Bad economic news raises political risks for Trump – CNN
Bad economic news raises political risks for Trump – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/politics/2020-election-trump-recession-risk/index.html

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Mystery of Ghislaine Maxwell’s whereabouts deepens as Jeffrey Epstein accusers eye his alleged madam – CNBC
Mystery of Ghislaine Maxwell’s whereabouts deepens as Jeffrey Epstein accusers eye his alleged madam – CNBC

The mystery over Ghislaine Maxwell’s whereabouts deepened Wednesday on a report that the alleged madam for Jeffrey Epstein, an accused child sex trafficker, was holed up in a Massachusetts mansion, as an Epstein accuser filed suit against Maxwell.

Hours after The Daily Mail reported that Maxwell was living in tech-firm CEO Scott Borgerson’s mansion in Manchester-by-the-Sea, NBC News reported that a property manager of an adjacent parcel of land said that Maxwell was living at Borgerson’s residence as recently as two weeks ago.

Borgenson told NBC, however, “she is not at my home.” He admitted knowing Maxwell.

The speculation over Maxwell came as prosecutors and Epstein’s accusers set their sights on her, and on the heels of Epstein’s apparent suicide in jail last Saturday.

Before Wednesday’s reports, the most recent indication of Maxwell’s location was in 2017, when her civil lawyers reportedly told a judge she was living in London, but without a firm address there.

Maxwell’s camera shyness in recent years stands in sharp contrast to her past, when she was photographed with Epstein socializing with President Donald Trump, and attending the wedding of Chelsea Clinton, whose father, President Bill Clinton, like Trump had been friends with Epstein. In 2016, she sold her Manhattan townhouse for $15 million.

If she remains out of sight — and possibly out of the United States — the Oxford-schooled Maxwell could avoid potential civil liability and prosecution related to her relationship with Epstein.

Lawyers for Maxwell, and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which had been prosecuting Epstein, did not return requests for comment.

Before her association with Epstein, Maxwell was best known to the public as the namesake of the Lady Ghislaine, the yacht that her father, disgraced English media mogul Robert Maxwell, either jumped from or fell from when he mysteriously died at sea, leaving $4 billion in debt behind.

Maxwell, 57, long has been named by Epstein’s accusers as a woman who recruited underage girls so that he could sexually abuse them under the pretext of getting massages at his luxurious properties in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. One employer of Epstein’s called Maxwell the “lady of the house,” referring to his mansion in Palm Beach.

Some accusers have also said Maxwell at times participated with Epstein in abusing them sexually. Maxwell has denied the allegations.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/14/ghislaine-maxwell-location-unknown-jeffrey-epstein-accusers-eye-her.html

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California counties sue over Trump’s green card rule, claim deterrent to seeking public assistance – Fox News
California counties sue over Trump’s green card rule, claim deterrent to seeking public assistance – Fox News
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Two California counties sue Trump administration over new green card rule

President Trump is doubling down on a green card rule change for immigrants on welfare after being sued by two California counties.

Two California counties are suing over the Trump administration’s new green card restrictions, claiming that they violate federal immigration law and exact a financial toll by deterring migrants’ requests for public assistance.

“This latest effort by the Trump Administration to target immigrants, including those who are lawfully seeking visas and green cards, is abhorrent, and we will do everything in our power to protect our residents’ ability to access the critical services and benefits we provide,” a Tuesday statement from San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera read.

Herrera joined Santa Clara County counsel James R. Williams in arguing that the administration’s rule would effectively force local governments to use revenues in order to mitigate the public health harm allegedly created by migrants not seeking medical care.

Announced on Monday, the administration’s controversial rule relied on a legal concept known as “public charge” for the reasoning used to deny green cards to migrants who rely on public assistance. Herrera and Williams are seeking a permanent injunction against the rule’s enforcement.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BOOSTS ABILITY TO DENY GREEN CARDS TO IMMIGRANTS USING WELFARE PROGRAMS

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While the “public charge” inadmissibility standard has long been part of U.S. immigration law, the term has not been formally defined in the statute. The new rule, which will go into effect on October 15, will define “public charge” as an immigrant who receives one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months within a 36-month period.

According to the lawsuit, that timeframe was “arbitrary” and the administration defied Congress’ intent by seeking to redefine that term to include “even minimal use of a much wider range of non-cash benefits.”

“The federal government has long applied this provision only to individuals who receive significant public cash assistance or who are institutionalized for long-term care at government expense–i.e, those who are primarily dependent on the government for support,” the lawsuit read.

Without that support, the lawsuit argued, immigrants would rely on safety nets and potentially contribute to the spread of tuberculosis and the Zika virus — both of which, the lawsuit indicates, occur at higher rates in foreign-born populations.

CRITICS ACCUSE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OF CLOSING THE BORDER WITH LATEST IMMIGRATION RULES

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The lawsuit alleges that the administration’s rule “forces the Counties’ locally funded health and safety-net systems to carry responsibilities once borne by the federal government.”

“Not only will the Counties have to provide support previously furnished by the federal government, without any corresponding allocation of federal funds, they will face the new, increased costs of dealing with the harms to public health,” the lawsuit read.

Administration officials have defended the rule, describing it as a way to ensure those granted permanent residency are self-sufficient — and protect taxpayers in the process.

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“The principle driving it is an old American value, and that’s self-sufficiency,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli told Fox News in an interview. “It’s a core principle — the American Dream itself — and it’s one of the things that distinguishes us, and it’s central to the legal history in the U.S. back into the 1800s.”

“It will also have the long-term benefit of protecting taxpayers by ensuring people who are immigrating to this country don’t become public burdens, that they can stand on their own two feet, as immigrants in years past have done,” he said. “It’s not only a recipe for their success but for America’s success growing out of our immigration system.”

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-counties-sue-over-trumps-green-card-rule-claim-deterrent-to-seeking-public-assistance

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Steve King should go back where he came from – Washington Examiner
Steve King should go back where he came from – Washington Examiner

Steve King should go back to where he came from.

The Republican congressman from western Iowa would do the country a great service if he left Congress, since he apparently doesn’t know how to stop talking. Speaking on Wednesday about Alabama’s abortion ban, which makes no exceptions for rape and incest, King argued that rape and incest made the world what it is today. And … what, that’s somehow supposed to make them a good thing?

“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest?” King said. “Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”

Ersatz history lessons aside, as my colleague Kaylee McGhee wrote, “Steve King’s rhetorical stupidity hurts the pro-life movement.” He’s no gaffe machine; he’s just dumb. And he harms the causes he pretends to support.

Both sides of the aisle joined in denouncing King, whose only contribution to society has been uniting the Left and Right in mutual condemnation against him.

Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has positioned herself as the most feminist candidate gunning for the White House in 2020, opposes abortion restrictions. But thanks to King’s stupidity, that’s not the only reason she had to condemn him.

“You are a disgrace,” she tweeted Wednesday afternoon. “Resign.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chimed in less than two hours later: “Steve King is a racist, a misogynist and a disgrace to the country. He should not be a member of the United States Congress.”

For years, King has been cozying up to white supremacists and making bigoted comments about immigrants. As my colleague Quin Hillyer wrote this spring, after King compared his suffering to that of Jesus: “He’s a pathetic figure and an embarrassment to Congress. He should resign.”

The Right and Left can agree on few things these days, but here’s one: King should resign from Congress. If both sides continue to condemn him, they may be able to make that happen.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/steve-king-should-go-back-where-he-came-from

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CHP officer hit by suspected drunken driver on SR-94 – 10News
CHP officer hit by suspected drunken driver on SR-94 – 10News

LEMON GROVE, Calif. (KGTV) – A California Highway Patrol officer was injured after he was hit by a car as he attempted to stop a suspected drunken driver on a Lemon Grove-area freeway.

The incident occurred at around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on eastbound state Route 94 near Massachusetts Avenue, according to CHP officials.

Officials said Officer Robert Stevens had just finished removing an object from the roadway when he passed a Nissan Altima with front-end damage driving erratically on the eastbound lanes.

According to the CHP, Stevens was able to pull ahead of the Altima and waited at the right shoulder in an attempt to get the driver to stop.

The Altima came to a stop behind Stevens’ patrol car, but as the officer got out of the vehicle to talk to the driver, the car suddenly surged forward.

Stevens tried to jump out of the way by leaping onto his patrol car’s trunk, but he was hit by the Altima. The driver’s side door of the patrol car was also struck as the Altima fled the scene.

Stevens called for help as the driver continued on at a slow speed with its hood up and blocking the windshield.

A responding CHP officer was able to catch up to the car and pulled the driver over on the off-ramp to Lemon Grove Avenue.

The driver nearly fell down several times during a field sobriety test. Aralas Ector, 32, from Spring Valley, was eventually arrested on suspicion of DUI.

A woman believed to be the driver’s girlfriend had been following him the entire time and also stopped on the off-ramp. She was also evaluated and then arrested on suspicion of DUI.

10News learned the CHP officer hit by the car suffered a leg injury but is expected to be OK.

Source Article from https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/chp-officer-hit-by-suspected-drunken-driver-on-san-diego-freeway

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5 teens charged with murder after homeowner shoots 14-year-old during burglary – ABC News
5 teens charged with murder after homeowner shoots 14-year-old during burglary – ABC News

Five Chicago teenagers are being charged with murder after a 14-year-old who was with them was shot and killed by a homeowner during an alleged burglary attempt, according to authorities.

Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office were called to a home in Old Mill Creek, Illinois, about 47 miles north of Chicago, Tuesday around 1:15 a.m. following the shooting, Detective Sgt. Chris Covelli told reporters in a news conference.

The 75-year-old homeowner told deputies he went outside after noticing a suspicious SUV in his driveway and several people on his property, whom he believed were attempting to break into and steal his car, a 2011 Audi, Covelli said.

Armed with a revolver, the homeowner told authorities he was standing on his porch, yelling at them to leave, when two of the individuals “quickly approached him,” Covelli said. The man said he saw that one of the teens “holding something in his hand,” so he discharged his firearm at least three times out of fear for his and his wife’s safety.

The homeowner then called 911 to request an ambulance, and the teens fled, Covelli said.

The Lake County Sheriffs Office
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office holds a press conference on a shooting that occurred in Antioch, Ill., Aug. 13, 2019.

About three miles from the man’s home, officers from the Gurnee Police Department responded to a crash involving an SUV, Covelli said. When the officers approached the 2015 Lexus, two people exited the vehicle — one of whom had a gunshot wound to his head.

The four people who were still in the SUV fled the scene “at high rate of speed,” reaching 120 mph on Interstate 94 as they were chased all the way back to Chicago by law enforcement officers from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Gurnee Police Department and Illinois State Police.

Once the vehicle was depleted of gas, the four people inside fled on foot, Covelli said. Three of them were found “pretty quickly,” and a Lake County deputy located the fourth suspect in a dumpster about a block away, buried under trash. The fifth suspect was taken into custody at the crash scene in Gurnee.

The five teens, ages 16 to 18, are being charged as adults for first-degree murder “due to them being in commission of a forcible felony,” according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. They appeared in court for an initial hearing Tuesday afternoon, where bond was set at $1 million each. They will appear in court next on Sept. 5.

The only suspect who was identified is the sole 18-year-old, Diamond Davis, who is being detained at the Lake County jail. The three 17-year-olds and the 16-year-old are being held at the Hulse Juvenile Detention Facility in Vernon Township.

Lake County Sheriffs Office
Diamond C. Davis in a police photo.

A knife, “likely from one of the individuals,” was found on the man’s property, Covelli said. The Lexus SUV had been reported stolen in Antioch, some 10 miles southeast of Old Mill Creek, two days before the incident, Covelli said.

Covelli described the crime as a “random theft of a vehicle,” adding that investigators will look into whether the teens could be responsible for other vehicle thefts in the area. The teens may face additional charges, he added.

The homeowner was legally allowed to possess the gun he used in the shooting, Covelli said. The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg extended condolences to the family of the teen who was killed, “despite the circumstances.”

“Anytime there is a loss of life, it is a tragedy for the family and friends of the deceased,” he said.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/US/teens-charged-murder-illinois-homeowner-shoots-14-year/story?id=64967872

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Jeffrey Epstein accuser sues Ghislaine Maxwell, 3 others; says Epstein ‘forcefully raped’ her at 15 – Fox News
Jeffrey Epstein accuser sues Ghislaine Maxwell, 3 others; says Epstein ‘forcefully raped’ her at 15 – Fox News
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Jeffrey Epstein conspirators facing prosecution after financier’s death

Judge Andrew Napolitano breaks down what the future holds for the cases against the convicted sex offender after his death.

A woman who says accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein “forcefully raped” her when she was 15 years old filed a lawsuit Wednesday morning against Manhattan socialite and alleged Epstein “madam” Ghislaine Maxwell — along with three other unidentified individuals — claiming the group conspired to make her assault possible.

Jennifer Araoz, now 32, alleges Maxwell and three other associates of Epstein, who died in a New York federal lockup Saturday morning from an apparent suicide, conspired to facilitate the rape, according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News.

GHISLAINE MAXWELL, JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S ALLEGED ‘RECRUITER,’ NOW UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

The suit’s defendants include Epstein’s estate, Maxwell and Jane Does 1, 2 and 3, a trio later described as a “recruiter,” a “secretary” and a “maid.”

The latest lawsuit, which many analysts say may only be the first of many civil cases involving Epstein’s estate and former acquaintances, accuses the disgraced financier of “forcefully” raping Araoz at his Manhattan townhome in 2002. Araoz said in an NBC News interview last month that she told Epstein repeatedly to stop and that he “knew exactly what he was doing.”

Araoz said she was a teenager when a woman approached her outside of her high school and told her about a kind, wealthy man — who Araoz said turned out to be Epstein.

WOMAN SAYS JEFFREY EPSTEIN ‘FORCEFULLY RAPED’ HER WHEN SHE WAS 15 YEARS OLD

She told NBC that the woman, who has not been identified, accompanied her the first few times she visited the home of the wealthy and charismatic Epstein, who would have been either 49 or 50 years old at the time of the alleged rape. But, eventually, she stopped joining the teen on her visits, and during one occasion in 2002, when only Epstein and Araoz were together, she says Epstein raped her.

Araoz’s attorney, Dan Fraiser, is scheduled to appear on Fox News Channel’s “The Story” Wednesday at 7 p.m

In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Wednesday, Araoz wrote that, despite Epstein’s death, her “quest for justice is just getting started.”

“It took me years to tell the people close to me what had happened,” she wrote. “I was so intimidated by his insistence that I never speak a word of my visits to anyone. And like many survivors, I struggled with anxiety and shame for what I had experienced. The power structure was stacked against me. His money, influence and connections to important people made me want to hide and stay silent. Those same powerful forces let him hide and evade justice.”

Araoz said she wants to tell her story “to hold Epstein to account and also his recruiters, the workers on his payroll who knew what he was doing and the prominent people around him who helped conceal and perpetuate his sex-trafficking scheme. Their hideous actions victimized me and so many young girls like me.”

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR DECRIES ‘SERIOUS IRREGULARITIES’ IN EPSTEIN’S DETENTION, VOWS FULL INVESTIGATION

Araoz’s lawsuit is one of the first to be filed under the Child Victims Act, a new New York state law that took effect at midnight Wednesday. The law allows child abuse victims to file civil lawsuits against their alleged abusers within a one-year “look back window” regardless of when the abuse took place. Araoz credits the new law for providing a “counterweight” to feeling “crushed by the power imbalance between Epstein, with his enablers, and me.

Maxwell, the 57-year-old woman accused of procuring underage girls for Epstein — and sometimes allegedly joining in the abuse — has become the face of the Epstein scandal in the aftermath of the 66-year-old’s reported suicide.

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A dual citizen of England and France, Maxwell was born on Christmas Day in 1961 to British media mogul Robert Maxwell, owner of the tabloid the Daily Mirror. Robert died under mysterious circumstances in 1991 after falling from the yacht he named after Ghislaine, his youngest of nine children, and, after his death, evidence surfaced suggesting the elder Maxwell may have been using the paper’s employee pension fund to keep his empire afloat.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES SWAMP JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE FROM FRINGE AND MAINSTREAM

Ghislaine relocated to New York, living off a $100,000-a-year trust fund and trying her hand at real estate. According to a profile of her in Britain’s Sunday Times, Maxwell met Epstein shortly after the move to New York and, in him, found a man who “could replace the lifestyle she had” with her father. Epstein’s wealth opened doors and, once inside, Maxwell possessed the power to cement crucial social connections.

From an initial romantic fling with Epstein, the relationship reportedly developed into more of a tight-knit, “best friend” companionship, and it was the publishing heiress who reportedly connected Epstein with two of his most high-profile friends — the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, and former President Bill Clinton.

Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured here in New York City in October 2016, has come under the microscope after Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide. 
(Getty Images)

Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has vowed to continue the investigation into Epstein, who, at the time of his death, was being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center awaiting trial on allegations he operated an underage sex trafficking ring. And even though Epstein is now firmly outside the grip of the criminal justice system, his alleged “co-conspirators” have no such reprieve.

PRINCE ANDREW’S LINK TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN DRAWS NEW SCRUTINY AFTER SUICIDE, DOCUMENT DUMP

Maxwell’s potential liability has already been illuminated on the civil side of the legal spectrum.

Several accusers have alleged Maxwell played a pivotal role in enlisting Epstein’s alleged victims, according to court documents unsealed Friday, just hours before Epstein reportedly hanged himself with a bedsheet tied to his bunk in an 8-by-8 cell. Those who say they’re victims of Epstein, and other eyewitnesses to the events surrounding his alleged crimes, have testified Maxwell’s role was in arranging massages and sexual favors for Epstein and several of those in his circle of high-profile associates.

Ghislaine Maxwell, pictured, here in 2005 with Jeffrey Epstein, is accused of playing a pivotal role in enlisting Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking victims.
(Getty Images)

But Maxwell allegedly played an even more direct role in the sex abuse on several occasions.

Maxwell and Epstein were accused of molesting two victims in 1996 but the claims — allegedly reported to the FBI — fell on deaf ears, according to an affidavit viewed by the Miami Herald.

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Maxwell has not released any public statements since Epstein’s arrest in early July. No criminal charges have been brought against her and she has consistently and vehemently denied all allegations of misconduct.

Defense attorney Doug Richards told Fox News that, “From both a civil and criminal standpoint, Epstein’s death does her no favors. Victims are rightly unsatisfied with the way that this case was handled, and his death rekindles the demand for someone to be held accountable and for justice to be done, and she’s next in line.”

Fox News’ Hollie McKay contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/us/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-jennifer-araoz-lawsuit

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Steve King: Without rape and incest, ‘Would there be any population of the world left?’ – Washington Examiner
Steve King: Without rape and incest, ‘Would there be any population of the world left?’ – Washington Examiner

During a Wednesday speech to the Westside Conservative Club in Iowa, Rep. Steve King suggested that populations across the globe were rooted in rape, pillaging, and incest, while espousing that no baby should be aborted because of the way they were conceived.

“What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest?” the Iowa congressman asked. “Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that.”

King, the father of three sons, argued that babies conceived of rape were no less valuable than those conceived intentionally. “It’s not the baby’s fault for the sin of the father, or of the mother,” he said.

Steve King, a staunchly conservative member of the GOP, has long been a controversial figure in the U.S. Congress for comments about immigration, race, religion, and abortion.

King was stripped of his House committee assignments in January after he questioned why white supremacy was a bad thing. “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” he said to the New York Times.

Shortly after the interview several top GOP members suggested that King be censured at the very least. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that King find “another line of work.”

King, 70, was slammed for comments made in July 2016 about the contributions made by ‘nonwhite’ people throughout history. “This whole ‘old white people’ business does get a little tired, Charlie,” King said to writer Charles Pierce on an MSNBC appearance. “I’d ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you are talking about? Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?”

Just days later, King received further criticism when he said, “The idea of multiculturalism, that every culture is equal — that’s not objectively true … We’ve been fed that information for the past 25 years, and we’re not going to become a greater nation if we continue to do that.”

In a 2017 endorsement of controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders, King said “Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

King later doubled down on his assertion, saying that he “meant exactly what I said.” He further stated that populations and culture needed to be closely carefully cultivated. “You cannot rebuild your civilization with somebody else’s babies,” King said. “You’ve got to keep your birth rate up, and that you need to teach your children your values. In doing so, you can grow your population, you can strengthen your culture, and you can strengthen your way of life.”

Democratic Iowa Rep. Abby Finkenauer slammed King’s remarks as “incredibly cruel & disrespectful to survivors. Steve King & his values, his rhetoric, & his disdain for decency is a far cry from the Iowa I know,” she said in a tweet. “He doesn’t represent who we are & he continues to be an embarrassment to our state & federal delegation.”

New York Sen. and Democratic presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand called for King’s resignation, tweeting, “You are a disgrace. Resign.”

In a rare reference to the claims that she married her brother, Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted about King’s comments, “Gross! This would explain why these weirdos are fixed on smearing me with claims of incest. Projecting their filth, unreal.”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/steve-king-without-rape-and-incest-would-there-be-any-population-of-the-world-left

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Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Sues His Estate, Staff Over Alleged Sexual Assaults – NPR
Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Sues His Estate, Staff Over Alleged Sexual Assaults – NPR

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York County Supreme Court alleged an associate of Jeffrey Epstein brought Jennifer Araoz to Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan, where Araoz was sexually abused.

Scott Heins/Getty Images


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Scott Heins/Getty Images

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York County Supreme Court alleged an associate of Jeffrey Epstein brought Jennifer Araoz to Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan, where Araoz was sexually abused.

Scott Heins/Getty Images

Updated at 2:06 p.m. ET

A woman in New York who said she was raped by Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier who was charged with sex trafficking, is suing his estate, an associate and members of his staff for their alleged involvement in the scheme.

“Today I am starting to reclaim my power,” Jennifer Araoz, 32, told reporters.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday comes after Epstein’s apparent suicide left victims questioning how they would receive justice.

Araoz said Epstein preyed on her when she was a 14- and 15-year-old student at a performing arts high school in New York City. The lawsuit filed in New York County Supreme Court said a recruiter approached Araoz on the sidewalk of the school.

The suit targets three unidentified women who worked for Epstein, including that recruiter, a secretary and a maid. The lawsuit also names Epstein’s longtime confidante and British socialite, Ghislaine Maxwell, saying she assisted and protected Epstein in a sophisticated sex trafficking ring.

Maxwell is accused in the suit of scheduling appointments, intimidating potential witnesses and ensuring that Epstein had girls to meet with every day.

“It is clear that Ms. Maxwell was a co-conspirator in the sex trafficking ring, it’s clear she played an administrative role,” whether or not she had direct contact with victims, attorney Dan Kaiser told reporters.

Maxwell’s whereabouts are unknown. In a deposition in a separate case, Maxwell denied allegations that she helped Epstein acquire girls or young women, the Miami Herald reported.

Kaiser emphasized that Epstein had a network of enablers, including the wealthy and the powerful. “Without those enablers, it would not have gone on for as long as it did,” Kaiser said. He said additional enablers will be named.

Kaiser also said he did not know the identity of the executor of Epstein’s estate.

The recruiter — described in the lawsuit as “a brunette woman” — allegedly befriended Araoz in the days that followed their initial meeting on the sidewalk. She began to talk fondly of Epstein, describing him as a wealthy, connected person who could help Araoz’s career.

Araoz was first brought past security cameras and into an opulent trophy room in Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, according to the lawsuit. She was offered wine, snacks and cash to help her family. Eventually, Epstein took her upstairs to his massage room, starting what Araoz said became more than a year of sexual assault and battery.

At the time, she was living in Queens with her mother, according to the lawsuit. Her father had died when she was 12, leaving her without a father figure.

After Epstein allegedly assaulted her, the shame compelled her to tell her mother a different story: that she had been bullied at school. To avoid encounters with Epstein or the recruiter, she transferred to a different school, in Queens. Ultimately, she stopped pursuing modeling, acting and singing.

Kimberly Lerner, a victims’ rights attorney for Araoz, praised her courage to come forward. “She has the resolve and the strength to help bring down the criminal enterprise and the conspiracy,” Lerner said. She added that Araoz gave up her anonymity while Epstein was alive because she wanted other victims to know that they are not alone. She said Araoz had also lived in fear of Epstein.

Early Saturday, he was found unresponsive in an apparent suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He was arrested on July 6 and pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking of dozens of young girls.

“I am angry Jeffrey Epstein won’t have to face his survivors of his abuse in court,” Araoz said in a statement after his death. “We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives, while he will never face the consequences of the crimes he committed the pain and trauma he caused so many people.”

Her lawsuit was filed under New York state’s new Child Victims Act, which took effect Wednesday. The legislation gives victims of childhood sex abuse more time to file civil lawsuits against abusers — until the victims reach the age of 55.

In an opinion piece published in The New York Times in tandem with the lawsuit filing, Araoz wrote, “I used to feel alone, walking into his mansion with the cameras pointing at me, but now I have the power of the law on my side.”

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/08/14/751078102/jeffrey-epstein-accuser-sues-his-estate-staff-over-sexual-assaults

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How failed presidential candidates could hold the key to a Democratic Senate majority in 2020 – CNN
How failed presidential candidates could hold the key to a Democratic Senate majority in 2020 – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/politics/beto-orourke-john-hickenlooper-2020-senate-democrats/index.html

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Judge rejects House Dem request to link McGahn, Mueller grand jury lawsuits – POLITICO
Judge rejects House Dem request to link McGahn, Mueller grand jury lawsuits – POLITICO

While D.C. federal District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell acknowledged the “factual connections” between the McGahn and grand jury cases, she ultimately sided with the Justice Department. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images

legal

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the House Judiciary Committee’s bid to formally link two lawsuits it contends will expedite its decision to recommend articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

The two lawsuits — one seeking access to special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury evidence and another seeking to compel testimony from Mueller’s top witness, former White House counsel Don McGahn — should be considered together, the committee argued, because both arose from Mueller’s probe and are central to the Houses impeachment deliberations.

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But in an 11-page ruling, D.C. federal District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell ruled that connections between the two suits are “too superficial,” and decided the McGahn case should be randomly assigned to a federal judge.

“[T]he House Judiciary Committee has failed to meet its burden that departure from the practice of random case assignment is warranted,” wrote Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama.

It’s a blow to House Democrats as they inch toward the prospect of impeachment proceedings. Earlier this week, House General Counsel Douglas Letter argued that the two cases should be paired in front of Howell because both seek evidence for a potential impeachment and are based on the same set of facts.

But while Howell acknowledged the “factual connections” between the McGahn and grand jury cases, she ultimately sided with the Justice Department.

“[A]t first blush, the House Judiciary Committee’s view that the related case rule applies is understandable due to these factual connections between the two cases,” Howell wrote. “Nonetheless, closer examination demonstrates that these connections between the two cases are too superficial and attenuated for the instant McGahn Subpoena Case to qualify.”

Howell will consider the House’s grand jury petition because such cases are automatically referred to the chief judge. Later Wednesday, the McGahn case was randomly assigned to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a 2013 Obama appointee.

“The judge had this discretion under the rule and we appreciate the rapid reassignment. We look forward to getting to the merits of our complaint,” a Judiciary Committee spokeswoman said.

Howell emphasized that the grand jury petition, as a legal matter, is unrelated to the McGahn case. The House, she noted, intends to protect the secrecy of Mueller’s grand jury information but rely on it to form the basis of potential articles of impeachment. But in the McGahn matter, the House intends to force him to testify publicly, which would involve an entirely different set of legal principles.

Joining the two cases, she said, would raise the specter that the House had manipulated the process to put its cases in front of a preferred judge.

“The potential for manipulation of the ordinary rule of random assignment,” Howell wrote, “would be particularly acute if the House Judiciary Committee could relate any matter arising from its ongoing investigation to a single judge on this court, irrespective of the particularities of each case.”

Howell also disputed the House contention that joining the cases would speed them up.

“Judicial efficiency is not served where two cases present such different factual and legal issues, as is the circumstance here,” she wrote.

Howell’s opinion aligned almost entirely with the Justice Department’s legal arguments lodged Tuesday. In a filing, the Justice Department accused House Democrats of trying to “game the system” and shop around for a friendly federal judge. The department said the twin demands are based on “completely different factual and legal issues.”

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/14/judge-rejects-mcgahn-grand-jury-lawsuits-1462917

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Planned Parenthood To Withdraw From Title X, Unless Court Intervenes – NPR
Planned Parenthood To Withdraw From Title X, Unless Court Intervenes – NPR

Unless a federal court intervenes, Planned Parenthood says it will formally withdraw from the nation’s family planning program for low-income people.

Jeff Roberson/AP


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Jeff Roberson/AP

Unless a federal court intervenes, Planned Parenthood says it will formally withdraw from the nation’s family planning program for low-income people.

Jeff Roberson/AP

Planned Parenthood says it will formally withdraw from the nation’s family planning program for low-income people within days, unless a federal court intervenes.

In a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Planned Parenthood officials ask for a stay against new Trump administration rules that forbid organizations receiving Title X funds to provide or refer patients for abortion. If the court does not intervene, Planned Parenthood says it will be forced to pull out on Aug. 19 after decades with the program.

Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood’s acting president, said the impact on low-income patients will differ state by state. In some areas, she said, contraception and other services could become more expensive or wait times may be longer.

“It means that some people will not be able to afford the care; it means that some people will have to make a decision as to whether or not they have the time to wait in line. It certainly means that there will be, potentially, a delay in care — or they will decide to forgo the care altogether,” McGill Johnson said.

Abortion-rights opponents, who support the rule, have praised President Trump for delivering on his campaign promise to “defund Planned Parenthood.” Marjorie Dannenfelser, of the Susan B. Anthony List, and others have argued that no tax dollars should go to organizations that have any involvement with abortion.

Critics call the Trump administration regulations a “gag rule.”

“Imagine if you show up as a patient to a health center and the doctor’s only ability is to refer you to prenatal care, and you may have already decided that you want to have an abortion,” McGill Johnson said. “Federal regulations will ban that doctor from actually giving you advice and referring you to abortion.”

Planned Parenthood’s withdrawal from Title X would mark a major shift for the program. The group has been involved since Title X’s creation in the early 1970s, and its affiliates serve about 40 percent of recipients nationwide, officials say.

Over time, Title X has grown from a $6 million program in 1971 to more than $286 million this year.

Federal funding for abortion already is prohibited in most cases, but the new rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services this year forbid any group involved in providing abortions, or counseling patients about them, to receive Title X funding to pay for other services such as contraception and health screenings.

Planned Parenthood officials say they had been holding out hope that a federal court would intervene or that Congress would act to preserve their funding (a spending packaged passed by the Democratic-controlled House in June included language reversing the Trump administration rule; that language would have faced formidable odds in the Republican-led Senate).

But in light of new guidance sent to grantees by Health and Human Services in recent days, officials say they will be forced out of Title X unless the court steps in. Planned Parenthood recently said it had — at least temporarily — stopped using Title X dollars while legal challenges continue. The court has rejected some previous efforts to block the Trump rule.

Other providers of reproductive health services also have been affected by the Trump administration rules. The Democratic governors of several states including Hawaii, Washington and Illinois have said their state agencies will not participate while the rule is in effect. Maine Family Planning — the only Title X grantee in that state — recently announced it is also pulling out of the program.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/08/14/751062602/planned-parenthood-to-withdraw-from-title-x-unless-court-intervenes

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What would a powerful earthquake feel like where you live? Search our map – Los Angeles Times
What would a powerful earthquake feel like where you live? Search our map – Los Angeles Times
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Jeffrey Epstein accuser Jennifer Araoz sues Ghislaine Maxwell, 3 other Epstein staffers – NBCNews.com
Jeffrey Epstein accuser Jennifer Araoz sues Ghislaine Maxwell, 3 other Epstein staffers – NBCNews.com

A new front in the Jeffrey Epstein case opened Wednesday morning, as his accuser Jennifer Araoz filed a lawsuit against his estate, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell and three unnamed female household staff.

Araoz alleges she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Epstein at his New York City townhouse when she was 14 and 15 years old, including a forcible rape in 2002. She first disclosed her alleged abuse publicly in an exclusive TODAY Show interview with Savannah Guthrie of NBC News on July 10, the same day she filed papers in New York state court saying she intended to sue Epstein.

The complaint Araoz filed Wednesday alleges Maxwell and the other staffers “conspired with each other to make possible and otherwise facilitate the sexual abuse and rape of Plaintiff.”

“Today is my first step towards reclaiming my power,” Araoz said during a call with reporters Wednesday after the suit was filed. “Jeffrey Epstein and his network of enablers stole from me. They robbed me of my youth, my identity, my innocence, my self-worth. For too long, they escaped accountability. I am here today because I intend to change that.”

Araoz also published an opinion piece in The New York Times on Wednesday explaining her decision to file suit.

“The pursuit of justice doesn’t end. It begins now,” Araoz’s civil attorney, Dan Kaiser, said.

He said the “adult enablers” around Epstein made his client’s abuse possible.

“Adults closely within Epstein’s orbit — they are all culpable. … They shared with each other connections and resources to keep these crimes concealed.”

Kaiser also said that if any powerful men participated in Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking, they are also enablers, and he would consider adding names to the suit as facts dictate.

“Our nation should not tolerate this kind of abuse at the hands of the elite and the plutocrats,“ he said.

Kaiser said it would be important to get a deposition from Maxwell, and any other information in terms of testimony and documents that can help identify an unnamed alleged “recruiter.”

The suit is among the first to be filed against Epstein’s estate following his death by apparent suicide Saturday. It amends a suit Araoz intended to file against him to name his estate as a defendant.

It is also one of the first lawsuits filed under New York state’s new Child Victims Act, which goes into effect Wednesday. The landmark law enables victims of child sex abuse to bring civil cases against alleged abusers for the next 12 months, regardless of when the abuse took place. After the year, victims will still have up until age 55 to file civil suits.

Araoz’s case was not cited in the sex-trafficking indictment filed against Epstein in July. After his indictment and after she went public with her allegations, she was interviewed by both the FBI and federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York as part of their investigation of Epstein. Araoz is continuing to cooperate as the criminal focus turns to any potential Epstein co-conspirators, her attorneys told NBC News. Araoz attorney Kimberly Lerner said Araoz has been assigned a victim number by the FBI, and has also been in touch with the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Multiple young women have accused Maxwell, now 57, the youngest daughter of the late British publishing magnate Robert Maxwell, of complicity in Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking ring. They say she either recruited them directly or provided logistical support, like scheduling visits to Epstein’s home.

Maxwell’s alleged role came into sharper focus last week in newly unsealed court filings that include depositions from Epstein’s former masseuses, staffers and associates. They paint a portrait of Maxwell as the accused sexual predator’s chief enabler.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City.Joe Schildhorn / Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

The filings are related to a 2015 defamation lawsuit that alleged Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed against Maxwell. That suit was settled out of court in 2017.

Maxwell has not been criminally charged and has repeatedly denied the accusations against her. In Epstein’s 2007 plea agreement, prosecutors agreed not to bring any criminal charges against other potential co-conspirators identified in the course of the investigation. Maxwell was not named in the agreement as a potential co-conspirator. Epstein pleaded guilty to two state prostitution felonies, served 13 months in a county jail — with daytime work release — and registered as a sex offender. The deal has been widely criticized by legal experts.

Araoz’s case represents a new legal liability for Maxwell and other household staff — a secretary, a maid and a “recruiter” whom Araoz says she encountered outside her high school a few blocks from Epstein’s home in the fall of 2001.

The suit alleges Maxwell “participated with and assisted Epstein in maintaining and protecting Defendant Epstein’s sex trafficking ring” by ensuring a steady stream of young women by identifying and hiring “recruiters,” scheduling appointments with Epstein, as well as intimidating potential witnesses and ensuring the scheme remained secret.

Though Araoz says she never met Maxwell personally, her suit draws a direct line between Maxwell’s alleged administrative support of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring and the abuse she experienced. “Upon information and belief,” the complaint says, ”Maxwell conspired with Epstein in the implementation and maintenance of his criminal enterprise which, in turn, victimized Ms. Araoz.”

Maxwell’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment or a question regarding her whereabouts. Araoz attorney Kaiser said Maxwell’s attorneys were “briefly in contact with us. They were dismissive of the allegations.” He said they didn’t deny any specific factual assertion.

“The powerful and wealthy enabled Epstein,” Kaiser told NBC News. “The well-connected both participated in the sex-trafficking ring and aided in its concealment and perpetuation. They will now be held accountable.”

On her call with reporters, Araoz said, “While I am angry that Mr. Epstein’s death means he will never personally answer to me in the court of law, my resolve to pursue justice is only strengthened. My story and my experiences — those who enabled and facilitated his criminal behavior — none of that is diminished or immunized simply because he apparently chose to take his own life.“

Lerner said the Araoz legal team is considering legal action against the federal jail where Epstein was found unresponsive Saturday. “They had one duty, to keep that inmate safe. … There needs to be accountability.”

Epstein’s lawyers did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In prior discussions with Araoz’s attorneys, Epstein’s attorneys had questioned her credibility.

New York’s new Child Victims Act also pertains to criminal cases — the statute of limitations has increased five years, so that victims will now have until age 28 to press felony charges for sexual abuse and age 25 for misdemeanors.

As NBC News has previously reported, Araoz never contacted the authorities to tell her story, but she says she did tell at least four people — her mother, her old boyfriend and two close friends — about the Epstein encounters several years after they occurred. Reached by NBC News, all four confirmed that she told them years ago that she had been sexually assaulted by Epstein.

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/jeffrey-epstein-accuser-jennifer-araoz-sues-ghislaine-maxwell-3-other-n1041901

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Trump blinks as trade war threatens consumers | TheHill – The Hill
Trump blinks as trade war threatens consumers | TheHill – The Hill

President TrumpDonald John TrumpSecurity analyst calls Trump’s language on Hong Kong protests ‘inappropriate’ Americans’ opinions about China hit record low: survey Pentagon watchdog says it is officially reviewing billion ‘war cloud’ contract MORE on Tuesday moved to protect U.S. consumers from the next round of his trade war with China amid mounting threats to the economy and his reelection.

The White House said it would delay 10 percent tariffs slated to take effect Sept. 1 on certain consumer goods from China while exempting other products — less than two weeks after Trump announced the new import taxes.

Postponing the tariffs until Dec. 15 is expected to temporarily cool U.S. trade tensions with China while also shielding consumers and American businesses from higher costs. Financial markets also rallied on the news after weeks of anxiety over a global slowdown.

But narrowing the scope and delaying the impact of the trade war suggests dwindling odds of striking a broader agreement with China.

Trump insisted Tuesday that he maintains the upper hand in his battle with China, arguing that Chinese President Xi Jinping is eager to make a deal. Even so, Trump conceded that he decided to hold off on additional tariffs because of the potential harm to consumers.

“We’re doing this for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers,” Trump said.

Trump has already imposed a 25 percent tariff on $250 billion in Chinese imports and will subject roughly $300 billion more to a 10 percent tariff starting in mid-December.

The new set of tariffs would cover and likely raise prices for hundreds of food and agricultural products, articles of clothing, shoes, household staples and a slew of other crucial consumer goods made in few places, if any, beyond China.

Those products include cellphones, laptop computers, video game consoles, toys and certain articles of footwear and clothing.

Trump has long denied that American consumers would cover the costs of tariffs, which are taxes paid by U.S. importers of Chinese goods. The president has argued that China has effectively footed the bill on its own products as its economy slows and the value of its currency falls.

But Trump’s decision to delay further tariffs until after the bulk of the holiday shopping season reflects mounting fears that the trade war could derail the robust U.S. economy in the coming months.

Economists at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Moody’s Analytics warned ahead of Tuesday’s announcement that the odds of a recession between now and the 2020 election were rising, due in part to Trump’s trade policy.

A slowdown would be a daunting obstacle for any incumbent president, and Trump has hinged his reelection bid largely on the health of the economy.

Whether growth stagnates depends predominately on the strength of consumer spending, the force behind roughly 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Uncertainty driven by Trump’s trade war and other economic headwinds has dampened U.S. business investment, which fell 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2019. But a stellar 4.3 percent boost to consumer spending helped GDP grow at a stable 2.1 percent annual rate in the same three-month period.

Retailers had warned Trump that the new tariffs could force layoffs, store closings and price increases heading into the holiday shopping season.

“I’m sure the feedback they’ve been getting is the concerns about the economy and how it’s primarily being supported right now by the consumer,” said Stephen Myrow, managing partner at Beacon Policy Advisors in Washington. “You don’t want to really do anything that’s going to undermine that.”

Trade associations for retailers and manufacturers offered limited praise for the tariff delay while expressing deep concern with what might come next.

The White House plans to exempt some items from the new China tariffs, but almost all of the goods the U.S. imports from China will still be subject to taxes.

“We urge the administration to develop an effective strategy to address China’s unfair trade practices by working with our allies instead of using unilateral tariffs that cost American jobs and hurt consumers,” David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation, said in a statement.

The delay also offers little more than a flash of hope for farmers who have suffered from billions in lost sales to China since the trade war began in July 2018.

It’s unclear if or when China will resume purchasing U.S. crops and livestock, despite intense pressure from Trump to do so. Xi is under close scrutiny for China’s handling of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that Beijing has pinned on Trump, further complicating the path to a comprehensive trade deal.

“He can’t be seen in any way showing any weakness towards the United States,” Myrow said of Xi. “A lot of goodwill is gone between Trump and Xi, so I think it’s a pretty intractable situation while they’re both the ones in charge.”

Source Article from https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/457316-trump-blinks-as-trade-war-threatens-consumers

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China State Media Present Their Own Version Of Hong Kong Protests – NPR
China State Media Present Their Own Version Of Hong Kong Protests – NPR

A protester shows a placard to travelers as demonstrations continue at Hong Kong International Airport on Wednesday. Flight operations resumed at the airport Wednesday morning after two days of disruptions.

Vincent Thian/AP


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Vincent Thian/AP

A protester shows a placard to travelers as demonstrations continue at Hong Kong International Airport on Wednesday. Flight operations resumed at the airport Wednesday morning after two days of disruptions.

Vincent Thian/AP

As anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong enter their third month, China’s leaders face a new challenge: managing perceptions of the protests at home.

China is anxious the protests might inspire similar dissent on the mainland, where huge swathes of territory — including the regions of Xinjiang and Tibet — have also seen numerous instances of opposition to Beijing’s governance.

To inoculate itself, Beijing has turned to a raft of disinformation tactics to stir up nationalist support at home, creating a very different narrative of what is happening in Hong Kong by levying its control over the flow of information.

“The [protest] movement is so complicated, unpredictable and unprecedented, with a very diverse group of participants,” says Fang Kecheng, a communications professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

“But what we see within the Great Firewall of China is actually simplified and distorted,” he says. “That is because nationalistic content is politically safe and highly popular among the Chinese public and internet users.”

Official state media pin the blame for protests on the “black hand” of foreign interference, namely from the United States, and what they have called criminal Hong Kong thugs. A popular conspiracy theory posits the CIA incited and funded the Hong Kong protesters, who are demanding an end to an extradition bill with China and the ability to elect their own leader.

Fueling this theory, China Daily, a state newspaper geared towards a younger, more cosmopolitan audience, this week linked to a video purportedly showing Hong Kong protesters using American-made grenade launchers to combat police.

Other widely-shared videos on Weibo, a popular Chinese blogging platform, claim to show a female protester who lost an eye last weekend from a rubber bullet accepting payment from other protesters, insinuating the incident was staged. Except the woman accepting cash in the video is not the protester who lost her eye.

But Beijing’s biggest messaging victory so far was provided by Hong Kong protesters themselves on Tuesday night, when they descended on two men suspected of being mainland Chinese agents. Beijing made sure to widely disseminate videotape of the incident.

By the next morning, a third of top trending topics on the popular blogging platform Weibo were expressions of support for one of the men, a reporter for the hardline Chinese newspaper Global Times. Viral slogans like “What a Shame Hong Kong” and “I support Hong Kong police, beat me all you want” have been shared millions of time on Instagram and Weibo, with some Internet users threatening to travel to Hong Kong themselves to avenge the Global Times employee.

“If you opened the Shenzhen port to Hong Kong now and waived the needed permit, I dare say that [these protesters] would have been beaten to a pulp,” wrote one user.

Some Hong Kong protesters, distraught by the violent turn of events last night, created digital apologies and even condolences on mainstream Chinese social media sites, including Weibo and WeChat, a ubiquitous chat app. But the posters were almost immediately censored.

“Sadly, it seems that only patriotic content is now allowed,” says CUHK’s Fang.

Beijing’s message is even succeeding with Chinese living abroad.

“I think the situation in Hong Kong has evolved into a color revolution, which is supported by the Western countries,” Bao Haining, a rising junior at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and originally from the northern city of Changchun.

“I define the protesters in Hong Kong not as a demonstration any more. I can define them as a terrorist organization,” he says, “because they attack civilians and occupy public buildings like airports.”

Controlling the message is critical if Beijing wants to escalate its intervention but stop short of a military crackdown, Minxin Pei, a comparative politics professor at Claremont McKenna College, told NPR.

Pei argues the costs of a military intervention would be too high for Beijing to justify. Bloody street clashes would result in high casualties and global condemnation, and enforcement of law and order after an invasion would require a costly military occupation.

“It’s not about whether [Chinese] troops can maintain order. It’s really about the day after the war, because the Hong Kong government will not be able to function,” says Pei.

Instead, Pei believes Beijing, if necessary, will use nationalism to mobilize tens of thousands of disaffected young men as patriotic volunteers to storm Hong Kong and squash protests. Last week, China’s top office on Hong Kong affairs unleased its strongest rhetoric yet against the protests and called on pro-Beijing supporters to “firmly protect the homeland” in Hong Kong.

A seemingly grassroots movement would give Beijing plausible deniability behind any kind of forceful intervention, says Pei: “If you have sort of civilian types getting involved then it’s really hard to conclude that one country two system is bad because we’re talking about ordinary Chinese people – patriots – getting themselves in while protecting Hong Kong.”

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/08/14/751039100/china-state-media-present-distorted-version-of-hong-kong-protests

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The Statue of Liberty, the ‘Mending Wall,’ and the politicization of poetry – Washington Examiner
The Statue of Liberty, the ‘Mending Wall,’ and the politicization of poetry – Washington Examiner

When the Statue of Liberty stretches out its arms to the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses, it ought to have a few caveats, according to one Trump administration official.

Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told NPR on Tuesday that the American ethos involves rewarding strength.

NPR’s Rachel Martin asked, “Would you also agree that Emma Lazarus’ words etched on the Statue of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, your poor,’ are also part of the American ethos?”

Cuccinelli responded, “They certainly are. Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.”

In 1883, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus,” the poem that now rests on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and reads, in part, “Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …”

The phrase has become a popular refrain in American culture, but according to Cuccinelli, its directive is too broad. So he warped Lady Liberty’s words to defend the Trump administration’s recent decision to deny green cards and visas to immigrants who are likely to rely on government aid such as food stamps or Medicaid.

But Lazarus didn’t simply forget to add a line about standing “on their own two feet,” and it’s doubtful that she meant her poem to become a political gimmick.

This isn’t the first time a Trump administration official has referenced the words of a classic poem to defend its position on immigration. In 2016, Vice President Mike Pence supported the construction of a border wall, saying, “good fences make good neighbors.”

“We’re going to put America first,” he began. “But you know, there’s an old saying in Indiana that good fences make good neighbors. And the way we can be good neighbors is with strong leadership in the United States as a start.”

In Robert Frost‘s “Mending Wall,” however, the phrase reads ironically; if you study the poem, good fences do not, in fact, make good neighbors. Though the phrase owes its origins not to Frost, but to folklore, Frost’s poem has influenced its modern meaning. “Mending Wall” ends, referring to the narrator’s neighbor: “He will not go behind his father’s saying,/ And he likes having thought of it so well/ He says again, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.'”

When Frost wrote that “good fences make good neighbors,” his words condemned unnecessary barriers; they didn’t support border walls, or any kind of wall for that matter. Since Pence was looking for a rationalization, though, he took the words as one anyway.

Why are politicians so captivated by creating literary justifications for their policies? The new U.S. poet laureate, Joy Harjo, might have an answer. When I spoke with her recently, Harjo told me that politicians don’t speak poetry because it would make too much sense. “Poetry goes through those rhetorical walls,” she said, adding:

Politicians may borrow or butcher poetry, but when they use it for their own ends, they will never understand a poem themselves. Misappropriating poetry for policy is almost always disingenuous. Why? Because politicians who do so are not trying to open up meaning, as Harjo says. They’re trying to couch it with flowery language, and by doing so, they build their own rhetorical walls.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-statue-of-liberty-the-mending-wall-and-the-politicization-of-poetry

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Russia says radiation spiked 4 to 16 times above normal after explosion – ABC News
Russia says radiation spiked 4 to 16 times above normal after explosion – ABC News

The radiation spike that followed the apparent explosion of a nuclear-powered missile engine in Russia — an event that left seven dead and has been cloaked in secrecy — was higher than previously indicated by the country’s officials, Russian government weather agency on Tuesday said.

The news comes amid conflicting reports that authorities were preparing to evacuate a village close to the Arctic test site where the blast occurred and that doctors who had treated engineers injured in the blast had signed non-disclosure agreements.

Roshydromet, a state weather monitoring body, said Tuesday its sensors in a city near the Nenoksa Missile Test Site on Russia’s northern Arctic coast had picked up a spike in background radiation levels four to 16 times above the norm immediately after the blast on Friday when what officials have confirmed was a nuclear-powered missile engine exploded on a floating launch pad. The spike lasted about an hour and half, before levels returned to normal, the agency said.

The spike was still low, but above what Russian authorities said on Sunday, when officials from a nuclear research center noted the spike had been double the norm.

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday issued a statement saying Russia had informed it the radiation levels around the site in the Arkhangelsk region were equivalent to natural radiation.

Campaigners and experts said although they did not want to rule out possible health risks entirely from the fallout– which they said were likely low– the main problem was how Russian authorities had handled information about the accident.

“It’s not really dangerous for health if it’s not for really long and this spike was for less than an hour,” Konstantin Fomin, a media coordinator on energy issues at the environmentalist group, Greenpeace, that has gathered its own readings in the area showing the spike was 20 times above the norm, told ABC News on Tuesday. “The real problem is lack of transparency.”

The data on the radiation came five days after the explosion that killed five nuclear engineers and two defense personnel and that U.S. officials and outside experts have said they believe “likely” involved a nuclear-powered cruise missile. The weapon has been touted by President Vladimir Putin as the centerpiece of Russia’s new nuclear arsenal, described as having almost “unlimited range” due to what is effectively an onboard nuclear reactor.

A U.S. official on Monday told ABC News that they thought it was “likely” the explosion had been caused during a test on the missile, named the SSX-C-9 Skyfall by NATO and as the 9M370 Burevestnik by Russia.

The official said the U.S. had detected increased radiation levels close to the explosion.

The delay in making the information widely public, reflects the highly secretive response from Russian authorities, who first appeared to conceal that the blast involved radiation and then only slowly released details about it — for some, setting off echoes of the Soviet response to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986.

Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM via AP
In this grab taken from a footage provided by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM press service, people gather for the funerals of five Russian nuclear engineers killed by a rocket explosion in Sarov.

In the first days after the accident, Russia’s defense ministry initially made no mention the engine had contained nuclear materials and then denied there had been a spike in radiation. The local city administration on the Friday released a statement saying there had been a spike to a similar level of radiation reported by the weather agency on Tuesday, but then deleted it from its website.

State television also initially largely ignored the accident, barely mentioning it in news broadcasts for the first two days. Only on Sunday, did officials from Russia’s Federal Nuclear Center, which carried out the test, acknowledge in a video interview, that the engine used “radioactive materials.” Russia’s state atomic company Rosatom on Sunday also said in a statement the test had involved placing a small-scale isotope power source into a liquid propellant engine, but it has given almost not details.

The Kremlin on Tuesday for the first time commented on the explosion, but mostly turned aside questions. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Wednesday told reporters that “all relevant agencies were working to ensure the safety of Russian citizens,” saying he had nothing more to add on the explosion.

Experts said the radiation levels recorded did not appear to pose serious dangers. Roshydromet’s said its sensors had picked up readings of 2 microsieverts per hour; the European norm for the total natural radiation that an adult will absorb in a year is 1000 microsieverts and the spike had lasted only around an hour according to the weather station and local people monitoring it. The most contaminated areas at Chernobyl by contrast had been thousands of times higher.

Fomin, the Greenpeace coordinator said. “It’s obviously not on the Chernobyl scale but even if there is no danger — and I hope there is no danger — it is very worrisome that our government acts with so little transparency. Because when something more dangerous will happen, and when we speak about something nuclear it’s more about when, not if, and if they will operate with such lack of transparency it can be really harmful.”

Fomin said he did not understand why the local administration would have been pushed to delete its statement alerting about the elevated radiation levels since it coincided what Roshydromet’s on Tuesday. He said Greenpeace had actually already seen the readings from Roshydromet shortly after the blast, they had just not been widely publicised by authorities. He said his main concern was that authorities had not made public what radioactive materials were used in the engine, in particular since the measurements so far have only been for gamma radiation, not alpha particles, which can cause cancer. Some uncertainty also still remained about the levels of radiation released during the blast, since the sensors that picked up the spike were located in Severodvinsk, a city of 200,000 people about 20 miles east of the missile test site, meaning that the levels could have been higher closer to the blast.

On Tuesday, the state news agency TASS reported that several doctors who had treated the three engineers injured in the explosion had now been voluntarily flown to Moscow for examination and that they had signed non-disclosures agreements.

In a sign of the uncertainty surrounding the accident, there were conflicting reports in state media as authorities apparently first requested and then cancelled a temporary evacuation of the Nenoksa, the village right by the test site. Ksenia Yudina. The head of the Nenoksa village council’s press service told the state news agency RIA Novosti residents had been asked to prepare to leave on Wednesday morning while the military carried out an operation there.

But Arkhangelsk’s regional governor, Igor Orlov, hours later rejected that as “nonsense” saying no evacuations were taking place. Yudina then told Interfax that the request to leave had now been cancelled. Reports in local media still later quoted residents suggesting that such temporary evacuations were common, often requested just before a test was carried out at the test site.

“There’s a lot of contradictory information,” said Rashid Alimov, director of Greenpeace Russia’s energy department. “So it’s clear that people are having to operate in the conditions of a lack of information.”

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/International/russia-radiation-spiked-16-times-background-levels-suspected/story?id=64944648

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Trump made 21 false claims last week – CNN
Trump made 21 false claims last week – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/14/politics/weekly-fact-check-donald-trump-21-false/index.html

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Two Prison Guards Reportedly Left Epstein Unattended for Hours Before His Death – Slate
Two Prison Guards Reportedly Left Epstein Unattended for Hours Before His Death – Slate

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Source Article from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/prison-guards-epstein-unattended-alone-in-cell-hours-death.html

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Epstein guards suspected of falsifying logs to show they were checking on him: report – Fox News
Epstein guards suspected of falsifying logs to show they were checking on him: report – Fox News
Video

Report: No guards checked on Epstein for ‘hours’

Questions emerge after Jeffrey Epstein’s death; reaction and analysis from retired FBI criminal profiler James Fitzgerald.

Guards at the New York City jail facility where Jeffrey Epstein is said to have killed himself are suspected of falsifying log entries to show they were checking on the alleged sex trafficker and other inmates with greater regularity than was the case, according to a Tuesday report.

Surveillance video reviewed after Epstein’s death shows guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Center did not make some of the checks they claimed to have made in their logs, a source told the Associated Press. The New York Times reported, citing unnamed officials, that the guards fell asleep at some point and did not check on him for up to three hours.

GIULIANI: BARR’S GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS

The federal jail workers claimed they were checking on inmates in Epstein’s unit every half hour, but investigators now believe that was not the case. The Justice Department on Tuesday said that two guards assigned to watch Epstein had been placed on administrative leave.

JEFFREY EPSTEIN ‘SPECIAL OBSERVATION’ WATCH PROTOCOLS WENT UNHEEDED IN HOURS BEFORE DEATH: REPORTS

The latest revelation, first reported by CBS News, comes amid growing conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s death as he awaited trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Prosecutors said he sexually abused dozens of young girls in his New York and Florida residences between 2002 and 2005, allegations that could have landed him behind bars for 45 years.

PRINCE ANDREW’S LINK TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN DRAWS NEW SCRUTINY AFTER SUICIDE, DOCUMENT DUMP

The 66-year-old disgraced financier was found hanging in his cell on Saturday after using a bedsheet tied to his bunk. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

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Many lawmakers and conspiracy theorists alike wonder how he could commit suicide inside the Special Housing Unit at the jail facility. Attorney General William Barr said Monday there were “serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning,” and said he was demanding “a thorough investigation.”

In the aftermath of Epstein’s apparent suicide, his alleged “recruiter” Ghislaine Maxwell now finds herself under the microscope.

Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has vowed to continue the investigation into Epstein, who, at the time of his death, was in a New York facility awaiting trial on allegations he operated an underage sex trafficking ring. And even though Epstein is now firmly outside the grip of the criminal justice system, his alleged “co-conspirators” do not enjoy a similar reprieve.

Several of Epstein’s accusers have pointed to Maxwell as playing a pivotal role in enlisting his victims, according to thousands of pages of court documents unsealed on Friday — just hours before Epstein reportedly used his bedsheet to hang himself from a prison bunk — in relation to a 2015 defamation suit filed against Maxwell.

Those who say they’re victims of Epstein and other eyewitnesses to the events surrounding his alleged crimes, have testified Maxwell’s role was in arranging massages and sexual favors for Epstein and a circle of his high-profile associates.

But Maxwell allegedly played an even more direct role in the sex abuse on several occasions.

Maxwell and Epstein were accused of molesting two victims in 1996 but the claims — allegedly reported to the FBI — fell on deaf ears, according to an affidavit viewed by the Miami Herald.

Maxwell has not released any public statements since Epstein’s arrest in early July. No criminal charges have been brought against her and she has consistently and vehemently denied all allegations of misconduct.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and Hollie McKay contributed to this report.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/us/epstein-guards-falsifying-logs

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