Como si fuera un espectáculo de ilusionismo orquestado por la naturaleza, las ruinas de una imponente iglesia del siglo XVI emergieron del río Grijalva en el estado de Chiapas, en el sur de México.
Image copyright AP
El tempo de Santiago se hizo visible días atrás por la bajada de 25 metros de las aguas, causada por una persistente sequía.
Había quedado sumergida bajo la superficie del Grijalva hace cerca de medio siglo, cuando se levantó la represa Nezahualcóyotl.
No es la primera vez que el templo vuelve a emerger de entre las aguas.
Image copyright AP
Image copyright AP
Hace unos 12 años el nivel del río bajó tanto que hasta era posible caminar por el interior de la iglesia.
News of his departure was met with concern by Senator Robert Menendez, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He said he feared it would create a vacuum in Ukraine, which is still grappling with Russian-backed separatists.
In his testimony before the impeachment inquiry last month, Mr Taylor said that a member of his staff overheard a telephone call in which President Trump inquired about “the investigations” into Mr Biden.
Media captionTrump could be impeached – how did we get here?
The call was with Gordon Sondland, US ambassador to the European Union, who reportedly told the president over the phone from a restaurant in Kyiv that “the Ukrainians were ready to move forward”.
After the call, the staff member “asked Mr Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine”, Mr Taylor said.
Mr Taylor said: “Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden.”
President Trump is accused of withholding US military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country’s president to publicly announce a corruption inquiry into Mr Biden. He denies any wrongdoing and has described the impeachment inquiry as a “witch hunt”.
A majority of House Democrats are expected to vote to impeach Mr Trump on Wednesday.
Image caption
Investigadores de Qatar confirmaron que hubo un hackeo contra la agencia oficial de noticias.
Los hackers rusos vuelven a estar en el ojo del huracán, ahora tras reportes de su supuesta vinculación con la crisis diplomática entre Qatar y Arabia Saudita.
La cadena estadounidense CNN reportó que investigadores del FBI creen que informáticos rusos hackearon la agencia oficial de noticias del país para atribuir al emir de Qatar afirmaciones falsas sobre Irán, Israel y Estados Unidos.
Y en un informe preliminar publicado el miércoles, investigadores de Qatar confirmaron el hackeo, el que dijeron “se llevó a cabo mediante métodos tecnológicos innovadores explotando un agujero electrónico en la página web de la Agencia de Noticias de Qatar”.
Rusia, sin embargo, negó con vehemencia que Moscú estuviera detrás del hackeo.
“Es una acusación viciada y, como siempre, no hay pruebas“, dijo Andrei Krutskikh, consejero del Kremlin sobre ciberseguridad.
Los comentarios atribuidos al emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani fueron una de las razones citadas por Arabia Saudí y sus aliados el lunes para imponer un bloqueo diplomático y económico contra Qatar.
El artículo aseguraba que el emir advertía contra una confrontación con Irán y defendía al grupo palestino Hamás y a Hezbollah, el movimiento chiita libanés aliado de Teherán.
“Noticias falsas”
En su reporte preliminar, los investigadores qataríes no responsabilizaron a nadie del ataque, pero confirmaron que tanto Reino Unido como Estados Unidos están ayudando en la investigación.
Según ellos, el archivo de hackeo se instaló en abril y fue luego explotado para publicar las “noticias falsas” el pasado 24 de mayo.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
Image caption
El bloqueo afecta a la aerolínea nacional, Qatar Airways.
El diario The Guardian reportó que “se cree que el gobierno ruso no participó en los hackeos, sino que hackers independientes fueron pagados para llevar a cabo el trabajo en lugar de otro Estado o individuo”.
“Algunos observadores han dicho en privado que tanto Arabia Saudita como Emiratos Árabes Unidos pueden haber comisionado a los hackers”, afirmó Patrick Wintour, editor diplomático del diario británico.
“Aunque Rusia tiene el conocimiento y también incentivos para explotar la división entre los países árabes aliados de Estados Unidos, los hackers rusos están disponibles también para trabajar como mercenarios para otros países y grupos criminales“, le dijo también un funcionario estadounidense a Reuters.
Crisis
Desde el lunes, seis países árabes cortaron relaciones diplomáticas con Qatar, al que acusan de crear inestabilidad en la región.
Arabia Saudita, Egipto, Bahréin, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Yemen y Libia acusan al país de apoyar a grupos terroristas, incluyendo el autodenominado Estado Islámico (EI) y al Qaeda, lo que es negado categóricamente por Qatar.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
Image caption
Oficiales rusos negaron complemente la participación del país.
Riad -la capital de Arabia Saudita- también acusa a Doha de apoyar a grupos como la “Hermandad Musulmana” y colaborar con milicias apoyadas por los iraníes.
Pero Qatar, quien está llamado a celebrar el Mundial de fútbol de 2022, asegura que las medidas son “completamente injustificadas” y no se basan en hechos comprobados.
Arabia Saudita también ha sido acusada de financiar a grupos como EI, ya sea directamente o al no hacer lo suficiente por evitar que donantes privados hagan llegar dinero al grupo, algo que el gobierno de Riad también niega.
Objetivos dudosos
Algunos analistas ponen en duda el interés que podría tener Rusia en inflamar la tensión en la zona.
En primer lugar, porque las acusaciones contra Qatar no son nuevas y no aparecieron justo después de la publicación de la noticia falsa.
“El 29 de mayo, los diarios saudíes acusaron al emir de Qatar de hipocresía por otro comentario, que no era falso”, asegura el analista de Bloomberg Leonid Bershidsky.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
Image caption
El presidente de EE.UU., Donald Trump, se reunión con el emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani hace pocos días.
Tras la victoria electoral de Hassan Rouhani en Irán, el monarca qatarí lo llamó para felicitarlo, según Bershidsky, diciendo que “nuestras relaciones con la República Islámica de Irán son de larga data, históricas y están bien establecidas”.
Según el analista, aunque la historia falsa hubiera jugado un papel en la crisis, no está claro qué interés podría tener Rusia.
Lo que era una “relación hostil con Qatar”, sobre todo por el apoyo de Moscú al presidente sirio Bashar Al Assad, “pero también porque Rusia y el emirato son los principales competidores en el mercado global de gas natural, se ha descongelado”, según el analista.
“Ahora, se puede decir que es más cálida que con todas las demás naciones del Golfo excepto Irán, cuyas tropas combaten del lado de Assad junto a las tropas rusas”.
Turquía
Turquía, por otro lado, aprobó enviar tropas a Qatar y ha prometido proporcionar alimentos y agua a su aliado árabe, donde tiene una base militar.
El presidente turco, Recep Tayipp Erdogan, dijo que aislar a Qatar no resolverá los problemas.
Turquía, que trabaja de cerca con Qatar en el sector energético, ha mantenido un fino equilibrio entre defender a Qatar y abstenerse de un enfrentamiento con Arabia Saudita, según AFP.
En una señal de apoyo, el parlamento turco aprobó el envío de tropas a su base en Qatar, aunque no anunció ni cuándo lo hará ni cuántos soldados más va a enviar.
Mr. Trump began his walk to the church at 7:01 p.m. for a photo session that lasted about 17 minutes. On his way over, after protesters had been driven from the park, he was trailed by a group of aides, including Attorney General William P. Barr. Mr. Barr had strolled to the edge of the police line to observe the crowd in the minutes before the tear-gassing began.
He walked alongside Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and Ivanka Trump, his eldest daughter and senior adviser. Ms. Trump was wearing a mask, one of the few visible reminders on Monday that the administration was in the middle of battling a public health crisis. Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, Ms. Hicks and Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, were also among the cadre of aides.
As police sirens blared in the background, Mr. Trump, his lips set in a thin line, stood with his back to the boarded-up, graffiti-laden facade of the buttermilk yellow church.
He cradled a Bible, bouncing it in his hands as if testing its weight.
“Is that your Bible?” a reporter yelled.
“It’s a Bible,” Mr. Trump responded, and hoisted up the book so reporters could see.
The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, who watched the scene unfold while away from the church visiting with her mother, said church officials were not told of the plan and expressed outrage at the White House’s use of riot-control tactics on a generally peaceful crowd to clear a path for the president.
No caben dudas de que el Gobierno necesita, desde varios puntos de vista, que la economía empiece a recuperarse lo más pronto posible. Hace cinco años que el nivel de actividad no se expande (hoy tenemos el mismo PBI real que teníamos en 2011, al tiempo que el PBI real per cápita es un 5% más bajo), por lo que lograr que la economía vuelva a crecer es, indudablemente, el primer gran desafío de la administración Macri.
Existe cierto consenso, entre los analistas (tanto locales como extranjeros) que siguen el día a día de la economía argentina, en torno a la idea de que en el corto plazo se producirá una recuperación del nivel de actividad. Sin embargo, la pregunta relevante a esta altura no es si dicha recuperación va a producirse o no, sino a qué velocidad será. Más allá de que es cierto que el retorno del crecimiento económico es una buena noticia en sí misma, también lo es que en algún momento el Gobierno va a necesitar que la velocidad de recuperación se acelere lo suficiente como para que la sensación de mejora de la situación económica resulte palpable para una amplia proporción de la sociedad. Estamos a un año de las elecciones legislativas (la campaña electoral va a empezar mucho antes, no bien finalice el verano), y sin la “ayuda” de una economía creciendo a buen ritmo todo será más difícil para el oficialismo de cara a dichos cruciales comicios de medio término.
En lo que respecta a cuestiones estrictamente domésticas, hay una serie de factores que permiten ser optimistas en cuanto a las posibilidades de una expansión del nivel de actividad interno en los próximos meses. En efecto, la estabilización/recuperación del poder adquisitivo, la baja –aunque lenta– de la tasa de interés, el mayor “empuje” fiscal, el blanqueo de capitales y las perspectivas de una buena campaña agrícola para el ciclo 2016/17 son todos aspectos que, ceteris paribus, tenderán a generar una expansión del nivel de actividad respecto de los alicaídos niveles que tenemos hoy.
Sin embargo, algunas cuestiones estructurales aún no han sido resueltas –desde el déficit fiscal y los bajos niveles de productividad hasta el precio relativo del dólar, la alta presión tributaria y la insuficiencia de infraestructura productiva– y van a limitar de alguna u otra manera la tasa de crecimiento potencial de Argentina en el corto/mediano plazo. Teniendo en cuenta lo anterior, va a resultar de vital importancia la ayuda que reciba la economía argentina desde el contexto internacional. En este marco, analizar el estado actual –y lo que se espera para los próximos trimestres– de las variables externas que tienen mayor incidencia sobre la dinámica económica de Argentina cobra especial trascendencia.
Si bien varios factores internacionales afectan el día a día de la actividad interna, por razones de simplicidad hemos centrado el análisis en cuatro ítems principales: 1) tasa de crecimiento real del PBI brasileño; 2) spread de riesgo soberano emergente; 3) precio internacional de la soja, y 4) poder adquisitivo del dólar norteamericano en Brasil.
Mediante la combinación de estas cuatro variables hemos construido el Indice de Condiciones Externas (ICE). Un aumento de dicho índice debe ser interpretado como una situación en la que, en promedio, el contexto internacional está “empujando” el crecimiento económico en Argentina, y viceversa.
Lo primero que hay que remarcar es la muy fuerte caída que sufrió el ICE durante el año pasado. En efecto, el índice se redujo nada menos que un 17,4% en 2015, contracción que se suma a la que se produjo en 2014 (período durante el cual el ICE cayó 5,4%). Durante el año pasado, todos los ítems que componen el ICE sufrieron un marcado deterioro, en especial los asociados a la evolución de la economía brasileña y al precio internacional de la soja. En el primer caso, la fuerte apreciación real del dólar (con respecto a la moneda brasileña), en conjunto con la contracción de la actividad económica en Brasil (en torno al -3,9% durante 2015), significó un duro impacto para la economía argentina, en general, y para el sector industrial (dada su alta dependencia de la demanda brasileña) en particular. Asimismo, la caída del precio internacional de la soja (que resultó el año pasado, en promedio, un -24,1%) también implicó un shock negativo, que tendió a limitar la dinámica del nivel de actividad durante 2015.
La buena noticia es que, luego de dos años de fuerte deterioro, el ICE se estabilizó durante 2016. En efecto, según nuestros cálculos, el ICE aumentaría, en promedio, un 1,6% durante este año. El factor que más colabora en dicho leve aumento es la apreciación real del real brasileño frente al dólar, que tiende a compensar la caída esperada para este año del PBI real de Brasil. También la compresión de los spreads de riesgo de los mercados emergentes representó una ayuda externa para Argentina durante este año, en especial si tenemos en cuenta que el gobierno federal y las provincias han estado recientemente muy activos en la realización de operaciones de colocación de deuda pública en los mercados internacionales.
De cara a 2017, la situación luce aún más alentadora. Según nuestros cálculos, el ICE aumentaría un 8,5% durante el próximo año, gracias en buena medida a la caída esperada en el precio real del dólar en Brasil y al retorno de la economía brasileña al sendero del crecimiento económico. En el mismo sentido, también se espera un leve aumento, en promedio, del precio internacional de las commodities agrícolas y una reducción del spread de riesgo promedio para los mercados emergentes.
Si bien la mejora del contexto internacional esperada para 2016 no llega a igualar las “ayudas” que Argentina recibió del mundo durante el período 2003/2007 (con una tasa de crecimiento promedio del ICE de 13,0% por año) y 2010/11 (con una expansión del ICE de 11,8% promedio por año), no va a pasar inadvertida.
En resumen, el “mundo” vuelve a darle buenas noticias a Argentina, en general, y a la administración Macri en particular. Está claro que la leve mejora de las variables internacionales, que son relevantes para Argentina, no hará por sí sola que la economía crezca a un ritmo acelerado durante 2017. Pero, sin dudas, ayuda y mucho.
President Biden admitted during a CNN town hall Thursday night that he has no immediate solution to the problem of spiking gas prices and suggested that Americans would not start seeing relief at the pump until next year.
“My guess is, you’ll start to see gas prices come down as we get by and going into the winter – I mean, excuse me, into next year, 2022,” the president told moderator Anderson Cooper at the Baltimore event.
“I don’t see anything that’s going to happen in the meantime that’s going to significantly reduce gas prices.
“I must tell you, I don’t have a near-term answer,” Biden added before musing on the possibility that he could “go in the [Strategic] Petroleum Reserve and take out and probably reduce the price of gas maybe 18 cents or so per gallon, [but] it’s still gonna be above three bucks.”
According to AAA, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline had reached $3.36 Thursday, up four cents from the average on Monday. The organization noted that no state had an average gas price lower than $3 per gallon.
AAA attributed the price spike to high demand, high crude oil prices and a drop in gas stocks –which Biden sought to blame Thursday on OPEC and its oil-producing allies in the Middle East.
High gas prices seen at a station in San Francisco on October 12, 2021.Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
“Gas prices relate to a foreign policy initiative that is about something that goes beyond the cost of gas … That’s because of the supply being withheld by OPEC,” he said, “and so there’s a lot of negotiation that is … there’s a lot of Middle Eastern folks that want to talk to me. I’m not sure I’m going to talk to them, but the point is, it’s about gas production.”
Republicans have blamed Biden for spiking energy prices, citing his administration’s pursuit of inflationary spending policies as well as the president’s cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day in office.
“Gas prices are at the highest levels since 2014 and Americans’ heating costs could increase as much as 54% this winter,” the Republican National Committee’s @RNCResearch account tweeted in response to Biden’s remarks. “Biden attacked American energy, and now Americans are paying the price!”
“The answer ultimately is, ultimately meaning the next three or four years, is investing in renewable energy,” insisted Biden, who also touted the “Big Three” US automakers’ August announcement that electric vehicles will make up between 40 and 50 percent of their sales by 2030.
“So what will happen is, you’re going to see a dramatic drop, a dramatic drop, in what’s gonna happen in terms of gas prices as we go into the next two or three years,” the president promised.
But in the meantime, Biden acknowledged, “it’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna be hard. There’s a possibility to be able to bring it down. It depends on a little bit on Saudi Arabia and a few other things that are in the offing.”
The escape from Afghanistan continued to descend into a humiliating debacle for the US on Saturday, as threats of ISIS attacks and Taliban death squads — and contradictory guidance from the White House — added to the perilous chaos faced by thousands of Americans and allies trying to flee the country.
The US Embassy said on Saturday that American citizens in Afghanistan should stay away from Kabul’s airport, the only way out.
The advisory directly contradicted President Biden’s insistence on Friday that Americans could proceed to Hamid Karzai International Airport freely from the Afghan capital and that an “agreement” with the Taliban had been reached over the issue.
“Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising US citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time,” the embassy said in a security alert on Saturday.
The Islamic fundamentalists have taken control of the capital — and the US says it does not have the logistical capacity to enter the city and rescue individual Americans.
People boarding a plane at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to evacuate Afghanistan on Aug. 19, 2021.U.S. AIR FORCE via UPIUS Embassy personnel from Afghanistan boarding a plane to Kuwait after being evacuated to Qatar on August 17, 2021.US Air Force via EPA
While the airport remains under US control, the trek to it has become incredibly dangerous, with militants setting up arbitrary checkpoints along the road and turning away or assaulting those who seek to pass, according to reports.
News emerged on Saturday that ISIS and other terrorist groups could be to blame, forcing the US military to find new ways to get evacuees to the airport, The Associated Press reported.
An Afghan interpreter — on his fifth attempt to reach the airport — told CBS News that the Taliban were telling people outside the airport that ISIS was planning an attack.
The embassy’s new guidance underscores the growing crisis and confusion on the ground, as the US scrambles to evacuate its citizens and Afghan allies from the clutches of the Taliban.
Afghans packed on a plane leaving the country at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 19, 2021.U.S. AIR FORCE via UPIArmed Taliban fighters driving through Kabul on Aug. 19, 2021. Rahmat Gul/APA Taliban fighter preventing people from entering the road that leads to the airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021.Marcus Yam/LA Times/Shutterstock
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer blasted Biden, saying the president has put Americans “just one stray bullet away from a bloodbath in Kabul.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a politician, particularly at a perilous moment like this, be so in denial, out of touch, out to lunch and all around clueless,” Fleischer, who served in the George W. Bush administration, told Rita Cosby on WABC Radio Friday.
In the last 24 hours, six U.S. Military C-17s and 32 charter flights have left the airport carrying a total 3,800 passengers, military officials reported Saturday. In Germany Saturday, American soldiers were seen readying barracks for refugees.
Still the situation in the country continued to deteriorate over the weekend as the Taliban moved to consolidate their gains and subdue the population.
Taliban death squads were on the hunt Saturday for Afghans and others who they believe collaborated with the United States or the recently deposed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, according to a group that assists Afghan interpreters caught up in the mayhem.
Air Force airmen setting up cots at a hanger in Ramstein Air Base in Germany to lodge evacuees from Afghanistan.U.S. Air Force/86th Airlift Wing/Airman Edgar Grimaldo
The Australian non-profit Forsaken Fighters said “tens of thousands” could potentially be at risk.
“Interpreters on the ground in Kandahar have reported that the Taliban have been actively seeking out interpreters who supported coalition forces, even using local kids to help in pointing out people and going door to door to find them,” the organization told The Sun.
“People are being dragged from their houses and executed. It is a truly horrific situation. The sheer desperation of those people that assisted us is overwhelming.”
A family member of a journalist from the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle was shot dead by the Taliban, the broadcaster confirmed, adding that other staff in the country have had their homes raided, Reuters reported.
The Taliban has created “priority lists” of alleged collaborators to hunt down in the effort and have been making “targeted door-to-door visits” according to a leaked United Nations document viewed by Agence France-Presse.
Khalil al-Rahman, a leader of a Taliban affiliated network and U.S. designated terrorist, getting protection while visiting a mosque in Kabul on August 20, 2021.Marcus Yam/LA Times/ShutterstockTaliban fighters patrolling Kabul on Aug. 19, 2021.Rahmat Gul/APAn Afghan mother embracing a US soldier after reuniting her family at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 20, 2021.U.S. MARINE CORPS via UPI
“We’re not going to get into specific details about the threat environment,” he said. During the same briefing, Kirby defended his past remarks just days before Kabul fell to the Taliban, saying the city was “not right now in any imminent threat environment.”
“In the moment that I said it, based on what we knew at the time, It was a true statement. And yes, two days later things dramatically changed. I readily admit that. Things moved very very quickly,” Kirby told Fox News on Saturday.
Additional reporting by Mary Kay Linge and Eileen AJ Connelly
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Time Warner Cable News NY1 Noticias, New York City’s only 24-hour
Spanish language local news network, announced it will commemorate the
10-year anniversary of Pura Política, with a special documentary
with highlights from the past decade of the longest-running local
Spanish language political talk show in New York City, on Friday, June 5th
at 6 p.m. and 11p.m.
The documentary special will feature guests including, Congresswoman,
Nydia Velazquez, State Senator, Adriano Espaillat, and City Council
Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, who will explore the highs and lows
for Latinos during the past decade. The commemorative program will also
include an exclusive sit-down interview with New York City Mayor Bill
de Blasio where he is asked to name one Latino politician he
believes would be a strong candidate for New York City Mayor in the near
future.
Pura Política first premiered as a weekly political talk show on
June 3, 2005, with then Mayor Michael Bloomberg as its first guest.
Bloomberg had just kicked off his re-election campaign with a
Spanish-language commercial.
“Since we aired our first program, Hispanic influence has grown
tremendously and the Spanish language has become ubiquitous in city
politics. Pura Política is a key platform for political leaders looking
to engage Latinos and talk about their issues. We look forward to many
more decades of great interviews and political analysis,” said program
host, Juan Manuel Benitez.
NY1 Noticias’Pura Política’s 10th
Anniversary Special will air Friday, June 5th at 6 p.m.
and 11p.m. on channel 95 and channel 831 on Time Warner Cable in New
York, and channel 194 on Cablevision in New York City.
Time Warner Cable News (TWC News) provides in-depth local news
programming exclusively for Time Warner Cable video customers. Time
Warner Cable’s 17 news networks operate in Texas (Austin, San Antonio);
New York (Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Hudson Valley, Central New York
and the Southern Tier); North Carolina (Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro,
Wilmington); Antelope Valley, CA, and the group’s flagship network NY1
and Spanish language network TWC News NY1 Noticias in New York City. NY1
Noticias is also available online at http://ny1noticias.com.
Viewers can follow the news team on twitter @NY1Noticias or visit www.ny1noticias.com
for the latest news coverage on NY1 Noticias including real-time
updates.
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is among the largest providers of
video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States,
connecting 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each
other. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers data, video and voice
services to businesses of all sizes, cell tower backhaul services to
wireless carriers and enterprise-class, cloud-enabled hosting, managed
applications and services. Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising
sales arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local
companies innovative advertising solutions. More information about the
services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.twc.com, www.twcbc.com
and www.twcmedia.com.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for the end of the Senate filibuster should the Democrats return to power and face obstruction.
Warren announced her support for ending the Senate rule in a series of tweets on Friday morning, and she planned to discuss it in a speech to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network later in the morning, according to an excerpt of her remarks shared with the Globe.
The filibuster, in which senators employ a number of delay tactics to effectively kill a piece of legislation, has often spelled doom for legislation on both sides. If Senators filibuster a bill, it then needs the support of 60 members of the Senate in order to proceed to a vote, in what’s known as invoking cloture. The end of the filibuster would mean bills and other measures could pass with a simple majority vote.
Warren said that she would support the end of the Senate rule if the Democrats win the White House and face obstruction from Republicans.
“Enough with that. When we win the election, we WILL make the change that we need in this country,” she will say in her speech Friday morning.
Warren is framing her argument in terms of racial justice, using the recent example of a bill that made lynching a federal crime. It finally passed the Senate in 2018, 100 years after a similar version had first been introduced. One of the reasons? It was often the target of a Senate filibuster, Warren says in the speech.
“An entire century of obstruction because a small group of racists stopped the entire nation from doing what was right,” Warren will say, according to the remarks. “For generations, the filibuster was used as a tool to block progress on racial justice. And in recent years, it’s been used by the far right as a tool to block progress on everything.”
With no filibuster, Democrats see an opportunity to pass major progressive legislation on things like climate change and health care should the party take the Senate in 2020 and lack a 60-vote majority. But proponents of the filibuster say it fosters bipartisanship: Legislation must be supported by a wider range of voices in order to have a chance at passage.
Warren is the first major Democratic presidential candidate to call for the end of the filibuster. In February, Washington Governor Jay Inslee told HuffPost that it was an “artifact of a bygone era.” Other candidates in the field are flatly opposing the idea: Senator Cory Booker described the filibuster as “one of the distinguishing factors of this body” to Politico in January.
Tienen una misión: llevar “un mensaje muy especial” a los indígenas de ese pueblo, situado a 160 kilómetros de la capital oaxaqueña, en el sur del país.
Los jóvenes, todos ellos blancos y bien parecidos, traen con ellos hieleras con refrescos de la marca y trozos de madera.
Image copyright Coca Cola
Image copyright Coca Cola
Image caption
Los jóvenes llegan a la comunidad cargados de pedazos de madera y con una misión.
Y construyen un árbol de Navidad con tablas rojas en el centro del poblado, y distribuyen las bebidas gaseosas como quien reparte felicidad.
Sin embargo, no todos están contentos con la publicidad.
Grupos que defienden los derechos de los consumidores y profesionales de la salud pusieron el grito en el cielo y exigieron al gobierno mexicano prohibir el anuncio.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption
Las asociaciones de consumidores de México dicen que el anuncio de Coca Cola contribuye al deterioro de la salud de los indígenas.
Concretamente, la Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria, un ente que agrupa a organizaciones “preocupadas por la epidemia de sobrepeso y obesidad en México”, tal como se describe en su página web, se dirigió la petición al Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación (Conapred).
Coca Cola ya pidió disculpas.
El director de publicidad Diego Bracamontes dijo que “la intención no era insultar a nadie” y anunció la retirada del anuncio de internet.
¿Romper con prejuicios?
La Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria argumentó que la publicidad ataca la dignidad de los indígenas y contribuye al deterioro de su salud.
Es que México tiene uno de los mayores índices de sobrepeso y obesidad del mundo, y eso afecta particularmente a su población indígena.
Además, la publicidad “es indignante para los indígenas”, dice Diana Turner, vocera de El Poder del Consumidor, una de las asociaciones que conforman la Alianza.
Se refiere a que los jóvenes son todos blancos y llegan con unos cuantos refrescos y unas luces a ayudar a la comunidad indígena.
El objetivo de la publicidad, sin embargo, es animar a la gente a “romper con los prejuicios”.
Así lo dice.
Image copyright Coca Cola
Image caption
El anuncio dice que quiere terminar con los prejuicios.
También señala que “el 81,6% de los indígenas mexicanos se han sentido rechazados por hablar otra lengua”.
Así que los jóvenes construyen el árbol de Navidad con unas luces en las que se lee: “Tökmuk n’ijyyumtat”.
Image copyright Coca Cola
Image copyright Coca Cola
Image caption
Los jóvenes construyen un árbol de Navidad en la comunidad mixe y comparten refrescos.
“Permanezcamos unidos”, dice que significa en lengua mixe.
“Tú también rompe con un prejuicio y compártelo usando #AbreTuCorazón“, pide el anuncio.
“Cada vez que lo hagas, encenderás una luz en el árbol de Coca Cola”.
That power “includes surveys of defects in our social, economic or political system for the purpose of enabling the Congress to remedy them,” justices have written. “It comprehends probes into departments of the federal government to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste.”
This oversight role, courts have said, includes the power to issue subpoenas compelling people and organizations to turn over documents or testify, even if they do not want to comply.
What can lawmakers do if someone defies a subpoena?
They can vote to hold someone who defies a subpoena in contempt of Congress. First, the committee that issued the subpoena would vote to recommend that step, and then the full House of Representatives would vote on whether to do so. Just one chamber can do this, so it does not matter that Republicans control the Senate.
What is the punishment for contempt of Congress?
On paper, defying a congressional subpoena for testimony or documents is a misdemeanor crime, punishable by one to 12 months in jail. But in practice, this law is generally toothless in disputes between Congress and the executive branch. Invoking prosecutorial discretion, the Justice Department can decline to charge an official who defies a subpoena at the president’s direction.
Can Congress enforce a contempt citation on its own?
In theory, yes, but this is outdated. Historically, Congress has exercised “inherent contempt” authority to fine recalcitrant witnesses or detain them until the end of its session. But Congress has not tried to use that authority since 1935.
“Nancy Pelosi’s in the clutches of a left wing mob. They finally convinced her to impeach the president,” McConnell says directly to the camera in a 17-second video. “All of you know your Constitution. The way that impeachment stops is a Senate majority with me as majority leader.
“But I need your help,” he adds, standing in front of a picture of an elephant. “Please contribute before the deadline.”
The McConnell campaign, according to Facebook’s “Ad Library,” started running the digital ad last week, a few days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry over whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate political rival and possible 2020 opponent Joe Biden.
The ad features the same video, but McConnell’s team has paired the video with different captions that all are mostly focused on the topic of impeachment.
“Your conservative Senate Majority is the ONLY thing stopping Nancy Pelosi from impeaching President Trump. Donate & help us keep it!” one caption reads.
McConnell campaign manager Kevin Golden told The Courier Journal the impeachment inquiry is energizing the Senate leader’s supporters.
“Few issues energize conservative voters like liberal overreach,” Golden said in a statement. “And the Democrats latest outrageous attempt to impeach President Trump has activated our base to new heights.”
Another caption from Team Mitch goes after Pelosi’s fellow California Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee.
“BREAKING: Adam Schiff LIED. His office secretly coordinated with the source of this laughable impeachment inquiry,” the caption reads. “Help me stop it.”
That caption appears to reference the New York Times reporting this week that Schiff received an early account of the whistleblower’s complaint regarding Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The complaint from the anonymous whistleblower, reportedly a CIA officer, led to the White House releasing a summary of the July phone call between Trump and Zelensky.
According to the call’s summary, Trump told Zelensky to reopen an investigation into a Ukrainian energy company connected to Biden’s son, Hunter.
McConnell reportedly told the White House to release the transcript of the phone call, something that McConnell and his spokespeople have not commented on.
The president also claimed Thursday that McConnell put out a statement referring to the president’s phone call with the president of Ukraine as “the most innocent phone call (transcript) that I’ve read.”
McConnell’s office has not responded to questions about Trump’s assertion, though the Senate leader dismissed criticism of the call last week and said it is “laughable to think this is anywhere close to an impeachable offense.”
On the Senate floor, McConnell has defended his record of standing up for Ukraine, especially against the Russian government.
Democrats and some Republican critics of Trump have said the president’s requests to Ukraine and China are a blatant attempt to have a foreign power interfere with next year’s election.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
It would take a simple majority of the House (218 votes) to submit articles of impeachment to the Senate.
A trial would then be held in the Senate, where it would take at least two-thirds (or 67 votes) of the chamber to convict Trump and remove him from office.
The chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial. But as majority leader, McConnell would have some power in setting up ground rules for a trial, including timing.
“So I would have no choice but to take it up,” McConnell told CNBC on Monday, referring to the impeachment trial. “How long you’re on it is a whole different matter.”
The new campaign ad from McConnell shows the Senate leader sees the impeachment matter as a chance to raise funds for his 2020 reelection campaign.
Amy McGrath, a former Marine Corps pilot and one of several Democrats in Kentucky vying to unseat McConnell in 2020, endorsed the impeachment inquiry last week.
McGrath has also urged McConnell to show “patriotic courage” and get to the truth of the allegations in the whistleblower complaint.
The “deadline” mentioned by McConnell in the new video refers to this past Monday, Sept. 30.
That was the third-quarter cutoff for donations to Senate, House and presidential candidates.
Candidates now have until Oct. 15 to file reports with the Federal Election Commission that reveal their fundraising and spending totals.
According to Facebook’s Ad Library, McConnell’s campaign spent a little over $63,000 on digital ads between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3.
That represents about 44% of the roughly $143,500 that Facebook data shows Team Mitch spent from May 2018 to Oct. 3, a decent-sized sum in a brief amount of time.
According to the most recent FEC data, McConnell had a sizable war chest for his 2020 reelection bid, with nearly $7.9 million in cash on hand.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was recalled to Washington for “consultations” on April 29, 2019. The whistleblower complaint cited a Rudy Giuliani interview with a Ukrainian journalist published on May 14, 2019, where he stated that Yovanovitch was “removed … because she was part of the efforts against the President.” Seen here, Yovanovitch, center, sits during her meeting with then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Ukraine, on March 6, 2019. Mikhail Palinchak, Presidential Press Service Pool Photo via AP
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., joins Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., right, at a news conference as House Democrats move on depositions in the impeachment inquiry of Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2, 2019. J. Scott Applewhite, AP
‘Hannity’ host weighs in on Democrats’ response to the South Carolina Republican’s rebuttal to President Biden’s Congressional address
Sean Hannity blasted far-left Democrats on Thursday’s “Hannity” for attacking South Carolina Senator Tim Scott with a “stream of nasty, racist, despicable comments,” saying the individuals “lecturing America” on being a “racist country” are the “very same people” who insulted Tim Scott with “vile smears and slander.”
HANNITY: Only 26 million people tuned in to Joe’s address. That’s just over half the audience that President Trump received during his first joint speech in 2017. But the star of the night was not even close to Joe Biden. Instead, it was South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. He delivered the Republican response. And instead of vilifying America, Senator Scott, well, he used his own incredible, inspiring life story to lift up everybody.
While Senator Scott made it very clear that America is not a racist country, he did talk about and acknowledge the racism that he faces regularly and described it as much of it coming from so-called progressives on the left… Right on cue, far-left Twitter, they responded to Senator Scott with a stream of nasty, racist, despicable comments. The slur “Uncle Tim” was allowed by “@Jack” to trend on Twitter for a whopping 12 hours. Jack, you want to explain that to us? The same “@Jack” that suspends and then cancels conservative voices all the time.
Over at NBC, the rhetoric was just as bad. Joy Reid attempted to, well, basically just smear Scott’s life experience as an African-American senator… This is the same Joy Reid on NBC News, once referring to Senator Scott as a token in the Republican Party, the same Joy Reid that used a racist slur to describe Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas… Apparently, according to Joy Reid, NBC News. I guess it’s perfectly OK to say racist things about African-Americans so long as they’re conservative, Republican.
The people lecturing America all the time, that America is a racist country filled with racist people, racist institutions, racist police, racist conservatives, the very same people who rushed on to Twitter last night, national TV insulting Senator Tim Scott with vile smears and slander. Senator Scott is a leader in the Republican Party. He has a powerful life story we can all learn from. He has principled values and beliefs. He’s earned his reputation as a US senator, gets things done. Anyone who minimizes Senator Scott on the basis of race is by definition racist, even if they have Democrat beside their name or show on NBC News.
After three tornadoes tore through a huge swath of North Texas late Sunday, officials confirmed the best news: No one was killed or badly hurt.
But there was still plenty of heartache.
“Despite the fact that we didn’t lose any lives last night, I think we all know that we’ve suffered some significant property damage in our city,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said.
In some of the hardest-hit areas, homes and other buildings were devastated. Countless trees were destroyed, and thousands of people were still without power Monday evening.
National Weather Service crews were busy tracing the path of the strongest tornado, which cut a nearly 16-mile path from northwest Dallas into Richardson with winds up to 140 mph.
In Rowlett, a less-powerful tornado generated winds up to 100 mph. North of Wills Point in Van Zandt County, another tornado registered 80-mph winds.
The National Weather Service recorded damage from strong winds and hail across North Texas, including Fort Worth, Denton, Corsicana and Greenville. Reports of damage stretched as far as Sherman, about 60 miles north of Dallas.
Richardson and North Dallas sustained some of the heaviest damage, but Oncor’s accounting of outages reflected the storm’s wide path.
At midday, Oncor spokeswoman Kerri Dunn said 55,000 customers were still without power in the Dallas area. In the company’s entire service area, outages affected 95,000.
She said there was no definite timeline to restore power to everyone, and she cautioned that power structures in some areas need to be completely rebuilt.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared a local disaster to help get out-of-state resources to help with clean-up and repairs quickly. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in 15 North Texas counties, including Dallas, Collin and Tarrant.
After reports overnight of natural-gas leaks, Atmos Energy officials said its technicians had responded to more than 200 calls in the Dallas area. Extra crews were working to investigate every emergency call, the company said.
As firefighters were conducting ongoing seraches of collapsed structures in the area, Dallas Fire-Rescue had its own emergency to respond to. Fire Station 41, on Royal Lane near the Dallas North Tollway, was destroyed by high winds. No firefighters were hurt.
Police, who were helping Dallas-Fire Rescue personnel to direct traffic in areas where signals weren’t working, urged people to remain indoors from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday because of downed power lines and debris in neighborhoods.
Damaged homes near Walnut Hill and Marsh Lane are seen in aerial view of tornado damage on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Widespread damage
Joanne Taylor told herself Monday would be the day. She’d get up early and go work out at the Planet Fitness at Walnut Hill and Marsh Lane.
“No more excuses,” she said. “Unless the gym isn’t there anymore.”
Monday morning, the northwest Dallas shopping center where the gym had been was a crumpled pile of steel and concrete.
Water poured out of the La Michoacana market from a broken line, pooling in the parking lot and rushing down the street.
The Planet Fitness was hidden behind a mass of rubble.
“It’s wild,” said Taylor, who had taken shelter in a closet when the tornado came through. “I didn’t realize I’d dodged a bullet until I walked into the neighborhood this morning.”
Behind the shopping complex, roofs were caved in and whole sides of apartment buildings were ripped off.
Angel Govea, 18, had been eating dinner with his family when their phones buzzed with the severe weather alert. About two minutes later, the wind picked up with a loud rumble. As the air pressure dropped, it felt like a mosquito bite in his ears, he said.
The tornado passed just south of his house, knocking down branches and toppling a huge live oak across the street into his front yard.
As he and his family began surveying the damage, they saw that their neighbors were missing roofs and walls.
“We’re feeling something,” Govea said, “but they feel it more.”
All morning, chainsaws buzzed as residents and work crews cleared fallen trees.
Two trees landed in Richard Espinosa’s front yard on Constance Street, near Walnut Hill and Marsh lanes. Another destroyed a fence behind his home.
He recalled how long it had taken to recover from Dallas’ bad storms in June, and with his curb already full by late morning, he knew his cleanup work wasn’t finished.
He doesn’t expect all the debris to be picked up soon, but for now he’s more worried about the essentials.
“No water, no gas, no light,” Espinosa said. “Can’t warm anything up to eat.”
Rachel Gutknecht, 28, looks at the damage in her bedroom where the roof collapsed on top of her bed on Oct. 21, 2019, a day after a tornado devastated homes on Rickshaw Drive in Preston Hollow.(Hayat Norimine)
Rachel Gutknecht, whose apartment was severely damaged by flooding on Rickshaw Drive, tried to salvage anything she could Monday as she and her brother prepared to move in with a friend.
The heavy rain had flooded through to the floor after parts of her ceiling and an HVAC unit collapsed.
She said the changing air pressure right before the tornado blew through caused a massive headache. Moments later, the windows in her bedroom shattered.
“I don’t get scared easily,”Gutknecht said. “I was scared.”
The Home Depot employees A.J. Kobena (center) raises the U.S. flag on the slightly bent flagpole outside the destroyed store on N. Central Expressway in Dallas, Monday, October 21, 2019. Jining him were fellow employees Jonathan Shields and Jordan Jasper. A tornado tore through the entire neighborhood knocking down trees and ripping roofs from homes. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
Parts of Lake Highlands sustained serious damage, including Texas Instruments’ south campus near Interstate 635 and Forest Lane.
A company spokeswoman said the campus was closed because of broken windows, debris and water damage. No injuries were reported.
Damage also was widespread In Preston Hollow, where residents were loading salvaged belongings into their vehicles Monday.
At a house on Eppling Lane, a large tree had uprooted and toppled over in the front yard.
Volunteers were helping with cleanup and directing traffic through the neighborhood.
Heavy roof damage exposed the interior of one home, and a gaping hole appeared to have been blasted through the exterior wall of another home.
Damaged homes in a cul-de-sac on Stillmeadow Drive in Richardson are seen in aerial view of tornado damage on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, in Richardson, Texas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
In one badly damaged Richardson neighborhood, 71-year-old Gizaw Gedlu walked through his home Monday morning as the sun streamed in through large holes in the roof.
“It’s like a war zone, a disaster,” he said. “It’s gone. It’s unbelievable.”
He and his sister Mena hid in the bathroom as the storm tore through. Two bedrooms and the living room were ripped open, tossing his belongings and pink insulation across the floor.
But the kitchen and garage are just as he left them, he said.
Gedlu, who works as a security guard, said he has insurance, but he isn’t sure when someone will show up. He wants to place tarps on the roof in case it rains again and begin trying to salvage what he can.
His sister was making plans for them to stay in a hotel for the night.
“It’s gone. It’s destroyed,” she said. “Everything is gone.”
Tommy Edmonds, left, embraces his wife, Heidi Edmonds outside of their home, which was destroyed when a tornado hit the night before, on Westway Avenue in Garland, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2019. (Ryan Michalesko/The Dallas Morning News)(Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)
In Garland, police reported significant property damage but no serious injuries.
The most severe winds hit between Shiloh Road and Glenbrook Drive, as well as Miller Road and Avenue B, Garland police said. The effects included roof damage, fallen trees, debris, structure damage and downed power lines.
About 5,500 Garland Power and Light customers were without electricity as of 1 a.m. Monday, most in southwestern Garland. The storms took down several transmission lines, which disabled two power substations.
Authorities closed Shiloh Road between Forest Lane and Kingsley Road and warned motorists to be cautious because of malfunctioning traffic lights and downed power lines and other debris.
But officials said it was remarkable the city hadn’t sustained more damage in the tornado that generated winds up to 100 mph.
Rowlett police spokesman Lt. David Nabors said the winds affected only the city’s far northeast side where there are few homes.
One home near President George Bush Tollway and Hickox Road was destroyed and a barn on Larkin Lane also sustained damage, he said.
In Sachse, police said high winds damaged six homes along Eastview Drive, leaving four of them uninhabitable. No injuries were reported.
Police spokesman Martin Cassidy said the homes were near Rowlett, where the most severe damage occurred on the border with Sachse.
He said it was likely the storm had passed over the Bush Turnpike from Sachse to Rowlett. It was unclear whether the damage in Sachse was from a tornado or strong winds.
High winds also blew through northern Ellis County, where officials said Midlothian was most heavily affected by the storms.
Northern Ellis Emergency Dispatch Manager Christine Thompson said officials hadn’t fully assessed the extent of damage in Midlothian.
Kasey Cheshier, executive director of the United Way of West Ellis County, said the storms hit hardest in north Midlothian and Red Oak but that he had not heard of any homes that were uninhabitable.
Businesses near U.S. Highway 67 at North Ninth Street had significant damage, he said.
Transportation
Dallas Area Rapid Transit crews began removing debris and trying to make repairs soon after the tornadoes hit Sunday night, spokesman Gordon Shattles said.
He said branches and wreckage from roofs landed on the overhead catenary lines that power the light-rail trains near the Walnut Hill/Denton station at the intersection of Harry Hines Boulevard and Walnut Hill Lane, close to where the storm hit hardest.
“Teams are out clearing those and trying to verify that those catenary lines are in good shape,” Shattles said.
On Monday morning, DART passengers using the Red and Orange lines, which run along Central Expressway, struggled to get from Plano and Richardson to downtown Dallas because of power outages. Service to downtown was available only from Park Lane Station.
Blue Line service between downtown Rowlett and Garland also was disrupted.
Shattles said the agency expected for service to resume normally on the Red, Orange and Blue lines by peak ridership times abut 5 p.m.
He added, however, that because of heavy damage in northwest Dallas, Green Line service may be a bit slower to fully restore, Shattles said.
“Our teams continue to work diligently to resume service. … [Bus shuttles] will be provided where needed,” Shattles said. “We’ll do our best to keep everyone informed.”
Orange and Red line passengers should expect delays and look for shuttle buses between Park Lane and Spring Valley stations due to issues from last night’s severe weather. Thank you for your patience.
Hundreds of insurance claims already had been filed by early Monday, said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas.
Hanna said the only North Texas weather event from recent years that compares to Sunday night’s in scale occurred Dec. 26, 2015, when at least nine tornadoes tore through the area, killing 11 people.
That storm’s insured losses were estimated at $1.2 billion. The Dec. 26 tornado, with winds up to 180 mph, traveled 13 miles and had a maximum width of 550 yards, according to the National Weather Service.
As of Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service had not described the path or other details of the reported tornadoes, but it’s likely Sunday night’s traveled farther than the 2015 one did, Hanna said.
He said it will take at least a couple of days to assess all of the damage, project the number of claims and place a dollar loss on the storm.
State Farm spokesman Chris Pilcic warned residents to be wary of door-to-door solicitors who may try to take advantage of residents in the aftermath of the storm.
He also recommended that people save receipts for home repairs.
“Often in your homeowner’s insurance policy, you’ll have coverage for making temporary repairs,” Pilcic said. “Whether you go out and buy a tarp or plywood and do that work yourself or you hire someone to do it, make sure you save those receipts and take pictures of the temporary work you’ve done until you meet with your insurance company.”
Interabang Books in Preston Royal Shopping Center was one of dozens of businesses destroyed or damaged by Sunday night’s tornado.(Robert Wilonsky / Staff writer)
Restaurants and business closures
At least 11 restaurants and businesses in the Preston Road-Royal Lane area of Dallas were closed because of storm damage Monday morning.
Employees at Fish City Grill hunkered down inside a walk-in cooler as the storm ravaged the restaurant and nearby businesses around it, including Interabang Books and Central Market.
“It’s like a bomb went off,” said Bill Payne, Fish City Grill’s co-founder.
How to help or get help
Dallas’ mayor said the city did not need anyone to donate food, water or other items. People who want to help may donate money to Dallas’ emergency assistance fund here.
Anyone who needs shelter can go to the Bachman Recreation Center in northwest Dallas.
Organizations including the North Texas Food Bank and the Salvation Army are among the organizations offering assistance.
Staff writers Hayat Norimine, Eva-Marie Ayala, Dom DiFurio, Sarah Blaskovich, Maria Halkias, Melissa Repko and Hannah Costley contributed to this report.
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