President Trump speaks to reporters before departing the White House for California in November.
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President Trump speaks to reporters before departing the White House for California in November.
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President Trump continues to rail against special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump has, for example, used the words “witch hunt” in tweets nearly a dozen times in the month since Election Day.
The phrase appears to have stuck with his base, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll, but not with others beyond that. Seven in 10 Republicans agree with him, while a majority of independents and 4 in 5 Democrats see the investigation as “fair.”
“The base is solidified, but that doesn’t get you more than that,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll.
The polarized views on the special counsel persist amid a recent flurry of developments in the Russia probe, following relative quiet around the midterms. In federal courts on Friday, Mueller’s team is expected to detail how former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort allegedly breached his plea deal and to provide sentencing recommendations for ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who admitted last week to lying to Congress.
In the poll, for the first time, more Americans said they view Mueller more negatively than positively, 29 percent favorable, 33 percent unfavorable. That’s a net 7-point decline from the summer, when Mueller was 33 percent positive and 30 percent negative.
Mueller’s decline is fueled by Republicans — 58 percent have an unfavorable view of him in the most recent polling, up from 46 percent in July. (Just 8 percent have a favorable opinion of him, down from 15 percent in July.)
(The slight bump in March 2018 in the chart above followed several developments in late February in the Mueller investigation timeline. They included financial charges against Manafort and a guilty plea from Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates.)
The overall movement on views of Mueller, however, is within the poll’s margin of error, and — perhaps more remarkably — the former FBI director remains not very well known or defined. Despite withering attacks from Trump, the plurality of Americans (39 percent) continue to say they are unsure of their feelings toward Mueller or have never heard of him.
That’s very different from views of Kenneth Starr, the special prosecutor who investigated former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Back then, almost 6 in 10 Americans (56 percent) had an unfavorable view of Starr, according to a Time/CNN Poll in September 1998. Only 13 percent said they were either not familiar or not sure.
“Trump does very well when he has a target that he can put characteristics on, that he can make it clear in terms of why they should like or dislike someone,” Miringoff said. “When it comes to Mueller, that’s not occurring. [Mueller is] largely unknown, but the investigation is known. … That stymies the president and his handlers in terms of how they like to deal with an opponent.”
The investigation is also insulated to a degree — 67 percent said they think Mueller should be allowed to finish, including 51 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of independents; and three-quarters (76 percent) believe that Mueller’s final report should be made public in its entirety. That includes 68 percent of Republicans.
“The issue of transparency is big,” Miringoff said. “The only thing that’s stuck with the base is the notion of the ‘witch hunt,’ but people are supportive of letting the investigation go to its conclusion. … And they want to see the results. If you don’t get to see the sausage at the end, people are not going to be very happy about that.”
Trump’s approval rating in the poll remains essentially unchanged at 42 percent, and fewer — just 36 percent — think the country is headed in the right direction.
The poll was conducted from Nov. 28-Dec. 4, includes interviews with 1,075 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
(FOX Carolina) – Clear and chilly weather will remain in place until Saturday, followed by a winter storm. Heavy snow with high totals are expected for western North Carolina, while the Upstate will see a wintry mix with some light snow accumulations throughout the weekend into Monday.
*A winter storm WATCH has been issued for all of western NC, starting Saturday afternoon through Noon Monday.*
It’s another cold morning in the 20s and 30s with some clouds starting to build in. Those clouds thicken up through the day as highs reach the upper 40s to around 50 degrees. Conditions should remain dry.
More clouds roll in early Saturday, with the big winter storm event beginning. Here is the current storm forecast:
SATURDAY MORNING – Clouds become overcast, drizzle possible across the area, starting south and moving northward.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON – Rain for the Upstate, while the mountains will see a wintry mix of rain to sleet, and then to snow.
SATURDAY NIGHT – Rain continues for the Upstate, but after midnight a wintry mix develops. Mountains will see heavy snow, with several inches possible overnight.
SUNDAY – Heavy mountain snow between 6-11AM, with some wet snow possible in the Upstate during that time as well. Best chance will be north of I-85. All rain south of I-85 as it looks now. Some freezing rain will be possible at times, especially along I-85, so a glaze of ice could develop on road surfaces, trees, etc. While precipitation intensity decreases Sunday afternoon, freezing drizzle, light rain, or light snow remains possible in the Upstate while light snow continues in WNC.
SUNDAY NIGHT – Lingering showers in the Upstate and snow in the mountains will be possible.
MONDAY – One final burst of snow possible, even in the Upstate, as the back edge of the storm moves through. Only light accumulations add to what’s on the ground in the Upstate, but a couple more inches of snow are possible in WNC.
** All is subject to change depending on model trends! We will keep you posted!
REST OF WEEK – sunshine returns Tuesday with cool air sticking around. Temperatures climb into the 50s later in the week with widespread rain returning Friday.
The arrest and possible extradition of a Chinese business executive highlights ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China that national security adviser John Bolton says will be a major focus of negotiations over the next three months.
Those tensions contributed to another roller coaster day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 700 points on Thursday, but recovered to close down less than 80 points.That followed a 799 point drop in the Dow on Tuesday.
Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer at China’s Huawei Technologies, was arrested in Canada Saturday at the request of U.S. authorities and faces possible extradition to the United States. In an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, Bolton declined to address the reasons for her arrest, but said the U.S. has long been concerned with what it views as her company’s theft of technological know-how.
“You should not turn a blind eye when states, as a matter of national policy, are stealing intellectual property from their competitors,” Bolton told NPR’s Morning Edition. “Huawei is one company we’ve been concerned about. There are others as well.”
Huawei is one of the world’s leading producers of smartphones and telecommunications equipment. Meng is the daughter of the company’s founder. She’s expected to appear for a bail hearing in Vancouver on Friday. The Justice Department also declined to comment on the reason for Meng’s arrest.
Cease-fire?
She was detained the same day President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a working dinner in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The two leaders emerged from that meeting signaling a cease-fire in their trade war. Trump agreed to hold off on additional tariffs on Chinese imports for 90 days while negotiations continued over China’s trade practices.
“The main thing is to protect American jobs and American companies from the unfair treatment that they’ve received at the hands of the Chinese government,” Bolton said. “They’re not beating other countries in fair competition. They’re stealing from them.”
Vice President Pence also sounded a warning about China’s growing assertiveness in a speech this fall to the Hudson Institute.
“America had hoped that economic liberalization would bring China into a greater partnership with us and with the world,” Pence said. “Instead, China has chosen economic aggression, which has in turn emboldened its growing military.”
Bolton generally shares those hawkish views. But he stressed the U.S. is not trying to limit China’s economic growth.
“I don’t think national security requires that at all,” Bolton said. “What I think national security does require is that whatever economic growth China is blessed with, it gets by playing by the rules.”
He reiterated the vice president’s skepticism that prosperity would automatically lead to political change in China.
“I’ve heard going back years: ‘Just let the Chinese economy grow a little bit and you’ll see democracy spread all through the country,’ ” Bolton said. “We know today that connection is far from certain.”
“I am a Tariff Man”
Financial markets initially welcomed the Trump-Xi cease-fire, with stocks rallying on Monday. But doubts soon crept in that it would last, especially after Trump tweeted his support for tariffs on Tuesday.
“I am a Tariff Man,” Trump wrote. “When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs.”
….I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN
Indeed, Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports cost American businesses and consumers $2.2 billion in October, the first month in which those tariffs were fully in effect, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by the Trade Partnership, an economic research firm.
“Americans are paying these taxes and they’re paying more than ever before,” said former Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., who serves as spokesman for an advocacy group, Tariffs Hurt the Heartland.
Boustany notes tariffs directed at China tariffs did little to discourage imports or encourage domestic production, but retaliatory tariffs imposed by China have reduced U.S. exports. Imports from China subject to tariffs increased 2 percent in October, while exports subject to China’s retaliatory tariffs plummeted 42 percent.
When combined with levies on steel, aluminum and other imports, the total price tag for Trump administration tariffs was $2.8 billion in October. That pushed the federal government’s monthly tariff revenue to a record $6.2 billion.
Rules of engagement
Tariffs could go even higher if the U.S. and China fail to reach agreement on the sticky issues surrounding intellectual property and forced technology transfer. Bolton said business people are right to be worried.
“What prudent people should do is look at the way China functions and ask themselves whether trade and investment with an economy that takes advantage of its trading partners and puts their intellectual property at risk is something they want to engage in,” he said.
Bolton also expressed skepticism about North Korea’s willingness to abandon its outlawed nuclear program, even as he advocates for a second face-to-face meeting between the president and Kim Jong Un.
“President Trump is trying to give the North Koreans a chance to live up to the commitments they made at the Singapore summit,” Bolton said. “He’s held the door open for them. They need to walk through it.”
McCready’s decision, first announced in an interview with Charlotte television station WSOC, comes as North Carolina is dealing with an unfolding scandal over absentee ballots. Election officials are trying to determine why many were never mailed in in certain counties that likely would have favored the Democrats in the election, and three people have told BuzzFeed News and WSOC that they were hired to collect such absentee votes, which would be a violation of state law.
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans, following the tactics of conservative lawmakers in Wisconsin, moved on Thursday to start limiting the power of the incoming Democratic secretary of state and set the stage for additional curbs on the Democrats who will take over as governor and attorney general in January.
The G.O.P.-led State Senate in Michigan, voting largely along party lines, passed a bill that strips the incoming secretary of state of the authority to oversee campaign finance issues and hands it to a new bipartisan commission. Other bills, which are likely to be approved next week, include proposals that would weaken the ability of the governor and attorney general to control the state’s position in court cases.
Using a similar political playbook as their counterparts in Wisconsin this week, Michigan Republicans are responding to their Election Day chastening in top statewide races by trying to curb the power of leaders from the opposing party. The move has alarmed ethics watchdogs, who have called it a power grab, and has fueled protests among Democrats. But it is unclear if Republicans would pay a political price, given that many are in safe districts.
A major difference between Wisconsin and Michigan, however, may be their Republican governors.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker, who was denied a third term in November, is now weighing the bills to limit his successor, Tony Evers; Mr. Walker has not indicated how he will act, but he has worked in concert for years with Republican legislative leaders there.
The Time Warner Center in Manhattan, which houses CNN, was evacuated after someone called in a bomb threat late Thursday, New York ABC station WABC reported.
After a sweep of the building, police did not find any explosives and employees were allowed back inside the building just after 11 p.m. CNN security also searched and found nothing.
Several CNN employees were tweeting about the incident. Host Don Lemon said he was evacuated while his show was on-air.
Chris Cuomo also tweeted about the incident, but said employees expected to be allowed back into the building “ASAP.”
CNN was also evacuated just two months ago after a pipe bomb was sent to the building and intercepted in the mail room. That package was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, who was a contributor to the network for a time. Cesar Sayoc, a Florida resident, was arrested for allegedly sending that bomb, as well as a number of others, to prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, Cory Booker and Maxine Waters. Sayoc was indicted last month.
WABC
NYPD units wait outside the Time Warner Center in Manhattan on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, after a bomb threat was called into CNN. No explosives were found.
The building is located in Columbus Circle at the southwest corner of Central Park. It also includes residences, a Whole Foods store and a number of high-end stores, such as Michael Kors, Swarovski, Cole Haan and Coach.
President Donald Trump, who has made a political career of attacking CNN, had actually just tweeted about “fake news” the same hour of the bomb threat. He has repeatedly referred to CNN by that moniker.
President Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Chattanooga, TennesseeGetty Images
On the day Donald Trump became president of the United States, while inauguration festivities were still in full swing, he officially launched his 2020 reelection campaign. Donations poured in from more than 50,000 people across the country. But according to the latest federal filings, Trump still has not donated a penny of his own, while his businesses continued to charge the campaign for hotels, food, rent and legal consulting. That means the richest president in American history has turned $1.1 million from donors across the country into revenue for himself.
It wasn’t always this way. From April 2015 to June 2016, Trump put $50 million of his own money into his campaign, while running a famously frugal operation. When outsiders started paying the vast majority of his expenses in July 2016, he loosened the purse strings a bit, funneling more money to his own companies and stemming his personal losses. Now that he is apparently not donating anything to the 2020 effort, Trump seems to be getting a small payback on his investment.
Trump Tower Commercial LLC, an entity owned 100% by the president, has charged the reelection campaign $665,000 in rent, according to federal filings. The Republican National Committee also coordinated with the campaign to pay an additional $225,000 in rent. Campaign representatives did not respond to requests for comment, and an RNC official declined to answer questions about the payments, leaving it unclear exactly how much space they leased inside Trump Tower.
But it appears to be plenty. Leading up to the 2016 election, the president’s campaign paid an average of $2,700 in monthly Trump Tower rent for every person listed in campaign filings as receiving a “payroll” payment. The 2020 operation, by contrast, is shelling out an average of $6,300 in monthly rent for every such person.
Then there are the payments flowing into Trump Plaza LLC, a Trump-owned entity that has taken in $42,000 of campaign money since November 2017. Although federal filings list the purpose of those payments as “rent,” it is difficult to tell what the campaign is actually renting. Trump Plaza LLC controls a retail space, garage and two brownstones near Third Avenue in New York City. The retail space at Trump Plaza shows no signs of campaign activity, and a non-Trump company seems to sub-lease the garage from Trump Plaza LLC—leaving just the two brownstones. But they are not open to the public, making it difficult to see who the tenants are, and whether they include the president’s campaign.
So Forbes staked out the buildings, arriving at 7:15 a.m. one November morning and staying for the next 14 hours, with the exception of an 18-minute break around 3 p.m. By our count, seven people went in and out of the twin, four-story brownstones over the course of the day. One refused to talk, and six said they had not seen any sign of the campaign in the buildings. Nor had a man behind the front desk at Trump Plaza. “I’ve been here since the beginning,” he said. “If there was any kind of office rented out for campaigning or whatever, I would know about it.”
Is the Trump campaign simply funneling money into the president’s business and getting nothing in return? That seems unlikely. One person who worked on the 2016 campaign saidstaffers sometimes crashed at Trump Plaza when they were in town. If that’s the reason for the payments, it would be an unconventional arrangement. The campaign could, of course, pay for hotel rooms—although that would not guarantee a steady stream of rent for the president.
From November 2017 to August 2018, the Trump campaign paid Trump Plaza LLC an average of $4,200 per month. The real estate website StreetEasy lists recent rentals in the building for $3,700 to $3,850 per month. Candidates are permitted to do business with their own companies only if they pay fair-market prices.
There are other campaign payments that raise suspicions. One month after Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, the campaign paid the Trump Corporation, another one of the president’s companies, $90,000 in “legal consulting” expenses, according to federal records. It is not clear what legal services Trump’s company provided the campaign, or what rate it charged for the work. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s 2020 campaign also spent about $120,000 at the president’s hotel in Washington, D.C. And the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas got $15,000 of campaign money in February 2017.
“This is extremely unusual,” says Ann Ravel, a Democrat who left her post as a commissioner of the Federal Election Commission shortly after Trump’s inauguration. “There is always a concern when you’re looking at expenditures as to whether those expenditures are being used for personal use, for personal purposes, because that’s illegal. And there is, in my opinion, a fine line here with so much money being utilized for economic benefit for the candidate himself.”
A winter storm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for much of northern Arkansas in a wintry blast that could span multiple days, meteorologists said.
The weather service said on Thursday that the watch will begin late Friday and last through early Sunday. The storm could bring 4 to 6 inches of snow along with significant ice accumulation across portions of northern Arkansas.
Sean Clarke, a meteorologist in the agency’s North Little Rock office, said the bulk of the storm will likely hit Saturday morning.
Travel impacts are expected and power outages are possible, the weather service said in a statement.
Clarke said there is also a chance the wintry weather could also impact central Arkansas, although that region is not included in the watch area.
“[Central Arkansas] won’t receive near the amount that northern Arkansas is facing,” Clarke said. “Worst-case scenario, the central Arkansas area could get two to three inches, but officially we aren’t predicting more than an inch.”
Minor snow, sleet, and ice accumulations are possible in the central region, generally along and north of the Interstate 30/Interstate 40 corridor, the weather service said.
The storm’s path can be hard to predict because it hasn’t even made landfall yet.
“We use upper air ballon launches to track weather patterns,” Clarke said. “It should hit the coast of California sometime in the next 12 to 24 hours and then the balloons will actually sample the storm and we will have a better gauge at what we are looking at.”
The weather service said much of the forecast hinges on how quickly cold air moves in from the northeast.
If cold air moves in more quickly than forecasted, snow and ice accumulations will increase and there will be more widespread winter weather in central Arkansas. If cold air moves in slowly, the total accumulations will be less significant.
The storm will also bring along the possibility of several inches of rain across southern Arkansas as well. While widespread flooding is not expected, localized flooding will be possible.
WASHINGTON/TOKYO, Dec 5 — Six U.S. Marines were missing following a still-unexplained mishap off the coast of Japan on Thursday involving two U.S. Marine Corps aircraft, which may have collided mid-air during a refueling exercise gone wrong, U.S. officials said.
Japan’s defense ministry said that its maritime forces had so far rescued one of the seven Marines who were aboard the two aircraft at the time of the incident. Search and rescue efforts were ongoing, U.S. and Japanese officials said.
The rescued person had been on the F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet, and was a in stable condition at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told a news conference.
“The incident is regrettable, but our focus at the moment is on search and rescue,” he said. “Japan will respond appropriately once the details of the incident are uncovered.”
The Marine Corps said in a statement that the incident occurred around 2 a.m. local time in Japan on Thursday (1700 GMT Wednesday) about 200 miles (322 km) off the Japanese coast.
The Marine Corps band called ‘The Presidents Own’ was created in 1798. Here they are in 1893.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
The Marines pose for a photo in Egypt in 1907.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines pose with a German trench mortar in 1918.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines duing WWI circa 1918.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines run a drill during combat training in Germany, 1918.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Grumman FF-2, circa 1930
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Pearl Harbor survivor Technical Sergeant Anglin on December 8th 1941.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines patiently wait to be called for ‘chow time’ 1943.
Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Marines admire a photo of a pin-up girl in 1943 while in Japan.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
James Wrobel, Designer of VMF-312 Insignia, circa 1943
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines arrive on the Japanese island Saipan. 1944 WWII
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines stationed in Bougainville.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines wait for letters from home to be distributed.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Pictured here : ‘Code Talkers’ 1943 were a group a Native American Marines would used their native language to relay coded messages.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines fire a 155mm Howitzer Iwo Jima.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
A Navy Corpsman administers blood plasma to a Marine. 1944
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines are surrounded by bullet shells at the base of Mount Suribachi.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines raise the American flag in Iwo Jima. 1945
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines celebrate the end of WWII. 1945
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Korean War 1950.
Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Female Marines began training in Parris Island, South Carolina, 1949.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines line up to receive items from home. Usually soda, candy and cigarettes.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
A welcome banner can be seen here in Vietnam welcoming the Marines in Danang in 1965.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
A Marine rests while he can in Vietnam. 1968.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Moment of Peace: Corporal Larry G. Nabb (Brush, Colorado) finds a moment of peace in front of a gaily decorated Christmas tree at Quang Tri Combat Base. Nabb is serving as a truck driver with 3d Marine Division’s Headquarters Battalion, and is one of thousands of Marines celebrating their Christmas in Vietnam
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Private First Class Ronald Duplantis prepares a 122mm enemy field weapon for shipment.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines carry supplies from a cargo plane to a nearby base. 1969.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines register to vote for the 1969 presidential election.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
David Gurfein sits next to a Christmas tree in Saudi Arabia while serving during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
Photo Credit: US Marine Corps
Marines prepare to enter Saddam Husseins palace in 2003.
The F/A-18 and the KC-130 Hercules refueling aircraft had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and were conducting regular training when there was a “mishap,” the Marine Corps said.
The Marine Corps did not elaborate on the nature of the incident. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it occurred during a refueling exercise.
Officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity were unsure precisely how the mishap occurred but none suspected foul play. An investigation has begun.
The Marine Corps suggested Japanese search and rescue aircraft had taken the lead on the rescue mission.
“We are thankful for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s efforts as they immediately responded in the search and rescue operation,” it said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali in Washington and Kaori Kaneko and Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Editing by Peter Cooney and Rosalba O’Brien)
Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, leaves following his plea hearing at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1, 2017. Sentencing documents indicate he has been helpful to the ongoing special counsel investigation.
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Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, leaves following his plea hearing at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1, 2017. Sentencing documents indicate he has been helpful to the ongoing special counsel investigation.
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Robert Mueller knows how to keep a secret.
As reporters and lawyers for President Trump speculate about the end of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the special counsel threw a curve ball this week.
In sentencing documents for former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn, authorities reported that Flynn had offered “substantial” and “firsthand” assistance with not only the Russia probe, but also an unspecified ongoing criminal investigation — and, possibly, another matter, too.
Defendants typically get credit for that sort of cooperation when they are sentenced. But the memo by prosecutors Brandon Van Grack and Zainab Ahmad suggested “some of that benefit may not be fully realized at this time because the investigations in which he has provided assistance are ongoing.”
That news, combined with the disclosure that Flynn had met with government investigators 19 times in the past year, set off a new and frenetic round of guessing about what mysterious other areas the special counsel and others at the Justice Department are examining.
“Nineteen meetings, that’s an awful lot of meetings,” said Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor and member of the special counsel team that investigated the leak of a CIA operative’s identity in the George W. Bush administration. “Look, common sense tells you that Flynn is going to know a great deal of information that’s of interest to Mueller. His closeness to Trump and the campaign and the convention … if there’s collusion, those are the kinds of things that are going to be of great interest.”
Herewith is a partial list of the possibilities.
1. Turkey
Zeidenberg and others raised the prospect that authorities are looking into how the Trump campaign, and now the Trump administration, has been handling demands from Turkey to transport an elderly cleric from his home in Pennsylvania and into the hands of the Turkish regime, which views him as an enemy. The Departments of Justice and State have raised questions about whether there’s a legitimate legal basis tying the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, to any illegal activity in Turkey.
Flynn already has acknowledged lying about his contacts with Turkey, including paid advocacy about the cleric’s “removal” from the United States, that he failed to report to the Justice Department.
“It’s much, much harder to suss out what’s going on here than in a normal white-collar case,” said Samuel Buell, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at Duke School of Law. Buell said if Flynn had offered truly bombshell testimony, “I think there probably would have been more charges to begin with.” Instead, he said, Flynn pleaded guilty to only one false-statements charge.
2. Money
Others have suggested Flynn may have information to share about the inner workings of the transition as its point man to Russia, perhaps including financing of the campaign or the inauguration.
Support for this view comes via a question in last summer’s trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing, pressed deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates about whether he billed the inaugural committee for some of his personal expenses.
Downing asked if Gates had been interviewed by the special counsel about his role in the campaign. Prosecutors swiftly objected, and the judge called both sides to the bench for a private conference about the issue. It did not come up again in the trial.
But news reports have suggested that a number of Russians with connections to the Kremlin may have funneled money into the campaign or the inaugural celebrations in early 2017. A number of oligarchs who attended those functions have been questioned by the FBI about them, during travel layovers inside the United States. It’s illegal for foreign contributors to donate to inaugural committees.
Mary McCord spent more than 20 years at the Justice Department, resigning last year as chief of its National Security Division. She declined to address the nature of the information Flynn had provided authorities. But she added, whatever Flynn had told prosecutors, they seem to have bought it.
“The sentencing memorandum arguing that a sentence of no jail time is ‘appropriate and warranted’ indicates that the special counsel found Michael Flynn to be forthcoming, credible and of substantial assistance to the special counsel’s investigation,” said McCord, who now teaches at Georgetown Law Center. “I would not expect to see this kind of recommendation if Flynn had been reticent or was suspected of withholding information, or if the information he provided was not helpful to furthering the investigation.”
Flynn’s lawyers, Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony, have consistently declined comment about him over the past year. But they’re expected to break their silence Dec. 11, when they file their own brief urging the judge not to impose a prison sentence on the 33-year military veteran. Flynn is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18.
Joyce and Jerry McLean sifted through twisted metal and broken glass Wednesday on the property where their mobile home once stood, hoping to find precious family possessions that might have survived the devastating California wildfire that leveled Paradise.
They were among hundreds of residents who were finally allowed back into neighborhoods on the east side of town a month after the blaze killed at least 85 people and destroyed about 14,000 homes.
The couple, wearing white hazmat suits and leather gloves, searched for his gold wedding band, a Bible that belonged to his great-grandmother and Christmas ornaments their son made when he was a boy.
“We didn’t own expensive things, but we had a lot of memory things,” said Joyce McLean, 73. “If I can find a little piece of his family or just a little piece of my son, I would be happy.”
Earlier in the day, a long line of cars waited in a cold drizzle at a checkpoint to enter areas where evacuation orders had been lifted for an area where 4,700 people once lived.
Crews in yellow rain slickers were still clearing debris from burned homes and removing trees from streets littered with melted plastic trash cans and hollowed vehicles on tireless rims.
Some residents have been allowed back into nearby communities in the fire zone, but Wednesday marked the first time residents of Paradise got a firsthand look at what was left of their town of 27,000 people that was hit the hardest by the blaze.
More than 50,000 people in Paradise and the neighboring communities of Magalia and Concow were forced to quickly flee the towering, wind-driven flames that charred 240 square miles. Authorities said 10 people were still unaccounted Wednesday for in what was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in at least a century. Investigators said they located 3,271 since the wildfire ignited.
Joyce McLean said she had seen photos on social media of her burned home and knew one of the only things that survived was an American flag still flying on its pole.
“We lost everything but the clothes on our backs,” she said about their harrowing dash for safety.
In their search Wednesday, they found tools that belonged to Jerry McLean’s father and a set of souvenir spoons that belonged to Joyce McLean’s mother, but there was no sign of the precious items they had hoped to find.
“I don’t think we’re going to find the Bible, not much chance,” said Jerry McLean, 72.
Joyce McLean said the thought of returning after the fire had made her nervous and emotional, but she wanted to at least recover the flag.
“I think something was telling us to be there,” she said about the images she saw on social media. “The only thing that was standing was the flagpole, with the flag still flying, and our welcome sign with our name and address.”
Rebecca Rogers of Chico came to support her friend, Jennifer Christensen, who lost her Paradise home in the fire.
Rogers believes she found the remains of Christensen’s cat, Marble, under what used to be her friend’s bed. Rogers was in tears when she approached the McLeans to ask for a bag to gather the remains.
“I don’t want her to look. It’s just too much,” Rogers sobbed before burying the remains in the front yard of her friend’s home. “I’ve got to be strong; I’ve got to do this for her. “
The communities will have very limited services for the immediate future, and authorities urged returning residents to bring food, water and fuel for vehicles.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman Dennis MacAleese said the utility has 4,000 people in the area working to restore electric and gas service to those who can receive it. He said the utility hopes to restore electrical service by the end of the month and gas by the first quarter of next year.
Residents returning Wednesday were given kits with gloves and hazmat suits and warned that they should not move back into homes until ash and hazardous waste have been cleared, and that rain could increase the risk of flash floods and mudslides.
The McLeans are temporarily renting a house in the region, but they plan to move back to Paradise and have already bought a two-bedroom mobile home to replace the one they lost.
They also intend to keep searching the rubble for their precious possessions.
“Today was just kind of a come-to-Jesus meeting to see what’s here, what’s not – mostly not,” Jerry McLean said.
Before leaving for the day, he took down the flag and folded it.
BERLIN—The three main contenders to succeed Angela Merkel as chairwoman of Germany’s largest political party have called for a review of a planned gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, potentially putting the party at odds with the chancellor’s own government.
Since Friday, the candidates have publicly questioned whether Germany should forge ahead with the controversial Nord Stream 2 project after Russian forces detained Ukrainian servicemen off the shores of the Russia-occupied peninsula of Crimea, sparking international…
Lobbyists for the Saudi government spent more than $270,000 at President Trump’s luxury hotel in D.C. in the first three months after he was elected, according to a report.
The money was used to pay for approximately 500 nights at the Trump International Hotel in Washington for six intakes of a program offered to U.S. military veterans to visit the nation’s capital in exchange for talking to lawmakers about a law to which the Saudi regime was opposed, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Participants previously stayed in Northern Virginia before the organizers, a veterans advocacy group contracted by Qorvis MSLGROUP, switched to the Trump-associated hotel in December 2016.
One political operative behind the bookings, which have prompted multiple legal actions, told the Post Wednesday the hotel was chosen because the group was given a discounted rate rather then to ingratiate themselves to the president. At the time, the average rate at the Trump hotel was about $768, but disclosure documents filed with the Justice Department indicate the rooms were charged at approximately $360 per person per night.
The law the Saudi government was lobbying against was the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the kingdom in relation to the attacks as a majority of terrorists were Saudi nationals.
The transactions form part of a lawsuit launched by the attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia, which alleges Trump has unconstitutionally profited from his political position. On Tuesday, a number of subpoenas were issued to obtain records for the legal discovery process, marking the first time a suit asserting a president was in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clauses has advanced to the discovery stage.
They will also likely be examined in the next Congress by the presumptive incoming chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Schiff told the Post Wednesday his panel already wants to investigate the financial relationship between Trump and the Saudi government after the death of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October.
Image caption
The contentious legislative session last nine hours
Wisconsin Republicans have provoked uproar by limiting the power of a newly elected Democratic governor.
If signed by outgoing Republican Governor Scott Walker, the bills will curb the authority of incoming Democrat Tony Evers and his attorney general.
Protesters have been demonstrating at the state capitol in Madison for days, accusing Republicans of trying to rig the system.
But state Republicans say the bills only seek to balance power.
In the neighbouring Midwestern state of Michigan, another Republican-controlled legislature is considering the passage of similar laws to hobble newly elected Democrats.
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
If outgoing Gov Scott Walker approves the bills, the new governor’s power will be limited
In a nine-hour, all-night session that began on Tuesday, Wisconsin Republicans in the state Senate pushed through a number of proposals that would limit the governor and attorney general roles.
The party lost both positions to Democrats in the mid-term elections on 6 November.
If Mr Walker approves the bills – and he has indicated support for the measures – his successor will be forced to seek permission from the legislature before seeking changes to various programmes.
Furthermore, the bills limit the governor’s ability to address early voting and voter ID laws.
These are crucial provisions in a presidential swing state that President Donald Trump only narrowly won in 2016.
And the attorney general would no longer have the ability to remove the state from federal lawsuits.
That power, along with others, would go instead to the state legislative branch, still Republican-dominated.
It would prevent Mr Evers and attorney general-elect Josh Kaul from making good on campaign promises such as removing the state from a lawsuit against the Obama-era Affordable Care Act.
The state Senate approved 81 people for boards, authorities and councils during the same overnight session.
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
Democrat Tony Evers won the gubernatorial race by 30,000 or so votes
Governor Walker also approved a judge and two district attorneys.
Protesters were cleared from the Senate galleries just after the session began. They chanted: “Shame!”
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Evers said “power-hungry politicians” had pushed the changes through to “override the will of the people of Wisconsin who asked for change”.
But Republicans say the changes are blown out of proportion and ensure Wisconsin’s government is evenly balanced.
Republican Robin Vos, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, said on Twitter that “Democrats have been exaggerating and resorting to hyperbole”.
“The vote is about ensuring equal branches of government exist in Wisconsin, especially during this time of divided government.”
Democrats countered that the other party made no such objection when a Republican governor was in power.
Republicans have controlled Wisconsin for eight years.
Mr Evers won the gubernatorial race against Mr Walker by a margin of less than 30,000 votes.
If the bills are challenged via lawsuits, the government could face gridlock next year.
Bienvenido a tu guía de The New York Times. Te presentamos la información más relevante y destacada de hoy, con enlaces en español e inglés. El resumen se actualiza durante el día, así que sigue revisando para más información.
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Emilio Azcárraga Jean en 2013 Credit
Tomas Bravo/Reuters
El gigante mexicano de telecomunicaciones Televisa tiene un nuevo liderazgo: Emilio Azcárraga Jean, hijo del fundador de la empresa y el director ejecutivo de esta durante dos décadas, anunció hoy que dejará el cargo. Todavía será el presidente de la junta, de la fundación Televisa y de su equipo de fútbol, el América, pero la gestión diaria de la compañía quedará en manos de los hasta ahora vicepresidentes ejecutivos Alfonso de Angoitia y Bernardo Gómez, que fueron nombrados codirectores ejecutivos y asumirán ese cargo el 1 de enero.
La salida de Azcárraga Jean, anunciada primero por el diario Wall Street Journal, se da en momentos en que Televisa –la mayor productora de programas de habla hispana y actualmente aliada con Univisión en Estados Unidos– ha tenido una caía pronunciada de espectadores al competir no solo con otros canales televisivos sino con sistemas de emisión continua como Netflix, que ya ha hecho varias producciones pensadas para el mercado mexicano.
“Nuestra industria está pasando por una transformación muy importante, que nos presenta grandes retos, pero oportunidades aún mayores”, dijo en un comunicado Azcárraga Jean.
Descartan convocar a elecciones y aumenta confusión
Algunos jóvenes que estaban reunidos afuera de la sede de la “Generalitat” celebraron después del discurso de Puigdemont. Credit
Samuel Aranda para The New York Times
Ante una escalada de la crisis entre el gobierno catalán y el de España, el líder regional Carles Puigdemont iba acudir ante el Parlament para presumiblemente anunciar su intención de convocar a elecciones para diciembre, un aparente intento por reducir las tensiones con Madrid, aunque terminó por suspender la declaratoria y después dijo que no habrá a comicios pues no existen las “garantías”. Dejó en manos del parlamento regional decidir cómo responder al que el gobierno de Mariano Rajoy ya invocó el artículo 155 de la Constitución para remover al gobierno de Cataluña por sus movidas independentistas, pedido que iba a ser debatido mañana en el senado.
Queda por ver también la reacción del gobierno central a la sugerencia vía carta de Puigdemont de que el artículo 155 no permite removerlos del cargo sino darles “instrucciones a las autoridades autonómicas”.
En medio de la confusión, algunos sectores de la coalición gobernante catalana expresaron su descontento y decepción e incluso anunciaron su salida de Junts x el Sí, de cara al fervor independentista que sí se ha hecho sentir en ciertos lugares, como el enclave de Llivia.
La sequía en India Credit
Geeta Anand y Vikram Singh
Los estragos del calentamiento global y del cambio climático parecen cada vez más notorios en un mundo en el que las temporadas de huracanes se han vuelto más intensas, las sequías más extendidas y los incendios forestales más grandes.
En Europa, por ejemplo, la producción del aceite de oliva se ha dificultado debido a factores como olas de calor o plagas que duran más tiempo, mientras que los incendios en zonas como California han resultado en las últimas semanas en la desaparición de varias especies en peligro de extinción.
Otro caso evidente es el de India, en particular el distrito de Nagapattinam, en Tamil Nadu. Ahí, cientos de miles de agricultores han terminado por suicidarse debido a que la sequía y las olas de calor han diezmado sus cosechas. Un estudio halló que mientras más altas son las temperaturas, más aumenta el promedio de suicidios.
“No conseguimos suficiente agua para quitarnos la sed. La poca agua que tenemos la usamos para mojar ligeramente nuestra boca y garganta”, dijo K. Muthu, una de las pocas habitantes que ha decidido quedarse en Nagapattinam.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner a su llegada a un tribunal en Buenos Aires en marzo Credit
David Fernandez/European Pressphoto Agency
• La expresidenta argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, recién elegida al Senado de ese país, acudió hoy a los tribunales para comparecer en una de las investigaciones en su contra por presuntamente haber ayudado a encubrir la supuesta participación iraní en el atentado al centro judío AMIA en los años noventa. Estuvo una hora y media en el juzgado, desde donde aseguró que el caso es una persecución política y que “la única traición a la patria es utilizar a un poder judicial para perseguir a los opositores”.
Una persona lava las hojas de coca, primero con gasolina y después con agua, para recopilar el extracto en barriles y después acidificarlo y mezclarlo con cemento. Credit
Juan Arredondo para The New York Times
• Los cultivos de coca, marihuana y amapola de hasta 3,8 hectáreas podrían ya no conllevar prisión en Colombia, si se avala un proyecto impulsado por el gobierno en momentos de particular tensión con los cocaleros y agricultores colombianos, algunos de los cuales no han tenido éxito al intentar sustituir sus cultivos y otros que han protestado en contra del programa de erradicación en manifestaciones que en ocasiones se han vuelto mortíferas.
El expresidente Sebastián Piñera y actual candidato presidencial saluda a los votantes durante las primarias de Chile Vamos, el 2 de julio en Santiago Credit
Esteban Felix/Associated Press
• A semanas de la primera vuelta presidencial en Chile, programada para el 19 de noviembre, los sondeos más recientes sugieren que el expresidente Sebastián Piñera alcanzaría el 44,4 por ciento de los votos frente al senador Alejandro Guiller, que obtendría el 19,7 por ciento de los sufragios, y Beatriz Sánchez, la abanderada del gobernante Frente Amplio que sumaría 8,5 por ciento.
• Una sesión del senado mexicano que fue pospuesta ayer debería ser retomada hoy para discutir la reciente destitución del fiscal electoral Santiago Nieto después de que este fuera retirado del cargo por presuntas irregularidades de conducta. La situación está bajo investigación ya que poco antes había denunciado que un poderoso integrante del partido gobernante, el exdirector de la petrolera estatal Pemex Emilio Lozoya, le envió una carta en la que parecía exhortarlo a que dejara de investigarlo.
Lozoya Austin está siendo investigado por denuncias de que recibió dinero por parte de la oficina mexicana de Odebrecht en 2012, cuando estaba a cargo de la dirección internacional de la campaña del ahora presidente Enrique Peña Nieto. El exdirector de Pemex ya compareció hoy por el caso ante la FEPADE, la fiscalía para delitos electorales; dijo que no tenía responsabilidades en cuanto al supuesto financiamiento que habría hecho Odebrecht a la campaña de Peña Nieto.
Legisladores de la oposición llegaron el 25 de octubre a la sede del congreso en Brasilia con carteles que dicen “Fuera Temer”. Credit
Joedson Alves/European Press Agency
• El presidente brasileño Michel Temer libró ayer los cargos de corrupción que pesaban en su contra (si es que es enjuiciado por ellos, lo sería hasta dejar el cargo) después de que 251 diputados votaran a favor de descartar las acusaciones para que no avanzaran al Supremo Tribunal Federal, contra 233 que votaron para que sí lo hicieran, el ejecutivo brasileño indicó que se concentrará en intentar promover reformas económicas, como un posible cambio al sistema de jubilación que ha despertado fuertes críticas en el país.
Julio Borges, el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional venezolana Credit
Cristian Hernandez/European Pressphoto Agency
El premio anual por la libertad de conciencia fue otorgado hoy por el Parlamento Europeo a los integrantes de la oposición venezolana, con mención particular a Julio Borges y quienes forman parte de la Asamblea Nacional, la legislatura venezolana que es el único organismo de gobierno no controlado por el chavismo, y a quienes han sido calificados como prisioneros políticos, entre ellos Leopoldo López, Yon Goicoechea y Antonio Ledezma.
El premio les fue extendido en apoyo “inquebrantable a la Asamblea Nacional, el único parlamento elegido democráticamente en Venezuela”, según el comité, en referencia a que a mediados del año se estableció la llamada Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, que quedó por encima de otros poderes, con lo que las medidas aprobadas por la Asamblea Nacional legislativa pueden ser supeditadas por un cuerpo de mayoría chavista. También hubo intentos previos por parte del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de asumir las funciones de la legislatura.
“El Parlamento Europeo también quiere expresar su proximidad y rendir tributo al pueblo venezolano: a todos aquellos que han sido detenidos injustamente por expresar su opinión, a quienes luchan por sobrevivir diariamente bajo un régimen brutal y a las familias en duelo porque han perdido a sus seres queridos en estos meses de protestas ininterrumpidas a favor de la libertad”, dice el comunicado en el que se anuncia el Sájarov.
El galardón llega en momentos en que las divisiones internas de la coalición opositora Mesa de la Unidad Democrática se han vuelto cada vez más públicas ante reveses electorales por los que han acusado fraude.
George Springer le dio la ventaja a los Astros en la decimoprimera entrada, 7-5, en el segundo juego de la Serie Mundial, el 25 de octubre. Credit
Harry How/Getty Images
Ocho cuadrangulares: un récord para una Serie Mundial. El duelo entre los Astros y los Dodgers sin duda fue histórico, con ventajas que desaparecían en un segundo y empates que extendieron el partido a once entradas en un calor con temperaturas promedio de 33 grados Celsius, hasta que Houston salió victorioso, 7-5 frente a Los Ángeles.
“Si te gusta el béisbol que se juega en octubre –si te gusta cualquier béisbol– este es uno de los juegos más increíbles de los que vas a ser parte”, dijo el mánager de los Astros A. J. Hinch.
Houston y Los Ángeles ahora están empatados en la serie, 1-1. El tercer partido se disputará el viernes.
El exsecretario general de la Federación Nacional de Futbol de Guatemala Héctor Trujillo a su llegada a la corte en Brooklyn, el 25 de octubre Credit
Kathy Willens/Associated Press..
• En el fútbol, ayer el expresidente de la asociación de fútbol guatemalteca y anteriormente juez Héctor Trujillo fue condenado a ocho meses de prisión en Estados Unidos tras admitir que aceptó sobornos y que ayudó a lavar dinero de ese modo. También deberá pagar una multa de 415.000 dólares a la Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala.
• También hay otro misterio en el seno de la FIFA como parte de la investigación de corrupción: ¿cómo fue que una empresa prácticamente desconocida se hizo con los derechos de transmisión de los mundiales de fútbol de 2018, 2022, 2026 y 2030? ¿Por qué no fue anunciado públicamente cuando obtuvo esos contratos? Mountrigi tendrá los derechos para 16 países latinoamericanos y, según una investigación de autoridades suizas y estadounidenses, los habría obtenido por medio de sobornos. Mountrigi, además, es una filial del gigante de telecomunicaciones mexicano Televisa.
Una protesta a favor de la decisión de Jane Doe de interrumpir legalmente su embarazo, realizada afuera del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos en Washington el 20 de octubre. Credit
J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press
Rosamaría Hernández, de diez años de edad, fue detenida esta semana por agentes migratorios cuando iba camino al hospital en una ambulancia para una cirugía de vesícula de emergencia, según su familia. Los agentes la detuvieron después de que fue dada de alta, ya que la menor había ingresado a Estados Unidos de manera ilegal cuando tenía tres meses de edad, junto con sus padres, que son indocumentados.
La situación ha causado furor ya que es muy poco común que sean detenidos menores sin papeles cuando ya se encuentran dentro de Estados Unidos; usualmente eso sucede con adultos o se detiene a los jóvenes al momento en el que cruzan la frontera o intentan hacerlo. La madre de Hernández dijo a The New York Times que habían dejado Nuevo Laredo, México, camino a Texas para que Rosamaría recibiera mejor tratamiento por su parálisis cerebral, ya que no podían costear el sistema de salud en su país de origen mientras que en Estados Unidos recibían el apoyo de Medicaid, programa para personas de escasos recursos.
No es el único caso de una migrante menor de edad que ha resultado en críticas al gobierno de Donald Trump en las últimas semanas. Una joven centroamericana, identificada como Jane Doe, terminó inmiscuida en un caso legal después de que se enterara que estaba embarazada cuando fue detenida al cruzar hacia Estados Unidos. Ella, de 17 años, dijo no estar lista para ser madre y pidió interrumpir el embarazo, lo cual es legal en Texas, donde fue arrestada. Ya estaba a la mitad de un aborto médico (había tomado la primera de dos pastillas) cuando un representante del gobierno federal se involucró y detuvo el proceso. Por varios días la joven no tenía seguro si iba a poder cumplir con sus deseos de terminar el embarazo en lo que el caso se peleaba en las cortes, hasta que un tribunal falló ayer a su favor. Pudo completar el proceso, aunque sigue bajo detención.
Bienvenido a tu guía de The New York Times. Te presentamos la información más relevante y destacada de hoy, con enlaces en español e inglés. El resumen se actualiza durante el día, así que sigue revisando para más información.
¿Qué te gustaría leer en este resumen? ¿Tienes sugerencias? Escríbenos a comentarios@nytimes.com.
Descartan convocar a elecciones y aumenta confusión
Algunos jóvenes que estaban reunidos afuera de la sede de la “Generalitat” celebraron después del discurso de Puigdemont. Credit
Samuel Aranda para The New York Times
Ante una escalada de la crisis entre el gobierno catalán y el de España, el líder regional Carles Puigdemont iba acudir ante el Parlament para presumiblemente anunciar su intención de convocar a elecciones para diciembre, un aparente intento por reducir las tensiones con Madrid, aunque terminó por suspender la declaratoria y después dijo que no habrá a comicios pues no existen las “garantías”. Dejó en manos del parlamento regional decidir cómo responder al que el gobierno de Mariano Rajoy ya invocó el artículo 155 de la Constitución para remover al gobierno de Cataluña por sus movidas independentistas, pedido que iba a ser debatido mañana en el senado.
Queda por ver también la reacción del gobierno central a la sugerencia vía carta de Puigdemont de que el artículo 155 no permite removerlos del cargo sino darles “instrucciones a las autoridades autonómicas”.
En medio de la confusión, algunos sectores de la coalición gobernante catalana expresaron su descontento y decepción e incluso anunciaron su salida de Junts x el Sí, de cara al fervor independentista que sí se ha hecho sentir en ciertos lugares, como el enclave de Llivia.
La sequía en India Credit
Geeta Anand y Vikram Singh
Los estragos del calentamiento global y del cambio climático parecen cada vez más notorios en un mundo en el que las temporadas de huracanes se han vuelto más intensas, las sequías más extendidas y los incendios forestales más grandes.
En Europa, por ejemplo, la producción del aceite de oliva se ha dificultado debido a factores como olas de calor o plagas que duran más tiempo, mientras que los incendios en zonas como California han resultado en las últimas semanas en la desaparición de varias especies en peligro de extinción.
Otro caso evidente es el de India, en particular el distrito de Nagapattinam, en Tamil Nadu. Ahí, cientos de miles de agricultores han terminado por suicidarse debido a que la sequía y las olas de calor han diezmado sus cosechas. Un estudio halló que mientras más altas son las temperaturas, más aumenta el promedio de suicidios.
“No conseguimos suficiente agua para quitarnos la sed. La poca agua que tenemos la usamos para mojar ligeramente nuestra boca y garganta”, dijo K. Muthu, una de las pocas habitantes que ha decidido quedarse en Nagapattinam.
Julio Borges, el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional venezolana Credit
Cristian Hernandez/European Pressphoto Agency
El premio anual por la libertad de conciencia fue otorgado hoy por el Parlamento Europeo a los integrantes de la oposición venezolana, con mención particular a Julio Borges y quienes forman parte de la Asamblea Nacional, la legislatura venezolana que es el único organismo de gobierno no controlado por el chavismo, y a quienes han sido calificados como prisioneros políticos, entre ellos Leopoldo López, Yon Goicoechea y Antonio Ledezma.
El premio les fue extendido en apoyo “inquebrantable a la Asamblea Nacional, el único parlamento elegido democráticamente en Venezuela”, según el comité, en referencia a que a mediados del año se estableció la llamada Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, que quedó por encima de otros poderes, con lo que las medidas aprobadas por la Asamblea Nacional legislativa pueden ser supeditadas por un cuerpo de mayoría chavista. También hubo intentos previos por parte del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de asumir las funciones de la legislatura.
“El Parlamento Europeo también quiere expresar su proximidad y rendir tributo al pueblo venezolano: a todos aquellos que han sido detenidos injustamente por expresar su opinión, a quienes luchan por sobrevivir diariamente bajo un régimen brutal y a las familias en duelo porque han perdido a sus seres queridos en estos meses de protestas ininterrumpidas a favor de la libertad”, dice el comunicado en el que se anuncia el Sájarov.
El galardón llega en momentos en que las divisiones internas de la coalición opositora Mesa de la Unidad Democrática se han vuelto cada vez más públicas ante reveses electorales por los que han acusado fraude.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner a su llegada a un tribunal en Buenos Aires en marzo Credit
David Fernandez/European Pressphoto Agency
• La expresidenta argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, recién elegida al Senado de ese país, acudió hoy a los tribunales para comparecer en una de las investigaciones en su contra por presuntamente haber ayudado a encubrir la supuesta participación iraní en el atentado al centro judío AMIA en los años noventa. Estuvo una hora y media en el juzgado, desde donde aseguró que el caso es una persecución política y que “la única traición a la patria es utilizar a un poder judicial para perseguir a los opositores”.
Una persona lava las hojas de coca, primero con gasolina y después con agua, para recopilar el extracto en barriles y después acidificarlo y mezclarlo con cemento. Credit
Juan Arredondo para The New York Times
• Los cultivos de coca, marihuana y amapola de hasta 3,8 hectáreas podrían ya no conllevar prisión en Colombia, si se avala un proyecto impulsado por el gobierno en momentos de particular tensión con los cocaleros y agricultores colombianos, algunos de los cuales no han tenido éxito al intentar sustituir sus cultivos y otros que han protestado en contra del programa de erradicación en manifestaciones que en ocasiones se han vuelto mortíferas.
El expresidente Sebastián Piñera y actual candidato presidencial saluda a los votantes durante las primarias de Chile Vamos, el 2 de julio en Santiago Credit
Esteban Felix/Associated Press
• A semanas de la primera vuelta presidencial en Chile, programada para el 19 de noviembre, los sondeos más recientes sugieren que el expresidente Sebastián Piñera alcanzaría el 44,4 por ciento de los votos frente al senador Alejandro Guiller, que obtendría el 19,7 por ciento de los sufragios, y Beatriz Sánchez, la abanderada del gobernante Frente Amplio que sumaría 8,5 por ciento.
• Una sesión del senado mexicano que fue pospuesta ayer debería ser retomada hoy para discutir la reciente destitución del fiscal electoral Santiago Nieto después de que este fuera retirado del cargo por presuntas irregularidades de conducta. La situación está bajo investigación ya que poco antes había denunciado que un poderoso integrante del partido gobernante, el exdirector de la petrolera estatal Pemex Emilio Lozoya, le envió una carta en la que parecía exhortarlo a que dejara de investigarlo.
Lozoya Austin está siendo investigado por denuncias de que recibió dinero por parte de la oficina mexicana de Odebrecht en 2012, cuando estaba a cargo de la dirección internacional de la campaña del ahora presidente Enrique Peña Nieto. El exdirector de Pemex ya compareció hoy por el caso ante la FEPADE, la fiscalía para delitos electorales; dijo que no tenía responsabilidades en cuanto al supuesto financiamiento que habría hecho Odebrecht a la campaña de Peña Nieto.
Legisladores de la oposición llegaron el 25 de octubre a la sede del congreso en Brasilia con carteles que dicen “Fuera Temer”. Credit
Joedson Alves/European Press Agency
• El presidente brasileño Michel Temer libró ayer los cargos de corrupción que pesaban en su contra (si es que es enjuiciado por ellos, lo sería hasta dejar el cargo) después de que 251 diputados votaran a favor de descartar las acusaciones para que no avanzaran al Supremo Tribunal Federal, contra 233 que votaron para que sí lo hicieran, el ejecutivo brasileño indicó que se concentrará en intentar promover reformas económicas, como un posible cambio al sistema de jubilación que ha despertado fuertes críticas en el país.
George Springer le dio la ventaja a los Astros en la decimoprimera entrada, 7-5, en el segundo juego de la Serie Mundial, el 25 de octubre. Credit
Harry How/Getty Images
Ocho cuadrangulares: un récord para una Serie Mundial. El duelo entre los Astros y los Dodgers sin duda fue histórico, con ventajas que desaparecían en un segundo y empates que extendieron el partido a once entradas en un calor con temperaturas promedio de 33 grados Celsius, hasta que Houston salió victorioso, 7-5 frente a Los Ángeles.
“Si te gusta el béisbol que se juega en octubre –si te gusta cualquier béisbol– este es uno de los juegos más increíbles de los que vas a ser parte”, dijo el mánager de los Astros A. J. Hinch.
Houston y Los Ángeles ahora están empatados en la serie, 1-1. El tercer partido se disputará el viernes.
El exsecretario general de la Federación Nacional de Futbol de Guatemala Héctor Trujillo a su llegada a la corte en Brooklyn, el 25 de octubre Credit
Kathy Willens/Associated Press..
• En el fútbol, ayer el expresidente de la asociación de fútbol guatemalteca y anteriormente juez Héctor Trujillo fue condenado a ocho meses de prisión en Estados Unidos tras admitir que aceptó sobornos y que ayudó a lavar dinero de ese modo. También deberá pagar una multa de 415.000 dólares a la Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala.
• También hay otro misterio en el seno de la FIFA como parte de la investigación de corrupción: ¿cómo fue que una empresa prácticamente desconocida se hizo con los derechos de transmisión de los mundiales de fútbol de 2018, 2022, 2026 y 2030? ¿Por qué no fue anunciado públicamente cuando obtuvo esos contratos? Mountrigi tendrá los derechos para 16 países latinoamericanos y, según una investigación de autoridades suizas y estadounidenses, los habría obtenido por medio de sobornos. Mountrigi, además, es una filial del gigante de telecomunicaciones mexicano Televisa.
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