fact not dangerous, and Esper said he could not confirm that, according to the Democratic source. When Trump said his plan was to keep Americans safe, Pelosi retorted that wasn’t a plan, it was a goal, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar with the meeting. Trump later called Pelosi a “third-grade politician” according to the source, at which point Pelosi and other Democrats left.
Erdogan has dismissed the United States’ calls for a ceasefire and instead advanced deeper into Syria. Turkey, a NATO member, has long wanted to launch a military offensive against the Kurdish militias in Syria because they consider them terrorists. The U.S. had for months promised the Kurds ongoing U.S. support, but Trump backed down when Erdogan threatened invasion during the Oct. 6 call.
As for Trump, he dismissed the fallout of his decision to withdraw the troops. “We’re 7,000 miles away,” Trump said Wednesday, “I campaigned on bringing our soldiers back home, and that’s what I’m doing.” To the regional powers scrambling to take advantage of the hasty American retreat, he added: “I wish them all a lot of luck.”
On Wednesday, after U.S. forces left a military base they had established at a cement facility in Northern Syria, two F-15 fighter jets hit the base with an airstrike to obliterate an ammunition cache and to “reduce the facility’s military usefulness.”
–with reporting by Alana Abramson and Tessa Berenson
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White House sit-down on Syria devolves into disarray, Dems walk out
10/16/19 2:22 PM
White House sit-down on Syria devolves into disarray, Dems walk out
10/16/19 2:22 PM
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Woman killed at 'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely's home identified as his wife, source tells Fox News
10/16/19 10:20 AM
Woman killed at 'Tarzan' actor Ron Ely's home identified as his wife, source tells Fox News
10/16/19 10:20 AM
New world news from Time: Mexican Asylum Seekers Are Facing Long Waits at the U.S. Border. Advocates Say That’s Illegal
Forty-four numbers need to be called before Sofia and her family finally have the chance to seek asylum in the United States. Camped out in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez with her husband and two kids, she anxiously waits for her number to be called. The family arrived in August, after they fled threats from a cartel in their hometown in Zacatecas in Central Mexico.
Officials told the family to wait in line behind thousands of asylum seekers – Cubans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Ugandans and more. Instead the family pitched a tent by the bridge and joined a separate list for Mexican asylum seekers, which sprung up in recent weeks.
“[Other migrants] say it’s better to wait here,” says Sofia, whose name has been changed because she fears retaliation for speaking out. “The other way could take years.”
Legally, migrants like Sofia and her family should be able to present themselves at a U.S. port of entry to request asylum. But since at least 2016, U.S. officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have only allowed a limited number of asylum seekers – although they won’t say just how many – to present themselves at a port of entry each day in a process known to immigration advocates as metering. (One official speaking to TIME said the number used to be around 70 per day for one port of entry in Juarez, but is now around 30.) At least one class action lawsuit has challenged metering as illegal for all asylum seekers, but for Mexican asylum seekers, metering is particularly dangerous.
“Under U.S. and international law, CBP can’t turn them away at a port of entry, especially a Mexican national because you are returning them to the same country from which they’re fleeing persecution,” says Shaw Drake, policy counsel at the ACLU Border Rights Center.
Mexicans like Sofia have grown frustrated with the delay. There are now an estimated 26,000 people of all nationalities on metering lists in Mexican border cities, including Ciudad Juárez, Matamoros, Nogales, and Tijuana. Some are staying in shelters that have grown more crowded as some 50,000 people have been turned back to await their court dates under the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as Remain in Mexico. Others live in tents on the streets in cities where temperatures can reach the high 80s and 90s and murders and kidnappings are common. In Ciudad Juárez, these Mexican asylum seekers hope staying close to the bridge means they won’t miss their chance when CBP allows the next people to present themselves.
“They just tell us to wait,” says Monica, a 30-year-old mother from the western Mexican state of Michoacán who fled cartel violence with her husband and three daughters. The family is number 165 on the list. “They don’t give us answers. Nothing progresses.”
Homicides, kidnappings and disappearances have increased in Mexico in the last decade as drug cartels fight over key territory. The government’s military response has had limited success. But dating back to the Obama Administration, Mexican nationals have received asylum at lower rates than the national average. From 2011 to 2016, Mexico had one of the highest asylum denial rates of any nationality, with about 90 percent of cases denied, according to data gathering organization TRAC. In 2018, only about 15 percent of Mexican asylum seekers won their cases, compared to the 35 percent average for all nationalities.
“If they don’t give me asylum, they [the cartels] are going to serve my head on a platter,” says Oscar, 60-year-old asylum seeker who has been hiding in different parts of Mexico since 2014 when he left his home in Zacatecas after being kidnapped. The kidnappers cut off several of his fingers and nearly sliced his head open, but he survived. “If you try to defend yourself, they’ll kill the whole family.”
Within the asylum system, Mexican nationals are a “disfavored group” whose claims are often denied “based on stereotypes, bias and the fear of opening the floodgates,” says Anna Cabot, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies who has worked with Mexican asylum seekers. Asylum claims based on extortion, kidnapping and other cartel related violence are particularly difficult to prove and judges often scrutinize the credibility of Mexican asylum seekers more than other nationalities. There is also a common misconception among immigration judges that Mexicans can find protections in another part of the country, given the size of the national territory.
Many judges do not recognize gang and cartel violence as legitimate asylum claims based on the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention definition of asylum as fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership to a certain social group, explains Imelda Maynard, a lawyer for Catholic Charities of New Mexico who represents many asylum seekers in El Paso.
“When these laws were fashioned, they didn’t consider that governments would not be able to control their populations,” Maynard says, referring to the growth of criminal cartels and gangs in Latin America. “One can argue that some of these criminal organizations are so powerful they are like de facto governments.”
Because of these interpretations of the law and the high denial rates in many Texas border courts, the odds are stacked against Mexican asylum seekers. “The chances of a Mexican being granted asylum in this region is basically unheard of,” Maynard says.
Now, the emergence of a new list is creating confusion in an already overwhelmed system. Since at least 2018, Mexican border cities including Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, and Matamoros have had one designated list recognized by local shelters and Mexican immigration officials. Although the process is slow and legally contested by activist groups in the U.S., it was somewhat streamlined. Now, it’s unclear whose turn it is to cross and why.
TIME was able to view a list of Mexican asylum seekers in Ciudad Juárez kept by one of the asylum seekers herself after she was informally chosen by the group to keep track of the list. A red notebook contained more than 175 names, mainly families. Some were highlighted after they had been able to enter the U.S.
Mexican asylum seekers are now “self-managing” a separate list that is “completely distinct from the local coordinated control of the metering system,” says Enrique Valenzuela, the general coordinator of the Mexican institution State Population Commission in Ciudad Juárez, a Mexican institution that works closely with the city’s immigrant population. About 6,000 asylum seekers remain on the official metering list in Ciudad Juárez. Valenzuela estimates only about 2,000 are still in the city because many leave for home, the U.S., or another part of Mexico before their number is called.
About 800 miles southeast from Ciudad Juárez, in the Mexican city of Matamoros that borders Brownsville, Texas, Mexican asylum seekers report numbers up to 280 on a waitlist. These people appear to be part of a separate list from the one posted outside the office of the Mexican Institute for Migration, which only listed numbers above 2,500. The official list included asylum seekers from Central America, Cuba, Cameroon and Mexico, but TIME independently confirmed that at least one of the Mexican asylum seekers interviewed did not appear on that list.
All the Mexican asylum seekers TIME spoke to said they had been given numbers ranging from 50 to 280 by a guard on the Mexican side of the bridge. TIME was unable to identify the guard and a Mexican immigration official declined to provide information about the list. The LA Times has reported that Mexican officials have been in charge of the lists since late 2018.
CBP said in a statement that the agency processes asylum seekers as quickly as possible. When there is not enough space in CBP facilities, asylum seekers are told to wait, the statement said.
Mexican asylum seekers don’t know how long that wait will be. But they have put their faith in the system, however confusing it may be.
“We have to wait in line like they told us,” says Pablo, a 46-year-old agricultural worker from Michoacán waiting in the encampment in Ciudad Juárez with his wife and five kids. They fled after he was kidnapped and brutally beaten.
“They’ve promised us that we’ll be able to pass and that they’ll listen to us,” says 30-year-old Roberto from Chiapas, now waiting in a tent camp in Matamoros with his wife and two kids. He fled violence related to a conflict between the leftist militant group known as the Zapatistas and the Mexican government.
Despite the challenges, most Mexicans remain determined. “We just want to cross so that our kids can study,” says Anabel, a 42-year old mother from Guerrero who arrived to Matamoros about a week ago with her husband and two sons, ages 2 and 7.
For some, the U.S. is their last chance. 60-year-old Oscar has tried to find peace and tranquility in a handful of places in Mexico in the past five years. But the danger has followed him. And so he feels leaving his country is the only option. “I won’t leave Juárez until they let me cross,” he says.
Reporting for this story was funded by the International Center for Journalists
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Members of the ‘Squad’ announce their pick for 2020: reports
10/15/19 9:29 PM
Members of the ‘Squad’ announce their pick for 2020: reports
10/15/19 9:29 PM
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Pelosi announces House won't vote now on launch of formal impeachment inquiry
10/15/19 4:32 PM
Pelosi announces House won't vote now on launch of formal impeachment inquiry
10/15/19 4:32 PM
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‘Desperate Housewives’ star Felicity Huffman reports to prison for her role in college admissions scandal
10/15/19 10:07 AM
‘Desperate Housewives’ star Felicity Huffman reports to prison for her role in college admissions scandal
10/15/19 10:07 AM
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Trump authorizes sanctions against Turkey amid Syria offensive, calls for end to its 'destabilizing actions'
10/14/19 1:31 PM
Trump authorizes sanctions against Turkey amid Syria offensive, calls for end to its 'destabilizing actions'
10/14/19 1:31 PM
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Texas police officer accused of killing woman after firing through her window resigns, chief says
10/14/19 11:32 AM
Texas police officer accused of killing woman after firing through her window resigns, chief says
10/14/19 11:32 AM
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Second death confirmed in Hard Rock hotel collapse in New Orleans
10/12/19 9:50 PM
Second death confirmed in Hard Rock hotel collapse in New Orleans
10/12/19 9:50 PM
New best story on Hacker News: uBlock Origin Update Rejected from the Chrome Web Store
uBlock Origin Update Rejected from the Chrome Web Store
687 by ismaildonmez | 231 comments on Hacker News.
687 by ismaildonmez | 231 comments on Hacker News.
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President Trump has taken the stage at his second campaign rally in as many nights. Complete live coverage on Fox News Channel a
10/11/19 5:35 PM
President Trump has taken the stage at his second campaign rally in as many nights. Complete live coverage on Fox News Channel a
10/11/19 5:35 PM
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Trump announces acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan is stepping down
10/11/19 4:54 PM
Trump announces acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan is stepping down
10/11/19 4:54 PM
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Trump says US has reached 'very substantial phase one' deal with China, raising hope of resolving monthslong trade war
10/11/19 1:13 PM
Trump says US has reached 'very substantial phase one' deal with China, raising hope of resolving monthslong trade war
10/11/19 1:13 PM
New world news from Time: What Happens Next in Syria After Turkey’s Invasion
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would pull back from the border the few U.S. troops along the border in northeast Syria, clearing the way for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to launch his offensive against Kurdish forces in the area. According to reports, Trump did not consult either the State or Defense Departments before taking the decision.
Kurdish fighters have been the strongest U.S. ally taking on ISIS in Syria, but Ankara considers them to be in league with Kurdish groups operating within Turkey. The Turks have been trying to get the U.S. to leave northeast Syria (which borders Turkey) for months; they finally succeeded this week, and wasted little time launching their offensive.
Why It Matters:
When it comes to Syria, it is always useful to explain who is fighting whom, and for what reason. To wit, here is a (very much) simplified state of play of what’s going on in Syria in October 2019.
Syrian strongman Bashar Assad has won Syria’s civil war, as his forces have recaptured much of Syria’s land. He’s now back in Damascus—a feat only accomplished with the backing of Russia and Iran—both of whom are looking to use Syria to expand their influence in the region. Turkey is no fan of Assad by any means, but their biggest enemy in Syria’s civil war are the Kurds, whom Turkey is worried will use the territory they’ve captured to establish an independent Kurdish state, which has long been the dream of the region’s 25 to 35 million Kurds, roughly 15 million of whom reside in Turkey. The U.S. (along with a broader coalition of Western countries) got involved in Syria under Barack Obama to fight back against ISIS—whose “caliphate” stretched across territory in both Iraq and Syria—but was always wary about putting too many boots on the ground, forcing it to work with whoever was most aligned with that mission while also not being a brutal dictator (Assad) or perennial enemy of the US (Russia/Iran). That happened to be Kurdish rebel forces.
Today, ISIS has lost virtually all the land it controlled at the height of its power. But that doesn’t mean it’s been 100% defeated, though Trump maintains that it has. Nearly 10,000 ISIS fighters from Iraq and Syria are being detained in Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) jails, and as many as 2,000 ISIS foreign fighters.
Trump feels that now that ISIS is no longer an immediate threat, he can begin to remove U.S. troops from the country and make good on one of his central campaign promises to bring U.S. troops home. But that also means allowing Turkey to come in and launch an offensive against a group of people that up until last week were US allies. It’s a controversial move—when Trump tried to remove U.S. troops from Syria last year, it prompted the resignation of US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. But Trump is now desperate for political wins as impeachment hearings bare down. The backlash in the U.S. has been swift, and uncharacteristically bipartisan.
There are three main concerns that both Democrats and Republicans share over the move. The first is the precedent this sets for how America treats its allies; if this is how the Kurds are rewarded for being loyal partners to the US, who would willingly sign up to work with the Americans going forward? The second, and most immediate, concern is what happens to those ISIS fighters being kept in Kurdish-controlled jails—as more Kurds will be needed to fight over the Turkish offensive, the worry is that those jailed-ISIS fighters will have an easier time escaping, and potentially resuscitating an ISIS network that was gasping its last breaths. Third, is that the removal of US troops in Northeast Syria will eventually give way to the removal of the rest of US troops from the country (roughly 1,000 of whom are left), allowing Russia or Iran more influence, and ultimately resulting in a US. with less clout in the Middle East and more enemies.
What Happens Next:
Turkey wasted little time launching its offensive. When dealing with a world leader as mercurial as Trump, you have to move fast—just because you have an agreement with him on Sunday doesn’t mean it will remain in place till Friday, especially as the domestic political repercussions of those decisions start surfacing. Since Trump announced the move, he has been busy tweeting, which included threats towards Turkey to remain within “limits”, a clear sign that he is feeling the political heat back home. But at this point, facts on the ground have progressed too much for him to backtrack. Congress will attempt to impose sanctions on Turkey to arrest their progress, but they’re unlikely to make a difference.
For Erdogan, this military campaign is a chance for him to boost his flailing domestic approval ratings as he goes after Kurds, a reliable enemy for Turkish politicians. But there is not much long-term strategy behind the risky move—he could end up stuck there for months or years, hemorrhaging money and military resources. And all this assumes that ISIS isn’t revived, for which the US will now hold Turkey accountable—just this week, the White House released a statement saying “Turkey will now be responsible for all ISIS fighters in the area captured over the past two years in the wake of the defeat of the territorial ‘Caliphate’ by the United States.”
Turkey’s move into northeast Syria doesn’t just have to do with Kurds, though. Turkey is currently hosting approximately 3.6 million Syrian refugees (and getting paid $6.7 billion by the EU to do so), but their stay is increasingly unwelcome, especially as the Turkish economy is struggling. Erdogan has promised to relocate at least a million Syrian refugees across the border with the offensive, but that’s not very realistic—Turkey won’t be able to capture enough land, few refugees actually want to go back to an active warzone, and Turkey will face tremendous international blowback if it starts relocating Syrian refugees against their will.
As for the Kurds, they have already begun reaching out to other potential allies. Fighting ISIS is no longer their priority—survival is, and they know it’s impossible for them to repel Turkey without U.S. backing, and will accordingly pick their spots in engaging the Turks. To that end, they have already started looking to Moscow to possibly broker any kind of short-term agreement with Assad. Assad is wary of Turkey moving into Syrian territory he wants himself, and Moscow doesn’t want Turkey to be too successful lest it lead to a protracted military confrontation, jeopardizing the peace talks Moscow is busy trying to broker. But any agreement between the Kurds, Assad and Moscow will be short-lived as Assad and Moscow want that territory for Syria in the end, and Kurds still want their own homeland.
The One Major Misconception About it:
That the US has begun its inexorable march out of northeast Syria. There are three situations that could draw the US back into the region. First, if Turkish-Kurdish fighting spins out of control, resulting in significant Kurdish casualties that forces the US to step back in. The second is if there are any US casualties among the remaining forces on the ground in Syria. And third is if the fighting there is drawn out over months and U.S. public opinion comes to match current congressional outrage.
All of which is to say—Erdogan has to tread carefully, but not so carefully that this takes months or years to resolve. It’s a fine needle to thread.
The One Thing to Say About It at a Dinner Party:
Trump may have been doing this to score a victory with his political base as impeachment looms… but in the process ticked off the one group of people—congressional Republicans—he needs to stay in office. If this move really blows up in his face—if there is an uptick in U.S. casualties or ISIS suddenly resurges—it may be enough to cause some GOP senators to turn on him.
This is the problem with being all short-term tactics and no long-term strategy.
The One Thing to Avoid Saying About It:
The Syrian Democratic Forces, led by Kurds, called Washington’s move “a stab in the back.” Because what the US really needed right now was another group of heavily armed Middle Easterners steeped in warfare ticked off at them.
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2 rockets hit Iranian oil tanker off Saudi Arabia, report says
10/11/19 12:38 AM
2 rockets hit Iranian oil tanker off Saudi Arabia, report says
10/11/19 12:38 AM
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FOX NEWS POLL: Biden, Warren gain ground in 2020 Dem primary race
10/10/19 3:01 PM
FOX NEWS POLL: Biden, Warren gain ground in 2020 Dem primary race
10/10/19 3:01 PM
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Fox News Breaking News Alert
Ukraine president tells reporters 'there was no blackmail' in July phone call with Trump
10/10/19 3:31 AM
Ukraine president tells reporters 'there was no blackmail' in July phone call with Trump
10/10/19 3:31 AM
New world news from Time: Protesters Hand Out ‘Free Hong Kong’ Shirts at Wizards Game
Protesters handed out T-shirts and held up signs in support of Hong Kong on Wednesday night when the Washington Wizards hosted a team from the Chinese Basketball Association.
The Wizards beat the Guangzhou Long-Lions 137-98 in a game that included more than a half-dozen protests inside Capital One Arena over the NBA’s ongoing rift with the Chinese government.
Protesters handed out “Free Hong Kong” T-shirts on the street outside the arena before the exhibition game. The protesters, who said they were from Freedom House, held up signs reading, “Shame the NBA,” ”South Park was right” and “Memo to the NBA: Principles over profit! No censorship! USA loves Hong Kong.”
The problems between the NBA and China began after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet last week that showed support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
The NBA has not apologized for Morey’s remarks.
A Freedom House spokeswoman said some members were planning to protest inside during the game. A spokeswoman for Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation said the group was planning to hand out T-shirts inside the arena during the game in various sections close to the court.
Inside the arena, there were a handful of disruptions in the crowd.
After the playing of the Chinese national anthem, one fan shouted, “Freedom of expression! Freedom of speech! Free Hong Kong!” Another fan shouted for a free Hong Kong from the second level during the second quarter.
Minutes later, security approached one fan holding up a “Free Tibet” sign and another holding the Tibet flag. Security tried to take the sign, and the fan refused to give it up. Security then followed them from their seats and out of the lower bowl.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said that he heard one protester at the end of the Chinese national anthem.
“Other than that, I didn’t hear it,” Brooks said. “I was focused on the game.”
Brooks said he didn’t hear any of his players talk about the protests and he never mentioned it to his players.
A Wizards spokesman said in a statement: “The building security staff removed signs tonight in accordance with Capital One Arena’s long-standing signs, banners, posters and flag policy. No fans were asked to leave the game.”
A similar scene played out in Philadelphia on Tuesday during a game between Guangzhou and the 76ers. Two fans were removed by arena security for holding signs and chanting in support of Hong Kong.
CJ Harris had 25 points in the loss for the Chinese team.
PELICANS 127, BULLS 125
Zion Williamson was 12 of 13 from the field for 29 points to help the Pelicans rally from a 23-point deficit.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker made a game-tying 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining before hitting two free throws to seal it for New Orleans (2-0). He finished with 13 points and seven assists, and Jahlil Okafor also scored 13 points.
New Orleans scored 27 points in the first 6:16 of the fourth quarter, finishing with 41.
Zach LaVine hit 10 of 16 shots, with four 3-pointers, for 28 points for Chicago (0-2). Otto Porter Jr. had 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
PISTONS 124, MAVERICKS 117
Derrick Rose had 18 points and five assists off the bench, Blake Griffin added 17 points and five rebounds, and the Pistons spoiled Kristaps Porzingis’ debut with the Mavericks.
Luke Kennard was one of seven Detroit (1-1) players in double figures with 19 points, going 5 for 6 from 3-point range. Andre Drummond added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Porzingis and Luka Doncic led the way for Dallas (0-2). Porzingis had 18 points and seven boards in 19 minutes in his first game since tearing his ACL in February 2018, and Doncic added 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
HEAT 108, HORNETS 94
Dion Waiters, Davon Reed and Duncan Robinson each made four 3-pointers as the Heat went 15 of 37 from distance in a win over the Hornets.
Waiters scored all of his 19 points in the first half, and Robinson sank his 3s in the third quarter for 12 of his 14 points. Reed also scored 14, going 4 of 5 from deep. The Heat (2-0) closed the first half on a 22-8 run for a 21-point lead.
Terry Rozier scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half for the Hornets (0-2).
MAGIC 97, HAWKS 88
Terrence Ross scored 20 points, making four 3-pointers, to help Orlando top Atlanta. Jonathan Isaac added 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals for Orlando (3-0).
Trae Young had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but also turned it over nine times for Atlanta (0-2). Rookie De’Andre Hunter added 13 points.
BUCKS 133, JAZZ 99
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez each added 14 points for the Bucks (2-0).
Tony Bradley had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz (1-1). Donovan Mitchell scored 14 points.
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