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BARNARD: OK. So first of all, in 2011, there were protests against Assad, asking for more political freedom in Syria. That morphed into an armed conflict after the government crackdown on protests and some Syrians began taking up arms. |
Foreign players started to fund those groups and there was an array of different rebel groups fighting Assad. Now that conflict has been sort of in the background in terms of international attention while everyone was worried about ISIS and how it might affect them back home. |
But it never stops. And now the Syrian government is turning its attention back to trying to defeat the last major rebel-held pockets of the country. The government has been on the march, especially since Russia entered the conflict on the side of the government, and been bombarding not only ISIS but also the other reb... |
At the same time, there's many civilians in those areas and they are bearing the brunt of the attacks. There have been numerous strikes on medical facilities. There's reports and video evidence of many children being affected; women, families being hit by missiles and barrel bombs and other munitions, that are just see... |
HOWELL: Anne Barnard, thank you so much for your time and your reporting. We certainly invite viewers to check out your article in "The New York Times." Again, the bureau chief for Beirut, for "The New York Times," thank you. |
HOWELL: The first medals of the Winter Games have been awarded. We'll tell you who has taken home the gold -- still ahead. |
center in PyeongChang, sporting events are certainly under way after Friday's dazzling opening ceremony. The latest medal race, the women's 3,000-meter speed skating is set to start in just a few minutes' time. |
Also, a few hours ago, the first medals were awarded for the games. For Sweden, Charlotte Kalla took home the gold in the women's 15- kilometer skiathlon. And of Norway, Marit Bjoergen took home the silver, making her the most decorated woman in the history of the Winter Olympics. Finland won the bronze medal. An excit... |
Thanks so much for being with us for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. For our viewers in the United States, "NEW DAY" is next and for our viewers around the world, "AMANPOUR" starts in a moment. Thanks for watching CNN, the world's news leader. |
The pressure was so intense and the executive branch so isolating that black staff members sought out one another, first for hugs and pep talks, then a brunch of about a dozen, and then, finally, the inaugural meeting of a group that now represents hundreds of African-Americans who’ve served at the highest levels of fe... |
Current and former African American appointees met on Sept. 24, 2016 in Washington, D.C., to commemorate their service to the Obama Administration. The convening followed an historic weekend of events celebrating the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Sammy Mayo Jr. |
Days away from the swearing-in of President-elect Donald Trump and what they jokingly refer to as their “expiration date,” nearly 20 African-American appointees shared memories of the thrills and challenges of being black in the Obama White House. |
They listed policy breakthroughs and favorite moments, but also their sacrifices: eight years of missed birthdays and canceled dinner dates, accepted by their families because, like the rest of black America, they knew that this president’s performance would reflect on them all. |
They spoke not only of Obama’s legacy but also of their own, wondering what would become of the vibrant black political class that sprang from this administration. |
Jason R.L. Wallace’s introduction to the Obama team came through serendipity, when his car broke down in Washington on Thanksgiving Day in 2008. |
At the time, Obama was president-elect and Wallace was an ambitious young Howard University student who’d already interned at the White House under President George W. Bush. He’d discovered a knack for “advance” work, handling the logistics of presidential travel. |
Always on the lookout for networking opportunities, Wallace kept a stack of résumés with him wherever he went, a move that paid off when he was stranded on the side of the road. |
Wallace and the Obama aide chatted. He told her about his work for Bush and handed her a résumé before they parted ways. Not long after that, Wallace received a phone call: Michelle Obama was doing an event on the Howard campus – could he help? |
“I ended up traveling with the first lady for four years,” Wallace recalled with a laugh. |
Wallace’s job gave him an insider’s view of what the Obamas were like away from the cameras. He was used to staying in the background, a behind-the-scenes guy whose job was to make travel seamless. But Michelle Obama noticed him, like the time she surprised him with a hug after a long day’s work in Los Angeles. |
On another presidential trip, to India, Wallace was nervous about proposing to his girlfriend. He polled all the guys around – the agents, the staffers – about what marriage was like. But the best answer, he said, came from watching the Obamas greet each other after a long day of travel and official appearances. |
Wallace, who was escorting the first lady, stepped aside when the president arrived, but remained within earshot. The couple hugged and kissed, then teased each other about television appearances, Wallace recalled. |
The Obamas’ historical significance became real to him in March 2015, when he worked their trip to Selma, Alabama, where the couple walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 50 years after Alabama state police had beaten and tear-gassed peaceful protesters in the same spot. |
But there were also dispiriting moments that punctured the myth that Obama’s election had moved the country beyond centuries of entrenched racism. |
When former first lady Betty Ford died in the summer of 2011, Wallace happened to be in California, his home state. As the only advance staffer on the ground, it fell to him not only to arrange Michelle Obama’s logistics, but also to help former first families who were traveling to Palm Springs for the service: the Nix... |
The funeral was put together so quickly that the Secret Service agents in Palm Springs hadn’t received any “S-pins,” the staff pins that grant White House representatives access to restricted areas. They assured him he’d get in without one and gave him a Secret Service official’s business card to show guards once he go... |
Wallace arrived and was denied entry. White colleagues, who also didn’t have pins, were allowed in, he said. Local authorities detained him and stuck him in a police car on a blazing July day. |
“The first lady lands at the airport and I’m in the back seat of a police car and I’m getting all these calls saying, ‘Jason, where are you?’ ” Wallace recalled. |
Even while you’re working for the White House, you’re still black. |
White House officials eventually got him released, the officer who’d detained him was disciplined and the Secret Service apologized. Still, five years later, the sting remains. |
That awareness hit home for many when, in the second half of Obama’s final term, a string of police shootings of unarmed black people catalyzed a new civil rights movement. Several black appointees spoke of the anguish of that time, and also a shared frustration because they couldn’t express themselves freely in their ... |
Because they couldn’t join protests or vent on social media, African-Americans inside the administration began to organize quietly. Christina Cue, the daughter of a pastor and a teacher from Aiken, South Carolina, already had been thinking of a club to connect black appointees to one another and to communities through ... |
The first “meeting” of what would become the Black Presidential Appointees Association was a brunch Cue arranged with about a dozen staffers in October 2014, when African-Americans across the nation were in collective despair over the acquittal in the Trayvon Martin case and a string of other shootings of unarmed black... |
When they realized they didn’t even have firm figures for the number of African-American appointees, Cue and her friends began counting, office by office, building a tally through word of mouth. They opened membership to black appointees from previous administrations, with an eye toward building intergenerational conne... |
There were monthly meetings, each time at a different agency so that members could get a fuller picture of how the government works. They joined a White House conference call with black personnel to discuss responses to the wave of officer-involved shootings. |
As it turned out, they could do a lot. In a series of emotional interviews, black appointees described their quiet work that culminated in some of the administration’s seminal moments of African-American uplift. |
African-Americans have been the president’s backbone throughout this entire administration. |
The appointees beamed as they watched the official events they’d planned come to life, with African dancers in the East Wing and rappers snapping selfies at receptions. They welcomed as many African-Americans as they could to the White House, moved by the men and women who showed up in their Sunday best to see for them... |
But they recognize that there were disappointments, too. Many African-Americans are proud of the symbolism of the first black president but don’t think Obama did enough to improve the lives of ordinary black families, through changes on schools, affordable housing and law enforcement, for example. |
This is a sensitive spot for the appointees – they know the difficult, unseen work that went into addressing those issues, and they know the obstruction they met from a Republican-led Congress. Some appointees explain the hurdles. Others flip the question on the critics: What have you done? |
Many black staffers had assumed Hillary Clinton would win the election, leaving open the possibility that they’d continue to serve the executive branch. |
Donald Trump’s victory has introduced uncertainty: Would he appoint more than a few token African-Americans? Would black professionals even agree to serve Trump after his disparaging comments on racial minorities, immigrants and Muslims? |
For some, the answer is an emphatic “no.” They’re moving on to the private sector, starting nonprofits, applying for jobs on Capitol Hill. For others, it’s a dutiful “yes,” with the reasoning that people of color must be present in the Trump administration to represent the interests of minorities. |
Many more are unsure, wary of Trump’s record with people of color but eager to keep sharp the skills they’ve honed over the past eight years, eager to keep their hard-won place at the table. |
“We’re passionate about our respective issues. You’ll have someone from Department of Interior talking about pollinators. A colleague at the National Park Service ensuring that parks tell stories for all. Our folks from USDA will tell us why rural is critical,” Gidigbi said. |
Gidigbi had just wrapped up her last day of work with the Obama administration. She’d served in the Department of Transportation, a job she loved because of her interest in how transit issues intersect with race and housing concerns. |
Gidigbi is heading to the nonprofit world, to work on race, health and climate issues in American cities, a natural extension of her government work. This may be a bittersweet moment for many, but she’s entering post-Obama life feeling triumphant. |
City Year, Day of Service: 8 to 1 p.m. Monday, Laura Sanders Elementary School, 505 SW Eighth St., Homestead. All volunteers must register. To register, go to https://www.cityyear.org/miami/events/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-day-service. |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 5K Run/Walk: The 34th annual race starts at 8 a.m. Monday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Metrorail Station at 6205 NW 27th Ave., Miami. http://bit.ly/2jkPdzg. |
MLK Parade: Begins at 11 a.m. Monday and runs along Northwest 54th Street, from Northwest 10th to 32nd avenues. The parade ends with a celebration at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, 6000 NW 32nd Ct. |
MLK Day of Service in Allapattah: Volunteers will work on two projects: Comstock Elementary School Beautification and Senior Home Repair; 8 a.m. Monday. Check-in is at Juan Pablo Duarte Park, 2800 NW 17th Ave. 786-442-7504 or YMCAStandForSomething.org. |
YMCA Day of Service: From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, participate at one of 20 volunteer projects in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Register at https://ymcasouthfloridadonate.regfox.com/mlk-day-of-service-registration. |
Current and former African American appointees met on Sept. 24, 2016, in Washington, D.C., to commemorate their service to the Obama Administration. The convening followed an historic weekend of events celebrating the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Sammy Mayo Jr. Cou... |
The cricket teams of Australia under 19 and Ireland ‘A’ arrived for tours to Sri Lanka on Sunday. |
Australia under 19 will play four matches on their tour against Sri Lanka under 19 - a series of three Youth ODIs at the P Sara Oval on January 3, 5 and 7 and a one-off 3-day under 19 test at the SSC from January 10-12. |
Ireland ‘A’ are due to play two 4-day unofficial tests against Sri Lanka ‘A’ at SSC (Jan 5-8) and Hambantota (Jan 13-16) and a series of five unofficial ODIs at Hambantota (Jan 19 & 21), at SSC (Jan 24 & 26) and at the R Premadasa Stadium (Jan 29). |
They open their tour with a two-day warm-up match at Katunayake starting today. |
Deysi Crespo has served as executive director of Katy Christian Ministries for four years. The KCM food pantry recently changed to a client choice model in which clients can fill their carts with items they choose from the shelves. On Monday, Nov. 12, the pantry served a record number of clients — 98, said Crespo. |
For four years, Deysi Crespo has served as executive director of Katy Christian Ministries. |
The nonprofit based at 5504 First St. began providing social services in 1984. Its social services office helps families with emergency financial assistance, vouchers for clothing and referrals. Through the Crisis Center, victims of family violence and sexual abuse can receive emergency crisis intervention, shelter pla... |
Hurricane Harvey provided one of the biggest challenges for KCM which worked to repair its flooded offices while it continued to help clients. |
Upon the recommendation of Katy Mayor Chuck Brawner, Katy Christian Ministries recently received a donation from the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund at the North Texas Community Foundation. The proceeds came from the Nov. 28, 2017 “Helping Texans: A Hurricane Harvey Benefit” organized by Ed Bass and held in Fort Worth tha... |
How will Katy Christian Ministries use the donation received from Clint Black? |
Our case managers have done a phenomenal job. They are working continually. That’s what we’re here for. Their goal is to help as many families as possible. |
How has Katy Christian Ministries changed/grown since you became executive director? |
I can honestly tell you we have changed to being a transparent and financially healthy organization, with great policies and procedures in place. Our Financial Statements have proven to reflect full transparency and are in compliance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). The financial position of Katy C... |
Many thanks to the hard work in conjunction with the Board of Directors, KCM has achieved many milestones: Accredited by BBB of Greater Houston for three years, GuideStar-Gold Status for three years and Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability for two years. |
Every even year, KCM goes through a rigorous assessment utilizing a rigorous tool designed to capture the organization’s infrastructure, growth and sustainability. Here is our historical growth for which I am very proud of! |
We continued to be in good standing with the Houston Food Bank. In 2018, KCM was selected to become a referring pantry for the Food for Change Program administered by the Houston Food Bank in an effort to permanently improve people’s lives by addressing the root causes and downstream effects of food insecurity. With th... |
What are your goals for the next four years? |
Our goal for the next four years is to own our own property. I do not know when or how this will happen, but the Board of Directors and I do not want to be paying rent forever. Strategically, we are moving in the direction of assessing our current growth and assessing our community’s needs. In years to come, in collabo... |
We are goal-oriented. We focus on specific programs that meet our goal - how can we help our families. I believe in just being there for one another. We saw it through Harvey. We needed help but we were there to help families. |
How long have you lived in the Katy area and how has it changed? |
I’ve lived in the Katy area since 2003=15 years. I see it growing right in front of my eyes year after year. New developments and more people moving to this side of town. Likewise, the need has grown exponentially. |
What is your background and how did it help you when you came to Katy Christian Ministries? |
I first started as a volunteer. Then I held various positions as a leader in different capacities. With that skill set, I worked with various teams and various groups of people. My background is in social work. I have a huge heart to help people in need. Being at KCM is like a home for me. |
Victoria will look to develop policies that could see employees of government agencies not just using their personal phones or tablets in the office but choose to use their own applications in the workplace. |
An update of the state government's ICT strategy, issued today by Victoria's technology minister, Gordon Rich-Phillips, includes the development by February next year of a whole-of-government policy position that can be used by agencies to develop 'bring your own device' policies. |
That policy position will extend "where there is benefit" to "devices, productivity software and storage", the Victorian Government ICT Strategy 2014 to 2015 states. |
"In parallel with infrastructure thinking, enterprises are increasingly turning to a ‘bring your own device’ approach (BYOD) for their employees," the document notes. |
Reasons for the BYOD trend include "contemporary workers expect to be able to choose and personalise their own devices (mobile, tablet and desktop computer)"; "it permits flexible working arrangements with reduced space and energy requirements"; "it contributes to the personal productivity of government employees"; and... |
"Underpinning BYOD, a range of policies and standards are required to ensure that security, interoperability and performance are not compromised. BYOD is a first step in a broader approach to employee ICT productivity, leading to bringing your own productivity software and some storage – i.e. BYOE (‘bring your own ever... |
Due to be delivered sooner than the 'BYOE' policy is a public a public cloud framework for agencies. The framework is due in July this year. Number nine of the strategy's 10 principles includes prioritising cloud services when seeking new systems. |
"Most services that are supplied using ICT are not unique, and many other governments around the world are using standard systems serving similar needs to Victoria’s," the document states. |
"Government does not see itself as a builder and owner of large ICT systems in the future, and recognises that it continues to face ICT obsolescence risk unless it moves in line with new modes of service provision" |
The Coalition government published the first edition of its ICT strategy in early 2013. |
"Our first phase focused on foundational, whole-of-government ICT policies and processes, including the appointment of a chief technology advocate," Rich-Phillips said in a statement. |
"The intention of this update is to continue to focus on technology to improve service delivery to Victorians and provide greater productivity across the Victorian government in the face of rising demand for government services and tightened budgets," the minister said. |
The Victorian government in January sought public feedback on updating the ICT strategy. |
Which one is the real Russell Tovey? |
Lance Bass and Michael Turchin enjoy a bit of Pablo Hernandez. |
Glee stars reunite and it feels so good! |
Who wants to go exploring with Kellan Lutz? |
Cristiano Ronaldo is really getting shady. |
Colton Haynes‘ impression of the comedy/tragedy masks leaves a bit to be desired. |
Steve Grand is lost in his thoughts. |
Model Nyle DiMarco is ravishing in red. |
Marlon Teixera can tame the most savage of beasts. |
Sachin Bhatt is pretty in pink — or even just kneeling in front of it. |
Peace to you, too, Vin Diesel and Garrett Hedlund. |
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