A Facebook whistleblower revealed her identity in a Sunday night interview while trashing the social media giant for prioritizing divisive content over safety to garner higher profits.
Frances Haugen, 37, spoke out publicly for the first time since quitting Facebook in May when the company dismantled her unit that attempted to address misinformation on the popular platform.
Before leaving the company, Haugen copied thousands of pages on internal documents — some of which had already been reported on — to back up her claims.
“The thing I saw at Facebook over and over again was there were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook,” Haugen said on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
“Facebook, over and over again, chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money,” said Haugen.
Haugen, a data scientist from Iowa, linked what she characterized as Facebook’s inaction in squashing misinformation to the Jan. 6 US Capital riot.
After the polarizing 2020 election, Haugen said the company got rid of the Civic Integrity unit and disabled some safety features they had put in place to reduce misinformation.
“They told us, ‘We’re dissolving Civic Integrity.’ Like, they basically said, ‘Oh good, we made it through the election. There wasn’t riots. We can get rid of Civic Integrity now,” said Haugen.
“Fast forward a couple months, we got the insurrection.”
Haugen said Facebook may be complicit in the Capitol riot due to its disbanding of the Civic Integrity unit after the 2020 election.AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File
“As soon as the election was over, they turned them back off or they changed the settings back to what they were before, to prioritize growth over safety,” Haugen said of the features.
“And that really feels like a betrayal of democracy to me.”
Facebook told CBS that work undertaken by the dissolved department was allocated internally to other units.
Haugen told host Scott Pelley that Facebook enables divisive content to flourish because of changes it made in 2018 to its algorithms that prioritize content for individual accounts based on their past engagement.
“One of the consequences of how Facebook is picking out that content today is it is optimizing for content that gets engagement, or reaction,” said Haugen.
Examples of disinformation posted on Facebook.CBS
“But its own research is showing that content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarizing, it’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions,” said Haugen.
“Facebook has realized that if they change the algorithm to be safer, people will spend less time on the site, they’ll click on less ads, they’ll make less money,” the woman charged.
Haugen is set to testify before Congress this week. She has already filed reams of anonymous complaints against the company with federal authorities.
In the interview that aired Sunday, Haugen said she acquired a 2019 internal report that details an argument from European political parties over the content dominating on its platform due to its algorithm.
Haugen is scheduled to testify before Congress about Facebook this week.Robert Fortunato/CBS News/60 Minutes via AP
Haugen said the parties “feel strongly that the change to the algorithm has forced them to skew negative in their communications on Facebook … leading them into more extreme policy positions,” according to Pelley.
In a statement to “60 Minutes,” Facebook denied the allegations that the company encourages harmful content.
“We continue to make significant improvements to tackle the spread of misinformation and harmful content. To suggest we encourage bad content and do nothing is just not true,” the company said.
“If any research had identified an exact solution to these complex challenges, the tech industry, governments, and society would have solved them a long time ago.”
HONG KONG, June 21 (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be forced to shut “in a matter of days” after authorities froze the company’s assets under a sweeping national security law, an adviser to jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai told Reuters on Monday.
Mark Simon, speaking by phone from the United States, said Next Digital (0282.HK), publisher of the popular Hong Kong newspaper, will hold a board meeting on Monday to discuss how to move forward.
“We thought we’d be able to make it to the end of the month,” Simon said. “It’s just getting harder and harder. It’s essentially a matter of days.”
His comments signal the closure is imminent even after Apple Daily said on Sunday the freezing of its assets had left the newspaper with cash for “a few weeks” for normal operations.”
The news comes two days after chief editor Ryan Law, 47, and chief executive Cheung Kim-hung, 59, were denied bail after being charged with collusion with a foreign country.
Three other executives were also arrested last Thursday when 500 police officers raided the newspaper’s offices in a case that has drawn condemnation from Western nations, global rights groups and the chief U.N. spokesperson for human rights.
The three have been released on bail.
Simon told Reuters it had become impossible to conduct banking operations.
“Vendors tried to put money into our accounts and were rejected. We can’t bank. Some vendors tried to do that as a favour. We just wanted to find out and it was rejected,” he said.
The newspaper has come under increasing pressure since owner and staunch Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, who is now in jail, was arrested under the national security law last August and has since had some of his assets frozen.
Three companies related to Apple Daily are also being prosecuted for collusion with a foreign country and authorities have frozen HK$18 million ($2.3 million) of their assets.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi y Ribéry. ¿Quién fue el mejor del 2013? El portugués va por su segundo trofeo, la ‘Pulga’ por el quinto consecutivo y ‘Caracortada’ desea ganarlo por fin.
Con 69 goles con Real Madrid y Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo es el gran favorito para poner fin al reinado de cuatro años de Lionel Messi como el mejor futbolista del mundo. El francés Franck Ribéry, tercer candidato, está avalado por los cinco títulos que ganó con Bayern (Bundesliga, Copa Alemana, Champions, Supercopa de Europa y Mundial de Clubes). ‘CR7’ asistirá con su familia y su novia Irina Shayk, mientras que el ‘Pulga’ viajó acompañado de Neymar, Dani Alves, Xavi e Iniesta, así como cinco directivos del Barcelona.
JUNTOS COMO HERMANOS
¿Conversarán? ¿Se darán la mano? ¿Se mirarán de reojo? La FIFA dispuso que Cristiano y Messi se sienten juntos. Cuando se anuncie al ganador, uno mirará al otro. ¿Se felicitarán? Será la primera vez que esto ocurra en una gala del ‘Balón de oro’.
OÍDO A LA MÚSICA
La italiana Laura Pausini, la escocesa Amy Mac Donald y el inglés James Blunt amenizarán la velada con sus canciones.
LA REINA
La modelo brasileña Fernanda Lima, que estuvo en el sorteo del Mundial 2014, será anfitriona de la gala junto al ex ‘astro’ holandés Ruud Gullit (Balón de oro 1987).
PINTURITAS
Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic y el serbio Nemanja Matic (Benfica) candidatean al Premio Puskas al ‘Mejor gol 2013’. ‘Ney’ marcó con su selección, ‘Ibra’ de ‘chalaca’ en el Suecia-Inglaterra y Matic le anotó al Porto.
LLUVIA DE EX-TRELLAS
Pelé y Zidane serán dos ‘estrellas’ del fútbol presentes en la elección. Brasil hará gala de su ‘poderío’ con la presencia de los campeones mundiales Carlos Alberto, Bebeto, Cafú y Ronaldo. ‘0’Rei’ anunció que recibirá un ‘Balón de oro’ por su trayectoria y aseguró que Cristiano será el ganador.
Image caption
López pasó casi tres años y medio en prisión hasta que fue trasladado a su domicilio para continuar su sentencia de casi 14 años.
El líder opositor venezolano Leopoldo López salió este sábado de la cárcel en la que estuvo durante tres años y cinco meses y ahora cumplirá el resto de su condena en arresto domiciliaria.
El Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ) lo anunció a través de un comunicado que estableció que se le otorgó el arresto domiciliario debido a problemas de salud como una “medida humanitaria”.
Pero además, el TSJ señaló que existen “serios señalamientos de irregularidades sobre la distribución del expediente a un Tribunal de Ejecución”.
La medida se hizo efectiva el mismo viernes 7 de julio y en la madrugada se hizo efectivo el traslado de López a su domicilio.
López, uno de los líderes de la oposición al gobierno del presidente Nicolás Maduro, llevaba casi tres años y medio en prisión cumpliendo una sentencia de 14 años por los cargos de instigación pública, daños a la propiedad, incendio intencional y asociación para delinquir.
A principios de mayo, el gobierno venezolano publicó un video de López tras rumores sobre una mala condición de salud.
Derechos de autor de la imagen EPA
Image caption
La madre de López, Antonieta, recibe apoyo de familiares y amigos fuera de la residencia del líder opositor.
Análisis del corresponsal en BBC Mundo, Daniel García Marco
El día 3 de mayo, el rumor de que Leopoldo López estaba en un hospital en estado grave sacudió a Venezuela. Su esposa, Lilian Tintori, se desplazó incluso al centro médico para saber si estaba allí su esposo.
Minutos después, en el programa de Diosdado Cabello, alto dirigente del partido oficialista, se ofrecía una fe de vida, un video en el que se veía a un López, de 46 años, musculoso y en aparente perfecto estado.
Días después, ante nuevos rumores, el gobierno publicó unas fotos de López siendo atendido ante las denuncias de su esposa de que se le negaban el cuidado médico.
Su esposa confirmó que en estos más de tres años de reclusión, López aprovechó su tiempo confinado para hacer deporte, leer y escribir. El deporte y la fe fueron sus sustentos principales sustentos, decía Tintori.
El gobierno siempre presumía del buen estado de salud en el que se encontraba el que quizás sea (y sigue siéndo) el preso más famoso de Venezuela.
Por ello sorprende que el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia esgrima la “situación de salud del dirigente político” como motivo de la medida de casa por cárcel.
La otra razón expresada de forma compleja y vaga es la de “irregularidades sobre la distribución del expediente a un Tribunal de Ejecución”, un argumento que aún es difícil de saber qué significa y si es quizás un asidero para que López logre más tarde la libertad plena.
Derechos de autor de la imagen AFP
Image caption
López fue arrestado en febrero de 2014 luego de varias protestas masivas, con algunos incidentes de violencia, contra el gobierno de Venezuela.
Arresto y condena
López, de 46 años, fue detenido en febrero de 2014 sin oponer resistencia durante una protesta pacífica en la que iba rodeado por miles de sus seguidores que llevaban claveles blancos en las manos.
Después de permanecer detenido durante 19 meses, una jueza lo declaró culpable de los delitos de instigación pública, daños a la propiedad, incendio intencional y asociación para delinquir.
El Tribunal Supremo reafirmó en febrero la sentencia, pero ahora tomó esta decisión en medio de una grave crisis política con más de tres meses de protestas que han dejado más de 90 muertos.
A eso se suma la crisis económica de un país con la inflación más alta del mundo y escasez de alimentos, medicinas y productos básicos debido, entre otras cosas, a la caída del precio y de la producción de petróleo, casi única fuente de divisas para el Estado.
Derechos de autor de la imagen AFP
Image caption
La noticia del traslado de López a su casa llevó a muchos de sus simpatizantes a una celebración afuera del domicilio.
“Paren la violencia”
El oficialista Elías Jaua expresó en twitter que esperaba que esta medida pudiera provocar una contrapartida de la oposición, a la que acusa de promover la violencia para generar un cambio de gobierno.
“Acatamos la decisión del TSJ, Ojalá la MUD (Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, coalición que liga a los principales partidos opositores) la asuma con madurez y paren la violencia”, expresó Jaua en twitter.
El presidente Nicolás Maduro dijo también que espera un mensaje de López.
“Ojalá esta decisión del TSJ sea entendida y el señor Leopoldo López lance un mensaje de reconciliación y de paz porque el país quiere paz”, dijo en un acto televisado.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Reuters
Image caption
López decía que realizaba mucha actividad física en la prisión de Ramo Verde en la que estaba confinado.
Aunque el TSJ, al que la oposición acusa de actuar al dictado del Ejecutivo, usó el argumento de la salud de López, el líder reapareció este sábado brevemente sobre la tapia de su casa y se le vio en muy buen estado físico.
“Venezuela, esto es un paso hacia la libertad. No tengo resentimiento ni voluntad de claudicar en mi lucha. Me mantengo firme en mi oposición a este régimen”, leyó el diputado Freddy Guevara un comunicado de López.
“Si mantener mi convicción de lucha por la libertad significa el riesgo de volver a una celda en (la prisión de) Ramo Verde, estoy más que dispuesto a asumirlo”, citó Guevara a un desafiante López ante los aplausos de sus simpatizantes frente a su domicilio.
La familia publicó una foto del emotivo reencuentro de López con sus hijos, Manuela y Leopoldo, a los que ha visto esporádicamente en prisión.
Reacciones
El mundo político tanto venezolano como internacional reaccionó rápidamente ante la noticia del cambio de estatus de reclusión de López.
“¡Nos da gran alegría que Leopoldo López esté en su casa con su familia! ¡Tiene que darse su libertad plena como a todos los presos políticos!”, aseguró Henrique Capriles a través de su cuenta de Twitter.
Derechos de autor de la imagen AFP
Image caption
La casa de López estará custodiada por miembros de Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional.
El secretario general de la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA), Luis Almagro, muy crítico con el gobierno y defensor de la causa de López, calificó la decisión del Tribunal Supremo como una “oportunidad de reconciliación nacional y salida democrática a grave crisis”.
También desde el gobierno argentino hubo comentarios. “Nos alegra mucho saber que @leopoldolopez ya está con su familia. Esperamos que pronto los demás presos políticos puedan hacer lo mismo”, comentó el presidente Mauricio Macri.
El expresidente y actual candidato a la Presidencia de Chile, Sebastián Piñera, se sumó a las reacciones. “Por fin, después de más de 3 años injustamente preso en la prisión militar de Ramo Verde, Leopoldo López está reunido con su mujer y familia”, escribió en Twitter.
“Feliz de que @leopoldolopez haya vuelto a casa con @liliantintori y sus hijos. Me alegro también por sus padres”, publicó por la misma vía el presidente del Gobierno de España, Mariano Rajoy , uno de los primeros en reaccionar.
SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) – Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter said on Friday they would take down content involving mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques that killed at least 49 people and wounded more than 20.
A suspected gunman broadcast live footage on Facebook of the attack on one mosque in the city of Christchurch, mirroring the carnage played out in video games, after publishing a “manifesto” in which he denounced immigrants.
The video footage, posted online live as the attack unfolded, appeared to show him driving to one mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside.
Worshippers, possibly dead or wounded, lay huddled on the floor, the video showed. Reuters was unable to confirm the authenticity of the footage.
“Police alerted us to a video on Facebook shortly after the livestream commenced and we quickly removed both the shooter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts and the video,” Facebook tweeted.
“We’re also removing any praise or support for the crime and the shooter or shooters as soon as we’re aware.”
Twitter said it had “rigorous processes and a dedicated team in place for managing exigent and emergency situations” such as this.
Related: New Zealand mosque shootings
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“We also cooperate with law enforcement to facilitate their investigations as required,” it said.
Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said: “Please know we are working vigilantly to remove any violent footage.”
Live streaming services have become a central component of social media companies’ growth strategy in recent years, but they are also increasingly exploited by some users to livestream offensive and violent content.
In 2017, a father in Thailand broadcast himself killing his daughter on Facebook Live. After more than a day, and 370,000 views, Facebook removed the video. That year, a video of a man shooting and killing another in Cleveland also shocked viewers.
(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Facebook añadirá una señal a las noticias cuya veracidad esté en discusión para advertir a los usuarios de que pueden estar leyendo o compartiendo informaciones falsas.
El fundador de Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, anunció en su perfil personal de la red social esta nueva medida, que se adoptará para frenar la difusión de bolas en Internet.
“Tenemos la responsabilidad de garantizar que Facebook tiene el impacto más positivo en el mundo”, señaló Zuckerberg.
La nueva herramienta consistirá en una pequeña señal de advertencia que se colocará junto a las noticias cuya veracidad esté en entredicho.
Una vez que múltiples usuarios reporten que cierta noticia es una bola, verificadores independientes a Facebook comprobarán dicha alegación e incorporarán el signo de alerta si, en efecto, se trata de una información potencialmente falsa.
Además, las que sean etiquetadas con esta señal tendrán menos probabilidades de aparecer en la página de noticias de Facebook.
Esta novedad de la red social responde a la voluntad de Facebook de establecer cortafuegos para las bolas en Internet, especialmente tras la proliferación de noticias falsas durante la campaña presidencial en Estados Unidos.
El ejemplo más extremo de difusión de estas bolas fue el tiroteo que tuvo lugar el 4 de diciembre en Washington cuando un hombre armado entró en una pizzería para investigar “por sí mismo” una supuesta trama de prostitución infantil vinculada a la ex candidata presidencial demócrata Hillary Clinton en ese establecimiento.
“Todavía serás capaz de leer y compartir esa historia, pero ahora tendrás más información sobre si los verificadores creen que es rigurosa”, detallóZuckerberg, quien añadió que esas noticias no podrán ser promocionadas en anuncios enFacebook para que nadie pueda obtener beneficio con historias falsas.
Zuckerberg reconoció los desafíos que en este campo debe afrontar Facebook, cuya naturaleza va más allá de ser “solo un distribuidor de noticias”, ya que, en su opinión, es “un nuevo tipo de plataforma para el diálogo público”.
Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.
(CNN)Connecticut State Police released body camera footage on Tuesday showing the controversial police shooting near Yale University that has led to a week of protests.
CNN’s Bonney Kapp, Janet DiGiacomo and Amanda Watts contributed to this report.
“Todavía no sabía ni hablar y ya estaba vendiendo periódicos”, recordó orgulloso, Eduardo Serrano de 55 años, voceador de periódicos y revistas en esta ciudad.
Ser voceador es un oficio que le apasiona y en el que se ha mantenido firme al paso de los años, pese a que hoy los tiempos son otros, pues muchos prefieren leen las noticias o los espectáculos desde la comodidad de un teléfono celular y no de manera impresa.
“En aquellos años a unos se les hacía denigrante andar vendiendo periódicos, pero al paso del tiempo nosotros vemos que es un oficio agradable, es digno, es fabuloso ser voceador porque tenemos el roce con toda la gente de todos los estratos sociales”, expresó emocionado.
Dijo que la venta de periódicos es un oficio que ejerce desde muy pequeño, pues en aquellos años sólo circulaban en la ciudad dos periódicos: EL SOL DE LEÓN y El Heraldo de León.
Antes de pronunciar sus primeras palabras, Eduardo recuerda que fue acercado por su hermano mayor al puesto de periódicos y revistas, donde comenzó su historia en este gremio.
El voceador, portavoz de la noticia
Al paso de los años creció y trabajó su primer puesto que fue afuera del mercado “16 de Septiembre” en la colonia La Garita, después frente al Seguro Social y desde hace ya 39 años atiende su caseta de periódicos y revistas en el Jardín Allende en el Barrio Arriba.
“Con la llegada de las nuevas tecnologías se merma el oficio porque con un celular tienen acceso a las noticias, pero solamente tienen condensada la noticia, no como debe de ser.
“A mucha gente todavía le gusta el periódico y la revista impresa, porque para leer no hay como tenerlo físico, verlo cuando se desea, pues una tableta no es lo mismo que un libro”, señaló.
Don Eduardo dijo que es feliz en su puesto.
“Somos los portavoces de las noticias, somos el último eslabón de todos los diarios, de todas las revistas. Pero así como somos portadores de buenas noticias, también de malas noticias que son las más, desgraciadamente”, comentó.
Reconoció que ser voceador es un oficio noble pero también enfrenta muchas carencias.
Dijo que muchos de sus compañeros se han desanimado porque la situación que enfrenta el gremio es difícil.
“Estamos en la calle, los periódicos se venden poco y las revistas más poco, hoy el voceador tiene que matarse un poquito más para tratar de llevar el alimento a sus casas y nos hace falta seguridad social, no tenemos acceso a la vivienda ni a nada”, comentó.
Compartió que entre los proyectos que hoy tiene al frente de la Unión de Voceadores de Periódicos y Revistas de León es que la “Casa del Voceador” que tienen desde hace siete años, sea un lugar de servicio social.
Ante la Fiscalía General de la Nación se presentó este viernes el taxista que transportó a los hermanos Uribe Noguera el pasado 4 de diciembre, día en que fue asesinada la niña Yuliana Samboní.
El testimonio del conductor, cuya identidad se mantiene en reserva por cuestiones de seguridad, sería clave para esclarecer qué pasó en el taxi luego de que Rafael, Francisco y Catalina lo abordaran en la carrera Séptima con calle 68.
Según ha dicho Francisco Uribe, después de haber encontrado drogado y tomado a Rafael en el apartamento, los tres se subieron al carro y le pidieron al taxista llevarlos a la Clínica Monserrat.
Francisco afirma que, en el momento de tomar el vehículo, él y Catalina no sabían que Yuliana estaba muerta y mucho menos que su hermano la había. Aseguran que este, dentro del apartamento, les había dicho que la pequeña se había bajado de la camioneta en la que la secuestró.
Así mismo, Francisco sostiene que su hermana se bajó a la altura de la calle 72 y que, cuando iban por la 134, Rafael le confesó en voz baja que había cometido el homicidio.
Hay dudas sobre la actuación de Francisco y Catalina en lo ocurrido. Las autoridades intentan establecer si manipularon o no la escena del crimen para encubrir a su hermano.
Rafael Uribe Noguera, detenido en La Picota, deberá responder por los delitos de feminicidio agravado, secuestro simple y acceso carnal violento. La Fiscalía, que pide la máxima condena en su contra, 60 años de cárcel, presentará el escrito de acusación el próximo 11 de enero.
President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union speech to Americans on Tuesday night, warned that if Russian leader Vladimir Putin didn’t “pay a price” for the invasion, the aggression wouldn’t stop with one country.
On Tuesday, there were attacks on the central square in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called “undisguised terror.”
A deadly bombing of a TV tower in Kyiv, the capital, on Tuesday, killed five people, Ukrainian authorities said. A TV control room and power substation were hit, and at least some Ukrainian channels briefly stopped broadcasting, officials said.
The humanitarian situation is worsening in the region. A U.N. refugee agency said about 660,000 people have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries since the invasion began. Shabia Mantoo, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the situation “looks set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.”
► The U.N. General Assembly will vote Wednesday on a resolution demanding that Russia immediately stop using force against Ukraine and withdraw its military from the country, and condemning Moscow’s decision “to increase the readiness of its nuclear forces.”
► The Moscow Stock Exchange will remain closed to trading Wednesday, the Central Bank of Russia said, as the West’s economic sanctions cratered the Russian ruble.
► Oil prices soared above $100, to their highest level since 2014, and investors shifted more money out of stocks and into ultra-safe U.S. government bonds as Russia stepped up its war on Ukraine.
► A firm that tracks cryptocurrency transactions says $33.8 million in digital currency has been donated to Ukraine’s government and non-governmental organizations there since the start of Russia’s invasion, nearly a third of it on Tuesday.
► Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, said in a statement it has stopped running all advertising in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and is halting ad sales to all Russian and Belarusian entities.
Russian delegation ready to resume talks, Kremlin spokesman says
Russian negotiators are ready to resume talks with Ukrainian officials but cannot “predict whether Ukrainian negotiators will show up or not,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.
“Let’s hope this happens,” Peskov said. “Ours will be there and ready.”
Peskov said Putin’s culture adviser Vladimir Medinsky remains the main negotiator for Russia. Talks held Sunday near the Belarus-Ukraine border produced no breakthrough, though the two sides agreed to meet again. It was clear when, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of trying to force him into concessions by intensifying the invasion.
“Fair negotiations can occur when one side does not hit the other side with rocket artillery at the very moment of negotiations,” he said.
Biden: Putin is more ‘isolated from the world’ than ever
President Joe Biden hailed the united response of the U.S. and western allies against Russian President Vladimir Putin during his State of the Union address Tuesday night as Russia continues its war in Ukraine.
He announced the U.S. is closing off airspace to all Russian flights, joining a growing number of countries around the world that have made similar moves in recent days. Biden also said he is working with 30 countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world to ease the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy markets.
Is Putin committing war crimes? What the experts say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s overnight attack on in civilian areas of Kharkiv as a “war crime.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague said he plans to open an investigation “as rapidly as possible” into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
“Is Vladimir Putin committing a war crime? Yes. It’s very clear,” said David Schwendiman, a former senior Justice Department lawyer and international war crimes prosecutor.
But war crime experts say the post-World War II effort to create an international framework to thwart brutal dictators like Adolf Hitler is too toothless, caught up in power politics and focused on war crimes already committed to make a difference when it comes to Russia’s invasion, they say. Read more here.
United States to ban Russian planes from American airspace
President Joe Biden announced State of the Union address Tuesday night that the U.S. is closing its airspace to Russian planes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. joins a growing list of countries that have announced plans to close their airspace to Russian aircraft in response to the invasion. The European Union took that step Sunday after several European countries, including France, Italy and Denmark, announced the move.
Canada also joined the international move to cut off Russian aircraft.
– Michael Collins and Courtney Subramanian
Cities under siege: A look at Kyiv and Kharkiv by the numbers
The war has thrown a global spotlight on Ukraine’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Kyiv’s (KEE-ev) population of 2.7 million people would make it the third largest in the U.S. slightly ahead of Chicago. The city covers 330 square miles – bigger than Chicago or New York, about the size of San Diego.
Kyiv is in north-central Ukraine, not far from the borders with Russia and Belarus. Ukrainian and Russian are commonly spoken in the city, among the oldest in Eastern Europe.
Kharkiv (kar-KEEV), 300 miles east of Kyiv and near the Russian border, has a population of about 1.4 million spread over about 135 square miles – about the size of Philadelphia, which has a population of about 1.5 million.
The country of Ukraine has a population of about 45 million people, a few million more than California, and is about 233,000 square miles – a bit smaller than Texas.
— John Bacon
Russian force may be regrouping, US official warns
The 40-mile Russian Army convoy approaching Kyiv has made little progress because of resistance and a lack of gas and food, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings.
The official said the Russians also are likely protecting the convoy, explaining why it does not appear to have been attacked. The airspace over Ukraine continues to be contested by Ukrainian and Russian forces, the official said.
There are also signs that there are morale problems among Russian troops, many of whom have been drafted into service, the official said, declining to say how the Pentagon has made that assessment. Many of the soldiers are young men who have not been thoroughly trained or even aware why they were sent to Ukraine.
The Russians, however, have a potent force in and around Ukraine, the official said.
The Russians have systems capable of launching thermobaric weapons in Ukraine, the official said. Those fuel-air weapons are used primarily to kill people on the ground or in bunkers.
FILE – In this Oct. 23, 2018, file photo released by Saudi Press Agency, SPA, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, shakes hands with Salah Khashoggi, a son, of Jamal Khashoggi, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The son of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi says no settlement discussions have taken place and suggested that financial compensation to the family did not amount to an admission of guilt by Saudi rulers. Salah Khashoggi described King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “guardians to all Saudis.” (Saudi Press Agency via AP, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The son of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi says no settlement discussions have taken place and suggested that financial compensation to the family did not amount to an admission of guilt by Saudi rulers.
Salah Khashoggi described King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “guardians to all Saudis.”
“Acts of generosity and humanity come from the high moral grounds they possess, not admission of guilt or scandal,” he said in a statement on Twitter on Wednesday.
On April 1, the Washington Post reported the writer’s children were given “blood money” in the form of million-dollar homes and monthly payments after Khashoggi’s killing by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.
The Post, quoting Saudi officials speaking anonymously, reported the payments were approved by King Salman.
“MURIENDO POR CRUZAR,” AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCREASING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANT DEATHS ALONG THE BORDER, THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 AT 6 P.M./5 C
Carmen Dominicci and Neida Sandoval present the Telemundo and The Weather Channel co-production
Miami – July 31, 2014 –Telemundo presents “Muriendo por Cruzar”, a documentary that investigates why increasing numbers of immigrants are dying while trying to cross the US-Mexican border near the city of Falfurrias, Texas, this Sunday, August 3 at 6PM/5 C. The Telemundo and The Weather Channel co-production, presented by Noticias Telemundo journalists Carmen Dominicci and Neida Sandoval, reveals the obstacles immigrants face once they cross into US territory, including extreme weather conditions, as they try to evade the border patrol. “Muriendo por Cruzar” is part of Noticias Telemundo’s special coverage of the crisis on the border and immigration reform.
“‘Muriendo por Cruzar’” dares to ask questions that reveal the actual conditions undocumented immigrants face as they try to start a new life in the United States,” said Alina Falcón, Telemundo’s Executive Vice President for News and Alternative Programming. “Our collaboration with The Weather Channel was very productive. They have a unique expertise in covering the impact of weather on people’s lives, as we do in covering immigration reform and the border crisis. The result is a compelling documentary that exposes a harrowing reality.”
“Muriendo por Cruzar” is the first co-production by Telemundo and The Weather Channel. Both networks are part of NBCUniversal.
President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month long investigation was a “total waste of time.” | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday to attack the latest barrage of investigations and subpoena threats from his political opponents on Capitol Hill.
In his Saturday tweets, the president repeated claims that the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller was run by “13 Angry Trump hating Dems” who found no wrongdoing on his behalf after spending “$30 million” over the course of the investigation. He added that the 22-month long probe was a “total waste of time.”
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His tweets come amid reports that some members of the special counsel’s team have been frustrated by the way U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr cast their findings in the summary he submitted to Congress late last month.
This week, the House Judiciary, Intelligence and Oversight committees have all ramped up probes into different aspects of Trump’s financial history, policy agenda and campaign, and Trump was hit Thursday with a formal request from Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) for his individual tax returns dating back to 2013.
The oversight escalation on Capitol Hill comes as Democrats continue to demand an unredacted copy of Mueller’s approximately 400-page report, which was provided to Attorney General Bill Barr more than two weeks ago. That request shows congressional Democrats “will never be satisfied,” Trump stated Saturday.
But as Barr’s self-imposed deadline to submit a copy of Mueller’s report to Capitol Hill fast approaches, Trump’s confidence in its “complete and total exoneration” of him has waned, according to one Republican close to the White House.
“He wouldn’t be bringing this up still if everything was hunky dory,” this person said, referring to the president’s tweets about Mueller and his team of federal investigators.
White House officials, Trump campaign aides and Republican lawmakers have all cited Barr’s four-page summary of the special counsel’s conclusions as an exoneration of Trump, who was cleared of conspiracy with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election and did not face obstruction of justice charges due to insufficient evidence, according to Barr.
“I have not read the Mueller Report yet… Only know the conclusions, and on the big one, No Collusion,” Trump wrote on Twitter, hours before he was set to address a crowd of supporters and deep-pocketed GOP donors at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition summit in Las Vegas.
In separate reports late Wednesday, both The New York Times and The Washington Post described a band of investigators who believed the results of their probe into the president and his associates were far more damaging than Trump’s attorney general made them out to be. The same individuals have reportedly become worried that public opinion is being formed around an incomplete description of what they found, according to the Times.
Trump slammed the Times’ reporting as “fake news” in a tweet on Friday, shortly before departing Washington for a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to highlight a newly renovated section of the current barrier that exists.
“The New York Times had no legitimate sources, which would be totally illegal, concerning the Mueller Report. In fact, they probably had no sources at all!” he wrote on Twitter.
A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about the president’s tweets on Saturday.
Karla Adam, Devlin Barrett, Miriam Berger, Abha Bhattarai, Jacob Bogage, Amanda Coletta, Tim Craig, Simon Denyer, Eva Dou, Ruth Eglash, Thomas Heath, Meryl Kornfield, Louisa Loveluck, Katie Mettler, David Montgomery, Loveday Morris, Siobhán O’Grady, Carolyn Y. Johnson, Christopher Rowland, Missy Ryan and Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report. Adam and Loveluck reported from London; Coletta reported from Toronto; Eglash reported from Jerusalem.
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El comercio de América Latina con Rusia viene desde la década de 1930.
Tal vez con la excepción de los cubanos de la época de la Guerra Fría, los latinoamericanos nunca hemos pensado mucho en los productos rusos a la hora de satisfacer nuestras necesidades de consumo cotidiano.
Pero que no haya muchos productos rusos en el supermercado de la esquina no quiere decir que el comercio con Rusia sea poco importante para nuestras economías.
Los países de América Latina han dedicado grandes esfuerzos en la última década a diversificar los destinos de su comercio, tras años marcados por su dependencia de EE.UU.
Han tenido éxito con China, que se ha convertido en el principal socio comercial de varios actores de la región, pero menos con Rusia.
Esto pese a que, desde mediados del siglo XX Moscú ha buscado aumentar, por razones tanto políticas como económicas, su presencia comercial en la región.
Hoy ese comercio se manifiesta en productos tan diversos como aviones de combate rusos llegados a Venezuela o vino uruguayo con destino a Rusia.
Un país que, sorprendentemente, se convirtió en los últimos años en el destino clave para el vino tannat de Uruguay, con exportaciones que alcanzaron 20 millones de litros anuales.
Brasil Exporta a Rusia US$3.800 millones anuales (1% del total de sus exportaciones). En comparación, exporta a China US$40.000 millones
Venezuela Importa de Rusia US$393 millones (1% del total de sus importaciones). En comparación, importa de Estados Unidos US$10.000 millones.
El intercambio entre América Latina y Rusia no llegará en el futuro próximo a niveles del comercio con China, un país con una población casi diez veces mayor que la de Rusia.
Pero sigue en aumento y representa un motor importante de crecimiento para varios países latinoamericanos.
“Ha habido una relación comercial entre América Latina y Rusia desde los años 30”, asegura a BBC Mundo Serguei Brilev, subdirector de la televisión estatal rusa, quien es además, a título personal, el presidente del Instituto Bering-Bellinghausen para Las Américas (IBBA), una ONG basada en Montevideo que promueve el intercambio económico entre Rusia y América Latina.
“Ha sido una relación bastante estable. Es distinta al comercio que existe entre Rusia y el resto de Occidente. Entre Rusia y Europa, por ejemplo, ha sido mayoritariamente en torno al petróleo ruso, mientras que en el caso latinoamericano se trata más, por ejemplo, de comprar turbinas para hidroeléctricas, los troleybuses o, en los últimos años, la maquinaria militar”, señala Brilev.
El comercio de Rusia con la región ha saltado desde US$3.000 millones en 2000 a cerca de US$24.000 millones en 2013, según reporta el diario británico Financial Times.
Un monto que es cerca de diez veces menor al que se tiene con China, pero que va en aumento.
Image copyright AFP
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El vino chileno abunda en los supermercados rusos.
“América Latina ha usado también el ‘hueco’ creado por las sanciones occidentales contra Rusia y las contrasanciones rusas contra la Unión Europea en materia de alimentos”, le recuerda Brilev a BBC Mundo.
“Por ejemplo, los quesos europeos que han desaparecido en el mercado ruso se han sustituido por los quesos argentinos, uruguayos y brasileños. El salmón noruego se ha sustituido por salmón chileno”.
Hoy en día, asegura Brilev, el vino malbec argentino o el merlot y el cabernet-sauvignon chileno son infaltables en los supermercados rusos.
Del lado latinoamericano también se están abriendo mercados para nuevos productos rusos.
Image copyright AFP
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Las ventas militares rusas son parte importante del intercambio comercial.
“Mientras las ventas de aviones civiles rusos estuvieron limitadas en el periodo soviético a Cuba, ahora se están expandiendo a otras naciones”, dice el experto ruso.
“Paradójicamente en algunos sentidos Rusia y America Latina son competidores. Brasil, por ejemplo, produce aviones Embraer, mientras que Rusia produce aviones muy similares llamados Sukhoi Superjet“, recuerda.
Sin embargo, la aerolínea mexicana Interjet usa ya 20 de los aviones rusos en su flota.
Y Nicaragua está “activamente negociando” para compras similares de aviones, agrega Brilev.
Globalización y distancia
Claramente, el flujo comercial con Rusia ha estado particularmente concentrado en algunos países.
“Brasil por su tamaño y el rol que juega en el grupo BRICS (de las potencias emergentes que incluye a Brasil, Rusia, India, China y Sudáfrica) es uno de los más destacados en este comercio entre Rusia y la región, dice Brilev.
Image copyright Getty
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Rusia y China son competidores en algunos aspectos del mercado latinoamericano.
Pero en otros países, aunque con menor tamaño absoluto, las exportaciones a Rusia juegan un papel importante proporcional al tamaño de su comercio.
“En Paraguay por ejemplo, hubo un momento en que exportaba el 90% de su carne al mercado ruso”, recuerda el presidente del IBBA.
Mientras que Venezuela destaca por las enormes compras militares que se hicieron a Rusia desde la llegada al poder del fallecido presidente Hugo Chávez.
A la hora de evaluar el potencial de estas relaciones económicas con Moscú, muchos comparan lo que se ha logrado con Pekín.
“China y Rusia son también competidoras en algunos aspectos, como por ejemplo, la venta de turbinas para hidroeléctricas”, recuerda Brilev.
¿Llegará algún momento el intercambio económico con Rusia al nivel del que se da con China?
Brilev acepta que, dadas las diferencias de tamaño en la población, y por el ende en el tamaño del mercado, entre China y Rusia, será difícil que las ventas latinoamericanas a Rusia igualen las que se dan a China.
“No hay que temer a la globalización y a las distancias“, puntualiza en todo caso Brilev, para asegurar que hay mucho espacio para crecer en esta avenida distinta para el intercambio comercial latinoamericano, la que conduce a Moscú.
Donald Trump has told the Republican National Committee and other party bodies to stop using his name and likeness in fundraising efforts, it was reported on Saturday.
“President Trump remains committed to the Republican party and electing America First conservatives,” Politico quoted an unnamed adviser to the former president as saying about the legal cease-and-desist notice, “but that doesn’t give anyone – friend or foe – permission to use his likeness without explicit approval.”
The website previously reported that Trump’s ire was stoked by bodies including the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) using his name while fundraising for Republicans who voted for his impeachment.
The former president felt “burned and abused”, Politico said, detailing the House minority leader Kevin McCarthy’s struggles to manage the former president, even after a January trip to kiss the ring in Florida.
Liz Cheney, the House No 3 Republican, was the most senior of 10 Republican representatives to back Trump’s second impeachment, for inciting the Capitol riot on 6 January. She has faced protests stoked by elected officials and will be challenged for her seat from the right. Others who voted for impeachment are also facing primary fights.
Seven senators voted to convict Trump at trial. That meant he was acquitted a second time, as the 57 guilty votes fell 10 short of the necessary super-majority.
The verdict left Trump, 74, free to run for office again. Though he continues to baselessly claim his defeat by Joe Biden was the result of massive voter fraud, a lie repeatedly thrown out of court and now the subject of legal investigations, he has toyed with running again in 2024. He remains the clear favourite in party polls.
His own fundraising based on the “big lie” about electoral fraud proved highly lucrative, raking in at least $175m. At the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend, Trump told attendees they should only donate to his own political action committee, Save America. In the CPAC straw poll, 55% backed Trump to be the next nominee.
The Republican National Committee is led by Ronna McDaniel, a niece of the Utah senator Mitt Romney who dropped Romney from her name after Trump won the White House, reportedly at Trump’s request. Mitt Romney, the 2012 nominee for president, is the only Republican who voted to impeach Trump twice.
Politico said the RNC sent out two emails on Friday, asking donors to put their name on a “thank you card” for Trump.
On Saturday morning, an email trumpeting a “March Fundraising Blitz” claimed “we’ve NEVER been the Party of Elite Billionaires and we NEVER will be” and asked “hard working everyday Americans” to “continue to DEFEND President Trump’s ‘America FIRST’ policies”.
Forbes currently rates Trump’s net worth at $2.5bn.
“Privately,” Politico reported, “GOP campaign types say it’s impossible not to use Trump’s name, as his policies are so popular with the base. If Trump really wants to help flip Congress, they argue he should be more generous. His team, however, sees this differently.”
In a six-hour conversation with Capitol Hill aides, Rex Tillerson recounted his rocky tenure at the State Department.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was having dinner at a local restaurant when the owner came over to tell him that Mexico’s foreign secretary happened to be eating at the same place. Would he like to say hello?
Tillerson was surprised, he recently recounted to congressional aides, because he hadn’t been informed that his Mexican counterpart, Luis Videgaray Caso, was in Washington, D.C. He walked over to find that Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, was dining with the foreign diplomat.
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“I could see the color go out of the face of the foreign secretary of Mexico as I very — I smiled big, and I said: ‘Welcome to Washington,’” Tillerson told the staffers. “And I said: ‘I don’t want to interrupt what y’all are doing.’ I said: ‘Give me a call next time you’re coming to town.’ And I left it at that.”
According to Tillerson, the Mexican diplomat had thought that the secretary of State was fully aware that he was meeting with Kushner. Apparently, however, Kushner hadn’t looped in the State Department.
The anecdote was one of the most vivid that Tillerson shared with bipartisan representatives of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on May 21, according to a partially redacted transcript of the private conversation released Thursday.
The former secretary of State, whom Trump fired in March 2018 after just 14 months on the job, painted a portrait of a presidential administration lacking in internal coordination and cohesion. The discussion touched on everything from Tillerson’s struggle to convince the White House to let him hire people, to his “realist” view of human rights. Tillerson frequently answered questions by saying he couldn’t recall, but overall it was his most extensive personal account to date of his time spent as America’s chief diplomat.
The conversation — which lasted more than six hours, including breaks — occurred with committee staffers. Tillerson also met for about 90 minutes with House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel and ranking member Rep. Mike McCaul. That conversation was not included in the transcript.
Some snippets of the conversation already have been reported, such as Tillerson’s comments that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had out-prepared Trump for meetings, and whether the Russians had manipulated Trump and Tillerson in such sessions. Those earlier reports infuriated Trump, who lashed out on Twitter, calling Tillerson “dumb as a rock.”
Tillerson spoke very cautiously about Trump himself, avoiding direct criticism. But he effectively confirmed past reports of his tensions with Kushner. He expressed disdain, even anger, toward Kushner and his peripatetic role in crafting U.S. foreign policy, especially when he wouldn’t coordinate with the State Department.
From the start, it was unclear what role Kushner as well his wife, Ivanka — Trump’s daughter — would play in policy making, Tillerson said. That “made it challenging for everyone, I think, in terms of how to deal with any activities that might be undertaken by others that were not defined within the national security process itself,” he said.
Kushner, who has pitched in on everything from U.S. trade policy with Mexico to trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would sometimes travel abroad and not coordinate with the U.S. Embassy where he was going. Tillerson said he raised such issues with Kushner, who promised to “do better.”
“Not much changed,” Tillerson said.
Kushner’s relationship with leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at times hampered Tillerson’s ability to calm tensions in the Middle East, the former diplomat indicated. That was especially the case in June 2017, when those and other Arab countries decided to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar, a tiny, wealthy Arab state home to a key U.S. military facility.
The moves against Qatar, which eventually bloomed into a full-on economic blockade, surprised Tillerson and other top U.S. officials. But committee staffers told Tillerson they’d been informed that the Saudis and the Emiratis had laid out their plans for Qatar to Kushner and another Trump aide, Steve Bannon, at a dinner weeks earlier, on May 20, 2017.
Tillerson said he’d not heard about that dinner until the committee staffers told him. When asked how that felt, he said: “It makes me angry … because I didn’t have a say. The State Department’s views were never expressed.”
On Russia, Tillerson said he agreed with Trump’s general view that the U.S. needed to improve its relationship with Moscow, and that he tried to convey the need for Moscow and Washington to find some common ground when he met with Putin and other Russian officials.
Although he avoided delving into details about those conversations, and often said he didn’t remember much of what happened, Tillerson insisted that he was up front with Putin about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, which he said he stated as a fact.
“There were a list of obstacles we went through; but, yes, the election interference was specifically mentioned as creating huge challenges for us here in Washington,” he said, adding later: “I said it just has to stop.”
Putin denied the interference had occurred, Tillerson said.
Tillerson said the White House did not tell him in advance how to frame that issue. Asked about Trump’s general knowledge of Russia, Tillerson said “he was having to learn along the way.”
The former secretary of State also said he did not remember an incident recounted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
While Mueller did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia, his lengthy report said Kushner gave Tillerson a copy of a plan for U.S.-Russian reconciliation that had been authored in part by Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.
“I don’t recall ever receiving any such report as described in the Mueller report or any other,” Tillerson said.
Tillerson stood by his past description of Trump as “a man who is pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read things, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into the details of lots of things.” Trump also often had a pre-set stance on issues, and he indicated to aides that they would have to convince him he was wrong but that they were not likely to succeed, Tillerson said.
The former diplomat said he wasn’t speaking pejoratively of Trump when he described him in such a manner, but that he realized he had to adjust to the president’s “style.”
That meant being extremely concise in presenting information to Trump. Still, it “never deterred me or anyone at the State Department, to my knowledge, from putting forth the best view we thought we could put together,” he said.
Tillerson also clarified earlier public comments he’d made about how Trump would often seek solutions to policy problems that were legally problematic.
“The president never asked me to violate the law,” he told the committee representatives, adding that Trump was simply on a steep learning curve. “He was very action oriented: Get it done, get it done, get it done. And so just sometimes you had to say: ‘We can’t do that.’”
Trump never referred to his personal or family business in relation to foreign policy, nor did he give indications that those were factors in his thinking on such matters, Tillerson said. He answered several questions about other characters in the Trump orbit whose business activities and overseas links have raised suspicions, such as Elliott Broidy, by saying he didn’t know them.
The former secretary repeatedly sidestepped questions about Trump’s apparent affinity for authoritarian leaders such as Putin. He also declined to discuss reports that he’d once called Trump a “moron” behind his back. He’s never denied doing so, however.
Pressed on why the Trump administration seemed often absent on promoting human rights and democracy, Tillerson argued that it really acted no differently that previous presidential administration. He described himself as a “realist” on human rights — he believes in their importance but doesn’t think harping on the topic always advances the cause long-term.
“Sometimes going in and just pounding the table over that issue, [other countries] just shut down. They just ignore you. They say ‘Just go away. You are of no use to me,’” he said.
Asked if he could describe Trump’s value system, Tillerson said “No, I can’t.” One of his lawyers then shifted the conversation away from further questioning on that point.
A State Department lawyer was present during the interview with the House committee staffers — the department requested a presence and Tillerson said he was amenable to the idea. Tillerson brought at least two attorneys of his own. The committee’s lawyers noted that he was required by law to answer the questions truthfully. The redacted portions of the transcript were done so at either State or Tillerson’s request.
Engel, the committee chairman, has previously described Tillerson’s meeting with him and McCaul as “heartening” given Trump’s efforts to prevent other aides and former aides from talking to lawmakers trying to investigate the president.
Tillerson told the committee representatives that he had been looking forward to retiring from ExxonMobil and spending time with his grandchildren when Trump offered him the chance to serve as secretary of State. He met with Trump about the role after initially ignoring calls from the then-president-elect’s transition staffers in the weeks after the 2016 election.
He agreed to see Trump only hearing from Mike Pence, then the vice president-elect. “I said: ‘Well, I will take that call,’” Tillerson told the committee. Pence told him that, because of his relationships with many heads of state due to his role at ExxonMobil, Trump wanted to talk to him about global affairs.
Tillerson, who had met with past presidents to talk about such issues, agreed to meet Trump if he could do so discreetly. He refused to go “through the gold-gilded lobby of the Trump Tower because that was the revolving door of everybody that was interviewing for a job. … So I went up through a residential entrance.”
Kushner and two other Trump aides, Bannon and Reince Priebus, sat in on Tillerson’s meeting with Trump, which he recalled as being in early December 2016. During the session, Tillerson walked Trump through major world regions and spoke about U.S. challenges in each.
One example he mentioned raising with Trump was the effect international sanctions on Russia — he appeared to be alluding to penalties imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine — were having on other countries who did business there.
“We talked about the challenges that had been created by the Russian sanctions for the Europeans because it was — it had had a greater effect on them than it had on most American businesses,” he said.
Neither Trump nor the president-elect’s aides asked many questions during the meeting, Tillerson said. But in the latter stages, Trump “went into a bit of a sales pitch and asked me to be the secretary of State, and I was stunned.”
Tillerson indicated that he had thought Trump had other people in mind for the role. He asked Trump for a few days to talk to ExxonMobil and his family, and before agreeing to take the job, he met with Trump again in person to ask three questions. He declined to tell the committee representatives what those questions or Trump’s answers were, however.
Tillerson had a rocky tenure at State. He disagreed with Trump on major issues, such as how to deal with Iran. Tillerson also alienated many U.S. diplomats by shutting them out of the decision-making process, imposing a hiring freeze and trying to push through a redesign of the department.
Tillerson said he grew frustrated with the White House for blocking him from naming certain people to top spots at State for reasons he felt were not satisfactory. He had thought he’d had more freedom to pick his aides. But months went on and numerous positions were left open.
“If people signed the ‘Never Trump’ letter, that would oftentimes disqualify them,” he recalled. “If they had tweeted something or retweeted something that the White House office thought was inappropriate, then that might disqualify them. If they had a spouse that might have supported the other candidate, that would disqualify them.”
The process “never did work smoothly,” he said.
He also said he tried to prevent the White House from proposing massive cuts to the State Department’s budget, although he said that he would have liked to see some significant budget reductions because he thought the existing spending was too bloated.
Asked about his attempt to redesign the State Department, Tillerson said the biggest obstacle to the largely unsuccessful effort were older, senior-level staffers who “don’t want anybody moving their cheese.” Tillerson also said it was his decision to dramatically reduce media access to the department, including cutting down the number of press briefings.
Tillerson told his interviewers that he was grateful to Trump for the opportunity to serve as secretary of State, and he repeatedly praised the career diplomats who work at State. He also sounded a note of modesty.
“In retrospect, the experience was both humbling and inspiring, and it will always be the great honor of my life,” he said.
California will soon ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers, a move aimed at curbing emissions from a category of small engines on pace to produce more pollution each year than passenger vehicles.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Saturday that orders state regulators to ban the sale of new gas-powered equipment using small off-road engines, a broad category that includes generators, lawn equipment and pressure washers.
The California Air Resources Board has already started working on a rule to do this, a lengthy process scheduled to conclude early next year. But the law Newsom signed on Saturday removes any doubt, ordering the agency to apply the new rule by Jan. 1, 2024, or as soon as regulators determine is “feasible,” whichever date is later.
“Gov. .Newsom signing (this law) really sets a strong course to not only his commitment to transitioning to zero emissions but also to cleaner air and healthier lungs,” said Will Barrett, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association in California.
The law, authored by Democratic Assemblyman Marc Berman, is part of an aggressive strategy to reduce pollution in the nation’s most populous state. California is the only state with the authority to regulate air quality this way, part of an exception carved out in federal law in the 1970s. While other states can’t enact their own regulations, they can choose to follow California’s lead.
Last year, California regulators approved a first-of-its-kind rule to force automakers to sell more electric work trucks and delivery vans. Also last year, Newsom ordered regulators to ban the sale of all new gas-powered cars and trucks in California by 2035 — a date that has since been embraced by some of the world’s largest automakers.
California has more than 16.7 million of these small engines in the state, about 3 million more than the number of passenger cars on the road. California was the first government in the world to adopt emission standards for these small engines in 1990. But since then, emissions in cars have vastly improved compared with smaller engines.
Now, state officials say running a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour emits the same amount of pollution as driving a 2017 Toyota Camry from Los Angeles to Denver, a distance of about 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers).
The law Newsom signed also orders regulators to offer rebates for people to change out their equipment, a move aimed at landscaping businesses that use these machines more often. The state budget, approved earlier this year, includes $30 million to pay for this effort.
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