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US Monthly Headline News September 2019 Page 1
Democratic lawmakers are furious. President Donald Trump is about to get nearly $4 billion to build his much-desired wall on the southern border with Mexico — but it will come at the expense of the US military. Pentagon officials on Tuesday said that the Defense Department will take out $3.6 billion from 127 existing military construction projects and reallocate those funds to put up about 175 miles of wall. Half the money will come from projects originally meant for the US and its territories, and the other half from international ones. The administration had announced last February it would make such a move, so it’s not entirely unexpected. But it’s still unclear which specific military projects will be delayed by this decision, as the Pentagon said it didn’t want to release that information before notifying members of Congress on Wednesday. That’s an important political matter. Military construction projects mean jobs and funding for certain districts, many of which rely on that money to sustain their economies. Politicians representing those districts and states will probably not be too happy to learn that their constituents are among those who might be affected. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is already irate because he says West Point — the Army academy located in New York state — is slated to lose funds. “This decision will harm already planned, important projects intended to support our service members at military installations in New York, across the United States, and around the world,” Schumer tweeted Tuesday evening. “It is a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country that President Trump is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build.” - Why should the American taxpayer pay for the wall? What happen to Mexico paying for the wall? This is the greatest bait and switch ever pulled.
By Greg Sargent - Opinion writer
There is one aspect of Donald Trump’s presidency that continues to be under-appreciated: the extraordinary lengths to which he and his propagandists regularly go to mask his political weakness and record of profound failure. To put this a bit differently, Trump’s conduct is so outsize and crazy, and his advisers’ defenses of it are so strained and absurd, that we often end up overlooking the much more mundane explanation for all of this — that Trump is failing on many fronts, and as a result, he and his advisers fear he’ll lose reelection. Politico has an illuminating new report that helps pry loose this mask. The gist is that Trump’s own advisers are aware that there are multiple flashing indicators right now that very well might put Trump’s reelection in serious doubt. Among these: Trump’s trade war with China will likely worsen; his rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement might not pass Congress, denying him a badly needed victory on a signature issue; and the likelihood of a recession has increased. What’s more, the U.S. manufacturing sector just contracted by one very closely watched metric, and Trump’s trade wars are a key reason for that. Politico’s reporting is stark on the real meaning of this: Trump internal and external advisers know one of their biggest vulnerabilities is weakness in American manufacturing, a sector the president promised to revive with his aggressive trade policy. The pledges helped Trump secure surprising — and quite narrow — wins in key states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania. But the manufacturing numbers are moving in the wrong direction for the president. Keep in mind that Trump’s own advisers are saying this. Yet the unexciting explanation for much of what we’re seeing — that Trump and his advisers fear he’s failing and might lose reelection as a result — sometimes gets short shrift in cable discussions, which too often still proceed as if Trump has some sort of clever political trick up his sleeve.
Opinion by Elie Honig
(CNN) - As a federal organized crime prosecutor, I learned that the mafia uses a practice known as "kicking up" or "paying tribute" to the boss. Essentially, all members of a mafia family must make sure that some of their earnings end up in the boss' pocket. From the member's point of view, "kicking up" is a way to show respect, curry favor, and reinforce the hierarchical power structure. From the boss's point of view, it's a way to get rich. The "kicking up" model works well for the mafia, and now a political version of it seems to be catching on within the Trump administration. Vice President Mike Pence has decided to stay at Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, during an official visit to Dublin (over a one-hour flight away, so not particularly close or convenient). On Tuesday, Pence's chief of staff remarked that the decision was made on Trump's suggestion. The Vice President's office later stated, "at no time did the President direct our office to stay at his Doonbeg resort." Pence reportedly will personally pay all expenses for family traveling with him, and the United States government will use taxpayer money to pick up the costs for Pence and his security detail. No matter how you cut it, Pence's decision to stay at Trump's hotel will put money in Trump's pocket. Not to be outdone in the "posterior osculation" category (as Paul Begala colorfully put it), Attorney General William Barr reportedly will spend more than $30,000 of personal money to throw a private holiday party at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC. Barr's defenders argue that he first tried to book two other DC hotels. But, of course, there are dozens of luxury hotels in DC that Barr could have chosen instead of one owned by Trump's company. Apologists can nibble at the margins, but there is no escaping that Barr's choice to patronize a Trump property, like Pence's, will put thousands of dollars in Trump's pocket. This trend of high-ranking federal officials choosing to pay thousands of dollars to use Trump's private properties is problematic on two levels. First, the payments could violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits federal government officials from accepting (1) "any present, emoluments, title or office" from any foreign country or (2) any income beyond official salary from any American state or the federal government. There already is pending litigation under the Emoluments Clause over Trump's receipt of revenue from foreign leaders who have stayed at Trump properties. Trump's receipt of income directly from the federal government to cover Pence's stay at the hotel presents another potential violation of the Emoluments Clause. Second, the decisions by Pence and Barr to patronize Trump's private business raise vexing precedent and serious ethical questions. Do other high-ranking federal officials need to take notice and follow suit? Will they be punished or disfavored if they don't throw a couple bucks Trump's way? Is there some implicit understanding that Trump will favor those who pay? Even if the answer to all of these questions is "no," the appearance itself is terrible; the American public rightly will wonder if ethical lines have been blurred, and that in itself is problematic.
By Claudia Grisales
In a letter, Defense Secretary Mark Esper alerted members of the Senate and House Armed Services committees of the plans to proceed with cutting military construction projects in lieu of the wall. In all, he detailed 11 wall projects that would be completed as a result of the diversion of Pentagon funds. They include new pedestrian fencing and barriers in San Diego, Calif., replacement of vehicle barriers in El Paso, Texas, and new fencing at the border in Yuma, Ariz. Congressional sources said the full list of cut military projects was slated to be released Wednesday after lawmakers were directly alerted of which ones were located in their districts. Esper cites the national emergency that President Trump declared in February that required the use of armed forces for projects along the southwest border. "Based on analysis and advice from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and input from the Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of the Interior and pursuant to the authority granted to me in Section 2808, I have determined that 11 military construction projects along the international border with Mexico, with an estimated total cost of $3.6 billion, are necessary to support the use of the armed forces in connection with the national emergency," Esper states in a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash.
By Jim Geraghty
Making the click-through worthwhile: A warning from former secretary of defense James Mattis about what really threatens our country; House Democrats conclude that what the country really needs right now is high-profile hearings about the payments to Stormy Daniels; and Bill de Blasio loses interest in his day job. ‘Tribalism Must Not be Allowed to Destroy Our Experiment.’ In his new autobiography, former secretary of defense James Mattis writes: What concerns me most as a military man is not our external adversaries; it is our internal divisiveness… We are dividing into hostile tribes cheering against each other, fueled by emotion and a mutual disdain that jeopardizes our future, instead of rediscovering our common ground and finding solutions. All Americans need to recognize that our democracy is an experiment and one that can be reversed. Tribalism must not be allowed to destroy our experiment. I’m close to finishing the first draft of the second thriller novel, thinking through the theme, as well as heroes, villains, chases, explosions, and all that good stuff. One of the themes that’s emerging is how few Americans recognize that peace, prosperity, freedom, and relative social harmony are really glaring outliers in human history* — and how many Americans think that peace, prosperity, freedom, and relative social harmony are “normal” — and that no matter what goes wrong, no matter how many bad decisions we make, our lives will always bounce back to what we think is normal. We don’t realize how good we have it, even in the bad times, and we don’t realize that we can lose it all if we don’t tackle our challenges responsibly. History isn’t just full of massacres; it’s full of massacres that most Americans never heard of during their educations.
By Nathaniel Weixel
Migrant children separated from their parents through the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy experienced more severe mental trauma than children who were not separated, according to a government watchdog report. Separated children “exhibited more fear, feelings of abandonment, and post-traumatic stress” than children who were not separated, according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general. According to the report, some children did not understand why they were being separated and sometimes thought their parents had abandoned them. Mental health staff said some children expressed so much grief and confusion over the separation that they cried inconsolably. The report detailed the challenges faced by mental health professionals who were often overwhelmed by the level of trauma faced by children in HHS custody. As a result of the zero tolerance policy, children stayed in custody longer and there was a more rapid increase in the number of younger children than available shelter. The policy resulted in thousands of children being separated from parents at the southern border before it was rescinded last June. They were placed into shelters operated by the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The proportion of children younger than 12 years old skyrocketed when the policy took effect, and the mental health providers said they were not prepared.
By Brendan Cole
San Francisco's legislative body has challenged other American cities and states to follow its lead and formally condemn the National Rifle Association (NRA). The Californian city's board of supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday officially labeling the gun rights' group a domestic terrorist organization. District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani, whose district includes the Marina and Presidio, wrote the declaration stating that the NRA "spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence." It said the NRA "musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence." "All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association's influence," the declaration read.
By Rebecca Beitsch
The Department of Energy finalized a controversial rule Tuesday that would erase Obama-era efficiency standards for lightbulbs. The regulation eliminates efficiency standards for about half the bulbs on the market. It leaves in place rules for standard pear-shaped bulbs, while removing such requirements for recessed lighting, chandeliers and other shapes of bulbs. When first proposed the rule was supported by lightbulb manufacturers, but consumer groups estimate continuing to use less-efficient bulbs will cost the average household more than $100 a year and create more pollution as utilities produce energy that otherwise would not be needed. “The Energy Department flat out got it wrong today. Instead of moving us forward, this rule will keep more energy-wasting bulbs on store shelves,” Jason Hartke, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, said in a statement. “If you wanted folks to pay a lot more than they should on electric bills, this rollback would be a pretty good way of doing it.” The rule will increase U.S. electricity use by 80 billion kilowatt hours over the course of a year, roughly the amount of electricity needed to power all households in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to an analysis by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
By Brett Samuels
Vice President Pence's office issued a statement late Tuesday saying President Trump did not direct Pence to stay at his resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, a shift from remarks offered by the vice president's top aide. "Because of some misreporting, we want to clarify that the decision to stay at Trump National in Doonbeg, Ireland was solely a decision by the Office of the Vice President and was based on the requirement to find accommodations near the Vice President’s ancestral hometown that could satisfy official meetings on both coasts of the Emerald Isle," the office said in a statement. "At no time did the President direct our office to stay at his Doonbeg resort and any reporting to the contrary is false," the vice president's office said. Earlier on Tuesday, Pence chief of staff Marc Short told reporters that Trump had suggested the vice president stay at his property if he was going to be traveling to the area. The statement released later on Tuesday sought to distance Trump from the entire issue. Pence's office said it had originally considered staying one night in Doonbeg due to its proximity to the home of Pence's great grandmother before she emigrated to the United States. The office decided to book two nights there after Trump asked Pence to go to Poland in his place as Hurricane Dorian approached the U.S. Doonbeg is on the opposite side of Ireland from Dublin, the city where Pence met with Ireland's president. As a result, Pence's hotel stay has raised some questions about why he didn't stay in Dublin. Democrats and ethics officials raised concerns that the stay further contributed to the appearance that Trump was seeking to profit off the presidency.
By Brendan Cole
The confused pronouncements by Donald Trump about Hurricane Dorian are further evidence of the president's mental decline and the Republican Party must come to his aid for the good of the country, his former communications chief has said. Anthony Scaramucci lost his post as White House director of communications after only 11 days when his criticism of White House officials was made public. Author of the book Trump: The Blue Collar President, about his three years working with Trump on the campaign trail and as part of his transition team, Scaramucci is now a vehement critic of his former boss and has repeatedly raised questions about his mental acuity. He told CNN that Trump's confusion about the Category-5 storm buffeting the south-eastern coast of the U.S., highlighted the need for those close to the president to step in to help him for the sake of the country. Trump had mistakenly tweeted that Alabama would be in the firing line of the storm after it hit the Bahamas.
Why did the investigation wrap up?
By Andrew Prokop
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have a new investigative emphasis this fall — they plan to focus on hush money payments arranged on behalf of women who had sexual encounters with President Trump, according to the Washington Post’s Rachael Bade and Tom Hamburger. And one major unanswered question that they should push hard for answers on is: why, exactly, did the Justice Department’s investigation into this end earlier this year — when prosecutors had said that Trump directed these illegal payments? There are several possibilities. Per NBC News’s Ken Dilanian, House Democrats suspect it was due to DOJ’s policy against indicting a sitting president. It’s also possible that prosecutors just thought their case wasn’t strong enough — or that there was interference from higher-ups. The point is, we don’t know. In stark contrast to both the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Mueller investigation — for which prosecutors’ decision-making in not bringing further charges was publicly explained at length — what happened behind the scenes in the hush money investigation is a mystery. It’s a mystery that House Democrats should try and solve. Rather than falling into the trap of just rehashing facts that have long been known about this scandal, Democrats should press hard to try and get answers on what happened in the Justice Department here.
A North Carolina judicial panel rejected state legislative district maps Tuesday, saying legislators took extreme advantage in drawing voting districts to help elect a maximum number of Republican lawmakers. The judges gave lawmakers two weeks to try again. The three-judge panel of state trial judges unanimously ruled that courts can step in to decide when partisan advantage goes so far it diminishes democracy. Their ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June in a separate case involving North Carolina's congressional map that it's not the job of federal courts to decide if boundaries are politically unfair — though state courts could consider whether gerrymandering stands up under state laws and constitutions. The state judges found that the way the majority-Republican General Assembly redrew legislative district maps in 2017 violated the rights of Democratic voters under the state constitution's equal protection and freedom of assembly clauses.
Published 26 min agoUpdated Moments Ago
By Dan Mangan, Kevin Breuninger
Still-secret court filings related to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged procurer Ghislaine Maxwell could implicate “hundreds of other people,” Maxwell’s lawyer said Wednesday during a court hearing. But finding out who some or all of those people are could take some time as both Maxwell’s lawyer and an attorney for women who claim the wealthy financier Epstein sexually abused them told U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska they had not come into court with an agreement in place on how the documents should be unsealed. Preska was clearly irritated with their lack of progress. “Did you people not talk about this?” Preska asked in federal court in Manhattan. Preska ended the hearing with a tentative plan to have the attorneys take the next two weeks to hash out a process for categorizing the thousands of pages of sealed documents.  After that, the lawyers would have a week to designate which group of documents should be unsealed first, with a rolling week-to-week process thereafter to evaluate the material and argue over how much or how little should be disclosed publicly. There could be up to 10 different categories for the documents. Jeffrey Pagliuca, a lawyer for the British socialite Maxwell, said the documents include “literally hundreds of pages of investigative reports that mention hundreds of people.” “There are hundreds of other people who could be implicated” in the documents, Pagliuca said.
Climate change could be a winning long-term political issue for the Democrats—but in 2020, it could also threaten the party from inside and out.
By MICHAEL GRUNWALD
Elissa Slotkin has learned that climate change is both a national emergency and a political opportunity. As an assistant secretary of Defense under President Barack Obama, she helped lead the Pentagon’s first study of how climate change threatens U.S. military bases. Then, as a Democratic candidate for Congress in 2018, she attacked her Republican opponent for questioning the scientific consensus on climate change—and that’s one reason she’s now a Democratic member of Congress. “We talk about the weather all the time in Michigan, and we all know it’s getting weird,” she says. “To most people, straight-out denial feels extreme.” But even though Slotkin has shown how the climate crisis can be a winning issue, she’s not on board with the most prominent progressive effort to make it a national issue, the “Green New Deal,” backed by her more famous House classmate Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She thinks it’s too radical, too polarizing, a gift to President Donald Trump and other Republicans who want to portray Democrats as socialists. “My district is very worried that Democrats are lurching to the left,” she says. “I know AOC’s face will be on every ad against me in 2020.” Slotkin doesn’t see why a plan to fix the climate needs to promise universal health care and a federal job guarantee, and she doubts a lefty wish list disguised as an emergency response will play well in her suburban Michigan swing district, which Trump won by 7 percentage points. “I’m a pragmatist, and I represent a lot of pragmatic people,” says Slotkin. “Why say we need massive social change to reduce emissions? How does that build consensus?”
By Debbie Nathan
On August 9, several reporters took a government-led tour through America’s largest detention facility for immigrant parents and their children: the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Sprawling over 50 acres of a repurposed oil field workers’ camp, Dilley, as the center is colloquially known, has room for 2,400 detainees. It currently holds about 1,500 people — all mothers and their children, including babies. No interviews with the detainees were allowed, so reporters were left to record random sounds and observations: phalanxes of baby strollers, a salad bar in the cafeteria, and, as the Wall Street Journal noted, “a speaker blasting a Jimmy Buffett song.” But The Intercept has been in contact with some of the occupants of Dilley by phone — many of them children — and the circumstances they’re enduring are decidedly less sanguine than Buffett’s tunes. Ninety percent of Dilley detainees were apprehended after President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” family separation policy was rescinded on June 20, and they never experienced family separations. These days, detained families are typically freed after two weeks to join friends and relatives elsewhere in the U.S. who’ve agreed to sponsor them. But for the unlucky 10 percent, the fallout from Trump’s policy is ongoing.
Posted By Tim Hains
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinksi and panelists Donny Deutsche and Eugene Robinson commented Tuesday morning on FOX Business host Stuart Varney holding the position that while President Trump "spins and exaggerates" he does not lie. "That guy just threw himself away like that?" Mika Brzezinski wondered. "This is like a comedy version of '1984.' If they decided to do 1984, the comedy," Scarborough said. "Talk about double-speak." "I’m not a psychologist," MSNBC's Donny Deutsch commented. "You just wonder... These Trump supporters, have they somehow delusionally talked themselves into it or is it the performance art and they go, 'This is what I do, I'm here, this is not really news.' Is it just like theater?" "He knows he's lying," Scarborough said. "But not only that, he knows that we know he is lying." "The Clintons, when they lied, they were really good liars," Scarborough said. "You would say to yourself, 'Okay, I know they’re lying, but I’m not exactly sure how they’re lying on this one. They’re hiding the ball. I don’t know where it is. They keep moving the cups around so fast, I can’t pick up the right one. It’s all so confusing. But I know they're lying.' You knew the Clintons were lying. Bernie Nussbaum would come in and testify on the Hill, and you'd know he was lying but it took three or four years to figure out how they were lying. These people are just really, really bad liars." "It's for an audience of one," MoveOn.org's Karine Jean-Pierre observed.
By Drew Kann, CNN
(CNN) - In almost every corner of his administration, President Donald Trump has veered sharply from the policies of his predecessor -- and even past Republicans. But his rollback of regulations designed to limit global warming is one of the clearest ways he has worked to erase a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's legacy. From promising to leave the landmark Paris climate accord to relaxing restrictions on power plant emissions, Trump has attempted to remove many of the guardrails installed by the Obama administration to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases. These rollbacks come at a critical time. Earth just endured its hottest month on record, and Greenland's massive ice sheet is melting an alarming rate. Last fall, the world's top climate scientists warned that we have barely more than a decade to drastically cut global carbon emissions, to avoid facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis -- droughts, wildfires and food shortages impacting hundreds of millions of people. Regardless of what happens in the 2020 presidential election, critics say Trump has already cemented an environmental legacy that will be felt by generations to come. "He is locking in permanent, irreversible damage to our environment through his irresponsible environmental policies, including his efforts to block progress on climate change," said Dr. Michael E. Mann, distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University and the director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. "Once we go beyond key tipping points -- the melting of the major ice sheets -- there is no going back." Here's a look at some of Trump's most consequential climate policy rollbacks:
Stephanie Harvell and Mitchell Arnswal won $500,000 in 2016 on the day they were served an eviction notice.
By Ben Kesslen
When a Michigan couple won $500,000 from a lottery scratch-off in 2016, they said they wanted to turn their life around. They apparently did, but in the wrong direction. The couple, Stephanie Harvell, 28, and Mitchell Arnswald, were charged in a string of burglaries over the weekend, and police said they are suspected of breaking into several houses in the Bay County area in the last two months, often during the day while the homeowners were at work. Harvell told the Michigan Lottery in 2016 that the day she won the lottery, she was also served with an eviction notice. She and Arnswald had been living paycheck to paycheck. “We both work really hard, and it’s been tough to support our family,” Harvell said at the time. “We recently lost a car." Harvell said she and her husband planned to buy a house and car with the new money, and save for her two daughters’ education. Instead, Harvell and Arnswald were charged with home invasion and possession of burglary tools on Friday, Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham said.
Trump faces a contracting U.S. factory sector, a narrow path to trade victories and investors spooked by recession risks — all before an election year.
By NANCY COOK and BEN WHITE
esident Donald Trump is staring down a series of trigger points that will determine whether he enters the 2020 campaign backed by his most valuable asset — a healthy U.S. economy — or empty-handed and further on the defensive. The White House faces a time crunch on several major policy fronts this fall. The president will need to appease farmers and factory workers about his ongoing trade standoff with China, in which he shows no sign of backing down. His administration is trying to cajole the Democratic-controlled House to approve a renegotiated trade deal covering the U.S., Mexico and Canada. And the Trump team must find a way to calm Wall Street to prevent investors from denting one of his proudest achievements — a surge in the stock market since his election. Trump’s economic record took another turn into dangerous territory Tuesday with a widely tracked gauge of the U.S. manufacturing sector contracting for the first time in more than three years, walloping the stock market and reigniting fears of a recession. It added to mounting concerns about a global economic slowdown under the weight of Trump’s trade war. More than at any point in his presidency, Trump’s biggest asset looks like it could become a liability. “The state of the economy is the single biggest factor in determining whether the president is reelected, and right now, it feels like they are riding a rubber ducky into alligator-infested waters,” said Michael Steel, a partner at Hamilton Place Strategies and former top aide to Republican House Speaker John Boehner. It all adds up to a make-or-break stretch for the Trump economy, which aides and advisers believe should play the starring role in the president’s pitch for reelection. On Tuesday, the Trump campaign hosted two economic roundtables at local small businesses in North Carolina to “showcase how President Trump’s economy continues to work for North Carolina’s business community and families alike,” the campaign said.
The gun-rights group is angry that in a free market, sometimes people choose not to arm mass shooters.
By Josh Israel
Weeks after two deadly shootings in their stores, Walmart announced Tuesday that it would stop selling ammunition for assault-style rifles and handguns. The National Rifle Association (NRA), which claims to be the nation’s “oldest civil rights organization” and a fierce defender of the free market, responded by accusing the retail giant of attacking the Second Amendment. Walmart faced considerable pressure from its own employees and customers to reduce or eliminate the sale of guns and ammunition in light of the latest deadly mass shootings. Stores in El Paso, Texas, and in Mississippi last month were the latest Walmart locations to be home to such attacks. After making the announcement, the NRA quickly called the company’s decision a “shameful” cave to the “pressure of the anti-gun elites.” The NRA wrote that the “strongest defense of freedom has always been our free market economy.” But apparently, their support for the free market does not include companies getting to choose which goods and services to sell.
By Kayla Tausche, Jacob Pramuk
President Donald Trump wanted to double tariff rates on Chinese goods last month after Beijing’s latest retaliation in a boiling trade war before settling on a smaller increase, three sources told CNBC. The president was outraged after he learned Aug. 23 that China had formalized plans to slap duties on $75 billion in U.S. products in response to new tariffs from Washington on Sept. 1. His initial reaction, communicated to aides on a White House trade call held that day, was to suggest doubling existing tariffs, according to three people briefed on the matter. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer then enlisted multiple CEOs to call the president and warn him about the impact such a move would have on the stock market and the economy. He settled on a 5% hike in tariff rates on about $550 billion in Chinese products, which he announced in an Aug. 23 tweet after the market close. In the following days, both Mnuchin and White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Trump’s only regret was not raising tariffs higher. - Trump got mad like a spoiled brat when China did not do what he wanted them to do. Trump is a child pretending to be a man.
By Gina Heeb
As trade tensions between the US and China escalate, the costs of tariffs are increasingly poised to fall onto those who can least afford them. President Donald Trump has levied punitive tariffs of 15% to 30% on thousands of Chinese goods over the past year and announced plans for further escalation. The latest import taxes — some of which began this month and others set to take effect in December — affect far more household products than previous rounds, threatening to raise prices in ways that disproportionately affect lower-earning Americans. "Higher taxes on these goods are likely to be highly regressive, in that lower and middle class Americans spend a higher portion of their income on these Chinese imports than do higher income Americans," Mary Lovely, a trade scholar at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Markets Insider in an email. Business representatives have issued similar warnings to the Trump administration, testifying in public hearings that the latest round of tariffs could cause them to raise prices for vulnerable consumers. The newest round of tariffs is also expected to disproportionately affect women, whose spend more on some targeted products including apparel. About 42% of women's and girl's clothing was shipped from China in 2018, a recent Wall Street Journal analysis found, compared with 26% for men and boys. "The combination of higher tariff rates and greater spending on imported goods means that women carry a significantly higher share of total tariff burden compared to men," researchers wrote in an International Trade Commission paper in 2018.
Another 15 bricks, also believed to be cocaine, washed ashore on nearby Cocoa Beach.
By Minyvonne Burke
More than a dozen bricks of cocaine washed up on two Florida beaches Tuesday from waves churned up by Hurricane Dorian, police said. At around 8 a.m., a Melbourne police officer on foot patrol at Paradise Beach Park was alerted by a beachgoer that something suspicious appeared to have washed ashore. Download the NBC News app for news alerts about Hurricane Dorian When the officer checked it out, he found a package "wrapped in a way that was consistent with narcotics," a Melbourne police spokeswoman said. The brick was tested and was determined to be a kilo of cocaine, the spokeswoman said, adding that it will be destroyed. On the outside of the brick appeared to be the beginning of a word but the only letters visible are "D-I-A-M-A-N-T." Melbourne police declined to comment on what was written on the brick, citing its investigation. Over in Cocoa Beach about 20 miles north, police were alerted to a duffel bag that had washed ashore and found 15 bricks of cocaine inside, Sergeant Manny Hernandez said.
By Angelica LaVito
Michigan is the first state to ban sales of flavored e-cigarettes in a move the governor says will curb teen vaping. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer directed the state health department to issue emergency rules to ban the sale of flavored nicotine vaping products in stores and online, the governor’s office said Wednesday. She will also restrict marketing, preventing companies from advertising vaping products as “clean,” “safe,” “healthy” and other terms that portray the products as “harmless.” Whitmer, a Democrat, used her executive authority to impose a six-month ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The ban can be renewed for another six months. Whitmer told MSNBC in an interview Wednesday morning that she hopes Michigan lawmakers will write the ban into law. “As governor, I’m going to do it unilaterally until I can get the legislature to adopt a statute and write it into law,” Whitmer told MSNBC. “This is too important.”
Elkmont, Ala. -- A 14-year-old boy admitted to killing five members of his family, including his three younger siblings, in a slaying that rattled a small Alabama town, authorities said Tuesday. Limestone County sheriff's spokesman Stephen Young said the boy called 911 at about 11 p.m. Monday. He met deputies on the driveway and told them he heard gunshots upstairs while he was in the basement and he ran out the door. The teen later confessed to being the one who pulled the trigger, Young said. "Upon being confronted with some of the inconsistencies, he did admit to shooting the five family members. All five were family members and all five lived in the residence," Young said.
By Emily Saul
An anonymous man terrified he’s about to be named in court papers related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s alleged child sex trafficking ring is begging a judge not to release his name and identities of others accused — because it could tarnish their reputations, according to a surprise motion filed Tuesday. Lawyers for the John Doe filed the letter Tuesday — just a day before Epstein’s self-proclaimed “sex slave” Virginia Roberts Giuffre is expected to join her lawyers in court as they continue efforts to unseal thousands of pages of documents related to her civil lawsuit against the dead pedophile’s alleged procuress. “As a non-party to these proceedings, Doe lacks specific knowledge about the contents of the Sealed Materials,” his lawyers wrote to Manhattan federal court judge Loretta Preska. “But it is clear that these materials implicate the privacy and reputational interests of many persons other than the two primary parties to this action, Giuffre and Maxwell.” The letter goes on to say a prior judge overseeing the case summarized the still-secret documents as containing a “range of allegations of sexual acts involving Plaintiff and non-parties to this litigation, some famous, some not; the identities of non-parties who either allegedly engaged in sexual acts with Plaintiff or who allegedly facilitated such acts.”
The Trump administration has started the arduous process of canceling $3.6 billion in military construction projects to fund its plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Defense Secretary Mark Esper began notifying lawmakers Tuesday which projects will be canceled in their districts. Top Democrats immediately blasted the plan. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was among the first lawmakers to say his district will be impacted by the funding cuts, for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. "This decision will harm already planned, important projects intended to support our service members at military installations in New York, across the United States, and around the world," Schumer said. "It is a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country that President Trump is willing to cannibalize already allocated military funding to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build." - Taxpayer money diverted from military projects to pay for the border wall that Trump said Mexico would pay for.
The remarkably petty reasons Trump is suddenly criticizing his favorite cable network.
By Aaron Rupar
As it has been since Donald Trump started consolidating the Republican nomination for president in early 2016, Fox News and Fox Business remain almost entirely loyal to Trump. But in recent days the president has expressed frustration that the cable network isn’t entirely loyal to him — with no exceptions whatsoever. The latest example of Trump’s growing frustration with Fox News came on Saturday, when Trump tried to draw a connection between the ratings of shows on the network and their loyalty to him. “Has anyone noticed that the top shows on @foxnews and cable ratings are those that are Fair (or great) to your favorite President, me!” Trump tweeted. “Congratulations to @seanhannity for being the number one show on Cable Television!” That tweet came three days after Trump unloaded on his once-beloved cable network in a string of tweets, writing in one, “The New @FoxNews is letting millions of GREAT people down! We have to start looking for a new News Outlet. Fox isn’t working for us anymore!” But in an illustration of how much Trump still needs Fox News, between the time he posted his tweet about Fox News on Saturday and the end of the long Labor Day weekend, Trump posted no less than 14 tweets or retweets promoting Fox News and Fox Business programming either by quoting pro-Trump commentary from the network or featuring videos clips.
Study shows drinking a lot of soft drinks can increase your risk of dying from digestive disorders. Here's a warning for people who drink a lot of soda. The journal JAMA Internal Medicine outlined a study in which researchers followed roughly half-a-million people for two decades. They found people who drank more than 16 ounces of sugary soft drinks a day had a higher risk of dying from digestive disorders. The study also found that people who drank the same amount of diet soda had higher risks of dying from cardiovascular disease. Experts stress the sodas did not directly cause the deaths. Researchers say it is impossible to determine if the leading factor was a specific artificial sweetener, the type of beverage, obesity or another health issue.
The mysterious spike in respiratory illnesses is a reminder that e-cigarettes may be more dangerous than they seem.
By Julia Belluz
More than 200 people across the US have come down with a mysterious illness that appears to be linked to vaping — the latest wake-up call to the potentially serious health risks of using e-cigarettes. As of August 27, there were 215 cases of severe respiratory disease in 25 states since late June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday. All patients reported using e-cigarette products. But while officials believe their illness is associated with vaping, they haven’t been able to single out which ingredient or device may be causing the problem. So far, the patients have a few things in common. They suffered from respiratory symptoms, including coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. Some have gotten seriously ill, even winding up in intensive care units on oxygen support through ventilators or intubation. Most are in their late teens and 20s with no underlying health issues. Many cases also involved vaping THC-containing liquids (though it’s not clear whether that was from cannabis e-cigs or nicotine e-cigs), and the CDC singled out black market products as another potential commonality. “Anyone who uses e-cigarette products should not buy these products off the street (e.g., e-cigarette products with THC or other cannabinoids) and should not modify e-cigarette products or add any substances to these products that are not intended by the manufacturer,” the CDC warned. “E-cigarette products should not be used by youth, young adults, pregnant women, as well as adults who do not currently use tobacco products.”
By Jack Guy, CNN
(CNN)Eating a diet of French fries, Pringles and white bread was enough to make one teenage boy lose his sight, according to a case study published in a medical journal. Scientists from the University of Bristol examined the case of a young patient whose extremely picky eating led to blindness, and have warned of the dangers of a poor diet. The unidentified patient told doctors he had only eaten fries from the fish and chip shop, Pringles potato chips, white bread, slices of processed ham and sausage since elementary school, and he avoided foods with certain textures. He first visited a doctor at age 14, complaining of tiredness, according to a case report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday. He wasn't taking any medication, had a normal BMI and height, and showed no visible signs of malnutrition. Doctors discovered low vitamin B12 levels and anemia, treating the patient with vitamin B12 injections and offering dietary advice. One year later there were signs of hearing loss and vision symptoms, but doctors did not find the cause.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – All 33 passengers and one crew member are assumed dead after a tragic boat fire early Monday that occurred in open water off the California coast. Authorities reported in a press conference Tuesday that the remains of 20 victims had been recovered, including 11 females and 9 males. Fourteen victims remain missing. Approximately four to six bodies were discovered in the wreckage but were unable to be recovered by nightfall. U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester announced that the Coast Guard was suspending search efforts, as "no additional signs of distress or debris has been witnessed." Rochester said the nearly 24-hour search operation included seven missions and three helicopters crews, covering an area of 160 miles.
By Zack Budryk
The latest round of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that went into effect Sunday will likely affect school supply prices next year, according to MarketWatch. The 15 percent tariffs, which apply to $112 billion in Chinese goods, affect items including pencils, crayons, calendars, ball-point pens, and boys’ and girls’ overcoats and windbreakers. The items on store shelves shipped months before the tariffs took effect but they may affect parents at the beginning of next school year, according to Bethany Aronhalt, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. “Unfortunately, American families could see higher prices in the coming months and throughout the school year as the impact of the tariffs works through the supply chain and companies have no choice but to pass along costs to consumers,” Aronhalt told the publication. “Small businesses in particular won’t be able to absorb the cost and will be forced to raise prices,” she added.
The venue's owner later said she was "incorrect" in believing the decision to turn away the couple was based on the Bible.
By Janelle Griffith
The owner of a wedding venue in Mississippi who cited "Christian belief" in turning away an interracial couple has apologized. In a now-viral video posted to social media over the weekend, the sister of the groom-to-be confronts an unidentified employee at Boone’s Camp Event Hall in Booneville, as first reported by the website Deep South Voice. LaKambria Welch told NBC News on Tuesday that her brother, who is black, and his fiancée, who is white, had been considering booking the event hall for their wedding. They had been communicating with an owner of the venue for about a week when they were suddenly told they could not get married there for a reason having to do with beliefs. Welch, 24, said she suspected the hall's operators had discovered the couple's races through Facebook and went to talk to them in person. The woman at the venue in the video is not identified. During the under-30-second clip recorded Saturday, the woman tells Welch, “First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race." Welch responds: "OK. So why not?" "Because of our Christian race — I mean, our Christian belief,” the woman says. "OK. We're Christians as well, so what in the Bible tells you that," Welch responds, before she is interrupted by the woman, who tells her, "Well, I don't want to argue my faith." Welch then says, "That's fine" and the woman replies: "We just don't participate. We just choose not to." Welch asks her: "So that's your Christian belief, right?" The woman responds, "Yes."
By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business
New York (CNN Business) - Walmart on Tuesday announced it will reduce its gun and ammunition sales, one month after more than 20 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Walmart also pressured Congress to enact gun safety measures. The company, America's largest retailer, said it will stop selling handgun ammunition and ammunition commonly used in assault-style weapons after selling all of its current inventory. Walmart (WMT) will also stop selling handguns in Alaska, the only state where it still sells handguns. And Walmart will request that customers no longer openly carry guns into its 4,700 US stores, or its Sam's Club stores, in states that allow open carry. "It's clear to us that the status quo is unacceptable," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a memo to employees on Tuesday. However, Walmart will continue to sell long barrel deer rifles and shotguns and much of the ammunition for those guns. Walmart will also continue to allow concealed carry by customers with permits in its stores.
A gauge of U.S. manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management showed the sector contracted in August, its first decline since 2016. The ISM U.S. manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 49.1% in August, the lowest reading in more than three years. Any reading below 50% signals a contraction. The report raised fears of a recession and hit the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 300 points, extending losses following the morning release from ISM.  “Respondents expressed slightly more concern about U.S.-China trade turbulence, but trade remains the most significant issue, indicated by the strong contraction in new export orders,” Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, said in a statement. The escalated trade war with China is taking a significant bite from the manufacturing sector, which for a time was considered one of the big winners under the Trump administration, notching big gains in employment and activity. But that has now appeared to be nullified by the trade war.
U.S. stocks were firmly lower Tuesday after the U.S. launched a new round of tariffs on $112 billion in Chinese goods Saturday, with China retaliating with new levies of its own, while a key gauge of the U.S. manufacturing sector signaled the first contraction in activity in three years. The new trade barriers and a decline in China’s yuan currency highlight the uncertainties surrounding the escalating tariff tiff between the two economic superpowers that threatens to throw the rest of the world into recession, as U.S. markets reopen Tuesday following their closure Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
How are the markets faring? The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.19%  fell 379 points, or 1.4%, to 26,024, while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.86%  dropped 29 points, or 1% to 2,897. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -1.30% declined 1.4% to 7,854, a drop of 109 points. Last week, the S&P 500 saw a 2.8% rise, while the Dow gained 3% — their strongest weekly advances since the week ended June 7. The Nasdaq rose 2.7% for its biggest weekly rise since the period ended June 21. However, the major indexes logged their first losing month since May — and their second losing month of 2019. The S&P 500 saw a 1.8% monthly fall, the Dow declined 1.7% and the Nasdaq gave up 2.6%.
The system is not expected to impact the Houston area, but our neighbors to the south will want to keep a close eye on it.
Author: Doug Delony, KHOU 11 Weather Team
HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Fernand has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and people along the lower Texas Coast and northeastern coast of Mexico should monitor its progress. IThe Government of Mexico has issued a Tropical Storm Warning from La Pesca to Barra del Tordo and from Barra El Mezquital to the Mouth of the Rio Grande River. At 2 p.m. Houston time,. Fernand's winds were 40 mph and it's Rmoving west at 7 mph. In Houston, we don't have to worry much about it as the forecast track has it continuing westward. But our friends and neighbors in South Texas and in Mexico will want to keep a close eye on it.
“Conversion therapy is not just a lie, but it’s very harmful,” said McKrae Game, a South Carolinian who founded one of the nation's biggest ex-gay ministries.
By Associated Press
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - A South Carolina man who founded one of the nation's biggest conversion therapy ministries has something to say: he's gay. The Post and Courier reports Hope for Wholeness founder McKrae Game came out of the closet this summer, nearly two years after he was fired from the faith-based conversion therapy program. He's now trying to come to terms with the harm he inflicted when he was advocating for religious efforts to change a person's sexuality. “Conversion therapy is not just a lie, but it’s very harmful,” Game told The Post and Courier. “Because it’s false advertising.” The 51-year-old also is trying to find his place in a community he's assailed for at least 20 years. Game is one of several former movement leaders who have left the pulpits of heterosexuality, come out as LGBTQ and condemned conversion therapy as a dangerous and misleading practice.
by By David R. Lurie - Daily Beast
With all the focus on how a largely symbolic impeachment might affect Donald Trump’s re-election prospects, numerous investigations and lawsuits concerning the president and his associates seem to have dropped off the political radar. But they are still ongoing—and could still affect the result of the next election. Trump has done his best to stonewall many of these matters, particularly those before Congress, by litigating almost every demand for testimony and other evidence. That strategy of maximum resistance could backfire. That’s because the string could well run out on many of Trump’s defenses in the upcoming months, and the investigations—and accompanying revelations—could accelerate in the months immediately before Election Day 2020, making Trump’s misconduct a renewed focus of public attention as voters prepare to go to the polls. more...
The VP is staying in Trump’s golf resort in Ireland this week. Back home, his PAC has been using Trump hotels at a prolific rate.
By Lachlan Markay
Vice President Mike Pence says his boss didn’t order him to stay at a Trump property during an official visit to Ireland over the weekend, despite it being more than 150 miles from where a slew of official meetings will take place. Which would fit with a pattern. Pence has never needed orders to steer money to his boss’s businesses. Since 2017, Pence’s political group, the Great America Committee, has dropped about $224,000 at Trump properties, chiefly the Trump International Hotel in Washington and its on-site steakhouse, according to Federal Election Commission records maintained by ProPublica. Such spending appears to be a family affair. Pence’s brother, freshman Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), has also dropped considerable sums at the Trump hotel. In fact, Rep. Pence’s campaign amended a number of FEC filings this year after USA Today noted that the campaign appeared to be illegally paying for the congressman to live at the Trump hotel. The Pence campaign said those expenses were reported incorrectly, and amended FEC filings accordingly. As of March, when Rep. Pence’s campaign reported its latest Trump property expenditure, the campaign had spent about $45,000 at the president’s businesses.
After the El Paso shooting, Ben Shapiro, a popular conservative podcaster, asked Americans to draw a line between the few conservatives who are white supremacists and those who, like him, aren’t. Almost all Americans are “on the same side,” he said, and “we should be mourning together.” In his telling, we aren’t, for “one simple reason: Too many on the political left [are] castigating the character of those who disagree,” lumping conservatives and political nonconformists together with racists and xenophobes. I grew up in a conservative family. The people I talk to most frequently, the people I call when I need help, are conservative. I’m not inclined to paint conservatives as thoughtless bigots. But a few years ago, listening to the voices and arguments of commentators like Shapiro, I began to feel a very specific deja vu I couldn’t initially identify. It felt as if the arguments I was reading were eerily familiar. I found myself Googling lines from articles, especially when I read the rhetoric of a group of people we could call the “reasonable right.” Not all these figures identify as right-wing. They typically dislike President Trump but say they’re being pushed rightward — or driven to defend the rights of conservatives — by intolerance and extremism on the left. The reasonable right includes people like Shapiro and the radio commentator Dave Rubin; legal scholar Amy Wax and Jordan Peterson, the Canadian academic who warns about identity politics; the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt; the New York Times columnist Bari Weiss and the American Enterprise Institute scholar Christina Hoff Sommers, self-described feminists who decry excesses in the feminist movement; the novelist Bret Easton Ellis and the podcaster Sam Harris, who believe that important subjects have needlessly been excluded from political discussions. They present their concerns as, principally, freedom of speech and diversity of thought. Weiss has called them “renegade” ideological explorers who venture into “dangerous” territory despite the “outrage and derision” directed their way by haughty social gatekeepers.
OXNARD, California (WPVI) -- At least 25 people were confirmed dead and nine others still missing after a tragic boat fire early Monday near an island off the Southern California coast. The dive-boat Conception, far out to sea in the middle of the night, became fully engulfed in flames as 30 passengers on a recreational scuba diving trip slept below deck. "You couldn't ask for a worse situation," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a Monday news conference. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says at least 25 people on a recreational scuba-diving trip died and the search will continue through the night for the nine others still missing. He says five others have been found but not recovered due to unsafe conditions under the boat, which sank in about 60 feet (18 meters) of water. Kroll that says these numbers are based on initial reports and authorities are awaiting final counts from the autopsies. Five crew members sleeping on the top deck jumped off and took a dinghy to safety. Two had minor injuries.
By Jordain Carney
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged Tuesday that Republicans would fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2019 or 2020, arguing the dynamic is different now than when the party held open a seat in 2016. Asked during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt if Republicans would support filing a vacancy on the Supreme Court in 2019 or 2020, McConnell said "absolutely." McConnell has earned fierce pushback for blocking Merrick Garland, President Obama's final Supreme Court nominee, from getting a hearing or a vote. But he's said that Republicans would fill a vacancy ahead of the 2020 presidential election. He has argued that there was a divided government in 2016, but there would not be in 2019 or 2020 because Republicans control both the Senate and White House. "You have to go back to 1880 to find the last time, back to 1880s to find the last time a Senate of a different party from the president filled a Supreme Court vacancy created in the middle of a presidential election. That was entirely the precedent," McConnell said on Tuesday about his decision to block Garland. "There was nothing I did that was, would not have been done had the shoe been on the other foot had there been a … Republican president and a Democratic Senate. So look, they can whine about this all day long. But under the Constitution, there is co-responsibility for appointments," McConnell added. Republicans have put a premium on confirming President Trump's judicial nominees. In addition to setting a record on the number of circuit court picks confirmed, Trump has also gotten two Supreme Court nominees through the GOP-controlled Senate. Trump's two nominees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, at 52 and 54, respectively, are the court's two youngest justices. Three of the nine current justices on the Supreme Court are 70 or older: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 86, Stephen Breyer is 81, and Clarence Thomas is 71. Ginsburg and Breyer are both members of the court's liberal wing, while Thomas is a conservative. - McConnell stole Obama’s Supreme Court pick. - McConnell’s Coup d'état, McConnell stole Obama’s Supreme Court pick.
By Jessica Campisi
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Monday that the suspected gunman who killed at least seven people and injured 22 others in a shooting over the weekend had failed a gun background check. “Not only did the gunman have a criminal history ... he also previously failed a gun purchase background check in Texas,” Abbott tweeted, “& he didn’t go thru a background check for the gun he used in Odessa. We must keep guns out of criminals’ hands.” It is unclear how the gunman, identified Sunday as 36-year-old Seth Aaron Ator, obtained the military-style rifle he used when he opened fire on Saturday, fatally shooting a trooper, two police officers and four others. Ator was arrested for evading arrest and criminal trespass in 2001 and received a form of probation after pleading guilty to both misdemeanor charges, the Austin American-Statesman reports. There were no open warrants for his arrest. He had been fired from his trucking job hours before the mass shooting, and he reportedly got into a verbal altercation with his boss at an oilfield services company, with both men calling 911 to report the incident, the Texas Tribune reports. The gunman also reportedly called the FBI's tip line.
Analysis by Brian Stelter, CNN Business
(CNN) - This is a story about President Donald Trump spreading false information during an emergency situation. Not once or twice -- three times.
When a news outlet pointed out the President was wrong, he called the report "phony" and insisted that he was right. But his own National Weather Service had said he was wrong. The story starts on Sunday morning, at 10:51 a.m. ET, when Trump tweeted out a warning about the severity of Hurricane Dorian. "In addition to Florida -- South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated," the President wrote. Trump was wise to issue an alert, since Dorian was rapidly strengthening at the time. But he was wrong to include Alabama in his list of affected states. Alabama borders the Gulf of Mexico but not the Atlantic, and was never forecast to be "hit" by the storm. Trump's critics suggested that this error showed a fundamental misunderstanding of geography on the part of the President. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday had authorized the Alabama National Guard to send up to 50 support personnel to Florida to help with Dorian's impacts there. She said that "we are proud to help Florida as they brace for potential impact from Hurricane Dorian." When Trump posted his incorrect tweet on Sunday, local meteorologists like James Spann refuted it right away. Spann, a veteran Alabama forecaster who is widely respected for his coverage of tornado outbreaks, responded to Trump at 11:31 a.m. and said, "Alabama will not be impacted by Dorian in any way." When Spann's tweet went viral and a local resident questioned him, the meteorologist later tweeted, "I have zero interest in politics. Dorian will not affect Alabama in any way. That is not a political statement." The Birmingham, Alabama, branch of the National Weather Service agreed. At 11:11 a.m. ET, the office had tweeted that "Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east." While that tweet wasn't a direct response to Trump, it came just 20 minutes after the President's faulty information was posted.
By Owen Daugherty
House Democrats will reportedly prioritize a congressional inquiry into President Trump’s alleged role in hush-money payments to silence two women who say they had affairs with Trump before he took office. The Washington Post reports the House Judiciary Committee, when it returns to Washington next week, plans to hold hearings and call witnesses to testify who have knowledge of the hush-money payments to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stephanie Clifford, known by her stage name Stormy Daniels. While a federal probe into campaign finance violations committed by Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen for his role in the hush-money payments made to the women alleging affairs is over, Democrats reportedly believe there is enough evidence to pursue an inquiry of their own. The Post reports hearing on the matter could take place as early as October. Cohen is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for his role in the payments to the women and other federal crimes he pleaded guilty to last year. He testified under oath earlier this year that Trump directed the payments that led to the campaign finance violations. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told The Post that there is ample evidence against Trump. “The fingerprints are all over this one — it’s not like a big mystery,” he said. “As with the evidence of presidential obstruction of justice, the conclusion seems inescapable: that [Trump] would have been tried had he been anybody else. And now it’s left to Congress again to figure out what to do with the lawbreaking and apparent impunity of the president.” As part of the probe, Democrats are reportedly considering calling chairman and CEO of American Media Inc. David Pecker as a potential witness. The National Enquirer, which is owned by American Media Inc., admitted to making the payment to McDougal to keep her silent about her alleged affair with Trump.
By Chris Sommerfeldt - New York Daily News
As Floridians braced for a potentially catastrophic storm Monday, President Trump headed to Virginia for another round of golf. The links-loving president — who was supposed to attend a World War II ceremony in Poland this weekend but canceled because he said it was “very important” for him to monitor Hurricane Dorian — arrived at his namesake course in Sterling shortly after 10 a.m., according to a pool report. The White House wouldn’t provide information on whom Trump was golfing with, but press secretary Stephanie Grisham told the Daily News the president received hourly Dorian updates while on the course. Television crews spotted Trump golfing with three other people. The president wrapped up golfing about 2:15 p.m. As his motorcade left the club, a group of protesters had gathered outside and touted signs with slogans like, “Cheater,” “Impeach,” “Jail Trump,” “Stop the Donald” and “Rat-infested Trump family reunion,” according to a pool report. Monday’s golf visit marked Trump’s second for the Labor Day weekend. He played a round at the same club Saturday.  Trump used to harshly criticize President Barack Obama’s golfing habits, including complaining that he and other U.S. taxpayers “pay for his golf." Nonetheless, Trump has visited golf courses 213 times since he took office, mostly his own, costing taxpayers more than $100 million, according to TrumpGolfCount.com.
The gunman in a spate of violence after a routine traffic stop in West Texas had just been fired from his job and called both police and the FBI before the shooting began, authorities said Monday. Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said the suspect had been fired over the weekend from Journey Oilfield Services. He said both the gunman and the company called 911 after being fired Saturday, but that suspect was gone by the time police showed up. FBI special agent Christopher Combs said the gunman's statements on the phone were "rambling." Authorities said the suspect killed seven people and injured at least 22 others Saturday before officers killed him outside a busy movie theater in Odessa. It was at least the 38th mass killing this year. FBI special agent Christopher Combs said the gunman "was on a long spiral down" before the shooting on the day he was fired. He went to work that day "in trouble," Combs said. He said the place where the suspect lived was "a strange residence" and that the condition reflected "what his mental state was going into this."
By Maggie Fitzgerald
Whether or not the U.S. is going into a recession is on the minds of Americans everywhere. Google searches show recession fears have spiked exponentially since the end of July, when the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis. Data is coming at investors from every angle with so-called recession indicators flashing signs of an economic slowdown brought on by slower growth abroad and the U.S.-China trade war. A slowing global economy is pressuring central banks abroad to lower borrowing rates at unprecedented levels and a tit-for-tat tariff war between Washington and Beijing is weighing on business sentiment. Assessing these indicators is not easy, and many economists, money managers and analysts disagree about how healthy or unhealthy the U.S. economy really is and whether its long expansion can continue. Here are some major recession indicators that are flashing red.
By Jason Silverstein
A New Jersey man was charged Monday after destructive devices were found near the route for a Labor Day parade that the state's governor planned to attend. The parade and other holiday activities were canceled just hours before they were set to start. Thomas Kaiser, 55, was arrested and charged with possession of a destructive device for an unlawful purpose, authorities said. The South Plainfield Labor Day Parade was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., and Governor Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy were going to march in it. There was also supposed to be a fireworks show and a 5K race. But soon after 7 a.m., the borough of South Plainfield announced that all events were canceled due to a "security concern."
By Faith Karimi, Ed Lavandera, Christina Maxouris and Theresa Waldrop, CNN
(CNN) The 36-year-old gunman who killed seven people in a West Texas shooting rampage Saturday was already in a "distressed mental state" when he showed up to work, and was fired just hours before the massacre began, the FBI said. The shootings "did not happen because he was fired," said Christopher Combs, FBI special agent in charge, at a press conference Monday. "When he showed up to work, he was already enraged." Seth Ator, the shooter, had applied to get a gun but failed a background check, a representative for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said at the press conference. The ATF, the FBI and the DPS are "aggressively following up on" the source that supplied the firearm to Ator. The FBI has been searching a property in West Odessa linked to Ator, and Combs called it a "very strange residence" in conditions that "reflect what we believe his mental state was going into this." Ator, Combs said, was "on a long spiral of going down." "He's probably been in trouble for a while," Combs said. Both Ator and his employer, Journey Oilfield Services, called 911 right after the firing, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said. "Basically, they were complaining on each other because they had a disagreement over the firing," Gerke said at a press conference Monday. Shortly before being stopped by a Department of Public Safety trooper, Ator also called the FBI national tip line, but he made "no threats of any type of violence," Gerke said. That changed during the shooting spree, when Ator called 911 twice. In those calls, he was telling the dispatcher that "he's the guy doing it," Combs said. Authorities have repeatedly cautioned that they have yet to establish a motive for the shooting. They say they believe Ator acted alone. Ator began spraying the roads with bullets after police pulled him over for failing to use his signal. He killed seven people and wounded 25 others before authorities rammed the hijacked mail truck he was driving and gunned him down. "The reason that person was stopped was because of a Midland police officer and an Odessa police officer. They rammed his car, stopped him and when he got out, they shot him," Odessa Mayor David Turner said.
JUPITER, Fla. – At least five people have died in the Abaco Islands in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Monday evening. Hurricane Dorian continues to pound the region as a Category 4 storm. Minnis said that there are also people in Great Bahama island in serious distress. Rescue crews will respond to calls for help as soon as weather conditions allow. “We are in the midst of a historic tragedy," Minnis said. Historic Hurricane Dorian stalled over the northern Bahamas on Monday, pounding the islands with heavy rains, storm. As of 5 p.m. EDT, Dorian’s advance westward along the archipelago slowed to a crawl while top sustained winds eased slightly to 145 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, causing Dorian to slip from a Category 5 to Category 4 – still a brutal storm.
By Jonathan O'Callaghan
President Trump is known for his somewhat erratic tweeting, but he likely didn’t realize the implications of releasing a classified image from a U.S. satellite the other day. On Friday, August 30, Trump tweeted what appeared to be a satellite image of the Semnan Launch Site One in Iran, the location of a suspected rocket failure recently, which Trump says the U.S. was not involved in despite the tensions between the two countries. “The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir SLV Launch at Semnan Launch Site One in Iran,” Trump said. “I wish Iran best wishes and good luck in determining what happened at Site One.” While that might all seem rather innocuous, by tweeting this image Trump has actually potentially caused a huge security risk. The U.S. government is notoriously secretive about its surveillance satellites, but with just this image experts have already been able to work out a number of key and interesting details. First and foremost, experts such as astronomer Marco Langbroek were able to use the angle of the image to work out which satellite took the image. From these calculations and the suspected time of the photo, 9.44 A.M. UTC on Thursday, August 29, the satellite appears to be USA 224, an optical reconnaissance satellite. “It is a very good match so there is no doubt in my mind that it is an image taken by USA 224,” tweeted Langbroek.
PayPal suspended an account used to raise funds by one of the US's largest white supremacist groups six days after it was first flagged by an anti-bigotry campaigner. The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan had promoted the account via a donation page on its website. PayPal acted on Friday after others picked up on the issue and urged it to block the recipient. The US-based firm faces criticism for not resolving the issue more rapidly. PayPal previously pledged to "evaluate all sites" brought to its attention that involved the use of its service to fund the KKK and other organisations advocating racist views. "I have tonnes of concerns that PayPal is not able to act quickly and decisively on hate groups," Nandini Jammi, from the internet-based group Sleeping Giants, told BBC News. "There are some examples of them acting in a fairly timely manner. "But they're not applying [their anti-hate policy] in a consistent enough manner." A spokesman for PayPal said: "Due to our legal and data protection obligations, we cannot comment on any specific PayPal customer's account. "We carefully review accounts to ensure our services are used in line with our acceptable use policy and take action as appropriate. "We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that are discriminatory."
By Mike Hayes, Fernando Alfonso III and Amanda Wills, CNN
The Conception, the boat set ablaze on early this morning, set out from Santa Barbara on Saturday for a diving excursion, according to the website for the diving company, Truth Aquatics. The boat was set to return to shore today at 5 p.m. "On the Labor Day trip, divers have the unique opportunity to explore the pinnacles of San Miguel Island," Truth Aquatics said on its website. "The beginning of September is the best time to be at San Mig, which see strong winds and swell during much of the year." The company's website said the crew was using the Conception this weekend to visit San Miguel where divers were expecting to see a variety of interesting sea life. "This rarely visited island is loaded with color: anemones, crabs, nudibranchs covering every inch of wall with a rainbow. Great for macro-photography," the website said.
By Lee Brown
The Texas madman who went on a mobile shooting spree had been fired from his job just hours before his rampage — and had previously failed a background check, according to new reports. Seth Ator, 36, had been axed from his trucking job a few hours before he killed seven and injured 22 in a spree in Odessa that started with a routine traffic stop on Saturday, authorities told the New York Times. Odessa police chief Michael Gerke did not mention the firing at a press briefing Sunday, instead insisting there were “no definitive answers as to motive or reasons at this point.” Ator used an “AR-type weapon” in his attack, and police say they are still investigating how he got it — especially in light of a revelation by state Rep. Tom Craddick who said Ator had previously failed a background check, according to the Midland Reporter-Telegram. No details were given as to what caused him to fail.
By Juan Williams
In the age of Trump, I remain an optimist. It’s easy to get depressed if you get locked into dark thoughts about how a third of the country is not concerned about the chaos, bullying and lies coming from the Trump White House. But optimism rises in me whenever I focus on the reality that for all the political madness, most Americans still go to work, go to school and take care of their families. We are not a broken country. Then last week came a depressing tweet from President Obama’s former top political advisor, David Axelrod. Axelrod warned that if a vacancy on the Supreme Court arose next year, and if the door is opened to filling it by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — despite McConnell having previously blocked Obama nominee Merrick Garland in comparable circumstances — “it will tear this country apart.” Axelrod’s prediction was prompted by news that 86-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently had treatment for a pancreatic tumor. She is one of four justices who make up the liberal minority on the court. Justice Stephen Breyer, another member of the liberal minority, is at an age — 81 — where he might consider retirement. Trump has already filled two Supreme Court seats with hardline conservatives.
Forget what you think “high crimes and misdemeanors” means and consider what we’ve impeached presidents for in the past.
By Dahlia Lithwick
Every single day, Donald Trump offers up a fragrant, colorful, teeming bouquet of reasons to believe he is unfit to hold the office of president. And every single day, the nation shrugs and waits for something to be done about it. (Really, congressional Democrats take a long summer break and largely shrug, and hope that the election will take care of this specific problem for them.) But it’s still worth cataloging the specific things Trump is doing that, in another time or place or plane of being, could be deemed as demanding an immediate and focused impeachment inquiry, as Jennifer Rubin also points out in the Washington Post. Because this week alone, the president has asked government workers to break the law to fulfill his requests, and noted that he will pardon them if they get in trouble; suggested hosting the next G-7 summit at his property (so that he can profit); and diverted funds from FEMA relief to his border fever dream. He’s also denying lifesaving medical care to immigrant children he will deport and changing citizenship rules for the children of military families born abroad. On the 25th Amendment front (meaning the “is he mentally unfit for office” front), the president has lied about his wife’s relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, garbled an answer about climate change in ways that would terrify anyone in search of a topic sentence, attacked Fox News for disloyalty, blamed Puerto Rico in advance of a hurricane for being in the path of a hurricane, and generally conducted himself in ways that bespeak grievously low functioning. This all comes on the heels of a week in which he approvingly quoted someone describing him as the second coming (a performance that would have sent most of us to the nearest psych ward), called his own economic adviser the enemy of the state, “ordered” American companies to stop investing in China, and got in a fight with Denmark over a real estate deal gone south in Greenland.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said Sunday the funding changes won't "affect our ability to respond and recover from a major disaster."
By Allan Smith
Trump administration officials said Sunday that transferring $155 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund to Immigration and Customs Enforcement won't affect the federal government's ability to respond to Hurricane Dorian, a massive storm headed for the country's east coast. As NBC News reported last week, the Department of Homeland Security notified Congress in July that to increase funding for court hearings for asylum seekers, FEMA would transfer $155 million to ICE. In an interview with ABC's "This Week," acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said "no money has been moved yet." "Any potential transfers will not impact our ability to respond to this storm or any other storms in the rest of the hurricane season," he said. "There are two different elements of the disaster recovery fund. The major disaster fund has $25 billion in it. So, a $155 million transfer from the base fund is not going to affect our ability to respond and recover from a major disaster." McAleenan said his agency "needed that funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to respond to the ongoing humanitarian and border security crisis at the border." "Congress didn't see fit to provide that funding," he added. "So we have to look at departmental sources across that have a limited impact, but will support the ongoing management of that crisis as well." Pete Gaynor, acting FEMA administrator, told "Fox News Sunday" the agency has "plenty of money and resources to deal with the 2017 and 2018 disasters and recoveries and to include response in 2019, this season." "We live with risk every day," he said, adding, "We assess that $155 million is low risk and is not affecting our preparedness whatsoever for Dorian."
By Daniel Politi
The death toll from the West Texas mass shooting Saturday remains a bit unclear but considering the widely reported figure that five people were killed would bring the number of victims of mass killings using firearms in the United States in August to 51. The numbers depend on how you define mass killings. But taking into account the Justice Department’s definition of three or more killings in a single episode, not including the gunman, would bring the number of deaths in the month to 51, according to the New York Times. Much of the death this month took place in Texas, including the Aug. 3 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso that killed 22 people.
By Bruce Haring
President Trump announced today during his regular weekend tweetstorm that he is suing former aide and The Apprentice arch-villian Omarosa Manigault Newman and unspecified others for a breach of confidentiality agreements. “Yes, I am currently suing various people for violating their confidentiality agreements,” Trump tweeted. “Disgusting and foul mouthed Omarosa is one. I gave her every break, despite the fact that she was despised by everyone, and she went for some cheap money from a book. Numerous others also!” While the President is pursuing some cases, his most recent breach, Madeleine Westerhout, will not be one of them. The former personal assistant met with reporters in what was allegedly an “off-the-record” session, but her imprudent remarks on the President and his relationships with his family found their way into the media. Politico reported that Westerhout told reporters that Trump does not appear with daughter Tiffany in pictures because she’s overweight., adding that Trump “couldn’t pick Tiffany out of a crowd.” While Westerhout “has a fully enforceable confidentiality agreement, she is a very good person and I don’t think there would ever be reason to use it,” Trump tweeted. “She called me yesterday to apologize, had a bad night. I fully understood and forgave her! I love Tiffany, doing great!” Omarosa is another story. Her book, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House, was a highly critical account of her time with Trump on television and in the White House. Trump’s campaign, Donald J. Trump For President Inc.,  filed for arbitration against Manigault Newman for allegedly breaching a 2016 confidentiality agreement. The disposition of that case has not been revealed, and it’s unclear whether that’s the lawsuit Trump referenced in his tweet today. Manigault has kept a relatively low profile since her book came out. The non-fiction account did well in its first week, then sunk, despite a huge media blitz by the talkative former aide.
The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say one woman has died and eight people have been sickened in a hazmat incident Saturday at a Northern California hotel. KTVU reports Saturday that guests of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose reported smelling a chemical odor — similar to a rotten egg —and feeling faint, light-headed and short of breath. San Jose police Officer Gina Tepoorten says authorities are investigating the death as a suicide. Tepoorten said in an email the hazmat incident is related to the woman's suicide. San Jose Fire Department Capt. Mitch Matlow says the eight people sickened are believed to be hotel employees. Several other people had minor symptoms but "have gotten better with fresh air." Matlow said at a news conference more than 100 people were evacuated from the hotel. Exposure to the unknown chemical was believed to be "very brief."
By The Associated Press
The Alaska Earthquake Center reports that a magnitude 5.0 earthquake hit southern Alaska. It was felt by people in the state's capital. Juneau.  The center says the earthquake hit at 8:32 p.m. Saturday and had an epicenter 43 miles (70 kilometers) west of Klukwan, a village of about 95 people. The earthquake had a depth of less than a mile (about 1 kilometer.) Several Juneau residents reported on social media that they felt the quake. One person tweeted: "Juneau just had an earthquake... I actually felt it. My bed was literally moving."
By ANNA GRONEWOLD
ALBANY — A potentially bitter conflict is brewing among Republicans in New York’s reddest congressional district, where incumbent Republican Rep. Chris Collins’ indictment on insider trading charges and pending trial on corruption charges has the party worried about what ought to be a shoo-in victory next year. With his case awaiting trial, a cohort of Republican Party operatives fear there will be no miracle victory next year like Collins pulled off shortly after being charged in 2018. In hopes of retaining the seat and seeing an opening, three Republicans already have announced plans to run regardless of the four-term incumbent's political future in New York’s 27th district, and more may be on the way. The Western New York district ought to be a slam dunk for any Republican. President Donald Trump carried the district by 25 points in 2016, and Collins won reelection that year with more than 67 percent of the vote. But Collins was indicted just a few months before Election Day 2018, and he wound up beating a relative unknown, Democrat Nate McMurray, for the safe Republican seat by just over 1,000 votes. He hasn't declared whether he will run for reelection. That result and the continued shadow cast over Collins’ integrity have convinced some local Republicans they need to look elsewhere if they wish to retain the seat. Collins, meanwhile, hasn't signaled he's ready to cede. A House Ethics Committee inquiry into Collins' actions is open until the conclusion of his federal district court trial, slated for February 2020 in New York City.
By Naomi Jagoda
Deutsche Bank's revelation that it has some tax returns related to President Trump has thrown a curve ball into the battle over the president’s financial documents. The bank has long been seen as a possible avenue to learn more about Trump's finances, since it provided loans to his business for many years, even when other banks would not. Deutsche Bank’s disclosure that it has tax returns confirms that Democrats have an additional route — one which some experts think is the most promising — to get tax documents that lawmakers in the party have long sought. “It shouldn’t take three years and multiple court cases to see a president’s tax returns,” Ryan Thomas, spokesman for the liberal group Stand Up America, said in an email. “But with the several lawsuits underway, these latest developments are a promising avenue to ensure that the American people get the transparency they deserve.” The House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank in April for a wide range of financial records — including tax returns — from Trump, his three oldest children, and some of his business entities. Trump, in his personal capacity, has sued to block the bank from complying with the subpoenas, and the case is currently before the federal appeals court in New York. In a letter to the appeals court on Tuesday, the bank said it has tax returns responsive to the subpoenas. The bank redacted the name or names of the individuals and entities whose tax returns it has in the public version of the letter. That disclosure confirms that Democrats’ subpoenas of Deutsche Bank could be one route — and potentially one of the fastest — to obtaining Trump's tax returns.
Another mass shooting in America has left at least seven people dead. Two dozen more people were wounded in the rampage outside Odessa, Texas — the second mass shooting in the state in a month. The alleged gunman was killed by police, bringing the total death toll from the incident to eight. The terrifying chain of events began with a traffic stop Saturday on an interstate in the heart of Texas' oil country. State troopers say the man, identified only as a white male in his 30s, pulled over for the traffic stop but then opened fire and took off. Gunshots hit one trooper in the car that made the traffic stop, after the suspect failed to signal for a turn. The gunman then ditched his car and hijacked a postal service truck, unleashing more rounds as he drove away. The gunman was eventually killed in a shootout with police outside a movie theater, but two more officers were among those left wounded. All three officers shot were said on Saturday night to be in stable condition. An FBI spokesperson told CBS News early Sunday morning that six people were killed, not including the suspect, and 24 were wounded in total. An Odessa city official later confirmed another victim had died overnight in a hospital. Five of the victims were killed in Odessa and two in neighboring Midland. The suspect died in a hospital in Midland. At least 10 victims remained in critical condition at two local hospitals. Odessa police said in a statement that the suspect fired "at innocent civilians all over" the city. The youngest victim confirmed as of Sunday morning was a 17-month-old boy. "This was a joint effort by a multitude of departments to find this animal and to bring him to justice," Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said.
By Ralph Ellis, CNN
(CNN) - A "Straight Pride" parade in downtown Boston attracted counterprotesters -- and a heavy police presence -- resulting in almost three dozen arrests. A large number of counterprotesters taunted marchers Saturday and chanted "Alt right, get off our streets, no justice, no peace." Counterprotesters outnumbered the parade participants, CNN affiliate WCVB reported. Boston's mayor also condemned the parade, and encouraged residents to attend block parties and other events that celebrated the city. Thirty-four people were arrested at the parade, said Boston Police Officer James Moccia, a department spokesman. Four officers also suffered non-life threatening injuries, he said. The parade started around noon at Copley Square and moved down Boylston and Tremont streets, ending at City Hall Plaza. Floats and signs expressed pro-military and pro-Trump sentiments, such as "Support our troops" and "Build the wall and crime will fall." A man in a jester's hat carried a sign saying "Great to be straight" as he danced down the street. "I'm outraged by the idea that straight people need a pride parade," said parade watcher Shoshanna Ehrlich, who came with her daughter. "We are not an oppressed majority by an stretch of the imagination. This is full of hate and offensive." Monica Cannon-Grant of Black Lives Matter Cambridge helped organize one of the counterprotests and said her group wanted to "stand up against hatred." "I feel like they capitalized on Boston Pride, which is our LGBTQ celebration. They used it as their next thing to hate on," she told CNN in an interview. "We chanted against hatred and we won," added Cannon-Grant, founder and CEO of Violence in Boston, a victim advocacy group.
Ginsburg completed three weeks of radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and is now disease-free.
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Saturday she's "alive" and on her way to being "very well" following radiation treatment for cancer. Ginsburg, 86, made the comments at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington. The event came a little over a week after Ginsburg disclosed that she had completed three weeks of outpatient radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and is now disease-free. It is the fourth time over the past two decades that Ginsburg, the leader of the court's liberal wing, has been treated for cancer. She had colorectal cancer in 1999, pancreatic cancer in 2009 and lung cancer surgery in December. Both liberals and conservatives watch the health of the court's oldest justice closely because it's understood the Supreme Court would shift right for decades if Republican President Donald Trump were to get the ability to nominate someone to replace her. On Saturday, Ginsburg, who came out with the book "My Own Words" in 2016, spoke to an audience of more than 4,000 at Washington's convention center. Near the beginning of an hour-long talk, her interviewer, NPR reporter Nina Totenberg, said: "Let me ask you a question that everyone here wants to ask, which is: How are you feeling? Why are you here instead of resting up for the term? And are you planning on staying in your current job?" "How am I feeling? Well, first, this audience can see that I am alive," Ginsburg said to applause and cheers. The comment was a seeming reference to the fact that when she was recuperating from lung cancer surgery earlier this year, some doubters demanded photographic proof that she was still living. Ginsburg went on to say that she was "on my way" to being "very well." As for her work on the Supreme Court, which is on its summer break and begins hearing arguments again Oct. 7, Ginsburg said she will "be prepared when the time comes."
CNN
Responding to the latest mass shooting in Odessa, Texas, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke tells CNN's Dana Bash that thoughts and prayers have done nothing to stop gun violence and that legislators need to take action.
By william mansell
The lone conviction for an undocumented immigrant whose actions resulted in the shooting death of a 32-year-old woman in 2015 has been overturned by an appellate court in California.  A jury acquitted Jose Ines Garcia-Zarate, 46, in 2017 of first degree murder, second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and assault with a semiautomatic firearm for his role in the death of Kate Steinle. Garcia-Zarate was convicted, however, on the charge of felon in possession of a firearm. During jury deliberations, jury members asked the court for the definition of possession and if there was a time requirement for possession. The defense argued during the appeal that the trial court failed to instruct the jury that it could acquit Garcia-Zarate because he only possessed the gun for a moment. On Friday, the First Appellate Court of Appeals in California, in a 3-0 decision, agreed with that defense. “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the defense, as we must, we conclude the trial court erred in failing to give the momentary possession instruction. Because the error was prejudicial, we are compelled as a matter of law to reverse,” the court’s opinion says.
Ginsburg completed three weeks of radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and is now disease-free.
By Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Saturday she's "alive" and on her way to being "very well" following radiation treatment for cancer. Ginsburg, 86, made the comments at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington. The event came a little over a week after Ginsburg disclosed that she had completed three weeks of outpatient radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and is now disease-free. It is the fourth time over the past two decades that Ginsburg, the leader of the court's liberal wing, has been treated for cancer. She had colorectal cancer in 1999, pancreatic cancer in 2009 and lung cancer surgery in December. Both liberals and conservatives watch the health of the court's oldest justice closely because it's understood the Supreme Court would shift right for decades if Republican President Donald Trump were to get the ability to nominate someone to replace her. On Saturday, Ginsburg, who came out with the book "My Own Words" in 2016, spoke to an audience of more than 4,000 at Washington's convention center. Near the beginning of an hour-long talk, her interviewer, NPR reporter Nina Totenberg, said: "Let me ask you a question that everyone here wants to ask, which is: How are you feeling? Why are you here instead of resting up for the term? And are you planning on staying in your current job?" "How am I feeling? Well, first, this audience can see that I am alive," Ginsburg said to applause and cheers. The comment was a seeming reference to the fact that when she was recuperating from lung cancer surgery earlier this year, some doubters demanded photographic proof that she was still living. Ginsburg went on to say that she was "on my way" to being "very well." As for her work on the Supreme Court, which is on its summer break and begins hearing arguments again Oct. 7, Ginsburg said she will "be prepared when the time comes."
CBS This Morning
The man imprisoned for assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy was hospitalized Saturday morning after he was stabbed by a fellow inmate. Sirhan Sirhan is serving life in prison for the 1968 assassination, which occurred after Kennedy declared victory in the California democratic presidential primary. Officials said he was attacked Friday at a correctional facility near San Diego, and that he is in stable condition.
CBS News
The brother of U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is facing multiple murder charges in Cleveland, Ohio. Police said Tevin Biles-Thomas is under arrest for a deadly shooting at a house party on New Year's Eve.
By Daniel Politi
President Donald Trump said he didn’t want to travel to Poland with Hurricane Dorian looming. So he made a last-minute decision to cancel the trip and send Vice President Mike Pence in his place. But it seems the president had other things on his mind Saturday, when Trump spent a lot of time tweeting and even traveled to his golf club in Northern Virginia for part of the day. On Saturday morning, Trump left Camp David on Marine One to travel to the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. It’s not as if the president had to leave Camp David if he had a sudden hankering for golf. But it seems the single golf hole with multiple tees at the presidential retreat wasn’t good enough for Trump and he wanted to go to one of his 18-hole courses.
By Daniel Politi
President Donald Trump refused to utter the F-word Friday but he confirmed that his once famously loyal personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, was ousted from the White House after sharing personal information about his family with reporters. “I think it was automatic,” Trump said. “I don’t say ‘fire’ or ‘not fire.’ I really think she had a bad night. I think it was unfortunate. She said she was drinking.” Trump spoke to reporters Friday afternoon shortly after Politico published a story detailing that Westerhout had been fired after she told reporters at an off-the-record dinner that Trump didn’t like to be photographed next to his daughter Tiffany because she was overweight. She also said Trump couldn’t recognize Tiffany in a crowd and claimed she had a better relationship with Trump than his own children. Westerhout also reportedly talked about Trump’s eating habits and his youngest son, Barron. Trump confirmed to reporters before departing for Camp David that Westerhout had “mentioned a couple of things about my children.” Trump chastised the press as “very dishonest,” noting that Westerhout’s words were “supposed to be off the record” although he recognized that was no excuse. “Still, you don’t say things like she said which were just a little bit hurtful to some people.” Trump also had some words of support for his daughter, Tiffany, denying what Westerhout had allegedly said. “It’s just absolutely false. She’s a wonderful person and she studies so hard. She’s a great student. She’s a great person,” Trump said. “Tiffany is great. I love Tiffany.”
Another mass shooting in America has left at least seven people dead. Two dozen more people were wounded in the rampage outside Odessa, Texas — the second mass shooting in the state in a month. The alleged gunman was killed by police, bringing the total death toll from the incident to eight. The terrifying chain of events began with a traffic stop Saturday on an interstate in the heart of Texas' oil country. State troopers say the man, identified only as a white male in his 30s, pulled over for the traffic stop but then opened fire and took off. Gunshots hit one trooper in the car that made the traffic stop, after the suspect failed to signal for a turn. The gunman then ditched his car and hijacked a postal service truck, unleashing more rounds as he drove away. The gunman was eventually killed in a shootout with police outside a movie theater, but two more officers were among those left wounded. All three officers shot were said on Saturday night to be in stable condition. An FBI spokesperson told CBS News early Sunday morning that six people were killed, not including the suspect, and 24 were wounded in total. An Odessa city official later confirmed another victim had died overnight in a hospital. Five of the victims were killed in Odessa and two in neighboring Midland. The suspect died in a hospital in Midland. At least 10 victims remained in critical condition at two local hospitals. Odessa police said in a statement that the suspect fired "at innocent civilians all over" the city. The youngest victim confirmed as of Sunday morning was a 17-month-old boy. "This was a joint effort by a multitude of departments to find this animal and to bring him to justice," Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke said. As CBS News correspondent David Begnaud reports, the shooting came just a month after a gunman in El Paso killed 22 people when he opened fire in a Walmart store. According to the Associated Press, Saturday's attack was the 25th mass shooting in the U.S. this year. That's as many as in all of 2018.
By Zack Budryk
China and the U.S. imposed their latest scheduled rounds of tariffs on one another’s imports on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. The slated 15 percent U.S. tariffs on approximately $112 billion in Chinese goods may affect consumer prices for products ranging from shoes to sporting goods, the AP noted, and may mark a turning point in how the ongoing trade war directly affects consumers. Nearly 90 percent of clothing and textiles the U.S. buys from China will also be subjected to tariffs. Up to this point, the Trump administration has largely eschewed tariffs on consumer goods, and consumer spending has remained high amid slowdowns in other economic areas such as investment spending and exports. President Trump’s economic advisors, Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro, have consistently argued the trade conflict will not or will minimally affect consumers. China, meanwhile, began applying tariffs of 5 percent to 10 percent on U.S. goods ranging from frozen sweet corn and pork liver to bicycle tires on Sunday, according to the AP. The U.S. has scheduled another round of 15 percent tariffs for Dec. 15 covering about $160 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing has vowed retaliatory tariffs that, combined with the Sunday increases, would reportedly cover $75 billion in American products should the Dec. 15 tariffs take effect. Chinese state media on Sunday knocked the U.S. for the continuing tariffs, arguing they would hurt American interests as well, according to Reuters.
By Rosa Flores, Dakin Andone, Madeline Holcombe and Amir Vera, CNN
West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN)Hurricane Dorian became an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane late Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center's latest alert is based on reports from hurricane hunter aircraft flown by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Dorian's maximum sustained wind speeds have increased to 140 mph. The storm's status means it's considered a "major" hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, capable of causing "catastrophic damage" to homes, uprooting trees, downing power lines and rendering areas uninhabitable for weeks or months. All of Florida is under a state of emergency and authorities are urging residents to stockpile a week's worth of food and supplies, with the governor warning that the storm could be a "multi-day" event. "It's going to impact the entirety of Florida, and residents need to be prepared," Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Pete Gaynor said Friday morning on CNN.
By Sonam Sheth
The push to remove President Donald Trump from office gained a critical ally this week when Rep. Ben Ray Lujan announced his support for an impeachment inquiry. Lujan is the fourth highest-ranking House Democrat and a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He is the most high-profile Democrat to back impeachment so far, and he was instrumental in getting many freshman Democrats elected, according to Politico. For that reason, his support for the measure could be the catalyst for younger, newer members of Congress to back it, too. More than half of House Democrats support impeaching or launching impeachment proceedings against Trump. Lujan is the 127th House Democrat to back it, while 108 Democrats are against it, including Pelosi and several other establishment lawmakers.
The gun group’s lawyers are trying to delay the chief executive’s grilling, according to a court document obtained by The Daily Beast.
By Betsy Woodruff
The National Rifle Association’s former ad firm has subpoenaed the gun group’s chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, for a deposition, according to a court document reviewed by The Daily Beast. Lawyers for the NRA, who filed the document in Virginia Circuit Court on Aug. 21, are seeking to postpone LaPierre’s interview. LaPierre isn’t the only senior NRA official who faces a grilling from ad firm Ackerman McQueen. According to the filing, the ad firm also wants to question the gun group’s top spokesperson, Andrew Arulanandam; Millie Hallow, assistant to the executive vice president; and the NRA’s chief financial officer, Craig Spray. It’s the latest episode of an ongoing legal brawl between the powerful but troubled gun-rights group and the ad firm that helped it sally forth into America’s culture wars. For more than three decades, there was no daylight between the two entities that was visible to outsiders. But last April, the NRA sued the firm, and within weeks, the two had parted ways. Ackerman then counter-sued the NRA, and now both entities are seeking tens of millions of dollars from the other. The NRA’s filing says that the ad firm has refused to hand over materials responsive to its own document demands because of the NRA’s outside law firm, Brewer Attorneys and Counselors. Ackerman has argued that Brewer’s firm tried to steal its business from the NRA and has asked the judge presiding over the case to limit Brewer’s access to material it shares with the NRA.
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