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17 essential quotes from Kim Kardashian, from her brutal honesty to her offbeat sense of humor

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kim kardashian

Kim Kardashian West has built a career on making the public feel privy to her private life and secrets. And, indeed, throughout her life in the public eye, she has rarely flinched in the face of speaking her mind.

Here are 17 of her best — funniest, bluntest, and most outrageous — quotes, in no particular order.

"Honey, would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?"

Kim uttered this now-infamous quote when Wendy Williams asked if she had any tattoos back in 2009 — sitting right next to her sister Khloe Kardashian, who has multiple.

"But you would on a Ferrari. 'Cause Khloe's a Ferrari," she continued sheepishly.



"I'm kind of shocked I'm getting a fashion award when I'm naked most of the time."

Kim showed off her keen sense of humor when she joked that she was surprised to be given a prestigious fashion award.



"Nicole Richie reminds me of my jeep."

There's a lot to unpack here. It's unclear exactly what inspired Kim to share this comparison back in 2010, but it's weirdly perfect.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Saudi officials reportedly confirm Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi is dead

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Jamal Khashoggi

  • Saudi Arabia reportedly confirmed the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in a statement released early Saturday morning local time.
  • Initial reports suggest Khashoggi was involved in "a physical confrontation, which resulted in his death," the Saudi statement said.
  • Around 18 suspects have been detained by the Saudis and a top general was dismissed, according to Saudi news reports.
  • Trump previously said there would be "very severe" consequences if Saudi Arabia was discovered to be responsible. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders acknowledged the Saudi government's explanation in her own statement: "We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr. Khashoggi's death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, fiancée, and friends."

Saudi Arabia has confirmed the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi on Friday.

Khashoggi, a Saudi national who was also a legal US resident with a green card, had been living in Virginia. He was last seen walking into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2.

"Discussions between citizen Jamal Khashoggi and those who met him while he was in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul led to a quarrel and a physical confrontation, which resulted in his death," the Saudi government said in a statement, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Saudi court officials reported that Khashoggi, who was being interrogated, died in a chokehold, according to CNN.

Around 18 suspects have been detained by the Saudis and a top general was dismissed, according to Saudi media reports cited by CNN. The majority of the suspects included 15 Saudis who reportedly flew in from Riyadh the same day as Khashoggi's disappearance.

jamal khashoggi

A close aide to the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was also reportedly dismissed.

Saudi Arabia previously denied any involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance and claimed, without evidence, that he left the consulate on the same afternoon of his visit.

After his disappearance, Turkish authorities alleged that Khashoggi was brutally murdered, citing an acquired audio recording as evidence.

US and Saudi Arabia were also privy to details of the recording, which reportedly indicated Khashoggi was drugged, beaten, and dismembered, according to officials cited in Turkish media reports.

Khashoggi's disappearance prompted fierce criticism of Saudi Arabia and the crown prince, who had been seen by some as a populist reformer. Khashoggi was an outspoken critic of the Kingdom and the prince, and reportedly feared for his safety before his disappearance.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Saudi Arabia this week and said he had "candid conversations" with the Saudi leadership. According to Pompeo, the Saudis "strongly denied" having prior knowledge of whatever took place in the consulate and pledged to conduct a "thorough, transparent, and timely investigation."

trump saudi arabia sword dancing

President Donald Trump acknowledged on Thursday that, based on the available intelligence, Khashoggi was likely dead.

"Unless the miracle of all miracles happens, I would acknowledge that he's dead," Trump said to The New York Times. "That's based on everything — intelligence coming from every side."

Trump said previously that there would be "very severe" consequences if Saudi Arabia was discovered to be responsible for Khashoggi's death.

"I think we'll be making a statement, a very strong statement," Trump said. "But we're waiting for the results of about — there are three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon."

The White House described Khashoggi's death as a "tragic incident" and said it would "continue to closely follow the international investigations."

"We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr. Khashoggi's death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, fiancée, and friends," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Since Khashoggi's disappearance and the conflicting accounts from Saudi Arabia that followed, US officials, businesses and entrepreneurs have distanced themselves from the Kingdom. News organizations like The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, have pulled their sponsorships from Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative conference, better known as "Davos in the Desert," in Riyadh.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California threw cold water on the Saudi explanation that Khashoggi was accidentally killed: "If Khashoggi was fighting inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, he was fighting for his life with people sent to capture or kill him," Schiff said in a statement.

"The Kingdom and all involved in this brutal murder must be held accountable, and if the Trump Administration will not take the lead, Congress must." Schiff said.

SEE ALSO: Trump joked about a reporter getting body-slammed as the world waits to hear about the fate of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi

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Disappointing photos show what owning a yacht is like in real life

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Wolf of Wall Street

  • Owning a yacht certainly sounds like a dream come true. And if you have a nice chunk of change burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to make that dream a reality.
  • But you should know first that there are several hidden expenses, headaches, and disappointments that come with yacht ownership. 
  • As Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower writes, "really, yachts are just floating money." Here's what you're really in store for if you buy one.

Picture it: It's a beautiful summer day and you're laying out in the sun, a cold drink by your side, your favorite music playing softly in the background, and you're slightly rocking to the motion of the waves.

Someone comes to refill your ice bucket and tells you lunch is almost ready.

That's the dream, isn't it? Spending the weekend on a yacht of your very own. Cruising around the Mediterranean just because you can.

But hold on a minute.

Before you get there — you know, to all the relaxation — there's a lot that needs to happen first, like actually buying the yacht, hiring the staff, making sure everything is being cleaned and fixed when necessary, and being prepared for a lot less isolation than you've been imagining.

So as you contemplate buying yourself a yacht, keep in mind that it's not always the dream it's cracked up to be.

SEE ALSO: Disappointing photos show what cruise ships look like in real life

DON'T MISS: I spent 3 years writing about yachts, and owning one takes way more money than you think

Owning a yacht and living the yachting lifestyle may be a dream of yours.



Whether you want to cruise around the Mediterranean or sail up and down the east coast of the US, you might think the best way to spend any time off would be on your own boat.



If you're not up for creating your own custom yacht, you can go to a boat show and tour a bunch until you find the perfect one.



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Facebook is battling a tidal wave of fake news and misinformation on WhatsApp in Brazil (FB)

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Jair Bolsonaro protest brazil

  • Facebook is battling a wave of fake news and disinformation in Brazil.
  • Business groups have been spreading hoaxes supporting the far-right candidate in the presidential election, and ones study found half of all political content being shared was false or misleading.
  • It shows how Facebook still struggles to police content on its platforms, and the seismic consequences this can have around the world.

Facebook is currently battling a deluge of digital misinformation and fake news ahead of a contentious election featuring a bombastic, far-right populist candidate. It's like 2016 all over again — but this time, the misinformation is spreading on messaging app WhatsApp, which Facebook owns, and the election is in Brazil. 

Brazil is currently in the middle of its presidential election, which is pitting the far-right Jair Bolsonaro against left-wing Fernando Haddad. Bolsonaro, who came out in front in a first-round vote but failed to win outright, has espoused extreme, nationalistic views, including opposition to equal marriage, support for torture, and more lethal tactics by police

Unlike in the US, WhatsApp is extremely popular and widespread in Brazil as a standard communication app — but hoaxes and false information can spread like wildfire on the platform. Writing in The New York Times recently, researchers found that the majority of the most popular political content shared on the app in Brazil is either false or misleading.

There are coordinated efforts to spread falsehoods, too: Hundreds of entrepreneurs and business groups have been actively pushing pro-Bolsonaro misinformation via WhatsApp via an illegal campaign, according to a report from Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo

There is no easy answer for Facebook. WhatsApp's messages are end-to-end encrypted, meaning the company can't view the content and proactively moderate like it might on Facebook's newsfeed, or on Instagram or Messenger (which can encrypt messages, but doesn't by default). 

But this chaos illustrates how — even as Facebook touts improvements in security and preparedness— it still faces struggles in policing unethical behaviour on its services, and the potentially seismic impact this can have on politics around the world.

Reached for comment, a WhatsApp spokesperson pointed towards a recent column by the app's boss, Chris Daniels, and provided a statement: "WhatsApp has proactively banned hundreds of thousands of accounts during the Brazilian election period. We have best-in-class spam detection technology that spots accounts that engage in abnormal behavior so they can’t be used to spread spam or misinformation. We're also taking immediate legal action to stop companies from sending bulk messages on WhatsApp and have already banned accounts associated with those companies."

The spokesperson did not respond to Business Insider's subsequent questions and requests to talk on the record about the steps WhatsApp is taking.

In Daniels' column, he flags a "forwarding" label, new controls for group admins, and a public education campaign among the measures WhatsApp is taking to try and tackle the problem. 

Do you work at Facebook? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

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SEE ALSO: Scammers have started using a fake Spotify email to steal people’s Apple IDs — here are the red flags to watch out for

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How emerging markets will transform the future of online shopping

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Emerging markets are going to be essential for e-commerce growth, as retailers in developed markets may soon reach saturation in terms of consumer growth.

APAC CAGR

For example, almost half of US households now have a Prime membership, diminishing Amazon's growth potential in the country. Meanwhile, in China, the world's largest e-commerce market, nearly half of the population is actively making online purchases, leaving little room for growth. 

However, India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are worth keeping an eye on. E-commerce penetration rates in these areas hover between 2-6%, presenting a huge opportunity for future growth as online sales gain traction. Moreover, these regions are expected to grow at compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 31%, 32%, and 16%, respectively, through 2021.

This report compiles several e-commerce snapshots, which together highlight the most notable emerging markets in various regions. Each provides an overview of the e-commerce industry in a particular country, discusses influential retailers, and provides insights into the opportunities and challenges for that specific domestic industry.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Emerging markets are going to be essential for e-commerce growth, as retailers in developed markets may soon reach saturation in terms of consumer growth.
  • India is the clear overall leader in e-commerce potential, but countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America are also worth keeping an eye on. Within Southeast Asia, Indonesia shows the most promise for retailers, as the government is loosening restrictions on foreign investments, and its massive population is gaining spending power and more access to internet. Meanwhile, Mexico is a retailer's best bet for expansion in Latin America, due to its stable economy and rising middle class, but Brazil may be gearing up to steal the top spot.
  • However, doing business in these regions can be difficult. In most of these emerging markets, infrastructure is underdeveloped and the population is largely unbanked, making digital payments a challenge.
  • If retailers can build a brand presence in these markets while online shopping is still in its nascent stages, they may become market leaders as e-commerce takes off in the regions. Moreover, these markets could provide new sources of growth for companies that would otherwise stagnate in more mature e-commerce markets.

 In full, the report:

  • Explores the e-commerce industry in India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
  • Highlights the leading country in each region, as well as key e-commerce players there. 
  • Outlines the challenges and opportunities each region faces.
  • Gives insight into how these emerging markets may shape the future of e-commerce.

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A shadowy group spent £257,000 on Facebook ads asking people to drive a knife into Theresa May's Brexit plan

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Theresa May

  • Politicians have uncovered evidence of a dark advertising campaign on Facebook, in which Brits were encouraged to lobby against Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan.
  • The Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee said £257,000 was spent on the adverts by an anonymous group called the Mainstream Network.
  • The committee wants Facebook to reveal who is behind the campaign after it released its new political ad transparency tools in the UK this week.

An influential group of politicians has uncovered evidence of a dark advertising campaign on Facebook, in which users were encouraged to lobby against Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan.

In findings published on Saturday, the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee said an anonymous organisation called Mainstream Network spent £257,000 ($335,148) on ads that reached up to 11 million people over a 10-month period.

The "sophisticated" campaign included a direct call to action for users to email their MP asking them to "chuck Chequers," short-hand for May's controversial Brexit negotiating position agreed at her Chequers retreat in July.

Mainstream Network has no known named organisation, UK address, or individual associated with it, the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee said.

"Here we have an example of a clearly sophisticated organisation spending lots of money on a political campaign, and we have absolutely no idea who is behind it. The only people who know who is paying for these adverts is Facebook," said the committee's chairman Damian Collins.

It's the kind of activity that could be made public with Facebook's new political ad transparency tools, which were launched in the UK this week. But they have come too late to capture the Mainstream Network campaign, and a committee chairman said Facebook should release details of who is behind the adverts independently.

In a statement, Facebook did not address whether it would voluntarily release details about who is behind Mainstream Network.

"On November 7, all advertisers will have new requirements before they can place political ads in the UK, including Mainstream Network. These advertisers will need to confirm their identity and location through an authorisations process and accurately represent the organization or person paying for the ad in a disclaimer," said Rob Leathern, director of product management. 

"These steps must happen or the advertiser will be prevented from running ads related to politics on Facebook. We know we can't prevent election interference alone and offering more ad transparency allows journalists, researchers and other interested parties to raise important questions.” 

Mainstream Network

The Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee uncovered the Mainstream Network with help from communications agency 89up.

Users were targeted with localised ads which clicked through to the Mainstream Network website, 89up said, where they were encouraged to submit a pre-written email to their local MP. The email calls on the MP to "bin the Chequers Deal before it's too late."

Screen Shot 2018 10 19 at 16.25.31

Collins and Paul Farrelly, another lawmaker on the committee, were among many MPs whose constituents were targeted. Mainstream Network also carried a number of pro-Brexit news stories on its site, which have had more than 140,000 social media engagements, according to 89up.

The company also said Mainstream Network could be in breach of the EU's new GDPR privacy laws. This is because whenever a user emails their MP from the site, Mainstream's own address is copied, meaning that the user's email address could potentially be being stored by the organisation.

Collins said: "Facebook has recently announced a set of changes to increase transparency around political advertising on its platform. This example offers Facebook an opportunity to show it is committed to making that change happen — if you are targeted with a message or asked to do lobby your MP, you should know exactly who is behind the organisation asking you to do it."

SEE ALSO: Facebook will now show who exactly is paying to swing people's votes through online political advertising

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NOW WATCH: Everything we know about Samsung’s foldable phone

Trump's handling of Saudi Arabia and the Khashoggi case is alienating him from his biggest allies in Congress

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Lindsey Graham

President Donald Trump's overall approach to Khashoggi's disappearance and death is seemingly alienating him from some of his top Republican allies in the Senate.

Saudi officials confirmed on Friday night that Khashoggi is dead.

Moving forward, Trump will likely find it far more difficult to push his agenda through Congress when it comes to Saudi Arabia, experts say.

Key Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Bob Corker of Tennessee, have all condemned Saudi Arabia over the case and its broader record on human-rights issues. They've been part of bipartisan calls to impose economic sanctions and cease arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, critics feel Trump has been far too "soft" on the Saudis under the current circumstances.

Ian Bremmer, the president and founder of Eurasia Group, told Business Insider the Khashoggi case is "embarrassing to Trump and is causing a rift between the President and the foreign policy establishment in the GOP."

Jamal Khashoggi

Trump's handling of the Khashoggi case has been widely criticized

Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

Turkish officials alleged that Khashoggi was brutally killed in the consulate under orders from the highest level of the Saudi government.

Khashoggi, who was often critical of the Saudi leadership in his reporting, had been writing for The Washington Post and was a US resident with a green card.

Early in the case, the Saudis denied any culpability in Khashoggi's disappearance, and at one point said that the journalist departed the consulate the same day he arrived, without providing proof of that claim.

Trump has defended the Saudis, suggesting "rogue killers" were responsible and describing criticism of the kingdom as another case of "guilty until proven innocent." He's also touted America's strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, boasting about billions of dollars of US arms sales to the kingdom when questioned by reporters about the case.

Donald Trump

The president seems strongly opposed to ceasing arms sales to the Saudis, claiming it would harm the US economy and be a "tough pill to swallow."

The president on Thursday did say it "certainly looks" like Khashoggi is dead, but stopped short of blaming the Saudi government. He added that there would be "severe consequences" if it turns out the Saudis had anything to do with Khashoggi's disappearance, but didn't get into what those might be.

Top Senate Republicans had been ripping into Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi's disappearance

Congressional Republicans have been far more direct than Trump as Khashoggi's disappearance spiraled into a global crisis

Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently led a bipartisan group of senators in invoking the Magnitsky Act over the Khashoggi case, which paved the way for sanctions to be leveled against the Saudis.

Last week, Corker said he believed the Saudis had killed Khashoggi.

More recently, Corker on Thursday decried the Trump administration for its "clampdown" on intelligence regarding the Khashoggi case. The Tennessee Republican claimed a White House official prevented him from viewing intelligence related to the journalist's disappearance.

"I don't think the administration can allow this to squirrel around too much longer without taking a definitive position,"Corker told Politico.

Corker and Trump have butted heads over foreign policy in the past, so his criticism of the White House is not particularly surprising.

But the president's general approach to the Khashoggi case also puts him at odds with three of his key allies: Graham, Rubio, and Paul.

Here's what these three Trump allies have said about the Khashoggi case:

  • As Trump touted denials from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week, Graham described the Saudi leader as "toxic" and said he's "gotta go."
  • The South Carolina senator said the crown prince had Khashoggi "murdered," adding that he plans to "sanction the hell out of" the Saudis.
  • Rubio said the US will lose its "credibility on human rights" if it doesn't punish the Saudis, and said the US government shouldn't be so concerned with money from arms sales.
  • Rubio accused Saudi Arabia of going "gangster on a writer" and being "disrespectful" to Republicans who've championed their interests, including Trump.
  • Paul, who's often been at odds with the GOP establishment on foreign policy, has long decried the US-Saudi partnership. He's ramped up this criticism since Khashoggi went missing.
  • "It's time to rethink America’s relationship with the Saudi Kingdom,"Paul wrote in an op-ed for Fox News this week. "We can start by cutting the Saudis off. We should not send one more dime, one more soldier, one more adviser, or one more arms deal to the kingdom."

Congress is not going to let Trump 'sweep this under the rug'

Brian McKeon, a former National Security Council chief of staff under former President Barack Obama, said it's "not clear" the Trump administration "understands" how the president's handling of the Khashoggi case could negatively impact his relationships on the Hill.

"It looks to me like the Trump administration is trying to manage the problem rather than engage in a search for the truth," McKeon, who is now a senior director at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy & Global Engagement, told Business Insider.

Mike Pompeo meets with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

"The President has road-tested the 'rogue actors' theory on behalf of Riyadh," McKeon added. "I don't think the Congress is going to accept a result that appears to sweep this under the rug."

McKeon said the situation could have a "significant impact" on the US-Saudi relationship, particularly in the short-term. "There'll likely be a reaction" in Congress if Trump chooses not to act against the kingdom, McKeon said.

SEE ALSO: Here's everything we know about the troubling disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi

DON'T MISS: 'I think the Saudis believe they have a blank check': Top Senate Democrat slams Trump's response to Khashoggi killing

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NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

How advances in edge computing are addressing key problems in the healthcare, telecommunications, and automotive sectors

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

Edge computing solutions are key tools that help companies grapple with rising data volumes across industries. These types of solutions are critical in allowing companies to gain more control over the data their IoT devices create and in reducing their reliance on (and the costs of) cloud computing.

edge popularity

These systems are becoming more sought-after — 40% of companies that provide IoT solutions reported that edge computing came up more in discussion with customers in 2017 than the year before, according to Business Insider Intelligence’s 2017 Global IoT Executive Survey. But companies need to know whether they should look into edge computing solutions, and what in particular they can hope to gain from shifting data processing and analysis from the cloud to the edge.

There are three particular types of problems that edge computing solutions are helping to combat across industries:

  • Security issues. Edge computing can limit the exposure of critical data by minimizing how often it’s transmitted. Further, they pre-process data, so there’s less data to secure overall.
  • Access issues. These systems help to provide live insights regardless of whether there’s a network connection available, greatly expanding where companies and organizations can use connected devices and the data they generate.
  • Transmission efficiency. Edge computing solutions process data where it’s created so less needs to be sent to the cloud, leading to lower cloud storage requirements and reduced transmission cost.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence examines how edge computing is reducing companies' reliance on cloud computing in three key industries: healthcare, telecommunications, and the automotive space. We explore how these systems mitigate issues in each sector by helping to efficiently process growing troves of data, expanding the potential realms of IoT solutions a company can offer, and bringing enhanced computing capability to remote and mobile platforms.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • In healthcare, companies and organizations are using edge computing to improve telemedicine and remote monitoring capabilities.
  • For telecommunications companies, edge computing is helping to reduce network congestion and enabling a shift toward the IoT platform market.
  • And in the automotive space, edge computing systems are enabling companies to increase the capabilities of connected cars and trucks and approach autonomy.

In full, the report:

  • Explores the key advantages edge computing solutions can provide.
  • Highlights the circumstances when companies should look into edge systems.
  • Identifies key vendors and partners in specific industries while showcasing case studies of successful edge computing programs.

    Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

    This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
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Twitter is shutting down bot accounts posting pro-Saudi tweets about missing dissident Khashoggi (TWTR)

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jamal khashoggi enter saudi embassy

  • Twitter has suspended hundreds of bot accounts identified by NBC News as being involved in a coordinated campaign to defend the Saudi government's role in the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
  • Twitter told Business Insider it had already been aware of the bot accounts, which it said behaved like spam accounts. 
  • Twitter said it could not definitively link the accounts to the Saudi government. 

Twitter is suspending hundreds of bot accounts involved in a coordinated effort to flood the service with political messages about the suspected murder of a prominent Saudi dissident. 

The accounts have unleashed a barrage of messages in recent days that support the Saudi government's account in its role in the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to NBC News which reported  about the situation on Thursday. Twitter began cracking down on the accounts after it was notified, according to NBC News. 

Twitter, however, says it's been aware of such accounts for "some time" and that it was already in the process of shutting them down, a spokesperson told Business Insider on Friday.

Bots are automated accounts that are used by spammers, hackers and other miscreants to launch coordinated social media campaigns and denial of service attacks. They have been credited with spreading misinformation, notoriously during the 2016 presidential election. Ahead of midterm elections in November, Twitter has made an effort to be transparent in steps it's taking to curtail misuse of its platform, especially by foreign agents.   

One of the bot accounts NBC identified (which has since been suspended) posted: "From the very beginning, false statements have tried to link the disappearance or killing of #Jamal_Khashoggi to the kingdom. This is a campaign they are waging against the kingdom."

Twitter told Business Insider that the accounts it had suspended, while "behaving like typical spam accounts," could not be verified as accounts backed by the Saudi government (rather than independently supporting the king).

Twitter's problems with bot accounts is well-known. The platform flags 10 million potential spam accounts every week in an attempt to curb bots, but NBC was able to identify hundreds of accounts that spammed Twitter with identical tweets supporting the Saudi government's position.

The flagged accounts reportedly sent out hundreds of identical tweets in droves that disputed the widely believed notion that Saudi Arabia was involved in the disappearance of Khashoggi, who is feared dead.

SEE ALSO: Facebook is battling a tidal wave of fake news and misinformation on WhatsApp in Brazil

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NOW WATCH: Apple took another subtle jab at Facebook during its iPhone XS event

OnePlus rescheduled its upcoming smartphone event because Apple just recently announced its own event on the same day (AAPL)

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tim cook

  • OnePlus rescheduled its OnePlus 6T smartphone announcement event because Apple recently announced it's hosting an event on the same day. 
  • OnePlus' launch event is now taking place one day earlier, on October 29, at the same venue as originally planned. 
  • The company says it will cover the costs of travel changes and tickets for those who aren't able to make the new date. 

OnePlus was all set to unveil its new OnePlus 6T smartphone on October 30 in New York City, but then Apple decided to steal the spotlight.

The Mac maker this week announced its own Fall event to be held on October 30, and now OnePlus has rescheduled its event as a result.

The OnePlus event is happening just one day earlier, on October 29, at the original location in New York City. OnePlus founder Pete Lau announced the change in a OnePlus community post, and the company also announced the change over Twitter.

In his post, Lau said about the Apple event:

"We know the entire industry and all media will be holding their breath. So, imagine how we felt when we learned the date of their latest event. One minute, we were preparing for our greatest and most exciting launch event yet. The next, we were posed with a difficult question: “What do we do now?” "...

"We have only just begun our journey and cannot afford to let one of the most important products in our history be affected by another great product launch. So after deep reflection, we have decided to move the OnePlus 6T Launch Event in New York City to October 29."

OnePlus 5 Pete Lau

Those who were planning to attend the OnePlus event will have their ticket costs covered by the company if they can't make it at the new date, Lau said, and he welcomes those who can make it to the event a day earlier than planned. And for those who made travel arrangements, Lau said the company would even cover the cost of flight and hotel changes. 

It's an incredibly unfortunate situation for OnePlus, but the company is seemingly dealing with its situation well and communicating with its fans. 

During Apple's October 30 event, we expect to hear about new iPad and Mac news, so it's not the same kind of product as OnePlus' smartphone. Still, all of the tech media's eyes will be on Apple that day, which would have absolutely and completely stolen OnePlus' thunder.

SEE ALSO: OnePlus is having some terrible luck with scheduling the launch of its latest smartphone

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NOW WATCH: A diehard Mac user switches to PC

Here's everything we know about the troubling disappearance and death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi

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Jamal Khashoggi

  • A Saudi journalist is dead, and Turkish authorities believe he was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Saudi officials said on Friday, October 19 that Khashoggi died as a result of an altercation inside the consulate.
  • The journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, 59, who was often critical of the Saudi government, entered the consulate on October 2. He had not been seen publicly since then.
  • Saudi Arabia previously said, without evidence, that Khashoggi left the consulate and rejected assertions that he was killed.
  • US President Donald Trump has shifted from expressing concern about the case to defending Saudi leadership in the two weeks following Khashoggi's disappearance.
  • Last week, Trump said that stopping arms sales to the Saudis as punishment for Khashoggi's disappearance would be a "tough pill to swallow."
  • On Monday, he said Saudi Arabia's King Salman denied any involvement, and the president suggested that "rogue killers" could be responsible. On Tuesday, Trump said criticism of Saudi Arabia was another case of "guilty until proven innocent." And on Wednesday, he said he'd contacted Turkish officials and requested audio and video related to the case, "if it exists."
  • US intelligence may have known before Khashoggi's disappearance about a Saudi plot to capture him, The Washington Post reported last week.
  • On October 11, The Post reported that the Turkish government told US officials it had audio and video recordings suggesting that a team of Saudis "interrogated, tortured, and then murdered" Khashoggi.
  • CNN reported on Monday that Saudi Arabia was preparing to release a report saying Khashoggi was killed as part of a botched interrogation.
  • The Associated Press on Tuesday quoted a high-level Turkish official as saying police who entered the consulate found "certain evidence" that Khashoggi was killed there.
  • The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Turkish officials shared with the US and Saudi Arabia details of an audio recording said to illustrate that Khashoggi was beaten, drugged, and ultimately killed in the Saudi consul general's office minutes after entering the consulate.
  • A bipartisan group of senators has invoked a law requiring Trump to investigate Khashoggi's disappearance.
  • US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the case with the Saudis, who he said pledged to conduct "a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation."
  • The US received a $100 million payment from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the same day Pompeo arrived in Riyadh to discuss Khashoggi's disappearance. The State Department said there was no connection.
  • Pompeo on Thursday said he told Trump the US should give the Saudis "a few more days" to complete an investigation.
  • When asked by reporters on Thursday whether he believes Khashoggi is dead, Trump said, "It certainly looks that way to me," adding that there would be "very severe" consequences if investigations into Khashoggi's disappearance conclude the Saudis are responsible.
  • Late Thursday, ABC News cited a senior Turkish official as saying the Turkish government let Pompeo listen to audio and view a transcript offering evidence that Khashoggi was killed. Pompeo promptly denied ever hearing or seeing such a recording, and Ankara's top diplomat subsequently denied supplying any audio to the secretary of state.
  • A Turkish official said on Friday that investigators were looking into the possibility that Khashoggi's remains were taken to a nearby forest or to another city in the country.

A Saudi journalist is dead, and Turkish authorities believe he was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. 

The Saudi government acknowledged on Friday evening that Jamal Khashoggi died during an altercation inside the consulate. The revelation came after the Saudis gave conflicting accounts about the case during the nearly three weeks in which Khashoggi's disappearance remained a mystery.

The 59-year-old journalist entered the consulate on October 2 to obtain documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz.

Cengiz has said she waited for Khashoggi outside the consulate for roughly 11 hours but he never came out. She tweeted on Saturday: "Jamal is not dead. I cannot believe that he has been killed."

Here's a timeline of the events surrounding Khashoggi's disappearance and death.

Who is Jamal Khashoggi?

Khashoggi, a prominent journalist who was often critical of the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, wrote for The Washington Post's global opinion section.

Karen Attiah, Khashoggi's editor at The Post, told CNN on October 7: "We're still hoping for the best, but of course this news, if true, has us all completely devastated. This is an attack on us as well at The Washington Post."

Khashoggi has had a long, complicated career.

He went from interviewing a young Osama bin Laden in the 1980s to becoming one of the top journalists in his country to living in self-imposed exile.

Khashoggi was at one point an adviser to senior officials in the Saudi government and worked for top news outlets in the country. He was long seen as close to the ruling elite there.

But last year, Khashoggi had a falling out with the government over Prince Mohammed's controversial tactics as he's worked to consolidate his power, including arresting powerful business executives and members of the royal family.

The Saudi royal family also banned Khashoggi from writing after he was critical of President Donald Trump, and it drove Khashoggi to leave Saudi Arabia for the US in the summer of 2017.

In recent months, Khashoggi reportedly told colleagues that he had feared for his life.

After leaving Saudi Arabia, Khashoggi divided his time between London, Istanbul, and Virginia. He's a US resident with a green card, but he is not a citizen.

The Post on Wednesday published an op-ed article Khashoggi filed shortly before his disappearance.

In it, Khashoggi called for a free press in the Arab world. Attiah, who edited the article, wrote a note at the top.

"I received this column from Jamal Khashoggi's translator and assistant the day after Jamal was reported missing in Istanbul," Attiah said. "The Post held off publishing it because we hoped Jamal would come back to us so that he and I could edit it together. Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post."

She added that Khashoggi's article "perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world."

What Saudi Arabia has said about Khashoggi's disappearance

Saudi officials previously claimed Khashoggi left the consulate.

"Mr. Khashoggi visited the consulate to request paperwork related to his marital status and exited shortly thereafter,"an unnamed Saudi official told The New York Times earlier this month.

The Saudi government previously denied allegations that Khashoggi was killed, describing them as "baseless."

Prince Mohammed earlier this month told Bloomberg News that Turkish authorities were welcome to search the consulate. "We have nothing to hide," he said.

"He's a Saudi citizen, and we are very keen to know what happened to him," he added. "And we will continue our dialogue with the Turkish government to see what happened to Jamal there."

When asked whether there were any charges against Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed said, "Actually, we need to know where Jamal is first."

The Saudi ambassador to the US told The Post on October 8 that it would be "impossible" for consulate employees to kill Khashoggi and cover up his death "and we wouldn't know about it."

The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV network on October 11 aired a report claiming that 15 men said to be involved in Khashoggi's disappearance weren't sent to Istanbul for the purpose of capturing or killing him but were just tourists.

Turkish media has reported that the men arrived at Istanbul's airport on October 2, the day Khashoggi went missing, and left Turkey later that night.

Days before it officially announced Khashoggi's death, Saudi Arabia said it would release a report claiming he was killed

Before it acknowledged on Friday that Khashoggi had indeed died, Saudi Arabia said it was preparing to release a report claiming Khashoggi was killed as part of a botched interrogation, CNN reported on Monday, citing two sources who said the interrogation was supposed to result in Khashoggi's abduction from Turkey.

The Saudi government's statement released Friday makes no mention of Khashoggi having been killed.

One source told CNN that the report was likely to say the operation was conducted without clearance or transparency and vow to hold those involved accountable. According to the Saudi government's explanation released Friday night, 18 Saudi officials were detained in connection with Khashoggi's death.

A Daily Beast report on Tuesday suggested that the Saudis planned to scapegoat an unnamed two-star general and claim that he botched a plan to interrogate Khashoggi and accidentally killed him.

The Times published a related report on Thursday that said the Saudis planned to blame a general with ties to Prince Mohammed. The Times identified the general as Ahmed al-Assiri, who was promoted to intelligence by the crown prince late last year after having worked as the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

What Turkey has said about Khashoggi's disappearance

Turkish officials have accused the Saudis of killing Khashoggi, saying there's no evidence he ever left the consulate.

A high-level Turkish official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that police who entered the consulate found "certain evidence" that Khashoggi was killed there.

Turkey has been putting a great deal of pressure on Saudi Arabia to be more transparent.

On October 8, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded Saudi officials provide proof that Khashoggi left the consulate.

"Do you not have cameras and everything of the sort?" Erdogan said. "They have all of them. Then why do you not prove this? You need to prove it."

Throughout the investigation, there have been somewhat conflicting messages from Turkey on Khashoggi's disappearance as details of what might have happened to him have been gradually leaked to media outlets.

In a report on October 9, The Times described a senior official as saying Turkey had concluded Khashoggi was killed "on orders from the highest levels" of the Saudi royal court.

But Yasin Aktay, an adviser to Erdogan, said on October 10 that "the Saudi state is not blamed here," suggesting that "a deep state" was responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance.

On October 11, Erdogan increased pressure on Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi's disappearance.

"We cannot remain silent to such an incident," Erdogan was quoted by Turkish media as telling reporters, according to The Post.

"How is it possible for a consulate, an embassy not to have security camera systems? Is it possible for the Saudi Arabian consulate where the incident occurred not to have camera systems?" he continued.

"If a bird flew, if a mosquito appeared, these systems would catch them," he said, adding that he believed that the Saudis "would have the most advanced of systems."

What we know about the investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance and death

There appears to be video footage of Khashoggi entering the consulate, but no footage of him leaving has been made public. Turkish officials have said that some footage from the consulate mysteriously disappeared.

Local police were examining video footage from security cameras in the area, and on Monday police entered the consulate to investigate for the first time. Erdogan said on Tuesday that investigators found some surfaces that had been newly painted over.

Turkish officials allege that the Saudi government sent a 15-man team to Istanbul via private jets to kill Khashoggi at the consulate. The AP described Turkish media as saying the team included "Saudi royal guards, intelligence officers, soldiers, and an autopsy expert."

Turkish media published what it claimed were videos of Saudi intelligence officers entering and leaving Turkey via Istanbul's airport.

Citing an unnamed US official, The Post reported on October 7 that Turkish investigators believed Khashoggi was killed and his body most likely dismembered, placed in boxes, and flown out of the country. But some reports also suggest Khashoggi's body may have been dissolved with acid.

The senior official who spoke to The Times said Turkish officials believed the team used a bone saw to dismember his body.

The Guardian reported last week that officials were looking for a black van with diplomatic number plates that was seen departing the consulate roughly two hours after Khashoggi went in. They also believe Khashoggi's Apple Watch could provide clues about what happened to him, though experts have cast doubt on that claim.

A Post report published on October 11 described several unnamed Turkish and US officials as saying the Turkish government told US officials it had audio and video recordings suggesting that a team of Saudis killed Khashoggi.

The newspaper quoted one official as saying the audio recording indicated that Khashoggi was "interrogated, tortured, and then murdered," adding that both Khashoggi's voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic could be heard on the recording.

The recording "lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered," The Post's source said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Turkish officials shared with the US and Saudi Arabia details of an audio recording said to illustrate how Khashoggi was beaten, drugged, and ultimately killed in the Saudi consul general's office minutes after entering the consulate.

The Journal described people familiar with the matter as saying the recording included a voice that could be heard urging the consul to leave the room, as well as a voice of a person Turkish officials identified as a forensic specialist urging people nearby to listen to music as he dismembered the body.

In a Times report on Wednesday, a senior Turkish official described audio recordings suggesting that Khashoggi's fingers were cut off shortly after he arrived at the consul and that he was eventually beheaded.

A Turkish official on Friday said investigators were looking into the possibility that Khashoggi's remains were taken to a nearby forest or to another city in the country.

What Trump and the White House have said about the Khashoggi case

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement on Friday after the Saudi government announced Khashoggi's death:

The United States acknowledges the announcement from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that its investigation into the fate of Jamal Khashoggi is progressing and that it has taken action against the suspects it has identified thus far.

We will continue to closely follow the international investigations into this tragic incident and advocate for justice that is timely, transparent, and in accordance with all due process. We are saddened to hear confirmation of Mr. Khashoggi's death, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, fiancée, and friends.

US President Donald Trump initially expressed concern about the Khashoggi case, but he has shifted to defending Saudi leaders while exhibiting a reluctance to punish them.

On October 8, he told reporters that he was "concerned about" Khashoggi's disappearance.

"I don't like hearing about it. Hopefully that will sort itself out,"Trump said. "Right now nobody knows anything about it, but there's some pretty bad stories going around. I do not like it."

During an interview with "Fox & Friends" on October 11, Trump said that "we're probably getting closer than you might think" to finding out what happened to Khashoggi.

"We have investigators over there, and we're working with Turkey, and frankly we're working with Saudi Arabia," Trump said. "We want to find out what happened. He went in, and it doesn't look like he came out. It certainly doesn't look like he's around."

There is reason to doubt the president's claim that the US has investigators in Turkey. FBI guidelines say it can investigate in other countries only if they request assistance. Foreign Policy reported on October 11 that it seemed Turkey had so far not done that.

Trump added in the interview that US-Saudi relations were "excellent."

In an interview with Fox News on October 10, the president seemed reluctant to guarantee repercussions against the Saudis — especially in terms of US arms sales to the country — if it turned out that they harmed Khashoggi.

"I think that would be hurting us," he said of stopping arms sales to Saudi Arabia. "We have jobs. We have a lot of things happening in this country ... Part of that is what we're doing with our defense systems, and everybody is wanting them, and frankly I think that that would be a very, very tough pill to swallow for our country."

During the interview, Trump said that it was "looking a little bit like" Saudi Arabia was responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance but that "we're going to have to see."

In a "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday, Trump said that "we would be very upset and angry" if it turned out the Saudis were involved in Khashoggi's disappearance, adding that the Saudis "deny it every way you can imagine."

The president also reiterated concerns about the economic impact of reducing arms sales to the Saudis.

"I tell you what I don't want to do: Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon ... I don't want to hurt jobs. I don't want to lose an order like that," he said. "There are other ways of punishing, to use a word that's a pretty harsh word, but it's true."

Trump on Wednesday said he'd contacted Turkish officials and requested audio and video related to the case, "if it exists."

"I'm not sure yet that it exists," Trump said. "Probably does. Possibly does."

When asked whether he had sent the FBI to investigate, Trump said, "Why would I tell you?"

Trump also stressed the fact that Khashoggi was not a US citizen as he boasted about billions of dollars in planned US arms sales to the Saudis.

When asked by reporters on Thursday whether he believes Khashoggi is dead, Trump said, "It certainly looks that way to me."

The president also said there would be "very severe" consequences if investigations into Khashoggi's disappearance conclude the Saudis are responsible.

"We're waiting for the results of about — there are three different investigations, and we should be able to get to the bottom fairly soon," Trump said at the time, adding that he plans to make a "very strong statement" once they've concluded.

Vice President Mike Pence also tweeted about the case last week.

"Deeply troubled to hear reports about Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. If true, this is a tragic day," he said. "Violence against journalists across the globe is a threat to freedom of the press & human rights. The free world deserves answers."

Khashoggi's fiancée has called on Trump to do more

Cengiz urged Trump in an op-ed article for The Post, published on October 9, to "shed light" on his disappearance.

"At this time, I implore President Trump and first lady Melania Trump to help shed light on Jamal's disappearance," Cengiz wrote.

She added that she and Khashoggi "were in the middle of making wedding plans, life plans," when he disappeared.

On October 10, Trump said that he had spoken with the Saudi government about Khashoggi and that he was working closely with the Turkish government to get to the bottom of what happened. He would not say whether he believed the Saudis were responsible for the journalist's disappearance.

The president also said he invited Cengiz to the White House.

Cengiz wrote in an op-ed article for The Times published on October 13: "In recent days, I saw reports about President Trump wanting to invite me to the White House. If he makes a genuine contribution to the efforts to reveal what happened inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul that day, I will consider accepting his invitation."

The Trump administration has had a close relationship with the Saudis, and US-Turkey relations have been strained in recent months over the imprisonment of an American pastor, though he was released on October 12.

Trump suggested 'rogue killers' could be behind Khashoggi's disappearance

After a phone call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, Trump on Monday suggested, without evidence, that "rogue killers" could be behind Khashoggi's disappearance.

Trump said the king flatly denied any involvement.

"It sounded to me like maybe these could be rogue killers," Trump said. "Who knows?"

On Tuesday, Trump escalated his defense of the Saudis, suggesting in an interview with the AP that the criticism leveled against the government was another instance of "guilty until proven innocent."

"Here we go again with, you know, you're guilty until proven innocent," he said. "I don't like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh, and he was innocent all the way as far as I'm concerned."

In an interview with Fox Business that aired Tuesday evening, Trump said it "would be bad" if it turned out that the Saudis were behind Khashoggi's disappearance, but he emphasized the US-Saudi relationship.

"Saudi Arabia's our partner, our ally against Iran," Trump said. "They've been a great ally to me."

Pompeo went to Saudi Arabia to discuss the case with the king

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Riyadh on Tuesday morning to discuss the Khashoggi case with King Salman.

A State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, told The Times that Pompeo"thanked the king for his commitment to supporting a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation of Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance."

Mike Pompeo

Later in the day, Pompeo met with Prince Mohammed for roughly 35 to 40 minutes.

"We are strong and old allies," the crown prince told reporters as he met with Pompeo. "We face our challenges together."

After his meetings, Pompeo said the Saudi leadership "strongly denied any knowledge of what took place in their consulate in Istanbul."

"We had direct and candid conversations," Pompeo said. "I emphasized the importance of conducting a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation, and the Saudi leadership pledged to deliver precisely on that."

The secretary of state said he believed there was a "serious commitment to determine all the facts and ensure accountability, including accountability for Saudi Arabia's senior leaders or senior officials."

Pompeo added: "We're going to give them the space to complete the investigation of this incident."

The US received a $100 million payment from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The timing of the payment raises questions, but the State Department said it had no connection to Pompeo's visit.

After returning to the US, Pompeo said on Thursday that he told Trump the US "ought to give" the Saudis "a few more days" to complete an investigation before deciding "how or if the United States should respond to the incident surrounding Mr. Khashoggi."

"There are lots of stories out there about what has happened," Pompeo said at the White House. "We are going to allow the process to move forward."

Late Thursday, ABC News cited a senior Turkish official as saying the Turks let Pompeo listen to audio and view a transcript offering evidence that Khashoggi was killed. Pompeo promptly denied ever hearing or seeing such a recording, and Ankara's top diplomat subsequently denied supplying any audio to the secretary of state.

The US intelligence community reportedly knew about a Saudi plot to capture Khashoggi

A Post report on October 10 said US intelligence intercepts showed that Prince Mohammed sought to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and detain him there.

The newspaper said the intercepts of Saudi officials discussing the plan were described by US officials familiar with the intelligence.

Under a directive signed in 2015, the US intelligence community has a "duty to warn" people — including those who are not US citizens — who it believes are at risk of being kidnapped, seriously hurt, or killed. This directive has become a central aspect of the conversation about the US's response to Khashoggi's disappearance.

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. A representative for the National Security Council declined to comment.

But a State Department spokesman, Robert Palladino, told reporters that the US government did not have prior knowledge of a Saudi plot to capture or harm Khashoggi.

"Although I cannot comment on intelligence matters, I can say definitively the United States had no advanced knowledge of Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance," he said.

Trump is under mounting pressure to address the situation more forcefully

Senators on both sides of the aisle earlier expressed serious concerns about Khashoggi's disappearance. Those who commented on Friday about the Saudi government's announcement of Khashoggi's death expressed doubt about the official Saudi explanation.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he believes the Saudis are "buying time and buying cover."

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who is also the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said: "The announcement that Jamal Khashoggi was killed while brawling with a team of more than a dozen dispatched from Saudi Arabia is not credible. If Khashoggi was fighting inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, he was fighting for his life with people sent to capture or kill him."

Schiff continued: "The Kingdom and all involved in this brutal murder must be held accountable, and if the Trump Administration will not take the lead, Congress must."

Nearly two dozen senators sent a letter to Trump on October 10 invoking the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2016.

The letter — written by Sens. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Bob Menendez, its ranking Democrat — gave the White House 120 days to "determine whether a foreign person is responsible for an extrajudicial killing, torture, or other gross violation of internationally recognized human rights against an individual exercising freedom of expression."

At the end of 120 days, the letter said, Trump is to report back to the committee on the investigation's findings and how his administration plans to respond.

"We request that you make a determination on the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act with respect to any foreign person responsible for such a violation related to Mr. Khashoggi," the senators wrote. "Our expectation is that in making your determination you will consider any relevant information, including with respect to the highest ranking officials in the Government of Saudi Arabia."

The letter paves the way for sanctions to be imposed on Saudi Arabia and puts pressure on Trump to investigate Khashoggi's disappearance.

Speaking with reporters about the letter, Corker said, "It's the forcing mechanism to ensure that we use all the resources available to get the bottom of this, and if in fact at the very highest levels of Saudi Arabia they have been involved in doing this, that appropriate steps will be taken to sanction them."

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top Senate Republican, called for the crown prince to step away from the world stage, describing him as "toxic" in an appearance on "Fox & Friends" last Thursday morning.

Other Republican senators, including Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Ben Sasse, have also been deeply critical of Saudi Arabia and the US's relationship with it in the wake of Khashoggi's appearance.

"It's time to rethink America's relationship with the Saudi Kingdom,"Paul wrote in an op-ed article for Fox News.

"We can start by cutting the Saudis off," he added. "We should not send one more dime, one more soldier, one more adviser, or one more arms deal to the kingdom."

The UN is calling for an investigation by Saudi Arabia into the Khashoggi case

Meanwhile, UN experts have called for an independent and international investigation into the case.

"We are concerned that the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi is directly linked to his criticism of Saudi policies in recent years,"they said in a statement on October 9. "We reiterate our repeated calls on the Saudi authorities to open the space for the exercise of fundamental rights, including the right to life and of expression and dissent."

SEE ALSO: The meteoric rise of Saudi's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is now suspected of ordering the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

READ MORE: Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance is an 'embarrassing' 'crisis' for Trump and 'one of the roughest foreign-policy challenges' he's faced yet, experts say

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A tuition-free college education could soon become a reality for some residents in Virginia

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University of Virginia students

  • The University of Virginia's new president, Jim Ryan, announced during his inaugural ceremony that some in-state students will be able to attend the school tuition-free.
  • The provision would apply to students whose families earn less than $80,000 annually. Students whose families earn less than $30,000 will also be eligible for free room and board, Ryan said.
  • Ryan did not offer a specific timetable for when this policy would take effect, saying "there is more work to be done."

The University of Virginia's new president, Jim Ryan, announced during his inaugural ceremony that some in-state students will be able to attend the school tuition-free.

The provision would apply to students whose families earn less than $80,000 annually. Students whose families earn less than $30,000 will also be eligible for free room and board, Ryan said.

"I see a community that opens wide the door to opportunity for first-generation, low- and middle-income students," Ryan said. "There is more work to be done in this space, but we might as well get started."

University of Virginia says it currently meets 100% of its accepted students' demonstrated financial needs with loans, grants, scholarships, and work-study programs.

The announcement follows years of consternation about the rising cost of higher education, which has contributed to the more than $1 trillion in outstanding student loans in the US.

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The $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot was just drawn — here are the winning numbers

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The $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot was just drawn — here are the winning numbers:

65-53-23-15-70

Mega-ball: 7

The odds of winning the record-breaking $1 billion jackpot were one in 302.5 million, or 0.00000033%. Five numbers between 1 to 70 were selected, in addition to one number between 1 to 25.

The lucky winner would have the option to cash out over $513 million, or choose to be paid annually for 29 years (with a better tax rate).

SEE ALSO: Here are answers to all of the questions you might have if you win the Mega Millions jackpot

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Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith reveal why they never got divorced, despite not calling themselves 'married'

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Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have been married for 20 years, but they don't call themselves "married." In a clip from an upcoming episode of her Facebook Watch show, "Red Table Talk," the 47-year-old actress opened up about why she and Smith, 50, never got a divorce in their 20 years of marriage.

"You know why I never got divorced?" Smith asked her, to which Pinkett Smith jokingly replied: "It’s cheaper to keep me."

jada_will_red_table

In the premiere episode of the Facebook Watch show, the two also got personal about their own growth in the relationship. 

"I had to gain my strength as Jada. Not mommy. Not wife. Jada," Pinkett Smith said. While Smith revealed that he felt, "deep down inside" like "an insecure little boy that wanted Jada to say [he] was great."

They also touched on a particularly tough time in their relationship.

"There was a period where mommy woke up and cried 45 days straight, I started keeping track," Smith told their 17-year-old daughter Willow, who joined them on the show alongisde Pinkett Smith's mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones. Pinkett Smith added that he "missed some days," and that it was "the worst [she has] ever felt" during their marriage.

Watch the clip below:

Pinkett Smith has spoken candidly about her marriage before, and recently told People magazine why she and Smith don't refer to themselves as "married."

"I needed a different form to dissolve all the expectations that I had of a marriage," she told People. "I needed to do that to see Will outside of husband and see him as a human being."

"Red Table Talk" returns to Facebook Watch on October 22.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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Trump reportedly wanted to shut down the entire US-Mexico border, but his aides talked him out of it

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Trump US Mexico trade deal NAFTA

  • President Trump is continuing his calls to shutter the US-Mexico border, in an effort to stop caravans of thousands of migrants, seeking shelter from deadly violence in Central America.
  • Trump reportedly told aides this summer to "close the whole thing!" The Washington Post reported, a near unprecedented move that would not only shut down border crossings, but also halt trade, and potentially chill relations between Mexico and the US.
  • White House staff talked him out of the costly idea.

President Trump is growing impatient with the flow of people fleeing deadly violence in Central America, and is said to have threatened to close off the southern border completely at one point.

He got so frustrated over the summer, that he asked his staff to "close the whole thing" during a meeting in the Oval Office, as The Washington Post reported Saturday.

That action would have thrown trade relations between Mexico and the US into chaos, and ground to a halt one of the busiest borders in the world. White House aides managed to talk him out of the idea, the Post reported, by pointing out the $600 billion-plus trade relationship the two countries share. 

Mexico and the US signed on to a new, sweeping trade deal in August, and Mexico is the US's third largest trading partner, and second biggest market for US exports. The US exported more than $276 billion worth of goods and services to Mexico in 2017, and imported nearly $340 billion, according to the office of the US trade representative

On Twitter Thursday, as thousands of people made their way towards Mexico from Central America seeking safety, Trump repeated his border closing cry, saying "I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught - and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!"

That has been done before, but rarely.

President George W. Bush partially closed the borders and put all travel, trade, and immigration under strict inspection after the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, as USA Today pointed out. Before that, the US-Mexico border was shut down entirely in 1985 after the killing of a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent in Mexico.

Later on Thursday, Trump thanked Mexico for shuttling riot police to the Guatemala border, saying in a tweet that "we look forward to working with you!" 

Disputes over how to handle the looming crisis have rattled the White House in recent days, reportedly prompting a profane cursing match between White House chief of staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton outside Trump's Oval Office.

Meanwhile, the Mexican government is dealing with a border crisis of its own on the southern edge of that country, as a caravan of more than 3,000 people fleeing deadly violence in the Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala rushed over the border into Mexico on Friday, seeking shelter from gang violence and hoping to stay alive.

Thousands of the hungry, desperate migrants intend to press on towards the US, where Department of Homeland Security officials say they're already "catching 1,500 people a day," according to the Post. 

guatemala migrants crossing into mexico

"I want to get to the States to contribute to that country," a migrant named Christian, who said he was fleeing gangsters demanding one-fifth of his monthly income, told the Associated Press, "to do any kind of work, picking up garbage."

Human rights expert and historian Dana Frank told the Associated Press that the determination of the migrants underscores how bad the situation in Central America has become, highlighting "how desperate the Honduran people are — that they'd begin walking toward refuge in the United States with only a day pack full of belongings."

The number of illegal border crossings along the southwest border of the US ticked up this year, with the number of unaccompanied children streaming into the US soaring by 16,000, while the total number of apprehensions along the southwest border from October 1, 2017 to August 31 of this year was up to 355,106, according to the US Department of Homeland Security

SEE ALSO: President Trump said his uncle was a 'great professor at MIT for many years' — here’s what to know about John Trump

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Burger King has a new spooky black slushie, but all people can talk about is how it's turning their poop weird colors

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  • Burger King has a new frozen Scary Black Cherry slushie just in time for Halloween.
  • People are reporting that it's giving them surprising results in the bathroom.
  • After drinking the slushie, Twitter users have reported that the color of their poop has been neon blue, green, or black.
  • This isn't Burger King's only festive menu addition. Burger King recently announced it'll be offering a Nightmare King burger with a green sesame bun.

Burger King is getting in the Halloween spirit with its appropriately named Scary Black Cherry slushie. While a pitch-black slushie made with frozen black cherry Fanta seems like a festive menu addition for this time of year, all people can focus on is the surprising result they say they're seeing in the bathroom after drinking it.

One Twitter user warned others that the drink would turn your teeth and mouth black.

But many were not quite prepared for the impact it says the drink has had on their bowel movements.

Though there's not a final consensus on what color the slushie could turn your poop, many have reported colors ranging from neon green to blue and black.

Some Twitter users even bought the frozen slushie eagerly anticipating what color their poop will be after drinking.

The Scary Black Cherry frozen drink is available through November 12.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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16 of the Kardashian-Jenners' best Halloween costumes

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Kim Kardashian mermaid costume

The Kardashian-Jenner family is known to go all-out when it comes to their fashion, and this is especially true when it comes to Halloween

While the whole family tends to pull out all of the stops, Kim Kardashian West really outdid herself in October 2017 when she wore a whopping five costumes inspired by musical icons like Cher and Selena.

For Halloween the year before that, in 2016, Kylie Jenner made a splash with her Christina Aguilera-inspired outfit, while sisters Kendall, Kourtney Kardashian, and Khloe have also sported elaborate, accurate looks for the holiday over the years.

Here are 16 of their best Halloween looks to date.

In 2008, Khloe dressed up as a cop while Kim wore a flapper-style outfit.

The two went for totally different costumes, yet still managed to coordinate.



In 2010, Kim put her spin on the classic Little Red Riding Hood costume.

She wore the costume to Heidi Klum's Halloween party, where the supermodel is known to wear some intricate costumes.



Also in 2010, Kim took a selfie wearing a semi-sheer, leopard-print bodysuit.

She wore a headband to match.



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IoT Report: How Internet of Things technology is now reaching mainstream companies and consumers

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This is a preview of the Internet of Things (2018) research report from Business Insider Intelligence. To learn more about the IoT ecosystem, tech trends and industry forecasts, click here.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming how companies and consumers go about their days around the world. The technology that underlies this whole segment is evolving quickly, whether it’s the rapid rise of the Amazon Echo and voice assistants upending the consumer space, or growth of AI-powered analytics platforms for the enterprise market.

Investments into Internet of Things solutions

And Business Insider Intelligence is keeping its finger on the pulse of this ongoing revolution by conducting our second annual Global IoT Executive Survey, which provides us with critical insights on new developments within the IoT and explains how top-level perspectives are changing year-to-year. Our survey includes more than 400 responses from key executives around the world, including C-suite and director-level respondents.

Through this exclusive study and in-depth research into the field, Business Insider Intelligence details the components that make up the IoT ecosystem. We size the IoT market and use exclusive data to identify key trends in device installations and investment. And we profile the enterprise and consumer IoT segments individually, drilling down into the drivers and characteristics that are shaping each market.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

  • We project that there will be more than 55 billion IoT devices by 2025, up from about 9 billion in 2017.
  • We forecast that there will be nearly $15 trillion in aggregate IoT investment between 2017 and 2025, with survey data showing that companies' plans to invest in IoT solutions are accelerating.
  • The report highlights the opinions and experiences of IoT decision-makers on topics that include: drivers for adoption; major challenges and pain points; deployment and maturity of IoT implementations; investment in and utilization of devices; the decision-making process; and forward- looking plans.

In full, the report:

  • Provides a primer on the basics of the IoT ecosystem.
  • Offers forecasts for the IoT moving forward, and highlights areas of interest in the coming years.
  • Looks at who is and is not adopting the IoT, and why.
  • Highlights drivers and challenges facing companies that are implementing IoT solutions.

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