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This happens for different reasons , but a key element is the vicious cycle between holding strong attitudes on an issue and something called β selective perception. β Essentially , the stronger your views are on an issue like Trump β s impeachment , the more likely you are to attend more carefully to information that supports your views and to ignore or disregard information that contradicts them . Consuming more belief-consistent information will , in turn , increase your original support or disapproval for impeachment , which just fortifies your attitudes . So , no , not much change will be seen in the minds of the 33 percent .\nExcept , maybe . One of the more interesting findings from research on attitude change is that our more important , self-defining attitudes do not seem to change incrementally , a little at a time , but they can change dramatically , from one extreme to another . Typically , when others try to change our views on important issues that we hold firmly , their attempts to persuade us with facts and figures end up bolstering our original attitudes or pushing us out to even further extremes . But strong attitudes can experience what psychologists call β threshold-effect changes. β Over time , when we are exposed to information contradicting our attitudes , that informationβeven if we ignore , discount or deny itβcan seep into our thinking and accumulate to a point where , across some threshold , people radically change their views to the opposite side of the spectrum . In other words , nothing much changes until everything changes .\nThese jumps from one extreme attitude to another on self-defining issues are not uncommon , and have been seen with former skinheads turned tolerance trainers , peace activists turned violent militants , and religious zealots turned atheists . This type of drastic transformation is , of course , hard to predict , and it can be triggered by seemingly insignificant events ( the tipping point for one skinhead was when his black co-worker tossed him half of his submarine sandwich when he had no lunch ) . But it typically occurs after repeated exposure to information contradicting their attitudes .\nSo , yes , it is possible that if some of the testimonies in the hearings are experienced by true believers ( at either extreme ) as counter to their beliefs but also persuasive , this information can plant seeds of a different point of view , that might , someday , lead to a big change . Still , this is unlikely to happen very soon .\nMinds , however , can change among the vast majority of people who don β t hold extreme views . A recent study by the nonpartisan group More in Common found that about 67 percent of moderate Americans on both sides of the political divideβa group the authors of the study call β the exhausted majority β βare fed up with our current dysfunction , despise the contemptuous state of polarization we are in , and are eager to find ways to talk , compromise and work together again . These folks , particularly the 26 percent of moderates who are politically disengaged and thus are much less identified with either tribe , can be swayed . Of course , this assumes that they are not so burned out by the vitriol of our politics that they are unwilling to devote some attention to information coming out of the hearings .\nResearch suggests a few basic strategies for changing minds that are , well , changeable . First , immediately establishing the credibility of the witnessesβto both progressives and conservatives βis paramount . For example , the introductions of the witnesses should emphasize their merits for both the left and the right to see . Second , logic and evidence can matter when they are clearly laid out , compelling and derived from trusted sources . Third , moving testimony by witnesses about the profound moral dilemmas they faced in coming forward , and any specific threats they experienced to their and their family β s physical safety , can help to humanize otherwise dry , technical testimony and move the listener . And finally , because most viewers tend to lean either red or blue ( even though they are β exhausted β ) and so will view the proceedings to some degree through their team β s lens , it is critical for the lawmakers to choose to emphasize just a few takeaway points , and then to stress the urgency and importance of the viewers β attention to them . This can serve to move viewers from their more automatic , heuristic modes of cognitive processing to more intentional , systematic modes , where they will be more likely to take in new information and learn .\nBut here is a caution for our leaders in Congress on both sides . Clearly , by many accounts , America is more polarized , anxious and exhausted by our political climate today than ever before . No , this is not all Congress β doing , but many in Washington are playing their part . The resulting rise in the toxicity of our culture is such that today 86 percent of Americans are seriously concerned that our divisions will soon lead to violence .\nSo , as our Republican and Democratic members of Congress prepare for the public hearingsβready themselves to make their case and score points and change mindsβthey should understand what is at stake . A narrow focus on short wins today can bring devastating outcomes tomorrow . Of course , members of Congress have a job to do to reveal the truth and share the facts with the American public . But our social fabric is stretched to the limit , and the future of our society , in the form of our basic capacities for compassion , connection and shared humanity across our divide , is on the line . The impeachment hearings β primary audienceβthe 67 percent ( not base voters ) βis persuadable through credibility , logic and evidence . This is a chance for lawmakers to plant seeds for changing minds in the future . So , please , for our nation β s sake , rise to your best selves .\nAs someone who knew something about divisions once wrote , β We are not enemies , but friends . We must not be enemies . Though passion may have strained , it must not break our bonds of affection . The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched , as surely they will be , by the better angels of our nature. β Come Wednesday , lawmakers will need to find a way to make their public case effectively , while not inflaming our already heightened sense of contempt and enmity for the other side . In the long run , this is all that will matter .
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A full week after the alleged β shellacking β of President Obama and the Democrats , the country remains a β stucknation β locked in a partisan standoff where both factions hold each other in contempt and have a long list of past grievances they want to relitigate .\nFor several years now , the two parties have so amped up the partisan rhetoric that what used to be middle ground is nothing but scorched earth . It 's a machine fueled by animus , but raises hundreds of millions of dollars for the warring factions and keeps the nation from a necessary reconciliation that 's a prerequisite for moving forward .\nListening to this cacophony that passes for political discourse , an alien from outer space would come to the conclusion that Americans really can β t stand each other and just don β t want to defeat their opponents but annihilate them .\nHistory is never shaped by one thing , but a confluence of trends and events . We have a president who just can β t figure out why everybody is not as smart as he is , and a disloyal opposition that so lusts for his demise they would shut down the government to make a rhetorical point .\nFor many Democratic partisans , the reactionary right is waging a war on women β s reproductive rights and working around the clock to strip the right to vote from people of color . A key core belief of many Tea Party Republicans is that Democrats can only win elections if they steal them .\nThis delegitimizing of the nation β s political process popped up for Democrats in Gore v. Bush in 2000 and now has captured conservatives , who pretty much refute the results of every election except for the ones they win . ( A notable exception was Ed Gillespie β s concession to Sen. Mark Warner , which went some distance in restoring the notion of a Virginian gentleman . )\nJust spend an hour listening to national talk show host Michael Savage and his many less talented imitators that blanket the airwaves . You will hear such a deep hatred for the president you β ll understand that Savage and his crowd just don β t have contempt for the president -- but for the tens of millions of their fellow Americans that voted for him twice .\nEven as ISIS does its thing Savage has described the sitting president as the β enemy within β who wants to spread Ebola , open the door to β illegals , β all so as to make the U.S. a third-world nation in a kind of egalitarian β marxist β exercise aimed at collapsing capitalism . These statements are made despite the president β s record deportations and unprecedented profits enjoyed by U.S. corporations during the president β s tenure . A mediocre chief executive he may be , but he certainly is not a marxist .\nWhile largely ignored by the mainstream media , Savage β s millions of loyal listeners are also voracious readers who sent his recently released β Stop the Coming Civil War : My Savage Truth β on to the Barnes and Nobles big seller list . The bookseller β s website says Savage tells his readers β our nation is in real trouble and the seeds of a second conflagration have been sown . β\nThis near violent alienation extends into the global warming debate with one side insisting that as long as there is a God we need not worry about environmental consequences and we must burn as much fossil fuel as possible to fire up prosperity for future generations . Their opponents see these β climate change deniers β as a clear and present danger to the planet , funded by fossil fuel profiteers , whose only reason for existing is accumulating as much material wealth as possible so as to extend their dominion over a quickly dying planet .\nThere is just no reconciling these alienated factions . Billions of dollars are backing up both narratives , even as the homeless stretch out in the street and West Africa begs for the basics . No wonder most Americans decided to sit out Choice 2014 .\nIn the aftermath of the 2014 midterms , the milquetoast political press offers a ho-hum narrative dominated by the politicians ' personal story . What β s President Obama β s legacy ? Which Republican will claim the 2016 nomination ? How do the results of 2014 impact former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton β s chances to win the presidency ?\nRank them . Sort them . Do whatever your cyberalgorithms tell you will get the most eyeballs . The political reporting is so fixated on who 's winning or falling behind that the horse race eclipses the actual economic and social conditions of the country . What they seem to be missing is just how badly polarized the nation is and just how many American households are still falling behind .\nAs for the voters ' hearts and minds , they get their shot during the exit polls . Based on those polls Republicans would be mistaken to interpret their victory as some kind of blank check . As the New York Times reported , voters surveyed this time around were skeptical of both parties . They believed the U.S. economy is rigged for the 1 percent and are doubtful their children will do better than they have .\nThere is something that is ruminating out there beyond the Beltway and the safe green zone of the corporate media that acts as its buffer . Looking at the β right way-wrong way β survey data by the NBC News/Wall Street Journal it has pretty much been all downhill from right after the Sept. 11 attack . That was when just over 70 percent of those surveyed thought the nation was headed in the right direction as ground zero still smoldered , the nation pulled together and the world embraced us as a victim of terrorism .\nBy this summer , more than 12 years into our global war on terror , and a few years into the β recovery , β that same poll was totally upside down with 70 percent now saying the nation was headed in the wrong direction . In the immediate run-up to the midterms the president said U.S. intelligence missed the rise of ISIS , the Secret Service left the front door of the White House and the Centers for Disease Control fumbled the initial response of Ebola .\nMost all the Democrats ran away from the president . Consistently the president was a couple of beats behind the breaking news where his handlers must have thought it was safe . Whether it was responding to the wave of undocumented children crossing the border , ISIS or Ebola the White House waited for events to play out for weeks and even months , and only when the media declared a β crisis , β would we get presidential action . It was as if President Obama β s heart wasn β t in doing his job .\nOff course for the Savage contingent this passiveness was extrapolated as premeditation and diabolical planning to collapse the nation into an oozing morass of disease and lawless chaos .\nThe president β s poor performance , whatever the reason for it , had consequences down ballot . Republicans not only won the U.S. Senate but they now hold 31 of the nation β s governorships , replacing Democrats in Arkansas , Illinois , Massachusetts and Maryland . The GOP now has total control , that is the governorship and the state legislatures , in 21 states compared to the Democrats who now have a third of that many .\nIn the state races there were no doubt local issues also in play . Yet New Jersey Gov . Chris Christie , who led the Republican Governors Association 's bid to capture as many state capitals as possible , says in the 35 states he visited voters expressed major anxiety about the president β s lack of leadership . β I wouldn β t call it fear . I β d call it anxiety , really anxious . I think the best way to describe it was a woman I met who told me she was in her 80s from Vero Beach and she said to me , 'Governor what 's happened to our country ? We used to control events , now events control us . ' β\nβ I think the reason folks are anxious is they feel like the president is weak and as a result our country is perceived to be weak , β Christie told reporters after he voted . β I think the country is looking for the president to be strong and I wish he would be . He β s my president too. β Up against Michael Savage Christie sounds like Eisenhower , a throwback to the Republican Party that pledged allegiance to the flag and respected the occupant of the White House , no matter what his party affiliation , because they respected the office and by extension the broader electorate .\nThis nation β s existential crisis started well before President Obama was on the scene , as any graph over the growing wealth disparity will illustrate . What ails us goes deeper than a passive and detached president who 's reliably two beats behind the news wave and a Republican Party leadership committed to derailing his presidency at any cost . Even as the factions continue their war of attrition on each other , the American worker continued to fall behind , thanks to stagnant or declining wages despite increased productivity .\nThese are the same economic conditions candidate Barack Obama railed against , and before him candidate Bill Clinton . Yet from 1979 until 2013 productivity grew by almost 65 percent but average workers only saw their compensation increase by a measly 8 percent increase in those 33 years . More recently , from 2007 until 2013 the median U.S. income dropped every year and when adjusted for inflation was the lowest since 1995 .\nAll you need to know about the frame of mind of Americans for the 2014 midterm was in the small print of the latest Department of Labor report on employment that came a couple of days after the election . β In October , the number of long-term unemployed ( those jobless for 27 weeks or more ) was little changed at 2.9 million , β writes the Department of Labor , which translates to roughly a third of the unemployed . Civilian labor force participation continued its steady decline , hovering now at 62.8 percent , flat since April .\nLast month the DOL reported 7 million people were consigned to part-time work , even though they wanted full-time opportunities . Also in October , DOL said 2.2 million people were β marginally attached to the labor force , β a disconcerting stat DOL says β was little changed from a year earlier. β β These individuals were not in the labor force β but β had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months . They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey . β\nAt the same time that most U.S. households were stuck in neutral or slipping back into reverse , the top 1 percent continued to buzz by in overdrive leaving the rest of the U.S. in their dust . From the first half of 2013 to the first half of 2014 , real hourly wages fell across the board with the exception of states that raised the minimum wage . Meanwhile β the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of the post financial crisis growth since 2009 , while the bottom 90 percent became poorer , β according to the World Economic Forum β s Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014 .\nAnd while the business press chirped out happy faces over the officially declining unemployment number , the rest of the stats in the latest Department of Labor data described the ongoing wasting of a nation through workforce and wage stagnation .\nAmericans are trying to walk up the downward escalator whose motor is driven by corporate greed and bipartisan complicity . While corporations keep a lid on compensation and hiring they have increasingly become more skilled at stashing hundreds of billions of dollars in profits offshore , shifting their tax burden onto the same population that they have been squeezing for decades .\nBy some estimates as much as $ 2 trillion remains stashed offshore , kneecapping any real recovery . This creates a phony scarcity to help build back the pressure to get their tax cuts , shrink the federal government , help rescind the social contract and break what β s left of the American labor movement .\nHaving totally captured both political parties it is in the interests of corporations to fund the great American political kabuki dance that perpetuates the myth that on the issues that matter most to the corporations there β s a big difference between how both parties would govern . This partisan sideshow keeps the electorate distracted from the widening income disparity , wealth concentration and tax shifting that has happened under the leadership of both political parties for decades .\nIn 2008 we went for `` hope and change , '' but six years later there 's this sense we are still on a downward trajectory , despite the booming stock market and gas prices dropping so fast experts are worried . Our kids are burdened with billions in debt and now the very same Wall Street vultures that created the mortgage meltdown are coming back to buy up foreclosed homes so they can rent them to the serfs who now can β t afford their own castle .\nIt is this gnawing insecurity about the prospects for our families that is the psychological fallout from the Great Recession and our wars without end . For our grandparents it was shorthanded as the `` Depression era '' mentality . It defined every choice they made but also burnished a sense of national purpose , self-sacrifice and collectivity . It beat fascism on two fronts , came home , had a parade , built the interstate highway system , and sent their soldiers to school for free . But back then we had FDR who united the population against the speculators .\nToday most people grapple with their economic dislocation in isolation . The TV says we are in a recovery so it must be just me , my family , my household falling behind . Every day the TV says the market is up and yet that seems to have less and less to do with the average American family 's economic well-being .\nYes , we are a war-prone republic , but we have always had periods when we collectively stood down , albeit briefly . Now we are told we are in a further notice eternal war where peace comes only when we leave this earthly plain . I do n't know if the human psyche is wired for that .\nBut there is something else at work structurally that the media also shies away from because it undermines our superpower status narrative and the notion of our exceptionalism . Even talking about it one risks looking unpatriotic . For many Americans this has been the linchpin for their sense of well-being in an ever-changing world . We are just not up to coming to grips with the notion that planetary peace , prosperity and stability is truly a multilateral project . Where β s the national pride in that ?\nWhen the president was n't propping up the phony Bush war on terror narrative , he spoke eloquently about this reality as he did at West Point .\nPresident Obama is presiding in a period where in the scheme of world affairs , save the nuclear war option , the presidency is shrinking . This globally integrated marketplace we were so hell-bent to create has geopolitical consequences .\nYou can β t rely on China to finance your federal debt and not expect to lose leverage in the world . While Republicans like to put the shrinking of the presidency on the current occupant of the White House , it ignores structural things like that and the well-documented choice by U.S. multinationals and hedge funds to bet against America because they can make more money someplace else .\nIronically , these very hedge fund players that helped fund Christie β s Republican Governors Association , like Elliot Management β s Paul Singer who gave over a million dollars to the RGA , are the same crowd looking to profit from the inversion deals being cut by U.S. corporations to abandon the U.S. to reduce their U.S. tax liability .\nSo is it now , `` ask not what your country can do for you '' but which country gives you the highest rate of return ?
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It was the Hawkeye State that scuttled Hillary Clinton β s presidential ambitions in 2008 . Iowa β s energetic caucus-goers were not moved by Clinton β s self-professed qualities of electability and inevitability , and they voted for both Barack Obama and John Edwards over the former first lady . Clinton learned that she would have to earn her party β s nomination that night , and the primary campaign that followed the Iowa caucuses would prove to be an intensely fought one . It was a fight , however , from which she was not fated to emerge victorious .\nAs Clinton is preparing to mount a new campaign for the presidency , she faces a predicament similar to the one she faced six years ago . In Iowa , all the energy is behind non-establishment ideals ( as opposed to flesh and blood candidates ) , and the caucus system rewards enthusiasm and organization over raw support . While another upset seems unlikely , the ingredients that make for a political surprise are present .\nβ Interviews with more than half of Democratic chiefs in Iowa β s 99 counties show a state party leadership so far reluctant to coalesce behind Mrs. Clinton . County Democratic officials also voiced qualms about Mrs. Clinton β s ability to win a general election and her fundraising ties to Wall Street firms and corporations , which remain a target of liberal ire , β read a report in Monday β s Wall Street Journal that should concern Team Hillary .\nMany county officials said they would like to see senators including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont enter the race , though they were split over whether any could gain traction and overtake Mrs. Clinton . β My heart wouldn β t be in it for Hillary to the extent that it might be if it was a different candidate , β said Jennifer Herrington , chair of the Page County Democrats in southwest Iowa . β I admire Hillary , she β d be a great president , but you know , she isn β t my first choice I guess . β\nIn many ways , Iowa β s Democratic electorate mirrors its Republican counterpart . 2012 proved that there are a sizable number of GOP voters in Iowa who are happy to back the contender dubbed most electable in spite of the pejorative label β establishment. β Mitt Romney came in an extraordinarily narrow second place behind former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum , and for much of the evening it looked like Romney had shocked the political world by emerging from Iowa victorious . But for all of Romney β s 24.5 percent of the Iowa vote , another three-quarters backed a non-establishment candidate . It was a narrow loss that shattered Romney β s own cultivated sense of inevitability , and one which fueled a fierce opposition to his candidacy that continued until May .\nEven a narrow loss for Clinton in Iowa could spell disaster for her second presidential bid , but that prospect seems remote . You can β t lose to nobody , and the Clinton machine has , thus far , been able to fend off top-tier challengers . But how long can Democratic politicians with aspirations for higher office ignore the Siren Song of Iowa β s county-level party chairs crying out for a liberal champion ? Discontent with Clinton is palpable , and her support in the polls could be an artificial result of standing alone on the presidential stage .\nBut Democrats who want to see Clinton challenged in a primary are also smartly laying the foundations to blame her for a 2016 defeat if a challenge does not materialize . According to The Journal , local Democrats note that the energy , donations , and political infrastructure acquired during a contested primary also become critical tools to use in the general election . Without those , the Democratic nominee is likely to be at a disadvantage when the vibrant and ideologically diverse GOP concludes its primary contest . Could appeals like these prompt Clinton to rein in her loyal soldiers ? Some of these allies are apparently so trigger happy that , simply for displaying the gall to consider a likely doomed challenge to Clinton , they would seek to impugn one-term Sen. Jim Webb for having penned mildly racy content in his novels .\nWhile the argument that a party that undergoes a contested primary is a stronger party is a valid contention , Clinton is unlikely to welcome a serious challenge . 2008 β s memories from Iowa are too fresh . Anti-Clinton forces , too , seem resigned . Those disaffected liberals who are prepared to accept her coronation are also preparing to consign the name Clinton to history β s dishonorable scrap piles should she lose . It would be a bitter irony that the name Clinton , one which for the last 20 years has been associated with reviving the moribund Democratic brand , might soon become synonymous with its destruction .
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US President Donald Trump has launched a furious attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and on his critics at a conservative summit .\nIn the longest speech of his presidency , Mr Trump railed against the inquiry into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia .\n`` We 're waiting for a report by people who were n't elected , '' he told a crowd of cheering conservatives .\nMr Mueller is expected to hand in his report to the attorney general shortly .\n`` Unfortunately , you put the wrong people in a couple of positions and they leave people for a long time that should n't be there and all of a sudden they are trying to take you out with bullshit , okay ? '' the president said .\nMr Trump has frequently called the special counsel 's investigation a `` witch hunt '' .\nThe speech - clocking in at more than two hours - also included sharp attacks on former Attorney General Jeff Sessions , former FBI head James Comey , the Democratic Party and those critical of his approach to North Korea .\nMr Trump 's second summit with Kim Jong-un in Vietnam ended abruptly without a deal this week .\nSpeaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland , Mr Trump lashed out at his detractors in a wide-ranging speech .\n`` This is how I got elected , by being off script . . . and if we do n't go off script , our country is in big trouble , folks , '' he began .\nThe president repeatedly said that Mr Mueller had `` never received a vote '' , nor had Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , who appointed Mr Mueller to his position .\nMr Rosenstein plans to step down by March after frequent presidential attacks .\nThe president alleged Mr Mueller was `` best friends '' with former FBI head James Comey , and mocked the accent of former attorney general Mr Sessions , whom he fired in November .\nHe said Mr Sessions was `` weak and ineffective and he does n't do what he should have done '' .\nHe called the Green New Deal proposal - pitched by some Democrats as a radical bid to combat climate change - `` the craziest plan '' , saying `` when the wind stops blowing , that 's the end of your electric '' .\nAfter a series of remarks on immigrants who , he said , must `` love our country '' , Mr Trump said , `` We have people in Congress that hate our country . ''\n`` And you know that , and we can name every one of them if you want , '' he said .\nHe also defended his summit with North Korea leader Mr Kim , telling the crowd they had made `` a lot of progress '' and saying the country had `` an incredible , brilliant future '' .\nMr Trump also pledged to protect free speech on US university campuses with an executive order .\nThe speech came at the end of a difficult week for the president .\nMr Trump 's former lawyer Michael Cohen called him a `` racist '' , `` conman '' and a `` cheat '' in a congressional hearing .
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WASHINGTON β During his final year in Congress in 2008 , then-senator Joe Biden heralded his top picks for the nation 's elite service academies with a congratulatory news release and led a group of academy-bound students on a personal tour of his domain as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman .\nAs vice president , Biden has the power to nominate students to three of the nation 's service academies . However , the names of the students he chooses for these plum assignments are now secret .\nNeither Biden 's staff nor the academies would disclose the identities of his nominees to βββ , citing student privacy . So it 's unclear how the vice president uses his nominations β which this year included the daughter of a congressman and an Air Force Academy nominee his office took an interest in .\nA βββ examination of the nomination system found a process with little disclosure or oversight . Each member of Congress and the vice president can have up to five nominees in each military academy β the U.S. Military Academy at West Point , N.Y. , the Naval Academy in Annapolis , Md. , and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs , Colo . But the nominations largely are made in secret with no standard process or criteria for awarding them .\nVice presidential nominations are unique . They are the only nominations that everyone can apply for and anyone can receive . For some American students living overseas , it may be the only option available to them .\nAs a result , the vice president gets thousands of requests for nominations each year . The service academies say they take the lead in vetting the students and submitting to Biden 's office a list of top-scoring applicants who lack only a nomination from another source .\nThis year , however , Biden 's staff took an interest in a particular candidate and let the Air Force know . `` His contact called me and said , 'Hey , we 've had some express interest in this individual , ' `` said Jim Dahlmann , the Air Force Academy 's congressional liaison .\n`` Sure enough , he was a qualified candidate , which is great . And he 's of interest to the vice president . Well that 's easy enough , we 'll make sure he 's on the list , '' he said .\nThe student also had secured nominations from a U.S. senator and a local congresswoman , but academy officials took the extra step of putting the student at the top of the list they submitted to Biden 's office , Dahlmann said . `` We wanted to make sure they could say , 'Oh yeah , the academy is listening to us . ' ``\nGenerally , Dahlmann said , Biden 's office is more removed from the process than congressional offices .\nAt the Naval Academy , the list of vice presidential nominations this year included the daughter of Rep. Andy Harris , R-Md . Harris spokesman Chris Meekins said the younger Harris , a track standout , was recruited for the academy 's track team late in the year β after congressional application deadlines had passed β and the vice presidential nomination was the only option available .\nShe was offered an appointment to Annapolis but did not accept it . Harris is now studying at Notre Dame on a track scholarship .\nThe vice president 's office would not discuss any nominations on the record . `` In order to protect the privacy of individuals who are nominated to the service academies and consistent with previous administration practices and service academy protocols , we do n't release names to the public , '' said Kendra Barkoff , a Biden spokeswoman .\nBut some of the academies say Biden 's office is more engaged in the process than was his predecessor . `` This vice president has been active in making the selections , '' said Col. Deborah McDonald , West Point 's director of admissions . While vice president Dick Cheney 's nominations came in before the deadline , Biden 's often come in months after the congressional nominations are due Jan. 31 β and in some cases as late as June , just before cadets and midshipmen report to the academies .\nThat additional time allows the vice president 's office to ensure that its nominations are going only to candidates who do n't have any other source of a nomination . `` I 'm guessing what they were doing was making sure they were looking at all the congressional nominations that came in to try to β and I 'm just guessing this β expand the candidate pool , '' she said .\nOther vice presidents have taken an interest in their nominations .\nFormer vice president Walter Mondale , who served in the late 1970s , said his staff took the step of reviewing the applications of nominees recommended by the academies . `` I used the staff to vet them to see if there were any embarrassments there , '' Mondale said . `` Most were just fine . ... I think ( the academies ) were very careful about sending up the best . ''\nUnder a separate system of nominations , the president also makes nominations for the children of Medal of Honor winners and members of the armed forces . But those nominations are presidential in name only β the entire process is delegated to the Defense Department and the academies , which do n't release those names .
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Rep. Ilhan Omar , D-Minn. , sparked backlash Sunday evening from members of both parties -- including former first daughter Chelsea Clinton -- after she accused a prominent lobbying group of paying members of Congress to support Israel .\nOmar , who became the first Somali-American woman elected to Congress in November , responded to a Twitter post by journalist Glenn Greenwald criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif. , for threatening to take action against Omar and another freshman lawmaker , Rashida Tlaib , D-Mich. , over allegedly anti-Semitic remarks .\n`` There β s situations in our conference where a member does something that is wrong β I think you β ve seen from my own actions that I take action about it , '' McCarthy told reporters Friday , making an apparent reference to Republican congressman Steve King of Iowa . `` I think when they stay silent , they are just as guilty ... I think this will not be the end of this , and if they do not take action then I think you will see action from myself . It β s unacceptable in this country , especially when you sit back and think about and listen to what this country went through in World War II . ''\nMCCARTHY ASKS DEMS TO DENOUNCE ALLEGED ANTI-SEMITIC REMARKS : 'THIS WILL NOT BE THE END OF THIS '\nGreenwald accused McCarthy of targeting Omar and Tlaib for their numerous criticisms of Israel , to which Omar chimed in `` It 's all about the Benjamins , baby , '' quoting a 1997 rap song by Puff Daddy . She then doubled down when challenged by Batya Ungar-Sargon , the opinion editor of The Forward newspaper .\n`` Would love to know who @ IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel , though I think I can guess , '' Ungar-Sargon tweeted . `` Bad form , Congresswoman . That 's the second anti-Semitic trope you 've tweeted . ''\nIn response , Omar tweeted `` AIPAC ! '' referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee , which regularly has been accused by progressives of agitating for a conflict with Iran .\n`` We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship , '' AIPAC tweeted Sunday evening . `` Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests . We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work . ''\nAnother freshman Democrat , Max Rose of New York , tweeted that Omar 's statements `` are deeply hurtful to Jews , including myself . ''\n`` When someone uses hateful and offensive tropes and words against people of my faith , I will not be silent , '' Rose said in a statement . `` ... At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise , our leaders should not be invoking hurtful stereotypes and caricatures of Jewish people to dismiss those who support Israel . In the Democratic Party - and in the United States of America - we celebrate the diversity of our people , and the Gods we pray to , as a strength . The congresswoman 's statements do not live up to that cherished ideal . ''\nJEWISH GROUPS CONDEMN REP. RASHIDA TLAIB OVER TIES TO RADICAL PRO-HEZBOLLAH , ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST\nHouse GOP conference chair Liz Cheney , R-Wyo. , slammed Omar 's remarks and called for House Democrat leaders to remove Omar from the Housed Foreign Affairs Committee .\nZudhi Jasser , a physician and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy , took Cheney β s call a step further , arguing that removing Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee would be a β good first step , followed by a swift sanction against @ IlhanMN for bigotry unfit for the US Congress with removal from all committees . Ignoring this would bring the β bigotry of low expectations β to a new low for Muslims . β\nThe Republican Jewish Coalition called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. , to take action against Omar and asked rhetorically if other House Democrats would `` care to comment on the outrageous anti-Semitism being spewed by one of your fΓͺted members ? ''\n`` [ House Majority ] Leader [ Steny ] Hoyer [ D-Md . ] - you 've led many AIPAC trips to Israel , '' RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks tweeted . `` Will you speak out against this ? ? ''\nMcCarthy himself tweeted : `` Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress . It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language . ''\nFormer U.S . Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley , who repeatedly accused the global body of anti-Israel bias during her tenure , tweeted that Omar 's statements `` CAN NOT be tolerated in our own Congress by anyone of either party . In a time of increased anti semitism , we all must be held to account . No excuses . ''\nChelsea Clinton tweeted : `` We should expect all elected officials , regardless of party , and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism . ''\nMeghan McCain , daughter of late Arizona Senator John McCain , lauded Clinton for calling out anti-Semitism `` on all sides , in all spaces , no matter how uncomfortable . ''\nLeft-wing historian and Politico Magazine contributing editor Joshua Zeitz tweeted : `` I 'm one of those American Jews who opposes the occupation [ of the West Bank and Gaza Strip ] , laments Israel 's anti-democratic drift , and does n't regard the country as especially central to my Jewish identity . And I knew exactly what the congresswoman meant . She might as well call us hook-nosed . ''\nClinton later promised that she would `` reach out '' to Omar Monday after another user said she was `` disappointed '' that Clinton was `` piling on . ''\n`` I would be happy to talk , '' Omar tweeted at Clinton in response . `` We must call out smears from the GOP and their allies . And I believe we can do that without criticizing people for their faith . I look forward to building an inclusive movement for justice with you . ''\nSunday marked the latest in a long line of statements by Omar that critics have slammed as anti-Semitic . In 2012 , she tweeted that `` Israel has hypnotized the world , may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel . # Gaza # Palestine # Israel. β She did not apologize for posting the tweet until last month .\nIn January , Omar argued in a Yahoo ! News interview that Israel could not be considered a democracy and compared it to the Islamic theocracy in Iran .\n`` When I see Israel institute laws that recognize it as a Jewish state and does not recognize the other religions that are living in it , and we still uphold it as a democracy in the Middle East I almost chuckle because I know that if we see that any other society we would criticize it , call it out , '' she said . `` We do that to Iran , we do that to any other place that sort of upholds its religion . And I see that now happening with Saudi Arabia and so I am aggravated , truly , in those contradictions . ''
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LISTEN TO ARTICLE 5:37 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email\nU.S. President Donald Trump is pushing his trade conflict with China toward a point where neither side can back down .\nBy Aug. 30 , as the U.S. nears mid-term elections vital for Trump β s legislative agenda , the White House will be ready to impose 10 percent tariffs on $ 200 billion of Chinese-made products , ranging from clothing to television parts to refrigerators . The levies announced Tuesday -- together with some $ 50 billion already in the works -- stand to raise import prices on almost half of everything the U.S. buys from the Asian nation .\nChina has seven weeks to make a deal or dig in and try to outlast the U.S. leader . President Xi Jinping , facing his own political pressures to look tough , has vowed to respond blow-for-blow . He β s already imposed retaliatory duties targeting Trump β s base including Iowa soybeans and Kentucky bourbon .\nYet matching the latest U.S. barrage would force China to either levy much higher tariffs or take more disruptive steps like canceling purchase orders , encouraging consumer boycotts and putting up regulatory hurdles . Not only does that risk provoking Trump to follow through on threats to tax virtually all Chinese products , it could unleash nationalist sentiment on both sides that fuels a deeper struggle for geopolitical dominance .\nTrump on Wednesday framed his trade actions as necessary to shield American businesses and farmers from harmful trading practices .\nβ Other countries β trade barriers and tariffs have been destroying their businesses . I will open things up , better than ever before , but it can β t go too quickly , β Trump said in a Twitter post from Brussels , where he β s attending a NATO summit . β I am fighting for a level playing field for our farmers , and will win ! β\nβ It β s already past the point of no return , β said Pauline Loong , managing director at research firm Asia-Analytica in Hong Kong . β What β s next is not so much a trade war or even a cold war as the dawn of an ice age in relations between China and the United States . β\nRead more on the escalating conflict Handbags and Cameras Hit as Trump Tariffs Target Consumers\nYou Have a Month to Comment on Bull Semen , Vegetable Hair Tariff\nTrump Must Meet Xi to Stop Trade War , Top House Republican Says\nThose Cheap Chinese TVs ? They May Just Get a Lot More Expensive\nStocks fell and commodities slid with emerging-market assets Wednesday as investors assessed the fallout . The S & P 500 Index ended the longest rally in a month and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated . While earlier tariffs were expected to have only a limited impact , economists warn a full-blown trade war could derail the strongest economic upswing in years .\nThe Chinese Commerce Ministry said Tuesday that it would be forced to retaliate against what it called β totally unacceptable β U.S. tariffs . There have been no confirmed high-level talks between the two sides since an early June visit to Beijing by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that achieved no breakthroughs .\nBeijing β never yields to threat or blackmail β and will retaliate against the β groundless β tariffs , China β s Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said in written comments to βββ . β The U.S. side ignored the progress , adopted unilateral and protectionist measures , and started the trade war . β\nWhat Our Economists Say ... β As the targeted imports broaden to include more consumer products , a hit to household wallets and a bump to inflation could start to shift the political calculus in the U.S. , β said βββ β s China economist Fielding Chen .\nThe Aug. 30 date ensures the trade fight features prominently in November β s U.S. congressional elections , and the announcement exposed fissures between Trump and his Republican Party about the strategy . House Ways and Means Committee chief Kevin Brady , of Texas , warned of β a long , multi-year trade war between the two largest economies in the world that engulfs more and more of the globe . β\nSenate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch , of Utah , called the new levies β reckless β and not β targeted. β Senator Chuck Grassley , a Republican from Iowa , said he had a β great deal of concern β about the trade spat with China and the level of uncertainty it β s creating among farmers and businesses in his state. β When you don β t know what β s going to be the outcome , it β s very uncertain , and it β s had a definite impact , β he told βββ Television . β How long is this going to go on ? I hope we can settle pretty soon . β\nRead more : Some tariffs apply to flows that don β t exist\nThe latest move suggests that Trump -- who in March declared that β trade wars are good and easy to win β -- may be compromising on his pledge to spare consumers from the pain . The tariffs could raise the prices of everything from baseball gloves to handbags to digital cameras just as voters are heading to the polls . Other high-profile items such as mobile phones have so far been spared .\nThe U.S. felt it had no choice , but to move forward on the new tariffs after China failed to respond to the administration β s concerns over unfair trade practices and Beijing β s abuse of American intellectual property , according to two senior officials who spoke to reporters . The Trump administration has so far rejected Chinese offers to trim its massive trade surplus by buying more American goods , and is demanding more systemic change .\nβ For over a year , the Trump administration has patiently urged China to stop its unfair practices , open its market , and engage in true market competition , β Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement . β China has not changed its behavior -- behavior that puts the future of the U.S. economy at risk . β\nAlthough the looming elections provide an immediate concern for Trump , a trade war poses a more existential concern for Xi , whose Communist Party has built its legitimacy on economic success . Prominent academics and some government officials have begun to question if China β s slowing , trade-dependent economy can withstand a sustained attack from Trump , which has already weighed heavily on stock prices .\nAmong other things , the U.S. is asking China to roll back its β Made-in-China 2025 β program , a signature Xi initiative to dominate several strategic industries , such as semiconductors to aerospace development . Since abolishing presidential term limits , Xi has strengthened his control over the levers of power and money in China and can β t afford to look weak .\nβ China is showing no signs of backing down and instead looks like it is preparing for a drawn out conflict , β said Scott Kennedy , deputy director of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington . β China has a million and one ways to retaliate . β\nβ With assistance by Jenny Leonard , Andrew Mayeda , Bryce Baschuk , and Kevin Cirilli
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LISTEN TO ARTICLE 2:28 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email\nPresident Donald Trump said he β ll likely push forward with plans to increase tariffs on $ 200 billion of Chinese goods , indicating he would also slap duties on all remaining imports from the Asian nation if negotiations with China β s leader Xi Jinping fail to produce a trade deal .\nTrump , in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Monday , said he β s prepared to impose tariffs on a final batch of $ 267 billion of Chinese shipments if he can β t make a deal with Xi when they meet at the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina , which starts Nov. 30 . The rate could be either 10 percent or 25 percent , Trump said .\nTrump said that Apple Inc. β s iPhones and laptops imported from China could be hit by new tariffs . Americans could β very easily β handle a 10 percent duty , he said .\nRead More : Apple Shares Fall as Trump Suggests 10 % Tariff on IPhones\nThe Trump administration has complained that U.S. companies aren β t getting a fair deal in China .\nβ The only deal would be China has to open up their country to competition from the United States , β the president said , according to the newspaper . β As far as other countries are concerned , that β s up to them . β\nIn September , the Trump administration plunged deeper into a trade war with China by imposing a 10 percent tariff on $ 200 billion of Chinese goods , and said the rate will rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1 . The U.S. is unlikely to accede to demands from Beijing to refrain from increasing the tariff , Trump said .\n`` This is largely a negotiation tactic , '' said Tao Dong , vice chairman for Greater China at Credit Suisse Private Banking in Hong Kong . `` Putting high stakes pressure onto the other side seems to be a consistent pattern from the Trump administration . ''\nChina β s foreign ministry urged the U.S. to work toward a positive outcome at the planned Group of 20 meeting . Teams from the U.S. and China are working to follow through on a Nov. 1 phone call between Trump and Xi during which the leaders agreed to reach a β mutually acceptable proposal , β a foreign ministry spokesman told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday .\nThe U.S. already imposed tariffs on $ 50 billion on Chinese products earlier this year , which Beijing retaliated against on a dollar-for-dollar basis . China has since added retaliatory duties on an additional $ 60 billion of American products .\nIn the Crosshairs Consumer goods will be top target if U.S. imposes tariffs on remaining Chinese imports Source : United States International Trade Commission\nChinese officials have said their key outcome from the Trump-Xi meeting is to convince the U.S. to hold off from the tariff increase , the Wall Street Journal reported , without identifying the officials .\nTrump told the Journal that his advice to American companies caught up in the trade conflict is to build factories in the U.S. and make their products domestically .\nβ With assistance by Kevin Hamlin , Miao Han , Natalie Lung , and David Ramli
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( CNN ) -- Rescue teams are scrambling to reach the site of Monday morning 's strong and shallow earthquake in northwestern China that has killed at least 89 people , according to state media .\nAnother 593 people were injured and five were believed missing after the quake tore through Gansu Province , China Daily reported .\nThe quake hit along the border of two counties -- Min and Zhang -- at around 7:45 a.m. local time , according to state news agency Xinhua .\nEmergency services are converging on the area , including the Red Cross Society of China , which is sending 200 tents and other supplies to shelter and sustain those left without homes .\nAccording to state broadcaster CCTV , Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged crews to prioritize the rescue of survivors and minimize casualties .\nThe original quake and powerful aftershocks caused roofs to collapse , cut telecommunications lines and damaged a major highway linking the provincial capital of Lanzhou to the south , according to the China Daily newspaper .\nMore than 300 armed police troops and 64 heavy machines have been dispatched to repair National Highway No . 212 , the paper reported . Train services in the area have also been suspended .\nRescue efforts are expected to be hampered by heavy rain that 's soaked the region in recent weeks . More rain is forecast and experts have warned about potential landslides .\nAccording to the Gansu Provincial Seismological Bureau , the quake registered a magnitude of 6.6 , however the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 5.9-magnitude tremor , which struck at the relatively shallow depth of about half a mile ( 1 kilometer ) .\nThe epicenter was eight miles ( 13 kilometers ) east of Chabu and 110 miles ( 177 kilometers ) south-southeast of Lanzhou , the USGS said .\nTremors were still being felt from the quake , Xinhua said , quoting sources within the Min County government . Locals said buildings and trees shook for about a minute .\nResidents within the earthquake zone took to Weibo -- China 's version of Twitter -- soon after to describe how the earth shook .\n`` This morning at 7:40 I was brushing my teeth , all of a sudden everything shook for a few moments , I thought I did n't get enough sleep last night and was feeling dizzy , '' @ wyyy wrote . `` Turns out it was an earthquake , sigh , seems that with the huge rain downpour outside , we really do n't know how much longer this planet is going to let us live here . ''\nAnother , @ dengdjianjyany , said : `` Gansu earthquake . So many natural disasters in so short a time , another flood , another landslide , another earthquake , another something . And it 's not finished , my God ~ is there any safe place left ? Wish everybody a life of peace ''\n@ Heidiping : `` Another earthquake , life really is fragile , survivors , be at peace ! ''
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President Donald Trump is moving ahead with steps to protect U.S. intellectual property by punishing China with broad investment restrictions , litigation at the World Trade Organization and hefty tariffs on $ 50 billion worth of Chinese goods .\nThe move , which the White House announced Tuesday morning , reignites trade tensions between the world 's two largest economies and ratchets up the pressure just days before Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is set to travel to Beijing for further trade talks .\nA series of tit-for-tat trade actions earlier this year had depressed markets and threatened to harm consumers and industries in both countries , but relations had calmed down after the two sides launched an economic dialogue that led Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to declare just over a week ago that the trade war was `` on hold . ''\nMnuchin and others had noted , however , that Trump wanted to keep the threat of tariffs at the ready , but he was inclined to tone down the trade war rhetoric as discussions were ongoing .\nThe Trump administration declined to specify on Tuesday what had changed that led the White House to issue its latest announcement . But one administration official said it should be viewed as negotiating leverage rather than as a rebuke of the idea that the trade war is on hold .\n`` You ca n't go soft too quickly or you are not going to get where you want to go , '' the official said .\nStill , the sudden statement caught officials from Washington to Beijing by surprise and angered those who had welcomed a calming of the waters .\n`` Trump β s schizophrenic China trade policy is a menace to the global economy , '' said Dan Ikenson , a trade policy expert at the Cato Institute who criticized the decision to reverse course `` yet again . '' `` The president seems to thrive on the uncertainty and chaos that his version of leadership churns out on a daily basis , but whether any of this actually happens is anyone β s guess . ''\nStocks again fell in light of the news and turmoil in Europe . The Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 400 points , or about 1.6 percent , to end the day at 24,361.45 . The broader Standard & Poor β s 500 index was off more than 1 percent to close at 2,689.86 .\nThe steps announced Tuesday involve imposing 25 percent tariffs on imported goods from China that include what the White House called `` industrially significant '' technology and products related to the `` Made in China 2025 '' initiative . The list of targeted goods will be announced by June 15 and the added levy will be imposed shortly after , the White House said .\nThe White House is also pledging to put in place investment restrictions and stronger export controls in a bid to curb Chinese acquisition of `` industrially significant '' technology , which will be announced by June 30 and imposed shortly after . The administration will also continue a WTO case launched in March on accusations that China 's intellectual property practices violate international trade law .\nAll three measures are being taken as a result of a seven-month investigation the Trump administration began into China β s handling of data and intellectual property , which wrapped up in late March . The White House argues as a result of that investigation that Beijing commits IP theft and forces foreign companies to hand over valuable data in order to operate in the Chinese market and compete with domestic firms .\nBut China is sure to retaliate against the latest measures , as it has made clear that it will respond in kind to any tariffs the Trump administration levies against its exported goods . On Tuesday , China 's Ministry of Commerce said it was `` surprised '' by the White House 's announcement but also called it `` somewhat expected . ''\n`` This is obviously contrary to the consensus reached between the two sides in Washington not long ago , '' a spokesperson said , according to an informal translation . `` No matter what measures the United States takes , China has the confidence , ability and experience to safeguard the interests of the Chinese people and the country β s core interests . China urges the United States to act in accordance with the spirit of the joint statement . ''\nLast month , China promised to respond in kind to Trump 's proposed tariffs on $ 50 billion in goods with its own fees on the same dollar value in imports from the U.S. of amount on soybeans , chemical products and other items . Those would come on top of the tariffs on $ 3 billion in goods in place as of early April on U.S. shipments to China of pork , fruit , nuts , recycled aluminum and other goods .\nThere had been some hope among free traders and the anti-tariff camp that the higher set of tariffs would never ultimately go into effect after the two countries launched a trade dialogue earlier this month in Beijing . After Trump administration officials traveled to China at the start of the month , a Chinese delegation came to Washington two weeks later , and the two sides announced that Beijing would buy significantly more U.S. agricultural and energy products in a bid to reduce the bilateral trade deficit .\nMany in the business sector urged the Trump administration to once again withdraw its threat to impose tariffs , even as they remained supportive of the need to crack down in some way on China 's intellectual property practices .\nβ Tariffs do not work β point blank , '' said Dean Garfield , the president and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council . `` Moving forward with tariffs on goods imported from China will harm U.S. consumers and businesses , and will fail to change China β s discriminatory and damaging trade practices . ''\nOn Tuesday , American hog farmers sent out a plea calling on the administration to swiftly resolve disputes with China , saying that is costing producers billions of dollars in lost profits . The group cited research from Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes , who estimates that U.S. pork producers have lost $ 2.2 billion on an annualized basis as a result of events leading up to and following China 's 25 percent punitive tariff on pork .\nAnd on Capitol Hill , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered muted praise for the announcement but urged Trump not to change his mind again .\n`` While obviously more details are needed , this outline represents the kind of actions we have needed to take for a long time , but the president must stick with it and not bargain it away , '' he said in a statement .\nBut other Democrats appeared less sure that the announcement was a positive one .\nRep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey , the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee , said that taking steps to curb China 's `` cheating '' was necessary but expressed concern about the rollout of the announcement , which `` seemingly no one knew '' was coming .\n`` The chaos and incoherence of this administration β s approach is more head-spinning than a pinball machine , '' he added .
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The Hong Kong police have clashed with protesters in the city-state 's airport on Tuesday evening as demonstrators continue to occupy the international travel hub for the fifth day straight since Friday , in a sit-in that has canceled hundreds of flights in the last two days .\nAccording to Skynews , which has a film-crew on the ground providing a live-feed , the police claimed their officers arrived at the airport not to disperse protesters , but to rescue people that were captured by the protesters . But Skynews said that those allegedly captured individuals may have been undercover officers that were secretly surveilling the protests and attempting to cause turmoil .\nThe protestors tied up one individual they suspected of being a `` spy '' for the police force .\nProtesters at the Hong Kong airport tied up a man after a `` I love HK Police '' t-shirt was found inside his bag pic.twitter.com/9eop8dNWwB β Bloomberg TicToc ( @ tictoc ) August 13 , 2019\nThe Skynews broadcast showed at least a few dozen officers outside of the airport at this current moment . Thousands of protesters are still in the airport .\n`` They need to come in much larger numbers if they want to do a clearance operation . I wonder whether they even can , '' said Steward Ramsey , the Sky News reporter on the ground .\nEarlier , protestors butted heads with police trying to leave the airport .\nPolice have been cornered in by protestors while trying to get on a bus to leave the airport in Hong Kong .\nTensions are escalating as riot officers arrive to try and disperse protestors in the airport : https : //t.co/hyF4BMCDUL pic.twitter.com/iQRHc4IOtf β Sky News ( @ SkyNews ) August 13 , 2019\nSome protesters have left the airport after the police arrived , according to SkyNews . At this point , the fullest extent of interaction between police and protesters are not apparent .\nThe protesters mobilized at the eighth busiest airport in the world as police violence against protesters escalate , believing that the authorities will dare not use aggressive policing measures in front of international travelers .\nHowever , as footage from the police action comes out today , it is becoming apparent that measures are escalating as China looks to crack down on the movement .\nViolent clashes at Hong Kong airport between police and protesters pic.twitter.com/RcRQxzhSf5 β The Independent ( @ Independent ) August 13 , 2019\nPresident Donald Trump has also commented on the Hong Kong protests β saying it is a `` very tough situation . ''\nPresident Trump : `` The Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation , very tough . We 'll what see what happens . But I 'm sure it 'll work out . I hope it works out for everybody , including China , by the way . '' pic.twitter.com/QJrFWiUOLu β MSNBC ( @ MSNBC ) August 13 , 2019
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China routinely broke federal law by not disclosing how much it spent to publish regime propaganda in the New York Times , the Washington Post , and other newspapers , an expert review of foreign agent registration filings concluded .\nChina Daily , an official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party , has published hundreds of propaganda articles designed to look like ordinary news stories in some of America 's most influential newspapers . While foreign agents may place ads in the United States , the propaganda outlet has repeatedly violated the Foreign Agent Registration Act ( FARA ) by failing to provide full disclosures about its purchases .\nChina Daily has published propaganda in mainstream outlets for decades , but did not disclose its purchases of space in American newspapers to the Department of Justice until 2012 . Even after it began acknowledging its relationship with the papers , the regime mouthpiece continued to violate federal disclosure requirements . China Daily has failed to provide breakdowns of spending activities and withheld copies of online ads , among other omissions that violate federal law , according to experts who reviewed years of its FARA filings .\nThe βββ reviewed all of the physical copies of China Daily β s ads filed with the DOJ , as well as online ads the propaganda outlet did not submit to the department . China Daily has run more than 700 online ads designed to look like news articles and purchased 500 print pages in six American newspapers over the last seven years . These propaganda articles frame state oppression in Xinjiang , Tibet , and Hong Kong in a positive light and run alongside actual news stories produced by reporters at the Post , Times , Wall Street Journal , and other outlets .\nRep. Jim Banks ( R. , Ind . ) , a member of the House Armed Services Committee , has frequently criticized China Daily , arguing that the newspaper should not be distributed to the offices of members of Congress . He said American newspapers traded credibility for ad revenue .\n`` These outlets claim to support democracy , but they 've participated in a cover-up for an ongoing communist-run genocide , '' Banks said . `` It 's disgusting . ''\nA spokesman for the Post told the Free Beacon that the newspaper has run China Daily ads for `` more than 30 years . '' By 2012 , the regime mouthpiece 's operation was running dozens of ads per year mimicking real articles in major outlets under the banner of `` China Watch '' βa self-proclaimed `` high-end think tank platform '' backed by China Daily .\nFederal law requires foreign agents to report and provide copies of all propaganda that is `` disseminated or circulated among two or more persons '' in the United States . Ben Freeman , director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy , said China Daily β s ad inserts are subject to those requirements .\n`` Clearly , an ad that 's in the Washington Post , the Wall Street Journal , or any big media outlet is going to be distributed to two or more people , '' Freeman said .\nChina Daily registered as a foreign agent in 1983 , but did not disclose its relationship with U.S. newspapers in its biannual reports for 29 years . The outlet did not respond to requests for comment about its FARA filings .\nJoshua Rosenstein , a FARA lawyer at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock , P.C. , said China Daily β s failure to report ads prior to 2012 was a clear violation of disclosure requirements .\n`` If they were to have placed paid ads in the Washington Post as early as 2010 , that would be the sort of thing they would need to detail , '' Rosenstein said .\nAfter reviewing China Daily β s most recent report , filed in November , both Rosenstein and Freeman said the outlet continues to flout the law . The report illegally lumps together all expenditures under two vague categories : `` Total Cost of Goods Sold '' and `` Operation Expenses . '' China Daily should have broken down its expenditures , detailing how much money it paid to each outlet for each ad purchase , said the two experts .\n`` If I 'm just looking at one line item for $ 4 million in operating expenses , how can I possibly evaluate that ? '' Freeman said . `` I do n't think I can , frankly . ''\nThe vague disclosures do reveal that China Daily is flush with money from the Chinese Communist Party , including $ 11.8 million that the paper 's Beijing office wired to the U.S. branch over the past year . The cash transfers gave China Daily the ninth-largest budget of all FARA registered entities , according to the Center for Responsive Politics .\n`` I 'm sure the Chinese government would n't have invested so much money into this effort in almost every major newspaper if they did n't think that they were getting some return , '' Zack Cooper , a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute , told the Free Beacon .\nChina Daily uses its large war chest to purchase hundreds of ads in the print and online versions of the Times , Post , and Journal . Ad spending peaked in 2016 , when it took out ads in more than 140 pages in American outlets .\nSpokesmen for all three newspapers declined to say how much they have taken from China Daily over the years , but the spending could easily run into the millions , according to public relations professionals . One firm , which requested anonymity as it continues to publish ads with all three outlets , said full-page ads cost between $ 65,000 and $ 120,000 each .\nWhile many China Daily articles touted the country 's economic achievements or tourist attractions , others pushed explicit political messages . These articles contain the legally required disclaimer that a Chinese entity prepared the ads , but do not say that China Daily is owned by the Chinese Communist Party .\nOne China Daily article from March that appeared on the Journal β s website described China 's detention of more than one million Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang reeducation camps as a `` law-based campaign of de-radicalization . '' A Journal spokesperson said that her outlet reviews all ads for `` issues of taste and accuracy , '' but did not say whether China Daily β s articles on Xinjiang met those guidelines .\nMeanwhile , more than half of the Post β s China Daily ad inserts since 2012 have featured propaganda articles about Tibet , where China has repressed dissidents and Buddhists for decades . Those articles depicted China 's presence in Tibet in a positive light , saying the Chinese Communist Party 's economic and social policies have brought prosperity and peace to the region .\n`` Harmony rules in Tibet 's Catholic town , '' a 2013 China Daily article in the Post says . `` Through mediation by the local government [ Buddhism and Catholicism ] entered an era of coexistence . ''\nA Post spokesperson defended the ads , arguing that the newspaper gives `` wide latitude '' to advertisers as long as the ads do not break any laws .\nSome ads appeared adjacent to real news articles . The Journal , for instance , ran a Journal article and a China Daily article that gave opposite assessments of the Chinese economy side by side in 2014 .\nIn the months leading up to the 2018 election , China Daily ran ads critical of the trade war in Roll Call , a Washington , D.C. , publication , and in the Iowa-based Des Moines Register . The Register ad labeled the trade war a `` fruit of a president 's folly , '' provoking a response from President Donald Trump on Twitter .\n`` China is actually placing propaganda ads in the Des Moines Register and other papers , made to look like news , '' Trump tweeted . `` That 's because we are beating them on Trade , opening markets , and the farmers will make a fortune when this is over ! ''\nA Times spokesperson said that the lucrative ad deals with China Daily have not compromised the paper 's reporting , pointing to a recent exposΓ© on oppression in Xinjiang as evidence .\n`` The New York Times covers China thoroughly and aggressively , and at no time has advertising influenced our coverage , '' she said .\nYaqiu Wang , a researcher at Human Rights Watch , said the Chinese regime targets prominent American newspapers in hopes of influencing reporting . Media companies that run China Daily ads undermine the work of their own reporters , she said .\n`` These newspapers are doing a disservice to their brave journalists in China who are taking tremendous risks to report on the Xinjiang issue , '' she said . `` I think newspapers should take a more principled stance to reject those ads that are clearly not speaking the truth . ''
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The Pentagon β s top general said Tuesday that the failed special forces mission to rescue James Foley and other hostages being kept by Islamic State militants was the toughest he β s ever seen .\nGen. Martin E. Dempsey , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , didn β t go into details , but said the effort expended should answer some of the criticisms raised that the U.S. government didn β t do enough to try to get hostages released .\nβ That was the most complex , highest-risk mission we β ve ever taken , β the Army general said .\nFoley , a reporter captured in 2012 , was beheaded by an Islamic State terrorist in a brutal execution the militants filmed and released on the Internet on Aug. 19 .\nFoley β s parents have complained that the U.S. government didn β t communicate with them about steps that were being taken to try to free him , and said they were told they could be prosecuted if they tried to pay a ransom .\nWhile Gen. Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wouldn β t go into details of the rescue mission , they said it showed they were trying to do something .\nβ We have some limitations in our ability to collect intelligence inside Syria , but when we had the opportunity to do so , we tried to get β em , β Gen. Dempsey said .\nMr. Hagel said that while there are boundaries to what the U.S. can do , including a strict policy that the country does not pay ransoms , officials could do a better job of β dealing with families and the human part of this . β\nDuring the mission , which reportedly took place earlier in the summer , special operations forces slipped into Syria but were unable to locate Foley or other hostages , who had apparently been moved in the time since the last intelligence the U.S. had .\nSome military officials have reportedly second-guessed President Obama β s decision-making , with one report saying that his hesitation to give the go-ahead reduced the chances for success .\nThe White House , though , said Mr. Obama gave the go-ahead as soon as they believed the mission could be carried out successfully .\nIslamic State militants have also killed American journalist Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines . But another American reporter , Peter Theo Curtis , was released late last month , apparently by the Nusra Front , an al Qaeda-linked group .
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The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings was charged Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill three people and wound more than 200 in what FBI investigators said evidence shows was a coldly calculated attack .\nWith chilling detail , the criminal complaint filed against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev says he was seen on video placing a bag near the the finish line of the marathon , watching and reacting with no surprise as the first explosion went off down the street , and then `` calmly but rapidly '' walking away before the second blast occurred at the spot where moments before he had been standing . ( Scroll down to see more from the complaint or to read a complete copy of it . )\nThe FBI 's description of that scene came just before people in Boston and across Massachusetts were to pause for a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m . ET Monday β marking the time exactly one week ago when the first of the two bombs exploded . The criminal complaint filed against Tsarnaev also included a new detail : Previously , officials had said 170 to 180 people were injured in the blasts . In the complaint , they increased that to `` over 200 . ''\nLatest Developments β Surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will not be considered an `` enemy combatant , '' the White House says . That means he will be treated and tried as a criminal defendant . β Tsarnaev , who remains in serious condition at a Boston hospital , was arraigned in his bed . He 's charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill three people and injure more than 200 ( a higher number of injured than had previously been reported ) . β According to a transcript β obtained by The New York Times β of today 's initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler , Tsarnaev said one word β `` No '' β when he was asked if he could afford a lawyer . At the end of the hearing β where Tsarnaev was given his Miranda warning β Bowler said she found `` the defendant is alert , mentally competent , and lucid . He is aware of the nature of the proceedings . '' β The investigation continues into whether anyone besides Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan ( who died Friday after a gun battle with police ) may have been involved in the Boston Marathon bombings . β There was a funeral Monday for Krystle Campbell , one of the three people killed in the marathon bombings .\nDzhokhar Tsarnaev , 19 , was arraigned at Boston 's Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital , where he remains in serious condition . As NPR 's David Schaper reported on Morning Edition , it 's not clear yet how or when Tsarnaev was wounded or who inflicted some of his injuries . It 's possible he tried to kill himself . Sources familiar with the investigation into the bombings have told NPR that wounds to his neck and jaw area are preventing Tsarnaev from talking .\nAccording to a transcript of today 's initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler , Tsarnaev said one word β `` No '' β when he was asked if he could afford a lawyer .\nAt the end of the hearing β where Tsarnaev was given his Miranda warning β Bowler said she found `` the defendant is alert , mentally competent , and lucid . He is aware of the nature of the proceedings . ''\nTamerlan Tsarnaev , Dzhokhar 's 26-year-old brother and the other suspect in the bombings , died after a gun battle with police early Friday in the Boston suburb of Watertown , Mass . The brothers allegedly killed an MIT campus police officer and seriously wounded a Boston transit police officer during a wild shooting spree that began Thursday night and lasted into the early hours of Friday .\nDzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured Friday evening after a harrowing day when much of the Boston area was locked down during the police manhunt . He was discovered in a boat stored in a Watertown family 's backyard . Authorities are anxious to know whether anyone else may have been involved and whether any more attacks were planned .\nInvestigators also are trying to piece together how Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have been radicalized in recent years , NPR 's Temple-Raston added Monday . They 're looking to interview his wife . The Tsarnaev brothers , both Muslims , came from an ethnic Chechen family that had been living in the U.S. for about a decade . Tamerlan was a legal resident , and Dzhokhar became a U.S. citizen last year .\nWe 'll keep an eye on developments as the day continues and update this post with the news .\nUpdate at 8:02 p.m . ET . Feds Hand Off Boylston Street :\nIn a move that also had a lot of symbolic significance , federal officers handed custody of Boylston Street back to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino . The Boston Police Department tweeted a picture of the moment a little bit ago .\nCBS Boston reports that this means the city has begun a 5-step plan to reopen the scene of the bombings to the general public .\n`` The 5-steps include testing the area for contamination , structural building assessments , removing debris , internal building assessments and re-entry including communication and counseling . ''\nDzhokhar Tsarnaev was read the Miranda warning today during his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler .\nA transcript of the proceeding was filed at the United States District Court District of Massachusetts and the document was posted online by The New York Times .\nBowler tells Tsarnaev that he has the right to remain silent and not say anything that will incriminate him . She also asks Tsarnaev if he can afford a lawyer and Tsarnaev appears to answer `` no . ''\nPerhaps most importantly , the judge says , `` At this time , at the conclusion of the initial appearance , I find that the defendant is alert , mentally competent , and lucid . He is aware of the nature of the proceedings . ''\nWilliam Fick , the federal defender representing Tsarnaev , also agreed to a voluntary detention of the suspect .\nFor about seven minutes beginning at 2:50 p.m . ET. , the city of Boston fell silent . Investigators formed a semi-circle around the the site of one the blasts and bowed their heads .\nThe New York Stock Exchange , the House of Representatives in Washington and the Massachusetts State House also paused to remember the three killed and the more than 200 injured .\nThe historic Peabody Square clock , near where 8-year-old Martin Richard lived , was frozen at 2:50 p.m. During the moment of silence , reports the Boston Globe 's Eric Moskowitz , it was restarted .\nUpdate at 2:15 p.m . ET . Details From The Complaint Against Tsarnaev .\nDaniel Genck , an FBI special agent , writes in the criminal complaint that :\n-- On video , a man who appears to be Dzhokhar Tsarnaev can be seen placing a bag down in front of the Forum Restaurant along the marathon route . `` Approximately 30 seconds before the first explosion , he lifts [ a ] phone to his ear as if he is speaking ... and keeps it there for approximately 18 seconds . A few seconds after he finishes the call , the large crowd of people around him can be seen reacting to the first explosion . Virtually every head turns to the east ( toward the finish line ) and stares in that direction in apparent bewilderment and alarm . Bomber Two [ Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ] , virtually alone among the individuals in front of the restaurant appears calm . He glances to east and then calmly but rapidly begins moving to the west , away from the direction of the finish line . He walks away without his knapsack , having left it on the ground where he had been standing . Approximately 10 seconds later , an explosion occurs in the location where Bomber Two had placed his knapsack . ''\n-- The victim of a carjacking Thursday night in Cambridge , Mass. , has told police that one of the two men ( who the agent later identifies as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev ) said during the carjacking : `` Did you hear about the Boston explosion ? ... I did that . ''\n-- `` A preliminary examination of the explosive devices that were discovered at the scene of the shootout in Watertown [ early Friday ] and in the abandoned vehicle has revealed similarities to the explosives used at the Boston Marathon . ''\n-- In Dzhokhar Tsarnaev 's dormitory room at the University of Massachusetts , Dartmouth , FBI agents found `` a large pyrotechnic , a black jacket and a white hat of the same general appearance as those worn by Bomber Two at the Boston Marathon . ''\nUpdate at 1:55 p.m . ET . The Criminal Complaint Against Tsarnaev :\nUpdate at 1:38 p.m . ET . Confirmed : Tsarnaev Has Been Charged .\n`` Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with conspiring to use weapon of mass destruction against persons and property in U.S. resulting in death , '' the U.S. attorney 's offfice for the district of Massachusetts confirms on its Twitter page .\nAnd in a statement , the Department of Justice says he 's been charged `` with using a weapon of mass destruction against persons and property at the Boston Marathon on April 15 , 2013 , resulting in the death of three people and injuries to more than 200 people . ''\nUpdate at 1:05 p.m . ET . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Will Not Be Charged As Enemy Combatant , White House Says ; He 's Arraigned In Hospital Bed , Official Says :\nConfirming what was expected , the White House has said Tsarnaev will not be treated as an `` enemy combatant , '' but will be prosecuted in civilian courts . And as that news was breaking moments ago , WCVB-TV in Boston was reporting that Tsarnaev today was arraigned in his hospital bed , according to Gary Wente , the circuit executive for the U.S. Courts in Boston . The complaint against him has been sealed , the station added . NPR has not independently confirmed that an arraignment has happened .\nFor more on the legal issues involved in treating someone as an enemy combatant , check this Morning Edition report from NPR 's Tovia Smith .\nUpdate at 12:20 p.m . ET . Tamerlan Tsarnaev 's `` Closest American Friend '' And Two Other Young Men Were Murdered Three Years Ago ; Case Remains Unsolved :\nAfter a Buzzfeed report that `` associates of slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev now believe he may have been involved in a 2011 triple murder that claimed the life of his closest American friend , Brendan Mess , '' the prosecutor 's office in Middlesex County , Mass. , is going to go back to see if there 's any connection between Tsarnaev and that unsolved crime , Reuters reports .\n`` 'We are definitely going to pursue any new leads , ' said Stephanie Guyotte , a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney 's office . She said it was fair to say that investigators will check to see if Tsarnaev had anything to do with the crime . ''\nJohn Allan , owner of Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts in Allston , Mass. , where Tsarnaev once boxed , had earlier told the Boston Globe that the 26-year-old had once introduced Mess as his best friend . Then two years ago , the Globe wrote , `` Mess and two other men were brutally killed in a Waltham apartment where they were found by police with their throats slit and their bodies covered with marijuana . The murders remain unsolved . ''\nAccording to Buzzfeed , a mutual friend says Tsarnaev did not come to Mess ' funeral . `` A few months after Mess 's murder , '' Buzzfeed adds , `` Tsarnaev went to Russia for six months . ''\nGuyotte , the prosecutor 's spokeswoman , has also told the local Waltham Patch that the triple murders are `` an active homicide case and that investigators would pursue any new leads they receive . ''\nWhile friends are asking whether Tsarnaev might have been involved in the murders , The Wall Street Journal notes that the killings came at a tumultuous time in Tsarnaev 's life and raises the prospect that they might have been among the reasons he appears to have turned to a radical form of Islam .\nThe funeral for 29-year-old Krystle Campbell , one of the three people killed in the bombings , is being held this hour in her hometown of Medford , Mass . The Boston Globe says `` some 200 members of Teamsters Local 25 members began gathering at St. Joseph 's Church before 8 a.m. today , promising to block protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church if they follow through on a threat to picket the funeral . ''\nA memorial service for 23-year-old Lingzi Lu of China , who was a graduate student at Boston University , is planned for 7 p.m . ET Monday at the school . The third person killed at the marathon was 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester , Mass . He was remembered during a Mass on Sunday at Dorchester 's St. Ann Parish . Sean Collier , the 26-year-old slain MIT police officer , is to be remembered later this week .\nUpdate at 10:45 a.m . ET . President Obama Will Observe Moment :\nPresident Obama will also `` observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings '' at 2:50 p.m . ET , the White House says in a statement sent to reporters . He will do so in private , the statement adds .\nUpdate at 10 a.m . ET . Wounded Officer `` Shows Hopeful Signs '' :\n`` The transit police officer critically wounded in a gunbattle with the marathon bombing suspects opened his eyes , wiggled his toes and squeezed his wife 's hand yesterday for the first time since he nearly bled to death Friday β hopeful signs for his doctors and family , '' The Boston Herald writes . `` Three-year veteran MBTA cop Richard Donohue remains in critical but stable condition at the surgical intensive care unit at Mount Auburn Hospital . ''\nUpdate at 8:50 a.m . ET . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Remains In Serious Condition .\n`` According to BIDMC marathon bombing suspect remains in serious condition this morning . Releasing info at hospital 's request . ''\nAs Monday dawned , here were some of the related headlines :\n-- `` Turn To Religion Split Bomb Suspects ' Home . '' ( The Wall Street Journal , behind a paywall )\n-- `` Dead Suspect Broke Angrily With Muslim Speakers . '' ( The Boston Globe )\n-- `` Suspects Seemed Set For Attacks Beyond Boston . '' ( The New York Times )\n-- `` The Inside Story '' Of The Investigation . ( CBS News ' 60 Minutes )\n-- `` Should Marathon Bomber Be Treated As An Enemy Combatant ? '' ( Morning Edition )
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With the latest Benghazi ! β’ extravaganza about to begin , the Democrats are faced with a dilemma . Should they boycott the silly hearings , thus leaving the Republicans to put on their pageant unimpeded , or should they join in with a full panel and add legitimacy to the process ? The problem seems to be that whether they like it or not , these hearings are going to be covered . And if the press reaction so far tells us anything , they are looking for a show .\nThis is why they should follow the advice of Ari Rabin-Havt in the American Prospect who says that a boycott would be a `` colossal error . '' He points out the unfortunate reality :\nEven with limited power , ceding the committee room to Republicansβnot to mention the televised hearingsβwill only allow them to parade their Benghazi myths unimpeded by relevant facts framed in questions from the minority\nYes , one might expect that the media would be able to straighten out all the factual misrepresentations and downright lies , but considering the fact that even Lara Logan and the venerable `` 60 Minutes '' imploding with a full-fledged hoax did little to put the story to bed , it 's highly unlikely that allowing the GOP to harangue and harass Hillary Clinton will put an end to this phony scandal .\nIn fact , it 's long past time the Democrats understood that they are not as successful as they think they are at letting the Republicans hang themselves . They seem to believe that because all their friends and wealthy donors think the GOP clown show is appalling that it always reads that way in the rest of the country . `` Smell-test '' scandal-mongering , where people begin to think there must be something to it or they could n't get away with spending all this time and money pursuing it , takes its toll .\nNobody in American politics has dealt with this phenomenon more than the Clintons . And the one thing they were known for back in the day , always , was to never let charges go unanswered . They understood very well that expecting the press and the people to see through such inanity and recognize it for the rank partisan hack job it is is a fool 's game .\nStill , it does n't make a whole lot of sense to try to deal with a three-ring circus by convening an academic seminar . In order to perform their role properly , they need to engage the issue at hand with intelligence and a grasp of the facts but also an ability to guide the questioning in a way that illuminates the absurdity of the hearings as a whole . And yes , they need to provide easy sound bites for the media so they have something to run with .\nLuckily , as Rabin-Havt points out , they have the perfect person right there in the Congress to do it : the original `` congressman with guts , '' Alan Grayson of Florida .\nPerhaps people do n't realize that Alan Grayson is n't just another lawyer/congressman . He 's an experienced litigator who fought whistle-blower fraud cases aimed at military contractors . The Wall Street Journal characterized him in 2006 as `` waging a one-man war against contractor fraud in Iraq . '' And he was very successful at it . As a politician Grayson is usually seen as a pugnacious fighter always at the ready with a pithy put-down on cable news shows . His floor speeches are often fiery indictments of his political opponents and the power elite .\nBut that 's not why the Democrats should tap him for the job . As notable as all those characteristics are , they are not where Grayson 's true talent lies . He is a master at the task of committee questioning . During his first term as a member of the Financial Services Committee he practically had bankers whimpering on the hot seat and he took on everyone from Ben Bernanke to Timothy Geithner , eliciting important information . Unlike the vaunted prosecutor the GOP has tapped to lead the inquiry , Trey Gowdy ( who specializes in browbeating and histrionic questioning ) , Grayson is never rude and he is n't dismissive or insulting . He is serious , composed and extremely well prepared . And when he has the floor he is completely in control .\nAnd yes , choosing him would please the Democratic base and infuriate the Republicans . That should be a feature , not a bug . The Republicans want a show . Grayson will definitely give them one -- but it wo n't be the kind of show they 're looking for . He 'll elicit the kinds of responses from the Democratic witnesses that are needed to make their case and he 'll skewer the conservative scandal-mongers with the facts .\nRabin-Havt had originally suggested that Grayson simply be on the committee as a member , but he and other progressives , including Credo Mobile , are now suggesting that he should be the lone Democrat assigned . It would be an uncharacteristically bold and brilliant move for the House Democrats to do it .\nGrayson says he 's game if they are . Will they have the guts that he has ?
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Story highlights Tsarnaev has said his brother drove the attack and they had no international ties\nFederal investigators return Boylston Street to city of Boston but it remains closed\nHis brother was killed during a police chase early Friday\nBoston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told investigators his older brother Tamerlan was the driving force behind last week 's attack and that no international terrorist groups were behind them , a U.S. government source said Monday .\nPreliminary interviews with Tsarnaev indicate the two brothers fit the classification of self-radicalized jihadists , the source said . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , wounded and held in a Boston hospital , has said his brother -- who was killed early Friday -- wanted to defend Islam from attack , according to the source .\nThe government source cautioned that the interviews were preliminary , and that Tsarnaev 's account needs to be checked out and followed up on by investigators .\nAnd a federal law enforcement official told CNN that while investigators have seen nothing yet to indicate the suspects were working with anyone else , a lot of work remains before they can say confidently that no others were involved . That official would not comment on any motive or specifics on what Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has communicated to officials .\nThe 19-year-old has been charged with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death , and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death . He was heavily sedated and on a ventilator at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital , but was `` alert , mentally competent and lucid '' during the brief initial court appearance at his bedside on Monday , U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler found .\nDuring the hearing , Tsarnaev communicated mostly by nodding his head , though he once answered `` No '' when Bowler asked him if he could afford a lawyer , according to a transcript of the proceeding . A public defender was appointed to represent him .\nInvestigators have been asking Tsarnaev whether there are more bombs , explosives caches or weapons beyond those already found by police , and if anyone else was involved in the attacks , a source with first-hand knowledge of the investigation told CNN . Investigators are going into Tsarnaev 's room every few hours to ask questions in the presence of doctors , the source said .\nFederal agents at first questioned Tsarnaev without reading him his Miranda rights , under an exception to the rule invoked when authorities believe there is an imminent public safety threat , a Justice Department official said over the weekend . But by the time of the hospital room proceeding , government sources said he had been read his rights , and Bowler reviewed those with him again Monday .\nTsarnaev had been shot in the head , neck , legs and one hand , according to an FBI affidavit supporting the charges . He had lost a lot of blood and may have hearing loss from two flash-bang devices used to draw him out of the boat , the source said .\n-- armed with handguns and explosives -- apparently were planning another attack before the shootout disrupted their efforts . It was n't clear whether Tsarnaev was wounded during his capture Friday night or in an earlier shootout with police that left his 26-year-old brother dead . Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said the brothers -- armed with handguns and explosives -- apparently were planning another attack before the shootout disrupted their efforts .\n`` I believe that the only reason that someone would have those in their possession was to further attack people and cause more death and destruction , '' Davis said on CNN 's `` Starting Point '' Monday .\nInvestigators are also trying to determine whether anyone else was involved in the bombings . But Davis , speaking Sunday to CNN 's Don Lemon , said that he was confident that the brothers were `` the two major actors in the violence that occurred . ''\n`` I told the people of Boston that they can rest easily , that the two people who were committing these vicious attacks are either dead or arrested , and I still believe that , '' he said .\nMeanwhile , after a week of combing the downtown thoroughfare where the bombs went off for evidence , federal authorities handed control of Boylston Street back to the city . But the blocks around the bomb sites remain closed to the public while Boston officials clean up the area and make sure the buildings are safe to occupy .\n`` This area will be opened up to businesses over the next few hours , and then the people will be back here in a day or so , '' Davis said . `` And they will be walking up and down this street , and the terrorists will understand that they can not keep us down . ''\nA police honor guard , accompanied by a bagpiper , lowered the flag that had flown at the finish line of last week 's marathon and presented it to Mayor Thomas Menino to mark the occasion . Shortly afterward , workers in bright yellow suits began hosing down and scrubbing the sidewalks around the second bomb site .\nAmong the pieces of evidence collected from Boylston Street during the past week was a tree that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev may have leaned against before the bombing , according to a source who receives regular intelligence briefings on the Boston bombings . The source said the tree -- located at the site of the second blast -- was removed along with the surrounding grate , where the explosive device 's circuit board was found .\nThe decision to charge Tsarnaev in civilian court put an end to speculation that he would be charged as an enemy combatant , a designation sometimes used against terrorists . White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Tsarnaev is a naturalized U.S. citizen and can not be tried by a military commission .\nTrying Tsarnaev in civilian courts -- like `` hundreds of terrorists '' to date -- is `` absolutely the right way to go and the appropriate way to go , '' Carney said . `` We have a long history of successfully prosecuting terrorists and bringing them to justice , and the president fully believes that that process will work in this case . ''\nThat disappointed Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-South Carolina , who has been calling for Tsarnaev to be handed over to U.S. intelligence as an `` enemy combatant . ''\n`` There is ample evidence here on the criminal side , '' Graham said . `` A first-year law student could prosecute this case . What I am worried about is , what does this individual know about future attacks or terrorist organizations that may be in our midst ? We have the right to gather intelligence . ''\nGraham also said there was also `` ample evidence '' that the bombings were `` inspired by radical ideology . ''\nBut while Tamerlan Tsarnaev apparently became increasingly radical in the past three or four years , according to an analysis of his social media accounts and the recollections of family members , there was no evidence Monday that he had any active association with international jihadist groups .\nTamerlan Tsarnaev , 26 , died after a shootout with police early Friday . Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured that night , after police found him hiding in a boat in the back yard of a house in the Boston suburb of Watertown , Massachusetts .\nWith one suspect dead and the other hindered in his ability to communicate , investigators are eager to speak to Tamerlan Tsarnaev 's wife , Katherine Russell , to see what she might know about incidents leading up to the bombings .\nOn Monday , her attorney said she learned of her husband 's alleged involvement through news accounts .\n`` She knew nothing about it at any time , '' Amato DeLuca said in response to questions about whether Russell knew of plans to attack the marathon .\nTsarnaev stayed home and cared for the couple 's 2-year-old daughter while his wife worked long hours as a home-care aide , according to DeLuca .\n`` They 're very distraught . They 're upset . Their lives have been unalterably changed . They 're upset because of what happened , the people that were injured , that were killed . It 's an awful , terrible thing , '' he said . `` And of course ( for ) Katy , it 's even worse because what she lost -- her husband and the father of her daughter . ''\nThe Tsarnaev family hails from the Russian republic of Chechnya and fled the brutal wars there in the 1990s . The two brothers were born in Kyrgyzstan ; Dzhokhar became a U.S. citizen in 2012 , while Tamerlan was a legal U.S. resident .\nAn FBI official said agents interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 at the request of the Russian government . The FBI said Russia claimed that he was a follower of radical Islam and that he had changed drastically since 2010 .\nBut the Russian government 's request was vague , a U.S. official and a law enforcement source said Sunday . The lack of specifics limited how much the FBI was able to investigate Tamerlan , the law enforcement official said .\nIn August 2012 , soon after returning from a visit to Russia , the elder Tsarnaev brother created a YouTube channel with links to a number of videos . Two videos under a category labeled `` Terrorists '' were deleted . It 's not clear when or by whom .\nTamerlan Tsarnaev attended prayers periodically at the Islamic Society of Boston 's mosque in Cambridge , a board member told CNN 's Brian Todd . In a statement issued Monday , the society said he twice interrupted sermons -- once in November to express his opposition to celebrating any holiday as un-Islamic , and once in January when he tore into the preacher for citing civil rights leader Martin Luther King .\nThe second time , the congregation shouted back , `` Leave now , '' the statement said .\n`` After the sermon and the congregational prayer ended , a few volunteer leaders of the mosque sat down with the older suspect and gave him a clear choice : either he stops interrupting sermons and remains silent or he would not be welcomed , '' it said . `` While he continued to attend some of the congregational prayers after the January incident , he neither interrupted another sermon nor did he cause any other disturbances . ''\nTamerlan Tsarnaev `` began coming intermittently to our congregational prayers on Friday over a year ago and occasionally to our daily prayers , '' the statement read . `` The younger suspect was rarely seen at the center , coming only occasionally for prayer . ''\nOne of the victims , Krystle Campbell was memorialized Monday morning in a service at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Medford , Massachusetts . After the service , police officers lined the street in front of the church as other officers wearing dress uniforms saluted as the casket bearing her remains was taken from the church and loaded into a hearse .\nAnother memorial service was scheduled Monday night at Boston University for Lingzi Lu , a student from China . Lu was a graduate student in mathematics and statistics . Before coming to Boston , she won an academic scholarship to the Beijing Institute of Technology , where she received accolades for her math skills .\nOn Wednesday , Vice President Joe Biden will attend the memorial service for MIT police officer Sean Collier , who was allegedly killed by the Tsarnaev brothers .\nA week after the marathon bombings , 50 people remain hospitalized , including two in critical condition , according to a CNN tally .\nPatients at Boston Medical Center have received visits from war veterans who have also suffered amputations . The vets , Dr. Jeffrey Kalish said , told patients that their lives are n't over because they 've lost limbs .\n`` We 've seen really tremendous success and great attitudes , '' he said .\nAlso Monday , Davis -- the Boston police commissioner -- said transit system police officer Richard Donohue , wounded in the firefight with the Tsarnaev brothers , was improving .\n`` He was in grave condition when he went to the hospital , so we 're very optimistic at this point in time , and our prayers are with him and his family , '' he said .
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CLOSE France launched `` massive '' air strikes on the Islamic State group 's de-facto capital in Syria on Sunday night , destroying a jihadi training camp and a munitions dump in the city of Raqqa . ( Nov. 15 ) AP\nFrance 's military launched `` massive '' retaliatory airstrikes against Islamic State sites in Syria on Sunday night , saying French aircraft struck a command center and training camp at Raqqa .\nThe French Air Force posted videos on its Facebook page of the planes embarking on the raid of the extremist group 's de facto capital . The strikes come two days after the worst attacks in Paris since World War II . The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks at six sites that killed 132 people and wounded hundreds more .\nThe French Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted a command post , a training camp and a weapons depot , dropping 20 bombs on Raqqa . It said 10 fighter jets in the operation came from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in coordination with U.S. forces .\nSpeaking in Turkey at the G-20 summit , French Foreign Minister Lauren Fabius said , `` France has always said that because she has been threatened and attacked by ( Isis ) it would be normal that she react in the framework of self defense , '' The Financial Times reported . `` It would be normal to take action . That β s what we did with the strikes on Raqqa , which is their headquarter . We can not let ( Isis ) act without reacting . β\nA U.S.-led coalition that includes France has been conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since last year .\nA group of anti-Islamic State activists in Syria called Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently reported Sunday that at least 30 airstrikes had hit Raqqa `` so far . ''\n`` No civilians hit so far , the hospitals are reporting . Electricity and water shut down . Panic among the civilians , β the group posted on its website . β Areas hit : Stadium , museum , hospital , government building ( municipal ) . β\nβ It β s sad how it always falls on our heads . Pray for us , β the group said .\nThe group was created by 17 Syrian activists in April 2014 to document abuses by the Islamic State after the militant group took over and declared the northern Syrian city of Raqqa to be the caliphate β s capital .\nWorking anonymously for their safety , members of Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently secretly film and report from within the city and send the information to local and outside news media .
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The lone surviving suspect in the bombing attack on the Boston Marathon one week ago is communicating in writing , and could be ready to be questioned by an elite FBI team\nAs Boston prepared to mark with a moment of silence the passing of a week since the terror attack that killed three and wounded at least 176 , Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was believed to be unable to speak but awake and responding to questions , possibly from medical staff . Tsarnaev is under heavy guard at Boston 's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , and is in serious condition with several injuries , including a possible gunshot wound to the neck .\nUSA Today reported that the suspect began answering `` substantive '' questions from authorities Sunday night , but that could not be independently confirmed . If the interrogation has indeed begun , prosecutors may have just 48 hours before he must be read his Miranda rights and granted the right to remain silent and to have an attorney . White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday that Tsarnaev , who is a U.S. citizen , will be tried in civilian courts and not held as an enemy combatant .\nInvestigators believe the throat wound that left the 19-year-old suspect unable to speak may have been self-inflicted in a failed suicide bid that may have come as police closed in on him , as he hid inside a boat trailered in a backyard in Watertown , Mass. , late Friday .\nU.S. Senate Intelligence Committee member Dan Coats , R-Ind. , told ABC Sunday the injuries may leave the suspect permanently unable to speak .\nβ The information we have is that there was a shot to the throat , '' Coats said . `` And it β s questionable whether β when and whether -- he β ll be able to talk again . β\nMeanwhile , Massachusetts Gov . Deval Patrick has asked residents to observe a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m. Monday , the time the first of two bombs exploded near the finish line . Bells will ring across the city and state afterward .\nThe most serious charge available to federal prosecutors would be the use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill people , which carries a possible death sentence . Massachusetts does not have the death penalty .\nDavis also said Sunday authorities believe the suspects also were likely planning other attacks based on the cache of weapons uncovered during the Thursday night shootout , calling the stockpile `` as dangerous as it gets in urban policing . ''\n`` We have reason to believe , based upon the evidence that was found at that scene -- the explosions , the explosive ordnance that was unexploded and the firepower that they had -- that they were going to attack other individuals , '' Davis said Sunday on CBS ' `` Face the Nation . '' `` That 's my belief at this point . ''\nDavis added on `` βββ Sunday '' that authorities can not be positive there are n't more explosives that have n't been found , but the people of Boston are safe .\nAlso Sunday , a lawyer for the wife of Tamerlan Tsarnaev said federal authorities have asked to speak with his client as part of their investigation .\nAuthorities went to the suburban Rhode Island home of Tsarnaev 's in-laws Sunday evening , where Katherine Russell Tsarnaev has been staying . Lawyer Amato DeLuca tells The Associated Press that she did not speak with them , and they are discussing how to proceed .\nThe twin bombings killed three people and wounded at least 176 .\nPatrick told NBC on Sunday that surveillance video clearly puts Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the scene of the attack .\n`` It does seem to be pretty clear that this suspect took the backpack off , put it down , did not react when the first explosion went off and then moved away from the backpack in time for the second explosion , '' Patrick said . `` It 's pretty clear about his involvement and pretty chilling , frankly .\nAccording to media accounts , Tsarnaev and his brother , Tamerlan , were Muslims who recently gravitated to a radical strain of Islam , going so far as to post Anti-American , jihadist videos on social-media sites . Both are thought to have as-yet-unprobed ties to a radical Muslim cleric hellbent on the destruction of the American way of life .\nA day-long dragnet for Tsarnaev ended Friday , with police capturing the suspect covered in blood and hiding in a boat in the backyard of a man who called 911 after becoming suspicious of activity on his property .\n`` We got him , '' Boston Mayor Tom Menino tweeted moments later , as neighbors gathered to form a gauntlet of cheers while a phalanx of police cars departed the scene .\nPolice moved in on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Friday evening after a tip led them to the home on Franklin Street .\nNeighbors said they heard more than 30 shots likened to `` a roll of firecrackers shooting off . '' Police swarmed the scene , and several explosions , possibly police concussion grenades , were heard after a robot moved in on the boat . Less than two hours later , at about 9 p.m. , the suspect , believed to have been injured in a wild shootout that spanned Thursday night to Friday morning , was being taken to Beth Israel Hospital .\nNo police were injured when shots were fired by the boat .\nSources told βββ the shed and the boat had been searched earlier , but a local man noticed a door to it had been opened , saw blood on the tarp and called police .\n`` It was a call from a resident of Watertown , '' Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said . `` We got that call , and we got the guy . ''\nDavis said Tsarnaev was in serious condition and was found `` covered with blood . '' He did not come out from inside the boat willingly , despite the efforts of negotiators , Davis said .\n`` We assume that those injuries came from the gunfire the night before , '' Davis said .\nHe also said Tsarnaev did not have any explosives with him when he was taken into custody .\n`` I , and I think all of the law enforcement officials , are hoping for a host of reasons the suspect survives , '' Patrick said after a ceremony at Fenway Park to honor the victims and survivors of the attack Saturday . `` We have a million questions , and those questions need to be answered . ''\nThe hiding place was found just moments after police said their hunt for Tsarnaev , one of two radical Muslim brothers suspected in Monday 's attack , had gone cold and urged people to `` go about your business . ''\nShortly after the capture was announced , Watertown residents poured out of their homes and lined the streets to cheer police vehicles as they rolled away from the scene .\nCelebratory bells rang from a church tower . Teenagers waved American flags . Drivers honked . Every time an emergency vehicle went by , people cheered loudly .\n`` Tonight , our family applauds the entire law enforcement community for a job well done , and trust that our justice system will now do its job , '' said the family of 8-year-old Martin Richard , who died in the bombing .\nEarly in the day , police told residents of several city neighborhoods , especially Watertown , to stay inside . School was canceled , bus and train service suspended and people were even told not to venture out for work . But those restrictions were lifted at the news briefing Friday night about 15 minutes before the gunshots were heard .\nThe boat Tsarnaev hid under was just outside the tight perimeter where Black Hawk helicopters patrolled the sky and police went door-to-door hunting for him , police said . Police say he and his older brother placed the deadly bombs , at least one of which was made from a pressure cooker packed with explosives and shrapnel , at the race , killing three and injuring more than 180 . The sibling suspects are from Dagestan , a province in Russia that borders Chechnya , but have been in the U.S. for as much as a decade ..\nOn Thursday night , hours after the radicalized Muslims were fingered by the FBI and their images circulated around the world , they killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer and carjacked an SUV from a man who later escaped . The brothers led police on a chase through city streets that included a wild shootout that saw some 200 shots fired and the suspects hurling pipe bombs from the SUV . Bizarrely , police discounted earlier reports that the brothers had robbed a 7/11 , saying although it had been robbed , and they had been caught on surveillance video , they were not the robbers .\nThe pursuit went into Watertown , where Tamerlan Tsarnaev , 26 , was shot several times in the gunfight . But Dzhokhar Tsarnaev somehow slipped away , running over his already wounded brother as he fled by car , according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity . Tamerlan Tsarnaev was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital Deaconess Medical Center Friday morning . But at some point following the shootout and car chase , the younger brother fled by foot , according to State Police , who said Friday night they do n't believe he now has access to a car .\nDuring the pursuit , a MBTA transit police officer was seriously injured and transported to the hospital , according to a news release . He was identified as Richard H. Donahue Jr. , 33 , and was at Mount Auburn Hospital in critical but stable condition .\nThe suspects ' bloody rampage claimed the life of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier , 26 , who was found shot to death in his squad car at 10:20 p.m. Thursday in what Davis termed a `` vicious assassination . ''\nMoments after the shooting , the brothers carjacked the Mercedes SUV from Third Street in Cambridge and forced the driver to stop at several bank machines to withdraw money . The driver later told police that the brothers had bragged to him that they were the marathon bombers , law enforcement authorities said .\nβ The guy was very lucky that they let him go , β Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said .\nIt was when police were working to activate the tracking device on the stolen SUV , that other patrol officers spotted it in nearby Watertown , touching off the dramatic chase .\nFBI Special Agent Rick Deslauriers said Friday night the FBI pored though thousands of tips , and chased down countless leads in the intense probe following the terror attack on Monday .\n`` This was a truly intense investigation , '' Deslauriers said . `` As a result of that , justice is being served for each of the victims of these crimes . ''
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Story highlights A Russian lawmaker says Russia will not push Snowden out\nSnowden wants to return home , but he wants protection from prosecution\nEdward Snowden may stay in Russia longer than first thought .\nSnowden has said the time is n't right for him to return to the United States , where he could face criminal charges for leaking classified information . Russia gave him asylum for a year .\nNow Russia says it will continue to extend asylum protections to Snowden and wo n't send him back home .\nThat word came Friday from Alexy Pushkov , a legislator who is head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Duma , Russia 's lower house . He spoke about Snowden at the World Economic Forum in Davos , Switzerland .\nRussia 's position basically buys Snowden more time as he mulls his next move .\nJUST WATCHED Edward Snowden responds to CNN Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Edward Snowden responds to CNN 01:45\nJUST WATCHED A DOJ deal for Edward Snowden ? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH A DOJ deal for Edward Snowden ? 04:56\nJUST WATCHED Atty Gen. Holder discusses Snowden case Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Atty Gen. Holder discusses Snowden case 01:36\nSnowden has said he wants to return home but also wants whistle-blower protection . The U.S. government , meanwhile , says it will not offer clemency .\nIn an online chat Thursday , Snowden said that returning to the U.S. `` is the best resolution for all parties , '' but `` it 's unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistle-blower protection laws . ''\nHe pointed out that the U.S. government 's Whistleblower Protection Act does n't cover someone like him , a former government contractor .\n`` There are so many holes in the laws , the protections they afford are so weak , and the processes for reporting they provide are so ineffective that they appear to be intended to discourage reporting of even the clearest wrongdoing , '' he wrote . `` ... My case clearly demonstrates the need for comprehensive whistle-blower protection act reform . ''\nSnowden offered his remarks from Russia , where he 's been since June , having been granted a one-year asylum . Pushkov 's remarks appear to open the door to an extension of that asylum .\nThe U.S. government has n't stayed silent on his case , either .\nOn Thursday , around the time that Snowden was answering questions online , Attorney General Eric Holder said that `` if Mr. Snowden wanted to come back to the United States and enter a plea , we would engage with his lawyers . ''\nThe government would take the same tack with anyone willing to plead guilty , Holder said at an event at the University of Virginia 's Miller Center .\nBut in Snowden 's case , the attorney general insisted , `` Clemency is n't something that we ( are ) willing to consider . ''
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Sen. John McCain said Thursday he is worried about a court 's ruling Thursday against the National Security Agency 's phone records collection program , as he believes the United States needs to have the ability to monitor communications . `` It is clear that 9/11 could have been prevented if we had known about the communications , '' the Arizona Republican , who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee , told Fox News . `` We have to have that capability . `` Earlier in the day , a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that the bulk collection of Americans ' phone records by the government exceeds what Congress has allowed.The panel permitted the National Security Agency program to continue temporarily as it exists , and urged Congress to better define where the boundaries exist.McCain said it 's important to preserve privacy and not overstep , and `` from time to time the government has done that , '' but still there should be a balance . `` We have to understand this threat , and people seem to have forgotten 9/11 , '' the senator said . `` People do n't understand there are thousands of young people all over the world who are motivated by this radical brand of Islam , which is our enemy . `` McCain pointed out that the Islamic State ( ISIS ) is recruiting people through the Internet . `` It is clear as long as ISIS continues to be perceived as proceeding , they are going to be attracting young men ... who want to go over and fight , '' said McCain . `` Throughout Europe , they have had hundreds of and thousands fighting for them . In the fighting in Iraq , the best fighters for ISIS were foreigners . So look , it is a huge challenge because of the penetration and ability of social media to bring and motivate young people to commit acts of terror and/or flock to Syria or Iraq to fight . Then they come back [ here ] . `` McCain also spoke about a government waste report he has presented with Sen. Tom Coburn , R-Oklahoma , that reveals some of the largest spending problems , including $ 15,000 for the EPA to study emissions from backyard barbecues ; $ 30,000 for Vermont puppet shows , and more.But those pale to the billions that are wasted in the Pentagon , said McCain , where overspending is `` our highest priority to eliminate . ''\nAt the Pentagon , `` we have duplicated staff , and we have staffs that are four and five times larger than they were during the Vietnam War , '' said McCain . `` We have to get rid of the duplicate ways in the Pentagon and get rid of sequestration because it is destroying our ability to fund the nation . ''
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Alexander said on Capitol Hill that the two roles shouldn β t be divorced . | John Shinkle/βββ NSA director defends surveillance\nControversial surveillance practices that spilled into public view through a series of dramatic leaks last week have helped to avert β dozens of terrorist events β in recent years , National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander told a Senate committee Wednesday .\nHowever , the longer the NSA director spoke before the Senate Appropriations Committee , the less clear it became just which surveillance programs he was crediting for those successes .\nHis answer came in response to a question from Sen. Patrick Leahy ( D-Vt. ) about call-tracking surveillance conducted under Patriot Act Section 215 .\nAlexander said it was difficult to segregate information obtained under that provision from another practice disclosed by leak last week : a system that gathers bulk data from internet providers , e-mail services and social media sites . That system is aimed at foreigners outside the United States , though it sometimes data from Americans or foreigners on U.S. soil is swept in as well .\nβ These authorities complement each other . The reality is , they work together , β said Alexander .\nIt was also not clear whether Alexander was attributing the prevention of dozens of terrorist events to the phone-call tracking program or to the use of Section 215 more generally . Beyond the mass collection of phone records revealed last week , that provision can be used to acquire a variety of business records .\nβ Clearly , this authority is being used for something more than phone records , β Sen. Dick Durbin ( D-Ill. ) said .\nHowever , Alexander made it clear there are limits to the NSA β s surveillance\nSen. Susan Collins ( R-Maine ) asked whether it was true that the NSA had the ability to tap into Americans β phone calls and electronic communications .\nβ False . I know of no way to do that , β Alexander responded .\nThe NSA chief , who is also a four-star Army general who oversees the U.S. Cyber Command , said he is pressing to declassify information on how often the information has been useful . β I β m pushing for that , β he said . β We do want to get this right and it has to be vetted across the community so what we give you , you know , is accurate . β\nLeahy complained that the intelligence community has been dismissive of past congressional efforts to rein in the practices .\nThe β intelligence community has told us we obviously don β t have the ability as simple senators to know things as well as you do , β Leahy said , paraphrasing what he β s been told about NSA β s programs as : β Congress shouldn β t tinker with it at all . We should simply trust you . β\nThe Senate hearing was called to address efforts to protect Americans from cyber attacks , but it took less than an hour for senators to turn their focus to the question of government surveillance .\nAt the outset of the session , Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski ( D-Md . ) encouraged her colleagues to put off questions about the hot surveillance issues to other hearings to take place in the future . Multiple times she interrupted their questions of Alexander about domestic surveillance to plead with them to put off questions on the phone records programs .\nβ In the last several days , many intelligence issues have been in the pressβ¦I understand that these are issues that are very much on the public β s mind and members of the Senate , β Mikulski said . β That β s not today . That β s for another day . β\nHowever , Mikulski was clearly sensitive to suggestions she was trying to steer the hearing away from the surveillance issues that have dominated the news in recent days . She publicly took exception to a BuzzFeed reporter β s tweet saying Mikulski was β trying hard β to keep other senators from delving into the data mining issue\nβ There is no attempt here to muzzle β stifle any senator from asking any line of question , β Mikulski insisted .\nWhile he wasn β t immediately asked about the revelations of phone-call tracking and Web surveillance aimed at foreigners , Alexander used part of his opening statement to defend his workforce as respectful of privacy .
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NSA leaker Edward Snowden 's effort to evade prosecution in the U.S. took a turn toward Latin America Friday after the Presidents of Venezuela and Nicaragua announced they were prepared to grant NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden asylum .\nAlthough there were no concrete details from Presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua or Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela , it is believed that they are the first offers of asylum that Snowden has received since he requested asylum in several countries , including Nicaragua and Venezuela .\n`` As head of state , the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young American Edward Snowden so that he can live ( without ) ... persecution from the empire , '' President Maduro said , referring to the United States . He made the offer during a speech marking the anniversary of Venezuela 's independence . It was not immediately clear if there were any conditions to Venezuela 's offer .\nIn Nicaragua , Ortega said he was willing to make the same offer `` if circumstances allow it . '' Ortega did n't say what the right circumstances would be when he spoke during a speech in Managua .\nHe said the Nicaraguan embassy in Moscow received Snowden 's application for asylum and that it is studying the request .\n`` We have the sovereign right to help a person who felt remorse after finding out how the United States was using technology to spy on the whole world , and especially its European allies , '' Ortega said .\nMaduro made the asylum offer during a speech marking the anniversary of Venezuela 's independence . It was not immediately clear if there were any conditions to Venezuela 's offer .\nBut his critics said Maduro 's decision is nothing but an attempt to veil the current undignified conditions of Venezuela , including one of the world 's highest inflation rates and a shortage of basic products such as toilet paper .\n`` The asylum does n't fix the economic disaster , the record inflation , an upcoming devaluation ( of the currency ) , and the rising crime rate , '' Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles said in his Twitter account . Maduro beat Capriles in April 's presidential election , but Capriles has not recognized defeat and has called it an electoral fraud .\nThe White House on Friday refused to comment on the asylum offers , referring questions on the matter to the U.S. Justice Department , according to Reuters .\nThe offers came a day after left-wing South American leaders gathered to denounce the rerouting of Bolivian President Evo Morales ' plane in Europe earlier this week amid reports that Snowden might have been aboard .\nSpain on Friday said it had been warned along with other European countries that Snowden , a former U.S. intelligence worker , was aboard the Bolivian presidential plane , an acknowledgement that the manhunt for the fugitive leaker had something to do with the plane 's unexpected diversion to Austria .\nIt is unclear whether the United States , which has told its European allies that it wants Snowden back , warned Madrid about the Bolivian president 's plane . U.S. officials will not detail their conversations with European countries , except to say that they have stated the U.S. 's general position that it wants Snowden back .\nPresident Obama has publicly displayed a relaxed attitude toward Snowden 's movements , saying last month that he would n't be `` scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker . ''\nBut the drama surrounding the flight of Bolivian President Evo Morales , whose plane was abruptly rerouted to Vienna after apparently being denied permission to fly over France , suggests that pressure is being applied behind the scenes .\nSpanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told Spanish National Television that `` they told us that the information was clear , that he was inside . ''\nHe did not identify who `` they '' were and declined to say whether he had been in contact with the U.S . But he said that European countries ' decisions were based on the tip . France has since sent a letter of apology to the Bolivian government .\nMeanwhile , secret-spilling website WikiLeaks said that Snowden , who is still believed to be stuck in a Moscow airport 's transit area , had put in asylum applications to six new countries .\nThe organization said in a message posted to Twitter on Friday that it would n't be identifying the countries involved `` due to attempted U.S . interference . '' They also called for β all strong countries β in the Union of South American Nations to offer Snowden asylym .\nA number of countries have already rejected asylum applications from Snowden .
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Soon after he won the White House , President Obama declared to the world , β The interests that we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart. β It was a hopeful sentiment , one aimed at reversing a conflict-based way of thinking that had long pervaded American politics and foreign policy .\nYet an us-versus-them mentality seems to have been par for the course among US spy agencies , starting long before the Obama era . Revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden allege that the NSA tapped the cellphones of as many as 35 world leaders , even German Chancellor Angela Merkel , a close ally .\nThe excuses for this high-level spying do not fit the normal β everybody does it β rationale among nations . Electronic snooping of an ally β s personal phone is particularly invasive and unnecessary . It hints at paranoia and pessimism run amuck , even in a post-9/11 threat environment . It harks back to the days of Watergate and McCarthyism .\nAs Mr. Obama now tries to restore trust in the United States , he must tell his security officials to be careful in not accepting the view that all people should be pigeonholed into a class or grouping , such as friend or foe . That can easily lead to an oversimplified , black-and-white mode of operation that creates enemies more imagined than real . And it certainly does not reflect Obama β s view that humans share more interests than the forces that drive them apart .\nHuman beings are too complex and varied to be stuffed into a label that is then considered determinative of how they will behave . Men are not always from Mars , for example , nor women from Venus . A person β s identity lies in individual qualities of thought , not an assemblage of perceptions about them in a mass grouping based on past behavior .\nSifting people into categories is a way to polarize them by β the other β and set everyone up for conflict . While much of written history assumes that change comes out of conflicts over differences β barbarian versus civilized , Christians versus Muslim , women versus men β the fact is that progress has been achieved more through cooperation than by contention .\nβ Human relations are ... about blending , borrowing , interacting , and interconnecting , β says British historian David Cannadine . β A divided past is in fact only part of the human story . It may be the one that makes the headlines , but , arguably , it β s not the only one and it β s probably not the most important one either . β\nJournalists are particularly prone to typecast people by gender , social class , religion , nationality , or even race and ethnicity , a tendency made stronger as the news business struggles to retain audiences . Such an unexamined bias , for example , has led more TV news stations to compartmentalize themselves into liberal ( MSNBC ) and conservative ( Fox News ) , even though Americans tend to mix and match their political views .\nMost people prefer to affirm their individuality while discovering and building their common humanity . They don β t see the world as only a β clash of civilizations β or a Manichaean struggle between good and evil .\nLanguage by its very nature tends toward labels . That tendency , while helpful at times , can often mislead .\nGet the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox . By signing up , you agree to our Privacy Policy\nAs Obama now seeks to change how US intelligence agencies select targets for surveillance , he must insist they resist the β impulse ... to sunder all the peoples of the world into belligerent collectivities , β as historian Mr. Cannadine states . A balanced view is needed by taking into account people β s commonalities as well as their contrasts .\nβ I note the obvious differences between each form and type , β wrote poet Maya Angelou . β But we are more alike , my friends , than we are unalike . β
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The National Security Agency is the U.S. government 's primary eavesdropping agency . It intercepts , decodes , and analyzes foreign communications β such as emails , telephone calls , and other `` signals intelligence . '' The Fort Meade , Md.βbased agency , which has an annual budget of about $ 10 billion and employs some 40,000 people , has long carried out this mission in the shadows . But a series of leaks by former agency contractor Edward Snowden has revealed the stunning scale of its global surveillance operation . It 's now known that the NSA scoops up and stores billions of internet communications and cellphone records from the U.S. and around the world every day , which can then be studied by the agency 's legion of code breakers , data miners , and counterterrorism specialists . When President Obama receives his daily intelligence briefing , `` at least 75 percent '' comes from the NSA 's cyberspies , said Mike McConnell , director of national intelligence under President George W. Bush .\nIt was set up by President Truman in 1952 to consolidate the military 's jumble of code-breaking operations into a single , powerful agency capable of cracking the Soviet Union 's communications . The NSA , whose existence remained classified for decades , quickly became the intelligence community 's crown jewel . It ringed the USSR with 100-foot-tall , 1,000-foot-wide antennas that intercepted wireless signals as they bounced between the earth and the ionosphere . It stationed spy ships in the seas , and sent reconnaissance planes and satellites into the skies . Very quickly , the sheer volume of information harvested by the NSA dwarfed the `` human intelligence '' gathered by CIA agents in the field . `` The CIA is good at stealing a memo off a prime minister 's desk , '' said one former NSA director . `` They 're not much good at anything else . ''\nAt times , enormously so . The NSA was the first agency to spot Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962 . It provided advance warning of China 's first nuclear bomb test in 1964 , and its monitoring of Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev 's limousine telephone gave American negotiators crucial inside information during arms limitation talks in 1972 . But NSA intercepts also led to some colossal blunders . In August 1964 , the agency reported that U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin had been attacked by North Vietnamese boats twice in three days . But the second attack , used by President Johnson to justify an escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War , never occurred . The NSA had overheard North Vietnamese radio operators discussing the first battle , and misinterpreted it as a live combat report . `` It was one of the greatest intelligence mistakes in history , '' said Matthew Aid , author of the NSA history The Secret Sentry .\nYes , though these efforts are sometimes of dubious legality . From the '50s to the early '70s , the NSA operated a program called `` Shamrock '' that saw U.S. telegram companies hand over up to 150,000 messages a month β including many telegrams from ordinary Americans β which agency analysts studied for evidence of Soviet spying . Under Presidents Johnson and Nixon , the NSA worked with the FBI and CIA to monitor the communications of civil rights leaders and anti-war protesters , including Martin Luther King Jr. and Jane Fonda , as well as members of Congress . The exposure of those programs by Idaho Sen. Frank Church led Congress to enact the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 1978 , which created a secret court to hear warrant requests from intelligence services .\nThe attacks forced the NSA to adapt to the digital age . After Sept. 11 , 2001 , embarrassed the nation 's intelligence community , NSA officials launched a massive effort to capture , store , and analyze emails , texts , and online chats and videos used by terrorist networks . `` They took on a new mission that required sifting vast amounts of data to find a few important signals , '' said Stewart Baker , a former senior Homeland Security official . The NSA ordered America 's largest telecom firms and internet service providers to hand over raw data as it transited their networks . It tapped directly into the fiber-optic cables that constitute the internet 's nervous system , and recruited scores of Silicon Valley experts β including Max Kelly , Facebook 's former chief security officer β to help it navigate the new digital landscape .\nThe agency says it `` touches '' 1.6 percent of all traffic being carried on the internet β about 29.2 petabytes of communication data a day . That 's the equivalent of collecting all the text held in the Library of Congress 2,990 times every day . Intelligence officials argue that these intercepts have provided crucial insights into Iran 's nuclear weapons program , aided the U.S. military 's operations in Iraq and Libya , and helped disrupt dozens of potential terrorist attacks around the world . But some former employees claim the NSA 's ability to collect data is now outpacing its ability to analyze it . `` Despite all this collection , the NSA missed the Boston bombing , the underwear bomber , and the Times Square bomber , '' said James Bamford , a historian of the NSA . `` The problem is the bigger you build the haystack , the harder it is to find the needle . ''\nThe NSA has mastered the art of collecting vast amounts of communications data . It now has somewhere to store it . Last year , the agency opened a $ 1.7 billion data center in the Utah desert , which houses 100,000 square feet of high-performance servers . The computers use 65 megawatts of electricity β about the same as a small city β and generate so much heat that they require 1.5 million gallons of cooling water a day . William Binney , a former NSA technical director turned whistleblower , estimates that the warehouse 's servers can handle five zettabytes of data , which would fill 1.25 trillion DVDs . That means the agency has enough storage to hold `` 100 years ' worth of worldwide communications , [ phone records ] and emails , '' said Binney , `` and then have plenty of space left over to do any kind of parallel processing to try to break codes . ''
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Iran 's latest crackdown on freedom includes lashes and prison for seven young adults who posted a video of themselves dancing to the American pop hit `` Happy '' and a death sentence for a blogger accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad .\nThe seven men and women were arrested in May , but then released after self-professed `` moderate '' President Hassan Rouhani tweeted that the regime should lighten up . But the group was forced nonetheless to apologize on television and endure a trial in which they were convicted and each sentenced to 91 lashes . One was given a full year in prison while the others got six months , although their attorney told Iranwire.com the sentences were suspended .\nβ A suspended sentence becomes null and void after a certain period of time , β attorney Farshid Rofugaran said . For the Happy Group , that period will be three years . β When it β s a suspended sentence , the verdict is not carried out , but if during this period a similar offense is committed , then the accused is subject to legal punishment and the suspended sentence will then be carried out as well . β\nThe video was part of a global campaign launched by pop star Pharrell Williams and was viewed by more than 100,000 people on YouTube . The six who appeared on the video and a man who shot the footage apologized and said they had been tricked into doing it . After the confession , they were released on bail .\nβ We can accept the verdict or appeal , β said Rofugaran , adding that his clients are not banned from leaving the country .\nMeanwhile , the ultimate penalty was handed down to Soheil Arabi , a blogger found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in his postings on Facebook . The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported that Arabi will be able to appeal the decision .\nRevolutionary Guard agents arrested Arabi , 30 , and his wife last November . Arabi 's wife was released a few hours later , but Arabi was kept in solitary confinement for two months inside the notorious Evin Prison before being found guilty of β sabb al-nabi β ( insulting the Prophet ) , on Aug. 30 .\nβ Soheil had eight Facebook pages under different names , and he was charged with insulting the Imams and the Prophet because of the contents of those pages . He has accepted his charges , but throughout the trial , he stated that he wrote the material without thinking and in poor psychological condition , β a source told the Campaign .
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Perhaps taking a page out of the president β s political handbook , Washington state β s Democratic governor has announced he is placing a moratorium on state executions . No one on death row will be executed during his tenure , he said today at a press conference ; but no one convicted of murder will be released or have their sentences commuted , either . The AP reports :\nGov . Jay Inslee said Tuesday he was suspending the use of the death penalty in Washington state , announcing a move that he hopes will enable officials to `` join a growing national conversation about capital punishment . '' The Democrat said he came to the decision after months of review , meetings with family members of victims , prosecutors and law enforcement . `` There have been too many doubts raised about capital punishment , there are too many flaws in this system today , '' Inslee said at a news conference . `` There is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system . '' Inslee said that the use of the death penalty is inconsistent and unequal . The governor 's staff briefed lawmakers about the move on Monday night and Tuesday morning . Inslee 's moratorium , which will be in place for as long as he is governor , means that if a death penalty case comes to his desk , he will issue a reprieve , which is n't a pardon and does n't commute the sentences of those condemned to death . `` During my term , we will not be executing people , '' said Inslee , who was elected in 2012 . `` Nobody is getting out of prison , period . ''\nOpposing capital punishment on principle is a perfectly legitimate position to take . But does the governor have the legal or judicial authority to unilaterally postpone a state execution ? It seems he does . In fact , one sweeping power vested in the state 's chief executive ( besides , of course , the ability to pardon an offender if he so chooses ) is issuing a β reprieve , β which would temporarily save a death row inmate from being executed , according to the Seattle Times :\nAccording to the state Attorney General β s website , β Under RCW 10.01.120 , the Governor has the authority to commute a death sentence to life in prison at hard labor and , upon a petition from the offender , to pardon the offender . A commutation is generally defined as a lessening of the criminal penalty , whereas a pardon is often defined as the termination of the criminal penalty. β The Attorney General β s Office also said that the governor β has the power to issue a reprieve ( also called a stay of execution or a β respite β ) to temporarily delay the imposition of a death sentence . A reprieve is to be issued β for good cause shown , and as the Governor thinks proper. β β Washington β s Constitution and state statutes grant the governor significant powers over the fate of individuals sentenced to death , β Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday morning . β Consequently , the governor has the authority to hit the β pause β button for executions in Washington . β\nEighteen U.S. states have abolished the death penalty . In Washington , however , nine men currently sit on death row .
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This story is adapted from the False Witness newsletter . Sign up to receive it here .\nTwo months after βββ and The New York Times Magazine published a joint investigation that cast doubt on key testimony in a Florida death penalty case , the fate of James Dailey remains uncertain . Dailey was scheduled to be executed on Nov. 7 , 2019 , but he was granted a stay of execution last fall . That stay expired on Dec. 30 . Ever since , as Dailey β s attorneys have sought to have his claims of innocence evaluated in state and federal courts , one question has loomed over his case : What will Florida Gov . Ron DeSantis do ?\nDailey remains under an active death warrant β an order that authorizes his execution should the governor set a new date β in a cell that is just 30 feet from Florida β s execution chamber .\nDailey and his co-defendant , Jack Pearcy , were convicted of the 1985 murder of 14-year-old Shelly Boggio . Pearcy received a life sentence . Dailey , whose conviction rested largely on the testimony of con man-turned-jailhouse informant Paul Skalnik , was condemned to death .\nGet Email Updates Sign up to get more from Pamela Colloff about her investigation into jailhouse informants and how she reported the story .\nThe βββ-Times Magazine investigation found that Skalnik was one of the most prolific , and most effective , jailhouse informants in American history . In the 1980s , he testified or supplied information in at least 37 cases in Pinellas County , Florida , alone . Florida prosecutors put Skalnik on the stand again and again , even though he was notoriously unreliable , and in exchange for his damning testimony , they granted him leniency . Just five days after Dailey was sentenced to death in 1987 , Skalnik was released from jail . Skalnik has always maintained that his testimony in Dailey β s trial was truthful and that he did not receive any benefits in return .\nDeSantis can set a new execution date until March 23 , when Dailey β s death warrant expires . After that , the governor would have to sign a new warrant before he could set an execution date .\nAcross Florida , newspaper editorial boards and columnists have cited the reporting by βββ and the Times Magazine on Skalnik in expressing their concern about Dailey β s possible execution . Tampa Bay Times columnist Daniel Ruth wrote that there would be β blood on DeSantis β hands β if he allowed Dailey to be put to death . The Orlando Sentinel warned : β Gov . DeSantis Must Not Be Conned into Executing James Dailey. β Miami Herald opinion columnist Carl Hiaasen cautioned that β sending a man to his grave on the worthless word of Paul Skalnik wouldn β t be justice . It would be a shameful travesty . β\nβ It seems clear that the state never had enough real evidence to convict Dailey , so it turned to lies β lies that have come undone , β wrote The Daytona Beach News-Journal β s editorial board .\nDeSantis has indicated that he is waiting for the case to play out in the courts . But over the past several months , the courts have not looked favorably on Dailey β s attempts to have his case reconsidered . Dailey β s case highlights a strange fact of the criminal justice system : Because the standard for proving actual innocence is incredibly high , judges are often reluctant to overturn convictions even when evidence emerges that casts the original facts of the case into doubt or reveals once-incriminating testimony to be far more ambiguous .\nIn December , U.S. District Judge William F. Jung rejected a request from Dailey β s federal attorneys for an indefinite stay of execution so that they could pursue his innocence claims . β A thorough review shows the state β s trial case against James Dailey was not strong , but it was sufficient , β Jung wrote .\nAfter Jung β s decision , Dailey β s federal attorneys requested permission from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to file an additional federal habeas petition in which they asked that his claims of innocence be considered . But they were rebuffed in a ruling on Jan. 30 .\nRead More He β s a Liar , a Con Artist and a Snitch . His Testimony Could Soon Send a Man to His Death . Paul Skalnik has a decadeslong criminal record and may be one of the most prolific jailhouse informants in U.S. history . The state of Florida is planning to execute a man based largely on his word .\nIn a remarkable footnote to the ruling , Chief Judge Ed Carnes acknowledged that Skalnik β s testimony at Dailey β s trial was likely false . β The layout of the jail where Dailey was housed and the procedures in place for prisoners in protective custody , like Skalnik , establish that Dailey could not have confessed to Skalnik in the way Skalnik said he did , β Carnes wrote . β And other evidence indicates Skalnik lied about other matters during the trial . β\nBut neither Skalnik β s lies , nor other evidence Dailey β s lawyers presented to the 11th Circuit , ultimately mattered . β Dailey β s new evidence , at most , casts some degree of doubt on some of the testimony the State presented at trial , β Carnes wrote . β But we are not jurors deciding in the first instance whether the State has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt . We are a court of appeals deciding more than 30 years after a murder whether the inmate who was convicted of it , and whose conviction has been upheld at every turn for three decades , has shown a reasonable likelihood of meeting the β extraordinarily high β burden of making a β truly persuasive demonstration β that he is actually innocent . Dailey has not done that . β\nCarnes , a former Alabama assistant attorney general , has long been assailed as overzealous in his pursuit of the death penalty β even in cases tainted by racial discrimination that were decided by all-white juries . An Alabama legal journal dubbed him β Mr . Death Penalty . β\nDailey β s lead federal attorney , Carol Wright , condemned the ruling . β The court today says that proof of innocence is not enough , β she wrote in a statement to The Tampa Bay Times . β The court today says even if the state β s theory of the conviction is disproved , if the court can imagine any scenario of guilt however implausible an innocent man can be executed . The system is broken . β\nThough Dailey β s appeals have not made headway in the federal courts , his case is also currently before the 6th Judicial Circuit Court in Clearwater , Florida , and it is there , as the possibility of his execution looms , that his legal team is fighting to have the courts examine his claims of innocence .\nOne of the most compelling issues before the court is an extraordinary new admission from Pearcy . In December , in a meeting with one of Dailey β s attorneys , Pearcy signed an affidavit that stated : β James Dailey had nothing to do with the murder of Shelly Boggio . I committed the crime alone . James Dailey was back at the house when I drove Shelly Boggio to the place where I ultimately killed her . β\nPearcy has now repeatedly confessed to being solely responsible for the crime for which he was sentenced to life in prison and for which Dailey was sentenced to death .\nJames Dailey at Florida State Prison in November . ( Eli Durst , special to The New York Times Magazine )\nIn 2017 , he signed a sworn affidavit in which he asserted that Dailey was not present when Boggio was killed . But when he was called to the stand the following year to attest to this under oath , he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination . Over the years , Pearcy has given numerous different accounts of the crime β at times blaming Dailey and other times inculpating himself .\nOn Feb. 20 , Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa will consider whether to grant the defense β s request for an evidentiary hearing at which Pearcy could be called to testify . Another issue before the judge concerns what prosecutors knew about Skalnik β s criminal history when they called him to testify at Dailey β s trial .\nAs the βββ-Times Magazine investigation revealed , Skalnik was arrested in 1982 and charged β but never prosecuted β with β lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under 14 , β after a 12-year-old girl said he assaulted her . The state attorney β s office ultimately dropped the charge against him and continued to use him as a jailhouse informant . Once the charge was dropped , Skalnik was able to portray himself to jurors as a far more innocuous figure than he actually was .\nThis was true at Dailey β s trial , as well . When Skalnik was cross-examined in that trial , one of Dailey β s attorneys pressed him about his criminal history , asking , β How bad were your charges ? β\nSkalnik was quick to reply : β They were grand theft , counselor , not murder , not rape , no physical violence in my life. β He never mentioned his arrest for the molestation charge .\nProsecutors did not object to this characterization . In fact , they doubled down on the idea that Skalnik was morally superior to the man who sat at the defense table . β There is a hierarchy over in that jail , just like in life , β prosecutor Beverly Andrews said in closing arguments , drawing a distinction between Skalnik β s theft charges and the murder charge that Dailey faced . β Some crimes , β she added , β are worse than others . β\nDid the prosecutors who tried Dailey β Andrews and Robert Heyman β know about Skalnik β s molestation charge , but not disclose it to jurors ? Both have strenuously denied any wrongdoing .\nLast month , Dailey β s attorneys filed a motion with the 6th Judicial Circuit Court alleging that Heyman β was aware of the sexual assault charges previously faced by Skalnik and dismissed by his office. β They pointed to handwritten notes the state attorney β s office turned over in a separate capital case in which Skalnik testified . The notes appeared to be from Dailey β s trial and referenced the testimony of a Pinellas County sheriff β s detective , John Halliday , about Skalnik . Next to Skalnik β s name , the words β sex assault β had been crossed out .\nA reproduction of notes James Dailey β s lawyers submitted as part of a January court filing .\nDailey β s attorneys had suspected that the notes belonged to Heyman , who questioned the detective during Dailey β s trial . According to the motion they filed , Heyman said the notes were his in a January interview with ABC News that has not yet aired .\nβ Mr . Heyman was apparently prepared to ask Halliday about Skalnik β s prior sexual assault charge , but , after Skalnik β s false testimony regarding his criminal history , Mr. Heyman did not , β Dailey β s attorneys assert in the motion . β The State permitted Skalnik β s false testimony about his criminal history to stand uncorrected. β ( The state has not filed a response thus far . )\nDailey β s attorneys have previously argued that jurors could not fairly assess Skalnik β s credibility as a witness without knowing his full criminal history . Heyman β s admission allowed them to make a powerful new argument : that the prosecution not only knew Skalnik had misrepresented his history , but then let that mischaracterization stand and bolstered his testimony with representations that he was merely a thief . In doing so , Dailey β s attorneys allege , Heyman β perpetrated a fraud on the court. β In light of that , they argue , the 6th Judicial Circuit Court should vacate Dailey β s conviction and death sentence .\nIf Siracusa grants the defense β s request for an evidentiary hearing , Heyman could be called to testify .\nDailey β s attorneys have also filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court , asking its justices to review the Florida Supreme Court β s refusal to consider Pearcy β s 2017 sworn affidavit . An unlikely coalition of groups has filed amicus curiae briefs . These β friend of the court β filings β submitted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , eight former and current prosecutors and Conservatives Concerned About The Death Penalty β ask the nation β s highest court to review Dailey β s case .\nβ Generally , the weaker the prosecution β s case , the stronger the likelihood that prosecutors will resort to using jailhouse informant testimony , β the prosecutors wrote . β Because informant testimony is inherently unreliable , prosecutors have an obligation to present an accurate and complete picture of the benefits received so that jurors can consider in context the credibility to which the testimony is entitled . The evidence unveiled after Mr. Dailey β s trial about the jailhouse informants and their motives to testify stands in stark contrast to that presented during trial , thus undermining any confidence in the jury β s verdict . β\nAs the courts sort out what will happen next , Dailey remains on β death watch , β steps away from the execution chamber .
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Several thousand prisoners in California may be eligible to apply for sentence reductions , after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative Tuesday that alters the state 's controversial three-strikes law .\nBut voters also rejected a proposition that would abolish the death penalty in the state . Proposition 34 would have replaced capital punishment with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole .\n`` I guess the next step , then , is to start executing these monsters that exist on death row , '' says Mark Klass , the father of Polly Klass , a 12-year-old girl who was brutally kidnapped , raped and murdered in 1993 .\nKlass says he 's relieved that the man convicted of the crime will remain on death row . `` They understand that for that worst 2 percent of murders β those individuals who kill little children , who kill police officers , who are serial killers , who are mass murderers , who are psychopathic and show absolutely no remorse β those are the individuals that we can do without , '' Klass says .\nMore than 700 inmates are currently on California 's death row , and 14 of them have now exhausted all of their legal appeals . It 's still unclear , however , when executions would resume in California .\nFormer Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti had joined with the ACLU and a former head warden of San Quentin prison to try to abolish the state 's death penalty . He says both sides agree that the death penalty does not serve as a crime deterrent .\nGarcetti argues that the state has spent $ 4 billion to house death row inmates and pay for their appeals . And though capital punishment still stands , Garcetti says Tuesday 's vote nevertheless shows that Californians increasingly oppose the death penalty .\n`` Look at how many voters in 1978 passed the death penalty law that 's in effect today . That 's 71 percent . Now we 're down to 53 percent in favor of the death penalty , '' Garcetti says . `` They 'll come over , so it 's a matter of time , that 's what it is . ''\nWhile Californians rejected Proposition 34 , they did vote to change the state 's three-strikes law . The revision eliminates the mandatory 25 years-to-life sentence for a third felony , if that crime is nonviolent .\nAs many as 3,000 prisoners could appeal their original sentences in the wake of the vote , which worries Mike Reynolds , the author of the original three-strikes law , adopted in 1994 .\n`` It 's going to destroy the deterrent value of the three-strikes law , '' Reynolds says . `` This is going to bring a lot more bloodshed and a lot more costs to our state in terms of crime and dealing with it . ''\nBut Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley says those fears are unfounded . `` Hordes of people are not going to be released , '' he says . `` Not under this very modest proposal . ''\nCooley says repeat offenders will still have to serve time , but their sentences now will be proportionate to the crime committed . He says that 's a practice L.A. County has already been following successfully for the past 12 years .\n`` Our crime rate 's at a 60-year low here in Los Angeles County , '' Cooley says . `` We 're not clogging our courts with trials of relatively minor , nonserious , nonviolent felonies , and we 're assuring proportionate sentencing based upon the nature of the new offense . ''\n`` Legally speaking , it 's a modest change in the three-strikes law , but politically speaking , it 's a monster change , '' says Adam Gelb , director of the Public Safety Performance Project at the Pew Center on the States .\nGelb says until now , California has had the nation 's harshest three-strikes law . He says the vote to revise it confirms that people are tired of spending money on nonviolent offenders serving long prison sentences .\n`` California helped start this three-strikes trend many years ago , '' Gelb says . `` And this vote to scale it back is going to resonate across the country for years to come . ''\nGelb says this could mean other states will begin to reform their three-strikes laws , too .
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Want the best of βββ News straight to your inbox ? Sign up here .\nThe Trump administration plans to resume federal executions , reversing a 16-year de facto moratorium on the death penalty within the Department of Justice .\nAttorney General William Barr instructed the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Thursday to schedule executions of five death-row inmates , who he said were convicted of β murdering , and in some cases torturing and raping , the most vulnerable in our society β children and the elderly . '' The federal government has carried out three executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1988 : two in 2001 and one in 2003 .\nBut it β s not clear whether the federal government has successfully obtained the drugs required to perform lethal injections in the midst of a nationwide shortage .\nβ Congress has expressly authorized the death penalty through legislation adopted by the people β s representatives in both houses of Congress and signed by the president , β Barr said in a statement . β The Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals , including these five murderers , each of whom was convicted by a jury of his peers after a full and fair proceeding . β\nThursday β s announcement bucks a national trend toward phasing out the death penalty entirely . Faced with a shortage of lethal injection drugs , states have tried to experiment with untested cocktails of chemicals β and even kept some of the details secret . But trying to circumvent the shortage has led to botched executions in some instances and lawsuits questioning the humanity of new protocols .\nREAD : The first person is about to be executed with fentanyl β and it 's not Scott Dozier\nAs a result , the number of annual executions has declined in recent years β and public opinion has increasingly swung in favor of doing away with capital punishment entirely .\nSome states have even adjusted their protocols to allow death row inmates to choose alternate methods of execution . Last December , an inmate in Tennessee died by electric chair at his request .\nSixty-two inmates currently wait on federal death row . Among them is Dylann Roof , a white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners when he opened fire on a church in Charleston , South Carolina , in 2015 .\nOnly 25 states still have the death penalty on the books , but just eight states carried out executions in 2018 . So far this year , governors in four states β California , Colorado , Oregon and Pennsylvania β have placed moratoriums on their state β s death penalty . New Hampshire also abolished the death penalty entirely in 2019 , just months after Washington , which scrapped capital punishment last October .\nCover image : A table with restraints is shown inside the death chamber at the new lethal injection facility at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin , Calif. , Tuesday , Sept. 21 , 2010 . ( AP Photo/Eric Risberg )
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Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin , front atop truck , participates with other local celebrities in a protest demanding the resignation of governor Ricardo Rossello in San Juan , Puerto Rico , Monday , July 22 , 2019 . Protesters are demanding Rossello step down for his involvement in a private chat in which he used profanities to describe an ex-New York City councilwoman and a federal control board overseeing the island 's finance . ( AP Photo/Carlos Giusti )\nPuerto Rican singer Ricky Martin , front atop truck , participates with other local celebrities in a protest demanding the resignation of governor Ricardo Rossello in San Juan , Puerto Rico , Monday , July 22 , 2019 . Protesters are demanding Rossello step down for his involvement in a private chat in which he used profanities to describe an ex-New York City councilwoman and a federal control board overseeing the island 's finance . ( AP Photo/Carlos Giusti )\nSAN JUAN , Puerto Rico ( AP ) β Waving flags , chanting and banging pots and pans , tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans jammed a highway Monday to demand the resignation of Gov . Ricardo RossellΓ³ in a crisis triggered by a leak of offensive , obscenity-laden chat messages between him and his advisers .\nThe demonstration appeared to be the biggest protest on the island in nearly two decades .\nβ Finally , the government β s mask has fallen , β said Jannice Rivera , a 43-year-old mechanical engineer who lives in Houston but was born and raised in Puerto Rico and flew in to join the crowds .\nThe protest came 10 days after the leak of 889 pages of online chats in which RossellΓ³ and some of his close aides insulted women and mocked constituents , including victims of Hurricane Maria .\nThe leak has intensified long-smoldering anger in the U.S. territory over persistent corruption and mismanagement by the island β s two main political parties , a severe debt crisis , a sickly economy and a slow recovery from Maria , which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 .\nβ The people have awakened after so much outrage , β said 69-year-old retired nurse Benedicta Villegas . β There are still people without roofs and highways without lights . The chat was the tip of the iceberg . β\nThe crowd surged along the Americas Expressway despite the punishing heat β toddlers , teenagers , professionals and the elderly , all dripping in sweat and smiling as they waved Puerto Rico flags large and small and hoisted signs .\nβ This is to show that the people respect themselves , β said Ana Carrasquillo , 26 . β We β ve put up with corruption for so many years . β\nIn an interview Monday with Fox News , RossellΓ³ said that he will not resign and that he is focused on tackling corruption and helping the island recover from Maria .\nβ I β m making amends , β he said . β I β ve apologized for all the comments that I made on the chat . β\nOn Sunday evening , RossellΓ³ , a Democrat , sought to calm the unrest by promising not to seek re-election in 2020 or continue as head of his pro-statehood New Progressive Party . That only further angered his critics , who have mounted street demonstrations for more than a week .\nβ The people are not going to go away , β said Johanna Soto , of the city of Carolina . β That β s what he β s hoping for , but we outnumber him . β\nAsked who was advising RossellΓ³ on staying in office , RossellΓ³ β s secretary of public affairs , Anthony Maceira , said the governor was speaking with his family , and β that carries a great weight. β RossellΓ³ β s father , Pedro , was governor from 1993 to 2001 .\nThe biggest newspaper in this territory of more than 3 million American citizens , El Nuevo Dia , added to the pressure with the front-page headline : β Governor , it β s time to listen to the people : You have to resign . β\nAsked whether the governor should step down , President Donald Trump said that RossellΓ³ is a β terrible β governor and that hurricane relief money sent to Puerto Rico has been β squandered , wasted and stolen β and the island β s top leadership is β totally , grossly incompetent . β\nThe demonstrations represent the biggest protest movement on the island since Puerto Ricans rallied to put an end to U.S. Navy training on the island of Vieques more than 15 years ago .\nMonday was the 10th consecutive day of protests , and more are being called for later in the week . The island β s largest mall , Plaza de las AmΓ©ricas , closed ahead of the protest , as did dozens of other businesses . The upheaval also prompted at least four cruise ships to cancel visits to Puerto Rico .\nThe crisis has stirred fears about the effects on the already fragile economy .\nPuerto Rico is struggling to restructure part of its $ 70 billion in debt under federal supervision and deal with a 13-year recession through school closings , cutbacks in infrastructure maintenance and other austerity measures .\nAt the same time , the island is trying to rebuild from Maria , which caused more than $ 100 billion in damage , threw Puerto Rico into a year-long blackout and left thousands dead , most of them succumbing during the sweltering aftermath .\nThe island has also seen a recent string of arrests of Puerto Rico officials on corruption charges . Those arrested included the former education secretary .
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( CNN ) β The suggestion this week from a top Obama campaign official that Mitt Romney may have committed a felony by listing himself as CEO of Bain Capital after leaving the firm was picked apart Sunday , with Republicans decrying the remark as the worst type of divisive politics and Obama 's team urging its rivals to `` stop whining . ''\nStephanie Cutter , Obama 's deputy campaign manager , originally made the claim Thursday on a conference call .\n`` Either Mitt Romney , through his own words and his own signature was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC , which is a felony , or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments , '' Cutter said , responding to a newspaper report that Romney was listed as Bain Capital 's CEO after 1999 , when he has repeatedly said he left the private equity firm .\nThe significance of Romney 's date of departure centers on companies acquired by Bain that later shipped jobs overseas . Romney claims he left the company before those decisions were made , but Democrats point to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that indicate Romney was still listed as the firm 's CEO .\nCutter 's words drew a quick response from Obama 's opponents , who said the suggestion that the presumptive GOP nominee had committed a felony was below the office of the presidency .\nRomney himself said in an interview with CNN on Friday that the charge was `` disgusting '' and `` demeaning , '' and called on Obama and his campaign to apologize .\nEd Gillespie , a senior adviser to Romney , echoed that sentiment on Sunday , saying on CNN the charges reflected a `` say anything '' stance adopted by the president 's campaign .\n`` We now know that this president will say anything to keep this highest office in the land , even if it means demeaning the highest office in the land , '' Gillespie said .\nAnd Kevin Madden , newly appointed to a more senior role on Romney 's team , said on CBS that the felony suggestion was out of line .\n`` I think it is very troubling that the president would direct this campaign to label someone like Gov . Romney , who is a very good and honorable man , as a felon . That 's very troubling , '' Madden said .\nCutter , sitting next to Madden on the CBS set , said she was not calling Romney a felon , but merely stating the Bain documents , if misrepresentative of his role at the company , would amount to a felony . She refused to apologize for the remark .\n`` He 's not going to get an apology , '' Cutter said . `` Just a few months ago in the primary Mitt Romney said to his opponents - who were crushing him at the time β 'stop whining . ' And that 's a good message for the Romney campaign . Instead of whining about what the Obama campaign is saying , just put the facts out there and let people decide rather than trying to hide them . ''\nChicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel , who left his post as Obama 's chief of staff in 2010 to run in the mayoral election , had similar advice for the Republican candidate .\n`` Give it up about Stephanie . Do n't worry about that , '' Emanuel said on ABC . `` What are you going to do when a China president says something about you ? Stop whining . If you want to claim Bain Capital as your calling card for the White House , defend what happened to Bain Capital and what happened to those jobs that went overseas , those jobs that were actually cut and eliminated . ''
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CHARLOTTE , NC - Round two of the 2012 DNC is finally complete , following an interminable stemwinder from former President Bill Clinton . A few thoughts on the evening : Prior to the 10pm ET hour , the convention lineup was wholly unremarkable . Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer both spoke for the second time this week . Why ? These speeches lasted nearly six-and-a-half hours in total . Were retreads necessary ? In any case , we heard from more abortion proponents , several union bosses , and a long list of unremarkable politicians . It was tedious in the extreme , especially the mindless Bain demagoguery . On to my `` prime '' prime-time grades :\nSandra Fluke : D. The thirtysomething recent law grad gave a surly and self-pitying speech about birth control and abortion . This is a young woman whose claim to fame is demanding that the Catholic school she chose to attend be coerced by the federal government to cast aside their beliefs and pay for her `` free '' birth control . She cast herself as a courageous victim , repeatedly knocking Mitt Romney for refusing to stand up for her after Rush Limbaugh called her a name . Absolutely pitiful . Her demagoguery about women `` dying '' under the Romney/Ryan plan was unseemly , crass , and befitting her pathetic 15 minutes of fame . Sandra Fluke may be a hero to some liberals , but I ca n't imagine she has even an ounce of appeal to most average people . Democratic commentator Kirsten Powers was decidedly unimpressed with Fluke 's whole schtick .\nJim Sinegal : N/A . The former CEO of Costco 's job was to convince people that Democrats are good for business . His speech was dull and so unmemorable that I have no meaningful analysis to offer .\nElizabeth Warren : C. The Harvard Law professor led the class warfare fight tonight , as is her wont . We do everything `` together , '' the system 's `` rigged , '' etc . She called ( surprise ! ) for much higher levels of government `` investment '' in practically all imaginable sectors . As the author of the original `` you did n't build that '' riff , her message was characteristic and reprehensible . Her delivery was slightly improved and she remembered to smile -- so marks for that , I guess . Interestingly , Warren did n't mention her `` heritage . '' Weird , right ?\nBill Clinton : B+ . It was good . It should have been shorter . If it had , it would have been significantly better . The former president spoke for 48 minutes ; he was reportedly allotted 20-25 minutes . Clinton made the best case available to Obama backers , basically : Things were really bad , he inherited an impossible problem , he 's done as well as anyone possibly could have , things are starting to get better , he 's a good guy , and he needs more time . This argument rests on the hope that voters will believe that they 're better off under Obama and that his policies have not been counter-productive . Tough sledding , but Clinton 's a word wizard . He spun a compelling yarn . He took a risk , though , by ignoring his own pollsters ' advice by crossing into Obama economy happy talk a little too often . Clinton also engaged in a lot of Republican blaming , slightly leavened by a few kind words about his Republican predecessor and successor . He repeated the `` GOP obstructionism '' trope without any acknowledgement of Democrats ' massive majorities for two full years , nor any recognition that the American people elected Republicans in a landslide in 2010 explicitly to slam the brakes on the Obama agenda . After moving through the ( effective ) heart of his remarks , Clinton decided to play fact-checker-in-chief . This is where he wandered . He addressed a litany of Republican arguments and policies , erecting and destroying straw men along the way . His `` arithmetic , '' as he called it , was tendentious and incomplete . Indeed , he repeated many of the claims FactCheck.org dealt with this morning . He talked , and talked , and talked -- on the economy , on healthcare , on Medicare , on the debt , and on welfare reform ( speaking of which , read this and this ) . His mind is still sharp and his political instincts are still keen , but Clinton strayed from the script too often and overstayed his welcome . Not in this hall , of course . The partisan crowd lapped up every last word . But at home . If his address had been shaved down to 30 or even 35 minutes , it would have been dynamite . It was still quite good . The guy loves to talk , and he 's pretty fun to listen to . In the end , Bill Clinton made the most effective sales pitch for `` four more years '' we 've heard at this convention . Did people stick it out through he whole marathon , or were they watching football ? The image of the night was Obama striding on stage to hug Clinton as the pair basked in the crowd 's adulation . Obama wants voters to almost imagine Clinton as his running mate , thus appropriating the 42nd president 's record and enduring good will . Obama 's counting on Clinton 's decade-old legacy to save him from his own .\nOdds and Ends : The media is eager to move past today 's floor debacle , so they 'll pump a `` back on track , thanks to a masterful Clinton performance ! '' narrative . Clinton salvaged a lackluster 10pm hour ( and session , really ) then dragged it well into the next . Clinton 's star power and strong endorsement certainly helped Obama ; the rest of the night , not so much .
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Mr. Sousa said the group had compiled a fund-raising list of more than a million potential donors β email addresses , which it is renting to the Carson campaign . That follows the example set by Ready PAC , formerly known as Ready for Hillary , which spent close to a year building support for Hillary Clinton before she announced her candidacy . It never ran a television ad . ( Nor has Correct the Record , a super PAC founded by David Brock that is focusing exclusively on opposition research and rapid response in Mrs. Clinton β s defense . )\nMany super PACs will turn to television soon enough , but even those that have done so already have recognized the need for more than just TV ads .\nNew Day for America , the super PAC supporting Mr. Kasich , is pursuing a highly advanced ground game in partnership with a data-analytics firm , Applecart : The firm says it mines data sources like yearbooks and local news reports to decipher which people have personally influential relationships with sought-after voters . Rather than giving phone-bank callers or canvassers lists of random people to contact , for example , the organizers are assigning each of those volunteers to reach 10 to 20 New Hampshire voters they know personally and convert them into Kasich supporters .\nRight to Rise , the super PAC supporting Mr. Bush , is also starting to pour more money into online messaging , where β unlike on television β its dollars go just as far as the candidate β s . All advertisers β campaigns , super PACs , even Frito-Lay β pay the same rates for digital ads .\nβ With TV getting a bit more crowded , we β re looking at frequency , β said Sheena Arora , a digital strategist at Revolution Agency who works with Right to Rise β meaning β how many times we β re hitting individuals across devices. β The group has been creating a wide range of ads aimed at smartphones , tablets and even Xbox gaming systems .\nNot everyone buys into the changing tactics . Rick Shaftan , who leads the pro-Cruz Courageous Conservatives group , suggested that spending money on field efforts made little sense for his operation . β This is what I did as field guy : hung out with the volunteers , brought people signs and brought people literature , β he said . β That was 1984 . Now we β re in a world where it β s all different . People can get their own signs . β
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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Sunday threatened Ohio Gov . John Kasich and other Republicans who refuse to support presidential nominee Donald Trump , saying the party may take steps to ensure it β s not β that easy for them β to seek the White House again .\nSpeaking on CBS β β Face the Nation , β Mr. Priebus said every Republican who ran in 2016 needs to get behind Mr. Trump .\nThose who haven β t β including Mr. Kasich , former Florida Gov . Jeb Bush , and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz β could see diminished support from the party moving forward .\nβ People who agreed to support the nominee , that took part in our process , they used tools from the RNC . They agreed to support the nominee . They took part in our process . We β re a private party , we β re not a public entity . Those people need to get on board , β Mr. Priebus said .\nβ And if they β re thinking they β re going to run again someday , I think we β re going to evaluate our process , the nomination process , and I don β t think it β s going to be that easy for them , β he said .\nMr. Kasich said it β s β very unlikely β he β ll vote for Mr. Trump β¦ β too much water under the bridge , β the Ohio governor said in an interview with CNN that aired Friday .\nSEE ALSO : 48 % of Democratic voters say Bernie Sanders should replace Hillary if she drops out of race\nMr. Bush has expressed similar sentiments , and Mr. Cruz famously withheld an endorsement of Mr. Trump during the Republican National Convention and instead told Republicans to β vote their conscience β in November .\nMr. Priebus denied that he was threatening Mr. Kasich , Mr. Cruz or anyone else , yet he clearly suggested the party would put roadblocks in front of the electoral hopes of anyone who hasn β t offered a full-throated endorsement of Mr. Trump .\nβ People in our party are talking about what we β re going to do about this β¦ It β s not a threat . It β s just a question , β the RNC chairman said . β What should a private party do about that if those same people come around in four or eight years ? β\nMr. Kasich , a former 2016 GOP presidential candidate himself , said it β s still important to get out the vote for Republicans like Sen . Rob Portman , who is running for re-election in Ohio .\nβ We want to get people out to vote . We want to re-elect Senator Portman , and we want to re-elect people down ticket , β Mr. Kasich said . β I β m not voting for Hillary [ Clinton ] . β\nβ I β ll let everybody know β¦ but I think my actions have spoken very loudly . Louder than even my words , β he said .\nMr. Kasich was in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention in July , but he did not attend the convention itself .\nAsked about Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson , Mr. Kasich said : β I haven β t even gone there yet . It β s a long way [ until ] Election Day . β
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This may be the most entertaining road show yet . Round and round the presidential campaign goes , and where it stops nobody knows . Even Mitt Romney is said to be thinking about jumping in again , no doubt figuring that some of Jeb β s β investors , β who are familiar indeed , may be looking for another place to place their bets .\nHillary Clinton β s campaign still gets respectful attention , but nobody β s any longer practicing what to call her if , as in a prospect ever more unlikely , she β s actually elected . Madame President ? That sounds like something from a bordello , or worse , from France . Mrs. President ? The feminists wouldn β t like that , because it pays homage to a husband . β Miss President β sounds like everybody β s seventh-period Latin teacher , perhaps fetching in her own way , but not much fun .\nJoe Biden , everybody β s good old , slightly daffy uncle , lovable but prone to gaffes , boners and extravagant slips not only of the tongue but sometimes of the brain , like his suggestion , meant to warm the hearts of gun owners , that if you hear a varmint or a prowler in the middle of the night , the thing to do is to take your shotgun to the front porch and blast away at the night . ( Hoping nobody is still up across the street is optional . )\nThe Republican establishment has the opposite problem . They β re having to quit laughing at Donald Trump and start taking him seriously . He keeps increasing his polling lead over the field , and where that stops nobody knows , either . He β s an β outlier , β the currently fashionable $ 2 word for β outsider , β but he β s not as outsiderly as he used to be .\nThe liberal media , the Greek chorus assigned to enlightening the halt , the unhip and the dumb , spent the weekend chortling over the fact that the Donald attracted β only β 20,000 fans to a football stadium that seats 30,000 in Mobile . The cops wisely declined to offer an estimate of the size of the crowd , but it was bigger than anyone else has drawn so far . Who but the Donald , who compared it to a crowd at a Billy Graham revival meeting , would risk holding a political rally in a football stadium in Alabama , exposing empty seats and inviting unwanted comparisons .\nPresident Obama himself threw a big flat rock in the Democratic pond on Monday with a resounding splash . He sent his press agent out to suggest to reporters that he might endorse someone in the Democratic primaries , and it didn β t sound like he was talking about Hillary . The president , said press secretary Josh Earnest , thinks taking Joe Biden on his ticket seven years ago was the smartest political decision he ever made . He reminded everyone that he had spoken β warmly β about Hillary , too . Then it was back to praising good old Joe .\nβ I β ll just say that the vice president is somebody who has already run for president twice . He β s been on a national ticket through two election cycles β¦ So I think you could make the case that there is no one who has a better understanding of exactly what is required to mount a successful national presidential campaign β¦ I wouldn β t rule out the possibility of an endorsement in the Democratic primary . β\nA press agent always speaks for the man who pays him , so we can safely assume that Mr . Earnest didn β t make a semi-endorsement , sort of , on his own .\nMr. Obama β s endorsement would be valuable in a Democratic primary , a signal that he has found someone who will protect his β legacy , β such as it will be . In the general election , his endorsement might be a sloppy kiss of death , where voters of all kinds could rush to make the judgment that is likely to be the verdict of history β Mr. Obama was a freak of history , elected by a well-meaning but naive electorate eager to show good faith and hope for the best .\nTaking a flier is rarely a substitute for making a sound judgment . Nominating a candidate with little political experience can be tempting . The Republicans tried it in 1940 , nominating Wendell Willkie , a Wall Street lawyer who had never been elected to anything , thinking everyone shared their contempt for Franklin D. Roosevelt .\nThat β s what terrifies the Republican establishment about Donald Trump . If the establishment understood politics a little better than it does , establishment Republicans would recognize how they brought the Donald to political prominence themselves . The establishment doesn β t understand how cable-TV , the Internet and a succession of mushmouth candidates have changed everything .\nThe Republican grass roots hankers for rough justice , applied without mercy . These are the grass roots that are a minority of a minority , but they β re loud , they β re angry , and they β re out for blood .\nβ’ Wesley Pruden is editor emeritus of The Washington Times .
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LISTEN TO ARTICLE 6:19 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email\nHospitals are threatening to fire health-care workers who publicize their working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic -- and have in some cases followed through .\nMing Lin , an emergency room physician in Washington state , said he was told Friday he was out of a job because he β d given an interview to a newspaper about a Facebook post detailing what he believed to be inadequate protective equipment and testing . In Chicago , a nurse was fired after emailing colleagues that she wanted to wear a more protective mask while on duty . In New York , the NYU Langone Health system has warned employees they could be terminated if they talk to the media without authorization .\nβ Hospitals are muzzling nurses and other health-care workers in an attempt to preserve their image , β said Ruth Schubert , a spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association . β It is outrageous . β\nHospitals have traditionally had strict media guidelines to protect patient privacy , urging staff to talk with journalists only through official public relations offices . But the pandemic has ushered in a new era , Schubert said .\nHealth-care workers β must have the ability to tell the public what is really going on inside the facilities where they are caring for Covid-19 patients , β she said .\nOne reason is to prepare other nurses and doctors for the looming onslaught of cases and encourage donations of much-needed equipment , particularly the personal protective equipment or PPE that protects them from being infected and in turn infecting other patients as well as their families when they go home .\nIn China , one of the earliest alarms about the mysterious new illness was raised by a doctor in an online chatroom in late December . He was reprimanded and forced to sign a police statement that the post was illegal . He later contracted the disease from a patient and died .\nIt β s hard to come to grips with the fact that # WhenCoronaVirusIsOver some of us in healthcare will not be standing . And to think that is partially due to a lack of # PPE is infuriating . # GetMePPE pic.twitter.com/id5rrHoQFH β Joseph Sakran ( @ JosephSakran ) March 29 , 2020\nβ It is good and appropriate for health-care workers to be able to express their own fears and concerns , especially when expressing that might get them better protection , β said Glenn Cohen , faculty director of Harvard Law School β s bioethics center . It β s likely hospitals are trying to limit reputational damage because β when health-care workers say they are not being protected , the public gets very upset at the hospital system . β\nDoctors are a famously independent profession , where individual medical judgment on what β s best for the patient is prized over administrative dictates . That β s reared its head during the Covid-19 outbreak , with many physicians , nurses and other health-care workers taking to social media to express deep concerns about the lack of protective gear or much-needed patient-care equipment like respirators . Some posts have gone viral and are being shared hundreds of thousands of times , often tagged with # GetMePPE . Privacy laws prohibit disclosing specific patient information , but they don β t bar discussing general working conditions .\nAfter examining a hypoxic woman in her 50s with no medical problems who likely has COVID , I had to clean my single-use face shield that I β ve worn the past three days with disinfectant used to clean hospital beds since we ran out of sanitizing wipes # GetMePPE pic.twitter.com/85xQcmc1dN β Ayrenne Adams , MD MPH ( @ AyrenneAdamsMD ) March 28 , 2020\nNYU Langone Health employees received a notice Friday from Kathy Lewis , executive vice president of communications , saying that anyone who talked to the media without authorization would be β subject to disciplinary action , including termination . β\nJim Mandler , a spokesman for NYU Langone Health , said the policy was to protect patient and staff confidentiality . β Because information is constantly evolving , it is in the best interest of our staff and the institution that only those with the most updated information are permitted to address these issues with the media . β\nNew York β s Montefiore Health System requires staff get permission before speaking publicly , and sent a reminder in a March 17 newsletter that all media requests β must be shared and vetted β by the public relations department .\nβ Associates are not authorized to interact with reporters or speak on behalf of the institution in any capacity , without pre-approval , β according to the policy , which was seen by βββ News .\nLauri Mazurkiewicz , the Chicago nurse who was fired by Northwestern Memorial Hospital after urging colleagues to wear more protective equipment , has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit .\nβ A lot of hospitals are lying to their workers and saying that simple masks are sufficient and nurses are getting sick and they are dying , β she said .\nMazurkiewicz , 46 , has asthma and cares for her father , who suffers from a respiratory disease . At 75 , he β s in one of the most at-risk groups of dying from the virus . β I didn β t want to get infected because I β m not wearing the proper mask and then spread it to my patients and my family , β she said .\nA Northwestern Memorial Hospital spokesperson declined to comment , citing the lawsuit . The hospital said in an emailed statement that it β is committed to the safety of our employees . β\nMy babies are too young to read this now . And they β d barely recognize me in my gear . But if they lose me to COVID I want them to know Mommy tried really hard to do her job . # GetMePPE # NYC pic.twitter.com/OMew5G7mjK β Cornelia Griggs ( @ CorneliaLG ) March 29 , 2020\nCharles Prosper , chief executive of PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center β s Northwest network where Lin worked in Bellingham , said in an email that Lin was β publicly critical β of the hospital β s readiness to deal with patients . Lin β s contract is through TeamHealth , which said it β s seeking to find him new work .\nβ Our oath is to do no harm , β Lin said . β I spoke out for patient safety and as a result I got terminated . β\nNot all hospitals are blocking staff from talking to the press . New York β s Mount Sinai has been scheduling media interviews for nurses , physicians and trainees to help the public understand the severity of the crisis , a spokesperson said in an emailed statement . The University of California San Francisco Medical Center has gotten hundreds of such calls and encouraged workers to talk to reporters .\nNisha Mehta is a 38-year radiologist from Charlotte , North Carolina , who runs two Facebook groups for physicians with around 70,000 members . She β s fielded numerous requests from health-care workers hoping to get their stories into the public arena .\nβ I β m hearing widespread stories from physicians across the country and they are all saying : β We have these stories that we think are important to get out , but we are being told by our hospital systems that we are not allowed to speak to the press , and if we do so there will be extreme consequences , β she said .\nMany say they get daily emails urging them not to talk to the media under any circumstances . β The public needs to hear these stories and other physicians need to hear them to be warned against what β s coming , β Mehta said . β It β s so important that everyone understands how bad this is going to get . β
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Cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests β some of which have been connected with Covid-19 cases β are often traveling hundreds of miles to events , returning to all parts of their states , and even crossing into neighboring ones .\nThe data , provided to βββ by the progressive campaign group the Committee to Protect Medicare , raises the prospect that the protests will play a role in spreading the coronavirus epidemic to areas which have , so far , experienced relatively few infections .\nThe anonymized location data was captured from opt-in cellphone apps , and data scientists at the firm VoteMap used it to determine the movements of devices present at protests in late April and early May in five states : Michigan , Wisconsin , Illinois , Colorado and Florida .\nProtesters descend on Michigan capitol but rain washes away demonstration Read more\nThey then created visualizations that tracked the movements of those devices up to 48 hours after the conclusion of protests . The visualizations only show movements within states , due to the queries analysts made in creating them . But the data scientist Jeremy Fair , executive-vice president of VoteMap , says that many of the devices that are seen to reach state borders are seen to continue across them in the underlying raw data .\nOne visualization shows that in Lansing , Michigan , after a 30 April protest in which armed protesters stormed the capitol building and state police were forced to physically block access to Governor Gretchen Whitmer , devices which had been present at the protest site can be seen returning to all parts of the state , from Detroit to remote towns in the state β s north .\nOne device visible in the data traveled to and from Afton , which is over 180 miles from the capital . Others reached , and some crossed , the Indiana border .\nIn the 48 hours following a 19 April β Operation Gridlock β protest in Denver , devices reached the borders of neighboring states including Wyoming , Nebraska , Oklahoma , New Mexico and Utah .\nIn Florida on 18 April , devices returned to all parts of the peninsula and up to the Georgia border . In Wisconsin on 24 April , devices returned to smaller towns like Green Bay and Wausau , and the borders of Minnesota and Illinois .\nPlay Video 4:42 Who is driving the US protests against coronavirus lockdown ? β video explainer\nFollowing the initial wave of anti-lockdown protests in April , epidemiologists warned that they could lead to a new surge in cases .\nIn North Carolina in late April , one of the leaders of the state β s anti-lockdown protests tested positive for Covid-19 but said she would attend future rallies .\nDr Rob Davidson , executive director of the Committee to Protect Medicare , said that although β it β s hard to draw a straight line between devices , individuals at these protests , and cases β , the data suggests that the protests may be epidemiologically significant events .\nβ The behavior we β re seeing at protests carries a high risk of infection . We can see protesters are going from a highly concentrated event and then dispersing widely , β he added .\nDavidson , who has run for Congress as a Democrat , said that neither he nor his advocacy group were currently affiliated with the Democratic party . The group is made up of more than 300 β doctors who are concerned that the healthcare for their patients has become unaffordable β .\nIn a series of widely shared videos and threads on Twitter , Davidson has criticized Trump , and attempted to dispel what he calls the β distrust in public health β which β Donald Trump has fomented in his movement β .
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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference on the coronavirus in Geneva , Switzerland , February 24 , 2020 . ( Denis Balibouse/Reuters )\nSince its inception 72 years ago almost to the day , the World Health Organization ( WHO ) has been credited with the eradication of smallpox and the near eradication of other devastating illnesses , including leprosy and river blindness .\nThis record of success makes the current corruption of the organization all the more shameful .\nOn December 30 , Chinese doctor Li Wenliang warned colleagues about the outbreak of an illness resembling severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS ) , which sparked a pandemic in 2003 . Public-health officials rely on the acuity of doctors like Li , whose early warnings prevent the spread of deadly diseases . But Chinese authorities didn β t reward Li ; they summoned him to the Public Security Bureau in Wuhan on accusations that he had made false statements and disrupted the public order .\nThe Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) followed up with numerous other arrests , and publicly warned that it would punish anyone spreading β rumors β on social media . By mid January , Chinese doctors knew that COVID-19 was spreading between humans , but on January 14 , the WHO stated that there was β no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus. β Two weeks later , WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus flew to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping , who so impressed Tedros that he lauded Chinese authorities for β setting a new standard for outbreak control , β praising their β openness for sharing information . β\nDr. Li might have disagreed with that sentiment . Alas , he was never able to voice his objections : He died after contracting COVID-19 .\nWhen the WHO emergency committee discussed whether to declare COVID-19 a public-health emergency on January 23 , international observers had definitively discredited Chinese health data . Yet Tedros relied on those data in arguing against declaring an emergency β over the objections of other committee members . That decision delayed the mobilization of public-health resources around the world . John Mackenzie , a committee member , attributed the delay to β very poor reporting β and β very poor communication β from the CCP . After finally declaring an emergency on January 30 , Tedros continued to lavish praise on China . As late as February 20 , he argued that Chinese actions were β slowing the spread [ of coronavirus ] to the rest of the world . β\nTedros isn β t afraid to take on world leaders as a general matter . When President Trump limited travel from China to the U.S. on January 31 β a decision that bought the U.S. precious time β Tedros said it would β have the effect of increasing fear and stigma , with little public health benefit . β\nThe record is clear : The WHO has lent its imprimatur to Chinese disinformation and blessed China β s slow response to its domestic outbreak , which likely caused a 20-fold increase in cases , according to a University of Southampton study .\nThe Chinese government must believe they have invested very wisely . They backed Tedros β s bid to run the WHO in 2017 , seeking to plant an ally in the U.N. leadership . Who was better suited for the role than a leftist political operative with a history of covering up health emergencies ? As one of his first actions at the helm , Tedros assured the Chinese that he would adhere to the β One China β policy , barring Taiwanese participation . The Trump administration opposed Tedros β s campaign to lead the organization but couldn β t surmount China β s sway .\nChina β s influence over the WHO comes at a bargain price : Beijing only contributes half as much as the U.S. does to the WHO β s budget .\nCongress should investigate Chinese influence on the WHO , and the U.S. should use its ample funding of the organization as leverage to demand transparency about its dealings with China . Our continued participation in the WHO should be in play . In its moment of testing , the organization kowtowed to Beijing rather than serve the public interest , and the world paid the price .
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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in two years for the week ending March 14 , but that was nothing compared to the absolutely historic wave of job losses economists see coming .\nThe state of play : Goldman Sachs predicts that more than 2 million Americans will file for unemployment claims by next week , pointing to `` an unprecedented surge in layoffs this week . ''\nThe upcoming March 15-21 period is expected to see `` the largest increase in initial jobless claims and the highest level on record . ''\nIf Goldman 's economic forecasters are right , the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits next week will more than triple the all-time high of 695,000 set in October 1982 , and nearly four times the number seen at the peak of the Great Recession .\nThe numbers are expected to be so bad the Trump administration has asked states to hold off on releasing them before Thursday , according to a Wall Street Journal report , citing an email from a U.S. Labor Department official .\nData : U.S. Employment and Training Administration via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis ; Chart : Andrew Witherspoon/βββ\nThe big picture : Thursday 's jobless claims report is likely `` only the tip of the iceberg : These numbers do not account for the surge of new claims from overwhelmed [ unemployment ] websites from coast to coast , '' Andrew Stettner , senior fellow at the Century Foundation and an expert on unemployment , told CBSNews .\nTo wit , New York , home to 463,000 workers in the food and hospitality sector as of 2018 , saw a 17,000 net decline in unemployment filings last week .\nOne level deeper : Based on anecdotes from a wide range of business contacts , Goldman 's economic research team foresees `` an unprecedented decline in revenues across many industries . ''\n`` Consumer spending on sports and entertainment , hotels , restaurants , and public transportation in particular have already dropped dramatically . ''\nAnother perspective : Analysts at Bank of America Global Research expect a slower jobs drip , with the U.S. economy losing 1 million jobs a month .\n`` We expect a total of approximately 3.5 million jobs will be lost , '' BofA strategists said in a note to clients before the release of the Labor Department 's initial jobless claims report .\nThey see the unemployment rate rising to 6.3 % , hitting the leisure & hospitality and retail industries the hardest .\n`` These sectors have a high share of hourly workers - about 80 % for the former and 70 % for the latter . And these workers struggle to work from home . This means they are vulnerable to a reduction in hours worked and likely outright job cuts . ''\nGo deeper : The coronavirus economic pain in the U.S. has begun
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The history of the United States has generally been written with the states in a subordinate role or cast in a negative light β but no longer . The story of America β s confrontation with the coronavirus pandemic is one in which states and their governors have been dominant .\nAs Washington has stumbled , governors of both parties have acted to fill the void . States have pleaded with Washington for help , and sometimes have gotten it . As often , however , the tensions and disagreements between state leaders and the federal government β especially with President Trump β have come to define the crisis .\nPolitical Reckoning Click previous Click next A series exploring the political dynamics surrounding the coronavirus crisis . Swipe to view more stories .\nAs Trump dallied , governors moved on their own to order their residents to stay at home . When the president threatened to force states to lift those restrictions , governors resisted . When Trump supported protesters demanding that their states be opened up , many governors β though not all β said they would follow federal guidelines to the letter or even go beyond .\nThis display of state power is very much as the Founders intended when they established the nation . Just as they created checks and balances at the national level among the legislative , executive and judicial branches , they also wanted checks and balances between the central government and the states . Over time , the federal government has regularly usurped the broad authority given to the states , often to wipe away problems or correct historical injustices .\nThis spring , the balance of power has been flipped , with states forced to compensate for failings at the national level . Those federal deficiencies reflect an absence of readiness and sometimes a lack of interest and competence on the part of the Trump administration . The deficiencies have been compounded by a president given to issuing conflicting advice , attacking individual governors , and making wildly misleading and outright false statements , as when he suggested that scientists should explore injecting bleach into people to combat the virus .\nβ What I can say is we β ve had very little leadership with regard to the coronavirus crisis from the federal government , β said Illinois Gov . J.B. Pritzker ( D ) . The first-term governor recently reviewed the history of presidential leadership in times of crisis . β Each of them understood the importance and power that the federal government has to move the country in a single direction toward victory , β he said . β I have seen nearly none of that out of this president . β\nIn contrast to past presidents , Trump has rhetorically claimed vast powers while making clear through his actions that he prefers a system that puts on governors the responsibility for some of the more difficult decisions .\nRobert Chesney , a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin , argued that rarely has the president claimed more power while doing less with it . β Some of the most over-the-top claims we β ve seen about the relationship between federal power and state power are happening at the same time that the federal government is shockingly inactive in areas it could and should be , β he said .\nThe U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 27 . As the United States matured , the powers of states were steadily chipped away by Congress and the Supreme Court . ( Matt McClain/The βββ )\nThe word β federalism β does not appear in the Constitution , but it was always meant to be an essential component of the new American government established in the late 18th century .\nβ Federalism is the great constitutional compromise , β said Abbe Gluck , a professor at Yale Law School . β It β s the way that 13 different small republics came together to form a nation . They were skeptical of federal power , so they formed a union with layers , with a lot of authority reserved to the states . β\nβ In its purest form , federalism is a power-sharing arrangement , β Michael Leavitt , a former Republican governor of Utah and secretary of health and human services in the administration of President George W. Bush , said in an email .\nβ Today , federalism means , at a minimum , viewing both the states and the federal government as legitimate sources of legal and political authority , but little consensus exists as to what that general principle of multiplicity should mean in practice , β Alison LaCroix , a professor at the University of Chicago Law School , wrote in an essay published in the Yale Law Journal in 2014 .\nIn ratifying the Constitution , Leavitt said , states agreed to a division of labor in which the national government would have responsibility for roughly two dozen enumerated duties . All other powers were reserved to the states through the 10th Amendment . This was to result in a β limited , but supreme , national government β with the states and the federal government there to protect their own powers and prevent either entity from becoming too powerful .\nFederalism allows states the freedom to devise solutions that fit their economic , demographic , cultural and geographical realities β as well as offering the country multiple styles of leadership beyond the presidency . Which is why Justice Louis Brandeis coined the description of the states as β laboratories of democracy . β\nβ The downside [ of federalism ] , β Gluck said , β is that it can breed enormous inequality across the country . The South β s history of racism is the most obvious example . β\nGluck said those inequities have continued down to the present , being most notable in the decision by a group of more than a dozen mostly Republican-led states not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act , denying access to health-care coverage to many low-income families .\nZach Stafford adjusts the TV volume at home in Belleville , Ill. , on April 28 as he and his mother , Debra Mize , watch the daily coronavirus briefing by Illinois Gov . J.B. Pritzker ( D ) . ( Jeff Roberson/AP )\nThe disparate responses to the coronavirus have focused attention on this reality . β The states have drifted into different camps where the nature of their role in the federal system has increasingly differed and the nature of the government we get depends on where we live , β said Donald F. Kettl , a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of β The Divided States of America : Why Federalism Doesn β t Work . β\nGary Gerstle , a professor of history at Cambridge University in England and author of β Liberty and Coercion : The Paradox of American Government , β noted that states started out with broad powers to regulate virtually all activity within their borders .\nStates exercised their authority through what is known as police power β though not to be confused with a definition that focuses only on law and order . Instead , this concept of police power derives from English doctrine and practice . This gave states responsibilities over health , safety , welfare and morals within their boundaries , everything from the regulation of businesses to Sunday blue laws to dealing with disasters and epidemics .\nβ The police power endows the states with an extraordinary authority to act on almost any issue having to do with the people β s welfare for the good of the commonwealth , β Gerstle said . β If that means overriding individual choice and individual rights , so be it . β\nAs the nation matured , state powers were steadily chipped away by Congress and the Supreme Court . The vehicle used most frequently by the high court to give Washington ever-greater power was the Constitution β s commerce clause β which grants the federal government power to regulate commerce among the states .\nTimes of crisis often enhanced federal power . President Franklin D. Roosevelt β s response to the Great Depression resulted in the creation of the modern and more powerful national government . β The 20th century is the story of the New Deal and the 1930s reshaping everything about federalism , β LaCroix said in a recent interview . β The expansion of the federal commerce power keeps continuing . The scope keeps growing . β\nThe civil rights movement of the 1960s proved to be another watershed moment in giving the federal government greater power over the states . The 1964 Civil Rights Act was the cornerstone of the shift , and when the high court ruled unanimously that the act was constitutional , the justices used the commerce clause , rather than the 14th Amendment , to uphold it .\nThe 1980s and 1990s saw some shift back , as the Rehnquist court sought to prevent continuing erosion . But those changes still left the federal government with significantly more power . β It turned out to be a lopsided game , β Leavitt said of the long struggle between Washington and the states . β States have often been politically anemic in defense of their role . β\nAt the April 19 daily briefing by the coronavirus task force , Trump shows video of New York Gov . Andrew M. Cuomo ( D ) thanking his administration for its assistance to New York in managing the health crisis . ( Bill O β Leary/The βββ )\nStates became more dependent on the federal government and more under Washington β s thumb as the price for greater financial support . But governors learned this spring that the existing relationship was inadequate to meet the moment . Because of hesitation by the president , they had to act on their own , and those unilateral decisions put them in the spotlight as well as the hot seat .\nOhio β s Mike DeWine ( R ) was the first governor in the nation to close schools . Even earlier , before there were any confirmed cases of covid-19 in his state , he prohibited spectator attendance at a popular annual bodybuilding festival .\nDisregarding a court decision that went against him , DeWine controversially postponed the state β s presidential primary on the eve of voting . He had hoped the courts would order the primary delayed , but his strategy of employing a friendly lawsuit to bring about the desired judicial ruling backfired .\nβ We pulled a judge who didn β t agree , β DeWine said . β It β s the luck of the draw . So at that point , I instructed my health director to issue a health order and that β s what she did . . . . It was a life-and-death issue . β\nPritzker was the second governor to order residents to stay at home , acting shortly after California Gov . Gavin Newsom ( D ) and a little ahead of New York Gov . Andrew M. Cuomo ( D ) . Within a 24-hour period , the actions of those three governors put roughly 70 million Americans under orders to stay at home , with only a few exceptions .\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention β was issuing guidance , but there was no leadership from Washington , β Pritzker said . β Is it hard to do ? Sure . But it β s part of the job . That β s what leadership is . Leadership is stepping out front and showing people the direction they need to go that they don β t necessarily understand or agree with . β\nCuomo saw his state become the center of the pandemic , with more than 316,000 cases and more than 24,000 deaths . His daily news conferences became must-watch television , with a governor never known for his likability projecting empathy and realism while repeatedly challenging Washington to do more .\nThe briefings provided a contrast with Trump β s often-contentious daily sessions in the White House . Responding to Cuomo , Trump argued that New York did not need all it was asking for and that the federal government supplied New York with everything it did need and more .\nMaryland Gov . Larry Hogan ( R ) , left , at an April 22 news conference at Laurel Medical Center in Laurel , Md . ( Salwan Georges/The βββ )\nAs chairman of the National Governors Association , Maryland Gov . Larry Hogan ( R ) has had to delicately navigate the relationship between the White House and his state , and the relationship between Washington and the governors collectively .\nIn his public comments about the relationship , Hogan has chosen his words diplomatically but has not hesitated to chart his own course . He shut down his state early β closing schools almost at the same time as Ohio did β and has made clear his differences with the president when he judged that events required doing so .\nβ The crisis demanded leadership and demanded action , β he said . β It wasn β t a time to debate federalism and philosophy , arguing about what powers should rest with the federal government or the state or Congress .\nTrump berated governors who criticized him . Governors learned that showing gratitude and praising the president were the price for federal cooperation and aid . Trump was particularly nasty toward Michigan Gov . Gretchen Whitmer ( D ) when she expressed frustration with Washington . He tweeted that Whitmer was β in way over her head , she doesn β t have a clue . β\nWashington Gov . Jay Inslee ( D ) found himself as the first governor on the front lines when the virus began to savage a nursing home in the Seattle area . In pointed language , he begged for help from Washington . Trump called him β a snake β and suggested that Vice President Pence , a former governor of Indiana who chairs the White House coronavirus task force , stop dealing with Inslee .\nβ I hope this makes it into the story , β Inslee said . β The vice president has been continually helpful to us . He talks to us regularly . He has tried to ameliorate some of these problems . He has tried to remove some of the organizational underbrush . We have appreciated his efforts on this . β\nWhy was the relationship so bumpy ? β Well , to be gracious , part of it is the fog of war , β Inslee said . β It β s people having to do 50 things in five minutes . . . . But it is no secret that the president did not have the intense focus he needed in the first month of this . β\nTrump participates in a teleconference with governors from the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington on March 19 . ( Evan Vucci/AP )\nGovernors have been in regular contact with the administration . Hogan said there have been nearly a dozen conference calls between the governors and Pence β s task force , calls that sometimes include the president .\nThey are freewheeling and helpful , he said . But he acknowledged that there have been β rough patches β where things β went off the rails. β He attributed that to mixed messaging from the White House and to the extraordinary nature of the pandemic .\nβ There is tension between what the role of the federal government should be and what are the roles of the states , β he added . β It β s an unprecedented crisis that no one has ever faced before . . . . The federal government was not prepared . States were not prepared . Hospitals were not prepared . Manufacturers were not prepared . β\nTrump has lacked consistency in describing the federal government β s responsibilities . When governors were pleading for medical equipment and supplies weeks ago , Trump encouraged them to act on their own . β The federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping , β he said . β You know , we β re not a shipping clerk . β\nJeh Johnson , the secretary of homeland security under President Barack Obama , said Trump had it backward . β He says he β s not a shipping clerk . Well , actually , he β s the shipping clerk in chief , β Johnson said .\nThe lack of preparedness and organization in Washington prompted governors to fend for themselves . Hogan , with the help of his Korean American wife Yumi Hogan , recently acquired 500,000 coronavirus test kits from South Korea . Massachusetts Gov . Charlie Baker ( R ) , frustrated by obstacles thrown up by the federal government , was able to acquire 1.2 million N95 masks from China and had them flown to Boston on the airplane of the New England Patriots .\nThe Ohio company Battelle developed a process to sanitize N95 masks that allowed the masks to be used many times over , but company officials were having difficulty getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration . One Sunday morning , a frustrated DeWine called the White House and left a message on the switchboard , appealing for help . Later that day , the president called back β and it got moving , β he said . β It still had to go through the process , but it compressed the time . β\nMassachusetts Gov . Charlie Baker ( R ) at Logan Airport on April 2 after a plane owned by the New England Patriots arrived with a shipment of 1.2 million N95 masks from China for use in Massachusetts and New York . ( Jim Davis/Pool/Reuters )\nIllinois β Pritzker was asked whether his public criticism of the White House had put his state at a disadvantage in getting supplies . β Every time I β ve been outspoken about something we needed , I β ve begun to receive calls from the White House and administration officials to try to help us out , β he said , adding he still hasn β t received everything he β s requested .\nTensions and frustrations continue . In March , as complaints about the federal government β s response mounted , Trump said , β I don β t take any responsibility at all. β He blamed others , including the Obama administration , for some of the shortages of tests and equipment .\nMore recently , the president claimed , with no basis in fact , that his β authority is total β to deal with the crisis , particularly on the timing for lifting state-ordered restrictions . The next day he backed down , acknowledging to governors in a conference call that the authority to make the decisions was theirs .\nTo Trump β s critics , that reversal was seen as another effort on his part to avoid responsibility , should things go wrong . β His idea of federalism is when it β s all going well , it β s us . When [ it ] hits the fan , it β s you , β said Michael Nutter , a former Democratic mayor of Philadelphia .\nTesting remains a point of contention . Governors have contradicted the White House repeatedly on the availability of tests , which will be needed in huge numbers as businesses begin to reopen and people leave their homes . β It was a terrible crisis , β Hogan said of the shortage of tests . β It β s now better . But it β s not even close to where it needs to be . β\nGovernors have begun to work together through their joint conference calls and by forming regional alliances to coordinate when to lift restrictions . They have sought to project a united front when dealing with the administration . But the debate over the reopening of the economy has created divisions among them .\nGeorgia Gov . Brian Kemp ( R ) is turning his state into a laboratory with his decision to start opening businesses , including barber shops , nail salons , tattoo parlors , movie theaters and restaurants , more rapidly than other states , despite warnings that he is putting people at risk of the virus spreading .\nIf Kemp thought he would earn plaudits from a president who has been eager to restart the economy , he was wrong . Trump , in another whiplash moment , said last week that he took issue with the governor β s plan . β I told the governor very simply that I disagree with his decision , but he has to do what he thinks is right , β Trump said .\nGovernors have been making hard decisions for weeks , but equally difficult ones lie ahead . Up to now , governors who ordered the most stringent restrictions on their populations won praise and earned higher approval ratings . But the debate over reopening economies has put the trade-offs involved in those decisions at the forefront of a growing debate .\nβ There β s the old saying that war β s too important to be left to the generals , β said Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. , a former governor of Indiana and now president of Purdue University . β Everyone is using the war analogy for this . Then it β s too important to be left entirely to the epidemiologists . . . . The trade-off problem is front and center . It took a while , but that β s what they β re grappling with . β\nAn image of a wax figure of Trump in the window of Madame Tussauds in Washington on April 28 . ( Matt McClain/The βββ )\nState leaders have exercised their powers often to the fullest , but those powers still are limited . That has focused more attention on , and prompted considerable criticism of , the failure of the administration to exercise the federal government β s full powers .\nTrump has complained that the federal stockpiles he inherited were inadequate to meet the pandemic β s demands . But Lisa Monaco , White House homeland security adviser under Obama , said those stockpiles were meant only to be a bridge . β It was always envisioned that [ during a pandemic ] , the federal government would step in and activate the supply chain and manufacturing , β she said .\nOnly the federal government can use its convening authority and the Defense Production Act to set priorities and make a market for needed resources β and at a scale and a speed that a crisis demands . As Texas law professor Chesney explained , the federal government can compel industries to act in ways no state can do .\nβ [ The president ] can say the United States is purchaser number one , β Chesney said . β Let β s say the net amount of need is 100 masks . He can say the government will buy 100 masks and here β s what we β re going to pay for them and we β ll take possession on such and such a date . β\nLeavitt said that in a pandemic , the federal government should focus as well on other things that states can not do , such as stabilizing the economy , marshaling the development and distribution of a vaccine , becoming the clearing house for information and managing relations with other countries .\nHe said Washington also should coordinate among the states and supplement supplies as much as possible , but added that on this issue , no level of government comes off clean . β Emergency planners at every level have been aware for decades that we didn β t have a sufficient supply of ventilators , β he said . β There is plenty of blame to go around . β\nTrump and Louisiana Gov . John Bel Edwards ( D ) meet in the Oval Office on April 29 . ( Doug Mills/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock )\nStates have seen their own budgets hemorrhaging money because of the crisis , and governors are looking to Washington for financial relief . β As a governor , what you β re always hoping for from this kind of disaster is that you make all the decisions and have the feds pay for it , β said former New Jersey governor Chris Christie ( R ) . β I β ve told the White House this . You can print money and they can β t . β\nBut Christie said this shouldn β t mean a blank check for the states . β Governors have to be held to account for also making some sacrifices and cutting spending in other areas that are not directly related to support for the covid-19 crisis , β he added . β Governors can not be left with no hard choices . β\nHow this crisis will reshape relations between the states and the federal government already is on the minds of governors and others , who see it as a moment that could revive states in the public β s mind . States have formed regional groups , and some governors say that they are more likely to take steps to prepare and protect their states against a future pandemic , rather than just counting on Washington to be ready .\nJanet Napolitano , a former governor of Arizona and secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration , said the relationship between Washington and the states in times of crisis should be like a smoothly running automobile . β The four wheels of a car need to spin in the same direction at the same time , β she said , something no one thinks has been the case in this battle .\nDaniels said the pandemic has shown the vibrancy of federalism but nonetheless could end as another crisis that enlarges the federal government . β This [ virus ] thing does not manifest itself in the same way everywhere , and that β s an argument for a strong federal system and federal assistance that doesn β t try to proscribe every detail and constrain local responsiveness , β he said .\nβ On the other side , β he added , β as people have been observing , wars have tended to centralize power and lead to bigger central government that never quite goes back to the size it was . β\nHogan said this was no time for second-guessing the decisions that have been and are being made . In the meantime , he said , one thing seems clear : β In the biggest crisis of our lifetimes , governors were on the front lines and taking charge . States had to make decisions and use their powers in a way I don β t ever remember in my lifetime . β
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Officials with the American Federation of Government Employees ( AFGE ) , the largest federal employee union in the country , said Tuesday that more than 13,000 federal workers at U.S . Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) face a possible furlough of at least 30 days .\nNearly three-quarters of the USCIS workforce will be affected by the possible furlough , and notices will reportedly be handed out to USCIS employees between Wednesday and July 3 , The Washington Post reported . The furlough itself is expected to go into effect August 3 .\nUSCIS , which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security , has seen a reduction in operations due to the coronavirus pandemic , as visa and citizenship services have declined sharply . The Trump administration temporarily halted green card applications in April , and cross-border travel is at an all-time low .\nFees , which make up 97 % of the agency β s revenue , are projected to fall 60 % through the remainder of the fiscal year , according to Fox News . The agency also told Congress in May that it required a one-time emergency request for funding in order to continue operations normally .\nβ Without congressional intervention , USCIS will need to administratively furlough approximately 13,400 employees , β a USCIS representative told The Washington Post in an email . ( RELATED : Immigration Offices Closed To The Public , Interviews Canceled Amid Coronavirus Pandemic )\nUSCIS requested an allocation of $ 1.2 billion in congressional funding over two years , and pledged to repay the funds to the U.S. Treasury Departments , CBS News reported . The agency β s proposal , however , would also require an additional 10 % surcharge on immigration petitions .\nWithout the appropriate financial support , the potential USCIS furloughs could be as widespread as the federal workforce furloughs that took place in 2013 , when sequestration budget limits forced federal agencies to cut pay from employees .\nβ With a loss of nearly three-fourths of its workforce , work , student and visitor visa petitions , asylum and citizenship/naturalization applications , green cards , and refugee applications will not be processed , β AFGE President Everett Kelly told the House Homeland Security Committee last week at a hearing .
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( CNN ) - Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates set off shock waves in Washington with accounts from his upcoming memoir , in which he unleashes blistering criticism of Congress and his former colleagues in the Obama administration .\nHe also claims the President lost faith in his own Afghanistan policy .\nGates ' comments come in his memoir `` Duty : Memoirs of a Secretary at War , '' which was obtained by CNN but set to be released next week .\nIn the book , Gates writes , `` [ Obama ] eventually lost faith in the troop increase he ordered in Afghanistan , his doubts fed by top White House civilian advisers opposed to the strategy , who continually brought him negative news reports suggesting it was failing . ''\nA Republican appointee of President George W. Bush who stayed on into Obama 's administration , Gates also writes of a pivotal 2011 meeting in which Obama questions the abilities of Gen. David H. Petraeus .\n`` As I sat there , I thought : The president does n't trust his commander , ca n't stand Karzai , does n't believe in his own strategy and does n't consider the war to be his ... For him , it 's all about getting out , '' Gates writes .\nA source familiar with White House thinking on how to respond to Gates ' memoir told CNN that White House officials have been in meetings on the issue and were reaching out to allies to defend the President against the claims .\nThe source said they are being careful not to attack Gates directly , thinking that will backfire .\nOfficials believe Obama 's foreign policy legacy is strong because of his Afghanistan policies and the killing of Osama bin Laden , and that Gates ' accusations do n't hurt with the Democratic base .\nA White House official called attention to two parts of the book that reflect positively on the President . Gates said of Obama 's chief Afghanistan policies , `` I believe Obama was right in each of these decisions . ''\n`` I never doubted Obama 's support for the troops , '' Gates writes . The official , however , did not highlight the rest of the sentence , which says `` only his support for their mission . ''\nA former White House official contested the excerpts saying , `` I thought the President was a close ally of Gates . It 's disappointing , because if Gates had issues you would 've expected him to raise them . When I spoke to Gates about the president he was always effusive . ''\nNational Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the President `` deeply appreciates Gates ' service '' and is open to differing points of view from his national security team .\n`` Deliberations over our policy on Afghanistan have been widely reported on over the years , and it is well known that the President has been committed to achieving the mission of disrupting , dismantling and defeating al Qaeda , while also ensuring that we have a clear plan for winding down the war , which will end this year , '' Hayden said in response to the comments .\nA senior U.S. military official involved in some of the events described in the book expressed dismay with Gates , telling CNN that if Gates had been in uniform and felt that the President and his staff were deficient , he would have had an obligation to resign . He noted some may feel Gates also had the same obligation given that he signed orders sending troops off to war .\nThis official was directly involved in Afghanistan troop surge discussions . He was adamant the military commanders did not `` game '' the President on the numbers , but they came to realize Obama felt that way .\nRepublican Sen. Jeff Flake tweeted in response to reports of the memoir , criticizing the timing of the former defense secretary 's comments .\nGates was also critical of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden , recounting a conversation between Obama and Clinton suggesting political motives for their positions on Iraq .\n`` Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [ 2007 ] surge in Iraq has been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary , β Gates writes . β The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political . To hear the two of them making these admissions , and in front of me , was as surprising as it was dismaying . ''\nThe former White House official responded , `` President Obama evaluated the merits of the surge but his opposition to it was not political , rather in line with his thought that more of the same was not the right path . ''\nOf Biden , Gates wrote , `` I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades . β\nHayden said Obama disagrees with Gates ' assessment of Biden and hailed the Vice President as `` one of the leading statesmen of his time . ''\nOne day after Gates book bonanza , a rare peek into Obama-Biden lunch\nFor as scathing as Gates was in describing the Obama administration , the former defense secretary said none of the difficulties he had with the executive branch `` compared with the pain of dealing with Congress , '' a body he describes as phony , self-centered and narrow-minded .\n`` Congress is best viewed from a distance β the farther the better β because up close , it is truly ugly , '' Gates wrote in a piece in the Wall Street Journal , which was adapted from his book .\n`` I saw most of Congress as uncivil , incompetent at fulfilling their basic constitutional responsibilities ( such as timely appropriations ) , micromanagerial , parochial , hypocritical , egotistical , thin-skinned and prone to put self ( and re-election ) before country . ''\nGates opened the piece by writing that in the numerous times he testified before Congress , he found himself `` tempted to stand up , slam the briefing book shut and quit on the spot '' because of the `` rude , insulting , belittling , bullying and all too often highly personal attacks '' one has to endure during congressional testimony .\nHe said if he had done so , he would have told Congress , `` I may be the secretary of defense , but I am also an American citizen , and there is no son of a bitch in the world who can talk to me like that . ''\n`` Members postured and acted as judge , jury and executioner , '' he wrote .\nHis hypothesis as to why so many members `` were in a permanent state of outrage : '' The members must have `` suffered from some sort of mental duress that warranted confinement or at least treatment for anger management . ''\nAnother congressional thorn in Gates ' side brought to light in his opinion editorial is how Congress handled deciding which defense instillations and bases to close during budget tightening .\nGates wrote that `` any defense facility or contract in their district or state , no matter how superfluous or wasteful , was sacrosanct , '' even if the member had `` stridently attacked the Defense Department as inefficient and wasteful . ''\nCritics of the memoir blasted Gates for publishing the critique in the middle of the Obama β s second term , saying the more appropriate move would have been to wait until after his former boss leaves the White House in 2016 .\nA source close to Gates noted that he β s a historian by nature and wanted to document what went on but did n't want to wait because he believed the content of his book is all still relevant and should be discussed real time , especially issues of war and the troops .\nThe dysfunction in Washington and the way commanders and generals were treated really upset him , the source added .\nGates disagrees that his decision to release the book now is disloyal . In fact , he believes just the opposite and stands by all of it , the source said .\nAs for Gates β stinging criticism of Congress , the source said Gates had the most disdain for the House Foreign Affairs Committee , though he didn β t give specific names of lawmakers .
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President Trump declared Tuesday that a β new chapter of American greatness is now beginning β as he made economic revival the centerpiece of his first address to Congress β issuing a clarion call to β restart the engine of the American economy β through tax cuts , better trade deals , immigration enforcement and a $ 1 trillion infrastructure program .\nHe also called on Congress to replace what he called the β imploding ObamaCare disaster β with legislation that lowers costs and expands access , an ambitious goal for GOP lawmakers still trying to come together on a plan .\nThe president outlined his agenda in an address to a joint session of Congress that lasted roughly an hour and focused largely on priorities at home , more than abroad . He offered a decidedly upbeat vision for the future of the country that stood in contrast to his at-times foreboding inauguration address .\nβ Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed . Every problem can be solved . And every hurting family can find healing , and hope , β Trump said , urging lawmakers to `` join forces '' to deliver .\nTrump for the most part traded the contentious and punchy tone of the last few weeks for loftier β some might say more presidential β rhetoric . Declaring β the time for small thinking is over , β Trump appealed to the country to β believe , once more , in America . β\nβ A new chapter of American greatness is now beginning . A new national pride is sweeping across our nation , β he said . β And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp . β\nHe described his address as a β message of unity and strength . β\nThe generally well-received speech could mark an opportunity for Trump to reset his young presidency after a rocky start in which clashes with the media and staffing controversies at times overshadowed action on the jobs front .\nIn perhaps the most memorable moment of the night , the audience broke out into extended applause as Trump introduced the widow of William `` Ryan '' Owens , the Navy SEAL killed in a raid in Yemen last month . Carryn Owens sobbed as lawmakers gave her a standing ovation and Trump said the raid he participated in yielded vital intelligence . His β legacy is etched into eternity , β Trump said .\nIn between the more dramatic moments were a host of policy prescriptions that could have a big impact on discussions in Congress .\nTrump called for a β national rebuilding , β urging Congress to pass legislation that produces a $ 1 trillion public-private investment in infrastructure .\nSpeaking to a key campaign promise that has yet to be realized , he said his team is developing β historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone. β He vowed a β big , big cut β including β massive tax relief for the middle class . β\nAnd he urged Congress to replace ObamaCare β with reforms that expand choice , increase access , lower costs , and at the same time , provide better health care . β\nHe outlined β principles β to guide negotiations , including a call for Americans with pre-existing coverage to keep access to care , for states to have β flexibility β with Medicaid , and for Americans to be able to buy insurance across state lines .\nCalling education the β civil rights issue of our time , β Trump also urged Congress to pass an education bill funding β school choice . β\nWhile laying out his agenda , Trump touted his early-administration accomplishments while claiming he inherited many problems .\nAnd as he did during the presidential campaign , he pushed a nationalist message , making big promises for what will happen when America puts its citizens first : β Dying industries will come roaring back to life . β¦ Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads , bridges , tunnels , airports and railways gleaming across our very , very beautiful land . β¦ Above all else , we will keep our promises to the American people . β\nHe said his job is to represent the United States , not the world .\nIn calling to β restart β the American jobs engine , Trump said the U.S. must make it β easier for companies to do business in the United States , and much , much harder for companies to leave our country . β\nHe also defended his stepped-up deportations and other border security plans , casting his immigration agenda as part of the broader economic plan . By enforcing immigration laws , he said , β we will raise wages , help the unemployed , save billions and billions of dollars , and make our communities safer for everyone. β He joined GOP lawmakers seeking reforms to legal immigration β and potentially reopened the broader debate in Congress by saying immigration reform is possible .\nTrump 's first official status report to Congress came amid a fast-paced opening volley of activity at the start of his term : a slew of executive actions , a forthcoming budget proposal and various side-deals with American companies aimed at creating jobs . Trump was eager to highlight those accomplishments , but also faces early challenges : an order suspending refugee and other admissions on hold by the courts , questions about his team β s contacts with Russia and a Congress that has not yet moved legislation on key priorities .\nThe biggest task ahead is Republicans β drive to repeal and replace ObamaCare . As Trump appealed for a comprehensive package , some in the party have been divided over the plans being privately discussed at the Capitol .\nHouse Speaker Paul Ryan played down divisions ahead of Tuesday β s speech . β This is a plan that we are all working on together , β he told reporters . β There aren β t rival plans here . β\nAfter the speech , Ryan applauded Trump for what he called a `` home run . ''\nBut the official Democratic response offered a reminder of the resistance Trump will face on his legislative agenda , particularly on ObamaCare .\nFormer Kentucky Gov . Steve Beshear warned those efforts would strip affordable health insurance from Americans . β This isn β t a game . It β s life and death for people , β he said .
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Obama may face some of the same hurdles Reagan and Clinton encountered . | AP Photos Obama 's OFA has Reagan echoes\nPresident Barack Obama β s decision to transform his campaign into the freestanding lobbying group β Organizing for Action β is groundbreaking in many ways β but the idea of creating an outside organization to put pressure on Capitol Hill dates back at least to Ronald Reagan .\nPresident Bill Clinton even tried to create one 20 years ago . In 1993 , seeking to to marshal grassroots support for his health-care reform effort , his team β s first impulse was to set up a standalone entity that could anonymously raise and spend large sums of money on polling , petition drives , phone banks and TV commercials .\nObama β s got big plans for OFA , and the group β s leaders are heavy on ambition for what they β ll be able to do to make the president β s agenda on issues like gun control and immigration a reality . But while campaign finance laws have changed over the years , some of the same problems β in both the law and public perception β that hounded previous White House-connected outside influence efforts could lay ahead for Obama . And , so far , neither the White House nor OFA is saying much about how they plan to avoid them .\nBy June 1993 , β The National Health Care Campaign β to support Clinton β s health plan was up and running with 27 staffers in a downtown Washington office , funded by $ 100,000 in seed money from the Democratic National Committee , according to a Washington Post article at the time . The group β s goal : raise up to $ 37 million in large chunks from corporations , unions and wealthy individuals .\nBut the group came under attack over ethical questions about how an entity so closely connected to the White House would seek large sums of money from business interests that could be dramatically affected by health reform .\nAs with Obama β s new OFA , the Clinton effort immediately raised questions about what control White House officials would have over the new group β s activities and fundraising . Lawyers in the Clinton White House advised that officials could β pass paper β to the new organization , but could not coordinate with them , the Post reported .\nβ This is the smelliest ethical thing they β ve done so far , β Glen Bolger , a Republican pollster told Newhouse News at the time . β If you are a pharmaceutical company and you get a call to contribute , it β s kind of hard to say no . β\nCritics also disputed the Clinton-era group β s claim to be independent of the DNC .\nβ We started out as a separate entity and that , itself , became an issue , β recalled Heather Booth , a top organizer for the National Health Care Campaign . β Those who didn β t want health care reform came after us . β¦ It was such an issue that it was decided that it was easier to move it back into the DNC than to waste energy defending it . β\nOn the same day as the Post β s front-page article , the DNC announced it was reversing course , pulling the plug on the freestanding 501c4 lobbying group , and bringing its work back in house . The effort continued on at the DNC but was ultimately swamped by the insurance industry β s β Harry and Louise β ad campaign , which eventually spent $ 60 million to defeat Clinton β s plan .\nβ We didn β t have the money we really needed to do that sort of thing , β Clinton adviser Harold Ickes told βββ last week . β I β m not sure [ we ] moved one vote . β\nβ We tried to figure out different ways , figure out some external apparatus or support for health reform , β recalled Chris Jennings , one of Clinton β s top health care policy advisers . β It was very tough , as I recall . I don β t know if it was political or policy or legal or some combination . β
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Federal Lawsuit Against President Trump 's Business Interests Allowed To Proceed\nIn a blow to President Trump , a federal judge says a lawsuit that alleges Trump 's business interests violate the Constitution can proceed .\nFederal District Judge Peter Messitte denied the Department of Justice 's request to dismiss a case brought by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia . The Emoluments Clause bars any president from personally profiting from his dealings with foreign governments β or even U.S. state governments .\nIt 's the first ruling in federal court to define `` emolument , '' which goes undefined in the U.S. Constitution 's two emoluments clauses .\nMessitte rejected the `` cramped interpretation '' of the term offered by the Justice Department . He wrote that the term applies to `` any profit , gain or advantage '' of value that Trump has gotten from foreign , the federal or domestic governments .\n`` Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that the President has been receiving or is potentially able to receive 'emoluments ' from foreign , the federal and state governments in violation of the Constitution , '' wrote Messitte .\nUntil the Trump administration , emoluments have been an obscure part of the Constitution , said John Mikhail , a professor at Georgetown University Law Center , whose research was cited in Messitte 's opinion .\n`` I think it comes as a surprise to many people that there are terms in the Constitution , individual words that at this late date , 230-plus years into the operation of the Constitution , that those have never been authoritatively adjudicated , '' said Mikhail .\nThe judge 's decision clears the way for the Maryland and District of Columbia legal teams to begin the discovery process , which could include requesting sensitive financial information from the president and the Trump Organization .\nThe Justice Department , which represents Trump in this matter , argues the clause is not relevant to Trump 's businesses . `` We continue to maintain that this case should be dismissed , '' said Andy Reuss , a spokesman for the Justice Department .\nIt 's the second victory for Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine , who were granted legal standing to sue Trump in March . They allege their jurisdictions are economically and financially harmed as political and diplomatic officials shift their business to Trump 's downtown Washington , D.C. , hotel from nearby convention centers owned by those governments .\n`` Today 's historic ruling is a substantial step forward to ensure President Trump stops violating our nation 's original anti-corruption laws , '' said Racine . `` The Constitution is clear : The president ca n't accept money or other benefits from foreign or domestic governments . ''\nAfter opening shortly before the 2016 election , the Trump International Hotel has quickly became a favorite gathering place for the president 's supporters , who frequently hold fundraisers and conferences there . Foreign governments have also held events and put dignitaries up in the hotel .\nThe hotel is housed in the Old Post Office , which is owned by the federal government and leased by the Trump Organization . Legal challenges to the Trump Organization 's lease on the property have not succeeded .
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President Obama has chosen Loretta Lynch , the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn , N.Y. , as his nominee to replace outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder -- ending widespread speculation over who might fill Holder 's shoes and teeing up a nomination debate potentially during the lame-duck session .\nThough several Republicans had wanted to wait to consider any successor until the new Congress is seated , the president plans to announce his pick on Saturday .\n`` Ms. Lynch is a strong , independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important U.S. Attorney 's offices in the country , '' White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement . `` She will succeed Eric Holder , whose tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and civil rights enforcement . ''\nLynch , 55 , is a Harvard Law School graduate and popular prosecutor who is currently serving her second stint as U.S. attorney for Eastern New York , which covers Brooklyn , Queens , Staten Island and Long Island .\nShe was appointed by Obama in 2010 . If confirmed to fill Holder 's post , she would be the first black female attorney general .\nIt was unclear how the nomination will be greeted by Republicans on Capitol Hill , who were often at odds with Holder over the course of his tenure . The party won a majority in the Senate on Tuesday , but will not take control until January .\nIt was also unclear if the Senate might wait on a vote until then .\nSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , who presumably will become the majority leader in the next session , issued a statement Friday night urging the Senate to wait until January to vote on the nomination .\n`` Ms. Lynch will receive fair consideration by the Senate , '' he said . `` And her nomination should be considered in the new Congress through regular order . ''\nAnnmarie McAvoy , an attorney and former federal prosecutor who worked directly under Lynch during her first tenure as U.S. Attorney from 1999-2001 , said , β She β s got a good reputation β¦she β s done some great work in her office . She β s not one to put her head in the sand . She β s hasn β t been afraid to go after corruption , things like that , against Republicans and Democrats . β\nShe described Lynch as well liked , respected and not likely to cause a stir politically . β I have not heard anything controversial about her β at all , β McAvoy told Foxnews.com .\nβ When you meet her she is very sweet and she is very personable , she is very bright . She handles herself beautifully , but she doesn β t shy away from controversy . β\nLynch grew up in Durham , North Carolina , the middle of three children . Her mother was a school librarian , her father a Baptist minister .\nAfter Harvard , Lynch served as a federal prosecutor in New York β s Eastern District , receiving several key promotions over eight years until President Clinton nominated her as U.S. Attorney in 1998 . After leaving that office in 2001 , Lynch went into private practice specializing in commercial litigation , white collar criminal defense and corporate compliance issues before Obama appointed her in 2010 to return to her current post .\nβ President Barack Obama has chosen a great New Yorker as the country β s highest-ranking law enforcement official , β New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Friday after news of the nomination .\nIn her time as U.S. Attorney , Lynch has made a name for herself in a number of high-profile convictions , including a thwarted Al Qaeda-sanctioned plot to attack the New York subway system , and pursuing the head of a Mexican drug cartel for 12 murders . She also heads the government β s prosecution of Rep. Michael Grimm , R-N.Y. , who has been charged with tax evasion but won re-election Tuesday night .\nThere have been no indications thus far if Lynch β s nomination will be as dramatic as other Obama picks .\nSen. Charles Grassley , R-Iowa , who is currently the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- which must approve Obama β s nominee -- appeared welcoming in his comments Friday night .\nβ Being selected to serve as our nation β s top law enforcement officer is both a tremendous honor and responsibility . As we move forward with the confirmation process , I have every confidence that Ms. Lynch will receive a very fair , but thorough , vetting by the Judiciary Committee , β he said in a statement. β I look forward to learning more about her , how she will interact with Congress , and how she proposes to lead the department . β\nReports throughout the week suggested that Lynch was not an Obama insider so she doesn β t bring the baggage carried by other potential administration nominees .\nβ Unlike Eric Holder , who was very close to the president β in a way , too close β she doesn β t really have any relationship with President Obama , β said Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers . β I think that bodes well for her . β\nLynch is reportedly close to Holder , however , having served on his Attorney General β s Advisory Committee of U.S . Attorneys ( AGAC ) , a 20-member body that provides counsel to Holder on policy .\nSen. Ted Cruz , R-Texas , who sits on the Judiciary Committee , has already indicated that he is unhappy Obama is making the nomination now , instead of during the new session , when Republicans will have the majority in both chambers . β Democrat senators who just lost their seats should n't confirm ( a ) new Attorney General , β he tweeted on Friday . β ( They ) should be vetted by ( the ) new Congress . β
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WASHINGTON ( βββ ) - The U.S. Secret Service on Sunday denied a suggestion from President Donald Trump β s personal lawyer that it had vetted a meeting between the president β s son and Russian nationals during the 2016 campaign .\nDonald Trump Jr. has acknowledged that he met in New York with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya after he was told she might have damaging information about his father β s rival , Democrat Hillary Clinton .\nβ Well , I wonder why the Secret Service , if this was nefarious , why the Secret Service allowed these people in . The president had Secret Service protection at that point , and that raised a question with me , β Jay Sekulow , a member of the president β s legal team , said on Sunday on the ABC news program β This Week . β\nIn an emailed response to questions about Sekulow β s comments , Secret Service spokesman Mason Brayman said the younger Trump was not under Secret Service protection at the time of the meeting , which included Trump β s son and two senior campaign officials .\nβ Donald Trump , Jr. was not a protectee of the USSS in June , 2016 . Thus we would not have screened anyone he was meeting with at that time , β the statement said .\nAccording to emails released by Trump Jr. last week , he eagerly agreed to meet Veselnitskaya , who he was told was a Russian government lawyer . Veselnitskaya has said she is a private lawyer and denies having Kremlin ties .\nOn Friday , NBC News reported that a lobbyist who was once a Soviet counter-intelligence officer participated in the meeting , which was also attended by Trump β s son-in-law , Jared Kushner , and the president β s former campaign manager , Paul Manafort .\nThe meeting appears to be the most tangible evidence of a connection between Trump β s election campaign and Russia , a subject that has prompted investigations by congressional committees and a federal special counsel .\nMoscow has denied any interference and the president and Trump Jr. have denied any collusion .\nSekulow β s comments about the Secret Service drew quick criticism , including from Frances Townsend , who advised former Republican President George W. Bush on homeland security .\nβ Ok let β s try to deflect blame & throw those in @ SecretService who protect @ POTUS @ realDonaldTrump @ FLOTUS & family under the bus , β she said on Twitter .\nThe Secret Service β s mission is to provide physical protection for the U.S. president . The agency also protects major presidential candidates . But its role in vetting people who meet with a U.S. president or candidates is limited to ensuring physical safety .\nTrump himself has said he was unaware of the meeting between his son and the Russian lawyer until a few days ago .\nβ The president was not aware about this meeting , did not participate in this meeting , β Sekulow told the CBS program β Face the Nation . β\nSekulow added that Trump was not aware of any meetings between his campaign staff and Russians .\nA federal special counsel and several congressional panels are investigating allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to hurt Clinton and help Trump . They are also investigating potential connections between Russian officials and the Trump campaign .\nSenator Mark Warner , the top Democrat on one of the panels investigating the matter , the Senate Intelligence Committee , told CNN : β The level of credibility from the senior level of this administration really is suspect . β\nWarner said he wanted to hear from everyone who attended the June 2016 meeting .\nβ Whether we will be able to get the Russian nationals to come over and testify is an open question , ( but ) those people that our committee has jurisdiction over , the Americans , I sure as heck want to talk to all of them , β Warner said .
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House Minority Leader Nacy Pelosi remains the most successful non-presidential political fundraiser in U.S. history , raising more than $ 560 million for House Democrats since she became leader in 2003 . | Getty Congress Pelosi faces growing doubts among Dems after Georgia loss There 's a lot of grumbling by rank-and-file members , but no leadership change is imminent .\nHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats put a brave face on Wednesday morning after a disappointing loss in the Georgia special election , yet there is no disguising the unhappiness in the party ranks .\nThere is no challenge to Pelosi β s leadership , and none is going to happen at this point , said numerous Democrats . But it β s clear frustration is growing with the longtime Democratic leader following the extensive losses Democrats have suffered over the past half-decade .\nAnd the fact that Republicans spent millions of dollars on TV ads tying Democratic hopeful Jon Ossoff to Pelosi β and the brand of progressive policies she represents β shows that she will once again be an issue for Democratic challengers in the very districts that the party needs to win to make her speaker again .\nSome Democrats want to replace Pelosi atop their caucus , as they have since last November β s poor showing at the polls ; they say there is no way to get back in the majority with her as their leader . And others who backed her in last year β s leadership challenge have now flipped their stance .\nβ I think you β d have to be an idiot to think we could win the House with Pelosi at the top , β said Rep. Filemon Vela ( D-Texas ) , who supported Pelosi in her last leadership race . β Nancy Pelosi is not the only reason that Ossoff lost . But she certainly is one of the reasons . β\nRep. Kathleen Rice ( D-N.Y. ) , who backed a challenge to Pelosi last year , said the results of the Ossoff race further underscore that Pelosi should let someone else take the reins .\nβ There comes a time when every leader has to say , β For the good of the order and for the betterment of the party , it β s time for me to step aside. β And I wish that that would happen right now , β Rice said in an interview . β This is not a personal thing . I want to get back in the majority . β\nRep. Tim Ryan ( D-Ohio ) , who challenged Pelosi for minority leader in November , wouldn β t comment directly whether she should step down , saying only , β My position hasn β t changed . β\nβ I think it β s very concerning that that tactic still has some punch , β Ryan said . β Again , it β s part of the broader national brand that average people don β t feel connected to the Democratic Party . Walk up the street and ask 10 people what the Democrats stand for , you β ll get 10 different answers . That β s no way to build a national party . β\nSign up here for βββ Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox . Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from βββ . You can unsubscribe at any time . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply .\nPelosi told her members in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday morning that Ossoff was β a candidate who was young and enthusiastic , and attracted national support , β according to Democratic sources . Pelosi also pointed out that Ossoff lost by only a small margin in the 6th Congressional District race β 3.8 percent β far smaller than the previous Democratic candidate for the seat lost by in November .\nPelosi , though , admitted : β A loss is a loss . It is a setback . Unfortunately , a loss for us . But not good news β for Republicans . Pelosi also cautioned her members not to overreact to the results of this specific race .\nPelosi didn β t talk to members about the GOP ads focusing on her . No members brought up the issue of her leadership or said she should step aside .\nPelosi pointed out that Democrats won the special-election fights during the 2009-10 cycle , only to lose 63 seats in November 2010 , while in 2005-06 β when Democrats won the House β they lost several special elections .\nAnd Pelosi talked about how the recent shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise ( R-La . ) may have aided GOP candidate Karen Handel . Republican outside groups tried to tie that shooting to the frenzy of anti-Trump rhetoric among Democratic supporters , as the shooter posted strongly negative comments about President Donald Trump on his Facebook page .\nβ Republican voters don β t get to select the leaders of the Democratic Party , β said Drew Hammill , a spokesman for Pelosi . β Since [ Newt ] Gingrich , the politics of personal destruction has been a GOP hallmark . They will do this to any and every Democratic leader because the only thing sustaining their majority is desperation . β\nSome Democrats said they left the meeting surprised and disheartened that the GOP β s Pelosi attack ads weren β t addressed in some way .\nβ It was probably one of the more disturbing caucus meetings that I β ve ever been in . And everyone pretty much sat in silence , and I β d like to think that they were as shocked as I was that they were hearing the spin that was being put on this loss , β Rice said .\nWith President Barack Obama out of office , Pelosi is once again the Democrat that Republicans most love to hate . She has been on the national scene for 14 years , and Republicans have long made the phrase β San Francisco values β a pejorative for any Democratic challenger .\nAnd Democrats β despite the fervor among their base β are being forced to acknowledge that an anti-Trump message is not going to be enough by itself to win in 2018 . Trump may have historically bad poll numbers for this point in his presidency , but Democrats are likely to need more than that to get back in the majority .\nPelosi still has a lot going for her . She remains the most successful nonpresidential political fundraiser in U.S. history , raising more than $ 560 million for House Democrats since she became leader in 2003 , even though critics say all the money doesn β t matter if they keep losing . There β s also no question Pelosi remains popular with many House Democrats , despite her detractors .\nβ I think she β s one of the best speakers ever , and I am glad to support her , β said Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota , a leading progressive who lost a race for Democratic National Committee chairman earlier this year .\nβ This is nothing new , β Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley of New York said of the GOP β s Pelosi bashing . β I think we β ll have an opportunity to look at all the ads on all sides that were ran , all the issues , all the warts that existed in evaluating the results of this election . But the day after is a little too soon . β\nSome Democrats who are running statewide β either for governor or Senate β say the party must not try to nationalize every race . Instead , they say , it must focus on local issues in order to reach voters . And official Washington β s obsession with the Trump-Russia probe , while vitally important , is not something average voters are focusing on daily .\nβ I think what people are looking for is that they want to believe someone knows where they are coming from . They want to believe that you β re a decent person , β said Rep. Tim Walz ( D-Minn. ) , who is running for governor . β I think the race in my district , I think that President Trump would still win it , although it would be closer . That β s totally on him , and really doesn β t have to do with us . β
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Eric Holder and Darrell Issa had appeared close to a deal late last week . | AP Photos Holder contempt vote up in the air\nGOP Rep. Darrell Issa warned Attorney General Eric Holder late Monday that if the Justice Department failed to turn over documents he is seeking , the California Republican will go ahead with a contempt vote against Holder as planned later this week .\nIssa , chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee , has been battling with DOJ since last year over documents related to the failed Fast and Furious program . The two sides had seemed close to making a deal late last week , but Issa cautioned Holder that he will only delay the contempt vote β set for his panel on Wednesday β if DOJ makes the Fast and Furious material available by Tuesday .\nIssa and Holder are scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee β s offices in the Rayburn House Office Building .\nβ As the department has not yet produced these documents β and unless it does so tomorrow morning β I will not be able to offer you the committee β s assessment of them at tomorrow β s meeting , β Issa said in his letter to Holder , the latest in a flurry of public missives between the two sides .\nIssa wants information related to a Feb. 4 , 2011 , letter from DOJ downplaying top officials knowledge of what occurred during the Fast and Furious operation . That letter was later withdrawn by DOJ as inaccurate , and Hill Republicans have been trying to determine how the incident occurred .\nIssa also dismissed what Holder has called the β extraordinary accommodation β made by DOJ in deciding to turn over β internal deliberative documents β to congressional investigators . DOJ had previously said such documents were not subject to congressional subpoenas .\nβ There is nothing extraordinary about an offer from a federal agency to fully or partially respond to a subpoena , β Issa told Holder . β I do , however , hope the department will decide to produce the documents that would justify a postponement [ of Wednesday β s vote ] and will use tomorrow β s discussion to better understand what steps it can take if it sincerely seeks an outcome other than continuation of contempt proceedings . β\nDOJ officials met with Issa β s investigators last week to turn over some materials , and discussions between the two sides were ongoing throughout the weekend , GOP insiders said .\nMaryland Rep. Elijah Cummings , the top Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee , will be part of the session with Holder .\nIssa β backed by Speaker John Boehner ( R-Ohio ) and other House GOP leaders β has subpoenaed thousands of pages of DOJ documents related to the Fast and Furious β gun walking β program .\nThat operation , run jointly by DOJ and the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives , allowed thousands of guns purchased in the United States to reach Mexican drug cartels as federal agents attempted to track them .\nBut the effort failed and two U.S. law-enforcement officers were killed using Fast and Furious weapons , leading to outrage on Capitol Hill .\nIssa β s panel issued a subpoena last October for the Fast and Furious materials , particularly information related to the Feb. 2011 letter . Holder and other DOJ officials have refused for months to turn over those documents , arguing that previous administrations withheld similar β internal deliberative β information .\nYet with what Holder called a β constitutional crisis β looming over Fast and Furious , Issa and Holder appeared close to a deal to postpone the contempt vote late last week . Holder offered to turn over some β but not all β of the documents Issa has been seeking . In return , Holder sought a face-to-face meeting with Issa to resolve their dispute . Holder called the move an β extraordinary accommodation β to the demands of congressional investigators .\nThe battle with DOJ over Fast and Furious has become a test of strength for Issa and the House GOP leadership . Boehner and other top party leaders initially did not want to get into a showdown with Holder and the White House , fearing it would distract Republicans from the economic-based message that they have been pushing all year . Congress faces deadlines this month on highway and student loan funding , issues with far broader impact than the Fast and Furious debate , despite the seriousness of the DOJ-House fight .
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Rep. Jim Jordan announced Thursday that he will try next year to become leader of the House Republican caucus , accelerating what β s likely to be a deeply divisive fight over the direction of the GOP .\nThe Ohio Republican is challenging Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California , the current majority leader and front-runner to succeed outgoing Speaker Paul D. Ryan , who is retiring at the end of this year .\nMr. Jordan said he will seek the post if Republicans manage to keep their majority in this year β s elections , vowing to be a firmer supporter of President Trump β s agenda .\nβ President Trump has taken bold action on behalf of the American people . Congress has not held up its end of the deal , but we can change that . It β s time to do what we said , β he wrote in a letter to colleagues .\nLong a conservative lightning rod , Mr. Jordan quickly drew support from outside right-wing groups , while conservative lawmakers inside the Capitol were divided .\nSome of his closest allies said they β ll back him , but other conservative lawmakers said they want to focus on making sure the GOP still has a majority β and thus the speakership β next year .\nMr. Jordan has built a reputation as a right-wing brawler , willing to battle Democrats and GOP leaders alike .\nHe helped orchestrate the 17-day government shutdown over Obamacare funding in 2013 , though he later admitted that was perhaps too aggressive a stance . And he β s pushed for stiffer action on illegal immigration , deeper spending cuts and broader civil liberties protections from government snooping than party leaders have embraced .\nHe also attempted to impeach then-IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in 2016 .\nMr. Jordan is a former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus , and has taken in recent months to chiding GOP leaders for failing to live up to the promises they and Mr. Trump made to voters .\nβ Jim Jordan is a courageous conservative who has always kept his promises , β said Rep. Andy Biggs , Arizona Republican . β I believe that Jim Jordan would return to regular order and lead the House to execute our conservative objectives . β\nRep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina , chairman of the Freedom Caucus , said he would β fully β support Mr. Jordan for speaker .\nβ I applaud all of those who are willing to put themselves out there . Certainly , Jim β s one of my better friends in Congress and I support his efforts and his leadership to do that , β Mr. Meadows said .\nMr. Meadows also waved aside talk that Mr. Jordan launched the long-shot bid to be a β spoiler β for another candidate or to build himself up as a GOP kingmaker .\nβ The fact is that he was a two-time national champion , β Mr. Meadows said of Mr. Jordan , a former college wrestler . β I never knew him to get on the mat and try to lose , and I don β t expect this to be any different . If he β s going to get in , he β s going to be in it to win . β\nGroups from the free-market Club for Growth to the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund said they would rally to Mr. Jordan β s side as well .\nFreedomWorks , another group , said it will spend at least $ 500,000 to assist Mr. Jordan β s speakership bid .\nHowever , elections analysts are putting increasingly long odds on the GOP β s hopes of retaining the majority . Should Democrats win , they β ll pick the speaker and the GOP contest would be for minority leader .\nMr. Jordan β s letter to colleagues didn β t say what he would do in that case .\nThe outgoing speaker , Mr. Ryan , said he didn β t talk to Mr. Jordan before his announcement , but said he β s still backing Mr. McCarthy .\nAsked Thursday about Mr. Jordan β s bid , Mr. McCarthy told NBC : β I β m spending the time keeping the majority . β\nRep. Mark Walker , who chairs the Republican Study Committee , said the GOP needs to keep the majority first if they have designs on choosing the next speaker .\nβ That β s yet to be determined , β he said . β First and foremost , we got to keep the majority . β\nMr. Jordan built a national profile using his seats on the House Judiciary and Oversight committees to fire tough questions first at Obama administration officials , and more recently at Trump Justice Department and FBI officials .\nThis week he joined with Mr. Meadows to introduce articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , arguing he β s the point man of a Justice Department effort to hide documents from Congress .\nWhile he won cheers from conservatives from those efforts , some moderate GOP members have started to lose patience with the Freedom Caucus and say those sorts of tactics are counterproductive .\nRep. Elise Stefanik , a New York Republican who is backing Mr. McCarthy , said that β under no circumstances β will she support Mr. Jordan for speaker .\nβ I would urge him instead to support his colleagues this November instead of focusing on his own personal leadership aspirations , β Ms. Stefanik tweeted .
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiOvernight Health Care : Trump officials making changes to drug pricing proposal | House panel advances flavored e-cig ban | Senators press FDA tobacco chief on vaping ban Speaker Pelosi , it 's time to throw American innovators a lifeline Why Americans must tune in to the Trump impeachment hearings MORE ( D-Calif. ) has launched a fierce lobbying campaign within her caucus to become the next Speaker , pressing Democrats to publicly declare their support for her in an effort designed both to show her strength in the race and discourage detractors who are scrambling to block her ascension .\nPelosi , 78 , has been β working the phones nonstop β over the past few days , targeting those lawmakers β who may be close to some of the insurgents and are getting pressured by some of those insurgents , β said a Democratic aide whose boss has been on the receiving end of the campaign . To boost her odds of success , Pelosi has recruited congressional allies , friendly chiefs of staff and lobbyists off Capitol Hill , who are all showering on-the-fence lawmakers with phone calls , texts and emails .\nβ There is no question in my mind that she is concerned . She wants to get the votes , β the aide said Monday . β I think she can get them , because there β s nobody better at counting votes than Nancy Pelosi . β\nHer campaign has found early success . Several members who have been previously critical of leadership reversed course in recent days and released official statements in support of Pelosi .\nAnd the top Democrats on three investigative committees , who had been armed by Pelosi β s allies with key messaging points , fanned out on the Sunday news shows where they gave high-profile endorsements .\nThe show of strength not only put key supporters on the record , but it also sent a not-so-subtle message to the rest of the conference : If even former critics are backing Pelosi , the insurgency is futile and those on the fence should simply fall in line .\nβ She β s not going to be run out of town , β said a former Democratic leadership aide .\nPelosi foresees the end of her long leadership reign and is working on the β transition β she β s promised , the former aide added . β But it ain β t gon na be on anybody else β s terms . β\nPelosi expressed confidence last week that she will secure the Speaker β s gavel after Democrats seized control of the House , though she acknowledged it β s not going to be a cake walk , like when she first won the job in 2006 with unanimous Democratic support .\nHer pitch this time is simple : No one is more experienced to protect Obama-era victories like the Affordable Care Act , and there needs to be a woman at the leadership table to take on President Trump Donald John TrumpGOP senators balk at lengthy impeachment trial Warren goes local in race to build 2020 movement 2020 Democrats make play for veterans ' votes MORE .\nβ You can not have the four leaders of Congress , the president of the United States β these five people β and not have the voice of women , especially since women were the majority of the voters , the workers and campaigns and now part of this glorious victory , β Pelosi said Sunday on CBS β s β Face the Nation . β\nBut there is a small yet vocal group of anti-Pelosi insurgents who are vowing to oppose her , and a number of candidates were critical of the longtime Democratic leader on the campaign trail . That could pose a serious threat to Pelosi β s bid for Speaker , depending on the size of the new Democratic majority and how many in the party are willing to vote against her .\nRep.-elect Mikie Sherrill , a New Jersey Democrat , added herself to that list on Monday .\nβ I have been talking about how important it is we have new leadership in Congress right now , β Sherrill told MSNBC β s Andrea Mitchell . β And so I won β t be voting for Nancy Pelosi . β\nβ I do think it is important we move forward with new leadership , β she said , while noting that Pelosi has been β effective β in her role as party leader in the House .\nThroughout the midterm campaign season , Pelosi was notably accepting of Democrats vowing to oppose her leadership aspirations . She encouraged them to win , whatever it took , and didn β t lobby for any support before Election Day .\nBut now , with just two weeks before the Democratic leadership elections and the party on track to pick up about 35 seats , Pelosi has been campaigning aggressively behind the scenes to line up votes .\nShe has been working the phones , personally asking lawmakers for their support and even encouraging members to show their commitments publicly . The whip operation officially kicked off Wednesday and continued through the weekend .\nAn aide for Pelosi said no one has been forced to stake out their positions , but it β s an idea that has been suggested whenever a supporter asks how they can be helpful .\nOne text reviewed by βββ , however , indicated that Pelosi is seeking concrete commitments , in hopes of publicly highlighting them .\nA former Democratic lawmaker said Pelosi , in tough fights like this one , shifts gears and adopts a no-nonsense persona β β I call it β the Baltimore Nancy , β β the lawmaker said , an allusion to Pelosi β s roots in the rough-and-tumble world of Charm City politics .\nβ She doesn β t swear , but when she does , β said the lawmaker , trailing off . The lawmaker predicted her message to the fence-sitters . β β No more bullshit . β¦ You haven β t made up your mind ? We β re going to hold the vote until you do , and you β re going to tell us [ where you stand ] . β And she β s going to do that . β\nPelosi has already peeled off support from some of her former critics . That includes Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney ( D-N.Y. ) , who openly criticized the party β s campaign efforts after the disappointing 2016 elections , and Rep. Albio Sires Albio B. SiresOvernight Defense : Protests at Trump 's NYC Veterans Day speech | House Dems release Pentagon official 's deposition transcript | Lawmakers ask Trump to rescind Erdogan invite Bipartisan House members call on Trump to rescind ErdoΔan invitation Democratic lawmaker : Trudeau blackface photos 'disgusting ' MORE ( D-N.J. ) , who signed a letter earlier this year supporting a proposal that would have made it harder for Pelosi to secure the gavel .\nPelosi also blasted out a letter to the Democratic caucus on Monday urging members to unify when they return to Washington this week β a message that could be seen as applying to the leadership fight .\nβ In the next few weeks , we need to be unified , find common ground with Republicans in our legislative engagements , but stand our ground when we must , β she wrote .\nThe full-court press for Pelosi has also included enlisting left-leaning outside groups to tout their endorsements through tweets , statements and letters . Organizations like the Feminist Majority , Protect Our Care , AFL-CIO , National Education Foundation and People for the American Way have all voiced support for Pelosi in recent days .\nβ I don β t think people think she can be beat , β said one Democratic chief of staff tracking leadership races . β No one has the tool kit and relationships that she has . β\nPelosi β s critics , meanwhile , have struggled to coalesce around a candidate to run against her . While Rep. Tim Ryan Timothy ( Tim ) RyanTim Ryan endorses Biden for president Strategists say Warren 'Medicare for All ' plan could appeal to centrists Trump mocks O'Rourke after Democrat drops out of race MORE ( D-Ohio ) posed a challenge in 2016 , he has so far declined to jump in this year .\nRep. Ed Perlmutter Edwin ( Ed ) George PerlmutterFinancial sector 's work on SAFE Banking Act shows together , everyone achieves more House passes bill to protect cannabis industry access to banks , credit unions Showing consumers health care pricing could lower costs MORE ( D-Colo. ) , one of the lawmakers leading the charge to oust Pelosi , predicted a challenger will emerge before the Nov. 28 leadership elections within the caucus . But the real goal , he added , is to prevent Pelosi from getting the support of the majority in the subsequent Speaker vote on the House floor β a situation that would force her to step aside and spark a scramble to fill the void .\nβ There β s always this comment , β You can β t beat somebody with nobody , β β Perlmutter said by phone . β Well , that β s just not true when you have to meet a [ majority ] threshold . β\nPelosi β s critics say they β ve found a dozen incumbent lawmakers willing to vote against her in the Speaker vote on the floor , which will occur in the first days of January . And the insurgents have been scouring the campaign comments from incoming freshmen , identifying 12 who have been critical of the Democratic leader to some degree .\nβ Some were soft , β said an aide familiar with the detractors β strategy , and could probably be persuaded either to support her or vote β present . β\nBut , the aide added , β there β s no way eight of those 12 could ever say her name on the floor . β\nRep. Henry Cuellar ( Texas ) , a Blue Dog Democrat , said those incoming lawmakers are in a β tricky β spot , warning that supporting Pelosi after telling voters differently will make them vulnerable to easy GOP attacks in 2020 .\nβ That could expose them to possible defeat , β said Cuellar , who backs Pelosi but wants assurances of House rules changes empowering all members . β I would caution those members to be careful . β\nPerlmutter said the insurgents are making progress β slowly but surely , β targeting incumbents and newcomers alike in an aggressive phone campaign that ran through the weekend .\nβ The calls are going out there . They are not met with ire or anger or resistance , because there β s a recognition that , you know , there β s been this leadership team in place for a very long time , β Perlmutter said . β And it may stay in position , but I don β t think so . β
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Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday agreed to make what he called `` an extraordinary accommodation '' to Republicans investigating the botched `` Operation Fast and Furious '' by turning over department emails he has long insisted deal with internal deliberations and should be protected .\nHolder is trying to head off a push by House Republicans to hold him in contempt of Congress for allegedly `` stonewalling '' their investigation . And he offered to personally brief the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee , Rep. Darrell Issa , R-Calif. , in the next few days .\n`` We believe that this briefing , and the documents we are prepared to provide ... will fully address the remaining concerns identified in the recent letters to me from you and House leadership , '' Holder said in a letter to Issa . `` The department 's willingness to provide these materials is a serious , good faith effort to bring this matter to an amicable resolution . ''\nIssa 's office said in an early response that Holder 's letter `` only seems to indicate a willingness to offer a selective telling '' of key events and that the chairman is still asking the Justice Department to explain `` how it is prepared to alter its opposition to producing subpoenaed documents ''\nEarlier Thursday , Holder 's allies on the committee mounted their own aggressive defense of the attorney general , circulating a memo to House Democrats that calls the Republican argument for contempt , laid out in a contempt citation last month , `` irresponsible , unprecedented , and contrary to the rule of law . ''\nFor more than a year , Republicans have been leading an investigation into `` Fast and Furious , '' which was launched in Arizona in late 2009 by Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives officials , with help from the U.S. attorney 's office there . The operation 's targets bought nearly 2,000 weapons over several months . But for reasons that are still in dispute , most of the weapons sold were never followed , and high-powered weapons tied to the investigation ended up at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States , including the December 2010 murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry .\nLate last year , Issa issued a subpoena to Holder , and the Justice Department subsequently identified more than 80,000 documents responsive to it .\nHowever , the department has turned over about 7,600 documents and insisted those not turned over include traditionally protected deliberative material , legally protected grand jury material and other investigative material relating to ongoing cases .\nIn recent days , Issa narrowed his demands to focus on correspondence between department officials after they sent a now-retracted letter to Congress on Feb. 4 , 2011 . In that letter , the department inaccurately insisted : `` ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico . ''\nIssa says the documents he wants are `` critically important '' because , among other things , they could show whether top officials were `` surprised or were already aware '' about `` gunwalking '' in `` Fast and Furious '' when confronted with evidence contradicting the Feb. 4 letter . And the documents could further detail how the department handled officials who were negligent .\nIn his letter Thursday , Holder said he appreciates Issa 's `` narrowed '' request for information , calling it `` an important step forward '' and noting the department has `` repeatedly expressed concern that the production of ( certain ) materials would undermine the integrity and independence of ( its ) core law enforcement operations . ''\nHolder said he is willing to turn over documents that , `` while outside the scope of the committee 's interest in the inappropriate tactics used in Fast and Furious , '' show how his department 's `` understanding '' of the facts `` evolved throughout 2011 '' and how the Feb. 4 , 2011 , letter came to be withdrawn .\nBut in his letter , Holder insisted department leaders drafted the inaccurate letter based on assertions from others that the allegations being made were `` categorically false . ''\nHe also insisted , `` The record in this matter reflects that until allegations about the inappropriate tactics used in Fast and Furious were made public , department leadership was unaware of those tactics . ''\nRepublicans scheduled the contempt vote against Holder for June 20 after accusing him of failing to comply with the subpoena and turn over tens of thousands of still-undisclosed documents . The measure , if it remains on the agenda , would be voted on at the committee level and would still have to be approved by the full House .\nIn the memo circulated Thursday , Democrats said , `` Holding the attorney general in contempt of Congress for protecting these documents is an extreme and blatant abuse of the congressional contempt power and undermines the credibility of the committee . ''\nBut a spokeswoman for Issa took issue with that assessment , saying , `` The only credibility that has been undermined is that of Attorney General Holder and the Justice Department who issued a false denial of reckless conduct . ''\nNevertheless , House Democrats also took aim more broadly at the Republicans ' investigation of `` Operation Fast and Furious , '' saying it `` has been characterized by a series of unsubstantiated allegations against the Obama administration that later turned out to be inaccurate . ''\n`` Rather than conducting this investigation in an even-handed manner , the committee has politicized this inquiry by systematically refusing to investigate gunwalking operations during the Bush administration and by disregarding clear evidence that contradicts ( their ) political narrative , '' the Democrats ' memo states .\nOne of the `` most significant flaws of the investigation , '' according to the memo , is Issa 's refusal to hold a public hearing with former ATF head Ken Melson , who told congressional investigators in July 2011 that he never informed senior Justice Department officials about the tactics of `` Fast and Furious '' because he did n't know them himself .\nIn addition , the memo states , Issa has refused multiple requests for the committee to hear from former Attorney General Michael Mukasey , who could discuss `` the origination and evolution of gunwalking operations '' dating back to 2006 .\nIn late 2007 , Mukasey was sent a memo noting that the `` first-ever attempt '' to have a `` controlled delivery '' of weapons smuggled into Mexico was `` unsuccessful '' in tracking the weapons , but ATF would still like to `` expand the possibility '' of such cases with Mexico . It 's unclear if Mukasey ever saw the memo .\nThe spokeswoman for Issa , Becca Watkins , said the Democrats ' criticism is based on a `` fundamental misunderstanding '' about the facts of the case and the Justice Department 's `` failure to comply '' with the subpoena .\nAs for the contempt vote scheduled for Wednesday , the Democrats ' memo said negotiations could last into next week , and `` it is important for committee members to be fully prepared in the event that negotiations are unsuccessful . ''\nIn his letter Thursday , Holder told Issa that `` as the chairman only you have the authority to bind the committee , '' and therefore a meeting between the two `` is required both to assure that there are no misunderstandings about this matter and to confirm that the elements of the proposal we are making will be deemed sufficient to render the process of contempt unnecessary . ''
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NEW YORK/WASHINGTON ( βββ ) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller β s office on Friday disputed key elements of a media report that President Donald Trump directed his former lawyer to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal , raising questions about a story that has dominated U.S. news coverage for the past 24 hours .\nBuzzFeed News reported late on Thursday that Michael Cohen , Trump β s former lawyer who is slated to go to prison for lying to Congress and other crimes , told investigators working for Mueller that Trump had instructed him to lie about efforts to build a skyscraper in Moscow while he was running for president .\nβ BuzzFeed β s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel β s Office , and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office , regarding Michael Cohen β s Congressional testimony are not accurate , β Peter Carr , a spokesman for Mueller , said in the special counsel β s first comment on a media report since its probe started 20 months ago .\nWhile Carr did not directly address whether there was evidence that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress , he disputed portions of the story about how BuzzFeed corroborated the explosive allegations against Trump .\nCiting information from two federal law enforcement officials , BuzzFeed said Cohen told the special counsel that after the 2016 presidential election Trump instructed him to tell Congress that negotiations over the Moscow project had ended earlier than they had in order to obscure Trump β s involvement .\nCarr β s statement also appeared to dispute BuzzFeed β s assertion that the special counsel learned about Trump β s directive from interviews with employees of the Trump Organization , emails , text messages and other documents .\nBuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement : β We stand by the reporting and the sources who informed it , and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he β s disputing . β\nAfter the BuzzFeed report was published on Thursday night , investigators in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives said they planned to investigate the allegations , while some Democrats described the report as a game-changer that , if true , could be grounds for impeaching the president .\nEarlier on Friday , the White House said the story was false . β Look , that β s absolutely ridiculous , β spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters .\nDavid Weinstein , a former federal prosecutor , said Mueller β s decision to comment highlighted the significance of the allegations made in the BuzzFeed article and the attention it was getting in the media and among lawmakers .\nβ They are making a public comment to tell everyone to calm down , β Weinstein said . β He doesn β t want people to think his silence is confirming the truthfulness of the report . β\nTrump said on Twitter that Cohen was lying to get less prison time . Trump β s lawyer , Rudy Giuliani , said in a statement that any suggestion that Trump told Cohen to lie is β categorically false . β\nRepresentatives for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment on the BuzzFeed report .\nCohen , who once said he was so loyal to Trump that he would β take a bullet β for him , is scheduled to begin a three-year prison sentence in March after pleading guilty to charges including campaign finance violations , tax evasion and lying to Congress .\nIf Trump did tell Cohen to lie , that would constitute criminal activity , said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler , a Democrat . He added that he would look into the matter .\nβ Directing a subordinate to lie to Congress is a federal crime , β Nadler said on Twitter .\nHouse Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the allegation that Trump may have directed Cohen to lie under oath β is among the most serious to date . β\nRelated Coverage Trump says grateful to Mueller for BuzzFeed statement\nβ We will do what β s necessary to find out if it β s true , β Schiff , also a Democrat , said on Twitter .\nSome Senate Intelligence Committee investigators hope to ask Cohen about the BuzzFeed report when he testifies behind closed doors in February , a committee source told βββ . He also will face questions about it in testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 7 .\nYet Mueller β s move to push back on the BuzzFeed report could give some lawmakers pause , while also giving ammunition to allies of Trump in their efforts to criticize the media and in their calls for Mueller to complete his probe .\nβ Today β s development only underscores the need for the special counsel to wrap this investigation up immediately , β Republican Representative Mark Meadows said on Twittter . β The constant secrecy and breathless speculation helps no one . β\nLegal experts said the allegation , if true , exposed Trump to a new level of risk in an investigation that has already resulted in convictions of or guilty pleas from four former campaign aides , including ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort .\nIf true , β it β s a seismic event , β Andy Wright , an associate White House counsel under former Democratic President Barack Obama , told βββ .\nCohen , his left arm in a sling , did not comment as he entered his apartment building in New York on Friday . His adviser , Lanny Davis , also declined to comment to βββ , and his lawyer , Guy Petrillo , did not respond to a request for comment .\nTrump denounced Cohen as a β rat β after he began cooperating with investigators while Cohen , whose duties included making payoffs to two women who said they had affairs with Trump , said on Thursday he regretted giving β my blind loyalty to a man who doesn β t deserve it . β\nDirecting or encouraging someone to lie under oath is a crime known as subornation of perjury . The report also raises questions about obstruction of justice and conspiracy .\nWilliam Barr , Trump β s nominee to be attorney general , said at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that a president would be committing obstruction if he directed a subordinate to lie under oath . A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment .\nWhile the Justice Department has previously concluded that a sitting president can not be charged while in office , such an allegation , if found true , could fuel impeachment proceedings in Congress .\nTrump repeatedly has denied collusion with Russia and slammed Mueller β s investigation as a β witch hunt. β Russia also has rejected U.S. intelligence findings that Moscow interfered in U.S. politics in the 2016 election in an effort to boost Trump .\nTrump said during the presidential campaign that he had no ties or business dealings with Russia .\nDemocrats , who took over the U.S. House of Representatives this month , have generally been cautious regarding any talk of impeachment to remove Trump from office although some rank-and-file members have pushed for such a resolution .\nImpeachment proceedings would face an uphill battle in the Senate , where Trump β s fellow Republicans have a majority .\nBuzzFeed also reported that Cohen regularly updated Trump β s son Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter Ivanka Trump , who is now a top White House adviser , about the Moscow project .\nA combination photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump 's onetime personal attorney , Michael Cohen and U.S. President Donald Trump from outside federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City , New York , U.S. , April 16 , 2018 and in the White House in Washington , U.S. , July 18 , 2018 . βββ/Lucas Jackson , Leah Millis/File Photos\nA spokesman for Abbe Lowell , a lawyer for Ivanka Trump , said she was minimally involved in the development . Trump Jr. , who has also testified previously before Congress , in a Twitter post called the BuzzFeed report β fake news . β\nAfter Mueller β s statement disputing the report , Trump Jr. called out the media and Schiff in a series of Twitter posts . β Hey Adam , turns out it was Full of Schiff ! β he wrote .
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( Note at 11:20 a.m . ET : Scroll down to see the GOP plan , which has now been released ; new comments from Rep. Ryan ; and White House reaction . )\nHouse Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin , the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee , unveiled his latest budget plan Tuesday morning β and as NPR 's Tamara Keith told our Newscast Desk , he says it would bring the federal budget in balance by 2023 .\nRyan 's previous proposal , he said , would balance the budget in 20 years . How has he cut 10 years off that time ? The `` fiscal cliff '' deal reached as 2012 turned into 2013 `` raises $ 600 billion in tax revenue over the next decade , '' Tamara reported , `` and Ryan is including that in his new budget . ''\n`` Otherwise , '' she added , `` Ryan has telegraphed that his new plan will include many of the same cuts as past GOP budgets , most notably it would convert Medicare into a premium support program . ''\nOn the op/ed pages of The Wall Street Journal today , Ryan makes his case for the new plan .\n`` How do we do it ? '' he writes . `` We stop spending money the government does n't have . ... Our budget matches spending with income . Under our proposal , the government spends no more than it collects in revenue β or 19.1 % of gross domestic product each year . As a result , we 'll spend $ 4.6 trillion less over the next decade . ... `` Our opponents will shout austerity , but let 's put this in perspective . On the current path , we 'll spend $ 46 trillion over the next 10 years . Under our proposal , we 'll spend $ 41 trillion . On the current path , spending will increase by 5 % each year . Under our proposal , it will increase by 3.4 % . Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending , the budget will balance by 2023 , and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy . ''\nPresident Obama and his fellow Democrats , of course , have other ideas about how to get the federal government books in order . Politico this morning looks at the president 's new efforts to reach out to some Republicans in order to cut a deal . It concludes though , that `` the expectations for both a sustainable civil alliance and a grand bargain remain low for one very simple reason : The parties are further apart on taxes and entitlements than they were in 2011 when Obama and House Speaker John Boehner ( R-Ohio ) first entered into talks and came close to striking the ever-elusive grand bargain . ''\nUpdate at 11:20 a.m . ET . White House Says Ryan 's Math `` Just Does n't Add Up . ''\nIn a statement just sent to reporters , the White House says , in part :\n`` While the House Republican budget aims to reduce the deficit , the math just does n't add up . Deficit reduction that asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class . By choosing to give the wealthiest Americans a new tax cut , this budget as written will either fail to achieve any meaningful deficit reduction , raise taxes on middle class families by more than $ 2,000 β or both . ... `` The president has put forward a balanced approach to deficit reduction with no sacred cows . It includes more Medicare savings over the next decade than the House Republican budget , but it does so by cracking down on waste and fraud , not by asking middle class seniors to bear the burden . It closes tax loopholes for the wealthiest and biggest corporations so we can still afford to create jobs by investing in education , manufacturing , infrastructure , and small businesses . The President 's plan puts our nation on a fiscally sustainable path and grows our economy from the middle class out . `` While the president disagrees with the House Republican approach , we all agree we need to leave a better future for our children . The President will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to grow the economy and cut the deficit in a balanced way . This is the approach the American people overwhelmingly support , and that is what the president will continue to fight for each day . ''\nUpdate at 10:55 a.m . ET . Ryan Says He Wo n't Surrender His Principles :\nRyan is holding a news conference this hour . A reporter noted that he 's pitched a similar budget plan before β one that focuses on cuts in projected spending and eschews tax increases β and in the time since then was on the losing presidential ticket .\nShould losing an election mean `` we surrender our principles ? '' Ryan asks . That Republicans should `` stop believing in what we believe in ? ''\n`` We think we owe the country a balanced budget , '' he says , and `` solutions '' to the nation 's problems .\nRyan 's `` Path to Prosperity ; a Responsible , Balanced Budget , '' plan is now out . As Tamara notes , `` it calls for the repeal of the president 's healthcare law , and approval of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline . It would cut growth in programs for the poor by turning them over to the states . And for future seniors , it would convert Medicare into a premium support program . ''
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Government wants you to play a role in the `` shutdown '' of the federal government . Your role is to panic .\nRepublicans and Democrats both assume that shutting some government is a terrible thing . The press concurs . `` Shutdown threatens fragile economy , '' warns Politico . `` Federal workers turn to prayer , '' laments The Washington Post .\nIf the public starts noticing that life goes on as usual without all 3.4 million federal workers , we might get dangerous ideas , like doing without so much government . Politicians do n't want that .\nThey 'd rather have us worry about how America will cope .\nPresident Obama gave a speech where he actually said we need to keep government open for the sake of people like the person working for the Department of Agriculture `` out there helping some farmers make sure that they 're making some modest profit , '' and the Department of Housing and Urban Development `` helping somebody buy a house for the first time . ''\nGive me a break . Farmers do n't need bureaucrats to teach them how to make a profit , and Americans can buy first homes without HUD helping a chosen few . Americans would make more profit and afford better homes if they did n't have to spend a third of national income on federal taxes .\nBureaucrats , acting like bullies , protest the partial closures by doing things like cutting off access to public parksβeven privately funded ones . Federal cops block access to outdoor war memorials and much of Mt . Rushmore . They block access to motels and order people out of private homes that happen to sit on federal land . The Washington Free Beacon reports , `` The closure of a Virginia park that sits on federal land , even though the government provides no resources for its maintenance or operation . ''\nIt 's similar to the fake `` austerity measures '' in other countries . We 're told that Europe 's slow economic growth is a result of `` austerity '' embraced by European governments .\nBut there has n't really been any austerity . England , where a `` conservative '' government is in charge , ( SET ITAL ) increased ( END ITAL ) government spending by 4 percent .\n`` Austerity '' in Greeceβsupposedly so drastic that the public has little choice but to riot in protestβmeant changes like reducing mandatory severance pay to one entire year ( instead of two ! ) .\nIn the U.S. , Rep. Nancy Pelosi ( D-Cal . ) told CNN the federal government has cut so much spending that there 's just nothing left to cut : `` The cupboard is bare ! There 's no more cuts to make ! ''\nWhat ? The federal government spends almost 4 trillion dollars ! The government cupboard overflows ! We fund entire cabinet departments that are worse than useless . The Labor Department ( SET ITAL ) interferes ( END ITAL ) with actual labor . Commerce would flow more smoothly without Commerce Department bureaucrats channeling money to their cronies .\nThe government has n't cut spendingβit never does . After the last shutdowns , politicians even voted to award retroactive pay to government workers who did n't work . Bet they do it again this time . The federal government remains the biggest employer in the country . President Obama says so with pride .\nCompare this to what happens in the private sector in tough times : AT & T cut 40,000 workers . Sears cut 50,000 . IBM : 60,000 . They were n't easy decisions , but they enabled the companies to stay profitable . With fewer workers , leaner companies found more efficient ways to get things done .\nAnd the rest of us barely noticed . We expect change and adaptation in free-market institutions . But it does n't happen in government . Government just grows .\nMaybe the ugliest part of this story is that the city that whines most about suffering through the shutdown , Washington , D.C. , is now the richest geographic area in America . Washington got richer while the rest of America did n't . Over the past 12 years , median income in the U.S. dropped about 6.5 percentβbut not in D.C. ! There , it rose 23 percent . Four of the five richest counties now surround Washington , D.C .\nNo wonder politicians and bureaucrats are convinced big government is essential to keep the economy goingβit is essential to keep them going .
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President Trump and GOP senators buried their differences for an ...\nWASHINGTON β House Republicans on Thursday narrowly adopted the Senate β s $ 4 trillion budget blueprint , despite grumblings about the impact on the deficit and the elimination of state and local tax deductions .\nWith 20 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting no , the budget passed 216-212 .\nThe House had already passed its own budget that directed upcoming tax reform legislation to be deficit-neutral . But to speed up the process toward their ultimate goal of tax cuts , the House passed the Senate plan that would allow tax cuts to add $ 1.5 trillion to the deficit .\nβ By passing this budget today , we can send a clear message to the American people : Real tax reform is on the way , β said Rep. Kevin Brady ( R-Texas ) .\nThe budget vote opened a process called reconciliation that will allow the upcoming tax reform legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority vote β and without any Democrats .\nDemocrats blasted the plan as β the billionaires β budget β that will roll back Medicaid and Medicare spending to deliver tax relief to the wealthiest Americans .\nβ Snake oil is all that this Republican budget will give to the American middle class and working families , β said Rep. Salud Carbajal ( D-Calif. ) . β This Republican budget is squarely aimed at ramming through a tax plan without bipartisan consensus or input . β¦ Eighty percent of the tax cuts in this plan benefits only the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans . β\nRep. Diane Black ( R-Tenn. ) said Democrats shouldn β t make assumptions about a tax plan that hasn β t even been written yet .\nβ The devil β s in the details and those details have not yet been released yet , β Black said .\nRepublicans and President Trump believe they can deliver a massive tax cut to Americans and businesses this year that will create economic growth and deliver relief to the middle class .\nOne major sticking point is how to pay for those tax cuts . The current plan would eliminate the deductibility of state and local taxes to save about $ 1.3 trillion over the decade .\nMore than 44 million people rely on those deductions , especially in high-taxes states like New York , New Jersey and California .\nNew York Republicans voting β no β were Dan Donovan , Claudia Tenney , Lee Zeldin , Elise Stefanik , John Katko , Peter King and John Faso .\nFaso said he couldn β t support β a budget resolution that singled out for elimination the ability of New York families to deduct state and local taxes . β
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Story highlights House Republicans , President Obama still far apart on budget priorities , GOP leaders say\n`` He did himself some good , '' Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin says\nObama offered `` just a bunch of platitudes , '' Georgia congressman says\nSome in the Republican caucus think Obama should have reached out long ago\nPresident Barack Obama entered the conference room in the Capitol basement to a standing ovation , but after nearly an hour and a half of discussion with House Republicans , there was little evidence that the meeting -- part of the White House 's `` charm offensive '' on Capitol Hill -- did much to change the partisan gulf between the president and his chief adversaries .\nAt a news conference after the meeting , House Speaker John Boehner thanked the president for coming but also noted the challenges remaining on a host of issues , especially ones related to reducing the deficit .\n`` We know how there are some very real differences between our two parties ( on issues like ) jobs , balancing the budget and what do we do to get economy moving again , '' Boehner said . `` Republicans want to balance the budget . The President does n't . Republicans want to solve our long term debt problem . The President does n't . We want to unlock our energy resources to put more Americans back to work . The President does n't . ''\nThe speaker added , `` But having said that , today was a good start and I hope that these kinds of discussions can continue . ''\nRepublicans ' top priority -- tackling federal spending and reining in record deficits -- came up early in the Republican conference meeting . Oklahoma Rep. Jim Lankford asked the first question , pressing the president to explain why he would n't join House Republicans in their effort to balance the budget in a decade .\nObama , according to several Republicans , explained that he did n't share that priority , an answer that many emphasized as they left the meeting .\nGeorgia Rep. Paul Broun , a conservative who is running for the Senate , mentioned that exchange as he left , telling reporters , `` basically his whole talk was just a bunch of platitudes and no substance to it . ''\n`` He thought what was more important was that deficits fall below growth as a percentage of GDP -- certainly a laudable goal , but I think the federal government , like any business or any family , needs to work towards a balanced budget , '' Rep. Tom Cotton , R-Arkansas , said afterward .\nHouse Majority Leader Eric Cantor gave a blunt assessment about the divide on fiscal issues , suggesting it could carry over to other issues .\n`` If the president wants to let our unwillingness to raise taxes get in the way , then we 're not gon na be able to set differences aside and focus on what we agree on , '' Cantor told reporters at the GOP leaders ' news conference .\nWhen Lankford raised fiscal issues during the meeting , he also pointed out that the president 's other meeting on Wednesday was with his political arm , Organizing for Action . Word of that meeting rankled many GOP members who suggested Obama was more concerned with political goals than working across the aisle .\n`` We know the president is going to speak before Organizing for Action tonight , '' Rep. Greg Walden , R-Oregon , who leads the House Republicans ' campaign arm , told reporters as he left the meeting . `` We know he 's made it clear that taking out the House is his big priority , and we know he 's been on the never-ending campaign tour up to this point , so there 's a trust factor . ''\nMindful of the House GOP undercurrent that Obama is chiefly focused on scoring political points , one source inside the meeting said the president addressed those concerns directly at the end of the meeting .\nThis source told CNN that the president told GOP members that if he were only focused on the midterms , he would not be pushing immigration reform because that 's not necessarily helpful for some members of his party . He said he would not push for entitlement reform because a lot of Democrats do n't agree and are nervous about tackling such a politically explosive issue .\nHe told them that he runs the country , that he wants it to succeed and that he looks around the room and sees other people who love their country . Obama said they have a moment and should seize it , according to this source .\nBut Walden did say the session helped build some trust , and it was a good opportunity to raise a wide spectrum of issues . He mentioned Israel as one area where both parties found some common ground .\nExiting the conference , House Budget Committee Chairman and former Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan ( R-Wisconsin ) said of the president : `` He did himself some good . ''\nSeveral members in the meeting said it helped open a dialogue but lamented that the session was only the second time the president had traveled up Pennsylvania Avenue to talk to House Republicans since he was elected .\n`` The president does n't spend a lot of time working with members of Congress . He does n't have to -- he 's president of the United States -- but I think it 's made his job a lot more difficult , and it 's made our task a lot more difficult because there 's very little communication , '' Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said after the meeting .\nCotton described the president 's demeanor in the meeting as `` affable '' and said the various members who asked questions were `` very cordial and respectful . ''\nAccording to multiple GOP sources , conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington screened questions in advance and called on members after the president made opening remarks .\nRep. Michael Grimm of New York said the event had been peppered with occasional lighter moments such as speculation after word got around the room that the new pope was about to be announced .\n`` Anyone who thinks this president is anything but affable and pleasant when he 's speaking with group is just simply wrong . They have n't met him , '' said Grimm . But he added he was waiting to see if the president would follow up his outreach with some bipartisan action .\nObama fielded some tense questions during the meeting . Michigan Rep. Candice Miller told reporters she was not satisfied with the president 's response to her complaint that the White House had suspended public tours after forced spending cuts went into effect . Republicans have charged that the closures were politically motivated , but Obama said Wednesday the decision had been made by the Secret Service .
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WASHINGTON β President Donald Trump called for deep cuts in environmental and safety net programs , billions more for his border wall and a huge boost for the military in a $ 4.75 trillion 2020 budget proposal that is unlikely to gain traction in Congress .\nTrump delivered his first budget under a divided government Monday , a road map that would not balance the books for 15 years despite deep reductions . The proposal also called for $ 8.6 billion for Trump 's border wall , a request Democrats flatly rejected .\n`` Congress has been ignoring the president 's spending reductions for the last two years , '' Trump 's top budget aide , Russell Vought , told reporters when pressed for an explanation about why the budget anticipates a $ 1.1 trillion deficit next year .\nEven before Democrats claimed control of the House , similar proposals by Trump failed in Congress . The schism between the president 's wish list and actual government spending only deepened after a dispute over the border wall led to a 35-day partial government shutdown that ended in January .\n`` This is not a serious proposal , '' said Sen. Patrick Leahy , D-Vt. , the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee .\nPresidential budgets , required by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 , for decades have had more to do with politics than policy . With the 2020 election underway , the document gives Trump an opportunity to lay out a vision he can trumpet to supporters .\nNot your budget : 'Get rid of the fat ' : Why Uncle Sam 's budget is different from yours\nThe White House is eager to sell three messages with the president 's third budget : that Trump hasn β t given up on building his long-promised border wall , that he wants to increase military spending and that he hopes to slash just about everything else .\nThe president requested $ 8.6 billion more for his wall , just weeks after Congress failed to approve his demand for $ 5.7 billion . With both sides dug in on the issue , the latest proposal is certain to go nowhere . Trump declared a national emergency in February , a move the White House says will free up billions more for the wall .\nTrump is also requesting billions more in spending at the Defense Department β one of the few priorities that could gain some attention from lawmakers . After initially considering Pentagon cuts last year , the White House embraced a proposal to increase the Defense Department β s budget 5 percent to $ 750 billion .\nβ’ A $ 2.8 billion , or 31 percent reduction in for the Environmental Protection Agency and a $ 327 billion cut to safety-net programs . Some of that reduction would be carried out by imposing a work requirement for food stamps , Medicaid and other programs .\nβ’ A new user fee on e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery system products to `` address today β s alarming rise in youth e-cigarette use . ''\nβ’ Nearly $ 315 million to hire an additional 1,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and 128 immigration court prosecuting attorneys .\nβ’ Almost $ 300 million toward the goal eliminating nearly all new infections of HIV/AIDS within 10 years .\nSome proposals in Trump 's budget could become law , but most of the high-profile items will face tough odds .\nTrump has proposed many of the same changes before , without success . Last year β s budget , which came at a time when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate , included $ 18 billion for the border wall . His 2017 budget proposed eliminating 62 federal agencies entirely . Congress largely ignored those requests and many others .\nNone of those agencies was eliminated and lawmakers approved only $ 1.37 billion for border barriers . That partly reflects a politically divided Congress but also the fact that the president 's budget has long been viewed as a wish list .\nGovernment printers published about 20,000 hard copies of the president 's budget , and a spokesman for the Government Publishing Office says the online version of the document averages about 2 million retrievals each year .\nThe budget proposal must include information about how much the government collected in taxes and other revenue , the public debt and proposed spending priorities . But the real work of spending taxpayer money is handled by the congressional appropriations process . And that means Democrats and Republicans must work together to decide which programs should be prioritized .\nEven some Republicans remained noncommittal about the White House proposal .\nβ I look forward to reviewing additional details , '' said Sen. Richard Shelby , R-Ala. , the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee , `` Throughout the next few months , the ( committee ) will conduct hearings and carefully review the president β s proposal . ''
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Story highlights Obama cancels a trip to the APEC summit because of the shutdown\nRepublican : Boehner says he 'd allow debt ceiling vote that relies on Democrats to pass\nA GOP legislator describes Republicans as `` very unified '' despite reports of division\nThe federal government may not be hit with a double whammy on top of the ongoing shutdown , as House Speaker John Boehner told a group of fellow GOP legislators that he wo n't let the nation default on its debt , according to a House Republican .\nBoehner said that he 'd set aside the `` Hastert Rule '' -- that Republicans would only bring measures up for a vote if they are backed by a majority of their caucus -- and rely on Democrats to pass a measure to raise the nation 's debt limit , said the House member . This legislator attended a meeting Wednesday involving Boehner , but requested anonymity because that gathering was private .\nCongressional Republicans remain divided on how to structure legislation to raise the government 's borrowing level . And an aide to the House speaker downplayed the development , saying , `` Boehner has always said the United States will not default on its debt , so that 's not news . ''\nStill , at least one Democrat -- Sen. Charles Schumer of New York -- cheered the prospect of the GOP leader refusing to block at least this measure that President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats strongly support .\n`` This could be the beginnings of a significant breakthrough , '' Schumer said in a statement . `` Even coming close to the edge of default is very dangerous , and putting this issue to rest significantly ahead of the default date would allow everyone in the country to breathe a huge sigh of relief . ''\nThe Ohio Republican 's vow comes exactly two weeks before the government is set to run out of money to cover its roughly $ 16.7 trillion debt , unless Congress agrees to lift the so-called debt ceiling . That had long been routine in Washington -- until recently , that is , when conservative Republicans have pushed not to allow more borrowing without significant cuts .\nJUST WATCHED GOP Rep. : You 're beautiful but be honest Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH GOP Rep. : You 're beautiful but be honest 01:40\nJUST WATCHED Sen. Reid : I will not pick and choose Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Sen. Reid : I will not pick and choose 02:07\nJUST WATCHED GOP 'lemming caucus ' blocking leadership Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH GOP 'lemming caucus ' blocking leadership 10:04\nBoehner himself wrote earlier this week in USA Today that `` there is no way Congress can or should pass ( a debt ceiling hike ) without spending cuts and reforms to deal with the debt and deficit and help get our economy moving again . '' He accused President Barack Obama of refusing to negotiate ; Obama and fellow Democratic leaders have since said they are open to talks on any and all budgetary matters , but only after the government is reopened .\nYet Boehner 's comments signal that , at least on the debt ceiling issue , he 's willing to allow a vote on a measure backed by top Democrats but not most Republicans in his chamber -- something he 's refused to do with a Senate-passed measure to reopen the federal government , without any add-ons .\nChief among those Democrats is Obama who , for all his strong rhetoric on ending the government shutdown , has said that avoiding a federal debt default is an even bigger necessity . He 's insisted Congress pass such a measure , as is , without tying it to anything else .\n`` As reckless as a government shutdown is , an economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse , '' the president said in a speech Thursday in Rockville , Maryland . `` There will be no negotiations over this . ''\nWhile Boehner 's comments suggest hope toward some common resolution on the debt ceiling , the government shutdown is another matter entirely .\nThe two sides appeared no closer to an agreement Thursday , the third day of the shutdown that comes because Congress failed to agree on a budget plan to send to President Barack Obama . In fact , they appeared to dig in -- insisting their approach is best and that the other was to blame for the 800,000 workers at risk of furloughs , shuttering of national parks , loss of funding for various programs and other effects of the shutdown .\nA conservative GOP wing has demanded that any spending measure include provisions to dismantle or defund Obamacare , which became law in 2010 and was upheld by the Supreme Court last year .\nAs he 's done before , Obama on Thursday challenged Boehner to stop what he called Republicans `` reckless '' strategy of refusing to pass the `` clean '' spending bill -- which does n't have provisions targeting the president 's signature health care reform , the Affordable Care Act , like several passed by the GOP-led House -- and instead pushing measures to fund popular programs on a one-by-one basis .\nThe president said the spending initiative passed by the Democratic-led Senate would pass the House with support from Democrats and some Republicans , except that Boehner wo n't allow the vote .\n`` The only thing that is keeping the government shut down , the only thing preventing people from going back to work , and basic research starting back up , and farmers and small-business owners getting their loans -- the only thing that 's preventing all that from happening right now today , in the next five minutes , is that Speaker John Boehner wo n't even let the bill get a yes-or-no vote because he does n't want to anger the extremists in his party , '' Obama said .\nSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid was part of the Democratic chorus Thursday , accusing Boehner of reneging on an agreement to let the House vote on a `` clean '' spending package of $ 988 billion , $ 70 billion less than Democrats wanted ) . Boehner went back on that deal , Reid surmised in an interview with CNN 's Dana Bash , because he feared fellow Republicans would turn on him and oust him from his position as House speaker .\n`` His job is not as important as our country , '' Reid said . `` ... He has to have some courage . ''\nGOP Rep. Michael Grimm said Thursday night that `` very , very arrogant and very obstinate '' remarks by Reid and what he calls a lack of needed leadership from Obama undermines the chances of reaching a deal .\n`` If you 're going to be insulted ... , and if you 're going to be spoken down to , and there 's going to be this air of arrogance , you 're only going to make things worse , '' Grimm , of New York , told CNN 's Anderson Cooper .\nWhile Grimm and a few other moderate Republicans have backed a `` clean '' spending bill without anti-Obamacare provisions , some of his colleagues in the House say the party wo n't budge from their strategy . Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas , for one , described his caucus as `` very unified '' and said Reid and Obama are `` confused '' if they think `` we 're going to fold and let them win on everything . ''\nIn fact , House Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote in a memo that it 's the positions of Obama and other Democrats that are `` untenable . ''\nHouse Republicans would continue passing piecemeal funding measures for popular programs such as veterans affairs , national parks and medical research to keep up pressure on Senate Democrats who refuse to consider such measures in the ongoing stalemate , Cantor 's memo said .\n`` While no one can predict with certainty how the current shutdown will be resolved , I am confident that if we keep advancing common-sense solutions to the problems created by the shutdown that Senate Democrats and President Obama will eventually agree to meaningful discussions that would allow us to ultimately resolve this impasse , '' Cantor said in the memo that a GOP source made available to CNN .\nA conversation between two conservative GOP senators showed Republicans think they can win the debate . In the comments caught by live microphone , tea party-backed Sen. Rand Paul told his Kentucky Republican colleague , Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , that continuing to hammer Democrats for refusing to consider GOP proposals would eventually succeed .\nMeanwhile , two moderate House members -- one Republican and one Democrat -- proposed a compromise Thursday that would fund the government for six months while eliminating a tax on medical devices in the health care reforms .\nSenate Democrats quickly rejected the idea because it would link the health care reform provision to the need to fund the government now while extending deep mandatory budget cuts they oppose for half of the new fiscal year .\nInstead , Obama -- who canceled a trip to Brunei and Indonesia for this weekend 's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit because of the ongoing shutdown -- and other Democrats have said they want to negotiate a broad budget deal that could include tax reforms and other matters . But they 're only willing to engage in such talks after the government reopens .\nThis already slogging debate over what to do about the crisis ground to a halt Thursday because of something that , at first glance , did not directly involve any of the legislators on Capitol Hill , even if it did hit very close to home .\nA chase that began at a White House security checkpoint ended near the U.S. Capitol Hill when authorities opened fire on a car containing a woman and a child , an intelligence source told CNN .\nTwo police officers suffered injuries in the ordeal , according to D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier . The female driver -- who did n't fire any shots herself , according to multiple sources -- died of gunshot wounds .\nThe House and Senate were both put on lockdown , with no one allowed to leave or enter Capitol Hill buildings and everyone urged to steer clear of windows and doorways , for about an hour .\nNot long after , Democrats and Republicans reconvened on the House floor and , in a rare show of unanimity , thanked the responding officers .\nThen they resumed their normal business -- which , if the past few weeks is any indication , meant more blame and little agreement on how to bring the government back on line .
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Story highlights Majority of African leaders convene in Washington for first-ever African leaders summit\nEbola outbreak on the continent sure to distract from talks on trade\nU.S. hopes to be a player on the African continent and blunt China 's influence\nBy any measure it 's historic : The vast majority of Africa 's leaders flying to Washington at the invite of the President , whose father was born on the continent , to mark what the White House hopes is a new era of cooperation .\nWhile plans for the first African Leaders Summit this week in the nation 's capital are ambitious , the reality is the United States still has strides to make on the kind of political and economic relationships in Africa that can benefit both sides .\nOther nations , namely China , have turned their focus to the continent as a trade partner . Terrorist networks have expanded their reach in some countries , most notably in Nigeria , where hundreds of schoolgirls remain at large after being kidnapped earlier this year . And while U.S.-backed efforts have helped slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa , countries there rate among the lowest in life expectancy and infant mortality .\n`` The importance of this for America needs to be understood , '' President Barack Obama said on Friday about the summit .\nJUST WATCHED West African Ebola epidemic Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH West African Ebola epidemic 04:32\nJUST WATCHED Doctors struggle to treat Ebola patients Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Doctors struggle to treat Ebola patients 04:37\nJUST WATCHED Obama : U.S. prepared for Ebola Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Obama : U.S. prepared for Ebola 02:11\nHe added later that Africa `` happens to be one of the continents where America is most popular and people feel a real affinity for our way of life . ''\nHere are five reasons that the U.S.-Africa Leader 's Summit , which kicked off on Monday , is important :\n1 . Health scare : The health problems in Africa were underscored this week when an Ebola outbreak prompted leaders of two nations to cancel their trips to Washington .\nLiberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , a Nobel Peace Prize winner , and Ernest Bai Koroma , the leader of Sierra Leone , both said they would remain in their countries .\nEbola has killed more than 700 people in three nations : Guinea , Liberia and Sierra .\nSummit leaders , and even Obama , have stressed there is no risk to Washingtonians from those arriving from Africa this week .\nObama said anyone who might have been exposed to the virus would be screened both in their home countries and upon arrival in the United States .\nBut worry over the worsening outbreak only highlighted challenges Africa faces in combating disease and poverty , despite the billions in U.S. aid over the years .\n`` This is an uphill challenge for them , '' said Gayle Smith , Obama 's senior director for development and Democracy , noting both Liberia and Sierra Leone had recently emerged from periods of civil war .\nObama hopes to move past the traditional elements of humanitarian aid to Africa , focusing instead on potential trade .\nBut promoting commercial ties with countries engulfed in Ebola outbreaks could prove to be difficult . The State Department warned against non-essential travel to Sierra Leone and Libera last week , and some schools and businesses have closed .\n`` The timing is very unfortunate , and no one would have wished for this , '' said Howard French , an associate professor of international affairs at Columbia University . `` Having high-level discussions between the U.S. and Africa on business and investment are infrequent . So to the extent that this distracts from that I think will be regretted all around . ''\n2 . Security challenges : Another potential barrier to U.S. investment in Africa : Growing extremism on the continent , which has overwhelmed certain governments .\nThe most flagrant example came earlier this summer , when the group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 school girls in Nigeria . The incident prompted international outrage and so far , a U.S.-backed team has not located them .\nNigeria-based Boko Haram opposes western-style education , and there are fears the group 's influence could be crossing borders .\nLast month , armed gunman suspected to be Boko Haram militants abducted the wife of Cameroon 's deputy prime minister .\nIntra-country sniping has followed . Nigeria has expressed frustration with Cameroon for not doing enough to fight Boko Haram on its side of the border , a charge Cameroon has denied .\nThe unrest has inflicted damage on African economies , including Nigeria 's , the largest on the continent . Other African nations combating violent extremism , like Mali , Kenya and Somalia , are also tough sells for U.S. investment .\nMany of those nations want more U.S. assistance to counter militants , sentiments likely to be expressed at this week 's summit .\n`` We are concerned about efforts by terrorist groups to gain a foothold in Africa , '' said Ben Rhodes , Obama 's deputy national security adviser .\nHe pointed to U.S. counterterror efforts that aim to partner with nations in stemming unrest .\n`` We 're looking at how do we get at the broader issue of countering violent extremism in Africa so that these groups , like Boko Haram , like al-Shabaab , like al-Qaeda , are not able to prey on young people with disinformation and intimidation , '' he said .\n3 . Countering China : The United States has some catching up to do in Africa when it comes to trade and investment .\nChina 's imports of African oil and natural minerals have skyrocketed over the past two decades . Alongside have come massive Chinese investments in African infrastructure and construction projects , manned by waves of Chinese workers who ended up remaining in Africa . More than a million Chinese citizens now live there .\n`` Africa is in a very particular moment , economically speaking , '' said French during an interview with CNNI from Nairobi . `` The continent has been growing very fast . Demographically , there 's a bulge in terms of it 's youth population . And Africa needs partnerships . ''\nObama wants to make sure the United States is one of those partners , and a more attractive one than China .\n`` My advice to African leaders is to make sure that if , in fact , China is putting in roads and bridges , number one , that they 're hiring African workers ; number two , that the roads do n't just lead from the mine to the port to Shanghai , but that there 's an ability for the African governments to shape how this infrastructure is going to benefit them in the long term , '' Obama told The Economist last week .\n4 . Cementing legacy : Obama 's two predecessors both secured legacy achievements in Africa -- Bill Clinton through his African Growth and Opportunity Act , and George W. Bush through his program combating HIV/AIDS .\nObama similarly hopes for a way to leave his mark on the continent after he leaves office , though his status as the first president of African descent has already made history .\nThat fact led some Africans to regard Obama with outsized expectations when he took office in 2009 , leading to some disappointment that he has n't focused more on shoring up U.S.-Africa ties .\nDuring his time in office , Obama has focused on terrorism , uprisings in the Arab world , Russian provocations , and the much-awaited pivot to Asia .\nObama made his first presidential trip to sub-Saharan Africa in 2009 when he visited Ghana . He did n't return again until 2013 with tour of Senegal , Tanzania and South Africa .\nHe 's embarked upon an initiative that aims to bring electricity to more Africans , and a program supporting young leaders working toward Democratic governments .\nBoth are elements to a legacy designed to shore up conditions for individuals on the continent .\nAnd the summit itself , while not expected to produce any large-scale trade agreements , is meant to signal a shift from purely humanitarian assistance to a two-way partnership .\n`` We believe it can be a game-changer in the U.S.-Africa relationship , '' Rhodes said of the summit .\n5 . Not invited : While the bulk of Africa 's leaders will be in Washington , the continent 's most reviled leaders wo n't be attending . They include Zimbabwe 's Robert Mugabe and Sudan 's Omar al-Bashir .\nThey were n't invited because of their alleged human rights abuses .\nOther controversial leaders -- like Kenya 's Uhuru Kenyatta , accused of crimes at the International Criminal Court -- will attend .\nLike any major diplomatic gathering , the Africa Leaders Summit has been an exercise in protocol and careful planning .\nInstead of meeting with leaders separately , Obama has been scheduled for larger group discussions , to the disappointment of some who wanted to talk to him one-on-one .\n`` We just would n't be able to do bilats with everybody , and so the simplest thing is for the President to devote his time to engaging broadly with all the leaders . That way we 're not singling out individuals at the expense of the other leaders , '' Rhodes said .\nHe noted Obama would speak with each leader individually during a dinner at the White House on Tuesday .\nThat event has taken on state dinner-type proportions , with a large tent constructed on the South Lawn . Organizers have the added stress of accommodating leaders of 50 nations , all with varied religious and cultural sensitivities that must be respected .\nFor example , servers must know who drinks alcohol and who abstains for religious reasons .\nIt 's a reflection of just how diverse Africa is , and how high the stakes are for Obama as he forges new relationships there .
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President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G-7 summit in Quebec , June 8 , 2018 . ( Leah Millis/Reuters )\nJustin Trudeau may be the annoying , youthful avatar of chic progressivism β but he β s not our adversary .\nAfter leaving the G-7 summit , President Donald Trump blasted the Canadian prime minister on Twitter as weak and dishonest , in the kind of invective once reserved for β Little Rocket Man . β\nThe Trump presidency routinely produces unprecedented events , and here is another : Never before has a president of the United States spoken as scornfully in public about the head of state of a friendly , allied country . Particularly one who has appeared in Vogue .\nTrudeau is not exactly a threatening figure , although his worshipful , celebrity-fueled press coverage qualifies as one of the more vexing political phenomena in all of North America ( Rolling Stone celebrated the fact that he rides a unicycle ; TMZ declared him on the β clear path to hottest leader in the world β ) .\nIt β s not clear what exactly led to the great U.S.βCanada tiff of 2018 . White House aides fanned out over the weekend to try to lend meaning and justification to the flap .\nThey said Trudeau had stabbed the president in the back at the meeting . But Trudeau didn β t say anything after Trump left the G-7 that he hadn β t signaled before β namely that Canada finds Trump β s steel and aluminum tariffs insulting and will retaliate .\nThey said that Trudeau risked undermining the president β s position at his imminent summit in Singapore with Kim Jong-un . But the North Korea dictator is not recalibrating his diplomacy based on the statements of a leader of an inoffensive country half a world away .\nThe incident is a great misdirection . Canada β s trade practices are hardly above reproach . Its tariff on milk of 270 percent , highlighted by Trump officials the past few days , is stupid and indefensible . It is guilty of subsidizing and protecting favored companies and sectors , the way most countries are .\nIt is nothing compared with the world β s great mercantilist power , though . China routinely steals U.S. intellectual property , seeks to distort the entire system of international commerce to its advantage , and is pouring resources into a massive military buildup , with which it eventually hopes to expel the United States from East Asia .\nThat we are dissipating our energies with steel and aluminum tariffs against allies and potentially alienating friends speaks to a key mistake .\nTrudeau is the facile , democratically elected leader of a Western society ; President Xi Jinping is the remorseless president for life of a hostile dictatorship . It β s not a remotely close call who we should be aiming our fire at .\nThat we are dissipating our energies with steel and aluminum tariffs against allies and potentially alienating friends in what should be a united front against China speaks to a key mistake . Trump views the U.S. trade deficit β with any country , friend or foe β as the problem rather than China as the unique commercial and geostrategic competitor .\nOne of the advantages that the United States has in the long-term conflict with China is that we border peaceable , friendly countries . This is a blessing that shouldn β t be treated dismissively or recklessly .\nThe flare-up with Trudeau is not an encouraging sign for prospects of renegotiating NAFTA , which also should be viewed in strategic terms . As Derek Scissors of the American Enterprise Institute points out , the trade agreement could extend beyond North America to Britain , which is seeking a new trade arrangement as it exits the EU , and the Philippines and Taiwan , which are pressured by China .\nβ A completed NAFTA 2.0 , β Scissors writes , β would provide the concrete foundation for rapid conclusion of comprehensive or partial trade agreements with these and other countries , while reassuring partners that the Trump administration is willing and able to move forward on trade if they are willing to meet some American demands . β\nNone of this will happen if Trump is determined to pursue a protectionist policy no matter what , or he lets his pique at friends get the best of him . The trade war β and the fight for our paramount interests β won β t be won or lost against Justin Trudeau . Beijing , not Ottawa , is our enemy .
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Venezuela 's President NicolΓ‘s Maduro says he has defeated an `` attempted coup '' by opposition leader Juan GuaidΓ³ .\nDozens of National Guardsmen sided with the opposition in clashes on Tuesday that injured more than 100 people .\nBut in a defiant TV address , President Maduro said Mr GuaidΓ³ had failed to turn the military against him .\nMr GuaidΓ³ insists that Mr Maduro has lost control of the armed forces . The opposition leader called for more streets protests on Wednesday .\n`` Today we continue , '' he tweeted . `` We will keep going with more strength than ever , Venezuela . ''\nMr GuaidΓ³ has been recognised as interim leader of Venezuela by more than 50 countries , including the US , the UK and most in Latin America .\nThe US reiterated its support for Mr GuaidΓ³ on Wednesday , with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying `` military action is possible '' if necessary .\nBut Mr Maduro , backed by Russia , China and the top of the country 's military , has refused to cede leadership to his rival .\nMr Pompeo is scheduled to speak with Russia 's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday , National Security Adviser John Bolton said .\nIn his televised address , flanked by military commanders , Mr Maduro accused protesters of `` serious crimes '' which he said would `` not go unpunished '' .\nBoth the president and Mr GuaidΓ³ have called on their supporters to take to the streets , setting up more potential violent unrest in a nation already beset by economic crisis , chronic power cuts and widespread food shortages .\nMr Maduro lashed out again at the United States , which he accuses of plotting against him . He dismissed a claim by the US that he had a plane ready on the tarmac to take him to Cuba , a staunch supporter of the beleaguered president .\n`` They had an airplane on the tarmac , '' Mr Pompeo said . `` He was ready to leave this morning [ Tuesday ] , as we understand it . Russians indicated he should stay . ''\nA three-minute video by Mr GuaidΓ³ published in the early hours of Tuesday showed him standing alongside a number of men in military uniform . He announced that he had the support of `` brave soldiers '' in the capital , Caracas .\nHe urged Venezuelans to join them in the streets , and appeared alongside another opposition leader , Leopoldo LΓ³pez , who had been under house arrest since 2014 .\nSupporters on both sides then gathered in different places of Caracas throughout the day , and there were clashes between Mr GuaidΓ³ 's supporters and armed military vehicles .\nProtesters were also seen throwing rocks , but being repelled by tear gas and water cannon . At one stage a military vehicle was filmed driving into protesters .\nMr GuaidΓ³ , the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly , has called on Venezuela 's military to back him ever since he declared himself interim president in January .\nHe argues that President Maduro is a `` usurper '' because he was re-elected in polls that had been widely disputed .\nTuesday marked the most violent episode of the Venezuelan political crisis this year . Venezuelan health officials said 69 people were injured in the clashes , including two with bullet wounds .\nBroadcasts from a number of news agencies , including the BBC and CNN , were apparently suspended amid the violence .\nLater on Tuesday , it emerged Mr LΓ³pez had sought safety in the Chilean , then the Spanish embassy , along with his family .\nThe US Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) issued an emergency prohibition against all US carriers flying below 26,000ft in Venezuelan airspace .\nIt also said all US operators should leave the country within 48 hours , due to increasing political instability .\nOne sidebar to the Venezuela story is the battle for influence between the US and Russia . It 's a battle that , for now at least , Russia seems to be winning .\nUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quick to accuse Russia of meddling , insisting that its government had persuaded President Maduro to abandon plans to flee to Havana .\nWhile the US has firmly backed the Venezuelan opposition leader Russia has thrown its weight behind Mr Maduro - vetoing a US resolution calling for fresh Venezuelan elections and offering considerable practical assistance - medicines , grain supplies and unspecified military support .\nRussia 's support for Venezuela has been long-standing . And it 's not just a matter of strategic rivalry with Washington , corporate interests in Moscow and individuals close to President Putin have large stakes in Venezuela 's oil industry .\nUN Secretary General AntΓ³nio Guterres has appealed for both sides to avoid violence .\nThe US reiterated its support for Mr GuaidΓ³ . In a television interview on Wednesday , Mr Pompeo said Washington would prefer a peaceful transition of power but stated that `` military action is possible '' .\n`` If that 's what 's required , that 's what the United States will do , '' the US Secretary of State said .\nPresident Donald Trump said he was monitoring events in Venezuela `` very closely '' and said the US stood with the Venezuelan people and their freedom .\nHe also threatened to implement the `` highest-level sanctions '' and a `` full and complete embargo '' against Cuba unless its military immediately ceased its support of Mr Maduro .\nGovernments who still support Mr Maduro , including Bolivia and Cuba , condemned Mr GuaidΓ³ 's efforts as an attempted `` coup d'etat '' .\nThe Mexican government expressed `` concern about a possible increase in violence '' while Colombian President Ivan Duque urged the Venezuelan military to stand `` on the right side of history '' against Mr Maduro .\nAn emergency meeting of the Lima Group of Latin American countries has been scheduled for Friday .
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When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would visit Pearl Harbor , meeting President Obama in Hawaii Tuesday , it was noteworthy that both leaders characterized the visit as an opportunity for reconciliation .\nThe United States and Japan , after all , would seem to have reconciled long ago . The two nations have made peace and become close allies since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 75 years ago and the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima four years later .\nBut the two leaders ' message is clear . What the Obama-Abe visit will demonstrate is that reconciliation is not a one-and-done , but is a perpetual work in progress between onetime adversaries β even after decades of close relations . Coming seven months after Mr. Obama β s groundbreaking visit to Hiroshima , Mr. Abe β s Pearl Harbor trip is yet another step beyond a declaration made decades ago .\nβ To some extent , these two events β¦ are the last remaining hurdles in the process of reconciliation , β says James Schoff , a senior fellow and expert in US-Japan relations at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington . β This is taking us a greater distance down this road β and it β s a long road . β\nDemonstrating the power of reconciliation can be an important example for other relationships , some diplomatic experts say . The progress of the US-Japan relationship shows it can only happen after leaders and the people behind them grasp how reconciliation is not simply a nicety but crucially in their self-interest , some experts say .\nThat motivation may help explain Abe β s initiative to visit Pearl Harbor , where a surprise Japanese attack killed more than 2,400 American service members and civilians . It was originally announced that he would be the first sitting Japanese leader to visit the site , but as many as three Japanese prime ministers apparently visited Pearl Harbor with less fanfare in the 1950s . Abe is the first to visit with a US president .\nβ Abe β s plan and policy is to ensure that as much as he can personally , he closes the book on World War II β because Japan faces a worrisome future in a very unstable region , β says Michael Auslin , director of Japan studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington . β By visiting Pearl Harbor I think he β s saying , β We no longer shirk responsibility for the past , but we do so in part because we β re concerned about preserving this unique relationship [ with the US ] to deal with our current challenges . β β\nAbe isn β t taking the first step in what might be considered the ultimate US-Japan reconciliation dance . In May , Obama became the first American president to visit Hiroshima , the Japanese city where the US first used the atomic bomb . ( The second and last time was three days later on the city of Nagasaki , forcing Japan β s surrender . )\nAbe β s visit to Pearl Harbor β makes a fitting counterpoint to [ Obama β s Hiroshima ] trip , marking the alpha and omega of World War II in the Pacific , β says Bruce Klingner , a senior research fellow in Northeast Asian issues at the Heritage Foundation in Washington .\nBy commemorating the two terrible events that opened and closed the horrendous Second World War between their countries , the two leaders are underscoring how the US and Japan have been able to β overcome the animosity of conflict to become enduring partners and allies , β Mr. Klingner wrote in a recent commentary on the Heritage website .\nComing to terms with their intertwined history and onetime adversarial past has allowed the two countries to build a partnership that is now a β symbol of what democracies can achieve together , β he says .\nThat the two leaders are only now visiting the two iconic sites offers some measure of how fraught such symbolic gestures can be .\nFirst , the US had some misgivings about an Abe visit to Pearl Harbor so soon after Obama β s trip to Hiroshima because there were concerns it would look like a β quid pro quo , β Mr. Schoff says β or that it would establish some unwanted equivalency between the two events .\nβ Even though the US and Japan have been solid allies for more than a half century , the two sides have remained divided about the tragedies of the beginning and the end of the war , β says Dr. Auslin . β They may never see fully eye-to-eye on the two events , but with these two visits together they are putting aside whatever differences remain to focus on how much stronger the two countries are together . β\nAbe β s visit to Pearl Harbor is particularly important as a β message β not just to Americans but to Japan β s neighbors β chief among them South Korea β who were the victims of imperial Japan β s violent expansion across the region , says Auslin , author of β The End of the Asian Century . β\nAbe has made reconciliation with South Korea a goal of his tenure . A year ago , the Japanese leader and South Korean President Park Geun-hye sealed an agreement that begins to address the wrenching issues left by Japan β s more than three decades of occupation of the Korean Peninsula .\nPart of that agreement was reparations for β comfort women β the Japanese military seized during occupation β a couple hundred of whom remain alive today . Several of Abe β s predecessors considered the issue settled and behind the two countries , but clearly South Korea did not .\nBy going further than previous Japanese leaders , Abe was not just acknowledging past mistakes but recognizing the overriding interest both countries have in getting beyond their past , Auslin says .\nBut some say Japan and its neighbors β particularly South Korea and China β have much further to go on the path to reconciliation .\nβ If anything , I β d say the whole question of Japan β s occupation and wartime activities has become a bigger issue as these Asian countries have grown and prospered , β says Schoff . β Their rising status has made them much more vocal on these issues. β\nPerhaps the crucial factor that sets the US-Japan reconciliation apart , Schoff says , is that , during the β process β of walking the path together , the two countries have become friends .\nβ When they begin to express sympathy for each other β s misfortune , that β s when you see that there β s an element of understanding that has been picked up on this path of reconciliation , β he says .\nGet the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox . By signing up , you agree to our Privacy Policy\nReferring to Abe β s statement that he hoped to send β messages β with his Pearl Harbor visit , Schoff says , β There β s a message of friendship in these expressions of sympathy and understanding . β
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Both the nuclear production and the attacks on tankers underscore the way Trump β s retreat from diplomacy has made the world more perilous . But they both are measured provocations : If you want to damage a tanker , you put the limpet mine below the water line rather than above it , and Iran β s violations of the Iran pact won β t put it close to a bomb soon .\nTrump described the damage to the tankers as β very minor , β and he seems to recognize the danger of escalation . But he has sent an additional 2,500 U.S. troops to the region , and there have been calls for striking Iran . If the U.S. does , then of course Iran will respond .\nBrett McGurk , a national security expert and former presidential envoy , warned that given the failure of the administration β s Iran policy so far , β Trump may soon be boxed in : Either back down or resort to military tools . β\nIt β s troubling that the administration is also conflating Shiite Iran with the Sunni Taliban . Members of Congress fear that this is meant to give Trump legal cover to attack Iran under the 2001 authorization for the use of military force against Al Qaeda and its offshoots .\nReflecting the administration β s propensity to inhabit a fantasyland , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has offered a ridiculous 12-point plan that essentially called for Iran to roll over and surrender .\nI was in Paris over the weekend for the annual meeting of the Trilateral Commission , and it β s sad to see how distrustful our allies have become toward America . Instead of forcing Iran into submission , Washington β s incompetent bullying of Europe and Asia to join Iran sanctions has managed to antagonize our oldest friends , push Iran back toward a nuclear path and increase the risk of war .\nThere are few good options now , but an international force to protect tankers might help , along with secret diplomacy to see if the nuclear deal can be patched up in a way that both sides can accept . I doubt it , but it β s worth trying .
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Ukraine 's acting government issued an arrest warrant Monday for President Viktor Yanukovych , accusing him of mass crimes against the protesters who stood up for months against his rule . Russia sharply questioned its authority , calling it an `` armed mutiny . ''\nYanukovych has reportedly fled to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea , a pro-Russian area in Ukraine . His exact whereabouts are unknown .\nCalls are mounting in Ukraine to put Yanukovych on trial , after a tumultuous presidency in which he amassed powers , enriched his allies and family and cracked down on protesters . Anger boiled over last week after government snipers killed scores of protesters in the bloodiest violence in Ukraine 's post-Soviet history .\nYanukovych β s departure came hours after signing an agreement on resolving Ukraine 's political crisis that reduced his powers and was seen by many as a tacit admission of defeat . He apparently fled Ukraine 's capital by car and aircraft , heading for the parts of the country where he is most likely to find friends , according to the acting head of the police .\nThe turmoil has turned this strategically located country of 46 million inside out over the past few days . The parliament speaker is now nominally in charge of a country whose ailing economy is on the brink of default and whose loyalties are sharply torn between Europe and longtime ruler Russia .\nRussia and the European Union appeared to be taking opposing sides in Ukraine 's new political landscape .\nRussian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev questioned the legitimacy of the new Ukrainian authorities on Monday . According to Russian news agencies , he said the acting authorities have come to power as a result of an `` armed mutiny , '' so their legitimacy is causing `` big doubts . ''\nIn Brussels , European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly referred to parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchinov as the `` interim president '' and said Turchinov will meet with Monday visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Kiev .\nTurchinov said he hopes to form a new coalition government by Tuesday .\nWhite House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Monday that the U.S. is prepared to provide financial support to Ukraine at this crucial time .\n`` The United States , working with partners around the world , stands ready to provide support for Ukraine as it takes the reforms it needs to , to get back to economic stability , '' Carney said .\n`` This support can complement an IMF program by helping to make reforms easier and by putting Ukraine in a position to invest more in health and education to help develop Ukraine 's human capital and strengthen its social safety net , '' Carney added .\nRussian President Vladimir Putin is facing a huge challenge in how to respond to the turmoil in Ukraine , a country he has declared vital for Russia 's interests , which is home to millions of Russian-speakers and hosts a major Russian navy base .\nSome in Ukraine 's Russian-speaking east and south already have begged the Kremlin to help protect them against what they fear could be violence by the victorious protesters who toppled Ukraine 's Moscow-backed leader . Putin has refrained from taking a public stance on Ukraine amid the Sochi Games , but the mounting tensions could quickly leave him with a stark choice : Stick to diplomacy and risk losing face at home , or open a Pandora 's box by entering the fray .\nIf Moscow openly backs separatist-minded groups in Ukraine 's Crimean Peninsula that serves as the base for Russia 's Black Sea Fleet , it could unleash devastating hostilities that Europe has n't seen since the Balkan wars . And ignoring pleas for help from pro-Russian groups in Ukraine could shatter Putin 's carefully manicured image of the tough ruler eager to stand up to the West , eroding his conservative support base at home , where his foes could be encouraged by the Ukrainian example .\nFacing such high risks , Putin has remained silent , weighing his options .\nPutin spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone Sunday and the German government said the two agreed that Ukraine 's `` territorial integrity must be respected . ''\nOn Monday , German government spokesman Steffan Seibert told reporters that Ukraine 's new leaders should consider the interests of the south and east -- the pro-Russian sections of Ukraine -- in the composition of a new government . He also said the offer of an association agreement with the EU is still on the table .\nMeanwhile , Ukraine 's acting interior minister , Arsen Avakhov , said on his official Facebook page that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Yanukovych and several other officials for the `` mass killing of civilians . ''\nAt least 82 people , primarily protesters , were killed in clashes in Kiev last week .\nYanukovych set off a wave of protests by shelving an agreement with the European Union in November and turning instead for a $ 15 billion bailout loan from Russia . Within weeks , the protests expanded to include outrage over corruption and human rights abuses , leading to calls for Yanukovych 's resignation .\nAfter signing an agreement Friday with the opposition to form a unity government , Yanukovych fled Kiev for his pro-Russian power base in eastern Ukraine . Avakhov said he tried to fly out of Donetsk but was stopped then went to Crimea on Sunday .\nYanukovych then freed his official security detail and drove off to an unknown location , turning off all forms of communication , Avakhov said .\nSecurity has been tightened across Ukraine 's borders , the Interfax news agency quoted the State Border Guard service as saying .\nAvakhov published a letter that he said was from Yanukovych , dated Monday , in which he gave up his security guard . Yanukovych 's aides and spokespeople could not be reached Monday to verify the reported letter -- they have been rapidly distancing themselves from him as his hold on power disintegrates .\nActivist Valeri Kazachenko said Yanukovych must be arrested and brought to Kiev 's main square for trial .\n`` He must answer for all the crimes he has committed against Ukraine and its people , '' Kazachenko said .\nTensions have been mounting in Crimea in southern Ukraine . Russia maintains a large naval base in Sevastopol that has strained relations between the countries for two decades .\nPro-Russian protesters gathered in front of city hall in the port of Sevastopol on Monday chanting `` Russia ! Russia ! ''\n`` Extremists have seized power in Kiev and we must defend Crimea . Russia must help us with that , '' said Anataly Mareta , head of a Cossack militia in Sevastopol .\nThe head of the city administration in Sevastopol quit Monday amid the turmoil , and protesters replaced a Ukrainian flag near the city hall building with a Russian flag .\nAs president , Yanukovych moved quickly to consolidate power and wealth , curb free speech and oversee the imprisonment of his top political rival , former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko . But as protesters took control of the capital over the weekend , many allies turned against him .\nTymoshenko , the blond-braided heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution , is back on the political scene after having been freed from prison .\nThe current protest movement in Ukraine has been in large part a fight for the country 's economic future -- for better jobs and prosperity .\nUkraine has a large potential consumer market , an educated workforce , a significant industrial base and good natural resources , in particular rich farmland . Yet its economy is in tatters .\nUkraine has struggled with corruption , bad government and short-sighted reliance on cheap gas from Russia . Political unrest has pushed up the deficit , sent the currency skidding and may have pushed the economy back into a recession .
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On the morning of Aug. 30 , 2019 , as Hurricane Dorian was bearing down on Florida 's Treasure Coast , Jamie Seiler was at the hospital where she worked , preparing for the storm 's approach . Then her cellphone rang .\nOn the other end was the principal of her son 's school . The principal said her son had been escorted out of the school in handcuffs and was being taken to a psychiatric hospital in a police car .\nGetting such a call is a nightmare for any parent , but Seiler 's son had n't threatened to shoot up the school or commit suicide . He had several developmental disorders and had thrown a tantrum . He was just 9 years old .\n`` I flipped out , I broke down , '' Seiler says . She sat in her boss 's office , `` hysterical to the point they did n't think that I would be able to drive . ''\nA professional therapist would later tell Seiler that a school resource officer ( SRO ) had tackled her autistic 80-pound son while he was sitting on a benchβa use of force that the therapist , who was in the room at the time , said was unnecessary . One teacher who was present cried , according to an incident report filed by the therapist .\nSeiler 's son Evan is only one of thousands of small children who are led out of schools in handcuffs every year around the country . Juvenile arrests in Florida have been steadily declining over the last decade , as they have been more generally across the U.S. , but for the next few years the state will be a bellwether for school safety and juvenile justice .\nAfter the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland , Florida , the state embarked on an aggressive plan to `` harden '' its schools against shooting threats , including putting at least one SRO or armed guardian in every K-12 school in the state . However , civil liberties groups , disability rights advocates , and lawyers for parents say the state overcorrected , and that students , especially minorities and those with disabilities , are now bearing the brunt of new zero tolerance policies and heavy-handed discipline . As arrests of small children make national headlines , and legislators and parents debate how far is too far when it comes to school safety , Florida 's schools have become a high-stakes experiment in policing .\nAmid a nationwide debate on law enforcement violence following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor , school resource officers have flown somewhat under the radar . But it 's clear that education officials are already rethinking police presence in classrooms : In Minneapolis , where Floyd was killed after an officer pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes , the school board recently voted in favor of a resolution ending a $ 1 million partnership with city police . Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland , Oregon , announced last week that he would disband the city 's school resource officers , putting a million dollars from the SRO budget toward counselors , social workers , and `` culturally specific partnerships . '' Other states and cities appear to be considering similar measures .\nIn Florida , the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) warned in a report last June that the new laws could reverse years of progress in reducing school arrests . While juvenile arrests both in and out of Florida schools continued to fall in the 2017β2018 fiscal year , according to state law enforcement data , `` the percentage of youth arrests for misdemeanors that occurred at schools , rather than in the community , increased to 20 % , the first increase in a decade , '' the Florida ACLU wrote .\nMeanwhile , attorneys , disability rights advocates , and media investigations say that there 's been a spike in the use of involuntary psychiatric commitments against kids like Evan , thanks to an existing Florida mental health law that gives police authority to temporarily lock up both children and adults against their will . Shahar Pasch is a Florida attorney who represents children with disabilities and their parents , including Seiler .\n`` Since Parkland , it 's gone through the roof , '' Pasch says . `` I had another young , elementary-aged kid who was handcuffed and hobbled , which means his legs were tied together . ''\nLast year , an SRO in Orlando , Florida sparked public outrage after he arrested a 6-year-old girl , Kaia Rolle , for misdemeanor battery . A small child , handcuffed and arrested , booked and given a mugshot ? The arrest made national news and led to the officer 's firing . It was n't an isolated incident , though . Stories like that pop up every few years . In 2006 , it was a St. Petersburg 5-year-old who was handcuffed and arrested in school .\nABC News reported that , according to FBI crime data , 30,467 children under the age of 10 were arrested in the United States between 2013 and 2018 . During the same period , 266,000 children between the ages of 10 and 12 were arrested .\nThe good news is that the rate of juvenile arrests in the U.S. has dropped significantly since its peak in 1996 , from roughly 8,500 arrests per 100,000 individuals between the ages of 10 and 17 to 2,400 in 2016 . This mirrors the nationwide trend of declining crime throughout the 2000s and 2010s .\nBut in most places , there is no minimum age at which a child can be arrested and charged with a crimeβ34 states have no lower age limit for delinquency , while 11 states place the floor at 10 years old .\nAccording to data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice , Florida police arrested 2,781 children between the ages of 5 and 12 in fiscal year 2018β2019 , the latest year for which data are available . The youngest was a 5-year-old Hispanic boy . He was charged by the Osceola County Sheriff 's Office with felony aggravated assault . The data were anonymized , though , and βββ could not obtain more information about the case from the sheriff 's office .\nIn an effort to see how common allegations of excessive force like Seiler 's are against the approximately 1,800 SROs in Florida , and whether those complaints are substantiated by police departments , βββ filed public records requests for a decade 's worth of disciplinary records against SROs in numerous Florida counties , including Palm Beach .\nIn most cases , sheriff 's departments charged several hundred dollars for the records . However , the Palm Beach Public School District responded with an estimated fee invoice for $ 20,060 to complete the request .\nOther large agencies , like the Broward Sheriff 's Office and the Orlando Police Department , rejected the requests because they do n't track SROs separately in their systems .\nPasco County , however , a rural-suburban county of about 550,000 people north of Tampa Bay , is illustrative of some of the concerns that civil liberties groups have about expanding police presence in schools .\nIn December , a Pasco deputy threatened to shoot a high school student who was attempting to leave the campus in his car . The deputy and a school staffer had blocked the student from leaving , leading to a long standoff between both parties .\n`` You 're gon na get shot you come another fucking foot closer to me , '' the deputy says at one point as the student tries to maneuver around him . `` You run into me , you 'll get fucking shot . ''\nThe student 's mother , who obtained body camera footage of the exchange , said her son had an orthodontist appointment that she 'd notified the school of weeks in advance .\nLast October , an SRO in the county was fired after he accidentally fired his gun in a middle school cafeteria . According to Pasco Sheriff 's Office disciplinary records , `` Video surveillance captured him mishandling his agency issued firearm , which caused an accidental discharge . The projective entered and exited his uniform pants leg and struck the wall behind him ; bullet fragments were located on the ground adjacent to the lunch line where students were standing at the time of the discharge . ''\nThe Pasco Sheriff 's Office terminated another SRO , Milton Arroyo , in 2017 after an investigation found he was sending inappropriate text messages to several female students at the high school he patrolled . He was technically fired for a different offense , however : misusing a Florida state law enforcement database to search for confidential information on women he was interested in .\nLocal news outlets and the public did n't know , though , that several months before Arroyo was fired , the Pasco Sheriff 's Office reprimanded him after he was caught on camera flipping someone off in the school cafeteria . Several parents filed a complaint against him , according to a disciplinary report .\nThe office reprimanded another Pasco SRO in 2019 after he physically restrained a student but failed to turn on his body camera or file an incident report .\nβββ also obtained disciplinary records from Miami-Dade Schools Police Department . In 2014 , officer Juan Cecchinelli was removed from his position after he sent sexually explicit texts to a teenage girl at the school he policed . An internal affairs summary notes that , during the department 's investigation , Cecchinelli `` refused to answer why he had sex toys in his department assigned vehicle . ''\nOther incidents have popped up around the state . In February , a Miami-Dade Schools officer was caught on camera cursing at and threatening to shoot high school students . She has been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates .\nLast November , an Orange County SRO was fired after video emerged of him pulling a middle school student 's hair . That same month , a Broward County sheriff 's deputy was arrested and charged with child abuse after video showed him body-slamming a 15-year-old girl at a school for children with special needs .\nIn March 2019 , Duval County School Police ( DCSP ) fired an SRO after video showed him grabbing a high school girl by the neck and throwing her to the ground . According to public records obtained by βββ , three other DCSP members resigned in 2019 for `` unbecoming conduct , '' `` failure to write a report , '' and `` actions or which may bring the DCSP into disrepute or ridicule . '' One of them pointed a fake gun at a student with special needs . Three other DCSP members resigned in 2018 after one pawned his service weapon and the other two failed to report it .\nIt 's notable that in most of these incidents the officers were fired . Departments appear to have little stomach for such cases .\nAlthough the Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps records on decertified police officers , it does not track officers by role , so it 's unknown how many SROs have had their law enforcement license revoked over the years . However , using a USA Today database of decertified police officers , βββ identified 18 officers from Florida departments that exclusively police schools , such as the Miami-Dade Schools Police . They were decertified for offenses including cocaine possession , witness-dissuading , perjury , aggravated assault , and sexual harassment . In 2007 , a Palm Beach School District police officer was arrested and decertified for allegedly handcuffing and sexually assaulting a woman .\n`` If You 're Going To Act Like a Fool , I 'm Going To Treat You Like a Fool . ''\nIn many ways , Evan is a typical 9-year-old boy . He likes riding his BMX bike , swimming , and surfing , and he has a menagerie of petsβfour cats , a guinea pig , and three fish . Seiler says that if you passed her son on the street , the only thing you would notice about him would be his bright red hair .\nBut Evan is also on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum . He 's been diagnosed with Asperger 's syndrome , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) , and dyslexia .\nEvan attended Acreage Pines Elementary School , a public school in Palm Beach County , where he was in a classroom specifically for children with autism . Seiler also paid a private applied behavior analysis ( ABA ) therapist to work with Evan 20 hours a week , including at school .\nOn August 30 of last year , Evan had a meltdown at school . He began throwing items and ripping up his schoolwork .\nJennifer Borr , a South Florida ABA specialist , says ABA therapists work to reinforce good behavior and decision making skills with young children .\nBorr says children on the autism spectrum often have trouble communicating and struggle with what 's called `` executive function skills '' βthings like regulating emotions and dealing with changes in routines . They 're also often sensitive to sensory stimuli like noises , lights , and touch .\nThis combination can lead to behavior seen as aggressive or dangerous by others , such as `` stimming '' βrepetitive movements like banging their headβor acting out and hitting other people . However , Sam Crane , legal director for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network , says the behavior , especially when physical boundaries are broached , is perfectly logical from the student 's point of view .\n`` A student might try to leave a classroom if it 's overstimulating , '' she says . `` The teacher might block them . The student panics and tries to push past the teacher , and then that 's seen as an assault or something along those lines . ''\nEvan 's ABA therapist took him outside the classroom , and eventually to the office , where the therapist and the school behavior counselor tried to calm him down .\nIn an internal company report filed after the incident , the therapist wrote that Evan `` punched me in the chest and kicked me in the shin , threw chairs , [ and ] then sat down on green couch after [ being ] placed in a 'bear hug . ' ''\nAt this point , Evan was sitting on a couch , and his tantrum was waning , according to the therapist . `` Heavy breathing is an indicator of cooling down , '' the report notes . School administrators were discussing filing a report on Evan 's physical outburst toward the therapist when things abruptly escalated .\nAccording to the ABA therapist 's report , an SRO `` tackled Evan to the ground and stated , 'If you are going to act like a fool I am going to treat you like a fool ' and then said 'you are coming with me ' while holding handcuffs , trying to place them around Evan 's wrists . ''\nThe incident report says a teacher in the room `` started to cry when Evan was brought to the ground by the officer , and she started to cover her face by holding a piece of paper while stating ' I do n't understand why they are doing this . ' ''\nPalm Beach County School District policies , as laid out in a `` Baker Act decision tree protocol , '' require that a student having a mental health crisis `` remains in crisis and continues to exhibit behaviors which potentially meet Baker Act criteria '' before escalating the situation further .\n`` I feel that the way the officer dealt with this situation was unnecessary because the tantrum behavior had ceased and was under control , '' the therapist concluded .\nFlorida law enforcement arrested 8,153 students at K-12 schools in the 2018β2019 school year , according to state data , a small increase over the previous year .\nAlthough Evan was led out of school in handcuffs and placed in the back of a police cruiser , his case would not appear in any state data on juvenile arrests , because rather than arrest him , the SRO attempted to involuntarily commit him to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation .\nEvan was detained under the Florida Health Act of 1971 , commonly called the Baker Act . Under the law , a judge , doctor , or police officer can commit someone to an involuntary psychiatric evaluation for up to 72 hours .\nUse of the Baker Act is common enough that , over the decades , the name has also become a verbβas in , to Baker Act someone , or get Baker Acted . Disability rights advocates allege use of the Baker Act against children has spiked since the Parkland shooting .\n`` We noticed that we 're getting a lot more calls from families of children who 've been Baker Acted at school , '' says Ann Siegel , an attorney with Disability Rights Florida .\nSiegel and other advocates also say that , crucially , parents are n't being given the opportunity to intervene before their children are removed from school .\n`` The parent is not called , '' Siegel says . `` If you look at the Baker Act statute , there 's a provision in there where you 're supposed to see if family intervention is a possibility . ''\nThe Baker Act statute authorizes police to commit someone when their mental state makes them a threat to themselves or others . It also includes the clause , `` and it is not apparent that such harm may be avoided through the help of willing family members or friends or the provision of other services . ''\nPalm Beach County School District 's protocols also recommend that schools `` make every effort to include the parents/guardians in all phases of the process . ''\nBut Seiler says she was n't contacted by Evan 's school until her son was already en route to a hospital . When the SRO finally called her , Seiler says he initially would n't say where he was taking her son and told her not to come , since she would n't be able to see him anyway .\nWhen Florida resident William Terry 's autistic 11-year-old son was Baker Acted after hitting a teacher at Boca Raton Community Middle School while having a meltdown , Terry says his wife showed up at the school minutes after she was called but was not allowed to see her child .\n`` My wife , as you can imagine with a special needs kid , has got a very special bond with him , and she can usually calm him down , '' Terry says . `` All of his teachers know that , but they separated her from him . ''\nInstead , Terry 's son was handcuffed , sent to a hospital , and held for psychiatric evaluation for the full 72 hours allowed under the law . Terry says he and his wife were only allowed to visit their son for an hour a day during that time .\nIn March , school officials at Belcher Elementary School in Clearwater , Florida , called Tyeisha Harmon to tell her that her 7-year-old son , who has ADHD and a mental health disorder , was having a meltdown . He 'd walked out into the parking lot after being moved into a new classroomβa change in routine that upset him .\n`` It took me about 20 minutes to get there , '' Harmon says . `` When I got there , I asked for my son , and they told me that he had been taken away about 15 minutes prior . ''\nHarmon says the SRO called her while she was en route to the hospital . When Harmon asked the officer why she 'd Baker Acted the boy , the officer said that he had scratched her , and that her only options were to either charge him with a crime or commit him .\nHarmon says her son was handcuffed so tightly that it left marks on his wrists that were still visible when she got him out of the psychiatric hospital four hours later .\n`` Part of the Baker Act says that a person has to be a danger to himself and others , '' Harmon says . `` My son was in a parking lot with a police officer and adults . What harm could he really do to call for a Baker Act ? ''\nAs for the rise in the number of Baker Act commitments , data back up what lawyers and advocates are seeing anecdotally . A Tampa Bay Times investigation found that children had been removed from Tampa-area schools via the Baker Act more than 7,500 times over the past seven years . A database built by the Times showed that the rate of commitments for local students rose 35 percent in just the last five years . Overall , the investigation found `` glaring weaknesses in the systemβfrom a lack of parental consent , to students being wrongly committed , to facilities that put students in harm 's way . ''\nThe Times found cases like a sixth grader who was Baker Acted for joking to his friends , `` Oh look , ropes . Time to hang myself . '' Or a 13-year-old girl who was Baker Acted by an SRO for telling her friend she had argued with her mother and wanted to throw herself off the school bus .\nIn February , a 6-year-old girl in Duval County was Baker Acted after allegedly destroying school property and attacking staff . The girl has been previously diagnosed with a disruptive mood disorder . Her family claims she was injected with the antipsychotic drug Thorazine while committed .\nA similar investigation last year by the Ft. Myers News-Press reported that there were a record 32,763 Baker Act commitments of children in 2017 . About a quarter of those were removals from schools , according to a Florida Department of Children and Families report .\nThe data are incomplete , though . Unlike juvenile arrests , it 's unknown exactly how many Florida children are committed through the Baker Act because of disturbances at schools . `` The problem with [ the ] Baker Act is the schools do n't have to report those numbers , '' Seigel says . `` They do n't even keep track of them . ''\nA Florida state legislator introduced a bill in January that would require schools to accurately report Baker Act commitments and require parents to be notified prior to a child 's removal .\nThe data that are available , though , suggest that while school arrests in Florida have been trending down , administrators and law enforcement are in many cases just substituting one mechanism for removing a child from school for another .\n`` Autistic kids are facing widespread problems with schools that are trying to find ways to segregate them and deny them the educational services that they 're entitled to , '' says Crane .\nSeiler finally arrived at the Palm Beach hospital where Evan had been taken . She says he was sitting quietly and repeating , `` I want to go home . ''\nSeiler says a psychiatrist came and talked to Evan for a few minutes about carsβanother of Evan 's interestsβand concluded that he was just having a bad day . Evan was released back to his mother , and Seiler was charged a $ 250 copay for the involuntary emergency room visit .\nTerry says he received a hospital bill for $ 5,000 for his son 's three-day commitment .\nWhy a police officer would tackle and handcuff a third grader is one question . Another question is why the officer was in the school in the first place .\nPolice have been in American schools since the 1950s , but never with the frequency that they are now . Armed police officers were in just 1 percent of public schools in the 1970s , according to The Trace , a nonprofit newsroom that covers firearms . Federal data show that by the 2015β16 school year they were in 43 percent of all public schools and 71 percent of high schools .\nNational Association of School Resource Officers ( NASRO ) executive director Mo Canady says being an SRO is `` the most unique assignment in law enforcement . ''\n`` Officers that are going to be assigned in this particular field have got to be carefully selected , '' Canady says . `` It 's not for every officer . As a matter of fact , I might argue it 's not for most officers . ''\nThe number of SROs in Florida has dramatically increased over the past two years , following the passage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act in 2018 .\nThe new law requires at least one police officer or armed guardian in every public elementary , middle , and high school in Florida . Most districts have opted for police , which has led to an expensive hiring rush for qualified officers in school districts across the state .\nThere are no national certification requirements for SROs . Standards vary from state to state , although NASRO offers best practices and training . Several states , such as Pennsylvania , require prospective officers to go through NASRO 's training .\nIn Florida , potential SROs are required to undergo a criminal background check , drug testing , and a psychological evaluation , in addition to being a state-certified law enforcement officer . The state 's attorney general 's office and several other organizations offer SRO training classes , starting at a basic 40-hour course , but there is no statute or state-level rule regarding SRO certification . The level of required training is left to individual police departments .\nThe police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota has intensified scrutiny of police hiring and qualification standards , and some districts are reconsidering their use of SROs entirely . HuffPost reported that , in addition to the Minneapolis school board severing its relationship with the city 's police department , a school board member in Denver plans on introducing a similar resolution , and officials are considering similar plans in `` Arizona , North Carolina , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Washington , Oregon , New York , and Illinois . '' A HuffPost investigation last year found that children have been tasered by SROs in at least 143 incidents since 2011 .\nSROs do n't write the laws , though . Throughout the 1980s and '90s , zero tolerance policies spread through schools across the countryβfirst in response to drugs , then mass shootingsβand Florida passed some of the harshest laws in the country .\nAfter the passage of the federal Gun-Free School Act of 1994 , Florida required all school districts to enforce zero tolerance policies for students who bring weapons to school , requiring students who violate the policy to be expelled for at least a year or referred to law enforcement . In 2000 , the state legislature passed another package of juvenile justice bills , known as the `` tough love '' plan , that further reinforced this punitive model . School districts began to expand the scope of their zero tolerance policies beyond drugs and guns to petty misbehavior . While juvenile arrest rates in general were falling in the stateβmirroring a nationwide dropβthere were persistent and troubling racial disparities in school discipline and arrests , not to mention kids being charged with battery for shooting spitballs , or being expelled for bringing nail clippers to school , or dying at a military-style juvenile boot camp .\nAfter a decade , Florida lawmakers reconsidered the wisdom of using the criminal justice system to dispense love . In 2009 , the state legislature loosened those zero tolerance policies , amending the statutes to clarify that they `` are not intended to be rigorously applied to petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors , including , but not limited to , minor fights or disturbances . '' School districts also began softening their disciplinary practices as backlash against the so-called school-to-prison pipeline grew .\nNow the pendulum has swung back the other way again . Last year , as part of a bill codifying the recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission , Florida lawmakers edited the statute yet again to remove the prohibition on using zero tolerance policies to police misdemeanors and minor disturbances . The Orlando Sentinel reported that Osceola County school officials now report all minor fights to police as a result of the changes .\nCivil liberties groups argue the new laws and the safety commission 's recommendations threaten to bring back the bad days of zero tolerance , ushering in unproven safety policies and ignoring funding for things like more mental health services .\n`` We 've heard , for instance , that down in Miami-Dade County there are over a dozen officers in the same school , while there 's only one or two mental health care providers , '' says Bacardi Jackson , managing attorney for children 's rights at the Southern Poverty Law Center ( SPLC ) , a nonprofit legal advocacy and civil rights organization .\nJackson says her organization put together a focus group of young women from about 10 different Miami-Dade high schools to talk about their experience with police on campus .\n`` It was very , very troubling , '' she says . `` A number of the girls expressed how powerless they felt when they felt that they had been mistreated by an SRO . When someone made an inappropriate comment , when someone looked at them in a way that made them feel very uncomfortable , they did not believe they had the ability to report that without having some severe consequences . ''\nThe SPLC released a report in October arguing the commission 's recommendations `` will place students at greater risk of getting shot and/or wrongfully arrested ; put their privacy and liberty in jeopardy ; strip them of civil rights ; create school environments that are more tense , anxiety-provoking and traumatic ; breed distrust between students and faculty ; and absorb funds that could be used on programs that are actually shown to make schools safer for all students . ''\nCanady calls arguments that more SROs will necessarily result in more arrests `` hogwash . ''\n`` NASRO stands firmly on this , '' he says . `` Every school in this country could greatly benefit from a carefully selected , specifically trained SRO . ''\nIn fact , Canady argues that well-trained SRO with a good relationship among students and staff act as `` filters '' that reduce the number of arrests .\n`` They are the ones who have built relationships in that school , and they recognize they have a lot of other resources around them , '' Canady says . `` Instead of having to arrest everybody for misdemeanors like disorderly conduct , there would be that relationship where the SRO can step back and allow the school to take action . That is by and large what good SROs do . ''\nOne thing Canady and the SPLC do agree on , however , are zero tolerance policies .\n`` I 've never been a fan of them because what they do , at best , is remove discretion for good administrators and for good law enforcement officers , '' he says . `` I ca n't imagine being able to be productive as a law enforcement officer if I 'm always faced with zero tolerance . ''\nWhile schools may voluntarily or involuntarily report misbehavior to police , Florida police do have discretion to issue civil citations to juveniles for first-time misdemeanor offenses . A civil citation funnels the case into diversion programs rather than the local prosecutor 's office . Florida is a national leader in pre-arrest diversion for youths .\nBut there is no uniformity . A December report from the Caruthers Institute found that , while police issued civil citations in 68 percent of juvenile cases involving first-time misdemeanors statewideβkeeping thousands of kids out of the juvenile justice systemβsome counties used citations in less than half of eligible cases . Others , like Miami-Dade and Pinellas counties , issue civil citations to students in more than 90 percent of cases . The report says this results in `` unequal justice by geography . ''\nAn investigation by the Orlando Sentinel also reported wide racial disparities in school arrests and citations . For example , the newspaper found that black students in Seminole County made up 15 percent of the student population , but they represented 80 percent of the school-related disorderly conduct incidents involving first-time offenders and 41 percent of misdemeanor assaults and batteries .\nAnd it found that the trend of declining in-school arrests had reversed in several central Florida counties , with Lake County posting a five-year high for school-related arrests in the 2018β2019 school year .\nNo police department or school wants to be accused of not doing enough to prevent a mass shooting , especially after Parkland .\nIn February , school officials in Seminole County subjected a 5-year-old boy to a threat assessment after he allegedly told a classmate , `` I wish someone killed you . '' Although they determined the threat was n't credible , the incident will stay in the county 's threat assessment database for 25 years .\nLast October , a police officer in Overland Park , Missouri , handcuffed and arrested an eighth grader who had formed her fingers into a pretend gun and pointed them at her classmates . Overland Park 's police chief put it bluntly to The Kansas City Star : `` I 'll take the heat all day long for arresting a 13-year-old . I 'm not willing to take the heat for not preventing a school tragedy . ''\nThe Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Association of School Resource Officers did not respond to requests for comment for this story .\nIn March , 6-year-old Kaia Rolle , whose arrest at school sparked national outrage , watched from the gallery of the Florida House of Representatives as lawmakers unanimously passed legislation inspired by her ordeal .\nThe law would n't have banned the arrests of small children , though . Instead , it would have required police departments to create policies surrounding arrests of children under 10 . The legislation died in the state Senate anyway .\n`` I 'm extremely disappointed , '' Rolle 's grandmother , Meralyn Kirkland , told the Orlando Sentinel . `` My family went through so much when Kaia was arrestedβ¦and we 're still going through it . One of the biggest passions for me right now is seeing that no other family , no other child goes through what Kaia 's going through and what we 're going through . ''\nToday 's school discipline often shifts wildly from crisis to crisis . A more tenable solution would be to strike a balance that keeps schools safe without militarizing them . Schools should stop treating misbehavior that used to warrant a trip to the principal 's office like criminal offenses . Borderline cases should n't be punished out of fear or absurd zero tolerance policies .\nAnd the effects of any such changes should be rigorously tracked , with an eye on how they are used on the most vulnerable students .\nNeither Evan nor Terry 's son returned to their schools after they were Baker Acted . Both started sleeping in their parents ' beds again . Terry 's son is homeschooled now . Evan attends a private school , where his mother says he is doing well .\n`` He does n't talk about a whole lot of things , so we do n't really know what he 's carrying in there in his brain , '' Seiler says . `` We 'll get past this , but this should never have happened . ''\nSeiler filed a complaint against the SRO who allegedly tackled Evan . According to Seiler 's attorney , Palm Beach Schools Police Department launched an internal affairs investigation into the incident , but Seiler is still waiting for the results .\nTerry says the teacher pressed assault charges against his son , who received a deferred adjudication in youth court , meaning the case will be dismissed if his son stays out of trouble for a certain amount of time .\nHarmon has retained a lawyer and is planning to sue .\nSeiler 's lawyer says that children with disabilities who are Baker Acted often have nightmares and regress in terms of behavior , not to mention the blow they take to their perception of themselves .\n`` When you are 9 years old and you 've been told all your life that police officers arrest the bad people , and suddenly you find yourself in the back of a police car for behavior that you could n't control because you 're a child with a disability , what do you think about yourself now ? ''\nPalm Beach Schools Police Department did not respond to a request for comment for this story . The principal of Acreage Pines Elementary directed a request for comment to Palm Beach School District 's director of communications , who declined to comment , citing federal privacy laws for students .\nBoth Seiler and Terry struggled with the decision to share their stories and attach their names to them , but in the end , they both did it for the same βββ .\n`` The real βββ I picked up the call is I said , if my experience can help just one family , it 'd be worth it , '' Terry says . `` So that 's my hope . ''\n`` It 's appalling , just appalling that this stuff goes on and no one seems to care , '' Seiler says . `` These kids are falling through the cracks . If this prevents any other kid and family from going through this , then yeah , that 's worth it . ''
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Previewing yet another item on his 2015 State of the Union Friday , President Obama announced a new plan to make community college tuition `` free . ''\n`` Today I 'm announcing an ambitious new plan to bring down the cost of community college tuition in America , '' Obama said . `` I wan na bring it down to zero . I wan na make it free . ''\nObama may have spoken for over half-an-hour in Knoxville , Tennessee , where he was joined by both Sens . Bob Corker ( R-TN ) and Lamar Alexander ( R-TN ) , but he left out a few details about his new program :\nObama may have sold his plan as `` free '' college tuition , but it is n't free to students and it definitely is n't free to taxpayers . First , Obama 's plan will only cover `` three-qarters of the average cost of community college . '' States are expected to pick up the tab for the remaining 25 percent . But even then , the program will only cover the `` average cost '' of tuition . Many students who go to schools with higher tuitions will still be on the hook for money .\nSecond , nothing is ever free for taxpayers . On Air Force One today , Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz confirmed that the program will cost at least $ 60 billion over ten years .\n`` There are no free rides in America , '' Obama insisted today . And he 's right . Nothing is ever really free . `` Colleges would to do their part by offering high quality academics and helping students actually graduate , '' Obama continued . `` States would have to do their part to . This is n't a blank check . It is not a free lunch . ''\nAll this accountability may sound great in a political speech , but in real life what it all translates to is tons of paperwork and red tape for states and schools . If you loved the federalization of elementary education through No Child Left Behind , and all the millions of hours of paperwork that came with it , then you 'll love Obama 's plan to federalize community colleges .\n3 ) Too Many High School Students Are n't Prepared For Community College\nToo many high schools are already failing to prepare their graduates for college and making community college as universal as high school , which is what Obama said the goal of his new plan was , would only make the situation worse .\nA 2004 study found that not only did 68 percent of community college students take at least one remedial course , but of those that did take remedial courses , they had to take 2.9 of them . All Obama 's plan would really do is create nationally funded 6-year high schools .\nIf community colleges had a strong track record of taking unprepared or financially strained students through graduation and onto four-year institutions , then maybe Obama 's plan might begin to make some sense . But the simple fact is that they do n't .\nLess than 20 percent of first-time , full-time community college students complete their two-year degrees in three years . And of the only 20 percent of community college students who do transfer to four-year institutions , only 72 percent of them will finish or still be in school after another four years .\nNo government spending program exists in a vacuum . If the government subsidizes the price of a service , then the price of that service will go up . Which is exactly what has happened to the price of four-year college tuition since the federal government has been ramping up their grant and loan-guarantee spending .\nNot only will government subsidized tuition at public community colleges drive up the price of tuition at those colleges , but it will also crowd out private sector solutions . The Manhattan Institute 's Judah Bellin explains :
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β The 360 β shows you diverse perspectives on the day β s top stories and debates .\nIn March , millions of college students saw their worlds upended by the coronavirus pandemic . Fears of spreading the virus forced America β s universities to hastily shut down in-person instruction and transition to an ad hoc system of distance learning . With the spring semester ending for many , all eyes have shifted to whether colleges will welcome students back to their campuses in the fall .\nThere are more than 4,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. Each is developing its own plans for the fall semester . It β s impossible to know what the state of the pandemic will be in August and September , when the school year typically starts . With students , parents and faculty members eager to know what the coming semester will look like , schools don β t have the luxury of waiting a couple of months to make their decisions .\nAbout two-thirds of colleges are planning for in-person instruction in the fall , according to a database kept by the Chronicle of Higher Education . That doesn β t mean things will be back to normal . A return to school could mean staggered class schedules , no large lectures , and a variety of public health measures interwoven into campus life . Several schools , including the University of South Carolina and Notre Dame , have adjusted the academic calendar so the fall semester will end before Thanksgiving , possibly ahead of an expected winter resurgence on the virus .\nOther universities have decided to keep campuses closed in the fall . The California State University system , the nation β s largest collection of colleges , will conduct its semester entirely online . Many of the country β s most prestigious private universities are considering a range of scenarios that may include a hybrid of online and in-person instruction .\nThe idea of bringing thousands of students and faculty together on college campuses in the fall has raised significant concern among some epidemiologists . Universities are particularly problematic when it comes to transmission of viruses because of the number of people who filter in and out on a daily basis and the social lives of many college students , some argue . If the virus does prove to be seasonal , low case counts over the summer could provide a false sense of security that may lead to a devastating outbreak if another wave hits near the end of the year .\nDistance learning will likely be much more worthwhile in the fall , others say , after schools have had several months to build their programs to replace the hastily thrown together plans they rolled out in March .\nThough they acknowledge the potential risks , advocates for bringing students back say a variety of steps can be taken to limit virus transmission . Even a significantly modified version of campus life may be preferable to distance learning , which many students and faculty members have expressed dissatisfaction with . The shift to online education has led many students to consider taking a year off β and educators fear some may never come back .\nFor some colleges , the decision may be largely financial . Some schools could permanently close if forced to go without income from tuition , events , housing and other on-campus revenue streams for another semester .\nOthers say there is not a one-size-fits-all policy that could be applied to the country β s incredibly diverse collection of colleges . The decision to open campus may depend on location , nature of the student body , university resources , local laws and a long list of other factors .\nMost schools that are planning to hold in-person classes in the fall are simultaneously developing backup plans in case coronavirus cases don β t drop over the next few months . The nation 's ability to contain the pandemic and monitor future outbreaks will likely play a major role in whether those contingencies prove necessary .\nThe benefits of in-person education outweigh the risks if the right protocols are in place\nβ Colleges and universities have a lot of work to do if they want to welcome students back on campus this fall . But in-person instruction , and the benefits that accompany student life in institutions across the United States , are essential parts of the higher-learning experience . It β s an effort well worth making. β β Lanhee J. Chen and Vanila M. Singh , Washington Post
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The Senate is planning to vote Wednesday on a plan to bring interest rates on subsidized federal student loans back down to 3.4 percent for one more year . The rate doubled on July 1 when the chamber failed to agree on a plan .\nWhile the Senate prepares to take the issue back up , college students are left staring at several competing proposals .\nThis fight has been all about what 's best for those students . To make that point , House Republicans recently gathered more than 100 of them to sweat and squint under the summer sun for a press conference on the Capitol steps . The guys were wrapped in wool suits and ties β most of them congressional interns plucked from offices just that afternoon .\nOne of them was Wes Hodgin , who said he kept thinking one thing while he waited 45 minutes for House leaders to arrive : Do not faint .\n`` I 'm just going to try to stand out here , sweat all I can , and just not faint today , '' he said .\nHodgin 's going to be a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall . He has student loans , but not the subsidized kind , so the rate doubling on July 1 technically did n't affect him .\nNevertheless , House Republicans had one central message : The Senate still has n't passed a student loan plan .\n`` They 've been more involved in internal bickering rather than actually addressing the issue , '' said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers , chairwoman of the House Republican Conference . `` And the students that are surrounded with us today β they 're all suffering because of it . ''\nWell , not quite yet . Most student loans are issued in August and September β a couple of weeks before classes begin β so as long as a deal goes through before then , the only students affected are the small group who borrowed money for summer school , and anything the Senate passes will likely retroactively apply to them anyway .\nThe holdup now in the Senate is where exactly to set interest rates and whether there should be a cap on those rates . The House plan has a cap . President Obama 's plan does n't . But Senate Democrats insist on a cap . So do student advocates , like Rory O'Sullivan of Young Invincibles .\n`` We do n't believe that the federal government should be charging students higher interest rates to pay down the federal deficit , '' O'Sullivan says . `` In that case , you 're essentially trading government debt for student debt . ''\nBut there 's a catch with a cap : It 's expensive . You have to factor in the added cost if market rates exceed that cap one day . And if you want to make sure the federal student loan plan is budget-neutral , you 'll have to set student loan rates a little higher .\nChris Lindstrom of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group compares the federal student loan program to a balloon filled with air . `` If you squeeze the balloon in one part to make it thinner , it expands and gets fatter in another part of the balloon , '' Lindstrom explains . `` It 's a zero-sum game . You 're not putting any air into it . ''\nNo lawmaker wants to be accused of setting rates too high . But every long-term proposal pegs rates to the 10-year Treasury note . So that means the rates under almost all of those plans is expected to exceed 6.8 percent before 10 years , based on projections from the Congressional Budget Office . That 6.8 percent figure is what the rate for subsidized loans became after rates doubled on July 1 .\nAs for what proposal offers the lowest interest rate β whether it 's the House plan , the president 's plan , or one of the Senate proposals β the differences come down to 1 or 2 percentage points at most .\nJason Delisle of the New America Foundation says it makes sense to care about those percentage points when you 're talking about home mortgage rates , `` but a home mortgage is $ 200,000 , $ 300,000 , $ 400,000 . So moving the interest rate a little bit lower makes a big difference in your monthly payment . That 's not so on a $ 20,000 student loan .\nDelisle says in that case , you 're talking about a difference of $ 10 , maybe $ 20 , a month . He says what people are really worried about is how unaffordable college is β and how much you actually have to borrow in the first place has a lot more to do with that problem than what your interest rate is .
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Mr. Loeb hosted a fund-raiser for Mr. Cuomo this month at his home in East Hampton , N.Y . He and his wife have contributed $ 139,367 to Mr. Cuomo over the past five years , according to New York State Board of Elections records . In the same period , Mr. Jones and his wife have contributed $ 75,000 , and another board member , Carl C. Icahn , has contributed $ 50,000 to the governor .\nMr. Klein , who is now the chief executive of Amplify , Rupert Murdoch β s education-technology company , is still a board member of StudentsFirstNY . Neither he nor most of the group β s major donors would comment on their support , though Mr. Jones said in a statement , β Maintaining the status quo is unacceptable , and that β s why StudentsFirstNY and others are fighting for reforms that can give parents more choices , ensure that only the best teachers are in the classroom and make sure that the best interests of the children in the system are put first . β\nMaking teacher evaluations more dependent on test scores , reforming tenure and adding charter schools in the city were all priorities of StudentsFirstNY and became significant pieces of the governor β s agenda for the 2015 legislative session , which he announced in his State of the State speech on Jan. 21 .\nEmails obtained through the Freedom of Information Law , as well as interviews , show that Mr. Cuomo and his senior education advisers were in close touch , by email and telephone , with Ms. Sedlis and her board members in the weeks after the governor β s re-election last November .\nOn Dec. 9 , for example , the governor met with Ms. Sedlis and several of her board members at the Harvard Club to discuss education policy issues , a spokesman for StudentsFirstNY said .\nβ Improving the state β s education system has been one of the governor β s top priorities since taking office , β Jim Malatras , the governor β s director of state operations , said through a spokeswoman , β and throughout that process , he has always partnered with groups , stakeholders , experts and other allies willing to fight for better futures for New York β s students . β\nThe governor β s proposals , particularly one that would base 50 percent of teachers β evaluations on their students β test scores , stirred fierce opposition from state and local teachers β unions , as well as many principals and parents .
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βββ Dispatch : July 8 The coronavirus pandemic has led to a surge in families considered food insecure β and that β s true across demographic groups . But for Black and Hispanic families , the numbers are unprecedented .\nDeVos , who has been criticized for standing on the sidelines during the crisis , took a tough tone . During a call with governors , DeVos slammed the Fairfax , Va. , district for its distance learning β disaster β in the spring and offering a choice of only zero or two days of in-person instruction moving forward , according to notes of a call , led by Vice President Mike Pence , with governors obtained by βββ . Earlier in the pandemic , DeVos had been more open to kids learning both online and during in-person classes .\nβ Education leaders need to examine real data and weigh risk . β¦ Risk is involved in everything we do , from learning to ride a bike to riding a rocket into space and everything in between , β she said .\nBut a statement Tuesday night from teachers unions , the PTA , special education administrators and secondary school principals indicated that their relationship with the White House has hit a new low .\n`` Throughout this pandemic , the administration has failed to address the needs of students , especially those students who need the most support . They have failed to listen to families and public school educators who have been on the frontlines serving their communities , '' the statement read .\n`` Public school educators , students and parents must have a voice in critical conversations and decisions on reopening schools . The president should not be brazenly making these decisions . ''\nTrump and DeVos praised Florida β s new reopening plan , which orders the state β s public schools to reopen in August for at least five days per week for all students . `` We will put out the fires as they come up , but we have to open our schools , β Trump said , and he decried β political statements β that will keep schools closed .\nβ They think it 's going to be good for them politically , so they keep the schools closed . No way , β he said during a roundtable discussion at the White House . β So we 're very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to open the schools , to get them open . And it 's very important . It 's very important for our country . It 's very important for the well-being of the student and the parents . β\nTrump had tweeted on Monday : `` Corrupt Joe Biden and the Democrats don β t want to open schools in the Fall for political reasons , not for health reasons ! They think it will help them in November . Wrong , the people get it ! ''\nThe push to reopen comes as parents agonize over whether it will be safe to send their kids back to school this fall and districts wrestle with whether and how to conduct classes . The reopening of schools is vital not just to getting the economy going , but to Trump β s reelection prospects . The campaign may be banking on the issue as a way to revive his appeal among disaffected suburban women , whose support will be key .\nThe Trump campaign is also seizing on former Vice President Joe Biden 's support of teachers unions that are stalwarts of Democratic politics and challenging Biden β s commitment to helping parents get their kids back to school . The campaign β s β question of the day β on Tuesday for the presumptive Democratic nominee is β Will you side with union bosses who want to keep schools closed or parents who want their kids to keep learning ? ''\nHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar backed up DeVos , saying parents should expect schools to deliver a safe learning environment for their children , even during a pandemic .\nβ We must reopen , β he said during a White House event on reopening schools . β We β ve got to get people back to work , back to school , back to health care , because we ca n't stay locked in our homes forever . It 's bad for our physical and mental and emotional health β us as adults , as well as for our kids . β\nBut Lily Eskelsen GarcΓa , president of the National Education Association , said `` the reality is no one should listen to Donald Trump or Betsy DeVos when it comes to what is best for students . ''\nAfter Trump tweeted , β SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL ! ! ! , β GarcΓa fired back on Monday , β You forgot to add the word β SAFELY. β β Biden , speaking to the NEA on Friday , pledged his administration will have a `` teacher-oriented '' Department of Education .\nMeanwhile , American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten tweeted on Tuesday that , to minimize the risk of spreading Covid-19 , schools need `` double the staff and double the space to teach in person . But with state budgets facing massive cuts as a result of the pandemic , we need federal funding to # ReopenSafely , '' she wrote .\nThe White House hosted events throughout Tuesday on safely reopening , culminating with the roundtable discussion with Trump , first lady Melania Trump , administration officials and teachers , administrators and students from around the country . House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ( R-Calif. ) wrote an op-ed published in USA Today advocating liability protections for schools in any upcoming emergency relief package and underlining GOP support for helping parents with child care problems .\nLast spring , DeVos , in a slight departure from Trump , suggested through a spokesperson that schools may have to stick with virtual learning if they β re not ready to fully reopen . But on Tuesday , during the panel discussion at the White House , she praised Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran for issuing a β very comprehensive β plan to reopen in August for at least five days per week for all students .\nβ There may be other states and other communities that want to look at that , but again , with the expectation that students are together and that families will be able to count on a five-day school week if that β s the right answer for them , β she said .\nDuring the later panel discussion with Trump , DeVos said too many students `` were trapped in schools that do n't meet their needs '' even before the virus , and that this is the time to reopen and rethink education β a common refrain for the school choice advocate .\n`` This moment demands actions , '' she said . `` Not excuse-making or fearmongering . ''\nThe White House is leaning on CDC reopening guidance and a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics that details the importance of in-person learning and β strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school . β\nCDC Director Robert Redfield said during another White House panel discussion that reopening plans should minimize the risk of Covid-19 while providing students the critical services , academic resources , and social and emotional support they need . And plans should anticipate that Covid cases `` will in fact occur . ''\n`` The CDC encourages all schools , all schools to do what they need to reopen , '' he said , adding that the agency β s guidance viewed as a recommendation to reopen . `` Nothing would cause me greater sadness than to see any school district or school use our guidance as a reason not to reopen . ''
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The President has been back out on the road again , spinning heartwarming tales and pushing for his second term agenda , as you β d expect any recently reelected leader to do . I β ll confess that I had a hard time paying attention to a lot of it , what with asteroids crashing to Earth on poop filled cruise ships and all , but there was one theme which caught my attention . He β s going all in on the hot new fad of comprehensive immigration reform .\nPresident Barack Obama told a group of Senate Democrats Wednesday that Congress must move forward with comprehensive immigration reform , or else he will propose his own legislation on the hot-button topicβ¦ In a description of Wednesday β s meeting , the White House said Obama β reiterated the key principles he believes must be a part of any bipartisan , commonsense effort , including continuing to strengthen border security , creating an earned path to citizenship , holding employers accountable and streamlining legal immigration . β\nEveryone seems to be talking about it these days , and not just Democrats . Republicans from Marco Rubio to John McCain have their own proposals , many of which involve some form of what the President is talking about . You can call it a β path to citizenship β or amnesty or Expedited Entryβ¦ whatever you like . But for some reason there are still quite a few of us who hear proposals such as these and get an uneasy feeling . For some of us , it may even be hard to quantify exactly what β s wrong . But if you harbor any such qualms , of course , you will be immediately labeledβ¦ say it with meβ¦\nWhatever . But as I considered the question this week , I realized that there might be a better way to describe exactly why this sounds troubling . And to understand it , you really need to talk about the story of Ray Bowman and William Kirkpatrick . Those names might not be familiar unless you lived in the Pacific Northwest in the 90s , but they were something of a legend . In a career spanning more than 16 years they robbed 28 banks around the country for a total of more than $ 7 million . I β m not going all anti-hero worship on you here , but you β ve got to admitβ¦ in terms of raw focus and mission attention , these guys were good . They stole a LOT of money without getting caught .\nBut the law finally caught up with them , and in 1999 they went to trial and were sent to lengthy stretches in the Crowbar Motel . Now here β s the thing about their storyβ¦ during the trial , not one person β not in the media , the public , the courts or the government β not one single person stood up to say anything remotely like the following :\nYou know , yeahβ¦ okay .. they stole the money . But they β ve had it for a really long time now . And their families are depending on it for retirement and the kids β college . Some of it is invested in various places and we β d have to draw it out . Maybe , after all this time , we should just let them keep it .\nWhy did nobody say that ? The answer is because they broke the law and they got caught . This applies for virtually any other law you could nameβ¦ except for illegal immigration . As things stand now , crossing the border without the proper authorization and paperwork is a crime . Beyond that , continuing to stay here without said credentials is also a crime . If you do this , you are committing a crime each and every day that you are here . But for some reason , we seem to be reaching the point where we β re fine with treating this as more of a game of Red Rover Red Rover . Yes , it β s a crime to come over the border uninvited , but if you make it to home base , maybe we β ll just forget about it .\nNow , before the inevitable , hollow argument comes flying back at me here , I β m not talking about anything resembling the statute of limitations . ( Why we have a statute of limitations is a debate for another day . ) Bowman and Kirkpatrick kept committing crimes all through their run . And people who are here illegally continue to break the law every single day by the simple fact of being in the country . If you want to have a discussion about a statute on illegal immigration where people can leave for seven years and have it dropped from their recordβ¦ fine . We can have that debate . But it doesn β t apply to this situation .\nAllow me to also answer the second , inevitable question which crops up every time we have this discussion . No , I have no idea what to do about the five million or twelve million or twenty million illegal immigrants currently breaking the law every single day in this country . I have not even the beginning of a hint as to what should be done about it . I also don β t know what to do about the 90 % of robberies that go unsolved each year . But I β m pretty sure that the answer isn β t to decriminalize theft .\nI β ve had some conflicting feelings about this immigration question myself , I confess . But America either is or it is not a nation of laws . If we are to change our system so that entering our nation without permission is no longer a crime β or at least not that serious of one β then lawmakers need to make that clear . But don β t tell us you β re doing it just because you can β t figure out how to stop people from breaking the law . And if keeping control of our borders and retaining management of who does or does not enter is still an important priority and a criminal matter , that should be made clear also . What we β re getting out of Washington now is static , clarifying nothing and selling a feel-good product which doesn β t seem to address any of these questions .
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Sen. Marco Rubio says he β s done more on the issue of immigration than former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton ever has .\nβ I mean , I helped pass an immigration bill in a Senate dominated by Democrats . And that β s more than she β s ever done . She β s given speeches on it , but she β s never done anything on it . So I have a record of trying to do something on it , β the Florida Republican , who announced his 2016 presidential bid on Monday , told NPR .\nMr. Rubio β s support in 2013 for the comprehensive bill , which he eventually backed away from , ended up costing him with some conservatives . He said that the push ultimately didn β t work because the issue of illegal immigration was not sufficiently addressed and that he warned about that through the process β but said immigration reform is still necessary .\nβ I just don β t think you can do it in a comprehensive , massive piece of legislation , given the lack of trust that there is today in the federal government , β he said .\nβ I honestly believe that the key to moving forward on immigration is to first and foremost prove to the American people that we are going to bring future illegal immigration under control β that if we legalize 12 million people , they won β t be replaced by 12 million more who are here illegally , β Mr. Rubio said . β And I honestly believe , given my experiences on this issue now , that if we did that , the American people and the majority of Republicans and conservatives will be very reasonable and , and responsible about how we address the reality that we have 12 million human beings living in this country illegally . β\nRep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz , chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee , though , skewered Mr. Rubio β s position on the issue .\nSEE ALSO : Marco Rubio hails inspirational personal story in launching 2016 bid\nβ He even went so far as to run away from his own immigration plan when the most extreme wing of his party put pressure on him , β said Ms. Wasserman Schultz , Florida Democrat . β Rubio says he β s a new type of Republican , but the only things he β s ever championed are the same failed policies the public has already rejected , and the only cause he β s ever advanced is his own . β
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When it takes up the question of whether President Obama 's 2014 immigration executive actions were constitutional , the Supreme Court will throw out its typical playbook .\nUnited States v. Texas is one of the most β if not the most β important cases before the highest court this term . It 's certainly the most important immigration case the Supreme Court has taken up in a generation ( or , arguably , a century ) . And the Court is treating it accordingly .\nOn Monday , instead of splitting up 60 minutes of oral arguments between the two sides of the case , as usually happens , the Court will convene for 90 minutes β and bring in more parties to argue their case .\nTexas and the 25 other states suing will get 30 minutes . The federal government will get 35 . But the Supreme Court has also given 10 minutes to a lawyer representing a group of immigrant women who 'd benefit from Obama 's executive actions . And that 's not all β 15 minutes will go to the US House of Representatives ( thanks to the Republican House majority ) , which has jumped in to support the states .\nThe unusually complicated oral argument process reflects just how messy this case is . It 's a case covering surprisingly narrow-sounding legal questions , but its outcome carries broad implications for the relationship between Congress and the president , and the relationship between the federal government and the states . Oh , yeah β and it 's a presidential election year , and both immigration and the Court itself have become election issues .\nAll this makes it something of a nightmare scenario for Chief Justice John Roberts , who tends to be more anxious than the typical Supreme Court justice to present the Court 's opinions as drawn purely from law rather than politics .\nAs the justices hear oral arguments and consider the case before issuing an opinion ( which they 're expected to do in late June , at the end of the term ) , Roberts and the other justices will have to work through legal questions that are both less contentious and more abstract than the broader immigration debate makes them seem .\nThen they 'll have to figure out if there 's any way they can cobble together a five-vote majority for a lasting opinion β or if the eight-person Court will deadlock , putting the most important case of the Court 's term in limbo and creating the opportunity for chaos .\nIn November 2014 , President Obama issued a series of memos declaring executive actions on immigration . Two of those are at issue in this case .\nOne memo expanded the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program , or DACA , which since 2012 had allowed immigrants who 'd come to the US as children to apply for temporary protection from deportation and work permits .\nThe other one added a new deferred action program β the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program β which would have allowed millions of unauthorized immigrants who have US citizen or permanent resident children to apply for deportation protection and work permits as well .\nThe two 2014 actions are usually referred to as DAPA/DACA+ . Since the states won in the lower courts , both of them have been put on hold since the first ruling was issued in February 2015 . The original DACA program from 2012 , however , is still in place and is n't being challenged in this suit . ( To prevent confusion , I 'll just refer to DAPA instead of DAPA/DACA+ when talking about the 2014 actions . )\n2 ) Why did President Obama create this program in the first place ?\nFederal immigration enforcement has totally transformed over the past 20 years . More people are eligible for deportation than ever before . The growth of the unauthorized population preβGreat Recession meant there were more people to deport . After 9/11 , the government got vastly more money and resources for deportation . And deportations escalated accordingly β from 183,000 in 1999 to a high of 400,000 during the first several years of the Obama administration .\nPresident Obama has spent most of his time in office trying to impose some sort of control on all of this β to make sure the government is choosing who 's most important to deport , rather than arbitrarily deporting anyone Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents get their hands on . His first attempts β setting high and low `` priorities '' for deportation and telling immigration agents to follow them β were something both sides in the current court case agree he could do but that rank-and-file immigration agents frequently ignored in favor of their own judgment .\nSo in 2012 , President Obama created the first deferred action program , DACA β allowing people to proactively apply for protection from deportation , rather than simply hoping that ICE followed the memo not to deport them . It 's been solidly effective . After comprehensive immigration reform stalled in Congress in 2013 , pressure grew on Obama to use the tool that had worked β deferred action β to protect other groups of low-priority immigrants , and he did just that with DAPA and expanded DACA in 2014 .\nDAPA was supposed to be the program that ensured Obama 's legacy on immigration , turning him from the `` deporter in chief '' of his first term to a man who brought immigrants out of the shadows . If the Supreme Court lets the program go forward , that legacy is assured . If it strikes DAPA down , Obama 's legacy β and immigrants ' attitude toward the Democratic Party β will be an ambivalent and disappointing one .\n3 ) How did United States v. Texas get to the Supreme Court ?\nUnited States v. Texas is political in its origins . That does n't at all mean that the states that sued the Obama administration are wrong on the merits β it 's just an acknowledgment of the circumstances around the case 's genesis shortly after Obama announced the executive actions .\nThere was n't a serious legal challenge to the original DACA program in 2012 , even though many of the criticisms of DAPA in this case would have applied to DACA as well . But in June 2012 the country was in the middle of a general election campaign , and the Republican nominee was trying to run toward the center and appeal to Latinos . In November 2014 , on the other hand , the relatively unpopular President Obama was responding to an electoral defeat in the midterm elections β including the loss of the Senate β with executive actions on an issue that mobilized the GOP base .\nThe states on each side of the case have lined up along partisan lines . The Texas suit involves 23 states β all but three of them under unified Republican control β as well as four Republican governors ( three of whom have Democratic attorneys general who would n't let the state officially join the case ) and one Republican attorney general . The states that have filed briefs supporting the Obama administration , meanwhile , represent about two-thirds of the states with Democratic attorneys general .\nTexas is leading the coalition of states bringing the lawsuit for two reasons . One , it 's offered the most persuasive case for how DAPA could actually hurt the state ( more on that later ) . Two , it houses the Southern District of Texas , which was the court the states chose to file their case in , presumably because they knew they 'd have a good chance there . ( The administration and its allies have implied that this is unfair , but it happens all the time . )\nThey chose wisely . In February 2015 β just a few days before the government was scheduled to start accepting applications for expanded DACA β Judge Andrew Hanen issued an injunction , preventing the government from moving ahead with the program on the logic that the states were `` likely '' to prevail on some of their claims . The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction . And in January , the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case .\nAs the case has made its way through the courts , it 's gotten much broader . Initially , the injunction was based on a narrow claim that the Obama administration had n't used the right procedure in instituting DAPA . The Fifth Circuit ruled that DAPA was also ( or at least , was likely to be ) illegal on the merits . And now the Supreme Court has added a constitutional question : whether DAPA violates the `` take care '' clause of the Constitution .\nWhile this is theoretically still a ruling on the injunction , the Supreme Court is dealing with the merits of the case β ensuring that if a majority of the Court 's eight justices side with the Obama administration , or with the states , the case is finished ( and DAPA is alive , or dead ) for the duration of Obama 's time in office .\nThe stakes have risen accordingly . The House of Representatives asked , and was granted , the chance to argue that DAPA violates laws that Congress has passed β something that is n't totally unheard of at the Supreme Court level but certainly raises the political temperature of the case .\nAnd on the federal government 's side , the argument on behalf of the `` Jane Doe '' immigrant women β not to mention the likely presence of many potential DAPA beneficiaries in the Supreme Court during the oral arguments β will inevitably remind the justices that this is a question of the balance and separation of powers , and about immigrants themselves .\n4 ) What is the Supreme Court actually ruling on in this case ?\nBecause immigration is such a divisive culture war issue β and because phrases like `` enforce the law '' get tossed around frequently as talking points β it sure seems like this case should be a massive legal dispute over what should happen to unauthorized immigrants in the US . But it 's not . There are four questions at play in the case , and all of them are , given the importance of the case , relatively narrow .\n1 ) Is it even legal for Texas to sue the federal government to stop the DAPA program ?\nThe states ' case , in one sentence : It costs the state government money to give subsidized driver 's licenses to DAPA recipients who now qualify for them .\nThe federal government 's case , in one sentence : If that were all it took for a state to sue the federal government over a policy it did n't like , the courts would be clogged forever .\nThe first question the Court has to address whether Texas and the other states had `` standing '' β whether they are legally able to bring the lawsuit at all . In order to show standing , Texas has to show that implementing DAPA causes some direct harm to the state .\nEven if the substance of Texas 's legal argument against DAPA is correct , if it ca n't show that it had standing the whole suit gets dismissed β allowing DAPA to go into effect after all . ( This route would give the Supreme Court some appealing options , as we 'll get to in a bit . )\nThe Republican governors and state attorneys general on Texas 's side of the case clearly think that allowing unauthorized immigrants to remain in their states is harmful for all sorts of reasons . But as is often the case with Supreme Court cases β and is definitely the case with this one β the actual argument being put forward in the courtroom is a lot narrower than the argument over whether unauthorized immigrants are good or bad for America that 's happening around the case .\nSo far , courts have found that the states have standing for a single reason : Texas driver 's license costs . Under Texas law , people who get deferred action are eligible for driver 's licenses β and because fees only partially cover the cost of producing a license , the state government covers the rest of the cost . DAPA would make hundreds of thousands of Texans eligible to apply for driver 's licenses for the first time , which would cost the state money .\nThe Supreme Court now has to decide whether that 's enough of a reason to allow Texas ( and the other states ) to sue the federal government over the entire policy .\nThe federal government argues it 's not President Obama 's fault that Texas law would allow DAPA recipients to get driver 's licenses . Furthermore , supporters of the federal government 's side in this case argue there 's a slippery slope : Allow the states to sue the government over a policy they do n't like , as long as they can show that it costs the state something ( even if that cost is recouped ) , and the courts will be clogged with lawsuits left and right .\nThey 're hoping that possibility will scare Chief Justice Roberts ( who dissented in a previous case about states suing the federal government , Massachusetts v. EPA ) into protecting the Supreme Court 's legacy by remaining above the dispute .\n2 ) Is DAPA a substantive new regulation β which the Obama administration did n't follow the proper procedure for ?\nThe federal government 's argument , in one sentence : Nope , it 's just a general `` statement of policy , '' and we do those all the time .\nThe states ' argument , in one sentence : It sets pretty hard-and-fast standards for who qualifies for deferred action and work authorization ; that seems pretty rule-like .\nThis question also seems pretty narrow β it 's a challenge about whether the Obama administration did DAPA the right way , instead of whether it was the right thing to do . So it might not get a lot of the Supreme Court 's attention . But this was actually the basis for the original ruling freezing DAPA , issued in February 2015 by Judge Hanen of the Fifth Circuit .\nUnder the Administrative Procedures Act , the government ca n't just issue new regulatory `` rules '' ; it has to propose them and then allow a certain period for public response . ( Hence the term `` notice and comment , '' which comes up a bunch when people are discussing this aspect of the Supreme Court case . )\nThe Obama administration did n't do this with DAPA . It argues it did n't have to , because it was n't a real rule , just a general guideline . The states disagree .\nAt root , this is a disagreement about how the deferred action programs actually work : whether immigration agents actually have the leeway to reject applications for any reason ( policy-like ) or whether the Obama administration has dictated that anyone who meets the standards should get protection ( rule-like ) .\nAnd because DAPA has n't gone into effect yet , this is really an argument about how the original DACA program is working β even though the existing deferred action program is n't being challenged in this case .\n3 ) Is DAPA within the president 's authority , or does it encroach on parts of immigration law where Congress has already set down the rules ?\nThe federal government 's argument , in one sentence : DAPA is just a way to tell immigrants they 're not being deported β something that both sides agree is legal .\nThe states ' argument , in one sentence : DAPA goes beyond that , by bestowing `` lawful presence '' and work permits on immigrants Congress did n't want to grant either one to .\nLegally , this is the biggest question about DAPA : Does it violate US law by going beyond what the president is allowed to do on immigration ? But again , the disagreement between the two sides in the actual court case is a lot narrower than you 'd think ( given the general heatedness of the immigration debate ) .\nUS immigration law gives the president a lot of latitude to make policy decisions β more than he gets in a lot of other areas . So the states in this case agree that President Obama ( and the rest of the executive branch ) have the latitude to choose whom to deport and whom not to deport . The states even say it would be okay if the Obama administration issued cards to people who were `` low priorities '' for deportation indicating that they were low priorities .\nBut they say DAPA goes beyond what the president is allowed to do , and crosses into areas where Congress has set firm rules on immigration , in two ways . It allows deferred action recipients to apply for work permits , which the states argue violates Congress 's intent not to allow unauthorized immigrants to work legally in the US . And , they say , DAPA deems people to be `` lawfully present '' in the US even though Congress has said it 's illegal for them to be here .\nThe phrase `` lawful presence '' is probably going to be thrown around a lot at Monday 's oral arguments β it 's become increasingly central to the states ' argument . The federal government argues that the states are simply getting confused . `` Lawful presence '' is n't the same thing as `` lawful status '' in immigration law β it does n't grant anyone the right to be in the US . ( The federal government has started arguing that it 's really more like `` tolerated presence . '' )\n3 ) Is Obama abandoning his constitutional obligation to `` take care '' to enforce Congress 's laws by implementing DAPA ?\nThis question was n't even considered in the lower courts β the Supreme Court added it to the case on its own . It centers on the Constitution 's `` take care '' clause : `` He shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed . ''\nThere is n't a lot of Supreme Court jurisprudence on what this phrase actually charges the president to do , so it 's interesting that the Court felt it was particularly appropriate here β though it 's entirely possible that the justice interested in this was Antonin Scalia and the surviving justices do n't have any interest .\nThe answer to the `` take care '' question depends on whether DAPA violates US law to begin with . If the federal government is right , and DAPA is within the president 's legal authority , then he 's not abandoning his duty to execute the laws by implementing it . If the states are right , and DAPA is illegal , then Obama might be violating the `` take care '' clause in implementing it β but the program would be struck down in any event .\nFor people who believe that President Obama is legally obligated to deport unauthorized immigrants under all circumstances , the idea that he 's violating the constitution by not `` taking care '' to enforce immigration laws has some appeal . But again , neither side is actually arguing that in court .\n5 ) How is the Supreme Court likely to rule ? And how does Justice Scalia 's death affect this ?\nThere are dozens of hypothetical possible answers the Court could reach to any of the four questions above . But in terms of the case 's practical outcome , there are essentially four options .\nIf `` swing vote '' Justice Anthony Kennedy ( or Chief Justice Roberts ) joins the liberal wing of the Court , the Obama administration will get an outright five-vote majority . The lower court rulings will be overturned , and DAPA and DACA+ will start accepting applications .\nIf the conservative wing of the Court gets a five-vote majority , with a liberal justice joining the conservative wing , the lower court ruling siding with the states will be upheld for good , and DAPA and DACA+ will be permanently dead . ( This is unlikely , but it 's certainly not impossible . )\nIf Kennedy joins the conservative side , but the Court 's four liberal justices stick together , nobody will get a majority . Justice Scalia 's absence will create a 4-4 tie . That would leave the existing injunction in place β forcing the Obama administration to keep DAPA on ice β but it would force the lower courts to go back and issue final rulings on the case , which they still have n't done .\nFurthermore β and this is where things get really messy β the absence of a Supreme Court opinion could allow another circuit court to hear a case on DAPA and rule that it could go forward . How such a lawsuit would proceed is unclear ; maybe some of the states that sided with the Obama administration could find standing . But it would create a situation in which DAPA was legal in some parts of the country and illegal in others .\nIt 's entirely possible that the Supreme Court would go out of its way to avoid that level of chaos . That 's why some analysts think the most likely outcome is this :\nChief Justice Roberts joins with the Court 's liberals to throw out the case based on standing β siding with the federal government on the first question and ruling that Texas did n't have the right to bring the suit at all .\n6 ) What does the case mean for people in the real world ?\nIf the Court sides with the states , nothing changes β programs that currently are n't in effect wo n't go into effect . But if the Court sides with the administration , an estimated 4.5 million immigrants who are currently vulnerable to deportation will get three years of protection and the ability to work in the US legally .\nThe effects this could have on the lives of those immigrants ( and their families ) could be huge .\nThe evidence from DACA , which has protected about 700,000 immigrants for the past three and a half years , is promising . Three-quarters of DACA recipients had been able to get better-paying jobs , 30 percent had gone back to school , and 59 percent said they could help support their families . There 's evidence that DACA helps keep immigrants integrated into American life β instead of losing interest in school or career because they feel their immigration status holds them back .\nIf the Supreme Court reinstates DAPA at the end of June , the Obama administration will only have seven months left in office to process applications β and many of the community groups that would have been able to help people get those applications will be busy mobilizing for the election .\nFurthermore , the election might discourage some immigrants from wanting to sign up to begin with β if they 're worried that Donald Trump will be president come 2017 , they 'll be much less inclined to turn over their personal information to the government .\n7 ) What happens when a new president gets elected in November ?\nDAPA is an Obama administration initiative . There 's nothing stopping the next president from ending the program and rescinding its protections , even if the Supreme Court upholds it this year . Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have already promised to do just that in their first few days in office .\nThat does n't mean that the immigrants who have gotten deferred action so far would necessarily get deported . In fact , that 's the bigger decision that President Cruz or Trump would have to make : what to do with a database of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are unauthorized but who by definition are well-educated , speak English , or at least have kids who are US citizens .\nA President Trump might start his mass deportation campaign by targeting the immigrants he can most easily locate : former deferred action recipients .\nSome pundits have argued that this means the real immigration fight is what happens in November , rather than what happens in the courts this spring . Insofar as the next president will choose whether to end deferred action , that 's true . But the Supreme Court decision could definitely shape what options a president has to expand it , as both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have promised to do .\nSanders has explicitly said that he 'd protect some 8 or 9 million people using deferred action ; Clinton has said she would n't deport immigrants who had n't committed crimes , but has n't explained how she 'd protect them .\nIf the Supreme Court strikes down DAPA β or upholds it , but articulates a limiting principle that clarifies that this is the most a president can do β both of those plans will be a lot harder to implement , but a Democratic president would be under even more pressure to find a way to protect immigrants . That could create trouble .\n8 ) What kind of precedent is set if the Court sides with the Obama administration ?\nConservatives siding with the states in United States v. Texas argue that if Obama wins this case , there 's no limit to who could be protected from deportation . They make a persuasive case .\nThe Obama administration argues that while DAPA was legal , it would n't have been legal to give deferred action to even more immigrants β say , parents of DACA recipients . But their reasoning on this point is fairly weak ( and it does n't help that both candidates for their own party 's presidential nomination are promising to do just that ) .\nThis lack of `` limiting principle '' gives conservatives a lot of pause . A president could do whatever he likes on a whole host of issues β say , refuse to enforce any environmental regulations , or even declare a tax cut by executive fiat . ( βββ 's Andrew Prokop lays out some of the options . )\nHypotheticals like these raise some valid concerns about the use of prosecutorial discretion generally . But these are issues with existing law , and it 's not clear that a ruling for the feds in this case would make them any worse .\nMany legal scholars believe that immigration law simply gives the president more discretion than other areas of law . So a ruling for Obama in this case would n't necessarily create a precedent for other issues .\n9 ) What kind of precedent does it set if the Court sides with the states ?\nIf the president has historically had a lot of leeway to set immigration policy , though , a ruling for the states would effectively constrain that power .\nThe states in this case are n't asking the Supreme Court to issue a broad ruling . But that does n't stop the Court from doing so if it wants . And if the Court finds that it 's illegal for the president to allow a large group of immigrants to apply for work permits , that definitely calls the original DACA program into question β and raises questions for other uses of executive power on immigrations as well . ( An extremely broad ruling against the president could even dictate that the executive branch ca n't declare immigrants `` low priorities '' for deportation , though that 's extremely unlikely . )\nBut even a relatively narrow ruling for the states would have implications for other issues where the president did n't have as much leeway to begin with .\nIt 's possible to imagine a Supreme Court ruling against Obama whose argument implicitly called into question other things he 's done , from delaying the employer mandate to modifying key provisions of No Child Left Behind ( not to mention the original DACA program ) . It would n't automatically strike down any of these , but it could open the door to future court challenges .\nWhat legal scholars who side with the administration are particularly concerned about , though , is what will happen if Texas and the other states are granted standing at all β even if the Court ultimately sides with Obama . They argue that this would essentially invite states to sue the federal government over any policy they do n't like , and then hunt down some way the policy harms them . ( In an amicus brief , for example , law professor Walter Dellinger argues that states could start suing the IRS over which organizations are exempt from federal taxes . )\nTo a certain extent , this is what the states are doing anyway β no state has ever sued the federal government for doing something the state likes . But the Supreme Court has long tried to avoid becoming a way for states to challenge federal policy willy-nilly . That 's the sort of politics it tends to want to stay out of .\nThen again , the lesson of United States v. Texas may very well be that even if politics stop at the Supreme Court door , the cases that come in β and what happens to decisions that come out β are political from start to finish .
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Europe is experiencing the largest movement of people across its borders since World War II , and it is struggling . It β s not just wrestling with capacity and enforcement , as the crush of Middle Easterners and Africans take to the Mediterranean and trek across frontiers , but also testing the limits of its humanitarianism .\nThe human tide has weighed heavily on some countries and inundated swaths of European countryside or urban space β eliciting fortitude and generosity of spirit , which has been undercovered . It has also revealed a dark side to the continent : fences , tear gas , riots , and hate speech .\nToday β s migrants are as poor or traumatized as those refugees during World War II , but many are also black or Muslim . They stand out in communities that have long known nothing but homogeneity . And they are entering at a time when EU citizens question what it really means to live in the 28-member union .\nThese questions have been brewing for years , but the sheer scale of migration has thrust them suddenly from abstract scenarios into a situation demanding answers now . Through July of this year , some 340,000 have attempted to reach Europe β s doorstep according to EU statistics , nearly three times the same period of last year . And so far nearly 2,440 have died trying .\nIn an ongoing series called Seeking Refuge , the Monitor has searched for themes and lessons learned in the midst of one of the European Union 's greatest modern tests .\nWhen a boat capsized in April off of Libya , killing nearly 800 migrants on board , the argument that the EU should scale back patrols to deter migration β as they were doing at the time of the tragedy β was flipped on its head .\nRescue patrols and walls factor into a migrant β s choices to attempt the trip , but it doesn β t deter his or her decision to leave war or poverty . Life is still better in Europe .\nThat has been put in sharp focus in Greece . We kicked off the series on the island of Kos , where migrants were steadily streaming in amid an economic crisis that sapped the Greek state 's capacity β or appetite β to house and care for thousands of newcomers . Since then tens of thousands have arrived anyway , with 21,000 showing up in one week in August alone .\n2 . Much of Europe see the migrants as 'the other guy 's ' problem\nGreece and Italy face the physical crush of arrivals , while Germany , Sweden , and Britain are where most migrants want to go . Germany announced this week that it expects 750,000 asylum claims this year , four times more than last year .\nYet in between are nearly two dozen countries that do not see migration as their problem . An EU plan to relocate and resettle some 60,000 migrants has sent much of Europe into an emotional tailspin . One of the countries feeling the brunt of criticism for not doing its part is Britain .\nCentral and Eastern Europe , meanwhile , which have almost no experience with this type of migration , condemned Brussels for placing a burden on their shoulders where they say it doesn β t belong β even though emigration has long been that region 's only escape valve . In the end , a broad , mandatory relocation plan was torpedoed in favor of a smaller , voluntary one β which nonetheless continues to rile .\n`` There is no incentive for central European countries to accept relocation . They don β t see it as their problem , β said Elizabeth Collett , director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe in Brussels .\nFor all of the anger directed at Brussels , critics make a valid point too . Europe 's system for accepting migrants doesn β t work . The policy that β s been most tested is the Dublin Regulation , the European treaty that stipulates that refugees must have their asylum applications processed by the EU country they first set foot in . Though the convention is meant to be mandatory , overloaded periphery countries are turning a blind eye to the migrants who wish to move on , as virtually all do .\nSo the migrants easily leave , and take advantage of another European rule that applies to most countries in the bloc : the passport-free Schengen zone .\nEarlier in the summer , France started checking passports at its frontier with Italy to dissuade migrants from entering β a violation of Schengen rules , particularly as it happened just as Europeans kicked off the summer vacation season .\nβ This is a much wider problem than Schengen , but Schengen is the victim because it becomes a symbol of all the fears , that we are defenseless , β explained Marc Pierini , a visiting scholar on European policy at Carnegie Europe in Brussels .\nNow many of those same migrants who crossed the Italian-French border are amassing in Calais , at France β s northern edge . This time they face a harder task moving onto their final destination , Britain , both because of geography and because Britain is not part of Schengen . Thousands have stormed the Eurotunnel this summer , leaving at least nine dead .\nThis migration crisis has given a high-profile platform to xenophobia . It has led Hungary , where numbers of migrants entering has dramatically spiked , to start building a wall . The Slovakian government said it would accept refugees from Syria but only Christian ones , not Muslims .\nRich Clabaugh/Staff Europe 's migration crisis : The eastern Mediterranean and western Baltic routes\nAnd yet , there are European citizens who are trying to rise above the fear . As the newest flashpoint has appeared in the Balkans , at Greece β s border with Macedonia , authorities have tried to keep them back with batons . Meanwhile , one group waits for their arrival β with supplies .\nβ I β ve never seen anything like this , β said Gabriela Andreevska , a young Macedonian who spends most nights at the border , helping the migrants trying to reach the EU . β So many people sleeping on concrete . They β re there , and you can β t turn a blind eye . β\nIn the heated discussion about Europe β s migration crisis , which can bleed into the wider debate over security and terrorism , it β s easy to forget the most important lesson of all . Each migrant is a person , with families back home and a lifetime of aspiration and regret behind him or her .\nGet the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox . By signing up , you agree to our Privacy Policy\nThe Monitor captured the human element by following the path of two Syrians through Europe β s borders until they finally reached northern Europe . Living in a tidy apartment in Germany , well-housed and fed and nearly guaranteed to be granted refugee status , one of them was still anxious ; his mother and sister were still in war-ravaged Syria .\nβ I want to bring my family , and I β m just wasting time , β he said . β I don β t want to see one of them in [ the news ] someday . β
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( CNN ) President Donald Trump will now wait until next week to unveil his new attempt to impose a temporary travel ban on citizens of states he says pose a high risk of terrorism .\nAn administration official said the order , which represents a do-over after Trump 's first attempt was blocked by federal courts , would come by the middle of the week . The order had been expected to emerge sometime this week .\nThe order will form the second thrust of a new administration push to significantly overhaul the shape of the American immigration system , following the release of new memos Tuesday empowering state and local authorities to enforce laws that could eventually lead to mass deportations .\nIt also marks an important moment for Trump 's vision of an expansive executive presidency as he contemplates other areas of sweeping policy action .\nThe significance of this new attempt -- the language of which is expected as soon as Wednesday -- is reflected in the participation of White House Counsel Don McGahn .\nMcGahn 's office had only a cursory look at Trump 's original order , which was written by transition and policy staff . Significantly , Trump 's key political aide Stephen Miller has had much less to do with the second executive order , sources familiar with the matter said , and the Trump administration was communicating with Republicans on Capitol Hill about the legislation .\nAnother administration official disputed the notion that Miller is less involved now , saying he is in fact more involved in this process than the first one .\nTrump 's initial attempt to install a travel ban -- one of his fundamental campaign promises -- was a disaster , halting the administration 's fast start in its tracks .\nJUST WATCHED Iran : Travel ban an affront to the entire nation Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Iran : Travel ban an affront to the entire nation 10:54\nThe move temporarily blocking citizens of Syria , Sudan , Yemen , Iran , Iraq , Somalia and Libya from entering the US unleashed a weekend of chaos at the nation 's airports , after the hurriedly drafted and poorly implemented order caused confusion among border and customs officials about what it actually meant and which classes of travelers were included .\nHis order was quickly halted by the federal courts in a first showdown between his strong-arm executive powers and the judiciary -- leading Trump to belittle judges on Twitter .\nThe showdown inflicted an early blow on the reputation of the new White House and claims that Trump 's expertise as a master dealmaker and businessman would make up for his inexperience in Washington and governance as he set about fundamentally transforming America .\nStung by the scorn of the courts and the political world , the White House eventually retreated to plot a new approach -- one that is likely to be considerably narrower than the initial version . Permanent US residents , or green card holders , for instance , are expected to be exempted from the ban .\nTrump rarely admits an error or apologizes for a misstep . But even he realizes that there is not much he can do but frame a new executive order to satisfy the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ' decision upholding a stay on the order imposed by a federal judge in Seattle .\nHis spokesman Sean Spicer said on Wednesday that the administration would tailor the new order to the ruling of the 9th Circuit and that the new plan was `` basically completed . ''\n`` I think what we 're now doing is working with the various agencies and departments to make sure that the implementation of that is done in an extremely smooth way , '' Spicer said .\nIt is vital for the credibility of the President and a White House that things do indeed go smoothly this time around .\nThis may be the best , last chance for the administration to establish whether it can write an executive order that can honor Trump 's goals but at the same time not fall foul of constitutional due process rights of travelers trying to get into the United States who might be covered by the ban .\nThe White House faces a high bar in drafting the new order because its constitutional interpretation has already proven open to being challenged . The 9th Circuit , for instance , rejected the administration 's argument that the judiciary lacked the authority to block the travel ban as `` contrary to the fundamental structure of our constitutional democracy . ''\nApart from the legal minefield the new order must traverse , the Trump White House has huge political credibility tied up in the travel ban .\nA repeat of angry demonstrations at airports , with tales of travelers being turned back after getting on planes with what they thought were valid visas , would deal another blow to the new administration .\nBy Tuesday , there were initial signs that the administration had started to conduct the widespread consultation among its allies in the House and the Senate that was missing with the initial travel ban .\nA top House Republican aide said the Department of Homeland Security had been in touch with House Speaker Paul Ryan 's office about the new executive order . But it is unclear whether the White House has been engaging with the committees with jurisdiction over immigration and national security .\nKeeping allies in the loop is important because the refashioned executive order is likely to be viewed elsewhere in Washington as an omen for whether the administration is able to pull off the technical , legislative and political lifts needed to implement the promises for fundamental changes in America that Trump vowed as a candidate .\nOf course , there is certain to be anger and controversy once the new order is released -- its opponents will brand it unconstitutional and un-American and the affected nations are likely to vocally protest and may take counter-measures . Lawsuits are already promised .\nBut a smooth implementation process could at least preserve the administration political space to press ahead with a scheme that does garner support from many Americans , especially Trump supporters .\nIt would also spare Capitol Hill Republicans from media interrogations about the White House 's ham-handed unveiling of the original order .\nThere is intense interest in Washington and around the world about how the second executive order will differ from Trump 's initial attempt .\nGoing forward , a new order could also only apply to people who are not yet in the visa process . The new order may apply to all seven nations originally named and could retain a ban on the entry of Syrian refugees , a source on Capitol Hill said .\nThis story has been updated to reflect the latest reporting .
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While advocates of immigration reform are eternally optimistic that Congress will pass a bill in 2013 -- even though two influential House Republicans have already poured cold water over hopes of such legislation leaving the chamber -- some opponents of the overhaul are being more cautious in declaring the measure dead .\nβ We can β t sign the death certificate just yet , β said Kristen Williamson , a spokeswoman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform , which favors immigration restrtictions .\nHere β s why Williamson said her organization is cautious about declaring comprehensive immigration reform dead .\nβ It β s clear that establishment Republicans -- [ Speaker John ] Boehner , [ Majority Whip Kevin ] McCarthy -- aren β t ready to commit to no amnesty , β she said , adding that the speaker hasn β t said he will not go to conference with the Senate . β Republicans are unable to commit to no conference and no amnesty on immigration because they are being pushed by special interest corporations who are trying to be the go-between the White House and Republicans . Until that happens the door is left open . β\nRepublicans have a series of piecemeal reform bills that satisfy the conservatives ' call for more enforcement , improvements to border security , and an E-verify system to make it impossible for companies to employ undocumented immigrants . Those bills largely avoid the issue of citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. , but some Republicans are flirting with the idea of legal status for immigrants .\nThe Democratic-led Senate passed its vision of immigration reform in June . That measure includes doubling the number of border patrol agents along the Mexican border to about 40,000 and providing a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million in the country without papers . Republicans see this pathway as β amnesty. β However , the bill has been lingering in the House of Representatives for months now because of Boehner β s promise to not put a bill on the floor without a `` majority of the majority '' support .\nIn an attempt to break the impasse and keep the issue at the forefront , House Democrats , led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California , introduced their own legislation , removing the β border surge β in the Senate β s bill and replacing it with a bipartisan amendment that passed the House Homeland Security Committee in May . The border security bill from Rep. Michael McCaul requires that the administration draft a border plan for 90 percent apprehension of illegal border crossers in five years .\nBut from FAIR β s perspective , any of the House bills can be used a β vehicle to get amnesty β via a conference with the Senate legislation .\nβ It β s clear that moving forward any new immigration law that tries to improve our legal immigration system and also prevent illegal immigration will not be enforced , β Williamson said .\nWhile FAIR waits for a commitment from the establishment , Alex Nowrasteh , an immigration policy analyst at libertarian think tank Cato Institute , is a bit more confident that it β s likely a no-go this year for immigration reform .\nNowrasteh said that timing is the reason , as there aren β t enough legislative days left on the calendar to pass it . There are just 15 legislative days left this year . The momentum the issue had earlier this year among lawmakers was quickly derailed by the Syrian chemical weapons crisis , NSA spying , and the recent government shutdown . Currently , the broken health-care websites and the fact that millions of Americans are losing insurance plans they would like to keep remain the focus of President Barack Obama and his administration . This , after Obama said immigration was among his top priorities , following the reopening of the federal government last month .\nβ Just because it doesn β t pass in 2013 does not mean it is dead in 2014 , β Nowrasteh said . β I think it will definitely have some legs in 2014 , especially in the early part of the year . β\nLast week , Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida , one of the key Republican players in the immigration debate , said if lawmakers didn β t tackle the issue early next year then β it flatlines β because of the 2014 midterm election cycle .\nBut the Cato analyst said anything is possible in 2014 , especially when history shows that the 1990 Immigration Act passed the House in October ( during an election year ) and President Ronald Reagan β s 1986 β amnesty β act also became law in an election year .\nβ The notion that it β s dead because of an election year is a talking point to try and delay reform , rather than serious analysis , β Nowrasteh said . β A lot of Republicans are still skeptical about a path to citizenship . β\nInstead , he added the House is at a point where close to half or a majority of Republicans are in favor of at least legal status for undocumented immigrants . But the leadership needs time to rally the troops and draft the language .\nβ They also need to figure out how much legalization they are going to do , β Nowrasteh said . β We expect it to be imperfect so we can debate it . β\nBut according to Steven Camarota , director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies , reform is dead , whether this year or the next .\nHe , too , thinks that unless Congress schedules more legislative days such a mammoth undertaking is doomed to fail . However , Camarota believes the House will not take up immigration because they just don β t have a β real appetite to do it . β\nβ Republicans aren β t convinced that this is a politically good idea for them , β he said .\nThough the polls would differ , as they show a majority of Americans favoring reform , Camarota said β polling is always difficult because it depends on the questions β wording . β\nAnd if polls are anything to go by , then perhaps Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida β s popularity decline this summer is a sign for Republicans to stay away from reform .\nAccording to a survey from Rasmussen , Rubio β s popularity among Republican voters dropped 10 percentage points in June to 58 percent , after his efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform .\nβ Republicans know their members don β t like it and that the public will fight against them [ if they block it ] , β Camarota said . β So there is just no appetite for it . The bottom line is , from Republicans β point of view , is focus on Obamacare . The politics is that this thing won β t pass this year or next year either . β\nThat β s unless the president decides to exercise his use of executive action to stop deportations of the undocumented . Obama has already said β no β to expanding deferred action to unauthorized immigrants .\nEven if Obama changes his mind on that , Camarota said , the president will likely get pushback . Just whether it will be strong enough to stop him is another matter .\nβ I don β t know , β Camarota said . β As his popularity drops his ability to maneuver on these issues drops too . β\nFrank Sharry , executive director of advocacy group America β s Voice , said he isn β t buying into the idea that there aren β t enough days left for Congress to act on immigration reform .\nβ We just find it ridiculous that House leadership is saying they have no time when they have nothing else to do , β he said in a phone interview on Tuesday . β It just doesn β t strike us as credible that they don β t have enough time . β\nRather , Sharry said action on comprehensive immigration reform is a matter of Republicans β will versus the number of days on their calendar .\nβ Maybe they don β t have enough time for whatever they are cooking up in the back room , β he said . β We want them to take floor votes before the end of the year . They have time . There is broad public support in favor of reform . It β s in the economic interest of the country . It β s in the political interest of the party . They just need to act rationally . At some point the Republican Party has to decide if they are going to let the minority in the party be the tail that wags the dog . β
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But to most of the rest of the world , she 's Marie Yovanovitch , the career diplomat caught up in the blizzard of headlines about Ukraine and President Donald Trump 's possible impeachment .\nUntil a few months ago , she was the tough-minded U.S. ambassador to Ukraine , living in the embassy in Kyiv with her mother Nadia and her dog Scout , she said in a 2017 interview .\nNow , she 's telling her story about being smeared and threatened to millions of Americans watching the House impeachment hearings on television .\nYovanovitch has served under the past six administrations -- both Republican and Democrat -- and won high praise , including the Senior Foreign Service Performance Award six times and the State Department 's Superior Honor Award five times . She was nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and Armenia by George W. Bush and to Ukraine by Barack Obama .\nBut earlier this year , Yovanovitch was attacked in conservative media and by Ukraine 's former public prosecutor , who accused her of giving him a `` do not prosecute '' list and blocking him from traveling to the U.S. to investigate Democrats after she publicly criticized the country 's lack of progress in tackling corruption .\n( MORE : Former Ukraine ambassador felt threatened , told to 'watch my back ' : Deposition )\nThe State Department and U.S. embassy went on record to deny the allegations , and the prosecutor later recanted them . But Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have repeated them , and they may have influenced Trump 's decision to recall Yovanovitch early from her post in May .\nShe learned only in late September , when the White House released a memo of Trump 's now infamous July 25 with Ukraine 's president , that the president called her `` bad news , '' saying she was `` going to go through some things . ''\nSince then , Yovanovitch , who just turned 61 , indeed , has been going through `` some things . ''\nStill an active Foreign Service officer , she 's been teaching at Georgetown University while the scandal unfolded across Washington -- her name , her photo , and the accusations , coming up repeatedly in news accounts and on television .\nShe was heralded as a hero when she complied with a House subpoena in defiance of the White House -- the first current administration official to do so -- marching to Capitol Hill on Oct. 11 to speak to House impeachment investigators behind closed doors .\nShe learned about being a survivor from her parents , whom she credits as teaching her the values of `` freedom and democracy the U.S . represents . ''\nThey emigrated to North America in the 1940s -- fleeing Nazi and communist regimes in Europe . Young Masha grew up in Kent , Connecticut , according to The Middletown Press , where her parents taught foreign languages at a private boarding school .\n`` My parents survived poverty , war , and displacement , '' she said at her confirmation hearing in 2016 . `` They finally arrived in the United States with me in tow in search of freedom , accountability , and opportunity , the very values that Ukrainians demanded in the revolution of dignity . ''\n( MORE : Former ambassador to Ukraine says Trump had her removed based on 'false claims ' )\nShe told a Connecticut newspaper in 2005 that she first thought about working abroad when she was in school but did n't pursue it until years later , after studying in Moscow and working in advertising in New York . She joined the Foreign Service in 1986 .
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn β t want to impeach President Donald Trump , but a growing number of her members are trying to drag her there .\nDespite repeated pronouncements from the California Democrat that she doesn β t want to try to remove Trump from office β including taking a hard line in a series of tense leadership meetings Monday night β Pelosi faces increasing calls from her rank and file to trigger an impeachment inquiry .\n`` It 's time to start , '' said Rep. Joaquin Castro ( D-Texas ) , a member of the House Intelligence Committee .\nIn an effort to mollify the growing pro-impeachment faction , Pelosi will hold a special members-only meeting Wednesday morning to fully brief lawmakers on House Democrats β sprawling oversight efforts and investigations .\n`` Speaker Pelosi strongly encourages your boss to attend , '' read a notice sent to members from her office late Tuesday , adding that the meeting would focus on `` the great '' victory Democrats won Monday regarding Trump 's financial records and `` other litigation . ''\nThe members-only huddle is Pelosi 's latest attempt to keep her caucus in line as the White House continues to fuel the conflict with the new House majority over its investigations and more Democrats speak out in favor of impeachment .\nTrump on Tuesday blocked his former White House counsel from testifying in a highly anticipated House Judiciary Committee hearing . Lawmakers on the panel , which has jurisdiction over impeachment proceedings , said former White House counsel Don McGahn 's no-show was an `` inflection point '' in their thinking about what should happen next .\n`` I β m not saying this as the co-chair of the Progressive Caucus , '' said Rep. Pramila Jayapal ( D-Wash. ) , a member of the Judiciary Committee backing the push to open an impeachment inquiry .\n`` There are actually a lot of frontline members who are coming up to me and saying ... ' A situation in which the president and the administration can completely , not just undermine , but actually destroy the foundations of checks and balances is something we can β t live with . ' ''\nStill , there were some signs late Tuesday that Pelosi 's attempt to buttress leadership 's posture against impeachment was working .\nRep. Steve Cohen , a member of the Judiciary Committee , said he has drafted articles of impeachment and they 're `` ready to go . '' But the Tennessee Democrat later said that without Pelosi 's backing , `` it 's not going to happen . ''\nAnd Rep. David Cicilline ( D-R.I. ) , one of the members of Pelosi β s own leadership team who pressed her on impeachment Monday night , was also taking a much more subdued approach on Tuesday .\nβ This isn β t a decision that gets to be made by me , β Cicilline said . β We recognize that the speaker will make that judgment , and I fully support her , obviously . β\nThe shift in tone comes after a remarkable few hours on Monday night when Pelosi and other top Democrats clashed with fellow members of the Democratic leadership team β including Cicilline β who pushed to begin impeachment proceedings . And the relative calm may be short-lived as House Democrats and the White House both opened new fronts in their ongoing war Tuesday .\nThe Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas for two former administration aides β Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson β likely setting up another legal battle with Trump . House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff received a last-ditch attempt from the Justice Department to stave off a likely vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for a second time .\nTrump also moved to appeal a Monday court ruling requiring his accounting firm to turn over eight years ' worth of his financial records to the House Oversight Committee .\n`` I don β t know what the president β s lawyers have up their sleeve . I don β t know what β s going to happen . I β m just going to play it day by day , '' Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings ( D-Md . ) , said . `` I have not been running around declaring victory . I just want to do my job . I don β t know what β s going to happen . ''\nAnd Democrats are increasingly frustrated with their inability to secure testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller , who is so far wary of testifying .\nCalls for moving toward impeachment surfaced in multiple closed-door meetings Monday , as frustrated members of the Judiciary Committee and other rank-and-file Democrats vented about the White House β s repeated stonewalling of their investigations and urged Pelosi to begin the impeachment process .\nβ Yes , we do need to start an inquiry , β said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon ( D-Pa. ) , one of several members of Judiciary who sharpened her stance his week .\nβ I think we β re at an inflection point . We β re no longer dealing with a president who obstructed the Mueller inquiry . He β s now obstructing Congress at every turn including telling witnesses who no longer work for the government that they can not speak about public documents , β Scanlon said .\nBut at an emergency private meeting later Monday night , Pelosi rejected calls from House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler to move ahead with an impeachment inquiry , according to multiple sources . Nadler was also instructed to tell members of the panel not to bring up the notion of an impeachment inquiry at the panel β s high-profile hearing Tuesday , which McGahn skipped , defying a Democratic subpoena .\nAnd not all Judiciary members are on board with opening an impeachment inquiry . Rep. Lucy McBath ( D-Ga. ) hails from a Republican-leaning district and said she worries about the politics of the committee 's Trump investigation every day .\n`` I don β t take joy in this process at all , and I β m in great angst over this , '' McBath said . `` Nobody wants to see that we β re thinking about impeaching the leader of the free world . I don β t want to have to do that. ``\nMcBath said the committee should stay focused on efforts to win subpoena fights in court β a push that got a boost Monday when a federal judge ruled that Congress has broad latitude to investigate the president , even without opening an impeachment inquiry .\nReps. Lou Correa ( D-Calif. ) and Zoe Lofgren ( D-Calif. ) similarly suggested that Congress should stay its current course and not immediately pursue impeachment .\nThe issue did not come up at the caucus β hour-long meeting Tuesday morning , which focused on the Trump administration β s heightened tensions with Iran .\nBut with McGahn defying Democrats , impeachment was on the minds of many rank-and-file members β several of whom said they were warming to the idea of moving toward impeachment .\nβ A couple of more moves like that latest is probably going to push me over . And I don β t celebrate it , it β s not something that makes me happy , β Rep. Emanuel Cleaver ( D-Mo . ) said .\nNadler stopped short of endorsing an impeachment push at Tuesday 's empty-chair hearing with McGahn . But he vowed to take action in response .\nβ We will hold this president accountable , one way or the other , β Nadler said .\nKey members of leadership are also backing the speaker , who worries any impeachment push would distract from the party β s agenda and could backfire politically .\nβ It β s clear to anybody who β s paying attention . We β re in the majority because of ... [ members ] who did not run on impeachment , did not run on collusion , did not run on obstruction of justice , β House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries ( D-N.Y. ) said .\nβ That remains the North Star for the overwhelming majority of the House Democratic Caucus , β he said .\nOther Pelosi allies insisted any movement toward impeachment was mostly contained to the Judiciary Committee .\nβ Judiciary members may be intense . But I fully support Nancy Pelosi where she is right now , β Rep. Debbie Dingell ( D-Mich. ) said . β We also have to deliver on prescription drugs and infrastructure , and a partisan impeachment would tear this country apart . β\nCORRECTION : This story is updated to correct Rep. Lou Correa 's home state ,
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House Democrats hoping that former special counsel Robert Mueller Robert ( Bob ) Swan MuellerSchiff : Trump acquittal in Senate trial would not signal a 'failure ' Jeffries blasts Trump for attack on Thunberg at impeachment hearing Live coverage : House Judiciary to vote on impeachment after surprise delay MORE would trigger momentum for impeaching President Trump Donald John TrumpDem lawmaker says Nunes threatened to sue him over criticism Parnas : U.S. ambassador to Ukraine removed to clear path for investigations into Bidens Five takeaways from Parnas 's Maddow interview MORE were met with resistance Wednesday from a witness who often wouldn β t even answer lawmakers β questions .\nUnlike Mueller β s May remarks on his report on Russia β s election meddling , his testimony Wednesday did not spark any new major wave behind the movement to oust the president .\nAnd some of the most vocal impeachment proponents said they don β t expect Mueller β s halting testimony β in which he asked legislators to repeat their questions on multiple occasions and often declined to answer questions at all β to lend any significant new power to the effort .\nβ I think that there were some persons who were hoping for a seminal moment , a wild moment β a wild , gotcha moment , β said Rep. Al Green Alexander ( Al ) N. GreenThe Memo : Will Iran crisis sideline impeachment process ? Green says House should n't hold impeachment articles indefinitely GOP set to make life difficult for Democrats on impeachment MORE ( D-Texas ) . β It didn β t happen . β\nGreen , who forced a vote to impeach Trump last week , predicted Mueller β s testimony won β t prompt any meaningful change in public support for ousting the president . Only launching the process , he argued , would bring more people on board .\nβ I think public sentiment will change significantly once you start the process of impeachment , β he said .\nRep. Jared Huffman Jared William HuffmanDemocrats reach cusp of impeachment Democrats gear up for high-stakes Judiciary hearing Pelosi heading to Madrid for UN climate change convention MORE ( D-Calif. ) , another impeachment supporter , delivered a similar assessment early in Mueller β s testimony .\nβ I did not have super high expectations for this testimony , and I would say it β s living up to my low expectations , β Huffman said . β He β s made it clear in every possible way that he β s just not going beyond the words he wrote in his report . β\nTrump and Republican lawmakers took a victory lap Wednesday after the hearings , ripping Democrats for refusing to move on from the Mueller investigation .\nStill , impeachment backers say they are optimistic that Mueller β s testimony will help sway members of the public who aren β t familiar with the findings of the special counsel β s report . Most Americans , they argue , haven β t read the full 448-page report but may have found it easier to watch Wednesday β s hearings .\nβ There was no new information relayed today , β acknowledged Rep. Jamie Raskin Jamin ( Jamie ) Ben RaskinThe Hill 's Morning Report - Trump trial questions ; civil Democratic debate House poised to hand impeachment articles to Senate House to vote Wednesday on sending articles of impeachment to Senate MORE ( D-Md . ) , a House Judiciary Committee member who supports an impeachment inquiry . β But it was new to about 99 percent of the American people . So it wasn β t new to anybody who read it . But most people have not read it . β\nMueller did offer Democrats some sound bites . He confirmed that Trump β was not exculpated β by the report β s findings on whether he obstructed justice over the course of the investigation into Russia β s election meddling , despite the president β s claims to the contrary .\nMueller also confirmed , in response to questioning from a GOP lawmaker , that the president could be charged with obstruction of justice after leaving office .\nAnd Mueller testified that Trump β s repeated embrace of WikiLeaks and its distribution of Clinton campaign emails was β problematic . β\nβ Problematic is an understatement in terms of what it displays in terms of giving some , I don β t know , hope or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity , β Mueller said .\nBut Mueller declined or deflected dozens of other questions from lawmakers over the course of his testimony .\nRep. Pramila Jayapal Pramila JayapalHouse to investigate Trump 'Remain in Mexico ' policy Democrats do n't expect to do 2020 budget House to vote Thursday on war powers resolution after Iran attacks MORE ( D-Wash. ) , a Congressional Progressive Caucus ( CPC ) co-chairwoman who also serves on the Judiciary Committee , said Democrats needed Mueller to simply state his findings to counter Trump and Attorney General William Barr William Pelham BarrHillicon Valley : Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman 's phone | Mnuchin says Huawei wo n't be 'chess piece ' in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief Appeals court appears wary of letting Trump reinstate death sentences Apple v. Attorney General Barr : Giving feds access to smartphones is a bad call MORE β s framing of the report , even if it was largely Democrats reading from the report with Mueller offering terse affirmative responses .\nβ We knew what was in the report , but we needed Mueller to say it because we needed Mueller to agree this was in the findings of this report , β Jayapal said . β We really needed to reset the table and reeducate people about what was actually in there , which I think happened . β\nSpeaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiOn The Money β Presented by Wells Fargo β Trump signs first phase of US-China trade deal | Senate to vote Thursday on Canada , Mexico deal | IRS provides relief for those with discharged student loans House delivers impeachment articles to Senate Senate begins preparations for Trump trial MORE ( D-Calif. ) maintained her position that the House still needs to make a case for impeachment .\nβ My position has always been : whatever decision we make in that regard would have to be done with our strongest possible hand , and we still have some outstanding matters in the courts , β Pelosi said at a press conference in the Capitol with three top committee chairmen after Mueller β s testimony .\nAt least one House Democrat came out in favor of an impeachment inquiry on Wednesday following Mueller β s testimony : Rep. Lori Trahan Lori A. Trahan'Minor league cities ' need new federal partnership Ethics panel reviewing freshman Democrat over campaign finance complaint House Democrats inch toward majority support for impeachment MORE ( Mass. ) . Trahan voted in favor of Green β s impeachment resolution a week earlier .\nβ Mueller β s message to the American people today was clear : his report did not exonerate the president , and that there is ample evidence that the president broke the law by repeatedly engaging in efforts to obstruct the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election , β Trahan said in a statement .\nMore than 90 House Democrats have come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry , according to a tally kept by βββ . But impeachment backers are still mostly progressives and amount to less than half of the 235-member caucus . Only a half-dozen Democrats representing swing districts have joined the push β and even they all hail from districts carried by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWarren-Sanders fight raises alarm on the left Poll : Trump trails 2020 Democratic contenders in Michigan US company offers free cybersecurity assistance to campaigns MORE in 2016 .\nSome of the most liberal impeachment backers said they β re confident Mueller β s appearance will build support for the effort , particularly after lawmakers return home this week for the long August recess and hear the voters β reaction to the former FBI director β s testimony .\nβ This was a pretty critical [ hearing ] for a lot of members who were waiting to see what came out of today . And β¦ going back home this is going to [ be ] brought up to everybody a lot , β said Rep. Mark Pocan Mark William PocanDemocrats do n't expect to do 2020 budget Rep. Collins says Democrats are 'in love with terrorists , ' 'mourn Soleimani ' Democrats ramp up calls for war powers vote after Iran strike MORE ( D-Wis. ) , a co-chairman of the CPC . β This is elevating the discussion considerably . β\nJayapal also sounded bullish that more lawmakers would support an impeachment inquiry after hearing from Mueller .\nβ I just believe that it β s hard to listen to all of that and not believe that that β s not where we should be , β Jayapal said .\nHowever , Huffman suggested that Democrats simply haven β t been aggressive enough in the first place since Mueller β s report was released three months ago to win over public opinion .\nβ So much of this is baked in , and frankly our caucus hasn β t tried very hard to move public opinion on these issues . We β ve been passive . And we allowed [ Attorney General ] Bill Barr to seize the narrative in a very effective but cynical and I believe disgusting way . And now we β re trying to play catch-up , as we try to do this Hamlet act about what to do on impeachment . And we just haven β t been very bold or very assertive in any of this , β Huffman said .
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D. , Calif. ) speaks during a press briefing in Washington , D.C. , January 17 , 2019 . ( Joshua Roberts/REUTERS )\nIt β s only Tuesday , and it feels like a full week already . The biggest obstacle to the U.S. House of Representatives impeaching President Trump is Speaker Nancy Pelosi , and she β s refusing to budge ; the Russians cooked up even more ambitious plans to stir up racial hostility in the United States ; and another account from an Obama administration official that suggests Jim Comey exaggerates and stretches the truth when he wants to make himself look good .\nThe Rampart Blocking the Impeachment of Trump Is . . . Nancy Pelosi ?\nAt this rate , Nancy Pelosi is going to regret winning the House of Representatives in 2018 :\nReps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island , Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Joe Neguse of Colorado β all members of Democratic leadership β pushed to begin impeachment proceedings during a leadership meeting in Pelosi β s office , said the sources . Pelosi and Reps. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut , Ben Ray LujΓ‘n of New Mexico , Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Cheri Bustos of Illinois β some of her key allies β rejected their calls , saying Democrats β message is being drowned out by the fight over possibly impeaching Trump . Raskin β a former law professor β said he wasn β t advocating impeaching Trump but suggested that opening an impeachment inquiry would strengthen their legal position while allowing Democrats to move forward with their legislative agenda . Pelosi dismissed this argument , asking Raskin whether he wanted to shut down the other five committees working on Trump investigations in favor of the Judiciary Committee . β You want to tell Elijah Cummings to go home ? β Pelosi quipped , referring to the chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee .\nThese little anecdotes are reassuring , because they indicate to those of us on the right that Democrats don β t keep all of their condescension , self-righteousness , sneers , disdain , and contempt stored up to use on us . No , this is just how they talk to everyone , including each other . According to Politico , Steve Cohen basically called Pelosi a coward to her face .\nDuring the Steering and Policy Committee meeting , Cohen said President Bill Clinton faced impeachment proceedings β over sex β while Trump is β raping the country , β according to two sources in the room . Cohen later confirmed his remarks . Pelosi pushed back on Cohen during the meeting and his assertion that she was simply afraid impeachment would cost her the House majority . β This isn β t about politics at all . It β s about patriotism . It β s about the strength we need to have to see things through , β Pelosi said , according to an aide in the room .\nCohen β s not alone . One of President Obama β s old HUD guys , Brandon Friedman , is out there proclaiming , β Democrats were sold a bill of goods by Pelosi : Vote for us so we can become the majority and hold Trump accountable . When voters did that , the argument became , β We can β t hold Trump accountable because it could jeopardize our majority ! β β\nWhat happens to Pelosi when she β s opposed by the pro-impeachment Left and the anti-impeachment Right ?\nNew Papers : Russians Wanted to Create African-American Separatist Group for Sabotage\nThis month turned out a good time to be focus on Russian disinformation . NBC News offers a new look at some of the ambitions of the Russians at the Internet Research Agency , beyond the 2016 U.S. elections :\nThe documents β communications between associates of Yevgeny Prigozhin , a Kremlin-linked oligarch indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for previous influence operations against the U.S. β laid out a new plot to manipulate and radicalize African-Americans . The documents contained proposals for several ways to further exacerbate racial discord in the future , including a suggestion to recruit African-Americans and transport them to camps in Africa β for combat prep and training in sabotage. β Those recruits would then be sent back to America to foment violence and work to establish a pan-African state in the Southern U.S. , including South Carolina , Georgia , Alabama , Mississippi and Louisiana . There is no indication that the plan β which is light on details β was ever put into action , but it offers a fresh example of the mindset around Russian efforts to sow discord in the U.S .\nOne aspect of the mindset it reveals is that ethno-nationalists think everyone else sees the world in ethno-nationalist terms .\nThere are roughly 47 million African-Americans in the United States . No doubt somewhere in that mix you could find some who be attracted to the idea of a pan-African state spread across five southern states . I β m not African-American and shouldn β t presume to know how every member of this group would react . But I suspect quite a few would think , β Wait , why would I want that ? I already have a country . I β ve already put a lot into building my life in this country . We put a lot of blood , sweat and tears into ending separate but equal , particularly in those five states ! Why would I want to create my own separate country through violence instead of trying to change and improve the one I β m in ? β\nAlso note that while the Russians were discussing this idea , they were also promoting the secession of Texas and other Southern states through the Facebook group β Heart of Texas. β No doubt , they would love to see the United States paralyzed by warring internal factions , each refusing to compromise and attempting to break away .\nA key point in my talk is that when you β re trying to differentiate between foreign disinformation or propaganda efforts and genuine homegrown political activism , foreign disinformation rarely focuses on any solutions , and when they do , it β s the most extreme option .\nA significant portion of the IRA β s efforts targeted African-Americans and focused on the issue of police brutality and shootings . The examples of Philando Castile , Eric Garner , and Walter Scott make clear that when African Americans face an encounter with the police , they have reason to fear that even the smallest misunderstanding or misstep could have unjust and deadly consequences . But most African-Americans deeply upset about this are thinking about the best way to address it . More African-American police officers ? A country where every cop wears a body camera ? Federal civil-rights prosecutions , as seen in South Carolina ? More police training ? Some mix of all of these ?\nWhat you haven β t heard is African-Americans declaring that the appropriate response is to form their own country .\nOne of my big points in my talk last week was that the Russians at the Internet Research Agency had only studied American culture from a distance . They β re trying to manipulate us , but they don β t really understand us β and as a result , their efforts are going to be a little clumsy , heavy-handed , and not quite sound right to American ears .\nOne last point : In addition to his ties to the Internet Research Agency , Yevgeny Prigozhin is also tied to the Wagner Group . Depending upon who you ask , the Wagner group is a private military contractor like Blackwater , or an off-the-books army of Vladimir Putin , deploying to places like Ukraine , Syria , Libya , Sudan , and perhaps Venezuela .\nA murky aura persists around Wagner and the man who is thought to own it . A balding 57-year-old who often manages to be photographed scowling , Yevgeny Prigozhin is an example of how people close to Putin build their wealth β and then are deployed as useful tools . He was a little-known restaurateur until he appeared in Putin β s orbit in the early 2000s and began serving the autocrat during visits by foreign dignitaries . Prigozhin became a powerful businessman as he received a steady stream of catering contracts from the state . Often referred to in the local press as β Putin β s chef , β he is now seen as a key member of Putin β s inner circle .\nThese perks come with strings attached , according to Stephen Blank , a Russia expert who has been researching the Wagner Group for the U.S , Army War College . He sees Prigozhin as an example of how Putin has weaponized Russia β s wealthy elites . β They β re subordinate to the state , and they keep their money and their positions on the condition that they serve the state , β he said .\nLoretta Lynch : I Never Wanted to Create the Federal Bureau of Matters\nRemember Jim Comey β s anecdote of attorney general Loretta Lynch telling him to refer the investigation of Hillary Clinton as a β matter β and not as and β investigation β ?\nFor what it β s worth , Lynch says it didn β t happen the way Comey described :\nQ : Are you familiar with his β I think he β s testified to this β that you instructed , I believe in September of 2015 , Director Comey to call the Midyear Exam investigation a matter ? Lynch : I heard his testimony on it and that was the first time that he had ever indicated to me , in my understanding β he may have told 17 others β that he had that impression of our conversation . Q : So you do not believe you ever instructed him to call it a matter ? Lynch : I did not . I have never instructed a witness as to what to say specifically . Never have , never willβ¦ I didn β t direct anyone to use specific phraseology . When the Director asked me how to best to handle that , I said : What I have been saying is we have received a referral and we are working on the matter , working on the issue , or we have all the resources we need to handle the matter , handle the issue . So that was the suggestion that I made to him .\nOh , come on . What are the odds that Jim Comey would exaggerate or stretch the truth a little to create a story that paints him as the last honest man in Washington ?\nADDENDUM : In case you missed it late yesterday , ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro , who took over running the network in March 2018 , told the Los Angeles Times , β Without question our data tells us our fans do not want us to cover politics . My job is to provide clarity . I really believe that some of our talent was confused on what was expected of them . If you fast-forward to today , I don β t believe they are confused . β
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House Democratic leaders on Wednesday said they were not in a rush to hand off impeachment to the Senate , demanding a fair process .\nβ The question is now whether Senator McConnell will allow a fair trial in the Senate , β House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff said . β A trial that should be fair to the president , yes , but should be fair also to the American people . β\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the next step for the House β naming impeachment managers β can not occur until they know what the process will look like in the next chamber . It β s unclear how long Democrats will hold the articles in the House .\nβ We can not name managers until we see what the process is on the Senate side . β¦ So far , we haven β t seen anything that looks fair to us , β the California Democrat said .\nA delay in sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate raises a host of questions .\nThe House has the power to impeach , but it takes a Senate trial to convict and remove a president from office .\nIt was unclear how , or even whether , a delay would pressure the Senate to adopt Democrat-friendly procedures for a trial .\nThe move also appeared to run afoul of the Constitution that Mrs. Pelosi , California Democrat , said she was protecting when pushing through the impeachment of Mr. Trump .\nThe Constitution says the Senate β shall have the sole power to try all impeachments . β\nWhile House Democrats wouldn β t detail all of their criteria for how the Senate proceedings should unfold , Mrs. Pelosi said it β s not a fair process right now as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is coordinating and β in cahoots β with the White House .\nBoth President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer have called for an extended trial with witnesses called to testify , but Mr. McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham prefer to have a streamlined process .\nThe comments from Mrs. Pelosi and her committee chairs came immediately after Democrats voted to impeach the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress .\nβ I could not be more proud or more inspired by the moral courage of House Democrats . We never asked one of them how they were going to vote . We never whipped this vote , β the speaker said .
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β I think Kamala Harris will compete well . But a lot will depend on whether Democrats think it β s less risky to nominate an old white guy instead of a younger woman of color , β says Dianne Bystrom , a longtime observer of presidential campaigns and women in politics . β It may come down to that . β\nThe California senator β s struggles reflect the unwieldy nature of this historically large Democratic field . With 24 hopefuls traipsing around the early voting states and showing up at cattle calls , making an impression β even for the most promising contenders β is proving to be a real challenge . Senator Harris has also been faulted for β pandering β to the left and failing to communicate a core message . But for many Democratic voters , it may come down to the bottom line : Who can beat President Donald Trump ?\nKamala Harris connects well in person and on camera . At a campaign swing through California , she hugged , sashayed , and smiled her way through events . Her delivery is crisp and on point . Yet since launching her presidential campaign to great fanfare and an enormous crowd of 20,000 in Oakland , California , in January , she has been stuck in the lower tier of candidates . Recent polls show her support at or below 10 % .\nKamala Harris has always been a trailblazer . As the daughter of immigrant parents β her mother came from India and her father from Jamaica β she was the first woman elected ( twice ) as California β s attorney general , and the second African American woman elected to the United States Senate , which she entered two years ago . From the moment she got there , the chattering classes began speculating about White House ambitions .\nThose lofty expectations seemed justified when she launched her presidential campaign in Oakland , California , in January , drawing an enormous crowd of about 20,000 people . She β s since brought in some big endorsements , including California Gov . Gavin Newsom , and an impressive fundraising haul .\nWhat Senator Harris hasn β t been able to do of late is break past 10 % in national polls .\nThe California senator β s struggle to gain momentum reflects the unwieldy nature of this historically large Democratic field . With 24 hopefuls traipsing around the early voting states and giving back-to-back speeches at cattle calls like the recent Democratic Hall of Fame dinner in Iowa and the party convention in California , making an impression β even for the most promising contenders β is proving to be a real challenge .\nSenator Harris has also been faulted for β pandering β to the left and appearing overly cautious on the trail . In a field with relatively few big policy differences between them , observers say it β s vital for candidates to communicate core beliefs and a clear sense of identity . But ultimately , for many Democratic voters , it all may come down to the same bottom line : Who can beat President Donald Trump ?\nβ You have to have a message that resonates , β says Dianne Bystrom , a longtime observer of presidential campaigns and women in politics .\nβ She β s got great communication skills , β Dr. Bystrom says of Senator Harris , but β I don β t think she β s as specific about her message as [ Massachusetts Sen. ] Elizabeth Warren is. β She adds that Senator Harris needs to β further define herself . β\nOf course , it β s early yet , and the upcoming debates β the first of which will take place at the end of this month β could offer many second- or third-tier candidates a chance to break out of the pack . Former Vice President Joe Biden is widely regarded as a weak front-runner , and most political observers believe the landscape could shift substantially before Democratic voters start casting ballots early next year .\nJim Messina , former President Barack Obama β s campaign manager , famously commented on MSNBC in April that if Senator Harris were a stock , he β d β buy her β β in other words , seeing a future rise as a good bet .\nIn Iowa , the latest Des Moines Register/CNN poll has Senator Harris well behind Vice President Biden , as well as behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders , Senator Warren , and South Bend , Ind. , Mayor Pete Buttigieg . Yet it also found her tied with Senator Warren as the top second choice of Iowa Democrats . Heading into the caucuses , that can be a sign of hidden strength .\nStill , being voters β second choice is not the same as being their first choice .\nElijah Nouvelage/Reuters Young women react to meeting Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at a meet-and-greet for women voters in Birmingham , Alabama , June 7 , 2019 .\nAt the recent California Democratic convention in San Francisco , James Smith , a firefighter from Long Beach , says Senator Harris is β great β but β not for 2020. β He β s standing behind the International Association of Firefighters endorsement of Vice President Biden . β He β s a friend of labor , β says Mr. Smith . β Joe β s our guy . β\nAlex NΓΊΓ±ez , of Mountain View , raves about Senator Harris β performance interrogating Attorney General William Barr at a Senate hearing last month , an exchange that went viral on social media . As a former prosecutor , β she has a unique skill set , β he says . But he doesn β t envision her as president β more like a future attorney general who might someday prosecute President Trump .\nβ She β s forceful , β agrees Roberta , a retiree from New York who says she does not want her last name used for fear of becoming the target of a Trump tweet . Coming out of an event for Senator Sanders in Pasadena , California , she says she β s a fan of Senator Harris and finds her β very believable. β Still , she can β t commit to backing her . β I β m in a quandary . I don β t know who to vote for . β\nSenator Harris connects well in person and on camera . At a recent campaign swing through California , she hugged , sashayed , and smiled her way through events , continually throwing the praise back at her supporters β whether they were immigrant activists or union members . Her delivery is crisp and on point .\nWhen a man jumped onstage at a MoveOn forum in San Francisco and grabbed the microphone from her , the former district attorney kept her cool , calmly walking away as others β including her husband β hustled the man offstage .\nIn her stump speeches , she focuses on pocketbook and equality issues , particularly for women and women of color . She proposes a monthly tax credit of $ 500 for families earning less than $ 100,000 a year ; a big boost for teacher salaries ; and equal pay for women β with companies on the hook to prove they comply or else pay a fine .\nYet having detailed policy positions is not the same as having a message , warns Bill Carrick , a Democratic strategist in Los Angeles . β The message has to be part of who you are , what you stand for , what you believe in , what your values are . β\nMr. Carrick describes the revolutionary Senator Sanders as a β classic stand-up-for-the-little-guy , a lefty , with policy underneath it all. β Similarly , Senator Warren has the β total package β β someone who belongs in the hall of fame of policy wonks in her fight against corporations and who is also emotionally driven by this fight .\nFormer Vice President Biden is another strong persona , β somebody who can bring us together , get things done , and most importantly , win . β\nWhen asked about Senator Harris , Mr. Carrick pauses . β I β m not sure what her message actually is . And that β s really a challenge . β\nLately , she has been trying some new approaches . At the California Democratic convention , she leaned much more into an anti-Trump message , built around a series of β truths β about President Trump β s β lies β and calling for the start of impeachment proceedings .\nAt the Iowa dinner last weekend , she furthered this line of attack β emphasizing her prosecutorial chops and portraying President Trump as having β defrauded β the American people when it comes to health care , taxes , and national security .\nβ I am prepared to make the case for America and to prosecute the case against Donald Trump , β the former district attorney said .\nThe rhetorical shift may be in response to critics who β ve been arguing she ought to present herself as a pragmatist . Her main competitor in the race is not Senator Sanders , these critics say , but Vice President Biden . They argue that she made a serious error in pandering to the left , pulled there in part by her sister , Maya Harris , her progressive campaign chairwoman .\nSenator Harris has supported liberal causes such as Medicare for All , the Green New Deal , and the decriminalization of sex work , and she has indicated an openness to reparations for slavery , as well as having a β conversation β about voting rights for violent felons . In several cases , she β s later had to walk back her comments or try to clarify .\nIt is a pattern similar to her record on some issues in California , when she changed positions on the death penalty and stepped back from her controversial policy to punish parents for their children β s truancy , which resulted in a few parents going to jail .\nDavid Axelrod , a former top adviser to President Obama , has criticized Senator Harris for being overly cautious in answering questions β trying to have things both ways . He told the Los Angeles Times that β she β s a brilliant person , β but β what we β ve learned so far is that she β s great at asking questions but timid at answering them . β\nGet the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox . By signing up , you agree to our Privacy Policy\nSenator Harris β fans are fervent in their support , and say she is facing strong winds of sexism and racism β a point that Dr. Bystrom , who β s now retired from Iowa State University in Ames , also makes . After Hillary Clinton lost to President Trump in the Electoral College , the possibility of losing again is making some Democrats β very nervous β about nominating a woman , and a woman of color , Dr. Bystrom believes .\nβ I think Kamala Harris will compete well . But a lot will depend on whether Democrats think it β s less risky to nominate an old white guy instead of a younger woman of color , β she says . β I think it may come down to that . β
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended the nuclear deal with Western powers Saturday and said that U.S. President Donald Trump could not undermine it .\nUnder the 2015 deal , Iran agreed to limit its disputed nuclear programme in return for the easing of economic sanctions .\nHowever , Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the deal , a senior administration official has said , in a step that potentially could cause the accord to unravel .\n`` In the nuclear negotiations and agreement we reached issues and benefits that are not reversible . No one can turn that back , not Mr. Trump or anyone else , '' Rouhani said at a ceremony at Tehran University marking the start of the university academic year , according to state media .\n`` Even if 10 other Trumps are created in the world , these are not reversible . ''\nTrump , who has called the pact an `` embarrassment '' and `` the worst deal ever negotiated '' , has been weighing whether the deal serves U.S. security interests as he faces the Oct. 15 deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with its terms .\nThe prospect of Washington reneging on the deal has worried some of the U.S. allies that helped negotiate it , especially as the world grapples with another nuclear crisis , North Korea 's nuclear and ballistic missile development .\nIf Trump does not certify that Iran is in compliance , the U.S. Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the deal . U.N. inspectors have verified Iranian compliance with the terms .\nRouhani said Saturday that if the United States violated the deal then it would hurt its own reputation in the international community .\n`` If America carries out any violations today , the whole world will condemn America . They will not condemn Iran , '' Rouhani said , according to state media . `` Then they will say why did you trust America and sign an agreement with them ? ''\nSeparately , former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has been forbidden from attending `` public political , cultural and promotional ceremonies '' , for a period of three months , two of his lawyers told the Iranian Labour News Agency ( ILNA ) on Saturday .\nKhatami has long been a lightning rod of criticism for hardliners who accuse him of fomenting unrest in the protests that followed the disputed election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 . Local media are forbidden from quoting Khatami in articles or publishing his image .\nThe new restrictions were issued by Iranian security forces , Khatami 's lawyers told ILNA , and there does not appear to be any judicial mechanism to dispute the restrictions .\nIn the lead-up to the presidential election last May , Khatami posted a message online encouraging his supporters to vote for Rouhani .\nRouhani made a reference to the new restrictions placed on Khatami during his speech Saturday but did not name him .\n`` If anybody repeats that people should come to the ballot box , they should be punished ? '' he said , according to ILNA .\nKhatami 's lawyers told ILNA that the restrictions began on the first day of the Iranian month of Mehr , which is Sept. 23 . ( Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh ; Editing by Alison Williams )
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Egypt 's new president has backed away from an announcement that pro-reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei would be the interim prime minister .\nA spokesman for interim President Adly Mansour , Ahmed el-Musilamani , told reporters on Saturday that consultations were continuing , denying that the appointment of the Nobel Peace laureate was ever certain .\nHowever , reporters gathered at the presidential palace were ushered in to a room where they were told by official to wait for the president who would arrive shortly to announce ElBaradei 's appointment .\nA senior opposition official , Munir Fakhry Abdelnur , tells The Associated Press that the reversal was because the ultraconservative Salafi el-Nour party objected to ElBardei 's appointment and mediation was underway .\nEarlier Mansour held crisis talks with security officials on efforts to reclaim control of the streets .\nMore On This ... Key events in Egypt β s uprising and unrest\nAfter a night of clashes that claimed at least 36 lives and injured more than 200 , both sides appeared to be preparing for the possibility of more violence as Egypt 's political unraveling increasingly left little room for middle ground or dialogue . Only a fraction of Cairo 's normally heavy traffic was on the streets amid worries that violence could flare up again .\nSecurity forces stepped up their presence near the largest concentration of Morsi supporters on the streets : A sit-in outside a mosque in Cairo 's eastern Nasr City district , a traditionally Muslim Brotherhood stronghold .\nIn Nasr City lines of fighters brandished homemade weapons and body armor at road blocks affixed with Morsi 's picture .\nNext door in the relatively upscale Heliopolis district , people chanted against Morsi and honked car horns in appreciation of roadblocks manned by Egypt 's military -- whose snub of Morsi 's authority earlier this week tipped the scales against Egypt 's first elected leader .\nIn a further sign of the concern the unrest could spin out of control , Mansour , held talks with the army chief and Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as well as Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim .\nIt was the first time Mansour has worked out of the president 's main offices since he was sworn-in Thursday as the country 's interim leader .\nMansour also met with leaders of Tamrod , or Rebel , the youth movement that organized the mass anti-Morsi demonstrations , according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity .\nGunmen shot dead a Christian priest Saturday while he shopped for food in an outdoor market in the northern Sinai Peninsula Saturday .\nIt was not immediately clear if the shooting was linked to the political crisis , but there has been a backlash against Christians since just before and after Morsi 's ouster . Attacks have occurred on members of the minority by Islamists in at least three provinces south of Egypt . Morsi 's Brotherhood and hard-line allies claim the Christians played a big part in inciting against the ousted leader .\nOfficials have briefly detained top figures from Morsi 's Muslim Brotherhood and have kept him from the public eye , under detention in an undisclosed location .\nMorsi 's supporters have vowed to take to the streets until he is reinstated . His opponents , meanwhile , have called for more mass rallies to defend what they call the `` gains of June 30 , '' a reference to the start of massive protests to call for the ouster of the president .\nThere were no reports of major clashes after dawn Saturday , following a night of street battles that added to an overall death toll of at least 75 in the past week .\nThe Interior Ministry reported that at least eight policemen have been killed since June 30 .\nThe Health Ministry official β s deputy , Khairat el-Shater , considered the most powerful figure in the organization , was arrested in a Cairo apartment along with his brother on allegations of inciting violence , Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdel-Latif told The Associated Press .\nEgyptian troops reportedly opened fire on Morsi supporters Friday outside Republican Guard headquarters near Cairo , where Morsi was believed held . There were initially conflicting reports on casualties , but an army spokesman denied troops shot at Morsi supporters , saying only blanks and teargas were used .\nCrowds of Islamists gathered to cross a bridge over the Nile River after nightfall and clashed with Morsi opponents near Tahrir Square and outside the state TV building . TV images showed groups of youths running and fireworks going off near the bridge . One witness reported stone throwing and gunfire .\nIn a dramatic appearance -- his first since Morsi 's ouster -- the supreme leader of the Muslim Brotherhood defiantly vowed the president would return . `` God make Morsi victorious and bring him back to the palace , '' Mohammed Badie proclaimed from a stage before a crowd of cheering supporters at a Cairo mosque . `` We are his soldiers we defend him with our lives . ''\nBadie , who was taken into custody shortly after Morsi was ousted , addressed the military , saying it was a matter of honor for it to abide by its pledge of loyalty to the president , in what appeared to be an attempt to pull it away from its leadership that removed Morsi . `` Your leader is Morsi ... Return to the people of Egypt , '' he said . `` Your bullets are not to be fired on your sons and your own people . ''\nState prosecutors said that Morsi would face an investigation next week into claims that he `` insulted the presidency . ''\nMorsi was ousted in what was described by the presidential palace as a `` complete military coup . '' The White House has not labeled Morsi ouster a coup . Doing so would have U.S. aid implications .\nMorsi said on his presidential Facebook page that the military 's action `` presents a military coup and it is unacceptable . ''\nThe U.S. State Department condemned the violence and called on all Egyptian leaders to denounce the use of force and prevent further bloodshed among their supporters .
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On Thursday , the United States revealed that it now has `` high confidence '' that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebel forces .\nThis is a significant development because President Obama has often said that such a finding would cross a `` red line '' in the civil war that has killed at least 93,000 .\nThe big , looming question today is : Now what ? We 'll keep trying to answer that question throughout the day . But we 'll start with a rundown of the latest developments :\n-- Small Arms ? : During a press conference with reporters on Thursday , Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes would not give details as to the type of `` military support '' the United States would now provide rebels .\nQuoting `` American officials , '' The New York Times reports today that the Obama administration has decided to supply the rebels with `` small arms and ammunition . '' For now , the Times reports , the administration has not decided whether it will supply rebels with antitank weapons . The paper adds that anti-aircraft weapons are `` not under consideration . ''\n-- Less Than Expected : NPR 's Deborah Amos , who has been covering the conflict , tells Morning Edition that for the rebels , the new U.S. position is `` less than expected . ''\nThe rebels have been asking for heavy weaponry that could take on the kind of fire power Bashar Assad has .\n`` For them it 's an incremental shift , '' Deb said . They are much more focused on the upcoming battle for Aleppo .\n-- U.K. Support : Rhodes also said the United States would begin to work with the international community . Today , British Prime Minister David Cameron said they share the `` candid assessment '' by the United States .\n`` I think it , rightly , puts back center stage the question , the very difficult question to answer but nonetheless one we have got to address : what are we going to do about the fact that in our world today there is a dictatorial and brutal leader who is using chemical weapons under our noses against his own people . ''\n-- Questioning Intelligence : U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he opposes military aid to the rebels . Not only that , but he cast some doubt on the U.S. intelligence assessment that found the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons .\n`` The validity of any information on the alleged use of chemical weapons can not be ensured without convincing evidence of the chain-of-custody , '' Ban said , while calling for the on-the-ground investigation to continue .\n-- The Question Of Russia : Russia has been Assad 's most ardent supporter β on several occasions thwarting attempts by the United Nations to step into the situation . As The Telegraph reports , the Kremlin has maintained there should be no foreign intervention in Syria .\nThe paper reports that MP Alexei Pushkov , the chairman of the Russian State Duma 's international affairs committee , was unconvinced by the evidence of chemical weapons use . Pushkov said on Twitter , according to The Telegraph :\n`` Information about the use by Assad of chemical weapons has been fabricated in the same place as the lies about ( Saddam ) Hussein 's weapons of mass destruction ... Obama is taking the same path as George Bush . `` Why would Assad use ' a small quantity ' of sarin against the fighters ? What would be the point ? ! In order to give a reason for outside intervention ? There 's no logic in that . ''\n-- Diplomacy Still An Option : NPR 's Michele Kelemen reports that Secretary of State John Kerry has not given up on Russia . Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Obama are set to meet next week .\nNPR 's Deb Amos adds that this announcement by the United States comes just after the rebels suffered a significant defeat in the city of Qusair . Some worried , Deb said , that such a victory would embolden the Assad regime to walk away from the peace talks they had agreed to .\n`` This announcement appears to be an attempt to recalibrate the balance of power on the ground , but still in the service of a negotiated settlement , '' she said .\n-- A No Fly Zone : The Wall Street Journal reports that among the options for the United States is setting up a no-fly zone over Syria . The paper says :\n`` Asked by the White House to develop options for Syria , military planners have said that creating an area to train and equip rebel forces would require keeping Syrian aircraft well away from the Jordanian border . `` To do that , the military envisages creating a no-fly zone stretching up to 25 miles into Syria which would be enforced using aircraft flown from Jordanian bases and flying inside the kingdom , according to U.S . officials . ''\n-- 'Caravan Of Lies ' : Reuters reports that the Syrian Foreign Ministry called the White House statement about the use of chemical weapons a `` caravan of lies . '' The ministry also said the decision by the United States to provide military support for the rebeles reveals a `` flagrant double standard '' when it comes to how it deals with terrorism .
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New Leader Of Iraq Is Nominated , But Maliki Insists He 'll Stay In Office\nIraq 's president has asked the parliament 's deputy speaker to form a new government , after members of the Shiite coalition that had backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki nominated the deputy , Haider al-Abadi , to the post Monday .\nThe move adds more uncertainty to a country beset by extremist militants in the north and sectarian divisions elsewhere . Maliki , who wants to serve a third term , has said he wo n't step down . In the U.S. , officials say it 's time for a leader to govern Iraq by consensus .\nThe White House has issued this description of a call made today :\n`` Vice President Joe Biden called Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi to congratulate him on his nomination to form a new government and develop a national program pursuant to Iraq 's constitutional process . The Prime Minister-designate expressed his intent to move expeditiously to form a broad-based , inclusive government capable of countering the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , and building a better future for Iraqis from all communities . The Vice President relayed President Obama 's congratulations and restated his commitment to fully support a new and inclusive Iraqi government , particularly in its fight against ISIL . The two leaders also discussed practical steps towards fully activating the bilateral Strategic Framework Agreement in all of its fields , including economic , diplomatic , and security cooperation . Prime Minister-designate Abadi thanked Vice President Biden for the call , and they agreed to stay in regular communication as the government formation process proceeds . ''\nEarlier Monday , Maliki filed a complaint against President Fuad Masum , accusing him of not asking Maliki to form a government by Sunday 's constitutional deadline . A court ruled in Maliki 's favor today β but Masum , who is Kurdish , then asked the parliament 's deputy speaker , al-Abadi , to form a government , after Abadi was nominated by other Shiite politicians to replace Maliki .\nAbadi has the support of Iraq 's National Shiite Alliance β a group that would normally include Maliki 's State of Law party , the AP reports . But Maliki is insisting that his party should decide who leads the country .\n`` Troops loyal to Maliki redeployed overnight throughout Baghdad , '' Alison Meuse reports for NPR 's Newscast unit . `` An eyewitness says there are now tanks near the president 's residence . Maliki has assumed control of most branches of the armed forces during eight years in power . ''\n`` A State Department spokesperson says the U.S. is closely watching the political situation in Iraq β and supports the country 's president , Fuad Masum , as the guarantor of the Iraqi constitution . `` Prime Minister Malaki accuses Masoum of violating the constitution and is vowing to seek another term despite pressure from Kurds , Sunnis and some fellow Shi ' a to step aside . The U.S. and many others accuse Maliki of pursing a sectarian agenda that has alienated Sunnis and emboldened the extremist group the Islamic State . `` In her statement , U.S. spokesperson Marie Harf says the U.S. would support a new and inclusive government . She calls that the best way to unify the country against the Islamic State . ''\nThe fight against the Islamic State has included U.S. airstrikes that continued over the weekend , giving new momentum to Kurdish fighters who say they 've taken two cities back from the Sunni extremists .\nToday , Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the airstrikes in northern Iraq have been `` very effective . '' Currently on a visit to Australia , Hagel told reporters that the Islamic State is `` a threat to the civilized world , to , certainly to the United States , to our interests β it is to Europe , it is to Australia . ''\nThe U.S. has also airdropped humanitarian aid to thousands of Iraqi religious minorities who were trapped in a mountain range after fleeing the Islamic State 's advance . The U.S. says it has conducted at least four airdrops of more than 74,000 meals and 15,000 gallons of drinking water .
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Story highlights Official says the powerful explosion was caused by a car bomb -- state media\nThe blast hit central Benghazi on the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Consulate\nThe explosion damaged a Foreign Ministry building and a bank branch , a witness says\nThe Central Bank of Libya says one of its security guards was slightly injured\nA car bomb exploded outside a Foreign Ministry building in the Libyan city of Benghazi Wednesday , state media said , on the anniversary of an assault on the U.S. Consulate there that killed four Americans , including Ambassador Christopher Stevens .\nThe blast did not cause any casualties but blew away large parts of the building 's facade , said Col. Abdullah Al Zaydi , spokesman for the Joint Security Task Force in Benghazi , according to Libya 's state news agency , LANA .\nAl Zaydi said the explosion was very powerful and destroyed the vehicle used for the bombing , which contained a large quantity of explosives , the news agency said .\nThe blast also damaged a branch of the Central Bank of Libya and slightly injured one of its security guards , the bank said .\nThe branch director , Abdel Qader Mohammed , said the explosion caused `` material damage '' to the building , but its computer systems were not affected .\nJUST WATCHED Video wrongly blamed for Benghazi attack Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Video wrongly blamed for Benghazi attack 04:54\nJUST WATCHED Paying the political price for Benghazi Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Paying the political price for Benghazi 02:53\nBenghazi resident Sami Berriwen told CNN he heard the blast in the eastern city at about 7 a.m .\nBerriwen , a university student , said that if the explosion had happened just an hour later , the street would have been full of people . He said most Benghazi residents walk the street to get to school and to work , but because it was early , no one was out yet .\nBerriwen said he saw a fire truck but no casualties or ambulances at the scene .\nDiplomatic missions and security officials have repeatedly been the targets of attacks in Benghazi , leading most Westerners to leave .\nIn January , gunmen targeted the car of the Italian consul general in Benghazi , but no one was injured . Bomb attacks also occurred last year on a U.N. convoy , as well as on a convoy carrying the British ambassador . In November , unknown gunmen assassinated the city 's temporary security director .\nOther towns and cities , including the capital , Tripoli , have also seen frequent attacks .\nIn recent days , scores of U.S. Marines were moved closer to Libya to help beef up security before of the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the first anniversary of the attack on the Benghazi consulate .\nTwo U.S. officials told CNN on Monday that 250 combat-ready Marines had moved from their base in Moron , Spain , to the U.S. naval installation at Sigonella , Italy . That would enable them to reach Tripoli in three to four hours in the event of a crisis .\nOther U.S. forces are helping boost security at various embassies in the region , since the period around September 11 is seen as a time of greater threat to U.S. interests .\nThe attack at the Benghazi compound has been a political flashpoint in a long-running battle between the administration and Republicans , who accuse it of not bolstering security before the attack , of botching the response to it and of misleading the public for political gain before the November 2012 election .\nA report by the U.N. secretary-general on the U.N. Support Mission in Libya , released this month , highlights the continuing security concerns and political polarization in Libya following the overthrow of strongman leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 .\nThe status of the revolutionary fighters who helped to oust Gadhafi remains unclear , the process of transitional justice is almost stalled , the country 's borders are leaky and there are many unsecured weapons , adding to the instability , it said .\n`` The continuing volatile security situation in Libya in general , and in the eastern and southern parts of the country in particular , is a source of grave concern , '' it said .\n`` Targeted political assassinations , criminal activity and attacks and threats against the diplomatic community continue to plague the country , including Tripoli . The protection of the civilian population and the enforcement of law need to be reaffirmed as a national priority . ''
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Story highlights New York Times site still experiencing problems following Tuesday outage\nSyrian Electronic Army takes credit for New York Times attack\nTwitter also experienced problems on Tuesday due to a similar attack\nThe New York Times website was still experiencing some issues late Wednesday and early Thursday following a widespread outage . Evidence continued to mount that it was the result of an attack by the Syrian Electronic Army .\nThe group , loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad , has been behind multiple attacks on media websites in recent months and , on Twitter , took credit for a sophisticated hack that had hobbled the Times ' news site for roughly 20 hours .\n`` The @ nytimes attack was going to deliver an anti-war message but our server could n't last for 3 minutes , '' the group posted on its Twitter feed at about 9:40 Wednesday morning .\nThe attack came as governments in several countries considered military action in light of reports that Al-Assad has used chemical weapons against his own people in an effort to quell an uprising calling for his ouster .\n`` Our website and domain are now down , but it was worth the attempt , for # Syria and world peace , '' the group wrote later .\nJUST WATCHED U.S. makes case against Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH U.S. makes case against Syria 02:14\nJUST WATCHED Horror stories coming out of Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Horror stories coming out of Syria 02:18\nJUST WATCHED Biden : 'There is no doubt ' about Syria Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Biden : 'There is no doubt ' about Syria 02:09\nThe group said their site was taken down because they violated their registration agreement .\nThe newspaper posted a message on its Facebook page about 5 p.m . ET that said , `` Many users are having difficulty accessing The New York Times online . We are working to fix the problem . Our initial assessment is the outage is most likely the result of a malicious external attack . ''\nNew York Times chief information officer Marc Frons sent the same update internally to employees at 4:20 p.m. and advised them not to send out sensitive emails `` until this situation is resolved , '' according to a statement from the New York Times . The outage was the result of an attack on the company 's domain name registrar , Melbourne IT .\nThe hackers gained access to a Melbourne IT reseller account using a phishing email and proceeded to change the DNS records of multiple domains , including NYTimes.com , according to the company .\n`` We are currently reviewing our logs to see if we can obtain information on the identity of the party that has used the reseller credentials , and we will share this information with the reseller and any relevant law enforcement bodies , '' said Melbourne IT 's Tony Smith in a statement .\nSeveral Twitter users posted screenshots of a `` Hacked by SEA '' message they said they received when they went to the New York Times homepage .\nThe Syrian Electronic Army has frequently targeted the U.S. news media . The group has hacked into the Twitter feeds of the Associated Press and The Washington Post , and on August 15 they briefly hacked the websites of several major news organizations redirecting them to a SEA page . CNN.com has been the target of similar attacks .\nFrons said Tuesday 's attack was more sophisticated than previous SEA hacks .\n`` It 's sort of like breaking into the local savings and loan versus breaking into Fort Knox . A domain registrar should have extremely tight security because they are holding the security to hundreds if not thousands of Web sites , '' said Frons in the New York Times .\nWhile the site was down , the New York Times continued to post articles at its numerical IP address , 170.149.168.130 and at news.nytco.com\nTuesday 's episode was the Times ' second sustained website outage this month . The newspaper 's site also went down August 14 for several hours , an outage the newspaper blamed on `` an internal issue . ''
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SHOWS : WASHINGTON , DC , UNITED STATES ( APRIL 30 , 2015 ) ( REUTERS - ACCESS ALL ) 1 . U.S . SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS WALKING TO PODIUM 2 . ( SOUNDBITE ) ( English ) U.S . SENATOR , BERNIE SANDERS , SAYING : β This country today , in my view , has more serious crises than any time since the Great Depression of the 1930 β s . For most Americans , their reality is that they are working longer hours for lower wages and inflation-adjusted income , they are earning less money than they used to years ago despite a great increase in technology and productivity . So , all over this country , I have been talking to people and they say - how does it happen ? I am producing more , but I am working longer hours for lower wages . My kid can β t afford to go to college , I am having a hard time affording healthcare . How does that happen ? While at exactly the same time , 99 percent of all new income generated in this country is going to the top one percent . How does it happen ? That the top one percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent . And my conclusion is that that type of economics is not only immoral , it is not only wrong , it is unsustainable . It can β t continue . We can β t continue having a nation in which we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major nation on earth at the same time as we are seeing a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires. β 3 . WIDE OF SANDER AT MICROPHONE , PAN TO PRESS 4 . ( SOUNDBITE ) ( English ) U.S . SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS , SAYING : β We now have a political situation where billionaires are literally able to buy elections and candidates . Let β s not kid ourselves . That is the reality right now . So you got the Koch brothers and other billionaire families now prepared to spend hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in elections to buy the candidates of their choice , often extreme right wing candidates . I am the former chairman of the Senate Veterans ( Affairs ) Committee , and I can tell you , I don β t believe that the men and women who defended American democracy fought to create a situation where billionaires own the political process . β
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The Democratic National Committee announced Thursday it will hold its 2016 nominating convention in Philadelphia , where it will officially put forward its candidate who will try to succeed President Obama β s two terms in office .\nThe City of Brotherly Love beat out Brooklyn , New York and Columbus , Ohio to host the event , to be held the week of July 25 . The DNC signed the final contract with Philadelphia Thursday morning .\nβ There is clearly no better city to have this special event than Philadelphia . The role of Philadelphia in shaping our nation β s history is unmatched , β said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz , Florida Democrat and chairwoman of the DNC .\nFormer Pennsylvania Gov . Ed Rendell said the convention is expected to cost $ 84 million , and expressed confidence they could raise the funds .\nIn choosing Philadelphia , Democrats bypassed holding their convention in the perennial swing state of Ohio , or New York , where former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton , the presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination , could house her campaign .\nNew York Mayor Bill de Blasio had promoted Brooklyn as an ideal spot , but his recent high-profile clashes with the city β s police department could have served as a point of tension as Democrats try to unify and rally behind their candidate . Ms. Wasserman Schultz , though , said the decision was based solely on logistics , security , and resources .\nColumbus Mayor Marcus B. Coleman said the city would try to land a political convention in 2020 .\nDemocrats last month announced the timing of their convention , which will be held the week after Republicans hold their in Cleveland .\nRepublicans and Democrats held their conventions in back-to-back weeks in 2012 , but the GOP held theirs in Tampa the last week of August and Democrats held theirs in Charlotte the first week of September . In 2008 , Democrats held their convention the last week of August in Denver and Republicans held theirs the first week of September in Minneapolis .\nβ’ This article is based in part on wire service reports .
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The Democratic National Committee alleges in a new multimillion dollar lawsuit that the Russian government , the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks engaged in a sweeping plot to interfere in the 2016 election in President Donald Trump 's favor .\nThe lawsuit accuses top officials for the Trump campaign , Russian government officials and their military intelligence service , the GRU , of engaging in a vast , coordinated effort to inflict damage on Trump β s general election rival , Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton .\nThe complaint , filed on Friday , alleges the groups schemed to undermine her candidacy by breaching computer systems for the DNC and spreading materials seized on their servers .\nThe news , first reported by The Washington Post , signals the largest escalation so far of legal efforts by the Democratic Party to resolve allegations of foreign meddling by Russian operatives and possible coordination with Trump campaign officials .\nβββ Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the # 1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from βββ . You can unsubscribe at any time . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply .\nβ During the 2016 presidential campaign , Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy , and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump β s campaign , β DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement . β This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery : the campaign of a nominee for President of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency . ''\nThe complaint alleges that through communications between Russian operatives and top Trump campaign officials , β Russian agents formed an agreement to promote Donald Trump β s candidacy through illegal means . β\nThe Trump campaign slammed the legal maneuver as `` frivolous '' in a statement on Friday , casting it as `` a last-ditch effort to substantiate the baseless Russian collusion allegations . ''\nβ This is a sham lawsuit about a bogus Russian collusion claim filed by a desperate , dysfunctional , and nearly insolvent Democratic Party , β said Brad Parscale , the campaign manager for Trump 's 2020 re-election bid .\nParscale added that if the suit moved forward , the Trump campaign would use the discovery process to explore `` actual corruption '' he alleges took place by the DNC to `` influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election . ''\nTrump took to Twitter to react to the lawsuit from what he called β the Obstructionist Democrats. β The president said the action could spell β good news β for his campaign because β we will now counter for the DNC Server that they refused to give to the FBI. β\nThe DNC disputed a similar charge from Trump during the 2016 campaign , saying it provided the FBI information on the server through a third-party vendor .\nIn seeking monetary compensation for the email hacks , the Democratic Party is borrowing from the playbook it put into action during the Watergate scandal , when it sued then-President Richard Nixon 's reelection campaign for $ 1 million . The Democratic Party alleged in the 1972 filing that the damages were incurred during the break-in of the famed Watergate building .\nThe protracted legal battle , which ran concurrently with the special prosecutor β s probe of Watergate and the House and Senate hearings about White House involvement in the break-in ended in a 1974 settlement that netted the DNC $ 750,000 .\nIn July 2016 , WikiLeaks published a trove of roughly 20,000 emails that hackers seized from the DNC during the campaign . The breach and release fueled news cycles , resulting in a string of negative headlines for the Democratic Party . The messages appeared to show favoritism among top DNC officials of Clinton over her Democratic primary opponent , Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders .\nThe leaking organization in October then released thousands of emails from Clinton β s campaign chairman John Podesta . Top U.S. intelligence officials said the leaks appeared to be connected to Russian intelligence operatives .\nClinton has attributed her defeat in 2016 , among several other things , to the release of the hacked DNC and Podesta emails .\nWikiLeaks and the Russian Embassy to the United States did not immediately return requests for comment on the DNC lawsuit . In a tweet , however , WikiLeaks argued its organization was `` immune '' to the legal action .\nThe White House did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit . But the president and senior White House officials have been effusive in rejecting allegations that the Trump campaign coordinated or colluded with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election .\nOn Wednesday , the president tweeted that β there was NO COLLUSION ( except by the Dems ) ! β\nRussian meddling efforts continue to be investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of federal prosecutors , selected to lead the Justice Department β s inquiry into whether Trump campaign officials colluded with foreign operatives to affect the election .\nMueller in February unveiled charges against 13 Russian nationals and three foreign entities on charges relating to the 2016 election meddling , alleging a coordinated online campaign to sway voters in favor of Trump .\nWhile lawmakers in the Senate continue to probe the allegations , Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said last month they found no evidence that Trump or his aides colluded with foreign officials in 2016 . Democrats on the committee panned the findings .
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President Trump Donald John TrumpTrump faces high stakes in meeting with ErdoΔan amid impeachment drama Democrats worry they do n't have right candidate to beat Trump Trump threatening to fire Mulvaney : report MORE 's performance this past week aside Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki sparked outrage among congressional Democrats in all ways but one : There 's been no surge in support for impeachment .\nInstead , Democratic leaders have tamped down the impeachment push in the name of political pragmatism , fending off β for now β an effort by animated caucus liberals to escalate their oust-Trump campaign following his broadly maligned joint press conference with Putin in the Finnish capital on Monday .\nNot only is impeachment highly unlikely under a GOP-controlled Congress , the leaders argue , but it could undermine the chances of Democrats winning back the House in November , when they 'll need to flip seats in conservative-leaning districts where voters may be put off by an aggressive offensive to topple the president .\nβ At this point in time it would be a distraction . There will be time for that , β said Rep. Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton HoyerCongress hunts for path out of spending stalemate βββ 's 12:30 Report : Washington braces for public impeachment hearings This week : House kicks off public phase of impeachment inquiry MORE ( Md . ) , the Democratic whip , who had moments before told reporters on Tuesday that Trump β s actions were β treasonous . β\nβ We need to get through this election ; we need to deal with the economic issues ; we need to deal with the health-care issues of the American people , β Hoyer said .\nThe post-summit debate has highlighted long-standing tensions between liberal impeachment champions giving voice to the Democrats ' anti-Trump base and party leaders warning that future efforts to check the president will be lost if Republicans keep the Speaker 's gavel next year .\nThe divide has been fueled by liberal outside groups wary that Democrats have been too soft on the bombastic president and are at risk of deflating their core supporters β an argument underlined by last month β s stunning primary defeat of Rep. Joseph Crowley ( D-N.Y. ) to an unapologetic activist , 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezOcasio-Cortez calls for Stephen Miller to resign over leaked emails Ocasio-Cortez meets Sasha Velour following DC performance Sanders 'very concerned about what appears to be a coup ' in Bolivia MORE , who backs impeachment .\nβ Shouldn β t we put our democracy before party ? β asked Rep. Luis GutiΓ©rrez ( D-Ill. ) , who β s calling for impeachment . β Shouldn β t we put our country before machinations we have about how this could affect [ elections ? ] β\nIn the eyes of Trump β s sharpest liberal critics , the president β s remarks in Helsinki β where he appeared to side with Putin over his own intelligence agencies regarding Moscow β s interference in the 2016 elections β were a pivotal moment reinforcing their belief that Trump is simply unfit to hold the office . And several Democrats delivered fiery speeches on the House floor to rally support for their ongoing impeachment campaign .\nβ I rise today to say to my colleagues : We have to act , β said Rep. Al Green Alexander ( Al ) N. GreenWhy fear should not blind us to the promise of AI : A healthy dose of optimism Trump at rally says impeachment an 'attack on democracy itself ' Democrats raise stakes with impeachment vote MORE ( Texas ) , who endorsed an early impeachment resolution more than a year ago . β Yes , we can talk about all of the atrocities imposed upon our society by this president , but that is not enough . At some point , we have to act , and more and more people are starting to say what that action is . β\nGutiΓ©rrez , who has endorsed a separate impeachment resolution sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen Stephen ( Steve ) Ira CohenImpeachment week : Trump probe hits crucial point Boeing CEO gives up bonus over 737 Max crashes Democrat says he voted to recognize Armenian genocide because 'Turkey does n't seem to respect ' US MORE ( D-Tenn. ) , said he β s looking for ways to expand that proposal to include Trump β s β betrayal β in Helsinki .\nβ As a body , we must take action to relieve the president of his duties , β GutiΓ©rrez said .\nThe calls for removing Trump from office began even before the president was sworn in . They were lonely at first , but grew louder in subsequent months , particularly following Trump β s equivocal response to August β s deadly white nationalist march in Charlottesville , Va. , and again in January after the president debased Haiti , El Salvador and African countries as β shitholes . β\nThere β s now evidence that the Helsinki summit is another decisive moment in the recruitment efforts of impeachment enthusiasts .\nCohen said a number of congressional Democrats approached him this past week about endorsing his resolution , which accuses Trump of obstructing justice and profiting from the presidency , among other charges . Cohen predicted β three or four β lawmakers would add their names to the bill this month .\nRep. Beto O β Rourke , a Texas Democrat running to unseat GOP Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael ( Ted ) Edward CruzTrump circuit court nominee in jeopardy amid GOP opposition Trump has officially appointed one in four circuit court judges On The Money : Retirement savings bill blocked in Senate after fight over amendments | Stopgap bill may set up December spending fight | Hardwood industry pleads for relief from Trump trade war MORE ( Texas ) , also said last week that he β d vote for impeachment if given the chance .\nStill , the support has come in drips . Cohen β s resolution , introduced in November , has 17 co-sponsors within the Democrats β liberal-heavy , 193-member caucus . Only one , Rep. Dwight Evans Dwight ( Dewey ) EvansOvernight Health Care β Presented by National Taxpayers Union β Buttigieg targets Warren , Sanders on health care ahead of debate | Judge overturns ObamaCare transgender protections | Poll sees support drop for 'Medicare for All ' A dozen House Democrats call on EU ambassador to resign amid Ukraine scandal House Democrats blur lines on support for impeachment MORE ( D-Pa. ) , has added his name since Monday β s Helsinki summit .\nThe tepid support is some indication that rank-and-file Democrats , despite their virtually unanimous misgivings with Trump , are heeding the call of party leaders to channel their frustrations into less aggressive strategies for confronting the White House .\nThe more tempered approach was on display last week , as Democrats sought to increase funding for election security , force votes rebuking Trump β s performance in Helsinki and subpoena his interpreter from the one-on-one portion of his summit with Putin . Democrats also introduced a package of bills designed to check Russian aggression across the globe .\nβ In the Congress , we want to stay focused on honoring our oath of office to protect the and defend the Constitution and our country , β House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiGiuliani pens op-ed slamming 'unprecedented ' impeachment inquiry Brindisi , Lamb recommended for Armed Services , Transportation Committees Overnight Health Care : Top health official defends contract payments to Trump allies | Vaping advocates confident Trump will turn from flavor ban | Sanders gets endorsement from nurses union MORE ( D-Calif. ) said last week , dismissing the impeachment effort . β That β s our fight . β\nGutiΓ©rrez said he β fully β understands the balance party leaders are seeking .\nβ Two opposing positions can live together in the same caucus , β he said .\nStill , impeachment supporters say they β re not going away . GutiΓ©rrez said he β s huddling with like-minded liberals such as Cohen and Rep. Maxine Waters Maxine Moore WatersDivides over China , fossil fuels threaten House deal to reboot Ex-Im Bank Hillicon Valley : Lawmakers unleash on Zuckerberg | House passes third election interference bill | Online extremism legislation advances in House | Google claims quantum computing breakthrough On The Money : Lawmakers hammer Zuckerberg over Facebook controversies | GOP chair expects another funding stopgap | Senate rejects Dem measure on SALT deduction cap workarounds MORE ( D-Calif. ) with designs to make β a more robust public pronouncement β on the issue this week .\nβ We should be gathering more steam , β he said . β I took an oath to defend this democracy . β¦ If we don β t fulfill our oath , America β s just going to go down the drain . β\nWaters , echoing that message , said Helsinki should be a tipping point to end all doubts about Trump β s fitness to serve .\nβ He is dangerous and β¦ he is aligned with Putin and the Kremlin β for whatever reasons we don β t know , β she said . β I β m hopeful that this will be clearer to some folks who may have thought that some of us who were accusing him of all of these things were not just making it up . β
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With the recent Hobby Lobby decision , one would think this legal victory for conservatives could galvanize single women into turning out for Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections . It β s still a possibility . After all , the Daily Beast is running op-eds showing how women are driving the Democratic Party β s agenda :\nMy friend Doug Sosnik has forgotten more about analyzing polling data than most of us will ever know , but he mistakes the wave for the currents in his POLITICO Magazine cover story , β Blue Crush : How the left took over the Democratic Party. β By focusing on ideology , Sosnik β s analysis ignores what is driving the power shift in the Democratic electorate . The reason that Democrats have achieved a consensus supporting LGBT rights , marijuana legalization and immigration reform is because they now enjoy a double-digit lead among women , especially unmarried women . The left hasn β t taken over the Democratic Party . Women have . Sosnik does write that he can β t imagine β a viable Democratic presidential candidate , β much less a nominee , β who isn β t willing to take clear positions on β¦ supporting women β s health and their reproductive rights , β but this core value is embedded among positions on hydraulic fracking and the minimum wage . In that word salad , it β s hard to tell the side dish from the entree . Put simply , when polls show a double-digit gender gap β and women turn out β we know who β s going to win and why .\nThe Democrat β s so-called β war on women β has surely helped mobilize these ladies into a juggernaut of a voting bloc . So , why are Democrats shying away from their signature slogan ? The National Journal reported on July 31 that this narrative may have run its course β and that Hobby Lobby might not bring it back with a vengeance ( emphasis mine ) :\nDemocrats want to talk about `` personhood '' and reproductive freedom . They want to tell voters about a stubborn pay gap and women hurt by a low minimum wage . But what they do n't want to do is talk about a `` war on women . '' Indeed , the party that so effectively deployed the `` war '' rhetoric to help defeat Mitt Romney in 2012 has now sworn off its catch phrase , dropping it almost completely from a campaign strategy that , in so many other ways , is still very much about women 's issues . `` [ Saying ] 'Republicans are waging a war on women ' actually does n't test very well , '' said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake . `` Women find it divisive , politicalβthey do n't like it . '' β¦ `` We are on much stronger ground when we talk about the specifics than when we talk about the category , '' said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman . `` And so when we talk about Republicans who want to make abortion illegal , Republicans who want to ban equal pay for equal work β¦ the specific policy issues matter . That 's where the power is . ''\nThe Journal piece also noted that Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes , who thinks Israel β s Iron Dome protects it from underground attacks , is using Senator Mitch McConnell β s votes against the Violence Against Women Act and Equal Pay as an example of this shift in messaging strategy . At the same time , McConnell and Grimes are polling even with Kentucky women .\nNevertheless , it still means Republicans should get more aggressive in debunking these disingenuous attacks , reaching out to single women by showing we β re , amongst other things , not insensitive towards their needs , and sharpening our messaging to avoid more Todd Akin moments .\nOn the other hand , there are other voting blocs that have just as much sway in elections . But , let 's not discount that `` war on women '' tactics could return in an ugly way .
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Entering Final Primary Stretch , Clinton And Sanders Fight For A California Win\nCalifornia was n't supposed to be close . In early polling , Hillary Clinton had a commanding lead , but that lead has all but vanished . A new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California has Clinton in a virtual tie with Bernie Sanders among Democratic primary likely voters β 46 percent support Clinton while 44 percent support Sanders .\nThe Golden State , which holds its presidential primary June 7 , is a big , liberal , delegate-rich prize in what has been a long and increasingly bitter primary fight .\nAnd both candidates are fighting to win California . Clinton wrapped up a four-day swing Friday , while Sanders is in the midst of a weeklong barnstorming of the state .\nSanders pointed out recent polls with some glee at a rally in Santa Monica earlier this week . `` She 's looking very nervous lately , '' he said . `` And I do n't want to get her more nervous , so if you promise not to tell her , we 're going to win here in California . ''\nClinton , meanwhile , has been more focused on the general election than on the primary .\n`` Send a message , '' she said in San Francisco . `` Send a message to a demagogic , rhetorically divisive and dangerous candidate that when you think about the future you do n't see Donald Trump 's face up there . ''\nThe reality is , with all the superdelegates who have announced their support for Clinton and her very large lead in pledged delegates , Clinton will almost certainly clinch the nomination before the polls even close in California . So why is she competing so hard in the state ?\nIt 's all about psychology , says Jack Pitney , a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College .\n`` She wants to end the primary campaign on a high note , and losing California would end it on a low note , '' he said . `` She wins the nomination , but loses the psychological warfare to Bernie Sanders . ''\nAs Clinton has traveled the state , the reception has n't been entirely friendly .\nIn Salinas , a mix of what looked to be Trump and Sanders supporters gathered outside a Clinton event . They chanted and waved signs about her speech transcripts , email server and relatively hawkish foreign policy views .\n`` You 're either with Hillary or you 're with Trump , '' he said .\nSilva was wearing a black T-shirt with big white letters reading `` Dump Trump '' and admits he is more motivated against Trump than he is for Clinton . Silva initially supported Bernie Sanders , but now he plans to vote for Clinton in the primary .\n`` You know , I wish it would end so that all the concentration would be against Trump and the Democratic Party can unite against Trump , '' Silva said . `` That would be a big plus for the party , and I think for America . ''\nClinton needs more voters like Silva if she 's going to unite the party . She has started making that pitch in California .\n`` We , Sen. Sanders and I , our supporters together , have so much more in common together than we do with Donald Trump , '' she said in San Jose .\nEven a California loss for Clinton would n't really change the race , because she and Sanders would very likely split the state 's delegates , says Mo Elleithee , executive director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service . He worked on the Clinton campaign in 2008 .\n`` I think they would like to send a stronger message , '' he said , `` but at the end of the day the nomination process is about math much more than it is about momentum . Math beats momentum every time . ''\nThat 's probably not what Sanders and his supporters will be saying heading into the July Democratic convention if he is able to pull off a win in California . A Golden State victory would be a big part of Sanders argument to superdelegates that they should flip and support him .
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A divided appeals court panel sided Friday with Ohio business owners who challenged the birth control mandate under the new federal health care law .\nThe business owners are two brothers , Francis and Philip M. Gilardi , who own Freshway Foods and Freshway Logistics of Sidney , Ohio. , and challenged the mandate on religious grounds . They say the mandate to provide contraceptive coverage would force them to violate their Roman Catholic beliefs and moral values by providing contraceptives such as the morning-after pill for their employees . The law already exempts houses of worship from the requirement .\nThe ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is one of several on the birth control issue , which likely will be resolved by the Supreme Court . There are at least three other rulings by federal appeals courts on the mandate : One sided with Oklahoma businesses ; and two sided with the Obama administration in challenges brought by Pennsylvania and Michigan companies .\nWriting for the majority , Judge Janice Rogers Brown wrote that the mandate `` trammels the right of free exercise -- a right that lies at the core of our constitutional liberties -- as protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act . ''\nBrown , an appointee of President George W. Bush , said that the mandate presented the Gilardis with a `` Hobson 's choice : They can either abide by the sacred tenets of their faith , pay a penalty of over $ 14 million , and cripple the companies they have spent a lifetime building , or they become complicit in a grave moral wrong . ''\nFriday 's ruling reversed a lower court ruling that had denied the Gilardis ' request for a preliminary injunction to block the Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing the mandate against them as business owners . The appeals court ruled that the lower court erred when it concluded the Gilardis were unlikely to succeed on the merits , and sent the case back to the lower court to consider other factors for an injunction .\nBut Brown upheld the lower court 's dismissal of an injunction for the brothers ' companies , writing , `` we have no basis for concluding a secular organization can exercise religion . ''\nIn an opinion dissenting from the court 's main holding in the case , Judge Harry T. Edwards wrote that legislative restrictions may trump religious exercise . He asked what , if the Gilardis ' companies were exempted from covering contraception , would stop another company from seeking an exemption from a requirement to cover vaccines ?\n`` The mandate does not require the Gilardis to encourage Freshway 's employees to use contraceptives any more directly than they do by authorizing Freshway to pay wages , '' wrote Edwards , who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter . He added that the Gilardis remain free to publicly express their disapproval of contraceptives .\nComing from the other direction , Judge A. Raymond Randolph joined Brown 's main conclusion about the Gilardis but dissented from her conclusions about Freshway companies ' exercise of religion .\n`` Why limit the free-exercise right to religious organizations when many business corporations adhere to religious dogma ? '' asked Randolph , an appointee of President George H.W . Bush . `` If non-religious organizations do not have free-exercise rights , why do non-religious natural persons ( atheists , for example ) possess them ? ''\nThe Gilardis ' lawyer , Francis Manion , senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice , an anti-abortion legal group that focuses on constitutional law , said he was pleased that the court accepted the `` bulk '' of his arguments , but will appeal the part of the ruling on the free exercise religious rights of corporations .\n`` It 's a big victory , but not total , '' he said in a telephone interview .\nIn a statement , the Rev . Barry W. Lynn , executive director of Americans United , a church-state watchdog group , said the Friday 's ruling turns `` the concept of religious freedom on its head .\n`` Religious liberty means the right to make decisions for yourself , not other people , '' Lynn said . `` Freedom of religion should never be a blank check to meddle in the personal medical decisions of others . ''\nThe Department of Health and Human Services said it was unable to comment on pending litigation .
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Colorado baker Jack Phillips received a standing ovation Saturday at the Western Conservative Summit , which came as a change of pace after a week of protests and negative reviews following his Supreme Court victory .\nSince the high court ruled Monday in his favor , the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood has been faced with protesters and a deluge of one-star reviews on Yelp , but he β s not complaining .\nFar from it . β It β s been quite a week , but God is so good , β Mr. Phillips told the friendly crowd at the Colorado Convention Center .\nHe thanked those at the annual β rally on the right β hosted by the Centennial Institute who supported him during the six-year court fight over his refusal to create a wedding cake for a gay marriage ceremony .\nβ I β ve heard my faith described as despicable and my efforts to defend my religious freedom have been compared to Nazis , β Mr. Phillips said . β And I β m profoundly grateful that the court saw the injustice that our state government inflicted on me . This decision is great for my family , for our shop , and for people of all faiths who should not have to fear government hostility or unjust punishment . β\nThe legal battle ended Monday with the high court β s 7-2 decision that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission discriminated against Mr. Phillips on the basis of his religious beliefs when it ruled against him .\nGreg with Jack Philips owner of Masterpiece Bakery at Western Conservative Summit , congratulating him for fighting for religious liberty # WCS2018 # COpolitics pic.twitter.com/QJn9QDbFtK β Greg Lopez ( @ Lopez4Governor ) June 9 , 2018\nConservatives hailed the ruling as a victory for First Amendment rights , while critics held a protest hours after the decision β s release featuring Democratic Gov . John Hickenlooper at the state capital in Denver .\nMeanwhile , the Masterpiece Cakeshop β s page on Yelp has been slammed with hundreds of politically motivated one-star reviews accusing Mr. Phillips of β bigotry , β some with photos of same-sex marriage ceremonies .\nβ Giving a one-star review because the menu doesn β t include β hatred and bigotry β as options , β said one commenter .\nSaid another : β Food made with hate does not taste good . This establishment is homophobic . β\nThe traffic prompted Yelp to post an β active cleanup alert , β saying that β we will ultimately remove reviews that that appear to be motivated more by the news coverage itself rather than by the reviewer β s own customer experience with the business . β\nA band of activists turned up at the cakeshop Friday for a protest called β Gay Party at Bigot Bakery , β backed by groups including the People for Bernie Sanders and Millennials for Revolution , but they were met by dozens of counter-protesters in support of Mr. Phillips .\nThose in the pro-Phillips group waved signs with messages like β Justice for Jack , β β Love Free Speech β and β Stand up for Religious Freedom , β as shown on footage by Fox31 in Denver .\nMr. Phillips responded by speaking to the opposing parties β and handing out cookies .\nβ The court β s decision makes clear that tolerance is a two-way street , β said Mr. Phillips at the summit . β If we want to have freedom for ourselves , we have to extend it to others with whom we disagree . Even about important issues like the meaning of marriage . β\nHe β s accustomed by now to the criticism . His shop lost 40 percent of its business after he stopped making wedding cakes following the commission β s ruling .\nβ The government β s hostility directly impacted my shop , our ability to make a living , β he said . β We also faced death threats and harassment , all for choosing not to design a cake that celebrates one particular event . β
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The death of Justice Antonin Scalia has served to highlight the divisions that characterize so much in Washington . First , and foremost , the Supreme Court itself has long been as divided as the country itself . Split 4-4 with a conservative-leaning swing voter β Justice Anthony Kennedy β as a frequent tiebreaker , in Scalia 's absence the court is left in a dead heat in areas ranging from affirmative action to union dues to abortion .\nScalia was a critical part of the 5-4 conservative majority in a litany of major cases . However , it is the division in the Senate that could produce the next constitutional crisis . Faced with a refusal of the Republican senators to move forward with a nominee for the court in the last year of the Obama Administration , President Obama could use the nuclear option : a recess appointment to the Supreme Court .\nUnder Article II of the U.S. Constitution a president is allowed to temporarily fill vacancies that β may happen during the Recess of the Senate. β I have long been a critic of recess appointments to the judiciary . While far less common than appointments to the Executive Branch , such appointments have occurred historically ( including 12 to the Supreme Court ) .Yet judicial recess appointments undermine the integrity of the courts by using the equivalent of a judicial temp for a position that was meant to be held by a jurist with lifetime tenure .\nThe framers wanted a president and the Senate to come to an accord on such appointments , including the need to compromise to achieve such goals . Obama , however , made it clear years ago that he was willing to go it alone when Congress failed to give him legislation or confirmations that he demanded . His unilateral actions have already produced a constitutional crisis over the fundamental guarantees of the separation of powers . This includes a unanimous 2014 decision of the Supreme Court that Obama violated the recess appointments clause in his circumvention of the Senate .\nFor a president who has shown a tendency to β go it alone β when denied action by Congress , a recess appointment may prove an irresistible temptation for Obama . The Republican leadership has already signaled that it has no intention of moving forward with such a nomination , objecting that ( in 80 years ) no president has moved such a nomination within his final year in office . While there is ample time to vote on a nominee , the president could make an appointment if his nominee is denied or if his nominee is left to languish in the Senate Judiciary Committee .\nThe Republicans may have unnecessarily tripped the wire by saying that they would not move forward on a nomination as opposed to slow walking and rejecting a nomination . The failure to even consider the nominee could give the president the rationale for a recess appointment . Ironically , the justice who tended to favor executive assertions of power and limit the ability of Congress to challenge such assertions was Antonin Scalia .\nThe president could claim that his power is in full effect with the current recess of the Senate . He could also claim such authority with the end of the annual session . Generally , the authority to make a recess appointment has been recognized with a recess of greater than three days . The Senate can avoid that trigger by remaining in technical session with little or no business being transacted . That could push the target recess to the end of the session where Obama would make the appointment before the next Congress assembles in January β an appointment made in literally the waning days of his term .\nI happen to think Obama is well within his rights to make the nomination . As hockey great Wayne Gretzky said , you miss every shot that you never take . And this is a shot most presidents would take . If blocked , however , Obama should recognize that a new president will enter office in a matter of months ( or weeks with an end-of-session appointment ) with a national mandate . Such a decision would undermine the integrity of the court with a display of raw muscle by a departing president . It would cement Obama β s troubling legacy as a president who waged an unrelenting campaign against the separation of powers that is the foundation of our constitutional system . The difference between a statesman and a politician is often the exercise of restraint . It is not enough to say that you can do something , but whether you should do something . This is something Obama should not do .\nJonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and a member of βββ 's board of contributors . He has written and testified before Congress on the role and limits of recess appointments .\nIn addition to its own editorials , βββ publishes diverse opinions from outside writers , including our Board of Contributors . To read more columns like this , go to the Opinion front page .
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Brett Kavanaugh β s Supreme Court nomination was plunged into chaos after a woman accusing him of sexual assault spoke publicly for the first time about the allegation on Sunday .\nThe fallout from the decades-old allegation is putting a spotlight on Senate Republicans , who must decide if they want to rush forward with Kavanaugh β s nomination with questions lingering over the Senate β s debate and vote .\nRepublicans have been confident for months that Kavanaugh would be confirmed by October , when the court starts its next term . But they are under intense pressure to delay a vote after Kavanaugh β s accuser , Christine Blasey Ford , told The Washington Post that in high school in the early 1980s , Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed at a party and forced himself on her .\nFord told the Post that Kavanaugh `` groped her over her clothes , grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it . ''\nSenate Judiciary Committee Republicans quickly defended Kavanaugh , noting he had undergone multiple FBI background checks , and questioned the timing of the allegations .\nTaylor Foy , a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley Charles ( Chuck ) Ernest GrassleySpeaker Pelosi , it 's time to throw American innovators a lifeline Barr : Inspector general 's report on alleged FISA abuses 'imminent ' Pelosi aide hopeful White House will support drug-pricing bill despite criticism MORE ( R-Iowa ) , released a lengthy statement after the Post published its interview with Ford saying it was β disturbing β that the β uncorroborated allegations from more than 35 years ago , during high school , would surface on the eve of the committee vote . β\nβ It raises a lot of questions about Democrats β tactics and motives to bring this to the rest of the committee β s attention only now rather than during these many steps along the way . Senator Feinstein should publicly release the letter she received back in July so that everyone can know what she β s known for weeks , β he added .\nSen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamGOP senators balk at lengthy impeachment trial Graham : Senate trial 'must expose the whistleblower ' Graham says Schiff should be a witness in Trump impeachment trial MORE ( R-S.C. ) β who could become Judiciary Committee chairman next year β said that he aligned himself with the statement β about the substance and process regarding the allegations in this latest claim . β\nGraham became the first Republican to open the door to a hearing from Ford , saying he would β gladly listen to what she has to say and compare that against all other information we have received about Judge Kavanaugh . β\nBut he caveated that the testimony should happen within the current timeline for confirming Kavanaugh , β so the process can continue as scheduled . β\nAnd Sen. Jeff Flake Jeffrey ( Jeff ) Lane FlakeLindsey Graham basks in the impeachment spotlight Kelly , McSally virtually tied in Arizona Senate race : poll βββ 's 12:30 Report β Presented by Nareit β White House cheers Republicans for storming impeachment hearing MORE ( R-Ariz. ) , another member of the Judiciary Committee , said on Sunday he believes the panel shouldn β t vote on Kavanaugh β s nomination until they β ve had time to dig into the allegation .\nβ For me , we can β t vote until we hear more , β Flake told the Post .\nA spokeswoman for Flake didn β t immediately respond to a request for comment . If the committee tried to move forward on Thursday and Flake joined all Democrats in voting `` no , '' that would likely result in a 10-11 vote in favor of Kavanaugh . But that would n't prohibit his nomination from coming to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote .\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee has a vote scheduled on Kavanaugh β s nomination on Thursday at 1:45 p.m. Republicans hold a majority on the committee , meaning if they stick together he could clear the panel this week .\nIn a move that could help stave off GOP defections , and keep Kavanaugh β s nomination on schedule , Grassley is working to set up calls before Thursday β s vote with both Kavanaugh and Ford .\nβ Given the late addendum to the background file and revelations of Dr. Ford β s identity , Chairman Grassley is actively working to set up ... follow-up calls with Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford ahead of Thursday β s scheduled vote , β a spokesman for the Judiciary Committee said on Sunday .\nRepublican leadership showed no intention of slowing down their plan to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by the end of the month . If confirmed , he would give the party a major victory less than two months before the midterm election and is expected to help tilt the court to the right for decades .\nA spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison ( Mitch ) Mitchell McConnellGOP senators balk at lengthy impeachment trial Graham : Senate trial 'must expose the whistleblower ' Graham says Schiff should be a witness in Trump impeachment trial MORE ( R-Ky. ) declined to comment on Sunday , but the tightlipped GOP leader has not signaled that the sexual assault allegations have changed his mind about confirming Kavanaugh before October .\nBut even as Republican leadership is indicating they want to move forward with Kavanaugh , his nomination remains short of the 50 votes needed to be confirmed .\nThe caucus β s two potential swing votes β GOP Sens . Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiHillicon Valley : Federal inquiry opened into Google health data deal | Facebook reports millions of post takedowns | Microsoft shakes up privacy debate | Disney plus tops 10M sign-ups in first day Senators press FDA tobacco chief on status of vaping ban Federal inquiry opened into Google health data deal MORE ( Alaska ) and Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsLawmakers under pressure to pass benefits fix for military families Senate GOP waves Trump off early motion to dismiss impeachment charges GOP senators warn against Trump firing intelligence community official MORE ( Maine ) β have yet to say how they will vote or if they want to delay the vote in the wake of the allegations , which first surfaced late last week when Senate Democrats said they had given a letter detailing the alleged incident to the FBI .\nSpokespeople for both senators didn β t immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday . Collins had a one-hour phone call with Kavanaugh on Friday that was previously scheduled .\n`` Well I obviously was very surprised and it 's , it 's an issue that I brought up with him last Friday and he denied as he did in his written statement , β she told CNN on Sunday , declining to comment further .\nThe two senators are under a mountain of pressure by liberal activists and outside groups to oppose Kavanaugh in the wake of the sexual assault allegation . The two were already considered potential swing votes because they β ve previously broken with their party on ObamaCare repeal and abortion-related legislation .\nDemocrats would need to win over two Republican senators if they want to block Kavanaugh β s nomination . And the caucus began to break its days-long silence over the assault allegations on Sunday to unify behind a call for Kavanaugh β s vote to be delayed .\n`` Senator Grassley must postpone the vote until , at a very minimum , these serious and credible allegations are thoroughly investigated . For too long , when woman have made serious allegations of abuse , they have been ignored . That can not happen in this case , '' Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Charles ( Chuck ) Ellis SchumerOvernight Health Care : Trump officials making changes to drug pricing proposal | House panel advances flavored e-cig ban | Senators press FDA tobacco chief on vaping ban Chad Wolf becomes acting DHS secretary Schumer blocks drug pricing measure during Senate fight , seeking larger action MORE ( D-N.Y. ) said in a statement on Sunday .\nDemocrats are widely expected to oppose Kavanaugh β s nomination , but the sexual assault allegation comes as several red- and purple-state senators up for reelection remain on the fence .\nSens . Joe Donnelly Joseph ( Joe ) Simon DonnellyWatchdog accuses pro-Kavanaugh group of sending illegal robotexts in 2018 Lobbying world Trump nominees meet fiercest opposition from Warren , Sanders , Gillibrand MORE ( Ind . ) , Heidi Heitkamp Mary ( Heidi ) Kathryn HeitkampThe Hill 's Morning Report β Biden steadies in third debate as top tier remains the same Trump wins 60 percent approval in rural areas of key states Pence to push new NAFTA deal in visit to Iowa MORE ( N.D. ) and Joe Manchin Joseph ( Joe ) ManchinFormer coal exec Don Blankenship launches third-party presidential bid Centrist Democrats seize on state election wins to rail against Warren 's agenda Overnight Energy : Senate eyes nixing 'forever chemicals ' fix from defense bill | Former Obama EPA chief named CEO of green group | Senate reviews Interior , FERC nominees criticized on ethics MORE ( W.Va. ) previously voted for Neil Gorsuch , President Trump Donald John TrumpGOP senators balk at lengthy impeachment trial Warren goes local in race to build 2020 movement 2020 Democrats make play for veterans ' votes MORE β s first Supreme Court pick , and were widely seen as potential `` yes '' votes for Kavanaugh .\nBut the three are facing renewed pressure from progressives who believe Kavanaugh β s nomination should be withdrawn , or that senators should block him , after the sexual assault allegation . Progressives warn that voting for Kavanaugh would backfire for incumbent senators by angering base voters they need to turn out to win their tight elections .\nβ We believe Christine Blasey Ford and so should every U.S Senator , β Demand Justice , a progressive group that opposes Kavanaugh , said shortly after The Washington Post published its story on Sunday .\nShaunna Thomas , executive director and co-founder of UltraViolet , said on Sunday that all senators must give the allegations the β seriousness that it deserves . β\nβ Ford β s accusations against Brett Kavanaugh are deeply troubling and totally disqualifying . Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination immediately . Violence against women should have no place in our society and it certainly should have no place on the highest court in the nation . β\nHeitkamp , Manchin and Donnelly , who aren β t on the Judiciary Committee , didn β t immediately echo their colleagues on Sunday to delay Kavanaugh β s confirmation . Spokespeople for the three moderate senators didn β t respond to a request for comment .\nIt was a break from fellow red-state Sen. Doug Jones ( D-Ala. ) , who said on Twitter on Sunday that the Senate should hit β pause β on Kavanaugh β s nomination .\n`` It is more important than ever to hit the pause button on Kavanaugh β s confirmation vote until we can fully investigate these serious and disturbing allegations . We can not rush to move forward under this cloud , '' Jones , who is not a member of the committee , said in a tweet .\nThe allegations sparked criticism from the conservative Judicial Crisis Network . `` Judge Kavanaugh is admired in his church , in his community , and in his profession . Throughout his distinguished career in public service , he has undergone half a dozen FBI background checks , and never a whisper of misconduct . Until the eve of his confirmation , '' the group said .\n`` It does n't add up . But what does add up is that Democrats are doubling down on a strategy of character assassination , seeking to destroy the life of a distinguished public servant for the sake of appeasing their base . ''\n`` Oh boy ... the Dems and their usual nonsense games really have him on the ropes now , '' Trump Jr. added .
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On this day in 1973 , the Supreme Court issued a decision that enshrined the constitutional right to an abortion in the landmark case Roe v. Wade . But with mounting attacks on abortion rights and the most conservative Supreme Court in modern history , states across the country have spent the 47th year of Roe scrambling to protect a women β s right to choose in the increasingly plausible event that the historic court decision is soon overturned .\nβ The reality is that the balance of the Supreme Court is not in our favor , β says Bonyen Lee-Gilmore , who works on state media campaigns for Planned Parenthood , adding , β We have to be prepared [ if ] Roe falls . That β s just part of the reality of living under the Trump administration . β\nThe effort began exactly one year ago , when New York became the first state to enshrine the right to an abortion in its state law , effectively codifying Roe v. Wade . ( The law also ended New York β s ban on abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy . ) Since then , Illinois , Rhode Island , and Vermont have all passed similar laws protecting the right to an abortion . Michigan , New Jersey , and the District of Columbia are also looking at codifying the right to an abortion . In 2019 , statehouses passed more legislation protecting or expanding abortion access than in the entire previous decade .\nHowever , in the aftermath of the confirmation of two staunchly conservative justices to the Supreme Court in 2018 , red states have been doing the opposite kind of preparation for a post-Roe world . In 2019 , four statesβArkansas , Kentucky , Missouri , and Tennesseeβpassed legislation known as trigger laws , which would ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturned Roe , and 12 states passed abortion bans . In total , eight states now have trigger laws on the books , and 20 have laws that could be used to restrict the right to an abortion if Roe were overturned .\nβ States are going in widely divergent directions when it comes to both abortion rights and abortion access , β says Andrea Miller , president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health . β We have a group of states last year that were tripping over each other in a race to the bottom to try to ban abortion outright , and then we also had a real record year on the other side . β\nAccording to Planned Parenthood , roughly 25 million women of reproductive age live in a state where abortion could be banned if Roe is overturned . Millions more are already forced to jump through hoops to access abortions , including 72-hour waiting periods , mandatory counseling , and invasive ultrasound procedures .\nIn March , the Supreme Court will hear its first abortion case since the confirmation of conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch . The case concerns a 2014 Louisiana law , which requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals , a stipulation that opponents of the bill argue would leave the state with only one provider for a population of more than 4.5 million . Although the justices are not expected to overturn Roe outright in this case , legal experts argue that if the court were to rule in favor of the law , access to abortion in states like Louisiana could exist in name only .
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