Chase Bank forgives all credit card debt for Canadian customers

Canadians who had credit cards with Chase Bank can breathe a sigh of relief as the company says it will "forgive" all outstanding debt.

Chase Bank, part of the New York based JPMorgan Chase & Co., closed all credit card accounts in the country in March 2018, the company said.

Originally, customers were told to continue paying their debt, Reuters reported, but the company confirmed Friday to USA TODAY the debt was now cancelled.

"Chase made the decision to exit the Canadian credit card market. As part of that exit, all credit card accounts were closed on or before March 2018.

"A further business decision has been made to forgive all outstanding balances in order to complete the exit," Maria Martínez, vice president of communications for Chase Card Services, said in a statement.

Chase declined to say how much debt was forgiven or how many customers were affected.

At: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/09/chase-bank-canada-forgives-all-credit-card-debt-customers/1964419001/

Canadian shoppers throng Toronto's Eaton Centre.

Canada's household debt-to-income ratio - 175%, compared to 102% in the U.S. - is one of the highest in the world.

Chase officials offered to explanation for their decision to close all credit card accounts in the country (the world's 10th largest economy), and write off all outstanding balances.

FBI ranks 'black identity extremists' bigger threats than Al Qaeda, white supremacists: leaked docs

Source: Newsweek

Leaked FBI documents indicate "black identity extremists" and animal rights activists are among the agency's top counterterrorism priorities under President Donald Trump.

The FBI's priority list documents, obtained by The Young Turks Thursday, lay out the Bureau's 2018 fiscal year focal points in counterterrorism, cyber crime and counterintelligence.

An internal FBI report from August 2017 was widely criticized for using the BIE label, which many called racist. But the Consolidated Strategy Guide documents leaked this week show the FBI kept the term and made BIEs one of its top counterterrorism priorities.

Under the Trump administration, they're considered a bigger threat than terror groups such as Al Qaeda.

"Animal rights/environmental extremists" and "anti-authority extremists" were also deemed top existential threats.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/fbi-leak-black-identity-extremist-threat-1453362

Argentine woman dies while serving 8-year sentence for abortion

An Argentine woman serving an 8-year sentence for "aggravated homicide" as a result of an abortion, died on Monday.

Patricia Solorza died of peritonitis in a public hospital in the western Buenos Aires suburb of San Martín. She had been transferred from a nearby women's prison, and reportedly died handcuffed to the bed.

Solorza, 40, was sentenced in 2013 after undergoing an abortion - which in Argentina remains illegal except in cases of rape, or due to risk to the mother's health.

She was impoverished and had already had two children - the oldest of which suffered a developmental disability due to a bout of infantile meningitis. According to her sister Luján, who had actively advocated for her freedom, Patricia was frequently beaten as a child by their father.

A public health problem

Solorza's death reignited debate over Argentina's restrictive abortion laws, which date from 1921.

Bills legalizing abortion have been debated in Argentina's Congress eight times since 1983 - most recently last year, when a bill legalizing abortion on demand up to the 14th week was passed by the Lower House on June 14 but defeated in the Senate on August 8 by 38 votes to 31.

Despite the legal hurdles, over 300,000 abortions are performed in the country annually - up to 50,000 of which result in dangerous complications, and, in 2017, in 30 deaths.

President Mauricio Macri has long opposed abortion rights.

Macri vetoed a municipal bill as mayor of Buenos Aires in 2012 that guaranteed abortion rights in cases of rape (as Argentine law currently stipulates), and reaped controversy by earmarking 121 million pesos ($4.3 million at the time) in the 2018 budget to a non-profit run by an abstinence and pro-life advocate, Dr. Abel Albino.

His right-wing "Let's Change" caucus in Congress largely voted against the 2018 bill.

Opposition candidate Alberto Fernández of the center-left Front for Everyone, himself a law professor, has long supported the decriminalization of abortion.

"Since 1983 I've been pointing out that punishing a woman for an abortion is barbarous," he told journalist Horacio Verbitsky in a May interview.

"This is a serious public health problem - not a criminal matter."

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F210931-la-historia-de-patricia-solorza-presa-por-abortar-murio-aban

Patricia Solorza, who died, handcuffed to a bed, of peritonitis while serving an 8-year prison sentence for an abortion.

While abortion remains illegal in Argentina except in cases of rape, or due to risks to the mother's health, over 300,000 abortions are estimated to be performed in the country annually.

The center-left Front for Everyone, whose nominee Alberto Fernández is ahead in most polls, has pledged to bring up pro-choice legislation next year should Fernández prevail in the October elections.

Argentina's Extortiongate: Right-wing journalist indicted

Argentine Federal Judge Alejo Ramos Padilla, who oversees a case of a state-sponsored extortion scheme involving millions in ransom payments and false testimony coerced against political opponents, issued indictments against journalist Daniel Santoro.

Santoro, 60, was indicted for extortion and coercion in connection with the wide-reaching case, which implicates Argentina's Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) and President Mauricio Macri's hard-line Security Minister, Patricia Bullrich.

Santoro is alleged to have collaborated with indicted AFI agent Marcelo d'Alessio by writing hit pieces against those refusing to meet ransom payments and provide false testimony against Macri's political rivals.

The chief judicial affairs writer for the country's leading right-wing news daily Clarín, Santoro, the court found, "knew that d'Alessio carried out illegal intelligence, espionage, and criminal investigations - and used (the information) despite knowing of its illicit origin."

Audio, video, and WhatsApp messages and call logs show a close relationship between Santoro and d'Alessio - as well as with Bullrich and Federal Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, another close Macri ally.

Stornelli was charged with espionage but has refused to testify and has been in contempt of court since March 27. Several other AFI agents and a district attorney, Juan Bidone, have also been charged.

Amid an imploding debt bubble, Macri is facing job disapproval of 70% and had relied on corruption allegations against rivals to boost his reelection chances this year.

Shakedown

Among the victims listed in the indictment were Gonzalo Brusa Dovat, who as a local manager for Venezuela's state-owned oil firm PdVSA was found to have been extorted by Santoro to give false testimony against the firm to Stornelli.

A raid on d'Alessio's home on February 13 uncovered CIA, U.S. Embassy and Israeli Defense Ministry documents, and evidence of operations against neighboring Uruguay and PdVSA - allegedly part of the Trump administration's push to freeze PdVSA's overseas assets.

Both U.S. Ambassador Edward Prado and AFI chief Gustavo Arribas, a longtime business partner of Macri's, deny involvement.

Another victim listed in the indictment was public contractor Mario Cifuentes, who testified to being coerced by Santoro after d'Alessio failed to obtain a $1.2 million bribe - part of an effort, Cifuentes testified, to force him to sell his oil field equipment supplier OPS.

Santoro wrote an unsubstantiated hit piece against Cifuentes on April 6, 2018 - one week after footage shows Cifuentes in d'Alessio's car, seen running red lights in a busy Buenos Aires avenue and illegally sporting a police siren.

Etchebest tapes

Extortiongate surfaced when, on February 8, 22 hours of incriminating tapes collected by farmer Pedro Etchebest, from whom d'Alessio sought a $300,000 ransom, were published by investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky.

The tapes, made throughout January, show d'Alessio boasting that some $12 million in bribes had been coerced from victims since August 2018, that political opponents had been “framed,” and that Stornelli “managed” the enterprise.

Etchebest, 70, had his photo leaked to Clarín by government staff on February 19, and has reported receiving numerous threats. He now lives in Florida with his son.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F210773-daniel-santoro-fue-procesado-por-coaccion-y-extorsion

The four extortioneers: Federal Judge Claudio Bonadío, Federal Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, Argentine Federal Intelligence agent Marcelo d'Alessio, and Clarín writer Daniel Santoro.

Argentine courts have implicated Bonadío, charged Stornelli, and indicted d'Alessio and Santoro (plus several others) in connection with the Extortiongate case.

President Macri has close ties to both alleged principals in the extortion ring:

To Carlos Stornelli through the Boca Juniors football club (which Macri headed until entering politics);

and to Marcelo d'Alessio through d'Alessio's uncle (whom Macri appointed presidential notary public), and through d'Alessio's former law partner - who administers Macri's blind trust.

Texas grandma heroically foils grandson's mass shooting plot by bringing him to hospital

A Texas grandmother was hailed as a hero by federal authorities after she foiled a potential mass shooting by taking her grandson to a hospital after he allegedly made threats.

William Patrick Williams, 19, was taken into custody by federal agents in Lubbock, Texas, after he told his grandmother about a plot to "shoot up" a local hotel and then commit suicide by cop, according to the Department of Justice.

According to a criminal complaint, the plot came to light on July 13, just weeks before a pair of mass shootings claimed the lives of at least 31 people in one weekend, when Williams told his grandmother that he'd purchased an AK-47.

At: https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-grandma-heroically-foils-grandsons-mass-shooting-plot/story?id=64785245

Dow plunges as China punches back in trade war

Source: The Street

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled nearly 700 points Monday as China hit back at President Donald Trump's move to accelerate tariffs on China-made goods by allowing the yuan to slip to the lowest levels against the dollar in more than a decade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695 points, or 2.6%, to 25,789. The S&P 500, which last week had its worst week of the year, fell 2.62%, and the Nasdaq dropped 3.21%.

The decline Monday was the Dow's biggest single day decline of the year and the most since Dec. 4, 2018.

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, let the so-called onshore yuan fall past the psychologically important threshold of 7 in early Monday trading, citing in a statement "unilateralism and protectionism," as well as the expectation of additional tariffs from the United States.


Read more: https://www.thestreet.com/markets/dow-plunges-as-china-retaliates-on-trade-by-devaluing-its-currency-15044583

Tough guys: Trump and Xi Jinping during the recent Osaka G20 summit.

Trump's trade war will cost the average U.S. household an extra $767 this year, according to trade group estimates.

U.S. exports to China have already plummeted 31%.

Georgieva tapped as EU candidate to lead IMF after bitter vote

Kristalina Georgieva, the World Bank‘s chief executive, was selected by European governments as their candidate to head the International Monetary Fund following an acrimonious process in which the result was initially contested by some member states.

If Georgieva wins the backing of the IMF board in the autumn, she will succeed Christine Lagarde and confront a world economy at its weakest since the aftermath of the financial crisis and threatened by escalating trade tensions.

Friday’s voting came after European Union governments struggled to rally behind a single candidate during weeks of talks.

The conservative Georgieva, 65, succeeds interim director David Lipton, who like Lagarde, has reaped criticism for a record, $57 billion bailout of Argentina - 61% of the Fund's total loan portfolio.

Of the $45 billion disbursed since June 2018, 77% has been used to finance capital flight - against the IMF's own rules.

At: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-02/eu-fails-to-name-imf-candidate-as-process-thrown-into-confusion

Georgieva and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

If confirmed, Georgieva inherits one of the most complicated situations in the IMF's 73-year history:

A $57 billion bailout of Argentina's right-wing Macri administration - granted at Trump's insistence to promote Macri's unlikely re-election this year - is considered unpayable by most analysts, without converting the 4-year standby credit facility into an extended fund facility (with much longer repayment terms).

The Argentina bailout represents 61% of the IMF's loan portfolio, creating a major solvency risk for Fund should Argentina default - as 30 other countries have in the past, albeit for smaller loans.

Body found in France's Loire River confirmed as music fan missing since police raid

A body found in the River Loire is that of a man who went missing after French police raided a music festival last month, local officials say.

They say Tuesday's autopsy on the badly decomposed body found close to the festival site in Nantes confirmed it was Steve Maia Caniço, 24.

Fourteen other people were rescued from the river soon after falling in during the police crackdown on 22 June. An inquiry has found no link between the raid and Caniço's disappearance.

Since Caniço's disappearance, posters have been put up in the area around the western French city that read "Où est Steve?" (Where is Steve?).

At: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49171906

Steve Maia Caniço, 1995-2019.

Caniço disappeared 38 days earlier during a violent police raid on a Nantes music festival, in which tear gas and rubber bullets were fired.

He apparently drowned in the Loire, near the site of the raid - though previous searches had failed to uncover the body.

California governor signs bill on presidential tax returns

California's Democratic governor signed a law Tuesday requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state's primary ballot, a move aimed squarely at Republican President Donald Trump.

While aimed at Trump, the law also applies to candidates for governor. Newsom said California's status as one of the world's largest economies gives it "a special responsibility" to require tax returns from its prospective elected officials.

"These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders seeking the highest offices meet minimal standards, and to restore public confidence," Newsom wrote in his signing statement.

Courts will likely have the final say.

The bill's author, Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire, said lawmakers made sure the law only applies to the state's primary ballot because the state Constitution says the state Legislature does not control access to the general election ballot.

At: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/California-governor-signs-bill-on-presidential-14259433.php

California Governor Gavin Newsom to President Donald Trump: No tax returns, no spot on the CA primary ballot.

Arizona state senator criticized for remarks on immigrants, birthrates of Hispanic women

Arizona state Sen. Sylvia Allen is facing criticism, following recent comments she made about immigration, white birth rates, the "browning" of America, feminism and the Equal Rights Amendment.

During a speech to Republicans earlier this month, Allen said America would "look like South American countries very quickly" - and warned that immigrants were "flooding" the United States at a rate that didn't allow for them to "learn the principles of our country," according to audio published by the Phoenix New Times on Friday.

"We have a right in our country to have people come in an organized manner so we know who's coming, so we can provide jobs for them, so we can provide education for them and health care and all these things people need," she said.

"We can't provide that if people are just flooding us and flooding us and flooding us and overwhelming us."

In her comments, Allen noted declining white birth rates compared to Hispanic birth rates, saying it was an issue "because of immigration."

She referred to a "browning of America."

At: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/07/26/arizona-sen-sylvia-allen-criticized-remarks-immigrants/1841526001/

State Representative Sylvia Allen: Obsessed with the "browning of America."

She represents Snowflake, AZ.