Pro-democracy protesters clashed with riot police outside a mall on Sunday, with some activists vandalising a nearby subway station and defacing a Chinese flag, but plans to disrupt the airport did not materialise.

Police fired brief volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets in the northern town of Sha Tin late Sunday afternoon, capping a day which saw thousands rally peacefully inside a mall before the mood soured.

Authorities reduced rail and bus links to the city’s airport while police stepped up security checks in a successful bid to stop a crowd from massing at the bustling transport hub.

The airport – the world’s eighth busiest – has become a frequent target for demonstrators pushing for greater democratic rights and police accountability.

Online forums used by the largely leaderless movement had called for a "stress test" of the airport on Sunday, code for disrupting travel links or occupying buildings.

Instead thousands gathered inside a mall in the northern town of Sha Tin to sing protest songs and make origami cranes, the latest rally in what has now been 16 consecutive weekends of protests and clashes.

Many shops inside the complex shuttered but the unsanctioned rally remained civil for much of the afternoon.

"Even if we are very tired, we can’t give up on our rights," a teacher at the rally, who have her surname as Ching, told AFP.

"If it (the movement) stretches to 100 days, 200 days or even 1,000 days and we still don’t get what we want, we will continue to come out."

The White House is preparing to formally object to Democrats’ impeachment inquiry as soon as Friday, saying it won’t cooperate with the probe because it was initiated without a vote of the House.

The White House Counsel’s Office was preparing to send a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi objecting to the form of the impeachment investigation, a person familiar with the matter said late Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the letter before its dissemination.

Pelosi last week announced that the House was beginning the formal inquiry but didn’t seek the consent of the full chamber, as was done for impeachment investigations into former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, confirmed that the letter was forthcoming.

Trump allies have suggested for days that without a formal vote, the House is merely conducting standard oversight, entitling lawmakers to a lesser level of disclosure from the administration. The Justice Department raised similar arguments last month, though that was before Pelosi announced the impeachment investigation.

In a letter Thursday to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Pelosi argued, "There is no requirement under the Constitution, under House Rules, or House precedent that the whole House vote before proceeding with an impeachment inquiry."

There’s no clear-cut procedure in the Constitution for launching an impeachment inquiry, leaving many of these questions about obstruction untested in court, said Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University.

"There’s no specification in the Constitution in what does and does not constitute a more formal impeachment inquiry or investigation," he said. "One can argue if they’re in an impeachment investigation, they’re in an impeachment."

Giuliani dismissed the entire premise of the impeachment inquiry, which is centered on Trump asking Ukraine to investigate his possible political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

"The president was not tasking Ukraine to investigate a political opponent," Giuliani told The Associated Press on Thursday. "He wanted an investigation into a seriously conflicted former vice president of the United States who damaged the reputation of the United States in Ukraine."

President Trump impeachment support

Democrats have sought to use their declared impeachment investigation to bolster their case to access all sorts of documents from the administration, most recently secret grand jury information that underpinned special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

They have also threatened to use the administration’s refusal to turn over documents and make witnesses available to potentially form an article of impeachment over "obstruction" of the congressional inquiry.

Where courts have generally required congressional oversight requests to demonstrate a legitimate legislative purpose, impeachment requests could be wide-ranging.

It is unclear if Democrats would wade into a lengthy legal fight with the administration over documents and testimony – or if they would just move straight to considering articles of impeachment.

Pelosi has sought to avoid a vote on the impeachment probe for the same reason she resisted, for months, liberal calls to try to remove the president: It would force moderate House Democrats to make a politically risky vote.

The White House, meanwhile, is trying to force the question on Democrats, as it seeks to raise the political cost for their impeachment investigation and to animate the president’s supporters ahead of the 2020 election.

Turkish mortars killed one 12-year-old boy and ripped off a young girl’s leg as Turkey pummeled Kurdish-held towns on the second day of its assault on northern Syria on Thursday. 

Muhammad Yusuf Hussein and his 7-year-old sister Sarah were hit in a strike on Qamishli, the de facto capital of the unrecognised Kurdish statelet of Rojava.     

On the other side of the border, Turkish authorities said four children including a nine-month old baby had been killed in retaliatory fire.

They were the youngest of at least 15 civilians killed in artillery and airstrikes in Turkey’s bid to create a "safe zone" in a large swathe of territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia.

Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG, the dominant force in the SDF, to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a decades long insurgency against Ankara and is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and Nato allies including Britain.   

Read more | Syria crisis

Witnesses said there was intense shelling in both directions around Ras al Ain and Tal Abyad, the two key border towns that anchor a 60-mile stretch of border where Turkey is making its main assault.  

Mr Erdogan claimed 109 "terrorists" were killed in the offensive, a reference to the Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Early in the day the SDF struck a defiant note, saying they had repulsed a Turkish attack on the town of Tal Abyad and said claims Turkey had made any advance east the the Euphrates were false.

The SDF also said they had defeated attacks on villages by Islamic State sleeper cells taking advantage of the Turkish offensive.

But by late afternoon, the sheer weight and technical superiority of Turkey’s Nato-standard army was beginning to tell.

Turkey – Syria map

Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebel groups backed by aircraft and tanks seized key roads and villages around both cities.

“The Turks have installed themselves on the See Kanie-Hasakah road” said a SDF source, referring to the main road south of Ras al-Ain. “Attacks were carried out from three sides. Turkish planes have been striking from the air. At the same time, their heavy weapons haven’t stopped.”

The National Army, a Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group taking part in the offensive, claimed both cities were completely surrounded. The claim could not immediately be confirmed.

In a sign Bashar Assad’s Russian-backed forces would not oppose the offensive, a minister described the SDF as "separatists" who had provided Turkey with a pretext for the attack. 

Asked whether Damascus would resume dialogue with the Kurdish-led forces, deputy foreign minister  Faisal Maqdad, rejected the suggestion and called them “armed groups who had betrayed their country and committed crimes against it.”   

Turkish officials said a total of six civilians, including the children, had been killed on the Turkish side of the border.

Activists in Syria said at least 15 civilians and eight Kurdish fighters had been killed. Doctors in Tal Tamr, a Kurdish town south of Ras al-Ain, said they had seen another 10 dead and treated 25 wounded civilians, many with head or stomach injuries, since the assault began on Wednesday afternoon.

The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said at least 60,000 civilians had been displaced by fighting, with large convoys of civilian cars heading south and east away from the front lines.  

Authorities said they were also struggling with a large number of displaced civilians attempting to cross the border into Iraqi Kurdistan.

One woman, who only gave her name only as Khabat, told the Telegraph she had fled the Ras al-Ain overnight on Wednesday after the shelling started. "We cannot stay here for one second of Turkish occupation. We do not want to become like the people of Afrin," she said referring to a previous offensive by Turkey on a Kurdish-majority city to the west.

She said she would first go south to Hasakah province where she had family, but was contemplating fleeing Syria altogether. "Rojava will never be safe, ever, not as long as Assad and Erdogan are in power."

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the goal of the operation is to "prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area."  

He has said he wants to settle Syrian Arab refugees along the border to create a buffer zone, in what critics say would be an act of ethnic cleansing.

International aid agencies warned of an escalating humanitarian crisis, saying that civilians were at risk "as violence escalates."

An estimated 450,000 people live within three miles of the border with Turkey "and are at risk if all sides do not exercise maximum restraint and prioritize the protection of civilians," a statement from 14 organizations, including Doctors of the World and Oxfam, said. 

With the exception of Qatar, an ally of Ankara’s, countries lined up to criticise the Turkish offensive.  

French President Emmanuel Macron condenmed the assault, summoning the Turkish ambassador to Paris. "Turkey is today forgetting that the priority of the international community in Syria is the fight against Daesh and terrorism," Mr Macron said. "It is creating a humanitarian risk for millions of people."

Donald Trump, whose decision to withdraw US troops from the area earlier this week effectively gave a green light to the offensive, said he would “hit Turkey very hard financially & with sanctions if they don’t play by the rules!”

Norway, a Nato ally of Turkey, announced it was suspending all arms exports to the country.

Iran, a close ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, called on Thursday for “an immediate halt” to the offensive and demanded Turkish forces withdraw.

In a rare moment of alignment with its arch enemy, Israel also condemned the assault "in the strongest terms" and offered  "humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people."  

"Israel warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies," said Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister.  

Domnic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, said he spoke to Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to express “disappointment and concern” about the military incursion into NE Syria, and call for restraint. Penny Mordaunt, the former defence secretary, was more blunt.

“Bad for refugees. Bad for security. Bad for future defence. Bad for the rules based order. Bad for Nato,” she wrote of the Turkish operation on Twitter. “Good for just about every terrorist organisation and hostile state you care to name.”

Donald Trump was accused of undermining his own diplomats when he appeared to endorse Turkey’s offensive into Northern Syria and compared the Kurdish groups they claim to be fighting to Islamic State. 

Speaking as Mike Pence, the US vice president, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, flew into Ankara for emergency talks to persuade Recep Tayyip Erdogan to halt his offensive, Mr Trump said Kurdish forces US troops had recently fought alongside were "no angels"

"The PKK, which is a part of the Kurds, as you know, is probably worse at terror and more of a terrorist threat in many ways than ISIS," he said at the White House. 

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that has claimed thousands of lives. It is classified as a terrorist organization by most Nato states. 

Turkey says the YPG, the dominant Kurdish group in the Syrian Democratic Forces militia that fought alongside US troops to defeat Islamic State, is an extension of the PKK. It launched an offensive into Syria to crush the group after Mr Trump ordered US forces out of northern Syria last week. 

The comments were greeted with disbelief by senior US officials. 

Lindsey Graham, the republican senator for South Carolina and a Trump loyalist, described Mr Trump’s comments as "a complete and utter national security disaster in the making."

"The statements by President Trump about Turkey’s invasion being of no concern to us also completely undercut Vice President Pence and Sec. Pompeo’s ability to end the conflict," he wrote on Twitter. 

The remarks followed a day of reverses to US credibility in the Middle East that saw Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly defy US calls to halt his offensive and agree to fly to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin instead.

In an address to Turkey’s parliament later, he said: "There are some leaders who are trying to mediate… There has never been any such thing in the history of the Turkish republic as the state sitting at the same table with a terror organisation."

"Our proposal is for the terrorists to lay down their arms, leave their equipment, destroy the traps they have created, and leave the safe zone we designated, as of tonight…If this is done, our Operation Peace Spring will end by itself."

Heavy fighting between Kurdish and Turkish-backed forces continued in key border city of Ras al-Ain on Wednesday, and Kurdish officials said Turkey resumed shelling around the city of Derik. 

The Rojava Information Centre, an information agency run by international volunteers in Kurdish-held areas of Syria, said regime forces were supporting Kurdish fighters and that Turkish aircraft had ceased flying in the area since Russian and Syrian jets appeared overhead. 

Meanwhile authorities in neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan said 800 refugees had fled across the border.

The United Nations estimates over 160,000 people have been displaced since the Turkish offensive began on October 9. 

Mr Trump’s withdrawal from Syria has upended the geo-political balance in the region, leaving Russia as the undisputed power-broker in Syria and poised to fill a power vacuum left by the US across the Middle East. 

The formerly US-allied Kurdish leadership announced they had agreed to align with Russia and the Syrian government in a bid to halt the Turkish attack on Sunday night.

Syrian government troops and Russian forces started patrols in areas abandoned by US forces on Tuesday evening. 

On Wednesday they entered Kobani, the strategic border town where Kurdish and US forces first defeated Islamic State  in 2015.

The Kremlin said Mr Erdogan accepted an invitation to Moscow in the coming days during a phone call with Mr Putin on Tuesday night. 

The two presidents discussed the need to "prevent conflict between units of the Turkish army and Syrian government armed forces," it said in a readout posted on its website.

It said Mr Putin also warned Mr Erdogan was it would be "unacceptable" to allow Isil prisoners held by the Kurds to exploit the chaos unfolding on the ground.

Mr Trump defended his decision on Wednesday, saying: "I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the United States, strategically brilliant."

It has emerged that Mr Trump had sent President Erdogan a stern letter, dated last Wednesday, warning him over the invasion of Syria. 

“History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way," Mr Trump wrote in the letter.

"It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don’t happen. Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!”

Meanwhile a Democratic congressional leadership meeting with Mr Trump to discuss Syrian policy broke down in acrimony on Wednesday. 

The Democrats left the meeting early, accusing Mr Trump of having a "meltdown" and having gone on a "nasty diatribe".

Republicans criticised the Democrats for walking out of the talks. 

President Donald Trump has claimed the US had saved the lives of “thousands” in Syria and took credit for the ceasefire, in a bombastic speech declaring the end of American involvement in the war.

“This is an outcome created by us, the United States, and nobody else,” he said, addressing reporters at the White House a day after Turkey and Russia brokered a deal for Kurdish-held north-east Syria without the US president.

Mr Trump green-lit a Turkish-led offensive along the Syrian border two weeks ago, effectively abandoning Kurdish partners who had helped to defeat Islamic State.

International condemnation followed as hundreds of thousands of civilians fled the fighting and more than 80 Syrian civilians were killed.

#Russian military vehicles entering the city of #Kobani on the border with #Turkey. #VOA pic.twitter.com/6was7YmHaK

— Sirwan Kajjo (@SirwanKajjo) October 23, 2019

Mr Trump imposed sanctions on Ankara in response to its offensive moves, but announced in his speech that these would be lifted if the ceasefire held.

"We’ve avoided another costly military intervention, many thousands of people could have been killed,” he said, flanked by Mike Pence, Vice President, and Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State.

“Turkey, Syria and all forms of the Kurds have been fighting for centuries. We have done them a great service, a great job for all of them,” he said, declaring the US was done fighting others’ wars. “We’re getting out. Let’s someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand.”

He promised in the future to only deploy American troops into battle when the US’s national interests are at stake, and only when there was a plan to win. “We will only win,” he said.

His claims of success bore little resemblance to the reality on the ground, however, and were likely intended for his base at home to whom he had promised an end to "endless wars".

The US president’s announcement came a day after a deal was struck between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin to "facilitate the removal" from the border region of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters.

The agreement will also see Turkey preserve a so-called "safe zone" inside Syria about 75 miles long and 20 miles deep. 

Turkey’s defense ministry said that the withdrawal from the buffer zone would mean that there was “no further need to conduct a new operation,” preventing a feared humanitarian catastrophe.

The deal effectively redraws the map of northern Syria and ends nearly six years of autonomy carved out by the local Kurdish administration. 

Russian and allied Syrian government forces began patrolling for the first time yesterday in towns US forces were once stationed. 

Humvees bearing Russian flags were filmed driving into Kobane, marking the first pro-regime presence in the area in more than seven years.

The talks, which took place in Mr Putin’s dacha in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, confirmed Moscow’s position as powerbroker in Syria.

"The United States has been the Kurds’ closest ally in recent years. (But) in the end, it abandoned the Kurds and, in essence, betrayed them," Dmitri Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said pointedly on Wednesday. "Now they (the Americans) prefer to leave the Kurds at the border (with Turkey) and almost force them to fight the Turks."

Or as Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, put it: “When you are present on the ground, then you are also present on the negotiating table."

The US, which did not have a seat at the table for Tuesday’s talks, has been shut out of decision-making and left with little leverage to demand assurances for its former Kurdish partners.

Mark Esper, US secretary of defence, meanwhile, was in Baghdad on Wednesday meeting with Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to manage the fallout of their quick retreat.

The US withdrew the bulk of its some 1,000 troops from Syria on Monday, greeted on the way out by Kurdish residents throwing rotten fruit and holding up signs reading: “We will not forget this betrayal”.

The Pentagon had announced the troops were expected to move to western Iraq to continue the campaign against Islamic State and "to help defend Iraq".

But it appeared the move was not first approved by Baghdad, which issued a statement saying they did not have the right to remain in the country.

Mr Esper was told he had 30 days to remove the troops.

The Ukrainian government and Russia-backed separatists have begun withdrawing forces from an eastern Ukraine town in a step toward new peace talks with Moscow over the five-year conflict.  

At an investment forum on Tuesday in Mariupol, a city near separatist-held areas, foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko said Ukraine was pulling back troops from the contact line in Zolote and would next work toward a similar withdrawal from the town of Petrovske.  

Ukrainian forces fired a small white rocket in the air to show their readiness, and troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic answered with their own signal flare, a separatist spokesman said. They fired a green flare as they started pulling back, all under the gaze of observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The operation must be completed within three days.

Originally slated for October 7, the joint withdrawal was delayed as both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire that has frequently been broken since 2015. The Ukrainian military accused the separatists of firing machine guns and grenades at a position near Zolote on Tuesday, but later said the clash occurred outside the withdrawal area. 

The Zolote and Petrovske stand-downs were first planned at a meeting in Minsk of representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the separatists as part of an effort by recently elected president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to revitalise the stalled peace process. 

Volunteer soldiers affiliated with a far-right group argued against the withdrawal in a heated meeting with Mr Zelenskiy when he visited Zolote last week. 

Nationalists have also been protesting the “Steinmeier formula” agreed in Minsk, which foresees free elections in the separatist areas in exchange for a special status on autonomy. 

Mr Zelenskiy has been pushing to reconvene the Normandy format involving the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine for peace talks. 

Mr Prystaiko said not all participants had agreed on a preliminary date set for the talks but Kyiv hopes they would take place in November. 

The Kremlin signalled on Tuesday it was ready to come to the negotiating table if both withdrawals were successfully completed. 

“If everything works out in Zolote, similar procedures must immediately be taken in Petrovske,” said Vladislav Surkov, an aide to Vladimir Putin. “After that, without slowing down, preparations for the Normandy summit must be started.”

Mr Zelenskiy showed a willingness to negotiate by calling Vladimir Putin in July and pushed through prisoner swap with Russia involving 70 people in September. He also oversaw a troop withdrawal and reconstruction of a bridge between government and separatist areas in Stanytsia Luhanska. 

Despite backing the “Steinmeier formula,” the sides have differed on the details, with the separatists pushing back against Kyiv’s insistance that the border with Russia first be brought back under its control.

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More than 10,000 people have been killed since separatists seized cities in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

A Court in Dublin has handed down a life sentence to one teenage boy and a 15-year term to another teenage boy for the murder of a 14-year-old girl in May 2018.

The body of Ana Kriegel was found in a disused farmhouse in a village to the west of Dublin on May 17, 2018 following an extensive search.

Her mother had reported her missing three days previously.

She was naked apart from the socks on her feet and a ligature made from distinctive blue builder’s tape which was found wrapped around her neck. There were various items of clothing strewn around the room.

Test results revealed that Ana had been the victim of an aggravated sexual assault and a vicious assault.

The police quickly arrested two boys, then aged 13.

In the first case of its kind in the Republic of Ireland, the two boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons because they are both minors, were tried in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.

Boy A and Boy B as they were known, both denied murder.

The trial, which started in April 2019, heard that the two boys gave varying accounts of their own and each other’s movements the day of the murder.

However, forensic experts presented DNA and other evidence connecting both boys to the murder scene. CCTV footage also showed both boys accompanying the young girl to the farmhouse.

The court also heard that Ana, who was born in Russia on February 18, 2004 and adopted by Geraldine and Patric Kriegél two and a half years later, had been subjected to an ongoing campaign of intimidation and bullying at school.

The jury of eight men and four woman delivered a unanimous guilty verdict on June 18 after six days of deliberations.

Earlier today, Justice Paul McDermott sentenced Boy A, 15, to life in detention, but that his case is to be reviewed after 12 years.

Boy A had been found guilty of sexual assault as well as the physical assault that caused Ana’s death.

Boy B, also 15, was sentenced to 15 years for the murder of Ana, although the judge ordered that his case be reviewed after eight years.

Mr Justice McDermott said both sentences had to be proportionate to the severity of the crime. He noted that neither boy was suffering from a mental illness, although in mitigation he took into account their young age and potential for rehabilitation.

CALABASAS, CA — Investigators found no indication that engine failure contributed to the helicopter crash in Calabasas that killed Laker legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others, according to preliminary report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.

All significant components of the helicopter were found in the wreckage area, according to the report. Investigators examined the main and tail rotor assemblies, and they found damage consistent with powered rotation at the time of impact, the report said.

“Viewable sections of the engines showed no evidence of an uncontained or catastrophic internal failure,” according to the report. “The No. 2 engine first-stage compressor blades exhibited tip curl in the direction opposite of rotation, consistent with powered rotation at the time of impact.”

The preliminary report makes no conclusions on the cause of the crash but gives a general summary of information gathered by investigators so far. The full review of the crash — and a determination on the cause — could take as long as 18 months.

“Our investigators have already developed a substantial amount of evidence about the circumstances of this tragic crash,” NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt said in a statement. “And we are confident that we will be able to determine its cause as well as any factors that contributed to it so we can make safety recommendations to prevent accidents like this from occurring again.”

Victims of the Jan. 26 crash were: Kobe Bryant, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13; John Altobelli, 56, longtime Orange Coast College baseball coach, along with his wife, Keri, 46, and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa, who was a teammate of Gianna on Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy basketball team; Sarah Chester, 45, and her 13-year-old daughter Payton, who also played with Gianna and Alyssa; Christina Mauser, 38, an assistant coach on the Mamba Academy team; and Ara Zobayan, 50, the helicopter pilot.

The Sikorsky SK76B crashed about 9:45 a.m. during a flight from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to Camarillo. The passengers were heading to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for a basketball tournament game.

The NTSB preliminary report notes that “the entire fuselage/cabin and both engines were subjected to a postcrash fire.”

“The cockpit was highly fragmented. The instrument panel was destroyed, and most instruments were displaced from their panel mounts,” according to the report.

The report includes earlier information released by NTSB, such as that the pilot contacted air-traffic controllers at about 9:45 a.m. “and advised he was climbing above cloud layers.” An air-traffic controller asked the pilot his intentions, and he replied he was climbing to 4,000 feet, the report said.

According to the report, radar data indicate the helicopter was flying about 1,500 feet above the Ventura (101) Freeway near Las Virgenes, then began turning left and began descending, reaching a descent speed of more than 4,000 feet per minute.

The report includes several photos of the crash area, some from stationary cameras in the area, one from a witness near the crash site and one from a security camera that shows the helicopter flying into clouds in the area.

It also includes a description from a witness who was on a mountain bike trail and told investigators he heard the helicopter approaching.

“He perceived the sound getting louder and saw a blue and white helicopter emerge from the clouds passing from left to right directly to his left,” according to the report. “He judged it to be moving fast, traveling on a forward and descending trajectory. It started to roll to the left such that he caught a glimpse of its belly. He observed it for 1 to 2 seconds, before it impacted terrain about 50 feet below his position.”

Related Coverage:

Kobe Bryant, Daughter, 7 Others Killed In Helicopter Crash

World Mourns Kobe Bryant While Investigators Search For Answers

This weekend, horror and fantasy genres dominate the new releases coming to theaters near you.

In the latest iteration of “The Invisible Man,” Elisabeth Moss plays a married woman trapped in an abusive relationship with a wealthy, brilliant scientist (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), whose reign of terror will drive her to the brink of madness.

Looking for a wild spin on the “Peter Pan” myth? Look no further than “Wendy,” in which Devin France plays the titular character of a young girl who crosses paths with a mysterious boy (Yashua Mack) who leads her to a lush island that is larger than life.

Here’s what to see and what to skip this weekend:

“The Invisible Man” — Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen; directed by Leigh Whannell

From Leigh Whannell, creator of the “Saw” series, comes “The Invisible Man,” the latest incarnation of H.G. Wells’ iconic scientist known for his invisibility, heightened narcissism and insatiable thirst to stoke fear and horror.

In this latest non-literary version, the story is a portrait of an unhappy woman trapped in an abusive relationship. Portrayed by Elisabeth Moss, that woman is Cecilia, a battered wife who becomes determined to leave her violent and controlling husband, the wealthy scientist Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), once and for all.

Eventually, the thirty-something woman carries out her daring escape plan in the middle of the night, dashing out of their sprawling beachside estate while Adrian is sound asleep. Moments later, Cecilia manages to flee the highly secured cliffside compound and disappear into hiding, aided by her sister Emily (Harriet Dyer), the siblings’ old friend James (Aldis Hodge) and his teenaged daughter Sydney (Storm Reid).

Several weeks later, Adrian commits suicide and leaves Cecilia a windfall of fortune, setting in motion a myriad of strange and frightening events that will drive Cecilia to the brink of madness. Is Adrian truly dead? Or has he figured out a way to be invisible while stalking and terrorizing our heroine?

See it. Whannell’s modern tale of psychopathy and vengeance is clever, further elevated by Moss’ electrifying performance. However, the last 20 minutes of the movie are somewhat formulaic.

Watch the trailer:

“Wendy” — Devin France, Yashua Mack; directed by Benh Zeitlin

After Benh Zeitlin won Hollywood’s heart in 2012 with his Oscar-nominated feature debut, “Beasts of The Southern Wild,” the writer-director is back with his follow-up, “Wendy,” a folkloric reimagination of J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan.”

At the center of the story is the titular character, Wendy, who is first introduced as a 3-year-old girl (Tommie Milazzo) who lives with her single mom (Shay Walker) in a Louisiana suburb.

One night, the toddler notices the mysterious figure of a boy running on top of a moving freight train. Who could that image be? Well, you guessed right: It’s none other than Peter Pan.

Years later, Wendy (Devin France), now 10 years old, spots the shadow figure of Peter (Yashua Mack) again. However, this time around, the young girl feels jubilant yet mystified and decides to jump onto the train herself along with her twin brothers, James and Douglas (Gage and Gavin Naquin).

As their childhood fantasies unfold before their eyes, Peter leads the trio to a lush and enchanting island that symbolizes eternal youth.

See it. Zeitlin’s take on “Peter Pan” is wildly imaginative and visually stunning, notwithstanding its wobbly structure.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously advanced a bill tying legal protections for online platforms to efforts to combat child sexual abuse material.

The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act would amend Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act to allow federal and state claims against online companies that host child exploitation.

Section 230, which has come under increased scrutiny since President TrumpDonald John TrumpHouse panel approves 0.5B defense policy bill House panel votes against curtailing Insurrection Act powers after heated debate House panel votes to constrain Afghan drawdown, ask for assessment on ‘incentives’ to attack US troops MORE targeted it in an executive order in May, gives internet companies immunity from lawsuits for content posted on their sites by third parties and allows them to make “good faith” efforts to moderate content.

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The legislation advanced on Thursday would create a government-backed commission to develop “best practices” for purging child sexual abuse material from the internet.

An earlier version of the bill had conditioned Section 230 liability protections on compliance with those best practices, but a manager’s amendment from Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamThe Hill’s Campaign Report: The political heavyweights in Tuesday’s primary fights Harrison goes on the attack against Graham in new South Carolina Senate ad Overnight Defense: Lawmakers demand answers on reported Russian bounties for US troops deaths in Afghanistan | Defense bill amendments target Germany withdrawal, Pentagon program giving weapons to police MORE (R-S.C.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) removed that tie after intense criticism. The amendment was unanimously approved on Thursday.

Graham and Blumenthal’s amendment also removed a portion of the bill that would have opened up companies to lawsuits if they “recklessly” provided a service that was then used in the distribution of child exploitation.

Despite the unanimous approval of the amended measure, it still faces harsh opposition in the Senate and among some advocacy groups.

Sen. Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenThe Hill’s 12:30 Report: Democratic proposal to extend 0 unemployment checks Senate Democrats offer plan to extend added jobless benefits during pandemic Hillicon Valley: Facebook takes down ‘boogaloo’ network after pressure | Election security measure pulled from Senate bill | FCC officially designating Huawei, ZTE as threats MORE (D-Ore.) slammed the new version of the bill Wednesday, saying it would do little to stop child sex abuse material online and also endanger encryption.

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“Unfortunately, the new bill will do even less than the previous version to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, target the monsters who produce and share it or help victims of these evil crimes,” he said. “By allowing any individual state to set laws for internet content, this bill will create massive uncertainty, both for strong encryption and free speech online. 

Threats to encryption, which makes it impossible for companies or governments to access private communications between devices, have been a major sticking point for industry and privacy groups opposed to the legislation. Critics say the bill could force tech companies into creating backdoors for the government, which they say would be accessed by bad actors, in order to maintain Section 230 protections.

“The internet industry appreciates that the bill’s authors now recognize the serious Fourth Amendment concerns raised by the EARN IT Act, as introduced, and continues to share their goal of ending child exploitation online,” said Mike Lemon, senior director at the Internet Association, a trade group representing Silicon Valley in Washington.

“However, the proposed manager’s amendment to the EARN IT Act replaces one set of problems with another by opening the door to an unpredictable and inconsistent set of standards under state laws that pose many of the same risks to strong encryption.”

Graham and Blumenthal both addressed the encryption concerns on Thursday.

“My goal is not to outlaw encryption,” Graham said, but later added that “if law enforcement organizations or intelligence operations obtain a lawful warrant, there has to be a way to get the information to protect public safety and our national security.”

“This bill is not about encryption and it never will be,” Blumenthal said, arguing that encryption can be compatible and consistent with a targeted approach.

The committee also adopted an encryption amendment offered by Sen. Patrick LeahyPatrick Joseph LeahyOvernight Defense: Navy won’t reinstate fired captain | Dems probe use of federal officers in DC | Air Force appoints woman as top noncommissioned officer Dems request watchdog probe use of federal law enforcement in DC during Floyd protests Fights over police reform, COVID-19 delay Senate appropriations markups MORE. His amendment would exclude encryption from being factored into an online platform’s liability.

Critics worry, however, that even if the bill does not specifically make encryption a condition, the threat of lawsuits from state and federal regulators would dissuade companies from implementing encryption and make them unable to moderate some messages.

“By kicking the issue to the states, Sens. Graham and Blumenthal propose an even stealthier move to mandate backdoors to encryption,” Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel at NetChoice, said in a statement. “EARN IT enables existing state laws to undermine encryption for every American, from coast to coast.”

Reports of child sexual exploitation online have skyrocketed in recent years, as criminals use platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to spread images and videos.

Some lawmakers have proposed legislation that would tackle child sexual abuse material online without affecting Section 230.

Wyden and Rep. Anna EshooAnna Georges EshooShort-term health plans leave consumers on the hook for massive medical costs, investigation finds Exclusive investigation on the coronavirus pandemic: Where was Congress? Hillicon Valley: Conspiracy theories run rampant online amid Floyd protests | First lawsuit filed against Trump social media order | Snapchat to no longer promote Trump’s account MORE (D-Calif.) introduced the Invest in Child Safety Act in May, which would provide $5 billion in investigations of the content and create a White House office to coordinate efforts to track it.