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US | Michigan Governor Defends Handling of Flint Water Crisis | As National Guard troops patrol Flint handing out bottled water, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder defended his handling of the crisis and defied calls for him to resign. "As soon as I became aware of elevated lead levels in blood," Snyder said on Jan. 14 in an exclusive interview with TIME at his office in Lansing, "we took action.", The crisis in the struggling industrial city of 100,000 dates to April 2014, when Flint switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in order to save money. The river water turned out to be highly corrosive to the city's pipes, leaching toxic levels of lead into water being used for drinking, cooking and bathing. Shortly after the switch, residents began complaining of discoloration in the water, bad odors and health effects like headaches and rashes. Last summer, researchers at Virginia Tech found that the water in some homes contained enough lead to be considered toxic waste. On Jan. 5, months after testing revealed the city's water supply was unsafe, Snyder declared a state of emergency. Nine days later, the governor announced that he had asked the Obama administration to designate the county surrounding Flint as a federal emergency area. What the state and its governor, a Republican who was re-elected in 2014 after helping Detroit emerge from bankruptcy, knew and when they knew it have emerged as critical questions as the crisis stretches into its 19th month. Residents and a growing number of local and national officials have accused Snyder of ignoring a public health emergency, with some calling for him to step down as a result. In an interview with TIME shortly before he announced the federal emergency request, Snyder says he first knew about potentially serious problems with the water supply on Oct. 1, 2015, when testing by state environmental officials confirmed elevated levels of lead. Pressed on whether that was the first time he became aware of any concern with Flint's water, Snyder says, "Obviously, I knew there were water issues in Flint. But did I know there were unsafe blood levels? No.", Read more Michigan Governor Sends Bottled Water to Flint, In a recently-released email from July 2015, Snyder's former chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, wrote to a state health department official that he was concerned that Flint residents believed they were getting "blown off" by state officials. Snyder says the email shows that his office was not neglecting the city, and Muchmore was "concerned that we were getting straight answers so he asked tough questions and he got answers.", Asked if he waited too long to declare a state of emergency, Snyder defended the state's response. "There was some time period where we were offering filters, we were working hard to get water. All these kind of things. But not enough of it was being accepted. Now we're to the point now where hopefully we're fully engaged and have everyone working hard to make sure everyone in Flint has access to a water filter.", Snyder did fault the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which repeatedly told Flint residents the water was safe to drink despite reports within the department that some Flint homes showed extremely high lead levels, for "being probably too technical in their interpretation of things or following a traditional pattern of doing things rather than stepping back to look at what else you might see in data.", "There were issues in terms of getting appropriate answers," Snyder tells TIME. "That was unfortunate. It would've been good to have that information sooner. And I am responsible for those people. I don't deny that.", Read more Toxic Water Isn't Just in Michigan, Flint has since stopped using the river for its water, but concern remains that the system's pipes will continue to release lead. State officials are now focused on providing water filters and drinking water to Flint residents. But protesters, who marched onto the Michigan Capitol Building Thursday, say they're going to keep the pressure on the governor, who admits that it will be a challenge to regain residents' support. "We are working hard to earn their trust back," Snyder says. "I can appreciate the concerns that they have and we're trying to work hard to show them that we really do care." |
US | The Troubling Link Between Domestic Violence and Mass Shooters | There is no explanation for a slaughter in a church. A shooter's mind is an unsolvable riddle nobody can predict which odd loner will turn out to be a sociopath, or which angry outburst presages a massacre. But in hindsight, there are often red flags, and Devin Patrick Kelley displayed plenty of them. He had mental-health problems, a history of animal cruelty and a domestic-violence conviction that should have prevented him from getting a gun. But he got one anyway. Actually, he got four. On Nov. 5, Kelley, 26, drove to First Baptist Church in tiny Sutherland Springs, Texas, where his wife's family worshipped. He fired an assault-style rifle into a congregation full of children and grandparents, killing 26 people and injuring 20 more. Survivors said he prowled the aisle looking to shoot crying babies as their mothers huddled under the pews. Among the dead a toddler, a pastor's daughter, two first-time attendees and an unborn child. It was a massacre that could never have been predicted. But perhaps it could have been prevented. Like most convicted domestic abusers, Kelley was not supposed to have access to firearms. But the Air Force acknowledged in the wake of the shooting that it appeared that Kelley's domestic-violence conviction wasn't entered into the National Crime Information Center NCIC database, which is likely why he was able to pass a background check. This was hardly an isolated error. According to a Florida International University report obtained by TIME, the military mishandled roughly 1,300 domestic-violence cases between 2004 and 2012, including misclassifications that allowed abusers to go unreported in the NCIC. "There are thousands of cases that have been misclassified," says Eric Carpenter, an associate professor at FIU and a former Army lawyer who spent years sifting through military court-martial data. "We just know about this one because Kelley decided to shoot up a church.", The problem runs deeper than poor record-keeping. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of domestic violence or subject to a domestic-violence restraining order from owning a gun. But spotty enforcement can allow abusers to fall through the cracks. While 28 states and Washington, D.C. have laws prohibiting convicted domestic batterers from buying or possessing firearms, only 14 require them to give up the guns they already own. Some laws say domestic-violence restrictions apply only to a spouse, cohabitating partner or co-parent, creating a so-called boyfriend loophole that excludes casual partners. There are three main background-check databases for reporting crimes, but states differ in how they report cases. Some states, like New York, New Mexico and Louisiana, had reported thousands of domestic-violence restraining orders to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Indices NICS Indices as of December 2016, while 33 states reported none at all. Kelley was the kind of guy who never should have passed a background check. In 2012, his then wife Tessa Kelley accused him of beating her, choking her, threatening her with a gun and hitting her infant son hard enough to break his skull. Kelley was charged with domestic violence in a military court and sent to a mental hospital in New Mexico, and then briefly escaped the facility. Former hospital staffers say he had hoarded firearms and made death threats against his military superiors, and suffered from an unspecified mental disorder. Later that year, he pleaded guilty to domestic-violence charges and spent a year in the brig before receiving a "bad conduct" discharge from the Air Force. Once out, Kelley didn't clean up his act. In 2013, the Comal County sheriff's office investigated him after a complaint of rape and sexual assault in New Braunfels, Texas, but Kelley was never charged. When he lived in Colorado in 2014, neighbors called the police after they witnessed him beating his dog he was cited for animal cruelty. That year, sheriffs responded to a domestic-violence call at Kelley's home and checked on his then girlfriend, but left without filing charges. That girlfriend, Danielle Shields, became his wife soon afterward. In recent months, Kelley's social-media accounts had grown darker. He lost his job as a security guard in July. It seemed like he was going through a romantic breakup. He posted pictures of his guns online. He sent threatening texts to his mother-in-law. It was her church in Sutherland Springs that he targeted for the massacre, in what Texas officials called a "domestic situation.", Which isn't surprising either. A majority of mass shootings between 2009 and 2016 involved domestic or family violence, according to an analysis by the gun-violence prevention group Everytown for Gun Safety. The group found that in 54 of incidents in which four or more people not including the shooter were killed with a firearm, an intimate partner or family member was among the victims. Most of those mass shootings happened in the home. But a TIME analysis of Everytown's data found that of the 46 mass shootings that took place entirely in public since 2009, 33 of the shooters had a reported history of violence against women. James Hodgkinson, who injured Republican Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana and several others when he opened fire on a congressional baseball practice in June, had been arrested in 2006 after hitting and choking his foster daughter. Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people in the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando in 2016, had abused his ex-wife. Robert Dear, who killed three people and wounded nine others when he opened fire on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015, had been accused of domestic violence by two of his ex-wives. But in scientific terms, the link remains anecdotal. Just because mass shooters are often abusers doesn't mean abusers are more likely to be mass shooters. That's why the red flags appear only in hindsight researchers lack sufficient evidence to prove the connection ahead of time. "Right now we don't have enough data to have a pattern," says Susan B. Sorenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Ortner Center on Family Violence. Gun-rights advocates use that uncertainty to argue that tougher restrictions on gun access for domestic abusers are unnecessary. But that logic doesn't hold up either. "The one thing that we know that mass shooters all have in common is that they have access to massive firepower," says Sorensen. "That's the single unifying force.", Keeping guns from domestic abusers is a rare subject on which Republicans and Democrats mostly agree. "There are enormous problems with the background-check system," says Senator John Cornyn of Texas. Republican Senator Jeff Flake is teaming up with Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich to introduce a bill that would require the military to accurately record and report domestic-violence convictions. And Republican governors in Utah, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan have taken steps to limit gun rights for domestic batterers. Experts say laws that require abusers to surrender their guns are particularly effective. States that have implemented relinquishment laws saw a 14 decline in intimate-partner gun homicides, according to researchers at Boston University and Duke University. Nobody could have predicted the latest massacre. But there are laws to prevent people like Kelley from getting a gun. If only we would enforce them. With reporting by W.J. HENNIGAN and NASH JENKINS/WASHINGTON and ABIGAIL ABRAMS/NEW YORK, |
US | BirthControl Costs Nearly Halved After Obamacare Study Finds | Average out-of-pocket spending on birth control pills and intrauterine devices IUDs have dropped significantly since the Affordable Care Act took effect, a new study finds. The study, published on Tuesday in Health Affairs by University of Pennsylvania researchers, compared contraceptive prescription claims from a large national insurer between the first six months of 2012, or before the "Obamacare" mandate took effect, and the first six months of 2013, or after Obamacare took effect. Comparing the two time periods, researchers found that consumers' average out-of-pocket spending for birth control pills fell from 32.74 to 20.37, and, for IUDs, from 262.38 to 84.30. Under the mandate, private health insurance plans are required to cover prescription contraceptives at no cost, though many women still faced costs due to insurers' failure to comply, among other reasons. "We estimate that the ACA is saving the average pill user 255 per year, and the average woman receiving an IUD is saving 248," said lead author Nora V. Becker in a statement. "Spread over an estimated 6.88 million privately insured oral contraceptive users in the United States, consumer annual contribution to spending on the pill could be reduced by almost 1.5 billion annually.", Though the report notes that it cannot definitively attribute the cost declines to Obamacare, the results are consistent with those of smaller studies that have also found sharp falls in out-of-pocket payments for contraception prescribed to privately insured women. |
US | Meet the Judge at the Center of Sheldon Adelsons Strange Deal to Buy a Newspaper | Correction appended Jan. 7, 2016, Nevada District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez is used to seeing journalists in her courtroom. A wrongful termination case brought against casino magnate and billionaire political donor Sheldon Adelson currently on her docket has been one of the city's most-watched cases for years. Yet the judge thought it surprising when she spotted a reporter from the Las Vegas Review-Journal in attendance at a decidedly mundane court proceeding in November. So she approached him. "He seemed upset because he was sitting through this very boring hearing," Gonzalez told TIME. "But he told me, The boss said I had to be here.'", Why the reporter was sent to keep tabs Gonzalez's courtroom has become one of the biggest questions in the strange saga of the recent sale of the Review-Journal, the largest newspaper in the state. On Dec. 10, the paper was acquired by a shell company backed by Adelson and his family for 140 million, far above what analysts considered its market value. For nearly a week after the sale was confirmed, Adelson resisted acknowledging the purchase, and the only name publicly connected to the shell company was Michael Schroeder, a publisher of small papers in Connecticut. Read more The One-Man Las Vegas Presidential Primary, As journalists and political observers try to make sense of Adelson's motivation for the deal and lack of transparency in announcing it, Gonzalez and the case she's presiding over have emerged as one potential motivation. On Dec. 1, a story on business court judges that was critical of Gonzalez's rulings appeared in two of Schroeder's papers, which usually keep to local issues. And while Adelson was reportedly in negotiations to buy the Review-Journal, several of the paper's journalists were ordered to monitor Gonzalez and two other Clark County judges. Gonzalez has been a matter of concern for Adelson since at least 2010, when the former head of Macau operations for Sands Corp. Adelson's gambling empire, sued the company and Adelson over his firing. During a May appearance as a witness in the case, Adelson refused to answer a question presented to him by one of the attorneys, and Gonzalez admonished him. "Sir, you need to answer the question," Gonzalez said, according to the Review-Journal. Adelson refused and described the questionconcerning whether an email sent by Adelson's secretary was sent with his knowledgeas disrespectful. "Sir, you don't get to argue with me," Gonzalez said. "You understand that?", Attorneys who have been inside Gonzalez's courtroom describe her as a fair jurist who doesn't try to curry favor with those who hold sway in America's gambling capital. They describe her as courteous and considerate, noting her habit of keeping MM's on hand for nervous witnesses. She received the support of 81 of lawyers in a biennial survey of judges conducted by the Review-Journal, and most recently has been on the district's business court circuit, which routinely includes complex commercial cases. "That's usually the assignment that goes to people who are capable of handling it," says Jeff Stempel, a professor of law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Read more Report Sheldon Adelson Was Indeed Buyer of Las Vegas Newspaper, After law school at the University of Florida, Gonzalez moved to Nevada when her then-husband got a job in the state. She gained prominence in Las Vegas legal circles for her successful defense of Southwest Gas in the PEPCON rocket plant explosion in 1988, which killed two people and injured almost 400 when it blew up 10 miles outside of the city. PEPCON sued Southwest Gas for 30 million and initially blamed the company for the blast. "She was a very well-respected litigator with a strong personality, and yet she was very good at balancing all the other different personalities that were at the firm," says Nevada District Court Judge Patrick Flanagan, who worked with Gonzalez at a local law firm in the early 1990s. "She was a very effective leader.", Since being appointed to fill a vacancy on the Clark County bench in 2004, Gonzalez has presided over cases involving shootings on the Las Vegas strip, construction boondoggles and child pornography charges. She even locked up some of Michael Jackson's belongings and memorabilia at the Las Vegas courthouse while she was trying to determine their rightful owners. But the case involving Adelson has become the most significant of her tenure. In 2010, Steven Jacobs, the former chief executive of Sands' operation in Macau, sued the company over his firing and later added Adelson as a defendant. Jacobs claims he was terminated for refusing to do business with people who may have had ties to Chinese organized crime and that Adelson asked him to secretly investigate Macau government officials. In 2012, Gonzalez fined Sands and Sands China 25,000 for an "intention to deceive" the court for failing to hand over e-mails to Jacobs and his lawyers. In early 2015, she fined Sands China 250,000 for similar violations. "Judge Gonzalez is not afraid to make unpopular decisions," says Louis Schneider, a Las Vegas defense attorney who has brought cases before Gonzalez. Schneider says in a recent case involving charges of child pornography against a police officer, for example, Gonzalez told him she wouldn't try to score political points by giving the officer a harsher sentence than was justified. "A judge that worries about re-election, they would come down hard on that case," he says. Gonzalez says she can't discuss Adelson or the sale of the Review-Journal because of the ongoing case. But she says she does try to put witnesses at ease in her courtroom, pointing to regular breaks she offers witnesses and supply of MM's. Asked whether Adelson had any candy on the stand, Gonzalez says, "I can't answer that question.", Read more House Introduces Online Gambling Bill Backed by Sheldon Adelson, A representative for the Adelson family declined to comment on Gonzalez. In a statement issued after confirming their ownership of the Review-Journal, the Adelson family pledged to "publish a newspaper that is fair, unbiased and accurate.", "Adelson may feel aggrieved by some of her rulings," says UNLV's Stempel. "But is that enough for someone to take over a newspaper? Presumably there is also a larger Adelson agenda to be more politically active.", At the Review-Journal, the staff is now tasked with covering a high-profile legal case with great consequence for its new owner. This week, the newspaper compiled new guidelines on when to disclose its new ownership in its stories, according to a series of tweets by Stephanie Grimes, a features editor there. And Schroeder, the publisher first connected to the mysterious sale, has since acknowledged that the story about business courts involving Gonzalez was written under a fake byline and relied on articles previously published elsewhere. By the first week of January, Schroeder had been removed from any management role with the Review-Journal or the shell company used to purchase it. Meanwhile, the wrongful termination suit against Adelson and his gambling empire continues. Adelson's legal team had attempted to get Gonzalez removed from the case altogether, alleging that she showed bias in her pretrial decisions. But in November, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the defense did not file the required documents, and that Gonzalez would stay on the case. |
US | Multiple People Injured by Lightning Strike After Buccaneers Game | Between five to seven people were injured by a lightning strike as the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers game ended at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, according to USA Today. It is unknown if they were hit by a direct strike or injured by a nearby bolt, however Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Tampa Fire and Rescue said it doesn't appear the people were struck by lightning, but "knocked to the ground nearby.", Tampa Fire and Rescue said at least six were being treated by paramedics, and all of the victims were taken to a local area hospital. None of the injuries are fatal, according to Auman. The injuries occurred in the parking lot at the north end of the stadium. , This article originally appeared on SportsIllustrated.com |
US | Orlando Nightclub Gunman Threatened to Strap Explosives to Hostages | The gunman who attacked an Orlando gay nightclub, leaving 49 dead on Sunday spoke to police by phone during the incident and told them he would strap explosives to hostages inside the building, according to the city's mayor. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said Wednesday that people trapped inside the building also warned family members and 911 operators that the shooter, Omar Mateen, was threatening to use bombs and an explosive vest, the New York Times reported. Law enforcement officials have not yet found evidence of any explosives in the building, according to the Times. "We had a lot of information from the inside and they independently were saying yes, the bomber is about to put on an explosive vest," Dyer said. New York Times |
US | Arizona Inmate Dies After Nearly 2 Hours in Apparently Botched Execution | Arizona death row inmate Joseph Wood gasped and struggled for breath for at least an hour on Wednesday during what is being considered another botched execution using a lethal cocktail of drugs. "The experiment using midazolam combined with hydromorphone to carry out an execution failed today in Arizona," one of Wood's attorneys, Dale Baich, said in a statement. "It took Joseph Wood two hours to die, and he gasped and struggled to breath for about an hour and forty minutes.", According to the Arizona Attorney General's office, Joseph R. Wood III, who was sentenced to death for killing his ex-girlfriend and her father in 1991, was pronounced dead at 349pm, nearly two hours after his execution commenced at 152p.m. During the execution, Wood's attorneys filed an emergency appeal in federal court claiming Wood was "gasping and snorting for more than an hour," according to the Associated Press. Baich witnessed the execution and says Arizona now joins the number of states that have "been responsible for an entirely preventable horror a bungled execution.", "We will renew our efforts to get information about the manufacturer of drugs as well as how Arizona came up with the experimental formula of drugs it used today," Baich's statement said. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issued a statement expressing concern at the time it took to execute Wood. "I directed the Department of Corrections to conduct a full review of the process," the Governor said. However, she added "Wood died in a lawful manner and by eyewitness and medical accounts he did not suffer. This is in stark comparison to the gruesome, vicious suffering that he inflicted on his two victims and the lifetime of suffering he has caused their family.", A request for comment from the Arizona Department of Corrections was not immediately returned. Wood's execution came after what Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne described as "after several days of legal maneuvering." On Tuesday, the Supreme Court lifted Wood's stay of execution following the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal's decision to postpone his death due to the mystery around the lethal injection drugs that would be used. One of the judges that issued the original stay, Judge Alex Kozinski, said in an opinion that the firing squad would likely be a better option for executions. "Eight or ten large-caliber bullets fired at close range can inflict massive damage, causing instant death every time," Kozinski said. "Sure, firing squads can be messy, but if we are willing to carry out executions, we should not shield ourselves from the reality that we are shedding human blood." |
US | Alaska to Put Free Pregnancy Tests in Bar Restrooms | The University of Alaska is leading a state-funded program to put free pregnancy tests in the bathrooms of 20 bars and restaurants across the state starting this December. The two-year, 400,000 program is designed to combat Alaska's rate of fetal alcohol syndrome, which is the highest of any state in the country, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Women of child-bearing age in Alaska are 20 percent more likely to binge drink in comparison to the national average. "This is not a strategy for the chronic alcoholic who is drinking regardless of whatever message they see," said Jody Allen Crowe, who founded a Minnesota organization that leads a similar program and is helping with the project. "This is really focused on the 50 percent of unexpected pregnancies, to find out they are pregnant as early as possible.", Republican Senator Pete Kelly, who has said before that birth control is for women who "who don't want to act responsibly," first proposed the program. Anchorage Daily News |
US | Trump Says Tariffs Will Help Americans But US Farmers Fear Theyll Be Hurt | Wall Street isn't the only place where President Donald Trump's tariffs have struck a nerve. Agricultural communities across the U.S. fear escalating trade tensions will increase prices of U.S. goods abroad and harm their business. Trump announced plans for tariffs on a slew of products from China this week with a value of at least 50 billion, the latest in a string of tariffs the White House has described as key to protecting the U.S. economy. Previous tariffs hit imported aluminum, steel, solar panels and washing machines, raising the prices for domestic consumers and causing the stock market to dip. But what worries U.S. agriculture is the threat of retaliation that could reduce demand for U.S. agricultural products. China is the greatest U.S. agricultural export market with more than 21 billion in products sent there in 2016, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I'm very concerned," says John Heisdorffer, a soybean producer from Iowa and president of the American Soybean Association. "If we lose trade to China, our neighbors to the south will be glad to take up that trade.", China has so far issued a measured response to Trump's first move with 3 billion in tariffs of its own on products including wine, fruit and pork. But the specter of more lingers on the horizon. The country has hinted that soybeans the largest U.S. agricultural export are a likely next target. That threat has led to a decline in futures for soy beans, among other products, at a time American farms are already struggling. The USDA projected last month that U.S. farm income is expected to decline nearly 7 this year. The mess over tariffs and the threat of a trade war came the same week as Trump declared on Twitter that the Administration is "delivering" for farmers. |
US | Dentist Killed in Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Tried to Heal the World With Work Treating Immigrant | Richard Gottfried, one of the 11 congregants who were killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday, was remembered by his family and those who knew him for his religious devotion and his work treating refugees and immigrants at a health clinic where he worked as a dentist. It wasn't too shocking that Gottfried was at the synagogue for services when the shooting occurred, says Susan Friedberg Kalson, the CEO of Squirrel Hill Health Center, a non-profit organization that counts immigrants and refugees among half its patients, where Gottfried worked part-time, one or two days a week. "He was very religious," she tells TIME of the 65-year-old dentist, who was a regular at services at Tree of Life's New Light Congregation. "Once I realized what was going on and heard he had not been heard from, I was not at all surprised. He was really devoted to his congregation.", That strong faith led Gottfried and his wife, Margaret Durachko, to start working part-time at the Squirrel Hill Health Center after it launched a dental practice in 2010. Gottfried was drawn to service and wanted to help anyone in need, Kalson says. The couple frequently volunteered at the free dental clinic through Catholic Charities and opened their own dental practice in 1984. The couple was just retiring from their private practice when the call to work at Squirrel Hill Medical Center came, Kalson says. "As Jews, we work to heal the world," she says. "He lived that.", Durachko, in a message sent through Kalson, said, "We have to face evil with love in response.", "Do not let his death be in vain," her message continued. "Drive out evil from your own life and help another drive it out of their life. The only way to combat evil is with love.", He was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, with a bachelor's in English literature in 1974 and a dental medicine degree in 1980. The Post-Gazette reports his hobbies included reading and golfing, and that he completed 28 of Pittsburgh's Great Races, an annual community run. Gottfried worked in the New Light congregation's leadership, even serving as president of the congregation, according to the Post-Gazette. The congregation website lists Gottfried as a contact for people who had questions about religion. Gottfried married Durachko, a practicing Roman Catholic, in 1980, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports. "I thought it was so cool that he was so strongly Jewish and she was very strongly Catholic and they were able to make it work based on the love they had for each other," Gottfried's great-nephew, Jacob Gottfried, says. For Jacob, a 16-year-old high school junior in Boca Raton, Fla. Richard Gottfried was so much more than the devoted dentist and husband he was like a father. Jacob says his great uncle stepped in to help after Jacob lost his father about seven years ago. "My dad never had siblings so he was kind of like my only uncle on my dad's side," Jacob tells TIME. "When my dad passed away, he was really supportive in that time and he was just an awesome person to talk to and be around.", Around this time, Richard Gottfried started saying the Jewish mourner's prayer, or kaddish, every day to honor Jacob's father's memory. "In Judaism, when a person dies, if you chant a prayer one time every day for nine months, they receive a better position in heaven. That was one of the things that he did for my dad that really touched me.", Gottfried last saw his great-uncle the night before the shooting took place on Saturday, during a visit to Pittsburgh with his family. He says they found out that Richard Gottfried died in the mass shooting around 9 p.m. Saturday. The rest of the family is still in shock, he says. "I was with my grandmother all day. We were checking our phones constantly," he says. "There was a lot of tears and screaming when we found out.", Kalson said everyone who worked with Gottfried at the health center is "just devastated." "He really was a father figure to many on the dental staff, especially to the younger people.", But Kalson added, the health center, "will keep doing this work with renewed dedication. That's what Rich's life was all about and the lives of everybody who perished." |
US | This Exclusive Hotel Chain Is Teaching Colleges How To Treat Students | The audience is rapt as the man in the impeccably tailored black suit describes the secrets that have made his multibillion-dollar company an international leader in customer service. They're here to find out how to do a better job of it themselves, in this case from a general manager in the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain, at whose suburban St. Louis location this three-day conference is taking place. It's common for business leaders to seek out ideas that can improve their own customer service and employee morale. But the people in this audience are in the business of something that seems far removed from high-end hotels They're college presidents and administrators, mostly from community and technical schools. The conference was organized by the Continuous Quality Improvement Network, or CQIN, a small and little-known organization that uses private-sector lessons from companies including Disney, Kimberly-Clark, Southwest Airlines, and Ritz-Carlton to improve the notoriously impersonal and bureaucratic front-office student support functions blamed for worsening the already high college dropout rate. "There's almost a confrontational relationship with students in some places," says John Politi, CQIN's executive director. Among the examples of higher education's bad customer service Registrars, financial-aid offices, and academic advisors are often spread out in separate offices open only during business hours in an era when increasing numbers of students go to school at night or on the weekends. And even when they are on duty, there can be long waits, since there's an average of only one academic advisor for every 400 students, according to the advocacy organization Complete College America. Increasing numbers of students who are the first in their families to go to college struggle to cut through this red tape and end up piling up and paying for credits they don't need. Research by the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, found that half of community-college students don't even know advising is available to them. "We're a people business," says Gayle Saunders, president of Richland Community College in Illinois and an at-large member of the CQIN executive board. "Yet we found out we had a number of places where it was easy for students to exit our colleges and maybe not ever come back.", The first hurdle to addressing this is regarding students as customers. That may seem like a minor semantic distinction but Politi says higher education wrestles mightily with it. "The customer' issue is alive and well," he says. "The mindset, particularly from faculty members, is that a customer is always right, and they will not accept the concept that the student is always right.", Jackson College President Daniel Phelan says it's possible to cater to customers without compromising students. "They are customers until the moment they walk into the classroom," Phelan says of pupils at the Mississippi school. "Then they become students.", Lee Rasch, president of Western Technical College in Wisconsin and a past president of CQIN, urges his faculty to compare students to members of a health or fitness club. "Obviously, they need to take their own responsibility for their fitness or wellness regimen," Rasch says. "But there are also things we can do that make a huge difference for the student the customer.", To Laura Helminski, a retired faculty member at Rio Salado College in Arizona who is active in CQIN, this sort hair-splitting misunderstands how many students think. "Our students say, Damn tootin' I'm a customer,'" she says. "I'm paying all this money to go here.'", It was Helminski who instructed the higher-education types at the conference to pick up their pencils after Ritz-Carlton general manager Doug Chang left the stage quipping, before he did, "You're not our usual group" and make the audacious comparison of their experiences in the elegant hotel with students' perceptions of their campuses. "'We're here to help you,'" she says, summarizing the Ritz staff's credo. "Translate that back to your own organization. You have places marked, No students.' Faculty parking only.' What kind of message does that send?", The point of all of these exercises seems stunningly self-evident that students should be at the center of what colleges do. "My boss is not the board. My boss is not the president. My boss is not the academic vice president," says Tom Thibodeau, who teaches a management philosophy called "servant leadership" at Viterbo University in Wisconsin, where many students are the children of area farmers. "My boss is a farmer.", There's a practical reason for this renewed emphasis on the consumer, says Davis Jenkins, a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center. As states cut the amount they spend on higher education, public universities and colleges have become increasingly dependent on tuition. "And the more they rely on tuition, the more they're going to have to have programs that lead somewhere, and to have programs that lead somewhere, they have to be responsive," Jenkins says. At Western Technical College, everyone who works on the president's floor of the administration building holds something akin to the daily employee lineup at Ritz-Carlton hotels. The goal is to be as prepared for problems with students or other employees as the Ritz-Carloton is for upcoming functions and arriving guests. At Richland Community College, new employees go through eight hours of training in practices modeled on principles of customer service from the Disney theme parks, including moderating their tone of voice and never considering a conversation finished until the customer is satisfied. "It's a very personal approach," says Saunders, Richland's president. "We don't let you go until we've got everything taken care of that you need.", A monthly performance scorecard the school uses to track things such as the number of students who are on track to degrees and the number getting jobs when they finish was based on a concept used by the Poudre Valley Health System in Colorado. "It's focused on measuring what we're doing and continuously trying to improve it every day," says Saunders. The presidents say these changes have lowered their number of dropouts and increased their graduation ratesdramatically, in some casesthough CQIN is only now beginning to collect statistics about this. "We are large businesses and need to be entrepreneurial, even if we are nonprofit," Saunders says. Without that urgency, Phelan says, "we're going to be less and less relevant to more and more people." |
US | San Bernardino Shooting Is Deadliest Since 2012 | A shooting in San Bernardino, California Wednesday is already the deadliest shooting in the United States since 2012. Police say at least 14 people are dead and another 17 are injured after gunmen opened fire at a center for people with developmental disabilities. That death toll is the most since 20 children and 6 adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut in December 2012. The deadliest shooting in American history occurred in 2007 when a student at Virginia Tech killed 33 people, including himself. The San Bernardino shooting comes just days after 3 people were killed in a shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood last Friday. Read Next What We Know So Far About the San Bernardino Shooting, |
US | New Orleans Mayor Defends Removing Confederate Monuments Were Correcting History | When the jazz musician Wynton Marsalis first broached the idea of removing the Confederate monuments in New Orleans to Mayor Mitch Landrieu in 2014, the mayor was skeptical. "I really rejected it, to tell you the truth," Landrieu told TIME in an interview Wednesday. But he says it soon became "painfully obvious" that several of New Orleans public monuments' commemorating Reconstruction-era white uprisings and defenders of slavery had to go. "The truth was that these monuments were put up purposefully to send a message and to be a sanitized version of the Confederacy," Landrieu says. Two-and-a-half years later, following a city council vote and a series of ongoing legal challenges, the monuments in New Orleans have started fallingand the removal has awakened the ghosts that linger in the South, where some see tributes to the Confederacy as symbols of heritage and others as reminders of hate. The latest came early Thursday morning, when a crew of workers protected by police began removing a 1911 statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Scattered protesters yelled "cowards" at the workers while supporters cheered, according to the Times-Picayune. It followed the late April removal of Liberty Monument, a granite obelisk memorializing the 1874 uprising of the Crescent City White League, which attempted to overthrow the state's Reconstructionist government. The crew tasked with the work hid their faces with cloth and covered the logos on their trucks with cardboard, while law enforcement snipers kept watch from nearby roofs. "Our history is not a game of Jenga!" one man shouted as the granite obelisk was pieced apart. Read more New Orleans Removes First of 4 Confederate Statues This is Not About Politics', Two other memorialsstatues of Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregardwill likely come down soon, and the city will be taking similar precautions to protect the workers and keep protests from turning violent. "There's no other place in the world that pays tribute and puts on a pedestal people that tried to destroy our country," Landrieu says. "It would be the equivalent of putting King George where the Washington Monument is or putting Robert E. Lee where Abraham Lincoln is.", The removal effort has received strong backing from both the mayor and the city council, as well as advocacy groups such as Take Em Down NOLA, which is pushing for the city to go beyond the four monuments slated to come down. It wants to eliminate 23 statues and hundreds of names of slaveholders and Confederate soldiers from public schools and streets. "We should not be venerating Confederates or bestowing an honor to them," says resident Malcolm Suber, a leader of the group. The city council voted in favor of Landrieu's removal proposal, 6-1, in December 2015, six months after the deadly Charleston, S.C. church massacre by white supremacist Dylann Roof. While the shooting helped galvanize public sentiment against civic displays of the Confederacy, Suber also attributes the vote to "the political maturity of the black electorate.", New Orleans today is 60 black, and it, along with many other southern cities, has seen its ranks swelled by outsiders who may not necessarily share the region's deep-rooted sense of history. In the last two decades, millions of people have moved to the South from other parts of the country, helping to shift the region's politics. "The constituency for these monuments has diluted significantly," says David Goldfield, a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who studies Confederate symbolism. "Those who want the monuments in their current position really feel that their status has been eroded.", Read more New Orleans to Remove Confederate Statues, The New Orleans monuments slated for removal were all erected between 1884 and 1915, a period when lynchings spiked and some of the most vicious Jim Crow laws were enacted. The Liberty Monument, for example, at one point had a plaque recognizing "white supremacy in the South.", To the monument's defenders, however, they represent an important link to the city's history and taking them down is equivalent to ripping out pages from a textbook. Pierre McGraw, president of the Monumental Task Committee, which has been working to keep the monuments up, says they are not symbols of white supremacy and cites a poll by Louisiana State University showing that more than 70 of the state's residents oppose their removal. His group has offered a three-point plan for keeping them in place, which includes interpretative plaques to help put the monuments in context. "When we trash our historic cultural artifacts, that doesn't serve a common good," McGraw says. "It tells me that New Orleans has lost her soul.", Landrieu says he is holding firm, even after a march organized by monument opponents led to clashes with supporters outside the Lee statue on May 7. But he acknowledges that the political climate is different from when the city council signed off on his proposal. "There was a fairly dignified bringing down of the flag in South Carolina," he says. "That didn't happen here," referring to the sometimes-violent clashes outside Lee's statue. The mayor wouldn't comment on whether the monuments will eventually be placed into a museum, only saying that the remaining two would come down "sooner rather than later.", "We're actually correcting history," he says. "Those monuments have never reflected the totality of who we are." |
US | President Obama Plans to Visit Flint | President Barack Obama is set to visit Flint, Michigan on May 4 after reading an email from a child there. Obama will travel to the city where a lead-contaminated water supply has left some 100,000 residents in crisis to "hear first-hand from Flint residents about the public health crisis, receive an in-person briefing on the federal efforts in place to help respond to the needs of the people of Flint, and deliver remarks to community members," says a White House official, according to a report by the Detroit News. Obama called a state of emergency there in January and held a meeting with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, but has yet to visit the city until reading an email from an 8-year-old resident who asked to meet with the President. "I am one of the children that is affected by this water and I've been doing my best to march in protest and to speak out for all the kids that live here in Flint," wrote Amariyanna Copeny, according to a copy of the email that was obtained by the Detroit News. Copeny requested meeting with the president while she was in Washington last month attending congressional hearings on the city's water crisis. Obama replied, letting her know that he would be paying a visit to Flint. "I am so proud of you for using your voice to speak out on behalf of the children of Flint. That's why I want you to be the first to know that I'm coming to visit Flint on May 4th," Obama wrote. "I want to make sure people like you and your family are receiving the help you need and deserve. Like you, I'll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community." |
US | Its Time to Fix Americas Aging Bridges | Commuters who cross the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington, Ky. know to expect traffic jams on the Brent Spence Bridge. Constructed in 1963, the span was built to accommodate 80,000 vehicles a day. As a critical link in the trade corridor running from Michigan to Florida, it now carries twice as many. In its age and overuse, the Brent Spence aptly reflects the overall state of bridges throughout the U.S. There are 614,000 of them, and about 40 are more than 50 years old. About 9 need significant maintenance or replacement, a figure that has steadily decreased over the past quarter-century, as governments put limited resources into bridges most at risk of collapse. The thing is, falling down isn't the only way a bridge can fail. Older spans like the Brent Spence are structurally sound but often fall short of modern safety standards, taking lives one and two at a time. To ease crowding on the Brent Spence, shoulders became driving lanes in 1986, leaving stopped motorists exposed to traffic. The span has averaged two collisions per week since 2011, up from 1.3 before, a Cincinnati Enquirer analysis found. One proposed solution, estimated to cost 2.6 billion, is to add a second span next to the existing bridge. Local planners and politicians are at odds over how to pay for such a fix. But congestion is costly as well. The bottleneck at the Brent Spence ranks as the fifth worst in the U.S. says the American Transportation Research Institute. Other studies calculate the cost of delays to commuters 9 a day in time and gas and to the 1 billion in goods that cross it daily. Harder to quantify is the feeling that we are not moving as fast as we'd like. |
US | TSA Officers Fired for Scheme to Grope Men at Denver Airport | Two Transportation Security Administration employees have been fired and two others reassigned after they allegedly set up a system to allow a male screener to pat down attractive men going through security at Denver International Airport, authorities said. The employees were not identified, and there will be no criminal charges because no victims have come forward, according to a police report. Denver Police got involved in March, after a tipster brought it to the attention of the TSA in November, which conducted an investigation and contacted police. The male screener would give a signal to a female employee when a male passenger arrived that he thought was attractive , Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News |
US | More Than 150 Florida Shooting Survivors Attended March For Our Lives Heres How It Felt for Them | Wielding handmade posters and their anger after the deadly Florida school shooting, hundreds of thousands of protesters piled into the nation's capital and other major American cities Saturday to demand an end to gun violence during the highly anticipated March For Our Lives rally. Crowds of students from across the country converged in cities like Washington, D.C. New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland to take a stand against what they believe are lax gun control laws after 17 students and faculty members were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland last month. More than 150 student survivors from Stoneman Douglas were among the demonstrators in Washington, D.C. where the crowds stretched from the foot of the U.S. Capitol to the White House, according to Jose Iglesias, a peer counselor at Stoneman Douglas. Dozens of Parkland students flew to Washington, D.C. on at least four different planes Friday. Many awoke Saturday morning from their hotel rooms bubbling with energy and optimism. "I'm feeling excited for this," said Iglesias, 17. "We're actually making changes. No one thought we could do this because we're students. We're students, but we know what we're doing. We're the generation that's going to make change.", , At the foot of the stage, where superstars like Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson performed, 16-year-old Jack Macleod stood in anticipation with seven other Parkland students and his 20-year-old sister, who had graduated from Stoneman Douglas. "We're getting people rallied up," he said. "We're all ready.", After the rally ended about 330 p.m. local time, while walking back to their hotel, Jack and his friends felt more empowered than before. "People are thinking this is the peak of the moment, and it most certainly isn't," he said. "I hope everybody's rage and energy increases exponentially from here on now. This is part of a new kind of America. We're going to be old enough to vote and then run for office.", While watching her classmates take the stage, Alyson Sheehy, a yearbook editor at Stoneman Douglas, said she felt hopeful. "The only thing going on in my mind was, we did this," she said. Several Parkland students at the march wore bright orange tags on their clothes that said 1.05 the cost they say they're each worth to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, after dividing the amount of money Rubio apparently received from the National Rifle Association by the number of total students in Florida. The NRA was portrayed as a common villain by many marchers at rallies across the country. "In the past, if the NRA didn't own the politicians, we would have seen gun reform years ago," said Janice Williams, 57, who traveled to the nation's capital from Boston. "My youngest has been out of college for two years and she's spent her entire life learning how to do lockdowns. It shouldn't be this way.", Parkland student Aalayah Eastmond, 17, said she was inspired to march in D.C. after feeling outraged and frightened about school safety. "Me, personally, I'm petrified," she said. "Nothing has changed security-wise. The fact that students can still come on campus with a knife that's petrifying.", "I'm upset that this was the turning point," she added. "The turning point should have been years ago.", , Cries for change were also heard in New York City, where demonstrators chanted, "Hey ho ho! The NRA has got to go!", "Every time someone goes on the announcements, I think it's going to be a lockdown, and it's just really scary being at school," said Julie Korgen, an 18-year-old high school senior from Montclair, N.J. "I don't want to die at school.", |
US | The Oroville Dam Crisis Highlights USs Infrastructure Failures | More than a decade ago, Ron Stork, a flood management expert and policy adviser for a California environmental group, tried to get state and federal officials to pay attention to potentially catastrophic problems at the Oroville Dam, the tallest in North America. Stork's concerns centered around an earthen spillway designed to divert water from Lake Oroville toward a nearby river if the dam's primary concrete spillway became inundated. Stork and others argued that if officials ever used the unpaved spillway, it could erode enough to compromise a 1,700-foot-long portion of the dam protecting Oroville and other towns downstream, possibly flooding them with billions of gallons of water. "It is eerily prophetic," Stork says today about the 2005 motion he authored and filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "But the pushback was, We'll never use that spillway. Don't worry. Everything's OK up there.", This weekend, officials used that earthen hillside for the first time after significant rainfall pushed Lake Oroville to record levels and led to a massive hole opening up in the primary concrete spillway nearby. Officials ordered more than 100,000 people to evacuate over concerns that the dam itself could give way but rescinded that order on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the state is working to shore up the earthen spillway with rocks and sandbags in preparation for more rainfall this week. The Oroville Dam, which has already led to 100 million in damage, may wind up being Exhibit A for those pushing for a nationwide infrastructure bill, something President Donald Trump has promised. Experts, meanwhile, point to the dam as an example of existing public works projects that lack proper maintenance and funding and only get attention when people's lives are in danger. "The Oroville Dam catastrophe is due to the fact that we in the United States have taken our eyes off of infrastructure," says Scott Myers-Lipton, a San Jose State University sociology professor and author of Rebuild America Solving the Economic Crisis Through Civic Works. In 2012, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave California a D for the condition of its levees, dams and flood-control systems, estimating at least 28 billion in needed funding over 10 years just for maintenance and replacements. That grade is the same one the ASCE gave to dams nationwide. According to the group, the average age of the country's 84,000 dams is 52 years old, almost 14,000 of which were considered "high-hazard" in 2012 while more than 4,000 were deemed "deficient.", The Oroville Dam was officially completed in 1968 to hold back Lake Oroville, the state's second-largest manmade lake, while generating hydroelectricity for nearby areas and providing water for the Northern California. When the dam was up for re-licensing in 2005, three California environmental groups the Sierra Club, the South Yuba Citizens League, and the Friends of the River, where Stork is a senior policy adviser filed a motion with the FERC citing its concerns about the dam's emergency spillway after noticing that officials didn't want to use the spillway following heavy flooding in 1997. The state's Department of Water Resources ultimately argued that the repairs were unnecessary, and federal officials agreed. Lester Snow, an official with the state's DWR during the dam's re-licensing process, told The Mercury News he didn't remember details surrounding that process while saying "The dam and the outlet structures have always done well in tests in inspections.", The Trump administration has signaled that infrastructure is one of its top priorities and reiterated that again on Tuesday. "The situation is a textbook example of why we need to pursue a major infrastructure package in Congress," said White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday. "Dams, bridges, roads and all ports around the country have fallen into disrepair. In order to prevent the next disaster, we will pursue the president's vision for overhaul of our nation's crumbling infrastructure.", Last month, the White House released a list of 50 potential projects that could be part of a nationwide infrastructure bill totaling 137 billion in investments including water, transit, highway and airport projects. Democrats, meanwhile, have proposed their own 1 trillion infrastructure bill. But the concern for some experts is that maintenance for existing infrastructure like the Oroville Dam may not get the attention they need. "We continually have these local' disasters, which leads folks to talk about that we need to invest in infrastructure," says Myers-Lipton. "And then little happens." |
US | Families of Charleston Shooting Victims Are Suing the FBI | The families of some of the victims killed in the Charleston church shooting are suing the FBI, saying that mistakes allowed Dylann Roof to buy the gun used in the massacre. Roof bought a .45-caliber handgun, which he used in the June 2015 shootings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston to kill nine people. FBI Director James Comey has promised a full review, saying that Roof should not have been able to buy the gun, the Associated Press reported. The mistake stems from a clerk entering incorrect information about Roof's arrest on a felony drug charge, which prevented an FBI examiner from finding details about Roof's arrest. Since he had previously admitted to felony drug possession, Roof should not have been allowed to buy the gun. Roof faces murder and hate crimes charges, and he is currently in jail pending trials in both state and federal court. The Justice Department has said it will seek the death penalty, Associated Press |
US | Watch the International Space Station Travel Across the Solar Eclipse | In this video, the International Space Station is seen in silhouette as it transits the sun at roughly five miles per second during the solar eclipse on Monday near Banner, Wyoming. A high speed camera, shooting at 1,500 frames per second, was used to capture the event. The total solar eclipse was sweeping across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States on Monday, from Oregon to South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent, along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. The crew on the space station is comprised of six astronauts, including NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer, and Randy Bresnik Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy and ESA European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli. |
US | Meet 13YearOld Conservative Activist CJ Pearson | CJ Pearson, a 13-year-old, has become an overnight sensation online for a video criticizing President Barack Obama for inviting clock-making high school student Ahmed Mohamed to the White House. But the conservative teen from Georgia is not new to the political spotlight. Pearson first made waves among conservative media in February with his YouTube video, "President Obama Do you really love America?" in which the middle school student with a southern twang questions the President's response to terrorism. The video has been watched more than 2 million times. "Before posting my first video, I literally rolled out of bed and spoke directly to the camera about my firm belief that this President does indeed not love America," Pearson told TIME by email. "After the success of my first video, I decided I'd keep posting videos and keep speaking up about the issues that I felt were important. I wanted to be a voice for my generation.", In his newest video, "Dear Mr. President and Ahmed," Pearson says Obama used Mohamed, a Muslim high school student, as a tool for his own agenda, and criticized the President for not extending White House invitations to the families of slain police officers or Kathryn Steinle, a San Francisco shooting victim. "Mr. President, what are your priorities here?" he asked during the monologue. "Because in all honesty, I think you're being ignorant, I think you're incompetent, and I think you don't understand reality." Pearson received media attention for his sharp tongue, along with both praise and pushback online. He acknowledged that there has been "some negativity," but said the outpouring of support he has received from conservatives has been "truly humbling.", Even before his latest video gained national attention, Pearson had been featured on Fox Friends, The Washington Times, Newsmax and USA Today all before high school. "I've always been told that if you're not receiving pushback, you're not pushing hard enough," Pearson told Fox in July. The fledgling YouTube star, whose channel has received more than 3 million views since he joined in February, gravitates toward hot-button political issues. The titles of his video posts include "CJ Pearson DESTROYS Common Core," "Hillary Clinton for Narcissist In Chief!" and "Sorry, Islam. You're not taking away my liberty!", , Pearson isn't only interested in punditry he's been involved in a number of campaigns, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, named him the national chairman of the "Teens for Ted" coalition on Sept. 8. "CJ Pearson commands a brand, following, and political message that inspires the youngest of followers to even an older generation of conservatives," said the statement announcing Pearson's leadership. Pearson says he will do "whatever it takes" to secure the youth vote for Cruz, whom he calls a "once in a lifetime candidate.", , The teen from Grovetown, Georgia has already served as student body president of Columbia Middle School, where he's currently in the eighth grade. He said his county is very conservative, so many of his classmates share his views but he sill usually tries to talk about "normal thirteen year old things.", Pearson said his parents are Democrats, who "virtually disagree with everything" he says, but they support his efforts to be involved with politics. "Discussion is tense, yet respectful," Pearson added. "They have their views. I have mine.", Pearson has plans for his political career beyond next year's election. He recently posted a photo of himself with Cruz to his Facebook page with the caption, "Presidential hopeful 2016 and Presidential hopeful 2040.", When TIME asked whether he aspires to be Commander in Chief one day, Pearson was unequivocal. "I definitely do," he wrote, "and like Donald Trump, I can assure you whatever I do as President will be YUGEEE!' haha." |
US | Threat of Obamacare Repeal Motivates Patients to Become Activists | For much of 2014, Tiffany Koehler had a nasty cough she couldn't seem to shake. Consumed by a grueling Republican primary campaign for a seat in the Wisconsin state legislature, she chalked it up to fatigue from the race. But after a series of tests in 2015, Koehler learned the real cause stage four non-Hodgkins lymphoma. At the time, Koehler had health coverage through the state insurance program BadgerCare, a program enabled by the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion although funded separately. Koehler says her insurance paid for all the necessary blood tests and chemotherapy treatments, and she's now in remission. But the American Health Care Act AHCA, the Republican plan to replace Obamacare that is scheduled for a vote in Congress Friday afternoon, could gut ACA provisions like state Medicaid expansion and the requirement that insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions. The prospect has turned Koehler into an activist against her own party, one of a growing number of grateful patients across the ideological spectrum who feel compelled to take a stand. "People like myself, survivors, we can't afford this new bill that they're proposing, because they want to remove mandated provisions about what can be covered," she says. "This is not what President Trump campaigned on. He said everyone would have insurance and it would be the best plan ever. And it's not.", Many of Koehler's fellow patient activists have little experience as political crusaders. They are survivors, like her, or current patients facing the scary thought of losing immediate care, and the spouses, parents, siblings, friends, doctors, nurses and others who love them. Their cause may be aligned with the seasoned protesters who flooded the streets for the Women's March or Black Lives Matter rallies, but their reasons are deeply and entirely personal. After Laurie Merges was laid off from her sales job in 2015, the 47-year old single mother of three wasn't sure how her son would get the treatment he needs for his Asberger's syndrome. But the family qualified for coverage under Ohio's Medicaid expansion program enabled by the ACA. Had Republican Gov. John Kasich not expanded Medicaid in 2013, her children would have been eligible but Merges wouldn't have been covered. Two months later, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. "It became not just a safety net, but a lifesaver," she says of her insurance, which has covered 16 rounds of I.V. chemotherapy, 33 rounds of radiation, and a bilateral mastectomy. "I would never in a million years be able to afford this.", Merges says she had never been the type to chant and march, but she felt the threat to her family's health gave her no choice. "I became an activist," she says. "This is not just some abstract other person, these are actual real-live people whose lives are being affected.", So she started showing up. Merges went to the Women's March in Cleveland, then to Washington D.C. with a delegation from the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network ACS-CAN. And in February, she sat down with aides to Republican Senator Rob Portman to explain what would happen to her and her children without Medicaid expansion. Those visits are part of a coordinated effort by advocacy organizations to mobilize their growing army of fledgling activists. The American Diabetes Association says more than 15,000 new patient advocates have joined their effort to prevent repeal of the ACA, while ACS-CAN counts more than 12,300 new activists since January. "If you're a patient and you're relying on a state exchange plan or you're relying on Medicaid to pay for your treatment, it's not hyperbolic to say this is life of death," says ACS-CAN strategist Erin O'Neill. "It's easy to be dismissive of a statistic. It's very hard to be dismissive of a person to their face.", Major medical groups like the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, and the Association of American Medical Colleges have come out in opposition to the bill, and the threat of repeal has prompted some medical professionals to consider running for office. But the most persuasive voices against Obamacare repeal may be the sick or recovering constituents themselves. In February, Portman joined four other Republicans from states that expanded Medicaid under the ACALisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Corey Gardner of Coloradoto publicly criticize the AHCA for creating uncertainty for those covered by expanded Medicaid. The fate of the GOP replacement bill depends on convincing two distinct groups of Republicans to support the measure More centrist Republicans, who are wary of backing a bill that the Congressional Budget estimates will cost more than Obamacare while covering fewer people, and the hard-line members of the House Freedom Caucus, who think the AHCA is too expensive and doesn't do enough to roll back federal coverage mandates. Concessions to the conservative wing are likely to further enrage the growing contingent of patient activists, many of whom confronted their representatives at combative town halls in recent months. This new activism possesses the two factors that tend to drive grassroots causes, says Marshall Ganz, a veteran organizer and senior lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government challenge and hope. In this case, he says, the challenge posed by Obamacare repeal is a"sense of imminent loss that's not theoretical, it's experiential." And the hope comes from an established pathway to action laid out by new activist groups like Indivisible, which has created a roadmap for the Trump opposition based on Tea Party tactics. "You put those two things together, you're going to get some powerful reaction," Ganz says. "You get people to act not by making something easy but by making it valuable.", The possibility of losing her health care was what motivated Arkansas resident Kati McFarland to move from griping on social media to confronting her senator in an exchange that quickly went viral. McFarland, 26, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes joint dislocations, heart issues, and chronic fainting, which requires her to use a wheelchair. Realizing that her self-described "slacktivism" wasn't amounting to much, McFarland found herself at Sen. Tom Cotton's town hall in late February, asking him to commit to replacing the ACA with an equally robust health plan. "Without the coverage for pre-existing conditions, I will die," McFarland told the Senator. "That is not hyperbole. I will die." She asked everyone at the town hall who would be impacted by the ACA repeal to stand up. Hundreds of people stood, but she could not. It was a powerful moment that quickly spread online. This week, Cotton said he would not support the AHCA if it reached the Senate in its current form, though his primary concern was that it failed to adequately address rising premiums and deductibles. No matter the outcome of the House vote, the Americans who feel the ACA has saved their lives are not sitting idly by as Congress debates a replacement. In Wisconsin, Koehler is hard at work lobbying every member of the Wisconsin delegation, including House Speaker Paul Ryan. She says she wants them to know her loyalty to fellow cancer patients outweighs party ties. "I've had so many friends who have died during their cancer fight, and I feel like I owe it to them," she says. "People get sick, people need to have all the tools available to fight. This is not the time to play politics.", , Correction An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted Harvard lecturer Marshall Ganz. He says anti-Trump activists are driven by a feeling that their efforts are "valuable," not "plausible." |
US | The 25 Most Instagrammed Summer Vacation Spots | For many Americans, Memorial Day weekend is a chance to squeeze in a quick trip to the beach or soak up a little culture in the big city. Since the long weekend is the unofficial start of summer vacation, TIME decided to take a look at which places in the U.S. saw the most travel-related Instagram activity. While thousands of users did flee for the coastline, a good many more flocked to major U.S. cities like New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angelesthough in the latter case, some beachgoers may have tagged themselves as being in L.A. while others were more specific with tagging themselves at Venice Beach or the like. Curiously, in spite of the long flight, quite a bit of activity shows up across the major Hawaiian islands. Among continental beaches, those in driving distance to major cities saw the most activity, with spots like Miami Beach and Virginia Beach drawing large crowds. South Carolina and the Florida panhandle were also particularly popular. Methodology, It's not possible to know for sure that every tagged photo is from a person on vacation. To get the best results, TIME started by analyzing all geotagged photos in the U.S. with the tag "vacation," then examined which other tags were commonly associated with them. That led us to "travel," "travelgram," "ocean" and "beach." |
US | Hawaii Police Wont Get to Have Sex With Prostitutes Anymore | Cops in Hawaii working prostitution busts can't have sex with their targets anymore. Police in The Aloha State signaled this week that they're willing to drop their objections to nixing a bizarre exemption to state law that allows officers to have sex with prostitutes in the course of investigations. The law was put in place in the 1970s to protect police from prosecution after undercover prostitution stings, but concerns that police may be abusing the exemption and raping prostitutes had advocates lobbying for a change. After a heated debate over the necessity of the law made national news late last week, supporters of the exemption agreed to throw in the towel on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. "I suppose that in retrospect the police probably feel somewhat embarrassed about this whole situation," State Sen. Clayton Hee told the AP. "But, thankfully, the issue has been brought to light and the behavior has been addressed. Though police only need verbal confirmation of a transaction in order to arrest a prostitute, law enforcement officials testified to the state House Judiciary Committee last month that if the exemption were removed, it would give criminals knowledge of what the police could and could not do. Officials said that prostitutes would try to "cop check" potential Johns by forcing themselves on the officers sexually, expecting that cops would not be able to go through with a sexual encounter. But advocates scoffed at that claim. "Not one of the prostitutes I've spoken with has ever cop checked, which was the term that was used in testimony by both the prosecutors' office and the Honolulu police" said Kathryn Xian, who founded the Pacifica Alliance to Stop Slavery and helped draft the new legislation. Teresa Bell, a Honolulu police spokeswoman, told TIME that she had never heard of the term "cop checking"a term used by department officials in public testimony. "To my knowledge, in recent memory I have not seen any complaints," Bell said when asked if there have been any complaints that police are abusing the exemption. The department has its own rules prohibiting police from having sex with prostitutes, but Bell wouldn't comment on allegations those rules are flouted. Xian and other advocates are adamant that police have abused the exemption. At a state Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, a criminal defense attorney testified that his client was raped three times by police before being arrested for prostitution. Xian said that while complaints can be filed against police officers, prostitutes are scared to do so because of possible retribution. "And the only way you can verify it is by wordhe said, she said," Xian added. "These investigations are not recorded, and they sued to be in order to safeguard against such violations.", State Rep. Karl Rhodes, who chairs the state House Judiciary Committee, said there was no testimony of such abuse when the House agreed to remove language ending the exemption from a larger prostitution crackdown bill in February. "The police testimony was that they had rules in place to deal with such situations," he said. Rhodes said he never would have supported keeping the exemption in place had he known of alleged abuses. Now both the House and the Senate are likely to pass new legislation ending the exemption. It's unclear exactly when lawmakers will vote on the change, but it's expected by May. "Maybe my confidence was misplaced, but I find it hard to believe that their internal rules would allow for the things that are being alleged at this point," Rhodes said. "But if the police are abusing the discretion Hawaii state law has given thsem for the last 25 years, I'll be the first one to say we need to take it away The general trend of the law here in Hawaii with my support has been to punish johns and pimps more, not prostitutes.", Hee said he was working quickly to remove the exemption after hearing testimony about its abuses. "The reason prostitution is illegal is because it's sex for sale," Hee told TIME. "So it's baffling to me how they're trying to make a connection between the sale of sex and penetration for penetration's sake.", The exemption seemed inevitably doomed after last week's testimony and national headlines. Few states have such laws, and Michigan appears to be the only one with a similar exemption. "We've moved way beyond the idea that targeting and successfully locking up those who engage in prostitution is an efficient or effective means of promoting public safety," said Andy Harris, an associate professor in criminal justice at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, noting an increased focus on combating the demand side of the sex trade. "In most cases, all we are doing is creating a revolving door between the courts, our jails, and the streets and doing little to address the underlying reasons why these women are on the streets in the first place," Harris said. "The idea that providing police with this tool to gather evidence' will in any way address the core problems of human trafficking and sexual exploitation seems quite absurd." |
US | These Are the Healthiest and Unhealthiest States in the US | The 50 states of the U.S. might be united, but they differ vastly when it comes to health, according to a new report. The 2017 America's Health Rankings, a study conducted by the United Health Foundation, based its findings for the healthiest states on a number of factors, including rates of smoking, obesity, infant mortality and infectious diseases in addition to the availability of health care providers and levels of air pollution. "This year, the report reveals that the nation is facing serious public health challenges, including rising rates of premature death and an uneven concentration of key health care providers," the report reads. United Health Foundation says it releases its annual report in order to help local, state and national policy-makers, public health officials and researchers improve health care. There have been success stories, though. Florida No. 32 rose significantly in the rankings for most health states this year. But Issues continue to plague the country nationally, however, such as infant mortality and low birth weight. Premature death, defined as deaths before the age of 75, in addition to cardiovascular and drug deaths are on the rise as well. 1. Massachusetts, This year marks the first that Massachusetts has held the distinction as the healthiest state in America. The top ranking previously went to Hawaii in recent years. 2. Hawaii, Hawaii held the top spot in the healthiest states list for the last five years, but has finally been bumped into second place. 3. Vermont, Vermont has made remarkable improvement over the last 25-plus years, leaping from 30th in 1990 the inception of the rankings to third in 2017. 4. Utah, Utah made one of the biggest improvements in this year's healthy states ranking, rising four spots from 2016. 5. Connecticut, Connecticut's strong ranking is boosted by the availability of primary care physicians, with more than 200 per 100,000 people. 1. Mississippi, Mississippi and Louisiana, in particular, have major health challenges, such as high levels of smoking, obesity and children in poverty, according to the study, 2. Louisiana, Louisiana also saw its rate of drug deaths increase from 13.7 to 17.7 deaths per 100,000 people over the past five years. 3. Arkansas, Arkansas has a significant gap when it comes to primary physician care. The state has less than 100 per 100,000 people half the number is top-ranked states. 4. Alabama, Alabama is not helped by its lack of mental health providers. The state has the lowest concentration in the entire country at a rate of 85 per 100,000 residents. 5. West Virginia, West Virginia crept into the five least healthy states in 2017, replacing Oklahoma, which now ranks as No. 43. |
US | A Trio Stole a Live Shark From a San Antonio Aquarium by Disguising It as a Baby | A trio of thieves stole a live shark from a Texas aquarium on Saturday, disguising the 1.5-foot predator as a baby and wheeling it out of the premises on a stroller. In what appeared to be a premeditated heist, two men and one woman approached the open tank at the San Antonio Aquarium and fished out a horn shark, KSAT TV reports. One man held the tail of the shark, while the other two suspects wrapped a wet blanket around it, according to Leon Valley Police Chief Joseph Salvaggio. The suspects took the fish into a backroom, put it into a bucket containing a bleach solution and then put the bucket into a stroller. An employee witnessed these bizarre antics and immediately told aquarium managers. When police were alerted, they were stupefied. "When we first got the call, we thought it was kind of a hoax being that it was Shark Week last week," Salvaggio said. "But it turns out someone actually went inside the aquarium there in Leon Valley and stole a horn shark.", Aquarium general manager Jenny Spellman told KSAT TV she went to the parking lot to confront the trio about the shark theft. One of the men insisted his son was sick and that he needed to leave immediately. He drove away without the other man or the woman involved in the shark-snatching. The San Antonio Police Department told FOX7 on Monday one suspect was apprehended and officers are working on a warrant to retrieve the pilfered shark. The suspect reportedly said the fish is being held in a 900 gallon tank. Salvaggio said he's not sure the shark will make it through the ordeal. "We'll be surprised if the shark survives. We sure hope it does, but being outside of that environment that it's made to be in the warm water, the salt water there's a good chance it won't make it," he said. The suspects may face felony theft charges once caught. |
US | ATampT Dials Up DirecTv | Here are the stories TIME is watching this Monday, May 19, The Brief is published daily on weekdays. |
US | Watch Iconic Protester Ieshia Evans Get Arrested in Baton Rouge | A viral photo of a woman being arrested while protesting police brutality in Baton Rouge, La. on Saturday has become an iconic portrait of the national debate over racial disparities in policing. The woman, who has since been identified as Ieshia Evans, stands still, her arms crossed, while two officers in riot gear rush toward her. This video, made from a series of photos, depicts her arrest. "You can take images of plenty of people getting arrested, but I think this one speaks more to the movement and what the demonstrators are trying to accomplish here in Baton Rouge," said photographer Jonathan Bachman in an interview with BuzzFeed. He took the photo while on assignment for Reuters, and he described the interaction as peaceful. Hundreds of protesters were arrested in Baton Rouge during the weekend, as they protested the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police officers. |
US | Broker Refuses to Auction Off George Zimmermans Gun | Gunbroker.com, the site where George Zimmerman planned to auction off the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin, said in a Thursday statement that it had rejected the listing. The site said it wants "no part" in the listing or any publicity associated with it. Its sale notices are written and posted by its users, so Gunbroker.com was not associated with the auction and refused to sell the gun on its site, the statement said. Zimmerman's post was removed from the site earlier on Thursday, before the auction was scheduled to begin. "Mr. Zimmerman never contacted anyone at GunBroker.com prior to or after the listing was created and no one at GunBroker.com has any relationship with Zimmerman," the statement said. "Our site rules state that we reserve the right to reject listings at our sole discretion, and have done so with the Zimmerman listing.", Zimmerman, in texts to the Orlando Sentinel, said he would use Unitedgungroup.com to sell the gun instead, presenting the reasons for not using Gunbroker.com in a different light. "Gunbroker.com wasn't prepared for the traffic and publicity surrounding the auction of my firearm," Zimmerman texted. "It has now been placed with another auction house." The starting bid for his 9mm gun is 5,000 on Unitedgungroup.com. In 2012, Zimmerman shot and killed Martin, an unarmed Florida teen. He was acquitted of murder charges the next year. |
US | Matt Lauer Fired From NBCs Today Show After Complaint of Inappropriate Sexual Behavior | Matt Lauer, one of the most prominent names in television, has been fired by NBC after more than two decades as anchor of the Today show following accusations of sexual misconduct. The network had confirmed that Lauer's abrupt termination stems from "inappropriate sexual behavior" against another NBC employee dating back to the 2014 Sochi Olympic games. Lauer has thus far not commented on the allegations. Lauer's co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie, held back tears as she announced Lauer's firing and read a statement from Andrew Lack, the chairman of NBC News, at the very top of Wednesday's show. "Dear colleagues, on Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. "While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.", , After reading the statement, Guthrie said, "I'm heartbroken for the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story. "How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they've behaved badly?", Lauer, who first began filling in on Today in 1992 and took over as co-anchor in 1997, has been a fixture on TV, anchoring what was for many years the most popular morning show in America with a mix of levity when needed he often dressed in drag for the show's annual Halloween broadcast and serious news acumen. He interviewed presidents and the biggest celebrities and newsmakers of the day. He is the latest major public figure to be accused of sexual misconduct in a wave of revelations that have been made public since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke last month. Charlie Rose was fired from CBS This Morning on Nov. 21 after eight women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment. , Following the announcement, President Donald Trump, who has been interviewed by Lauer multiple times, tweeted, "Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.' ", He then went on to say that the top executives of NBC and parent company Comcast should be fired for "putting out so much Fake News." |
US | Harvard Law School Cited for Inadequate Response to Sexual Harassment Complaints | Harvard Law School failed to provide a "prompt and equitable response" to complaints of sexual harassment and assault, the U.S. Department of Education has found. The lapse violated Title IX, a law that bans gender discrimination at organizations that receive federal funding. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights found that Harvard failed to properly respond to two student complaints of sexual assault in particular. In one case, Harvard Law School officials took more than a year to rule on a student's complaint and did not let the student participate in the drawn-out appeals process in that case, officials decided to reverse an initial decision to dismiss the student accused of sexual assault. The Department of Education did not release further details about the students or people accused of sexual assault. Since the Office of Civil Rights began its investigation, Harvard has revised its procedures for conducting sexual assault investigations and named a Title IX coordinator. Under the terms of the resolution, Harvard must also review complaints filed since 2012 to ensure that they complied with Title IX, provide information sessions to students on their rights in sexual harassment complaints and conduct annual "climate assessments" to determine whether the Law School's steps are effective in assuring adherence to Title IX. The action against Harvard comes amid a larger crackdown on colleges to compel them to better respond to allegations of sexual assault. In October the Office for Civil Rights said it was investigating 85 colleges due to concerns for how they handle sexual assault cases. Among the schools still being investigated is Harvard College, the undergraduate arm of Harvard University. |
US | The Persistent Passion of Vice President Mike Pence | Like everyone else in official Washington, Vice President Mike Pence sometimes struggles to keep track of what is happening inside the White House. So he knew people would be closely watching when he traveled north on May 20 to deliver a commencement address for graduates of Pennsylvania's Grove City College, a devoutly Christian school where chapel attendance is mandatory and federal student aid is rejected, freeing the institution to ignore nondiscrimination laws. "Servant leadership, not selfish ambition, must be the animating force of the career that lies before you," Pence told the graduates. The words were cribbed from his evangelical beliefs, but they also described the mission that Pence has adopted for himself, as the only person in President Donald Trump's West Wing orbit who cannot be fired. "Don't fear criticism," the Vice President continued. "Have the humility to listen to it. Learn from it. And most importantly, push through it. Persistence is the key.", Persistence in the face of criticism has been a central tenet of the 10 months Pence has spent at Trump's side. He wields incredible influence within the Administration and has leveraged his deep relationships in town to help the President, guiding him through much of the haggling over a left-for-dead Obamacare replacement in the House and helping steer a number of executive moves that were cheered by groups that oppose abortion and promote Christian education. It hasn't all been smooth. At least twice, he has allowed himself to be dispatched to dispute stories with facts that are later shown to be incomplete at best. He wrongly trusted National Security Adviser Mike Flynn's denial that he had been in touch with his Russian counterparts. Pence was later left out to dry when he tried to defend the President's decision to can FBI Director James Comey. The risk for Pence is that standing too close to Trump could hobble his political future. The Vice President is 57 years old, and his advisers doubt this is his last role in public life, even as they rightly cast talk of Trump's impeachment or resignation as far-fetched. In fact, they recently helped him start a political action committee to help him boost his profile. "He needs to get a leftover tightrope from Ringling Bros. because that's what he has to walkbetween being a good soldier, helping fight for the President and his agenda, while also keeping his distance from the whole Russia mess," said Michael Steel, a Republican strategist and former top spokesman to then House Speaker John Boehner. To date, Pence has followed the advice he offered the graduates, hunkering down, reaffirming his loyalty and modesty, serving the man who elevated him from the Indiana governor's mansion to the White House. His advisers say the public embarrassments haven't registered with voters, especially Trump's loyal supporters. Nor have the stumbles made Pence any less in demand. Though he did not travel overseas with the President, he is often Trump's companion back home, sharing meals with the President and spending hours in the Oval Office. Lobbyists who want to meet with Pence find it wise to clear several hours to fit in a 10-minute chat, since there is always a good chance Trump will ask him to an unscheduled meeting or photo op. So they wait on the red couches in the White House lobby or the gold-and-blue armchairs in Pence's West Wing suite, believing that the inconvenience is worth it. Pence very much needs to stay in the President's good graces in order to speak on his behalf. In recent weeks alone, he has been trying to cajole the House to take up a White Housebacked version of tax reform, pushing the Senate to take the next steps to scrap Obamacare and leaning on the entire Congress to make good on the promise to pass an actual, honest-to-goodness budget that does more than punt hard choices to the next fiscal year. Amid it all, he is on his cell phone with lawmakers who want to check in on this parochial issue or that, knowing Pence will always take the call from friends, old and new alike. It keeps Pence busy, as well as focused on what is possible. Fighting with Trump is seldom a wise course, and you don't change a 70-year-old man. Trying to settle scores in this leak-prone White House is a losing proposition. So Pence dutifully pads to the end of the hallway when called, makes one turn and finds himself in the Oval showroom where the President entertains guests during freewheeling conversations that drive schedulers and political advisers bonkers. Pence is happy to take his spot in the gallery to watch the performance, a loyal and selfless servant with the goal in his sights. |
US | Supreme Court to Determine Workplace Pregnancy Protections for MomsToBe | Should a pregnant worker have the right to workplace accommodations, such as a chair to sit on as she works a cash register or more frequent bathroom breaks during her job as a call center operator?, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was supposed to make the answers to those questionsin both instancescrystal clear. Congress passed it to overturn the Supreme Court's 1976 decision that pregnancy discrimination is not sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But over the years, employers have reached differing conclusions about how the Act's language should be interpretedspecifically the line that says employers must treat pregnant women the same as "other persons not so affected by pregnancy but similar in their ability or inability to work." Some companies have read that phrase to mean that they must meet the needs of pregnant women the same as they would meet the needs of any other worker who's similarly physically restricted. But other employers believe that so long as their policies are pregnancy-neutralwhich often means considering pregnancy the same way they would an off-the-job injury that garners no special treatmentthey're in the clear. United Parcel Service abided by the latter interpretation in 2006, when it denied former truck driver Peggy Young's request for light duty during her pregnancy, which forced her into unpaid leave. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear Young's case and ultimately rule on what accommodations employers must make under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a decision that could touchthe lives of the 68 million working women in the U.S. and the 62 of new moms in the last year who were part of the workforce. "This case is of particular importance because so many working women are now working well into their pregnancy," says Katherine Kimpel, a lawyer at Sanford Heisler who specializes in gender and race discrimination and who filed an amicus brief in the case supporting Young. In the U.S. 65 of working, first-time mothers stayed on the job into their last month of their pregnancy, Kimpel says. Among full-time workers, that figure surges to 87. All the while, pregnancy discrimination cases are on the rise. In fiscal year 2013, 5,342 pregnancy discrimination charges were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions and state and local Fair Employment Practices agencies, up from 3,900 in 1997. "For those reasons, how employers think about accommodating pregnancy really matters," Kimpel says. Peggy Young started working for UPS in 1999 in 2002, she took on a part-time role as a truck driver, picking up air shipments. Four years later, she took a leave of absence to receive in vitro fertilization. When she became pregnant and a midwife instructed her not to lift packages over 20 pounds, Young asked to return to UPS to do either light duty or her regular job as a truck driver, which seldom required her to lift heavy boxes. According to Young's Supreme Court petition, her manager told her that UPS offered light duty to workers who sustained on-the-job injuries, employees with ailments covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act, and those who had lost Department of Transportation certification because of physical aliments like sleep apnea notthe manager saidto pregnant workers. UPS wouldn't allow Young to return to her former role either since her lifting restriction made her a liability. As a result, Young was required to go on extended, unpaid leave, during which she lost her medical coverage. Young sued UPS in October 2008 for allegedly violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act since the company failed to provide Young with the same accommodations it gave to employees who were not pregnant but equally unable to work. Young has lost the two previous rulings in the case. A district court decided in February 2011 that UPS's decision not to accommodate Young was "gender-neutral" and ruled in the company's favor. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed that decision, ruling UPS had established a "pregnancy-blind policy.", Since the Supreme Court decided to hear the case in July, UPS has announced changes to its policy for pregnant workers. Next year, it will offer temporary light duty to pregnant workers who need it. Despite that reversal, UPS maintains that its denial of Young's light duty request was lawful at the time and that its policy change is voluntary and not required by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The Chamber of Commerce filed an amicus brief supporting UPS, calling attention to companies that offer pregnant employees "more than what federal law compels them to provide.", Young, meanwhile, has received support from across the political spectrum. Pro-life organizations as well as groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have filed briefs backing Young and calling on the high court to rule in favor of workplace accommodations for expecting mothers. The justices will hear Young's case nearly six months after the EEOC issued new guidelines to employers on how to treat pregnant workers amid the increase in bias complaints. "There are lots of women like Peggy Young who need temporary changes at work during pregnancy and too often, even if employers are routinely accommodating disabled workers, pregnant workers are pushed out to unpaid leave or fired," says Emily Martin, vice president and general counsel of National Women's Law Center. "This case is really about whether pregnant women will continue to be asked to make the impossible choice between their jobs and their health.", This article originally appeared on Fortune.com |
US | Dylann Roof Expected to Face Federal Hate Crime Charges | Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old accused of shooting and killing nine black South Carolina churchgoers last month, was indicted on dozens of federal charges, including hate crime charges, the Department of Justice DOJ said Wednesday. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a press conference that Roof's crime was racially motivated and intended to obstruct the free practice of religion. "To carry out these twin goals of fanning racial flames and exacting revenge, Roof further decided to seek out and murder African Americans because of their race," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a press conference. "An essential element, however, of his plan was to find his victims in a church.", Some of the 33 charges carry the possibility of the death penalty, but Lynch said her department hadn't decided whether to pursue such a punishment. DOJ will decide after consulting with other families making other considerations, said Lynch. Roof has already been charged with nine counts of murder at the state level and could face the death penalty on those charge as well. The federal indictment did not come as surprise. The U.S. Department of Justice DOJ opened a hate crime investigation shortly after the shooting, and officials previously suggested that the massacre would meet standards for a hate crime. Roof appears to have maintained a website with an anti-black manifesto. He was seen in several photos holding the Confederate flag and other symbols associated with hate groups. Asked whether DOJ had considered domestic terrorism charges, Lynch said called hate crimes "the original domestic terrorism." In the wake of the shooting, many said that Roof's crime should be called an act of terrorism. Roof, a white South Carolina native, opened fire on a Bible study group at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston on June 17. |
US | Health Officials Are Urging Vaccinations Amid a Measles Outbreak in the Northwest | VANCOUVER, Wash. Public health officials scrambling to contain a measles outbreak in the U.S. Northwest warned people to vaccinate their children Monday and worried that it could take months to contain the highly contagious viral illness due to a lower-than-normal vaccination rate at the epicenter of the crisis. The outbreak near Portland has sickened 35 people in Oregon and Washington since Jan. 1, with 11 more cases suspected. Most of the patients are children under 10, and one child has been hospitalized. Health officials say the outbreak is a textbook example of why it's critical to vaccinate against measles, which was eradicated in the U.S. after the vaccine was introduced in 1963. In recent years, however, the viral illness has popped up again from New York to California and sickened hundreds. Clark County, Washington, has a vaccination rate of 78 percent, well below the level necessary to protect those with compromised immune systems or who can't get vaccinated because of medical issues or because they are too young. Misinformation is circulating on social media, said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County public health director. "What keeps me up at night is eventually having a child die from this completely preventable situation," he said. "It's still out there, even though it's been debunked, that the measles vaccine results in autism. That's nonsense.", Before mass vaccination, 400 to 500 people in the United States died of the measles every year, 50,000 people were hospitalized and 4,000 people developed brain swelling that can cause deafness, Melnick said. One to three cases out of every 1,000 are fatal, he said. People may have been exposed to the disease at about four dozen locations, including Portland International Airport and a Portland Trail Blazers game, officials said. They announced Monday that others could have been infected at the popular Oregon Museum of Science Industry in Portland and a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the bedroom community of Vancouver, Washington. Thirty-one of the confirmed patients had not been vaccinated against measles. The vaccination status of four others who were infected is unknown. The vaccine has been part of routine childhood shots for decades, and measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. But measles is still a big problem in other parts of the world, and travelers infected abroad can bring the virus back and spread it, causing periodic outbreaks. Last year, there were 17 outbreaks and about 350 cases of measles in the U.S. Officials still are not sure where the Northwest outbreak began. The first known patient sought medical care on Dec. 31, but it isn't known if other people may have gotten sick before that and did not seek treatment. Children receive the first vaccine between 12 and 15 months old and the second vaccine between ages 4 and 6. One vaccine provides 93 percent immunity from measles, and two shots provide 97 percent protection. But the vaccine is less effective in those under a year old and is generally not given to infants. Jocelyn Smith is terrified her youngest son, who is 11 months, will get measles. They live in Camas, Washington, where at least one infected person spent time while contagious. Smith has an appointment to get her son vaccinated as soon as he's eligible the day after he turns 1. "I haven't taken the baby in public for 10 days. I'm just so scared," she said. "Everybody's staying inside.", The virus, spread by coughing or sneezing, can remain in the air for up to two hours in an isolated space. Ninety percent of people exposed to measles who have not been vaccinated will get it, health officials said. Those who may have been exposed should watch for early symptoms of high fever, malaise and red eyes, followed by a rash that starts on the head and moves down the body. |
US | Behind the Video of Eric Garners Deadly Confrontation With New York Police | Updated July 23, 2014, On July 17, Ramsey Orta was talking to his friend, Eric Garner, about where to eat dinner Friday's, maybe, or Applebee's. They eventually decided on Buffalo Wild Wings, but Garner never made it. Soon, a fight broke out nearby, Orta says, and after Garner helped break it up, New York Police Department officers on the scene accused Garner of selling untaxed cigarettes and attempted to arrest him. Garner, a 43-year-old father of six who was unarmed at the time, argued with the officers about why he was being targeted. To corral Garner, one officer used what appeared to be a chokehold, a technique banned by the NYPD. Several others helped drag him to the ground. Garner, who had a history of health problems, died soon after. Orta recorded the incident on his phone and the video has helped turn the fatal encounter from a local tragedy into a national debate over the use of force by police. Orta, 22, says he's known Garner for several years and called him "the neighborhood dad." Orta's video shows what appears to be one officer pressing Garner's face into the sidewalk as other officers attempt to subdue him. On the ground, Garner can be heard repeatedly saying "I can't breathe.", "I felt like they treated him wrong even after the fact that they had him contained," Orta says. Since Orta's video became public after being published by the New York Daily News, the officer who grabbed Garner by the neck, Daniel Pantaleo, was ordered to turn in his badge and gun another was reassigned to desk duty. The four emergency medical workers who responded to the scene have also been suspended without pay. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was "very troubled" by the footage, and both prosecutors and the NYPD are investigating the incident. Patrick J. Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, criticized the department's response as "a completely unwarranted, kneejerk reaction for political reasons and nothing more.", Orta recorded another violent arrest at the same location in Staten Island a week earlier. He says officers have harassed him since the Garner video became public, but he says he isn't likely to put his camera away if something happens in his Staten Island neighborhood again. "It just gives me more power to not be afraid to pull out my camera anytime," he says. "Even if they're pushing me back, I might just like keep going forward and if I get arrested, hey, I got something on camera.", Video reported by Paul Moakley, edited by Raymond Chu, |
US | Chinese Nationals Accused of Vast SAT Cheating Conspiracy | A group of 15 Chinese nationals are accused of orchestrating a vast conspiracy to help foreign students cheat on standardized college entrance exams administered in the U.S. in what appears to be one of the more brazen testing-related scandals in the past decade, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday. For the past four years, the defendants provided counterfeit Chinese passports to impostors, who then sneaked into testing centers, mostly in western Pennsylvania, where they took the Scholastic Aptitude Test SAT, the Graduate Record Examination GRE, or the Test of English as a Foreign Language TOEFL, while claiming to be someone else, according to the indictment. It's unclear how many students used these fraudulent test scores to gain admission to American colleges and universities, and to therefore illegally obtain F1 Student Visas. "These students were not only cheating their way into the university, they were also cheating their way through our nation's immigration system," said special agent John Kelleghan of Homeland Security Investigations in Philadelphia. "HSI will continue to protect our nation's borders and work with our federal law enforcement partners to seek out those committing transnational crimes and bring them to justice.", A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh issued an indictment on May 21 on 35 charges, including conspiracy, counterfeiting foreign passports, and defrauding the Educational Testing Services ETS and the College Board, according to U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton for the Western District of Pennsylvania. If the defendants are found guilty, they face a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. |
US | Cindy McCain Apologizes After Erroneously Claiming She Stopped Human Trafficking Incident at Airport | PHOENIX Cindy McCain is apologizing after inaccurately claiming that she stopped human trafficking at the Phoenix airport when she reported a toddler with a woman of a different ethnicity and "something didn't click.", The widow of former U.S. Sen. John McCain told stunned radio hosts that the woman was waiting for a man who bought the child to get off a plane. "I came in from a trip I'd been on," McCain said on Phoenix radio station KTAR. "I spotted it looked odd it was a woman of a different ethnicity than the child, this little toddler she had. Something didn't click with me. I tell people trust your gut.' I went over to the police and I told them what I thought, and they went over and questioned her, and by God she was trafficking that kid.", McCain was discussing trafficking at the Super Bowl in Atlanta, which she said attracts sophisticated traffickers who sell women and children for sex. She urged people to speak up if they see something odd. Phoenix Police Sgt. Armando Carbajal confirmed McCain requested a welfare check on a child at the airport on Jan. 30, but said "officers determined there was no evidence of criminal conduct or child endangerment.", Later, McCain, who adopted a daughter from Bangladesh, said on Twitter that she reported an incident she thought was trafficking. "I commend the police officers for their diligence," she wrote. "I apologize if anything else I have said on this matter distracts from if you see something, say something.'", McCain is an outspoken advocate for preventing human trafficking. She's co-chair of the Arizona Human Trafficking Council, which recommends ways to end exploitation, and trafficking is a focus for the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University. |
US | All the Ways Darren Wilson Described Being Afraid of Michael Brown | Police officers in Missouri, as in most of the United States, have wide latitude to use deadly force if they believe it's necessary to prevent injury or death. Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson apparently feared for his life multiple times before he killed Michael Brown, according to Wilson's newly released grand jury testimony. Wilson's remarks were made public on Nov. 24, after the grand jury declined to charge the officer for killing Brown on Aug. 9. Below are the portions of testimony in which Wilson described his fear of the unarmed 18-year-old, Wilson first noticed Brown and another man, Dorian Johnson, walking in the middle of the street on the double yellow line near the Canfield apartment complex. After Wilson attempted to get the two men to walk along the sidewalk, Brown eventually replied with "f what you have to say." Wilson testified that he attempted to get out of his vehicle, but Brown slammed his door shut. "He was just staring at me, almost like to intimidate me or to overpower me," Wilson said. It was then when Brown, according to Wilson, reached into his police SUV and punched him. "When I grabbed him, the only way I can describe it is I felt like a five-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan," Wilson, who is 6 4 and 210 lbs. said of Brown, who was 6 4 and 292 lbs. at the time of his death. Wilson said that Brown went for the officer's gun, saying "You are too much of a p- to shoot me." He said Brown tried to get his fingers inside the trigger. "And then after he did that, he looked up at me and had the most intense aggressive face. The only way I can describe it, it looks like a demon, that's how angry he looked.", Wilson testified that his gun went off twice inside the vehicle. Brown then began to flee and Wilson followed. But Brown turned around. "He turns, and when he looked at me, he made like a grunting, like aggravated sound and he starts, he turns and he's coming back toward me. His first step is coming towards me, he kind of does like a stutter step to start running," Wilson said. "At this point," Wilson said, "it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him. And the face he had was looking straight through me, like I wasn't even there, I wasn't even anything in his way.", It was then that Wilson fired multiple rounds at Brown, from roughly 8 to 10 feet away. Wilson said that he witnessed one of those shots hitting Brown. "And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone, it was gone, I mean, I knew he stopped, the threat was stopped," he testified. |
US | A 9th Grader Got Arrested for Taking a Homemade Clock to School | A ninth grader from Irving, Texas, was arrested at his school Monday after teachers thought his homemade clock looked like a bomb. Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was taken to a juvenile detention center, suspended from school and could still face charges of making a hoax bomb, reports the Dallas News. But Ahmed, a robotics fan who reportedly likes to make his own radios, insists he made a clock and brought the invention into school to show his engineering teacher. The clock a circuit board with a power supply wired to a digital display was confiscated during English class because the alarm kept beeping. "She was like, it looks like a bomb," he told the Dallas News, adding, "It doesn't look like a bomb to me.", Ahmed was later taken out of class by the principal and questioned by five police officers who demanded to know his intentions and why he brought the device into school. "It could reasonably be mistaken as a device if left in a bathroom or under a car. The concern was, what was this thing built for? Do we take him into custody?" said police spokesperson James McLellan. Ahmed was marched out of the school in handcuffs and taken to a juvenile detention center to take his fingerprints. But the high schooler says he never claimed the device was anything but a clock. "They thought, How could someone like this build something like this unless it's a threat?'" Ahmed said. His father Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Sudan, believes his son's ethnicity may have been a factor. "He just wants to invent good things for mankind," he said. "But because his name is Mohamed and because of Sept. 11, I think my son got mistreated.", The case has attracted the attention of the North Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Dallas News |
US | Student Loan Forms Are Still a Nightmare | Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren went to Charlestown High School in Boston recently with one message for students gathered in the gymnasium to hear her speak. It was about getting aheadbut not simply by studying hard or avoiding trouble. If they planned to go to college, the senator was there to tell the students, it was essential that they fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. "Is the form complicated? Yes," Warren said during the January visit. But, she said, "If you don't fill out the form, how much money do you get? None.", Minutes later, Warren witnessed for herself how hard that was. She paced from station to station in a community room at the school88 percent of whose students are low-income, 94 percent nonwhite, and more than half non-native English-speakingwhere a dozen seniors were huddled around their computer screens struggling with the lengthy form, which is required to qualify for a piece of 159 billion a year in federal, state, and institutional grants and loans for college. "What's the problem here?" she asked. "Are you a U.S. citizen? You need your Social Security number to fill out the FAFSA." Another hand shot up. "I don't know what the Selective Service is," the student said. "Are you registered with the draft?" Warren responded. "That's what that means.", On her way out, Warren gave the kids a thumbs-up and told them to "hang in there.", They'll need to. In spite of at least eight years of promise after promise from politicians that they would make the FAFSA easier, the form remains a barrier to college for many students. The first significant reform took six years to finally make its way to students, who are seeing it for the first time now, as they face deadlines this spring to complete and submit the crucial questionnaire. It's unclear whether these changes will have an impact on the estimated 2.3 million students a year the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators says would qualify for aid but don't fill out the FAFSA. About 45 percent of high school seniors don't complete the form, according to the Education Department. The White House has announced a push to increase those numbers, not by making more improvements to the FAFSA, but by imploring students to finish it and recruiting mentors to help them. "All you have to do to access that aid is fill out this one little form," First Lady Michelle Obama told a group of high school students in Virginia. "It's so simple.", In fact, there are still 100 questions on the FAFSA's six pages, many of which have several parts and ask for sensitive financial data beyond what's required even on a tax return. Some are straightforward, but many are so convoluted they require their own separate sections of instructions. Take, for example, Question 45, which has 10 parts. It requires that students list any "untaxed income not reported in items 45a through 45h, such as workers' compensation, disability, etc. Also include the untaxed portions of health savings accounts from IRS Form 1040line 25. Don't include extended foster care benefits, student aid, earned income credit, additional child tax credit, welfare payments, untaxed Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Workforce Investment Act educational benefits, on-base military housing or a military housing allowance, combat pay, benefits from flexible spending arrangements e.g. cafeteria plans, foreign income exclusion or credit for federal tax on special fuels.", And that's just Part I. "Imagine you're a 17-year-old from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background," said Tom Allison, policy and research manager at Young Invincibles, an advocacy group that represents the interests of 18- to 34-year-olds. "You're a first-generation college student. You don't have a parent that's familiar with this form, which is over 100 questions long and asks for a lot of financial and tax information. You're setting this kid up to fail.", Bills introduced in Congress have tried but failed to streamline this process, beginning with the "College Aid Made EZ Act" in 2008. In the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, White House officials urged Congress to cut the FAFSA down to two pages by using only adjusted gross income and the number of tax exemptions to determine aid eligibility. That didn't happen either. During the 2008 presidential campaign, both Barack Obama and John McCain advocated for simplifying the FAFSA, though Obama went a step further, proposing to eliminate the form altogether and replace it with a box on federal tax forms that families could check to indicate their interest in financial aid. Once he was in office, Obama's Council of Economic Advisers recommended removing questions about savings and assets beyond what the Internal Revenue Service requires for taxes, saying the "entire financial aid process hinders postsecondary educational attainment for low-income students from the very start." And five years later, when the Obama administration unveiled a push to help those students get college degrees, a key piece of the plan was to provide FAFSA completion assistance because the form is so difficult. But change has been unremittingly slow. The persistent complexity is partly because the financial-aid formula itself is so confusing, said Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations and policy analysis at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. "With the FAFSA, it's better to own your home," for example, said Nassirian, who advocates simplifying the form. "Better than that is to own a farm, and better than that is to own a small business with fewer than 99 employees.", There is again some hope that Congress, which determines the financial-aid eligibility formula, may this year whittle down the FAFSA with the scheduled reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. In hearings, education experts have been pushing for a form that asks about just two things family size and income. But there's another complication that worries student advocateseven the ones who agree the FAFSA needs to be simplified. States and colleges use the form to determine their financial-aid awards, too. If the FAFSA is slimmed down, students could wind up having to fill out two or three forms instead of just one. "It really is a double-edged sword," said Kim Cook, executive director of the National College Access Network. "Potentially every state and every college could decide they need their own form. If we really want to solve this problem, everybody has to buy into a simplified federal form.", FAFSA defenders argue that the recent improvements have made it easier. But there is still much room for improvement, according to a new report from the College Board. In 2008, lawmakers permitted the Department of Education to let users simply link to their own tax information from the IRS on the form's online version, rather than having to re-enter it from scratch. That change has just taken effectsix years later, thanks to the red tape involved in having the two federal agencies talk to each other. The department also has incorporated something called skip logic, which lets students bypass questions that don't apply to them. These reforms have cut the average completion time from two hours to about 23 minutes, according to department officials, though they made that estimate based on focus groups and not an actual accounting of how long people stay logged in online. Cook is skeptical. "Did the DOE split hairs here?" she asked. "You might be able to fill out the form in 23 minutes once you have all the information gathered, but that probably doesn't include the prep time the FAFSA takes before you even sit down in front of your computer.", This year's changes have provided little help to Kristyn Hughes's students, she says. Hughes is a guidance counselor at Charlestown High, many of whose students are in foster care and have to document the lack of parent involvement. Others have to convince skeptical guardians to share financial information they don't want to give. For others, the problem is with timing. The earlier you file, the better, meaning families have to finish their taxes well before the April 15 deadline that they're due to the IRS. "It puts a lot on kids who are unfamiliar with the process," Hughes said, noting that these experiences aren't unique to Charlestown. "They think, why bother, and it's sad because the people who need it the most are the most discouraged by the form.", This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University. |
US | Colorado Kids Are Accidentally Ingesting Pot | Colorado's largest pediatric emergency center has treated nine children so far this year for accidentally ingesting marijuana. The Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, the Denver Post reports, treated eight children for the same reason during all of 2013. The effects can be serious for kids. Most of the patients were under seven years old and many were admitted to the intensive care unit, treating conditions like severe sedation, which can lead to breathing problems. But while the message to keep pot out of kids' reach is not one to take lightly, what the Post reports as a "surge" in cases is far from an epidemic. The hospital's patient load, while not inclusive of other hospitals' cases, represents a tiny portion of the area population. Aurora is a suburb of Denver where 6.5 of the population, roughly 342,000 people, are under the age of five. These numbers come at a time when Colorado is nearing the half-year milestone for legal recreational pot sales. Hoping to create a solution before underage ingestion becomes a widespread health problem, lawmakers passed a new statute that will require edibles, like THC-infused brownies and lollipops, to be identifiable as pot products even outside of their packaging. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the measure Wednesday. No one under the age of 21 can legally purchase marijuana for recreational use in Colorado or Washington. |
US | The Top 10 Toys of 2017 | From fast-spinning fads that dominated American classrooms to surprise-filled eggs with fuzzy creatures, TIME's Top 10 Toys of 2017 quickly flew off shelves at retailers across the country. Products like WowWee's "Fingerlings" captivated young users with its interactive nature, and Nintendo's Super NES Classic Edition had nostalgic adults running to stores to relive some of their best childhood memories. The best toys from this year also came from a variety of companies. Some shared similar qualities like packaging that hides the surprise toy inside or constructible kits that challenge children's creativity and taps into their engineering skills. Here are TIME's Top 10 Toys of 2017. Imagine LEGOs but far more advanced. The LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox Building and Coding Kit allows kids and preteens to flex their engineering skills with buildable interactive and motorized robots with five different models. Users can construct their own robot and create functions for it with the LEGO Boost app, which must be used on tablet devices. The toolbox is available for 159.99. Buy it on Amazon, Hasbro's Roarin' Tyler the Tiger will have no issue roaring back at you. The interactive animal, which ranges from 95 to 115 at various retailers, responds to you if you talk to or touch it. The tiger has more than 100 sound and motion combinations, and Hasbro says the tiger will close its eyes when you pat its head or move when you touch his muzzle. He also comes with a small and squeaky yellow chicken to play with. Tyler the Tiger also has a sibling, Ivory, which is a white tiger. Buy it on Amazon, If you have a young child, chances are you know all about Paw Patrol. The popular Nick Jr. television show becomes reality with the 32-inch tall Paw Patrol Lookout Tower by Spin Master, which also produces the show. While standing, children can look out the periscope at the top of the tower, press buttons to make the tower light up and play with their favorite Paw Patrol characters. The toy is available for 99.99. Buy it on Amazon, Nintendo increased production this year on its Nintendo Switch because stores just couldn't keep them in stock. The functional gaming device can switch from a home console to a mobile one with just a few maneuvers, making it an on-the-go gaming system that still maintains Nintendo's reputation for high-quality products. The Nintendo Switch went on sale in March and is available for 299.99. Buy it on Amazon, With a new Star Wars film on the way this winter, the Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit has already been a big hit. Kids can piece together their own droids with unique accessories, teach them new skills with the Droid Inventor app on their iPhones or Androids and go on more than a dozen missions. And if kids grow tired of the original functions of their droids that come with an R2D2-esque base, they can reconfigure it to personalize it with household items. The kit is available for 99.95. Buy it on Amazon, While Hatchimals first appeared on the market ahead of the holiday season last year, the toy's popularity continued throughout 2017. Playing on the popular surprise element, the hatchable eggs reveal a colorful, plush toy for kids to enjoy. This year, Spin Master upped the ante with a new Hatchimals Surprise product that comes in a larger egg and reveals twin stuffed animals. The latest iteration of the toy sells for 69.99 20 more than the original Hatchimals eggs. Buy it on Amazon, One of the hottest toys of the holiday season, L.O.L. Surprise! balls have capitalized on the surprise factor that kids seem to love with presents. Each spherical package comes with seven layers of wrapping that reveals one of several toy dolls offered by the company. The company also offers L.O.L. Surprise Fizz an alternative to the product that appears more like a bath bomb and fizzles in water as well as the massive L.O.L. Big Surprise jam packed with 50 surprise products inside. Buy it on Amazon, Nintendo's highly anticipated Super NES Classic Edition hit shelves and was quickly bought off them in late September. The reboot of the 1990s classic Nintendo, 16-bit gaming console includes 20 classic games, as well as the never-before-released sequel to Star Fox. The handheld gaming system retails at 79.99 and has been sold out in stores and online and in pre-sales before it was officially released. The revival of the retro game has pleased many longtime fans who were itching to relive their childhoods with the classic console. Buy it on Amazon, They angered teachers, they dominated Amazon's bestseller list for toys and they were inaccurately advertised as gadgets that would help children with ADHD or autism. Fidget spinners a simple, spinning hand-held device took the country by storm this spring as they occupied the hands of seemingly everyone from kids in classrooms to adults commuting to work. Many companies got in on the fidget spinner craze including political campaigns and newsrooms selling their own branded devices. While the fad has appeared to fade in recent months, the impact fidget spinners has had is nonetheless massive. Buy it on Amazon, These finger-sized, mechanical animals are difficult to get a hold off, especially because they're only sold at select retailers. Fingerlings, inspired in part by pygmy marmoset monkeys, are robotic monkeys, sloths and unicorns that respond to touch, sound and motion. Retailed at about 15 and up, the WowWee-produced toys come in different colors and in packaged play sets encouraging kids to collect more than one. The unique toys offer entertainment to any child and from a company that has typically focused on drones and robots. Buy it on Amazon, Read TIME's affiliate link policy. |
US | The AllAmerican President Ronald Wilson Reagan 19112004 | "If he were not the greatest President, he was the best Actor of the Presidency we have ever had." John Adams, on George Washington, America's Presidents tend to die young. Maybe it is in the nature of the men who reach such heights, or of the job once they attain it. But only John Adams and Herbert Hoover lived past 90 Ronald Reagan was the third, and perhaps the only one to achieve the goal of dying young as late as possible. When he passed away last week at age 93, he had long been gone from the public stage but that meant that people remembered him as he had always been, a man of easy grace and endless hope, whose hair would never turn gray a man who, the first time he walked into the Oval Office as President on the day of his first Inaugural, got goose bumps and wasn't ashamed to say so. Hope is an infectious disease, and Reagan was a carrier. The country he courted and finally won over in 1980 was a dispirited place, humiliated abroad, uncertain at home, with a hunger for heroes but little faith that they could make any difference. But you can, he told us. I am not the hero, you are. "Let us renew our faith and our hope," he declared in his first Inaugural Address. "We have every right to dream heroic dreams." And he would serve as Dreamer in Chief. "What I'd really like to do," he said after six months in the White House, "is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again.", In the process, he made them believe in the presidency as well. After the 1960s and '70s, there were real doubts about whether a mortal man could handle the country's highest office. It had destroyed Johnson, corrupted Nixon and overwhelmed Ford and Carter. Reagan restored the belief that an ordinary American raised in the heartland could lead the country and give it a sense of direction and purpose. At a time when the country had been captivated by youth culture for more than a decade, voters chose a President who was nearly 70 when he took office, a kind of living time capsule of the American Century, born before the phrase world war had been introduced, a child when the Russian Revolution gave birth to the empire whose defeat he would accomplish as President. Somehow it took America's oldest President to make the country feel young again, its mission not yet completed, its glory days ahead. Even if it wasn't always morning in America during the years of his presidency, Reagan's eagerness to insist that it was tapped into a longing among voters. They didn't want to picture themselves turning down their thermostats and buttoning up their cardigans. They wanted to strut again. Reagan opened his arms and said, Walk this way. And when the country had to mourn, he led it in grieving that was eloquent yet unbowed, as in 1986, when he postponed his State of the Union address to speak of the Challenger disaster. "We will never forget them," he said of the shuttle's crew, "nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.", He replaced a President who had talked of America's malaise and proceeded to speak of its destiny and greatness, notions that had been dismissed as naive or arrogant. Talk of America as a shining city on a hill was long out of fashion, but it was a core belief of Reagan's, and it is no accident that it animates the man who occupies the White House now. George W. Bush, though a President's son, is cast as Reagan's heir even more than his father's. Long after Reagan had retreated from the public eye behind the veil of Alzheimer's disease, his influence over the politicians of our time, from both major parties, only grew. "The question really arose whether the presidency was a viable institution," says Fred Greenstein, a presidential scholar at Princeton. "With Reagan, that changed. He reminded us what a confident and sure President looked like.", For a man with the power to pull history around a corner to end a long, cold, fearsome war to change the conversation of our politics and culture as much by the sheer force of his personality as by the power of his ideas, Ronald Reagan was an unaccountably modest and good-natured soul. He seemed untouched by the arrogance and self-regard common to actors and politicians, to the point that when a brash reporter asked him on the eve of his election what he thought the American people saw in him, Reagan said, "Would you laugh if I told you that I think, maybe, they see themselves, and that I'm one of them?", He wasn't, of course. This was the actor's gift, to be both larger than life and disarming at the same time. He was, in fact, never so simple as he seemed. A fervent tax cutter, he raised taxes significantly four times as economic conditions and reform demanded. The man who said government was not the solution, it was the problem, actually presided over its continued expansion. Far from abolishing the departments of Energy and Education, he added a new Cabinet-level department, for Veterans Affairs. The archconservative who was skeptical of Social Security ultimately was credited with saving it. He came into office looking not to survive the cold war but to win it, building up America's defenses to confront the "evil empire" but then backing off enough to give Mikhail Gorbachev room to change course. Reagan may have been the champion of missile defense, but he also declared as his dream the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, a position that made even the moderates around him flinch. He was, in other words, that most uncommon politician, a man of clear conviction who was capable of compromise where necessary and growth where possible, whose ideas were both deeply held and able to evolve as circumstances changed or expediency required. Likewise, the man himself was not so simple, not to mention simpleminded, as his critics heldthe "kindly fanatic" in Garry Wills' phrase. He confounded his biographer Edmund Morris, remained opaque even to friends of many years. The notion that he was a second-rate actor who did well with a script continues to be dispelled with the release of his radio addresses and more recently, his personal letters, which show a far more subtle mind and sophisticated outlook than the caricature ever suggested. But then, Reagan had a gift for being underestimated, which served him well in all the lives he led. "I loved three things drama, politics and sports, and I'm not sure they always come in that order," Reagan once said. His picture in the high school yearbook bore the caption "Life is just one grand sweet song, so start the music." He was born on Feb. 6, 1911, in Tampico, Ill. in that Midwestern heartland that is thought to be the seedbed of national heroes. But nothing about his origins augured any remarkable success. His father Jack, who had never reached high school, was a shoe salesman and an alcoholic. The family moved often money was short. Reagan was 11 when he came home one day and found his father lying dead drunk on the porch. "I wanted to pretend he wasn't there," Reagan recalled. "I bent over him, smelling the sharp odor of whiskey I got a fistful of his overcoat and managed to drag him inside and get him to bed.", Sports gave Reagan a chance to get an education. He won a scholarship that paid half his 180 annual tuition at tiny Eureka College he washed dishes to pay for his meals. Reagan had hardly arrived when the college's new president tried to cut back the faculty, so Reagan helped organize a student strike. In the process he developed his taste for audiences and his talent for oratory. "I discovered that night that an audience had a feel to it," he said of this first speech, "and that audience and I were together. When I came to actually presenting the motion there was no need for parliamentary procedure. They came to their feet with a roar It was heady wine.", Reagan also discovered that he was an actor. Taken to see a touring antiwar play, Journey's End, he identified strongly with the hero, even began to feel that he was the hero. "Nature was trying to tell me something," he recalled later, "namely that my heart is a ham loaf." He spent much of his time thereafter in student theatricals as well as football and swimming, with only the minimum study necessary to major in economics. Dutch Reagan his father had bestowed the nickname at birth emerged into the Depression-stricken America of 1932 and found there were very few jobs for actors and fewer still for football players. He borrowed the family Oldsmobile and wandered through nearby towns, looking for work at local radio stations. A station manager in Davenport, Iowa, asked him to narrate an imaginary football contest, and Reagan poured into the fakery all the enthusiasm of desperation. He was hired for 5 a game. By 1937 he had gone no farther than Des Moines, which is a long way from Hollywood, but he persuaded radio station WHO to send him to California to cover the spring training of the Chicago Cubs. A Des Moines friend who was working as a singer sent him to see her agent, who called the casting director at Warner Bros. and said, "I have another Robert Taylor sitting in my office." Warner gave him a screen test, then signed him for 200 a week. Reagan's early films, as many as nine a year, were forgettable. But there was one part that he yearned to play. He wanted somebody to film the life of Notre Dame's great football coach Knute Rockne so that he could play Rockne's star halfback, George Gipp. Reagan proselytized so fervently that someone filched the idea. Warner announced it would make the Rockne story, but the announcement made no mention of Reagan. He went to see the producer, asked for the part of Gipp and was told he was too small. "But I played football for eight years," Reagan protested. "Gipp weighed five pounds less than I weigh right now." The producer was still dubious. The problem, Reagan saw, was that he was wearing a business suit, and the producer envisioned a behemoth in helmet and shoulder pads. Reagan raced home, gathered up some pictures of himself in uniform, raced back to the studio and won the part. It made him famous, and years after he performed Gipp's death scene, he would still get "a lump in my throat just thinking about it.", The same year he played Gipp, he married actress Jane Wyman. Warner assigned him to Kings Row. Playing a small-town lothario named Drake McHugh, he seduces the daughter of the town surgeon, who takes revenge by amputating both of the youth's legs. The horrible moment of self-discovery made a deep impression on Reagan. The day the scene was shot he clambered onto the sickbed, which had a hole cut in the mattress to hide his legs. "I spent almost that whole hour in stiff confinement," Reagan said. "Gradually the affair began to terrify me. In some weird way, I felt something horrible had happened to my body." When shooting began, Reagan recalled, "I opened my eyes dazedly, looked around, slowly let my gaze travel downward I can't describe even now my feeling as I tried to reach for where my legs should be. Randy!' I screamed. Ann Sheridanbless herplaying Randy, burst through the door." Then Reagan cried out the question that he was later to make the title of his first autobiography "Where's the rest of me?", Kings Row made Reagan a star. But it was 1942, and Pearl Harbor had brought the U.S. to its inevitable involvement in World War II. Reagan could see very little without eyeglasses, but he had bluffed his way into the cavalry reserve back in Des Moines because it gave him a chance to go riding. Called up by the Army, he was examined by a doctor who concluded, "If we sent you overseas you'd shoot a general." Another added, "Yes, and you'd miss him." Barred from combat, Reagan spent the war years making training films at "Fort Roach," the old Hal Roach Studios, just six miles from Hollywood. What occupied Reagan in the postwar years was Hollywood union politics. "I was a near hopeless hemophilic liberal," Reagan said later. "I bled for causes. I had voted Democratic, following my father, in every election. I had followed F.D.R. blindly " By 1947 he was president of the Screen Actors Guild and found himself embroiled in the union wars ravaging Hollywood. Reagan came to believe that the bitter strikes in 1945 and 1946 by stagehands of the Conference of Studio Unions represented a communist attempt to take over Hollywood, and that belief changed his political views forever. In the subsequent era of the blacklists, Reagan not only cooperated in the purging of suspected communists but also served as an undercover FBI informant. Speaking to TIME's Laurence Barrett three decades later about his recollection of the leftists' tactics, he said with unusual bitterness, "I discovered it firsthandthe cynicism, the brutality, the complete lack of morality in their positions, and the cold-bloodedness of their attempt, at any cost, to gain control of that industry.", Reagan felt with some justification that his union activity damaged his career as an actor. After more than 50 films, he was getting no offers of good parts. By 1953 he was reduced to doing a nightclub routine in Las Vegas, where he introduced various singers and dancers and made apologetic jokes about his own inability to either sing or dance. Was the optimist discouraged? Hardly. He was soon offered a new job that was to change his whole life. For 125,000 a year, he would act as host and occasional star of a weekly television drama series for General Electric for 10 weeks each year he would also act as a kind of goodwill ambassador to GE plants around the nation. As one of the first prominent Hollywood actors to defect to the much scorned new medium of TV, Reagan revived his acting career. The General Electric Theater, with Reagan as host from 1954 to 1962, dominated the Sunday-night ratings. But what changed Reagan was his tours of the GE plants. Later, Reagan's opponents often underestimated him, dismissing him as "just an actor," an amateur lacking political experience. What they failed to see was that although Reagan had not spent much time in conventional politics, he had gained both skill and experience in what was to become the politics of the TV age, the politics of electronic images and symbols. Reagan once figured that in his eight years at GE, he had visited every one of the company's 139 plants, met more than 250,000 employees, spent 4,000 hours talking to them and "enjoyed every whizzing minute of it." He polished his delivery, the intimate confiding tone, the air of sincerity, the wry chuckle, the well-timed burst of fervor. Reagan also listened. As he zigzagged across the country, he acquired a powerful sense of what ordinary people thought and hoped and wanted. "That did much to shape my ideas," Reagan said later. "These employees I was meeting were a cross section of America, and damn it, too many of our political leaders, our labor leaders, and certainly a lot of geniuses on Madison Avenue, have underestimated them. They want the truth, they are friendly and helpful, intelligent and alert. They are concerned with their very firm personal liberties. And they are moral." The hemophilic liberal was becoming steadily more conservative. Over the years he devised a series of slogans that many experts considered simplistic but many voters seemed to respond to. "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem," Reagan would say, over and over. "Government causes inflation, and government can make it go away. The best social program is a job.", He eventually became so vocally critical of such sanctified New Deal creations as Social Security and the Tennessee Valley Authority that GE abruptly dropped him in 1962, but Reagan was by now much in demand on what he liked to call "the mashed-potato circuit." When the conservatives rallied behind the presidential campaign of Senator Barry Goldwater in 1964, Reagan's gift for oratory provided one of the unexpected highlights in the doomed campaign. "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny," Reagan declared borrowing one of Franklin Roosevelt's most famous lines to a G.O.P. fund-raising dinner in Los Angeles. "We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.", When Goldwater's campaign ended in disaster, Reagan's rhetoric still echoed in the mind of a prosperous Los Angeles Ford dealer named Holmes P. Tuttle. He invited to his home a group of wealthy California conservatives, and they decided that Reagan should be their gubernatorial candidate in 1966. Governor Pat Brown was an amiably conventional liberal, who ran on his amiably conventional record. Reagan spotted and exploited a new issue middle-class discontent over disturbances at the University of California and over the disturbances of the 1960s in general. He vowed to "clean up the mess at Berkeley." He won by a margin of almost 1 million votes out of 6.5 million. Reagan proved a surprisingly pragmatic and successful Governor. Though all his campaign rhetoric opposed tax increases, he soon found that he needed more revenue to do all he wanted to do, so he imposed the biggest tax hike in state history. Winning a second term by half a million votes, Reagan turned to simplifying and reducing welfare spending and got his way by shrewd bargaining with his Democratic opposition. But his successes came during the years when his party was falling into disgrace nationally because of President Nixon's Watergate scandal. When Reagan retired as Governor in 1975, according to one poll, fewer than 20 of Americans considered themselves Republicans. Yet to Reagan the optimist, it was just a matter of patience and marketing. "I believe the Republican Party represents basically the thinking of the people of this country, if we can get that message across to the people," he said. "I am going to try to do that." He began a weekly commentary broadcast on some 200 radio stations and a biweekly column in 175 newspapers. Those efforts, together with his popularity on the mashed-potato circuit, increased his income from a Governor's salary of 49,100 to about 800,000 a year. He was irked, though, to see Republican leadership after Nixon's resignation fall into the hands of Gerald Ford, who did not represent right-thinking conservatism. It was almost unheard of to challenge an incumbent President from one's own party, but in 1976 Reagan took the risk, losing at the convention, 1,187 delegates to 1,070. When Ford went down to defeat, Reagan was well positioned to claim the right to be the next challenger to President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Except that he was old. By Inauguration Day 1981, he would be almost 70, older than any man had been when beginning his presidency. Reagan countered with a joke "Middle age is when you're faced with two temptations, and you choose the one that will get you home at 9 o'clock." Campaign manager John Sears, the Washington lawyer and strategist who had helped Reagan nearly unseat Ford in 1976, believed Reagan should remain aloofly "presidential." The principal result was that he lost the first big contest, the Iowa caucuses, to hard-driving George Bush. With the whole campaign at stake in the upcoming New Hampshire primary, Reagan shifted to the grittier strategy known among aides as "letting Reagan be Reagan." That led to one of the most memorable scenes of the year the debate in Nashua, at which Bush sat out a procedural argument in frozen silence while someone tried to turn off Reagan's microphone, and Reagan angrily cried out, "I am paying for this microphone!" It also led to a sweeping victory that virtually assured him the nomination. Carter too was confident that Reagan would be no match. Reagan being Reagan again upset the prognostications. While aides tried to stuff him with facts for his important TV debate against Carter, the challenger practiced one-liners, notably one that he flung at Carter with considerable effect "There you go again!" Even more stinging was his repeated question to the voters, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" The answer was, 50.7 of the votes for Reagan, with 41 for Carter and 6.6 for independent John Anderson. The electoral votes were even more lopsided 489 for Reagan, 49 for Carter. Reagan took the vote as a mandate for an "era of national renewal" that he proposed to achieve by some unfamiliar methods tax cuts, budget cuts, less regulation, less welfare. But before he could even begin to achieve anything like that, he had to endure the shattering attack by John Hinckley, a reasonably prosperous and reasonably well-educated young man whose only motive for murder was his desire to impress a movie actress whom he had never met, Jodie Foster. It was Reagan's luck that five of the six bullets missed him, but one apparently ricocheted off his car, spun below his armpit and punctured a lung. Reagan did not even know he was wounded until he began tasting his own blood as the armored limousine sped him away from the scene. But he was brave, stoic, uncomplaining. Lying in bed, he even began offering a stream of jokes. To doctors as he entered surgery "Please tell me you're Republicans." On coming out of anesthesia, he paraphrased W.C. Fields "All in all, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." And again "If I had this much attention in Hollywood, I would have stayed.", Long after Reagan was restored to health, the effects of the attack lingered. "There was a certain sadness," said one of his old friends, former Senator Paul Laxalt. "You could see it in his eyes. It wasn't just the physical pain. I think that he was deeply hurt, emotionally, that this could happen to him." Reagan was reluctant to admit any such hurt, but he did acknowledge to an interviewer that it had been a "reminder of mortality and the importance of time." Beyond that, he liked to say, "God has a plan for everyone.", Reagan had his own plan. When he asked the voters whether they were better off than they had been four years earlier, he was aiming at a continuing phenomenon known as stagflation, an inflation that had climbed to 13.5 in Carter's last year while the economy remained stagnant. The new Congress gave the new President what he most wanted, a 25 tax cut over three years and a 35 billion cut in the budget. At a time when many economists were arguing that America would just have to learn to live with 10 inflation annually, Reagan reappointed inflation fighter Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve and supported his war on inflation despite withering attacks and considerable domestic pain. The economy swooned into a recession by the following year, the GNP was shrinking at a rate of 1.9. Unemployment reached 10.8, the highest since the Depression, and the poverty rate grew faster than it had in decades. By 1983 the annual federal budget deficit had climbed past the 200 billion mark. Reagan and the supply-side theorists around him were so convinced of the virtues of growth that they were less concerned with getting around to the spending cuts and worrying about deficits. Some congressional leaders and White House aides cooperated in urging Reagan to return to conventional measures, some "revenue enhancements," but the President rejected all evidence of worse troubles ahead. Everything would soon get better, he kept saying. And to the surprise of most professional economists, just about everything did. By 1984, in good time for his re-election campaign, the GNP was growing a robust 6.8, while inflation had dropped to 4.3. And from then on, despite the spectacular but brief stock-market crash in 1987, the boom kept right on booming. Those gains, however, were unequally distributed. Reagan liked to say that the government provided a "safety net" for the "truly needy," but it was during these years that, for the first time since the Depression, there appeared those huddled figures who became known as "the homeless.", Another pillar of Reagan's approach was to get government out of the way of growing businesses. Deregulation had started tentatively under Carter with the airlines, but Reagan applied it broadly, to energy and broadcasting and butressed it with a dismantling of antitrust laws. Reagan was a staunch free-trader and did little to stop the onslaught against sluggish American corporations from aggressive Japanese manufacturers. Reagan's term coincided with the height of Japan's economic boom, and his instinct was that in the long run, it would be better to let most companies fend for themselves. Under pressure from foreign competition, and with the antitrust lawyers looking the other way, Wall Street tumbled into a fever of mergers, leveraged buyouts, massive restructurings and corporate raids. It was painful, it was chaotic, it hurt a lot of workers, both blue and white collar. But in the end it seems to have produced a more competitive economy, with companies more nimble, more responsive to customers and more innovative, even if their workers felt less secure or loyal. The 1980s shakeout helped prime the economy for its leap into the high-productivity, technology-fueled boom of the next decade. A philosophical offshoot of Reagan's impulse to deregulate was the 1986 tax-reform bill. Although the primary goal was to lower tax rates a lot, to encourage work and investment, the trick was to pay for it by eliminating most of the exemptions and special tax breaks and shelters, all the ways the government tried to micromanage the economy and control behavior. Reagan and the reformers believed in letting individuals make decisions based on their own view of economic self-interest, not the tax code's. By the end of Reagan's term, the ground had shifted to the point that it became all but impossible for politicians to propose big new spending programs in the face of so much red ink. "Reagan's policies," said Stanford economist Michael Boskin, "were all designed to do what public policy could do to transform a badly ailing economy into a highly competitive one.", During his campaign for the White House, Reagan asked the voters not only whether they were better off but also whether the nation was stronger than it had been four years earlier. And there was little doubt about the answer. At the time, America's diplomats were being held hostage in Iran, a rescue attempt had crashed in flames in the desert, and the Armyby its generals' own admissionwas going "hollow." Though Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter had all promoted the development of new weapons systemsthe MX missile, F-117 fighter, the B-2 bomber, the M1 tankit was under Reagan that those programs bore fruit, along with a mighty, imaginary weapon born all of Reagan's own instincts. When Reagan took office, the Soviet Union was 64 years old, nearly eligible, as it were, for Social Security. The rot in its marrow, while still hidden to the outside world and U.S. intelligence, was metastasizing. Reagan's great contribution to the end of the cold war was first understanding that Moscow's cancer was terminal and then working to ensurethrough arms control, constrained rhetoric and personal diplomacythat the end would come about, peacefully but inexorably. Reagan's instincts, like his rhetoric, evolved over the course of his two terms as the ground began shifting beneath him. After a decade of Presidents carefully talking detente, Reagan denounced the Soviet Union as the "evil empire" and accused its leaders of claiming "the right to commit any crime, to lie, to cheat." To armor such rhetoric, Reagan demanded and got a huge increase in U.S. defense spending. He nearly doubled defense spending during his first term while deploying medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe and battling communists in Central America. He rarely gave ground, and fumbles in foreign policylike the deaths of 241 Marines on an ill-advised mission to Lebanon in 1983were eclipsed by sending the troops into Grenada only days later. In March 1983, Reagan gave a landmark speech calling on the U.S. to build a shield that would render Moscow's nuclear missiles "impotent and obsolete." Whether or not the U.S. could build such a Star Wars shield was less important than the Soviets' knowledge that they themselves never could. The Strategic Defense Initiative SDI quickly became an obsession of the Soviet leadership. Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev tried to derail it through propaganda and arms control. But Reagan steadfastly refused to give it up. Reagan's boosters argue that it took a weapon that never worked to win a war that was never fought. For having failed to kill the program, the Soviets were prodded by SDI into trying to modernize their societywhich could only be achieved by liberalization. "I used to think SDI didn't have a great impact," says Lawrence Korb, who was an Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Reagan Administration. "But as I meet former Soviet marshals and talk to them, I'm increasingly convinced it had a major impact. The Soviets feared it could work, and that had a tremendous impact, psychologically, on them.", For all Reagan's foreign policy successes, his final years were overshadowed by scandal. He had become committed to finding a way to free American hostages held in Lebanon. In 1985 his National Security Adviser, Robert Bud McFarlane, oversaw a scheme in which Israel, as a stand-in for the U.S. would provide TOW antitank missiles to an Iranian arms dealer in exchange for help in obtaining the release of hostages. Did Reagan, who had repeatedly declared he would make no deals with Iran or terrorists, agree to this one? McFarlane later testified that he did. Reagan said he couldn't remember. After a shipment of missiles and one hostage released, the Iranians demanded more. Prompted by CIA Director William Casey and by McFarlane's successor, John Poindexter, Reagan signed a "finding" that this otherwise illegal deal was necessary for national security, but he did not inform Congress, as required by law. After several more arms shipments, another hostage was released. By this time, Poindexter had delegated much of the maneuvering to his gung-ho assistant, Marine Lieut. Colonel Oliver North, who was also cooperating with the CIA in supplying arms to the Nicaraguan rebels, even though Congress had formally forbidden any such action. Somehow there emerged what North later called a "neat idea"using money that the Iranians paid for illegal arms to buy more illegal arms for the Nicaraguan rebels. When all this official smuggling and dissembling came to light shortly after the summer of 1986, it was a cruelly self-inflicted wound to the whole Reagan Administration. North was fired Poindexter resigned. McFarlane, after attempting suicide, pleaded guilty to charges of withholding information from Congress. On the eve of his scheduled appearance before a Senate investigative committee, CIA Chief Casey suffered a seizure and was rushed to the hospital he died five months later. But politically, the chief victim was Reagan, who kept saying he had broken no laws and negotiated with no terrorists. Polls showed that most Americans didn't believe him. At the height of the Iran-contra scandal, there was some anxiety in the White House that Reagan might actually be impeached, and yet many Americans seemed to forgive him as easily as he forgave himself. When he left office just a year later, his approval rating with the public stood at 63. If anything, the public's admiration for him grew in the years after he left officenot least because of a fervent effort on the part of his admirers to exalt him. His disciples, having already lobbied for Washington's airport and a major office building and aircraft carrier to be named for him, are at work having a public building in his honor in all U.S. counties, and perhaps his face on the 10 bill. Popular affection and admiration ultimately mixed with sympathy once he revealed his battle with Alzheimer's in 1994. "At the moment I feel just fine," he wrote in a letter revealing his condition. "I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this Earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life's journey with my beloved Nancy and my family When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours, and eternal optimism for its future.", That journey would last another decade, in which Nancy was fierce in her protection of his privacy and dignity. Hers was said to be the last face he recognized. The excellent health that had served him well through his life had the effect of prolonging his death a mind fading while a body pushed on, full of energy and health it no longer needed. He would rake the leaves out of the pool for hours, Morris wrote, not knowing that his Secret Service agents would quietly replace them. Had he been a less vigorous man, the doctors said, he would have died much sooner. What history will finally make of Ronald Reagan remains, for the time being, history's secret. Surveys have found him ranked high on lists of both the most underrated and overrated Presidents, and yet in recent years there had come a reconsideration of the man and his legacy. To his supporters, particularly those who called themselves conservatives, Reagan's triumphs represented an enduring revolution in American politics, an end to the New Deal and its heritage of ever growing government power, regulation, taxing and spending. "We were all revolutionaries, and the revolution has been a success," Reagan said on leaving office. Throughout virtually his whole life, Reagan seemed to cling to an unchanging vision of an America that the Hollywood of his youth tried both to express and create. It was a Norman Rockwell vision of elm-shaded village life, of freckle-faced boys going fishing, of parading on July 4 it was a Horatio Alger vision of hard work and thrift and virtue rewarded. If the Gipper died young, he nonetheless died a hero. That was the America in which Reagan wanted Americans to believe, and in which many Americans themselves wanted to believe. And to a surprising extent, they succeeded. |
US | American Woman Killed 9 Hurt in Tour Boat Explosion in the Bahamas | An American woman was killed and nine other people were injured when a tour boat exploded in the Bahamas Saturday, according to authorities. There were 10 Americans and two Bahamians on the boat, and two people were unharmed, the Royal Bahamas Police Force told ABC News. The dead woman's identity was not released. The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a call from the Royal Bahamas Police Force "requesting assistance after boaters suffered from various injuries," around 11 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Four Americans were medically evacuated to Florida, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Five victims were airlifted to Princess Margaret Hospital on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. "An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew with two medical personnel from Air Station Clearwater was launched, landed in Exuma, and transported the boaters to the air station where emergency medical services awaited," the U.S. Coast Guard said. , The cause of the explosion is unknown and is being investigated by the Exuma branch of The Royal Royal Bahamas Police Force, the U.S. Coast Guard said. |
US | Woman Says George HW Bush Groped Her When She Was 16 I Was a Child | Roslyn Corrigan was sixteen years old when she got a chance to meet George H.W. Bush, excited to be introduced to a former president having grown up dreaming of going into politics. But Corrigan was crushed by her encounter Bush, then 79 years old, groped her buttocks at a November 2003 event in The Woodlands, Texas, office of the Central Intelligence Agency where Corrigan's father gathered with fellow intelligence officers and family members to meet Bush, Corrigan said. Corrigan is the sixth woman since Oct. 24 to accuse Bush publicly of grabbing her buttocks without consent. "My initial reaction was absolute horror. I was really, really confused," Corrigan told TIME, speaking publicly for the first time about the encounter. "The first thing I did was look at my mom and, while he was still standing there, I didn't say anything. What does a teenager say to the ex-president of the United States? Like, Hey dude, you shouldn't have touched me like that?'", Corrigan said the incident happened while she was being photographed standing next to Bush. Five other women have made similar claims against Bush in recent weeks. Seven people, including family members and friends, confirmed to TIME that they had been told about alleged groping by Bush of Corrigan prior to the other recent allegations. "George Bush simply does not have it in his heart to knowingly cause anyone harm or distress, and he again apologizes to anyone he may have offended during a photo op," Bush spokesperson Jim McGrath said in a statement to TIME. Previously, McGrath said Bush "has patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner," additionally attributing the act to his diminished height after being confined to a wheelchair since 2012. Bush was standing upright in 2003 when he met Corrigan. Corrigan said that to this day, some of the responses she gets to her story are dismissive but she said she feels emboldened to speak out after seeing other women come forward, and hopes more will do so after hearing her account. "I don't know, maybe it never really hit people that I was a child at the time and that goes beyond a guy being inappropriate in the workplace to a peer or somebody in his age range," she said. "I was a child.", Corrigan, who had heard Bush give a speech at a conference held at the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas AM University earlier in November 2003, asked her father, Steve A. Young, if she could leave early from her classes at The Woodlands High School and join him at the planned visit by Bush. After Bush addressed the CIA gathering, which included agency personnel and their family members, Corrigan had the opportunity to take a photograph with Bush, alongside her mother, Sari Young. Ryan Trapani, a spokesperson for the CIA, declined multiple requests for comment regarding Young's employment and Corrigan's allegation against Bush. "As soon as the picture was being snapped on the one-two-three he dropped his hands from my waist down to my buttocks and gave it a nice, ripe squeeze, which would account for the fact that in the photograph my mouth is hanging wide open," Corrigan said. "I was like, Oh my goodness, what just happened?'", Her mother, Sari, said Corrigan told her about the encounter as soon as Bush stepped away. "When he left, my daughter Rozi said, He grabbed me on the rear end.' And I said, What, what?'" Sari said. "And she said, Yes, he grabbed me when they were taking the picture. He grabbed me on my butt.' And I was like, Oh my god, are you kidding me?', "I was really, really upset she was very upset, she was really, really mad," she added. Sari said she would have tried to take action "had it been just some Joe Blow or something. I'd probably chase him down and yell at him.", "But, you know, it's the president. What are you supposed to do?" she said in a Oct. 28 interview. "And you've got your husband's job that could be in jeopardy. I mean, you just didn't then. You shouldyou should have always spoken up, alwaysbut we didn't.", Within the next few days, Corrigan told her childhood friend Chelsea Wellman about the alleged groping as well, Wellman told TIME on Oct. 27. Christopher Yarbrough, who was married to Corrigan from 2010 until their divorce the following year, said on Oct. 27 he learned about the incident about a month after they started dating in 2005. One day, the two were going through scrapbooks at Sari's house, he said, when they flipped to a page revealing the photo with Bush. He said that Corrigan then told him about the encounter with the former president. Tristan Voskuhl, who went to Sam Houston State University with Corrigan, said Corrigan first told her about the incident in 2006 when they were 19 years old. Bob Unseld, a family friend, said Sari first told him of the incident in 2013. "She didn't say it just once. She told me this several times that he had done this to Rozi. It made her very mad." Paul Weins, Unseld's husband, also said he heard Sari's account of the incident in 2013. Bush, who from January 1976 to January 1977 served as the CIA's director of Central Intelligencethe former title of the agency's highest-ranking positionis one of a number of prominent figures to be accused of sexual assault since news of alleged past assaults committed by Harvey Weinstein broke early last month. Actress Heather Lind was the first to openly accuse Bush of groping her while they posed for a photo during a promotional tour for her AMC series Turn Washington's Spies in 2013. "He didn't shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side," Lind wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post on Oct. 24. On Oct. 25, New York-based actress Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin Bush groped her in August 2016 at a Maine theater where she was performing. She said that Bush came backstage with Barbara during the intermission of the play, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and gathered with the cast for a photo. On Oct. 26, best-selling author Christina Baker Kline wrote in Slate that Bush groped her during an April 2014 photo op at a Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy fundraiser in Houston. Amanda Staples, a former Maine Senate candidate said in a private Instagram post on Oct. 26 that Bush groped her in 2006, the Portland Press Herald reported. Liz Allen, a retired Erie Times-News journalist, said in an Oct. 26 Facebook post that Bush touched her from behind at a local business association event while taking a photograph with the former president in Erie, Pa. in 2004. Bush's spokesperson, McGrath, declined a separate request from TIME to comment on Staples and Allen's allegations, which they said occurred when the former president was standing up. Corrigan said that Bush's response to Lind and Grolnick's allegations, which cited his use of a wheelchair, bothers her because the "excuse for his senile, old man antics is not true.", She said that recently, she was listening to an episode of a podcast hosted by Ben Shapiro called "Is Everything Sexual Assault Now?" Allegations against Bush were discussed on the show. "When I heard that was the reason, like, Oh, he's just an old man and he doesn't know any better and he's just being harmless and playful and it's just where his arm falls I just burst into uncontrollable sobbing," Corrigan said. "I just couldn't sit with that. I can't. I cannot sit with that. I can't sleep anymore, because that's not true, and it's not an excuse.", On Nov. 1, former first lady Laura Bush, wife of George W. Bush, told CNN that the alleged incidents against her father-in-law were "very innocent.", "I'm just sad that we've come to this," Laura Bush told the network. "That was something that was very, very innocent that he's been accused of. But I know he would feel terrible.", Corrigan said she doesn't see it that way. "It completely floored me. I was actually there to be taken seriously, and I wasn't," she said. "I thought, he's a career politician, almost 80 years old or something like that, if anybody's going to take me a little bit seriously or at least try to pretend he's interested in what I have to say, it would be this guy. And he didn't. All he did was grab my butt." |
US | Twitter Apologizes for Mishandling Reported Threat From MailBomb Suspect | BloombergTwitter apologized for the way it responded to Rochelle Ritchie, a former congressional press secretary, when she first alerted it about an apparent threat made against her by mail bombing suspect Cesar Altieri Sayoc. "The Tweet clearly violated our rules and should have been removed," it said on Twitter, calling it a mistake. "We are deeply sorry for that error.", Sayoc was arrested and charged in connection with mailing at least 13 suspected explosive devices to prominent Democrats and CNN, U.S. officials said Friday. A Twitter account by the name of Cesar Altieri with the handle @hardrock2016 posted threats, criticized Democratic leaders and distributed pro-Trump messages. Twitter added in separate tweets that it is investigating what happened and will continue to work on how to handle concerns raised by users. It said Twitter "wants to be a place where people feel safe, and we know we have lot of work to do.", This comes after Ritchie tweeted a screenshot on Friday of a tweet she received from the Altieri Twitter account. Ritchie tweeted that she was being threatened by Altieri, and Twitter responded by saying it found "there was no violation of the Twitter Rules against abusive behavior.", , She later tweeted a separate response she received from Twitter, asking her to "disregard" its last reply, adding that it was "sent in error.", Facebook said it found accounts belonging to Sayoc on its main social network and its Instagram service and removed them. "There is absolutely no place on our platforms for people who attempt such horrendous acts," a spokeswoman wrote in an emailed statement. "We will also continue to remove content that praises or supports the bombing attempt or the suspect as soon as we're aware." The company is working with law enforcement on the investigation. Another post from the Altieri Twitter account was aimed at the handle of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, a target of one of the mail bombs. "Hey slime scum U like make threats run your hole.Do not worry your cover up Fast Furious with your bitch Obama not forgotten about our very close friend of we Unconquered Seminole Tribe.See u soon Tick Tock 4" the tweet read. The social-media service has been criticized for allowing abusive and toxic discourse. Twitter's rules "prohibit behavior that crosses the line into abuse, including behavior that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another user's voice." The policy states that users "may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people." |
US | Why Its Legal for George Zimmerman to Auction the Gun He Used to Kill Trayvon Martin | The gun George Zimmerman used in 2012 to kill Trayvon Martin showed up on two separate online gun sales sites Thursday. But do online sales mean it wouldn't go through a standard background check? That all depends on where it's purchased, gun experts say. Zimmerman initially listed the handgun that he used to kill Martin, a black 17-year-old in Sanford, Fla. on gunbroker.com, along with a note saying he would dedicate some of the proceeds to fighting "BLM violence against Law Enforcement officers," presumably referring to the Black Lives Matter movement. But the gun sale website quickly removed the listing. Zimmerman then posted a listing for the gun on unitedgungroup.com, a similar online gun sales site. No matter which site Zimmerman uses to sell the gun, the purchaser's location will determine whether a background check will be performed. Gun sales websites aren't allowed to sell guns directly to people, but instead bring buyers and sellers together. They also don't conduct background checks or directly transport firearms to purchasers, says Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor who studies gun policy. "There is no such thing as an online gun sale," Volokh says, referring to the limits placed on sites that arrange gun sales. Read more Smithsonian Says it Definitely Does Not Want George Zimmerman's Gun, If the gun is purchased by somebody in Florida, where Zimmerman lives, it would be considered an in-state private purchase and would not be subject to a background check. Neither federal nor Florida law requires checks for in-state transactions. "What's often misunderstood is that this is some kind of loophole," says Dave Kopel, an associate policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank. "But it's the same rules for online sales. It varies state by state, but in most you can sell private-to-private within the state.", Read more Broker Refuses to Auction Off George Zimmerman's Gun, If the purchaser is from out of state, however, federal law requires that the seller ship the firearm to a licensed gun dealer in the purchaser's state. That dealer will then run a background check in the same manner as any other gun purchase from a dealer. "This works quite routinely in far less lurid contexts," Volokh says. Zimmerman was acquitted in Martin's death in 2013 but has had a series of run-ins with police since then. He was arrested on assault charges in January 2015 and has had multiple confrontations with Matthew Apperson, who was accused of shooting and injuring Zimmerman in May 2015. |
US | Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Suspect Pleads Not Guilty | PITTSBURGH The suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges Monday as his new lawyer, a prominent death penalty litigator who represented one of the Boston Marathon bombers, signaled he might be open to a plea deal. Robert Bowers, a truck driver who authorities say gunned down 11 people at Tree of Life Synagogue, appeared in federal court with attorney Judy Clarke, who expressed hope the case will be resolved without a trial. Clarke is known for negotiating plea deals that helped some of the nation's most infamous killers avoid death row, including Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Atlanta Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph and Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner, who killed six people and injured 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. A jury sentenced marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whom Clarke represented, to death. Prosecutors in Pittsburgh have yet to announce whether they will pursue the death penalty against Bowers. Asked if the government would consider a plea deal that spares Bowers a potential death sentence, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said in a statement Monday "The defendant is charged with crimes that carry the maximum possible penalty of death. We are committed to seeking justice for the victims and their families in this case.", Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said in court that a trial could last about three weeks, not including any potential penalty phase. Bowers, who was shackled, said little, giving yes or no answers. A grand jury on Jan. 29 added 19 counts to the 44 Bowers was already facing. The additional charges include hate crimes violations, obstruction of religious belief and the use of a firearm during crimes of violence. Bowers, 46, of Baldwin, Pennsylvania, is accused of targeting worshippers from three Jewish congregations when he attacked Saturday, Oct. 27, during Sabbath services. Seven people were wounded, including five police officers. Donna Coufal, a member of the Dor Hadash congregation that occupies space at Tree of Life, said she attended Monday's arraignment "to bear witness. It's been a painful time, but we remain strong as a community.", Investigators say Bowers posted criticism of a Jewish charity on social media before the attack, claiming the immigrant aid society "likes to bring invaders that kill our people." Authorities said he raged against Jews as he gunned down his victims, and told investigators "all these Jews need to die.", Bowers has been jailed in the Butler County Prison, about 35 miles 55 kilometers north of the shooting scene. |
US | Jennifer Hart Was Drunk When She Drove Her Family of 8 Off a California Cliff | Jennifer Hart was intoxicated when she drove her wife and six children off a California cliff nearly three weeks ago in a crash that appears to have been intentional, authorities said Friday. Jennifer and Sarah Hart and three of their children were killed in the car crash. Three of the Hart children are still missing. Jennifer Hart had a blood alcohol level of .102 at the time of the crash, California Highway Patrol Capt. Bruce Carpenter said at a press conference Friday. The legal limit for driving in California is 0.08. Carpenter also said that Sarah Hart and two of the couple's children had "a significant amount" of an ingredient found in Benadryl in their system, the Associated Press reported. Beginning in 2008, Sarah and Jennifer Hart faced repeated child abuse allegations from teachers and neighbors as they moved from Minnesota to Oregon to Washington with their six adopted children. Child services officials attempted to visit the Harts on March 23, after neighbors reported that one of the children, Devonte, had come to their house multiple times asking for food. None of the Harts answered the door. Hours later, Sarah Hart sent an alarming text message to a friend in the middle of the night, saying she was so sick she might have to go to the hospital, according to a 911 call obtained by the Oregonian. The friend was unable to reach her after that. By the next morning, the Harts had left town. The wreckage of their car crash was discovered on March 26. Investigators have been concerned by several details about the crash no one in the SUV was wearing seat belts, there were no skid marks at the site of the crash, and there were no suitcases to suggest the family had planned to go on a trip. "There are more reasons to believe that this was intentional than there are to believe that this was an accident," Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman told TIME last week. |
US | Police Officer Saved Lives When He Confronted Maryland School Shooter Governor Says | An armed school resource officer confronted and exchanged gunfire with a school shooter Tuesday morning, less than a minute after the student wounded a female student, with whom he had a prior relationship, and another classmate at Great Mills High School in southern Maryland, police say. The suspected gunman who authorities identified as 17-year-old Austin Wyatt Rollins died at a hospital after being confronted by the school resource officer, Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill. St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said authorities are still investigating whether Rollins was injured by Gaskill, who fired one round, or by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. One victim, a 16-year-old female student, is currently in critical condition in an intensive care unit after sustaining life-threatening injuries, Cameron said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. The other victim, a 14-year-old male student, has been hospitalized in stable condition. Both were shot in a school hallway at 755 a.m. shortly before class. Cameron said Rollins, who used a semiautomatic handgun, had a prior relationship with the female student. But he could not confirm the extent of their relationship or whether that was a motive for the shooting. At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, authorities praised Gaskill for responding quickly. "While it's still tragic, he may have saved other people's lives," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said. "He responded exactly was we train our personnel to respond," Cameron said. "You have to understand the situation that he responded in. These are children, and I'm sure that weighs on his mind.", The shooting comes just over a month after 17 people were killed in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida which has fueled a national debate over gun control policies and other measures to improve school safety. Thousands are set to participate in the March for Our Lives on Saturday, an event organized by Marjory Stoneman Douglas students to call for action on school safety. In a statement after Tuesday's shooting, Hogan warned that "prayers are not enough" when it comes to preventing future school shootings. "The First Lady and I are praying for those who were injured, their families and loved ones, and for the entire Great Mills community as they come together to heal in the wake of this horrific situation," Hogan said in a statement. "But prayers are not enough. Although our pain remains fresh and the facts remain uncertain, today's horrible events should not be an excuse to pause our conversation about school safety. Instead, it must serve as a call to action." |
US | She Wouldnt Want That Mollie Tibbetts Family and Friends Push Back on the Politicization of Her Deat | Republicans have quickly made a political issue of the revelation that the man suspected of murdering 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts was a Mexican national who police say was an undocumented immigrant, leading family and friends to publicly speak out against the politicization of her death. The massive five-week search for the University of Iowa student ended in tragedy on Tuesday, when investigators announced the arrest of Cristhian Rivera, 24, who told police he followed TIbbetts as she jogged and dumped her body in a cornfield not far from where she was last seen on July 18. Rivera's reported undocumented status became a hot-button issue with Republicans almost immediately. Hours after investigators announced the arrest, President Donald Trump weighed in, implying stronger immigration laws would have prevented Tibbetts' death. Trump told supporters at a West Virginia rally that the country's immigration laws are a "disgrace" and said "You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico. And you saw what happened to that incredible beautiful young woman" referring to TIbbetts. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, opened her press briefing offering condolences to the Tibbetts family and commenting on the immigration status of the suspected killer. "Sadly the individual believed to be responsible for this murder is a illegal immigrant, making this an unfortunate reminder of why we need to strengthen our immigration laws," she told reporters. Former Republican Speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich said that "if Mollie Tibbetts is a household name by October, Democrats will be in deep trouble.", While the Tibbetts family gave an official statement on Wednesday afternoon asking for privacy as they grieved and thanking those "from around the world who have sent their thoughts and prayers for our girl", other family members and friends are speaking out about the quick politicization of her death. Tibbetts' aunt, Billie Jo Calderwood, shared a message on Facebook on Tuesday. "Please remember, Evil comes in EVERY color. Our family has been blessed to be surrounded by love, friendship and support throughout this entire ordeal by friends from all different nations and races. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.", , Calderwood also shared a status from one of Mollie's friends, Kasie Schultz Taylor, that said Tibbetts would not approve of the current political coversation surrounding her death. "Please do not compound the atrocity of what happened to her by adding racism and hate to the equation..Anyone that knew Mollie knows she wouldn't want that. Respect each other, support each other but most importantly BE KIND!", , Tibbetts' former day camp co-worker Jarrett Rose, 17, also weighed in. He said he thinks its too soon to politicize Mollie's death. "I think right now our focus in on paying Mollie the respect she deserved," Rose tells TIME. "I think there will be discussions about politics that are important, but now is not the time. We cannot disregard her life by using it as political propaganda, its not appropriate." |
US | President Trump Just Signaled Some Dramatic Changes for Police and Criminal Justice | President Trump wasted little time making clear that his administration will take a drastically different approach to criminal justice than his predecessor. Shortly after taking the oath of office as the 45th U.S. president Friday, the White House published six issue statements on its website, including one titled "Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community." In it, the Trump White House pledged to be a "law and order administration" while stopping what it characterized as a "dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America.", The statement indicates a stark pivot from the more conciliatory approach of the Obama administration, which saw the Department of Justice as a champion of civil rights in addition to an enforcer of criminal laws. Throughout the presidential campaign, now-President Trump promised to restore "law and order," portrayed the country's inner cities as ridden with crime, and criticized what he described as a "war on police." He also championed a return to police practices such as "stop-and-frisk" in New York City, which was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2013. Read more There's Already a Campaign to Impeach President Trump, Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department routinely investigated police departments it said abused power and unfairly discriminated against African-American communities. Consent decrees often followed those investigations, including a final one just this month in Baltimore originally prompted by the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in 2015. But future consent decrees are unlikely under Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump's nominee for attorney general, who has called them "one of the most dangerous, and rarely discussed, exercises of raw power." The Trump administration's statement issued Friday appears to confirm that the federal government will largely halt its practice of investigating police departments that come under scrutiny. The statement also takes aim at protest movements such as Black Lives Matter and others who have demonstrated against what they view as discriminatory police actions and other social and economic inequities. "Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter," the Trump administration says, while adding that "supporting law enforcement means supporting our citizens' ability to protect themselves.", Read more The Same Donald Trump From the Campaign Spoke at Inauguration, The incoming administration's statement echoed crime statistics that Trump often cited on the campaign trail, stating that homicides in the nation's 50 largest cities increased by 17 in 2015. That figure comes from a Washington Post analysis of city-by-city crime data. Criminologists, however, routinely warn of making conclusions about long-term crime trends based on isolated snapshots. While homicides again increased in the nation's largest cities in 2016, overall crime remains near record lows around the country and has been gradually declining for a quarter-century. The statement also said that murders in Washington, D.C. have "risen by 50 percent." In 2015, the nation's capital saw a 54 increase in homicides from 2014. Last year, however, the homicide rate decreased by 17. |
US | These Spoof Tourist Posters Show What Climate Change in America Could Look Like | Imagine a world where scuba diving is the main tourist attraction in the area formerly known as Washington, D.C. and where travelers can spend time in a Las Vegas casino while admiring Nevada's coastal view. An ad agency in Boulder, Colo. has released a series of dystopian tourism posters for free, to support climate-change research ahead of the March for Science, scheduled for April 22. Walden Hyde's website encourages visitors to "show your support for a climate researcher you love and/or climate research in general" by displaying the posters at home or using them as picket signs at local science marches. The posters depict the Arches National Park in Utah, which becomes a paddling hot spot and "the Torch," the only part of the Statue of Liberty that remains above water. "Climate action initiatives introduced by the Obama Administration are at risk of being rolled by back right now," Lucia Robinson, who co-founded the agency and co-designed the posters, told the Huffington Post. "We'd like to see those left in the place, and for the U.S. to take a leadership role in climate science.", , The March for Science was organized in response to proposed budget cuts from the Trump Administration, the gutting of climate-change regulations and an increased skepticism in the U.S. of the existence of global warming. Protesters, who are set to march in more than 500 cities worldwide, advocate support for the scientific community and the importance of scientific research. |
US | We Will Keep Suing 17 States Slam Betsy DeVos for Blocking Rules on ForProfit Colleges | Democratic attorneys general in 17 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over the department's decision to block Obama-era protections for students attending for-profit colleges. The suit argues that the department violated federal law by freezing the "gainful employment rule" without sufficient justification or public input. The rule, which was set to take effect this year, cut off funding to for-profit colleges that burdened students with loans while failing to prepare them for gainful employment. "What the Department of Education is doing is illegal not enforcing the rule, kicking the can down the road," Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, who led the lawsuit, told TIME. "But more importantly, what they're doing is favoring these predatory for-profit institutions over students and students who are overall extremely vulnerable.", DeVos had criticized the Obama-era rules as a "muddled process that's unfair to students and schools" and said she plans to enact different regulations. DeVos has faced criticism and legal action from Democrats and students since she froze Obama-era regulations on for-profit colleges including student loan protections and the gainful employment rule earlier this year. Attorneys general in 18 states and the District of Columbia filed a suit in July demanding that DeVos implement student loan protections. The Department of Education on Tuesday criticized the new lawsuit as a "legal stunt.", "This is just the latest in a string of frivolous lawsuits filed by Democratic Attorneys General who are only seeking to score quick political points," spokesperson Liz Hill said in a statement. "While this Administration, and Secretary DeVos in particular, continue work to replace this broken rule with one that actually protects students, these legal stunts do nothing more than divert time and resources away from that effort.", But Frosh who has also filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration over Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, EPA regulations and anti-corruption violations called the department's action "a clear violation of the law." , "It's a cheap shot to say this is frivolous because it's brought by Democrats. The problem is they're violating the law," he said. "When they keep violating the law, we will keep suing. Every instance that we have brought a lawsuit, it's been because they're violating the Constitution or they're violating the law of the United States. There's never been an administration like this in history." |
US | Army Generals Court Martial For Sexual Assault Set To Begin | A court-martial is set to begin Thursday for an Army general believed to be the highest ranking officer ever to face trial for sexual assault charges. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair has pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges including forcible sodomy, indecent acts, and conduct unbecoming of an officer. He faces life in prison if convicted, the Associated Press reports. Members of a court-martial's panel must be senior in rank to the accused, meaning that Sinclair will be judged by a jury of generals. The jury will be seated Wednesday to judge the former commander of the 82nd Airborne. AP |
US | Heres What Super Bowl Tickets Look Like | Wondering what Super Bowl XLVIII tickets look like? Football fans are finally getting a peek at the design, , That's the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which goes to the game's winner, in the foreground. The view is looking south probably from Top of the Rock with the Empire State Building and Jersey City in the background. The Denver Broncos will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 2. |
US | Chelsea Manning Says US Military Has Agreed to Her Gender Surgery | Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. soldier jailed for leaking classified information to the Wikileaks website, has said the military is "moving forward" with her request for gender reassignment surgery. Manning, who recently went on a hunger strike to appeal to the Army to allow her to receive surgery for her gender dysphoria, wrote in an opinion piece in the Guardian newspaper Tuesday that she was given "good news" last week that the Department of Defense will let her see a surgeon for medical treatment. "Although I don't have anything in writing, I was shown a memorandum with my name on it that confirmed the military is moving forward with my request," she said. "Everything that they have presented to me leads me to believe that they are going to provide the care that has been recommended by my doctor. I have requested this for nearly a year.", However, Manning said she was told she "may be punished" for attempting suicide in July at a military prison in Missouri. She said she is set to soon face a disciplinary board which can sentence her to "indefinite solitary confinement.", "I lack the words to express how deeply pained I am about this board and the fact that the government is pursuing my punishment so aggressively," she said. Manning said part of the military's evidence, which she was allowed to briefly see, includes a photograph of herself taken shortly after her suicide attempt. "Seeing this photograph has haunted me for the past week. It has disturbed me. It sends a chill down my spine. This hurt me more than any physical injury or hardship I have lived through. This process has forced me to relive one of the worst moments of my entire life," she said. "I saw the face of a woman who had given up. I saw the face of woman who, for years, has politely asked, formally requested, and desperately begged for help.", The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Guardian |
US | Bionic Limb Helps Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Dance Once Again | A dance instructor who lost part of her left leg in last year's Boston Marathon bombing performed publicly for the first time since the attack Wednesday night with the help of a specially-designed bionic limb. Outfitted with a computerized prosthetic, 33-year-old Adrianne Haslet-Davis performed "Ring My Bells" by Enrique Iglesias with dance partner Christian Lightner, Mashable reports. She received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd at the 2014 TED Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, which included former Vice President Al Gore. The man who designed Haslet-Davis' high-tech prosthetic, Massachusetts Institute of Technology associate professor Hugh Hugh, was also in attendance. A double-amputee himself, he designed the bionic limb after meeting Haslet-Davis last year with the specific intent that it could be used for dancing. Mashable |
US | This Teen Made History by Wearing a Burkini at the Miss Minnesota USA Pageant | Halima Aden made history over the weekend by wearing a burkini and hijab during the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. The competition saw a series of firsts from the 19-year-old, who became the first fully-covered Muslim woman in the contest, and the first contestant to wear the burkini during Sunday's semi-final swimsuit round. The teenager, who was born in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the U.S. at the age of six, did not win the pageant, but she told CBS that she hopes her participation helped combat misconceptions about Islam. "For a really long time I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we are all born to stand out, nobody is born to blend in," Aden told CBS. "How boring would this world be if everyone was the same?", , |
US | Black Lives Matter Activist Promises Transformative Change for Baltimore | A prominent Black Lives Matter activist who announced he was running for mayor of Baltimore says he will soon roll out an "aggressively innovative" platform that will focus on issues of criminal justice and policing. DeRay Mckesson, who organized Black Lives Matter protests in Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo. following police-related deaths of black men involving white officers, filed to run for mayor of Baltimore Wednesday, becoming the first from the movement to make a serious run at prominent elected office. Mckesson told TIME that he'll largely focus on issues pursued by the Black Lives Matter movement and believes the work he has been involved in over the past 16 months has been "focused on creating environments where people can thrive.", "We know the traditional pathways to politics have never led to the transformative change we deserve," Mckesson said, adding that he believes Baltimore voters are looking for something different in this year's mayoral race. On Thursday, Mckesson wrote an article for Medium describing himself as a "non-traditional candidate" but said he was not a "silver bullet for the challenges of our city.", Read more TIME Person of the Year Runner-up Black Lives Matter Activists, But Mckesson faces a large and unwieldy field of seasoned candidates in the Democratic primary, including former mayor Sheila Dixon, who has been leading in the polls, as well as Councilman Nick Mosby, who represents the neighborhood where Freddie Gray was arrested last year, and David Warnock, a Baltimore venture capitalist who has put in almost 1 million of his own money into the campaign. "It's a very competitive, fractured primary," John Willis, a University of Baltimore public-affairs professor says. "Mckesson is starting way behind in terms of resources.", The 30-year-old is the last of 13 candidates to enter the primary, which is wide open after Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced in September she would not seek re-election. Rawlings-Blake was widely criticized for not being able to contain violence throughout the city during the riots surrounding the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody last spring. The mayor eventually requested that the National Guard be sent in to restore calm. Read more Mayors Face Push From Black Lives Matter at Annual Meeting, Mckesson was born in Baltimore but worked as a public-schools administrator in Minneapolis until he moved to St. Louis following the riots in Ferguson, Mo. over the police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager who was shot by white police officer Darren Wilson. Mckesson was active in protests in Baltimore over Gray's death and has become a vocal activist online, amassing a Twitter following of almost 300,000 people. In a November poll conducted by the Baltimore Sun and the University of Baltimore, Dixon was ahead with 24, followed by Maryland State Senator Catherine Pugh at 13, Councilman Carl Stokes at 11 and Councilman Mosby with 10. The poll also shows 26 undecided. |
US | These Are the Victims of the Las Vegas Shooting | Sonny Melton and his wife, Heather, were listening to Jason Aldean sing country tunes at a Las Vegas music festival Sunday night when a noise rang out the sounds of gunfire. Melton, a 29-year-old nurse in Nashville, sprang into action, shielding Heather from the barrage of bullets that rained down on the crowd of more than 22,000 people. Heather was one of the lucky survivors. Melton was not. "At this point, I'm in complete disbelief and despair. I don't know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his," she said in a statement to NBC affiliate WCYB. Melton is one of at least 58 people who were killed in the shooting, which is now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. More than 500 concertgoers, hailing from different cities all over the country and world, were injured in the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. One victim was a middle school special education teacher from southern California. Another victim was a beloved secretary in New Mexico. Information about the victims of the Las Vegas massacre slowly emerged Monday as families and friends learned the devastating news. Authorities are still investigating how the attack unfolded, but police identified 64-year-old Stephen Paddock as the lone gunman behind the rampage. Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 concert from his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where he had been staying for days. When a SWAT team swarmed his room, they found Paddock dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said they later seized at least 17 guns from the room. The Clark County Coroner's office on Thursday released the official list of the 58 people who were killed in Sunday night's mass shooting in Las Vegas. Here are their names. Hannah Ahlers, a mother of three from Murrieta, Calif. is remembered as part of a skydiving community who enjoyed both outdoor thrills and simple pleasures, reports the Los Angeles Times. "She never came across with the diva mentality she easily could have had. She was a devoted mother and wife," friend Sunni Almond told the Times. Brian Ahlers, her husband of 17 years, told CNN that she was "shot in the head while dancing" with him at the Route 91 Festival. "She was a full-time house wife and mommy and she was amazing at it," he said. "Very active in moms groups and our daughter's volleyball team. She wasn't too good for anybody. Beautiful inside and out.", Heather Alvarado, 35, of Utah, was the happiest when she was with her family, especially her three children, according to her husband, Albert. "She would do ANYTHING for them," Albert said in a statement issued through his employer, the Cedar City Fire Department. "She always saw the good in others. She spent her whole life serving others in her family and community." Albert said his wife also loved traveling with her family, even if they were just day trips. , Dorene Anderson, of Alaska, was the "most amazing wife, mother and person this world ever had," her family said in a statement. "Due to this horrific and terrible situation, our family is dealing with a great loss," the statement said. "We are so grateful and lucky for the time that we did have with her." Anderson was devoted to her family. She also loved hockey, according to Marie English, secretary of a local nonprofit hockey organization. "She was friendly to everybody. She had a heart of gold. She was just an all-around, wonderful Alaskan," English told the Alaska Dispatch News. Anderson's longtime friend D.J. Fauske told the newspaper that Anderson was a "saint of a person." "I've watched her daughters grow up to become amazing women and I know they will continue their mom's lasting legacy," Fauske said. Disney employee Carrie Barnette was among those killed in Sunday's mass shooting, Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Robert Iger confirmed in a statement Monday evening. "Carrie Barnette had been a member of the Disney California Adventure culinary team for ten years and was beloved by her friends and colleagues," Iger wrote. "Our thoughts are with her family, along with our support, during this incredibly difficult time.", Jessica Milam, another Disney employee, was seriously injured in Las Vegas, Iger said. In a separate Twitter post, he described the shooting as a "senseless, horrific, act, and a terrible loss for so many.", When bullets starting raining down from above, Jack Beaton leaned his body over his wife, Laurie, and wrapped his arms around her in full protection. "He told me, Get down, get down, get down.' He told me, I love you, Laurie' and his arms were around me and his body just went heavy on me," Laurie told the Associated Press. The two had traveled from Bakersfield, Calif. to Las Vegas to celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary at the Route 91 country music festival. The last thing Beaton ever did was save his wife's life. "I screamed his name and he wasn't answering me. There was a lot of blood," Laurie said. Beaton, a 54-year-old construction worker, had been shot and later died. He leaves behind a 20-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter. "I knew every day that he would protect me and take care of me and love me unconditionally, and what he did is no surprise to me, and he is my hero," Laurie said. Steven Berger, of Minnesota, was celebrating his 44th birthday with friends at the Las Vegas music festival when he was shot and killed. The financial advisor, who loved country music, leaves behind his three children and his devastated parents. "He's our only son," Steven's father, Richard Berger, told the Associated Press. "It's terrible." After spending more than 24 hours uncertain of his son's fate, Richard Berger said the coroner's office in Las Vegas delivered the news Tuesday afternoon. "At least now we know," Richard Berger said. "Now we got busy things to do with three grandchildren.", Candice Bowers was a single mother of three, who had recently grown her family by adopting a 2-year-old, relatives told the Orange County Register. Bowers, 40, was a hardworking restaurant waitress who always managed to take care of her entire family on her own, Bowers' grandmother, Patricia Zacker, told the newspaper. "She never had any support, except herself," Zacker said. Bowers' family had encouraged her to have some fun and go with a friend to the musical festival in Las Vegas. But she never made it out of the venue alive. Zacker remembered her granddaughter for her smile and big heart. "She was a generous girl," she said. Denise Burditus of Martinsburg, W.Va. was a grandmother who attended the festival with her husband, Tony. "It saddens me to say that I lost my wife of 32 years, a mother of two, soon to be grandmother of five this evening in the Las Vegas shooting," Tony wrote on his Facebook page, according to MetroNews, a radio station in West Virginia. "Denise passed in my arms. I LOVE YOU BABE." Tony posted a picture of the two of them kissing on his Facebook page on Monday. A special education teacher at Manhattan Beach Middle School in southern California, Sandy Casey had a demonstrable impact on her students, their families and the school community, Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Mike Matthews said in a statement. Casey worked at the middle school for almost a decade. "She is loved by students and colleagues alike and will be remembered for her sense of humor, her passion for her work, her devotion to her students, and her commitment to continuing her own learning and to taking on whatever new projects came her way," Matthews said. "We lost a spectacular teacher who devoted her life to helping some of our most needy students.", Andrea Castilla was celebrating her 28th birthday in Las Vegas with family when terror struck. She was holding hands with her sisters watching the show when gunshots and yells of "Duck!" broke out, reports the Associated Press, citing the family's GoFundMe page. "Sadly, Andrea was shot in the head." wrote her aunt Marina Parker. Castilla was carried by family members to a nearby highway, where a truck drove them to a hospital. She died after arriving at the hospital. The family said that due to a mix up with another patient, they were told of her death hours later. "Our entire family is heartbroken," Parker wrote on Facebook. Denise Cohen was supposed to return to California High School in Ramon, Calif. where she graduated in 1977, for a reunion in mid-October. The school's alumni association confirmed her death Tuesday on its Facebook page. "She was an amazing, vibrant, positive classmate and friend," wrote her friend and fellow graduate Tina Lippis-Mancebo. Cohen died with her boyfriend, 56-year-old Derrick "Bo" Taylor, the AP reports. Her son, Jeff Rees, recalls her laughter, as well as how she made people around her feel their best. "When she would take me to the movies as a kid, I was just waiting to hear her laugh because it would just crack me up," Rees told AP. "I feel sorry for all of the people in the world who never got a chance to meet her.", In Riverside, Calif. loved ones of 29-year-old Austin Davis were anxiously waiting for Davis to turn up somehow after he attended the musical festival in Las Vegas and went missing after the shooting. They eventually learned he never made it out alive. "I can't believe this happened. You didn't deserve this," his girlfriend, Aubree Hennigan, wrote on Facebook. Thomas Day Jr.'s four adult children loved being with him. All four, who had joined him for the music festival, are now left grieving after the 54-year-old California home builder was gunned down, their grandfather told the Los Angeles Times. "He was the best dad. That's why the kids were with him," Thomas Day Sr. said. "His kids are with me right now. They're crushed.", Christiana Duarte had recently graduated from the University of Arizona with a business marketing degree, according to the Los Angeles Times. The 21-year-old was working for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team when she was gunned down during the Route 91 music festival, family members told NBC Los Angeles. She was among those declared missing after the massacre. , Stacee Rodrigues Etcheber was enjoying the Las Vegas music festival with her husband of 13 years, Vinnie Etcheber, a San Francisco police officer. When bullets rang out, Vinnie instructed his wife to run for safety while he sprang into action, helping victims, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The two got separated, and Stacee was later shot and killed, family members said, according to the Chronicle. Stacee Rodrigues Etcheber, 50, was a longtime hair stylist back home in California. Her brother-in-law, Al Etcheber, wrote on Facebook that Stacee leaves behind two children. Almost 24 hours earlier, Al Etcheber had posted a plea for people to help find Stacee, who was missing at the time. Brian Fraser was his stepson's "rock" and "mentor" before a gunman ended his life. Nick Arellano, 25, told the Orange County Register how his father loved seeking thrills and adventures. Fraser, 39, enjoyed hunting, deep-sea fishing and snowboarding. He recently started learning how to fly airplanes, Arellano said. Fraser, of La Palma, Calif. leaves behind his wife and four children. "He helped anyone who asked. That's why people loved and adored him," Arellano said. Keri Galvan was fatally shot in the head, leaving behind her husband and their three children, who are between 2 and 10 years old, according to the Ventura County Star. Galvan, 31, of Thousand Oaks, Calif. was a cocktail server and a popular staple at a local steakhouse, where she had worked for almost a decade, the newspaper said. "She's always being there for everybody," her sister, Lindsey Poole, told the Star. "She never forgets anybody's special occasion. She's just constantly making sure everybody's OK.", Dana Gardner, who had worked for San Bernardino County, Calif. for 26 years, died Monday after sustaining two gunshot wounds, the San Bernardino County Assessor/Recorder's office said. "I am so very sorry to report that one of the Assessor/Recorder employees in attendance at the event was shot twice and, tragically, passed away this morning," San Bernardino County Interim CEO Dena Smith said in an email to the Board of Supervisors, according to local media reports. , Angie Gomez was a 2015 graduate from Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside, Calif. the school's PTSA confirmed in a Facebook post. "She will always be loved and endeared by our Poly Family," the post said. , The off-duty Las Vegas police officer who was killed during the shooting, Charleston Hartfield was a youth football coach, husband and father, according friends of his who spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media outlets. "Coach Hartfield touched many lives both on and off the field," his youth football team, called the Henderson Cowboys, wrote in a Facebook post. "He was a great man who we all lost way to early.", Hartfield was also a published author, who wrote a memoir detailing his time working in law enforcement in Las Vegas, titled Memoirs of a Public Servant. It was published in July. , Chris Hazencomb died shielding his best friend's wife from a hail of bullets at the music festival in Las Vegas, according to his mother, Maryanne Hazencomb. She took her son off life support Monday morning after he was shot in the head, she told the Ventura County Star. "You don't expect your kid to go before you go," Maryanne Hazencomb said. Chris Hazencomb worked at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Camarillo, Calif. He and his mother were very close. In the duffel bag he took to Las Vegas, there was a Route 91 T-shirt with a pink flamingo, according to the Star. It was a gift for his mother that he was never able to give her. Jennifer Irvine, a San Diego attorney, died in the shooting spree, her law firm, Fair Cadora, confirmed in an email to TIME on Tuesday. Irvine reportedly spent her final moments singing, dancing and holding hands with her girlfriends. Kyle Krasta, the Sports Director for CBS News and longtime friend of Irvine's, described her as "a shining light that will not be extinguished by a gutless coward with a gun," in a Facebook post Monday. "You bought so much joy to others, including me," he wrote. "You left this world singing dancing, but far too soon.", According to Irvine's profile in a directory of legal professionals, her interests included snowboarding and hot yoga. She had earned a black belt in the Korean martial art Taekwon-do. Teresa "Nicol" Kimura was killed when the gunman opened fire for the second time. The thirty-eight-year-old from Placentia, Calif. was in Las Vegas with six friends, who all survived the shooting rampage, reports the Orange County Register. "Her spirit was beautiful, her laugh was infectious, and she just had a way of making every time we gathered an awesome one," said her friend Ryan Miller, a pastor who attended the music festival with Kimura. Kimura worked in the Irvine office of California's Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The press office of Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledged her death Thursday, tweeting "Sad to learn @CDTFA employee Teresa Nicol Kimura was a victim of the Las Vegas shooting. We send sincere condolences to family coworkers.", Jessica Klymchuk, a Canadian resident, mother and wife, was also killed in the shooting. She was an educational assistant, bus driver and librarian at the St. Stephen's School in Valleyview, Alberta, according to CBC. "Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the Albertan who was killed in the Las Vegas attack," Alberta Premier Rachel Notely wrote on Twitter. "We are so sorry for your loss.", Carly Kreibaum, 33, of northwestern Iowa, was killed in Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas, her sister-in-law Sarah Rohwer told the Des Moines Register. Kreibaum had attended the music festival with two friends, who escaped unharmed after seeing Kreibaum get shot, according to the Sioux City Journal. Grieving family members told the Boston Globe that Rhonda LeRocque from Tewksbury, Mass. was killed while attending Sunday's open-air concert with her husband and young daughter. "All I know is someone started shooting and people are running and she got shot in the head," said Carol Marquis, LeRocque's grandmother. "And we lost a dear, close, good person one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life.", LeRoque worked for a design firm in Cambridge, Mass. and was active in her church, the Globe reports. Family members said her husband and daughter were unharmed. Loved ones remembered Victor Link as a music lover who held his family together. "He was the best of us," Link's sister, Lisa Hiestand, told the Washington Post. "He always had the time, no matter what, for family and friends." Link of Shafter, Calif. loved music festivals and often traveled around the state with his fiance to attend them, according to the Post. Jordan McIldoon was a mechanic apprentice from Maple Ridge, British Columbia in Canada. British Columbia Premier John Horgan said all government buildings in Victoria and Maple Ridge would fly their flags half mast in McIldoon's honor. McIldoon's last moments were spent with Heather Gooze, a Las Vegas bartender who was helping injured concertgoers. When a group of men came carrying McIldoon, Gooze stayed with him, she told CBC Radio. She "felt his fingers, like, tighten and then loosen," she said, discovering that he had died. She then stayed with him, answering calls from his loved ones on his cell phone, and messaging his family members on Facebook. "I would never want myself or one of my family members to be left alone," Gooze told CBC Radio. "I needed to make sure that they could identify him, that they knew who he was, that they knew he has a girlfriend who was here.", McIldoon's girlfriend, Amber, was unharmed. Kelsey Meadows graduated from Taft Union High School District in 2007 and served as a substitute teacher there since 2012, according to district superintendent Blanca Cavazos. "Kelsey was smart, compassionate and kind. She had a sweet spirit and a love for children," said Mary Alice Finn, principal of Taft Union High School. "Words cannot adequately capture the sorrow felt by her students, colleagues and friends in learning of her passing.", Meadows graduated in 2011 with a B.A. in History from Fresno State University. History professor Lori Clune remembers her as "a gifted teacher who demonstrated a skill and passion for her chosen profession." The university announced Tuesday that its flags will fly at half-staff on the day of her services, which has yet to be announced. Calla Medig, who worked as a waitress in Edmonton, Canada, took time off her job to attend the Route 91 festival, reports CBC News. It was her third time attending the country music event in Las Vegas, according to her employer. She was "super mature, light heartened, grounded, down to earth," Scott Collingwood, general manager of Moxie's restaurant, told CNN. "She left a big hole in our hearts here.", Medig, who was in her 20s, was described as kind and warm-hearted by friends on social media. "Calla was among the kindest and warm-hearted, beautiful souls I have ever had the pleasure to know," wrote former colleague Bailey Huebner on Facebook. "Her smile made such a positive impact on my life.", Sonny Melton, a certified nurse from Tennessee, saved his wife's life during the shooting. His wife, Dr. Heather Gulish Melton, remembered him a heartbreaking Facebook post. "Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his," she wrote. Sixty-seven-year-old Patricia Mestas died in last Sunday's shooting, the Clark County Coroner confirmed. Mestas was a country music enthusiast, reports Reuters. One of her favorite musicians was Jason Aldean, who was performing when the shooter opened fire. "She went to almost every country show in driving distance," a friend Isa Bahu told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Mestas lived in Menifee, Calif. The Clark County Coroner confirmed that Austin Meyer died in the shooting. Meyer was in Las Vegas with his fiance, who survived the shooting, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. They got tickets to the Route 91 Festival to celebrate his birthday and their anniversary. The 24-year-old from Monterey County, Calif. had recently moved to Reno to study Transportation Technology in Truckee Meadows Community College. "He had dreams of opening his own auto repair shop after graduation. He was excited to get married and start a family," his sister Veronica told KSBW-TV. Adrian Murfitt, 35, was a fisherman from Anchorage, Alaska, with a lifelong interest in hockey, his sister told the Associated Press. He traveled to the festival as a reward for a successful fishing season, his sister said. Racheal Parker was a record technician at the Manhattan Beach Police Department in Manhattan Beach, Calif. for 10 years. She "will be greatly missed," the department wrote in a statement. California-based kindergarten teacher Jenny Parks was in Las Vegas with her husband Bobby Parks for Sunday's concert. The parents of two were high school sweethearts, AP reports. Jenny had been planning to throw a 40th birthday party for her husband next week. While Bobby, who was shot in the arm, made it out of the concert alive, Jenny did not. "It breaks my heart," their friend Jessica Maddin said. "People go to concerts to have a good time, connect with others and escape the tragedies of this world.", Carrie Parsons lost her life in Las Vegas, two nights after seeing one of her favorite country singers, Eric Church, perform at the Route 91 music festival, according to the Washington Post. The 31-year-old Seattle recruiter had recently gotten engaged, her longtime friend, Laura Cooper, told KOMO News. "She was a one-in-a-million friend," Cooper said. "She would always say live, laugh, love' and she did that.", Robert Patterson was wondering early Tuesday how he would return home to Los Angeles and tell his 8-year-old daughter that her mother, Lisa, had died in the mass shooting in Las Vegas. "I don't know how I'm going to tell her. I have no idea. She loved her mommy so much. It's going to be devastating," Patterson told Fox 5 Las Vegas in an interview posted Tuesday morning. "I don't know how she's going to handle it. Even my older kids are just basket cases right now, just like me.", Patterson said he had not slept since the shooting. He and his wife had been together for more than 30 years and had three children together. "I'm lost right now," he said. "I can't believe she's gone.", Patterson said his wife loved being in Las Vegas and gambling. When the two had vacation time, they would often spend it in Vegas. Speaking at a small vigil for victims that had formed outside the Bellagio, Patterson told Fox 5 he would remember his wife for her smile and how warm and caring she was to everyone. "There was nobody that cared more about people and life more than my wife," he said. John Phippen died knowing his son did everything he could to try to save him. After Phippen was shot in the back, his son, Travis Phippen, attempted to stop the bleeding by plugging his father's bullet wound with one of his fingers as he dragged him to safety, according to the Los Angeles Times. But Travis Phippen's efforts ultimately weren't enough to save his dad. "He was my best friend," the younger Phippen, an off-duty emergency medical technician, told the Times. "He never did anything wrong to anybody. He was always kind and gentle. He was the biggest teddy bear I knew." Travis Phippen had also been shot in the arm. Both had traveled from Santa Clarita, Calif. to attend the concert. , The death of Melissa Ramirez, who worked as a member specialist for an auto insurer, was confirmed Tuesday by California State University, Bakersfield, where she graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. "We are terribly saddened to learn that we lost a member of our CSUB family in this senseless act of violence," president Horace Mitchell said in a statement. "Our entire CSUB campus community is heartbroken, and we send our deepest sympathies to Melissa Ramirez's family and friends.", After learning about the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, her parents and siblings rushed to Las Vegas from Littlerock, Calif, AP reports. They identified her body early Tuesday. "I'm sure she liked country music. I know she was really into music, period," her cousin Fabiola Farnetti told AP. "Her smile would just brighten up everyone's day.", Jordyn Rivera was in her fourth year at California State University, San Bernardino, according to Toms Morales, the school's president. Rivera was studying health care management and was also a member of the school's chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma, the national health education honor society. "I personally got a chance to know her when we spent time together last summer in London during the summer abroad program," Morales said in a statement. "We will remember and treasure her for her warmth, optimism, energy, and kindness.", , Quinton Robbins was at the concert, on a date with his girlfriend, when he was shot and killed, according to the Washington Post. Family members remembered the 20-year-old University of Nevada at Las Vegas student as "the most kind and loving soul" who had a "contagious laugh and smile." "Everyone who met him, loved him," his aunt, Kilee Wells Sanders, wrote on Facebook. "He was truly an amazing person.", Robbins's grandmother, Gaynor Wells, told the Post her grandson was "just a jewel." Robbins, who was thinking about attending dental school, was a recreational assistant with the city of Henderson in Nevada, according to the newspaper. His girlfriend was unharmed. Cameron Robinson was fatally shot at the Route 91 music festival, which he had attended with his boyfriend, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Robinson's sister Meghan Ervin told the newspaper her brother had been shot in the neck. He worked for the City of Las Vegas and commuted from Utah, his sister said. Six weeks ago, Rocio Guillen Rocha gave birth to a baby boy her fourth child. On Sunday, she was killed in Las Vegas, during one of the worst mass shootings in modern U.S. history, according to her fiance's sister, Nikki Stowers. Stowers told NPR that Rocha had died shortly after arriving at a hospital. Besides the infant, Rocha leaves behind an 18-month-old daughter, a 13-year-old son and a 17-year-old son, according to NPR. "I don't even know what to say," Stowers said. "She was such a great mom. It's so unfair that she's had her life taken away.", Tara Roe, a 34-year-old educational assistant in Canada, died in the musical festival shooting, according to her relatives and school district. Roe, of Alberta, leaves behind two sons, CTV News reported. "It is with sadness, shock, and grief that we confirm the loss of a Foothills School Division staff member," Foothills Superintendent of Schools said in a statement. A beloved secretary at Miyamura High School in Gallup, N.M. Lisa Romero was an "incredible, loving and sincere friend, mentor and advocate for our students," Mike Hyatt, interim superintendent of Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools, said at a press conference Monday. Christopher Roybal, a U.S. Navy veteran who survived two shootouts while serving in Afghanistan, died in the hail of gunfire at the concert, his mother told the New York Daily News on Monday. "I got confirmation today," said Roybal's mom, Debby Allen. "The coroner told me. It sounds like he got shot pretty quickly. I feel like I'm living in a nightmare, I want to wake up so badly.", Roybal was about to turn 29. He and his mother were in Vegas celebrating his upcoming birthday. Allen told the News she was supposed to meet her son at the concert after a nap. But when she got there, gunfire had erupted. A concert-goer pulled her away to safety, but Allen fought to run towards danger to find her son. "I desperately wanted to go back in to find him. Nobody would let me go back in. They were pulling me away. I kept screaming, My son! My son!' But they said, You can't go back into the gunfire,'" Allen said. "It was horrible. I couldn't keep my feet underneath me. I kept collapsing.", Allen said her son served seven years in the Navy, from 2005 to 2012. This year, Roybal moved from California to Colorado to help open other Crunch Fitness gyms, his boss, David Harman, told the Associated Press. "He is a guy that could always put a smile on your face after all the stuff he had been through," Harman said. In a Facebook post in July, Roybal described the trauma and fear that comes with getting shot at during battle. "What's it like to be shot at? It's a nightmare no amount of drugs, no amount of therapy and no amount of drunk talks with your war veteran buddies will ever be able to escape," he wrote. , Brett Schwanbeck, a retired truck driver from Bullhead City, Ariz. was in Las Vegas attending the Route 91 festival with his fiance, CNN reports. The father of three and grandfather of five was shot in the back of the head and leg, and succumbed to his injuries Tuesday in hospital, according to ABC15. Relatives remember Schwanbeck as a kind, loving man who treasured family time. "He would drive 500 miles to help you if you needed it. He loved his family dearly and cherished lake trips, family gatherings, hunting, camping and spending time with his kids and grandkids," reads the family's GoFundMe page. "He liked to be where no one else was at. He liked to get lost out in the middle of the woods," Shawn, his youngest son, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Infinity Communications and Consulting, where Bailey Schweitzer worked as a receptionist, released a statement Monday confirming her death in Las Vegas. Company CEO Fred Brakeman described her as "the ray of sunshine in our office on a cloudy day.", "If you have ever called or visited our office, she was the perky one that helped direct you to the staff member you needed," Brakeman wrote. Schweitzer grew up in Bakersfield, Calif. where her father Scott Schweitzer owns the Bakersfield Speedway car racing track, according to local media reports. Laura Shipp was a single mother who moved from California to Las Vegas to be closer to her only child her 23-year-old son who is a Marine, relatives told the Ventura County Star. "He just lost the most important person in his life," said Shipp's brother, Steve. "She was his world and he was hers.", Erick Silva, a Las Vegas native, was a security guard at the music festival. According to the coroner's office, Silva was shot in head, his uncle Rob Morgan told the Washington Post. Morgan remembers Silva as someone whose life goal was to help others. He recalls him buying burgers for homeless people, treating relatives to dinner, and helping his mother pay her bills by working long shifts and holding yard sales in his free time. "He said he would never leave his mom, she would never have to worry," Morgan told the Post. "I know that he was doing all that he could do to keep people safe before his life was taken," event manager James Garrett wrote on Facebook. Silva had started working with him a few weeks prior to the shooting rampage. Susan Smith was the office manager at Vista Fundamental Elementary School in Simi Valley, Calif. The school's PTA described her as "a wonderful woman, an advocate for our children, and a friend," in a post on Facebook, where parents and co-workers shared their condolences and memories of her positive, upbeat attitude and sense of humor. Brennan Stewart, an aspiring musician working in his family's construction firm, was attending the Route 91 Harvest festival with his girlfriend Gia Iantuono when the gunman struck. "I will remember Brennan as a light that came into my life when I needed one. In all aspects he was just wonderful," Iantuono told the Washington Post in a Facebook message. He played the guitar and, prior to the shooting, had finished recording the last song for his EP, she told the Post. Iantuono said that during the concert she fell on the ground after being hit in the knee by something, looked back and saw Stewart also on the ground. She started screaming when she saw blood. A man told her she had to run, Iantuono recalled, but she could not as her knee was dislocated. The same man then carried her first to a hiding place, and later to some bleachers. She later learnt that her boyfriend had died. Derrick Taylor, who worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for nearly three decades, was killed in Sunday's shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, his employer said. The 56-year-old, who was known as "Bo," was a commander at the Ventura Conservation Camp, a prison that houses up to 110 male inmates. Taylor began his career with the department in 1988 and earned the rank of a lieutenant. "There are no words to express the feeling of loss and sadness regarding Bo's passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. We truly are a family here at SCC and Bo's loss will be felt throughout the prison, conservation camps, and Department," Warden Joel Martinez wrote in a memo to staff, according to the department's online newsletter. Taylor had been dating 58-year-old Denise Cohen for several years, according to the AP. They both died at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas when the gunman opened fire. , A mother of three boys, Neysa Tonks was confirmed dead in a statement issued by her workplace Technologent, an IT firm based in Irvine, Calif. The statement described Tonks as a great mother, colleague and friend. "Neysa has brought so much joy, fun and laughter to Technologent she will be greatly missed by all!" it read. Despite efforts by several strangers to try to save her, Michelle Vo died after being shot while standing near the middle of a crowded concert arena Sunday. The man who had been standing next to her tried shielding her wounded body, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Then several other strangers performed CPR as they carried her to safety, the newspaper reported. Vo later died at a hospital. The 32-year-old had come to Las Vegas from California, where she worked in the insurance industry. The LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce confirmed her death in a statement. Vo's close friend, Casey Lubin, told BuzzFeed News that Vo was the "most vibrant, passionate, brave and kind person I have ever met.", Kurt von Tillow, a truck driver who lived in Cameron Park, Calif. died of his injuries from the shooting, reports CNN. He was at the Route 91 festival with a number of relatives, according to Sacramento's KCRA news channel. Von Tillow's sister and niece were injured in the shooting, while his wife, daughter and son-in-law were unharmed, KCRA reports. A longtime friend remembers the 55-year-old as a "fun, fun guy and a really friendly man" who loved golf and beer, reports the Sacramento Bee. "He was a big beer drinker," said Iain Marshall, who went on golfing trips with the von Tillows to Scotland and Ireland. "We stopped at every pub in England and Ireland, where there's a pub on every corner.", Bill Wolfe Jr. and his wife Robyn were at the music festival, celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary, according to ABC 27. The couple had traveled from Shippensburg, Pa. where Wolfe Jr. was a beloved elementary school wrestling coach. His local police department confirmed his death Tuesday. "It is with the most of broken hearts, the families of Bill Wolfe Jr. and his wife Robyn share that Bill has been confirmed to be among the deceased as a result of the mass attack in Las Vegas," the Shippensburg Police Department said in a Facebook post. "Please continue to hold our entire family as well as those affected across the nation in your unending prayers." |
US | Gunfire Rings Out in This Video of the Orlando Shooting Police Raid | David Ward was awakened by the horror with the initial gunshots early Sunday morning in his condo overlooking the rear of the Pulse nightclub. "Pop, Pop," he described the initial shots as sounding like the backfiring of a gasoline engine. Inside the club, those dancing and drinking thought they were illicit fireworks set off to the hip-hop music. Within seconds, it was clear it was something else entirely. It was the gunman, Omar Mateen, opening fire on innocents at the LGBT nightclub. Dozens of shots rained out quickly. The dance floor became a sea of bodies. The dead. The dying. The scrambling to get out. Hundreds fled out the doors, running as fast as they could to get away. "A number of them turned back around when they realized that their friends that they came with weren't with them," said Ward, who shot the video below. An off-duty police officer stationed at the club opened exchanged fire with Mateen near the entrance. More officers arrived within and traded fire, as Mateen retreated to a bathroom with several hostages. He used a cell phone to call 911 to pledge his allegiance to the Islamic State, law enforcement officials said. 15-20 people were trapped in an adjacent restroom, unable to leave. Talking to hostage negotiators Mateen was calm and collected, Orlando police Chief John Mina said, as he threatened to detonate explosives and kill his hostages. Believing the loss of more life was imminent, police ordered a rescue operation. A SWAT team used explosives and an up-armored vehicle to breach a rear wall of the club. "It shook the building. It was a pretty big concussion," said Ward. More than a dozen people trapped inside the club climbed through the hole. So did Mateen, exiting with a pair of weapons, apparently bent on causing more harm. In an intense barrage, officers killed Mateen. "The amount of fire was just unbelievable," Ward told TIME. Officers and EMTs moved in quickly to remove the wounded, unsure if there were explosives set to detonate. "They were dragging people out on tarps from the scene as fast as they could across the street to the beds of pickup trucks and took off for the hospital," Ward said. |
US | Thousands of Students Mark Parkland Shooting Anniversary With Moment of Silence | PARKLAND, Fla. Thousands of students and adults across Florida are holding a moment of silence to honor the 17 people killed one year ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. More than 1,000 Florida schools were pausing all work at 1017 a.m. to remember the 14 students and three staff members slain last Valentine's Day in the deadliest high school shooting in the nation's history. The shooting actually began about 220 p.m. School officials picked a different time because Stoneman Douglas students are being dismissed early to avoid being on campus at the time of the shooting. The decision to hold it at 1017 was made in honor of the 17 slain. Students in Broward County, where the shooting happened, are participating in service projects and other activities. |
US | California Passes FirstEver Bill to Define Sexual Consent on College Campuses | Correction Appended, Sept. 2, The California Senate passed a first-in-the-nation bill Thursday to define what amounts to consensual sexual activity in colleges in the state, a milestone at a time when colleges across the country are under close scrutiny for how they handle campus sexual assault. The bill will head next to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. If enacted, it would make colleges adopt a student conduct policy requiring "affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity," as a condition for state funding. The bill defines consent to sex as the presence of a "yes" rather than the absence of a "no," a cultural shift that victim's groups have long advocated. In practice, colleges would be required to use the bill's definition when they teach students about sexual assault during orientations, and when investigating claims of sexual assault. It would apply any public or private colleges that receive state financial aid funding. California's bill comes after more than a year of pressure from the federal government, Congress, and student activists for higher education institutions to do more to prevent the widespread sexual assault occurring on the nation's campuses. Colleges and universities have been changing their policies for months in response to federal pressure. And after recent changes in the Violence Against Women Act that require colleges to explicitly report their prevention efforts, many colleges will be unveiling new policies and programs this fall where they never existed before. The so-called "affirmative consent" standard that California's legislature has introduced in the latest bill is not a new concept. Similar affirmative consent policies already exist at some 800 post-secondary institutions across the country, including the 10 campuses that make up the University of California system. Educators from the University of California collaborated on the bill with its author, State Sen. Kevin de Leon, a Democrat, and the system's president, Janet Napolitano, has endorsed it. This would be the first time that a state has tried to put such a policy, usually confined to student conduct handbooks, into law. There is some disagreement in higher education about whether the affirmative consent standard is the best practice. Though many colleges have adopted it, Harvard recently rewrote its sexual assault policy without adopting an affirmative consent standard, to the dismay of women's advocates. Harvard's Title IX Officer, Mia Karvonides, said the school rejected such a policy because there is no "standard definition of affirmative consent," according to the student newspaper The Crimson. Critics of affirmative consent policies often point to an unrealistic set of standards set in 1991 by Antioch University in Ohio, which required verbal consent excluding "moans" for "each new level" of sexual activitya standard that doesn't reflect the real interactions between human beings during sex. The California bill stops short of Antioch's standard.The bill's language clarifies the definition of consent by stating what it is not. "Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent," it reads. "Affirmative consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time. The existence of a dating relationship between the persons involved, or the fact of past sexual relations between them, should never by itself be assumed to be an indicator of consent.", The bill's language does not require verbal consent, said Claire Conlon, a spokeswoman for de Leon, adding that it would allow for "verbal and non-verbal" consent. Conlon said the intent of the bill was to change the way school administrators approach their definition of sexual assault. Instead of asking "Did she say no?" We are having them ask, did she consent?," Conlon said. The bill does not require specific punishments for students found in violation of the policy. Brett Sokolow, a higher education risk management consultant who supports affirmative consent policies and the bill in California, uses a traffic metaphor to describe the kind of behavior these policies are designed to prevent. "You go forward on a green light. You stop on a red light. But most people tend to run the yellows. They tend to increase their speed rather than slowing down to look both ways. Affirmative consent is telling you to slow down at the yellow light. You've been able to fondle, pet, kiss, if you assume those lead you to the next behavior without permission, then you are running a yellow light. You are putting your needs to get through the intersection above the needs for others' safety." Sokolow said the affirmative consent policy is preventativeit won't stop predators, but it will coax some male students towards a healthier norm. Those who oppose the bill are concerned that such a policy, combined with unavoidably murky sexual encounters, will deny college men due process and unfairly categorize them as rapists, causing potentially unfair suspensions and expulsions or reputational damage. Matthew Kaiser, a lawyer in Washington who represents college men accused of sexual assault, said the policy's broad language could ensnare young men who acted in good faith. Even though the policy isn't as explicit as Antioch's, Kaiser sees a similar effect. "When people are having sex," he said, they "don't stop and say "can I do this now? It just sort of happens. If someone is sober and awake and not acting upon the other person, that looks like it would be prohibited under this bill. That strikes me as problematic, but its not clearly sexual assault. When you look at the language of the bill, its not clear what counts as sexual assault and what doesn't. It doesn't give the school flexibility to be discerning.", In addition to putting the schools at risk of losing federal funds, Kaiser said, the policy's enshrinement in student conduct codes would also put schools at risk of breach of contract from a female student if she felt that the male student wasn't punished adequately. The notion of consent as part of a rape definition isn't as controversial as some critics make it sound. In 2012, the federal government changed its definition of rape for the purposes of compiling statistics from "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will" to "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." Though the federal change is less specific than the California bill, the spirit of the changes is the samechanging the definition from one rooted in the woman's refusal to requiring her active consent. Administrators in California reached by TIME didn't see the policy as overly broad. Any policy that attempts to design the ground rules in sex is inherently imperfect, they said, but the policies that don't define consent are even less clear. Harvard's new definition for sexual assault, for example, prohibits "unwelcome" contactan impossibly subjective and equally vague term. Dianne Klein, a spokeswoman for the University of California system, which has already adopted an affirmative consent policy, said it's actually "a little less gray" than the previous policy that didn't explicitly define consent. "It makes it more clear. Is it crystal clear? Is it infallible? No. But that's just the nature of sexual activity," she said. No matter how the policy is written, colleges investigating sexual assault will come up against the same challenging he-said, she-said, confusion that any person investigating sex crimes must contend with. This policy at least gives students more information about the college's expectations. Klein rejects the idea that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction with this policy. "Both parties don't have to sign a contract before they unzip their pants" she said. The bill is also helpful, administrators said, because it brings publicity to the sexual assault issue, making it easier for them to get students to understand why understanding the definition of consent is so important. "The more people talk about it, the more women feel empowered to speak up when they are in bad situations," said Jerry Price, the Dean of Students at Chapman University, a private university in Orange, Calif. "If men are predators, the more this is talked about, the more reluctant they are going to be to try to get away with things. All this fanfare is good for what we are trying to accomplish." |
US | US Gives 15 Million to Help Cut Methane Emissions | U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday pledged 15 million to help get the World Bank's new initiative to cut methane emissions underway. The Pilot Auction Facility for Methane and Climate Mitigation will use auctions to allocate public funds and private investment into projects around the globe that reduce methane emissions, including those that cut waste from landfills and treatment plants. Addressing business leaders and government representatives at the opening of Climate Week NYC, Kerry said it was "about time" that world leaders recognized the "threat" of global warming. "It gives me hope that this global summit may actually produce the leadership that is necessary to try to come together and move the needle to take advantage of the small window of time that we have left in order to be able to prevent the worst impacts of climate change for already happening," he said. Kerry urged leaders attending the U.N. Climate Change Summit in New York, which kicks off Tuesday, to "move and act now" on global warming, reports Responding to Climate Change. The summit aims to engage governments and businesses into making real efforts to reduce climate change in preparation for an international agreement in 2015 to limit global warming to less than 2C. |
US | Thanksgiving Storm Leaves Hundreds of Thousands Without Electricity | Heavy snow that disrupted travel plans for many Americans left at least 248,000 properties without electricity on Thanksgiving morning. Power outages were reported from West Virginia to Vermont early Thursday including 94,000 customers in Maine, 53,000 in New York, 41,000 in Massachusetts and 27,000 in New Jersey. More than 700 flights were canceled with almost 5,000 others delayed and there were 125 accidents on snow-slicked roads in a single state on Wednesday, one of the busiest travel days of the year, Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News |
US | Los Angeles Teachers Have Approved a Contract to End Their SixDay Strike | LOS ANGELES Teachers overwhelmingly approved a new contract Tuesday and planned to return to the classroom after a six-day strike over funding and staffing in the nation's second-largest school district. Although all votes hadn't been counted, preliminary figures showed that a "vast supermajority" of some 30,000 educators voted in favor of the tentative deal, "therefore ending the strike and heading back to schools tomorrow," said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, accompanied by leaders of the union and the Los Angeles Unified School District, announced the agreement at City Hall a few hours after a 21-hour bargaining session ended before dawn. "This is a good agreement. It is a historic agreement," Garcetti said. The deal was broadly described by officials at the news conference as including a 6 percent pay hike and a commitment to reduce class sizes over four years. Specifics provided later by the district and the union included the addition of more than 600 nursing positions over the next three school years. Additional counselors and librarians were also part of the increase in support staff. Marianne O'Brien said the need for additional support staff was one of the main reasons she walked picket lines. "This is not just for teachers. It's also for counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers," said O'Brien, who teaches 10th grade English. The new contract also eliminates a longstanding clause that gave the district authority over class sizes, officials said. Grades 4 through 12 would be reduced by one student during each of the next two school years and two pupils in 2021-22. Clashes over pay, class sizes and support-staff levels in the district with 640,000 students led to its first strike in 30 years and prompted the staffing of classrooms with substitute teachers and administrators. The district maintained that the union's demands could bankrupt the school system, which is projecting a half-billion-dollar deficit this budget year and has billions obligated for pension payments and health coverage for retired teachers. District Superintendent Austin Beutner said he was delighted the deal was reached. But he hinted that financial challenges remained. "The issue has always been How do we pay for it?" Beutner said. "That issue does not go away now that we have a contract. We can't solve 40 years of underinvestment in public education in just one week or just one contract.", Under the tentative agreement, the district, the union and the mayor's office will work jointly to "advocate for increased county and state funding" for Los Angeles schools, according to the UTLA summary. The Board of Education was expected to move quickly to ratify the deal, which would expire at the end of June 2022. The deal came as teachers in Denver voted to go on strike as soon as next Monday. More than 5,000 educators would be affected. The main sticking point is increasing base pay and lessening teachers' reliance on one-time bonuses for having students with high test scores or working in a high-poverty school. In Oakland, California, some teachers called in sick last week as part of an unofficial rally over their contract negotiations, which also hinge partly on a demand for smaller class sizes. Thousands of boisterous educators, many wearing red, and their supporters gathered on the steps outside City Hall where the tentative agreement was announced. The crowd began cheering, blowing horns and chanting the initials of Caputo-Pearl as the smiling union leader emerged from the building and walked through the throng. Joaquin Flores, a special education teacher, said he believed he would support the deal unless it weakened health care or didn't go far enough to reduce class size. "It's almost like metaphoric," Flores said. "The sun's out. When we started, it was all rainy and cold. I feel like it's a new day.", Before teachers voted on the contract, Sharon Maloney said she was reluctant to support it without seeing details. She was skeptical that the district had made enough concessions on class size, health care benefits for new teachers or that the superintendent would spend enough of about 2 billion in reserves. "I suspect the motives of Beutner," Maloney said. Teachers hoped to build on the "Red4Ed" movement that began last year in West Virginia and moved to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado and Washington state. It spread from conservative states with "right to work" laws that limit the ability to strike to the more liberal West Coast with strong unions. |
US | North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate VoterID Law | North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory requested Monday that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts reinstate North Carolina's voter-ID law after an appeals court struck it down. In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in late July that a North Carolina law requiring voters to show certain types of photo ID at the polls had been "passed with racially discriminatory intent.", McCrory announced late Monday that changing the law so close to the November general election would cause havoc at the polls, according to the Charlotte News Observer. "Allowing the Fourth Circuit's ruling to stand creates confusion among voters and poll workers and it disregards our successful rollout of Voter ID in the 2016 primary elections," McCrory said in a statement. "The Fourth Circuit's ruling is just plain wrong and we cannot allow it to stand. We are confident that the Supreme Court will uphold our state's law and reverse the Fourth Circuit.", North Carolina's law was passed by the state's Republican-led legislature in 2013 and has faced intense scrutiny from critics since. Other states have faced similar court rulings over voter restrictions, as courts have blocked or weakened laws in Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas and North Dakota recently. |
US | Congress Votes to Arm Syrian Rebels | The Senate voted late Thursday to approve a measure authorizing the Obama Administration to arm Syrian rebels in a vote that united many of the chamber's liberals and conservatives. The 78-22 vote followed on a 319-108 vote in favor of the measure Wednesday in the House of Representatives, sending the bill, which also funds the U.S. government through November, to President Barack Obama for signature. The vote clears the way for the U.S. to directly arm and train "moderate" rebels in the fight against both Syrian President Bashar Assad and the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria ISIS. Obama thanked lawmakers for swiftly approving the measure, after requesting the authorization in a speech to the American people last week as part of the Administration's broad strategy to combat ISIS. "I am pleased that Congress, a majority of Democrats and a majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate have voted to support a key element of our strategy," Obama said from the White House. Obama said the congressional votes proved to the world that "when you threaten the United States and when you threaten our allies, it unites us, it doesn't divide us.", U.S. air strikes continued to target ISIS forces Thursday in Iraq, destroying an ISIS armed vehicle, two ISIS-occupied buildings and a large ISIS ground unit near Mosul and an ISIS ammunition stockpile southeast of Baghdad, U.S. Central Command announced. The President, who was briefed by Pentagon planners on potential ISIS targets for U.S. strikes in Syria on Wednesday, did not indicate when he would give the order for those efforts to commence. "Today our strikes against these terrorists continue," Obama said. "We're taking out their terrorists, we're destroying their vehicles, their equipment and their stockpiles.", The bipartisan nature of the vote belies the divide in Washington over Obama's strategy. Many of the most ambitious Senate lawmakers, including Republican Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders voted against the measure, which was the subject of spirited debate on the Senate floor Thursday. Senator Marco Rubio was the only likely 2016 presidential contender to vote in favor of the bill. , |
US | Daycare Workers Arrested for Allegedly Giving Kids MelatoninLaced Gummies | Three employees at an Illinois daycare center were arrested were arrested after they allegedly gave young children melatonin gummies before their nap time without their parents' permission, according to police. The three employees at the Des Plaines, Illinois-based Kiddie Junction day care were charged with two counts of endangering the life or health of a child and two counts of battery each, according to the Chicago Tribune. , Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that can also be taken as a sleep aid. Parents commonly use melatonin to help their children sleep and it is generally considered safe, but it has not been well studied for routine use, according to a 2016 paper from the National Institutes of Health. Des Plaines Police Commander Christopher Mierzwa told Tribune the parents of the children did not give permission for them to take melatonin. "You can't distribute that without the parents being told," he told the Tribune. The daycare workers, he added, "didn't know if the child was allergic to melatonin.", Police said the department was tipped off by management of the day care center March 2, and that children were given the melatonin-laced gummy bears "in an effort to calm them down before napping," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Police said none of the kids got sick as a result of the sleep aid. The daycare center offers programs for children ages six weeks to six years old, and says "a safe and healthy environment is a top priority" at the center, according to its website. A representative from Kiddie Junction said they day care had no comment. The Des Plaines Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TIME. |
US | Alaskas Students Will Be Taught How to Evade a School Shooter | Schools in Alaska will implement an active training approach to teach teachers and students, from kindergarten to 12th grade, how to evade a school shooter. The Anchorage School District will use ALICE alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate training to react in the event of a school shooter, joining about 11 other districts in Alaska and 3,700 districts across the U.S. that have adopted methods developed by the ALICE Training Institute, the Alaska Dispatch News reported. "We're not teaching people how to fight. We're teaching people how to survive when there's no other options," Mark Davis, the school district's director of security and safety, told ADN. Unlike the passive traditional lockdown approach many schools use, ALICE training, developed by a Texas law enforcement officer in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, allows students to actively react to a shooter. The method encourages evacuation, and, as a last resort, attacking the shooter if necessary. Students will be trained to "counter" a shooter in different ways, depending on their grade level, Davis said. "Anything is better than being passive because you already know why he's there and what his purpose is," Davis said, referring to a gunman. "So why make it easy on a person?", Training for the ALICE program will cost the school district 56,000 this year plus 25,000 in each of the next two years for training renewal, the ADN reported. |
US | 2 Arrested for Shooting at Black Lives Matter Protest | Two men have been arrested and other suspects are being sought after five people were shot in Minneapolis near a protest over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man. A 23-year-old white man was taken into custody in Bloomington, Minnesota, on Tuesday around 1120 a.m. Minneapolis police said in a statement, and a 32-year-old Hispanic man was arrested in South Minneapolis at about 1205 p.m. Neither of the suspects' names were released. Initially, police had said they were hunting for three white suspects. The five victims of Monday night's shooting were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries after the. . . Read more from our partners at NBC News |
US | Americas Gun Homicide Rate Is 25 Times Higher Than Other Rich Countries | Americans are much more likely to be shot dead than people who live in other high-income countries, according to a survey of global homicide rates. Homicide rates in the U.S. were seven times higher than an average of other high-income countries, largely fueled by a gun homicide rate in the U.S. that is about 25 times higher than others. The survey, published in the American Journal of Medicine, was conducted using 2010 mortality data from the World Health Organization for 23 high-income nations. Young people were particularly affected by gun deaths. The firearm homicide rate for those ages 15 to 25 in America was 49 times higher than in the other countries in the survey. The study also found that between 2003 and 2010, other countries saw a drop in the rate of homicides involving guns while the U.S. figure remained static. Survey authors Erin Grinshteyn and David Hernenway wrote that they began the study because previous comparisons between the U.S. and other countries are "more than a decade old." The two concluded that the country's firearm problem is "enormous" when compared with other countries and increased from 2003 to 2010. |
US | Read Betsy DeVos Speech About Changing ObamaEra Policies on Campus Sexual Assault | Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Thursday she's moving to end the Obama Administration's guidance on investigating cases of sexual assault on campus. "Through intimidation and coercion, the failed system has clearly pushed schools to overreach. With the heavy hand of Washington tipping the balance of her scale, the sad reality is that Lady Justice is not blind on campuses today," DeVos said while speaking at George Mason University in Virginia. "This unraveling of justice is shameful, it is wholly un-American, and it is anathema to the system of self-governance to which our founders pledged their lives over 240 years ago.", DeVos said the current system has failed victims of sexual assault as well as those who say they were falsely accused. Here are her remarks, as prepared for delivery |
US | Judge Frees 2 North Carolina Men Imprisoned for 30 Years | Two half-brothers who were convicted in the 1983 rape and murder of an 11-year-old North Carolina girl were ordered free Tuesday, after a judge ruled that they had been wrongly imprisoned thanks to newly discovered DNA evidence. North Carolina Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser overturned the convictions of death-row inmate Henry Lee McCollum, 50, and Leon Brown, 46, who had been serving a life sentence. Both men originally confessed to the rape and murder of Sabrina Buie, who was found dead in a soybean field in rural North Carolina. The ruling comes after an investigation by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission that found no DNA evidence at the crime scene that could be traced back to McCollum or Brown. But a cigarette found and tested in 2010 contained the DNA of another man, Roscoe Artis, who lived a block away from where the crime took place and is serving a life sentence for another murder and rape within weeks of Buie's death. "It's impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost," said Ken Rose, a lawyer who represents McCollum, in a statement. McCollum and Brown, both mentally challenged, initially signed statements saying they were responsible for Buie's death. According to Brown's defense lawyers, the two signed the statements believing they would go home afterward. "When Henry gave his confession, he got up to walk out of the interrogation room," says W. James Payne, a lawyer representing Brown. "He started to walk out the door.", Both appealed their convictions over the years. In 2006, Brown filed a motion to test the DNA of a cigarette butt found at the crime scene. The results eventually excluded both McCollum and Brown. Several years later, the state's innocence commission got involved and in July announced that DNA on the cigarette butt actually belonged to Artis. That led to the scene Tuesday, in which Judge Sasser announced that the convictions for both men were to be overturned. "I think I was crying harder than Leon," says Ann Kirby, one of Brown's lawyers. "To hear the word innocent in a courtroom is the pinnacle for any lawyer. It was history making.", Both men had been imprisoned for three decades, McCollum being the longest-serving inmate on death row in North Carolina. Brown was on death row for five years until a retrial dismissed his murder charge. "He always said, They can go to the North Pole, and they're not going to find anything,'" Kirby says, referring to Brown. "When we heard the verdict, we said, They went to the North Pole.' And he said, They sure did.'" |
US | Paramedics Face Charges for Taking Selfies with Unconscious Patients | Two Florida paramedics are facing criminal charges because they took selfies with patients inside ambulances as part of a "selfie war.", Kayla Renee Dubois, 24, and Christopher Wimmer, 33, took photos and videos with 41 identified patients, many of whom were "intubated, sedated, or otherwise unconscious at the time," the Miami Herald reports. They sent texts challenging each other to take more selfies and "step up" their game. Zimmer is also charged with holding open the eyelid of a sedated patient for a selfie and posing with an elderly woman with her breast exposed. This investigation launched on May 13 after officials learned about these allegations from three other EMS employees a week earlier. Some of the photos were sent to other people, but an investigator says "a very small number" of EMS personnel received these images and videos. Dubois was fired on May 20, and Wimmer also resigned that day. According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, two of the patients have since deceased, and three appear consensual. The remaining 36 patients include 19 women and 17 men. Their ages range from 24 to 86. Five of the patients are homeless. Miami Herald |
US | Protestors Throw a Confederate Flag on the Grill in New Orleans | Just blocks from the 2015 Essence Festival, where civil rights leaders are gathering to discuss what's next in the Black Lives Matter movement, a crowd of a nearly 100 protesters stood in the unrelenting New Orleans heat Saturday to demand action around a subject that's been gaining steam in the wake of the Charleston church massacre. Demonstrators burned a confederate battle flag in a charcoal grill beneath a towering statue honoring confederate general Robert E. Lee. The statue and other monuments to Confederate leaders that pepper the city, they demanded, must come down. "Down, down with the racist monuments. Up, up with the people's empowerment," the crowd chanted in unison. At the base of Lee's figure, which stands atop a 60ft column in a sprawling and immaculately kept circle also named after the general, two organizers of the protests ripped and burned a confederate battle flag that was purchased from the Confederate Memorial Museum, located just steps away. The flag, according to an organizer who identified himself only as Quess, cost 22. As the flag crackled in the charcoal grill, local trumpeter Mario Abney performed a jazzy melody and the crowd jeered and hooted. It was a far cry from Fourth of July barbecues taking place elsewhere in the United States. The national campaign to drive symbols of the confederacy out of the American mainstream was lent a sense of urgency by the shooting of nine black Americans in Charleston, South Carolina in June. The alleged shooter, Dylann Roof, posed with a confederate battle flag in images posted online alongside a racist screed. In the wake of the massacre, the South Carolina legislature moved to remove the flag from outside its statehouse a previously unthinkable act in a state where support for the flag as a symbol of Southern heritage still rides high. It was a bitter-tasting victory for a decades-long movement that had been gaining traction even before the shootings. Activists in New Orleans have won a series of concessions over the years the moving of a monument commemorating a bloody battle that many black residents felt glorified white supremacy the removal of the names of confederacy figures from a handful of schools. And last week, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said he wanted to rename Lee Circle and remove the statue. The change will likely coincide with the city's tri-centennial celebration in 2018. But the protestors at Saturday's march and rally don't want to wait that long. "We don't need any more dialogue, we need demolition," said Rev. Marie Ortiz, a veteran activist in the New Orleans area. Earlier, Ortiz told the crowd she'd been pushing for the removal of confederate symbols since her early 30s. She wants a figure of New Orleans Civil Rights leader Rev. Avery Alexander to replace Lee. "If his words were sincere and he meant it, it doesn't matter when he takes it down. Now is the time to do it," the 75-year-old said. Ortiz was among those who marched from New Orleans' Canal Street Ferry Station to Lee Circle Saturday. The group trekked down New Orleans' Convention Center Boulevard just past noon, occupying the same sidewalks and streets as cheerful tourists in town for the 21st annual Essence Festival. Many stopped to take pictures and chant along in solidarity. The group later veered onto Magazine Street, which houses the National World War II Museum, weaving in and out of clusters of confused tourists. Once they reached the statue, the protestors sang, chanted, and signed a petition calling for the immediate removal of Lee's statue and others found throughout the Big Easy, including a statue of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States. "There are monuments like these all over the city and these symbols create the environment for police brutality and oppression," said Quess, the organizer who led the flag-burning. "Black lives really don't matter if there are all of these monuments to our former oppressors." |
US | Americans Support Drone Strikes Rest of World Begs to Differ | Americans support drone strikes by a slim majority, even if the rest of the world begs to differ by a wide margin, according to a new poll released by Pew Research Center on Monday. The survey found that a majority of respondents in 39 countries opposed U.S. drone strikes, compared with only three countries, Israel, Kenya and the U.S. where more than half of respondents supported the tactic. Nowhere did the support match the lopsided opposition in countries such as Venezuela and Jordan, where disapproval topped 90. Despite these misgivings about signature American policies, global opinion of the U.S. remains unchanged according to Pew, with a median of 65 of respondents across 43 nations expressing positive views. |
US | Toledo Ohio Headed for Third Day With Drinking Water Ban | Water tests on Sunday night showed a toxin thought to come from an algae bloom was continuing to contaminate the regional water supply from Lake Erie, threatening to leave residents of Toledo, Ohio, and part of Michigan without drinking water for a third full day, but officials said the results were improving. Residents of Toledo and the surrounding area had been instructed on Saturday neither to drink their tap water or using it to brush their teeth, nor boil it, which would increase the concentration of microsystin, the Associated Press reports. Ingestion of the toxin could cause diarrhea, vomiting and other health issues. While the city's health department originally said the roughly 400,000 affected residents were free to take baths and showers, it advised that children and people with liver disease and sensitive skin avoid using water from the city's treatment plant to bathe, CBS News reports. As of Sunday night, no serious illnesses had yet been reported. City council members in Toledo, Ohio's fourth-largest city, are due to go over the results at a meeting on Monday, the AP adds. Ohio Governor John Kasich declared a state of emergency on Saturday and couldn't say how long the warning would last or what caused the spike in toxin levels. He said the state was working to provide supplies and safe water for the affected areas. "What's more important than water? Water's about life," Kasich said. "We know it's difficult. We know it's frustrating.", In a Saturday press conference, Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins called upon residents to stay calm. "I don't believe we'll ever be back to normal," he said, the Toledo Blade reports. "But this is not going to be our new normal. We're going to fix this. Our city is not going to be abandoned.", Meanwhile, police officers went to stores to keep the peace as residents stocked up on water in a scene one local said "looked like Black Friday.", "People were hoarding it," a different resident, Monica Morales, told the AP. "It's ridiculous.", One farmer from a nearby village, John Myers, put 450 gallons of well water into a container on his pickup truck and offered it up at no charge in a high school parking lot. "I never thought I'd see the day that I'd be giving water away," he said. While the city runs more tests, the Environmental Protection Agency office in Cincinnati will also investigate water samples from the lake. Though water plants along Lake Erie, which provides hydration for 11 million people, treat the water to combat algae, plant operators have grown concerned with threats from toxins in the past few years. A similar warning was in place for a small Ohio township roughly one year ago. CBS, MORE Slideshow Toledo Ohio Crisis, |
US | Say It Isnt So Candy Lovers Hospitalized After Eating Tainted Skittles | A pair who ate a bag of contaminated Skittles wound up at the hospital with burning throats, cramping and diarrhea on Tuesday. The Indiana State Department of Health said the package contained some sort of chemical substance. They're now analyzing the bag at the lab to determine the chemical, authorities told the Associated Press on Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating whether someone tampered with the package. Authorities are warning those who have a bag of Skittles with the lot numbers 08JUL14 023 or 01DEC14 023 not to eat the fruity candies and to contact the Indiana State police. AP |
US | No Jail for Affluenza Teen | A Texas teen involved in a car crash whose defense team presented an "affluenza" defense will serve no jail time over the incident. Ethan Couch was sentenced in a private hearing on Wednesday to go to a rehabilitation center to be paid for by his parents, the Associated Press reports. A prosecutor on the case said there is no minimum amount of time Couch is required to spend at the facility before leaving, though the boy could face prison time if he runs away from the facility or otherwise violates his probation. Prosecutors had asked the judge for a sentence of 20 years in Wednesday's hearing. Couch earlier received a sentence of 10 years' probation due to his role in a four-fatality car crash. Couch, then a 16-year-old, was driving with traces of Valium in his system and a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit when he lost control of his truck with seven passengers and rammed into a group of people helping a woman with a stalled car. Couch's defense team argued the boy suffered from "affluenza," having grown up so coddled by wealthy parents that he didn't develop a sense of responsibility. AP |
US | The Las Vegas Strip Will Go Dark to Honor the Victims of Last Years Mass Shooting | The iconic marquee lights of the Las Vegas strip will go dark Monday night as Sin City observes the first anniversary of a deadly mass shooting. The lights will be extinguished at 1001 p.m. on Monday in remembrance of the 58 victims, whose names will be read out at a memorial site, USA Today reports. Flags across Nevada will also reportedly fly at half-staff on Monday, and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval will speak at a sunrise ceremony that will observe 58 seconds of silence. "A lot of people have probably put it out of their minds," said Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, according to USA Today. "The anniversary is going to bring up a lot of feelings, good and bad.", On Oct. 1 last year, thousands of people convened in Las Vegas for the Route 91 Harvest music festival. But the concert devolved into terror and chaos when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. Read more These Are the Victims of the Las Vegas Shooting, Police later found Paddock, a 64-year-old retired accountant, dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators have not been able to identify his motive. The shooting was the deadliest in modern history, and prompted renewed debate about gun restrictions in America. Paddock had prepared for the massacre with at least 10 weapons, including rifles outfitted with "bump-stocks," a modification that allows semi-automatic guns to fire at a faster, nearly automatic rate. In March, after another shooting killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, the Justice Department proposed banning "bump stocks." |
US | Woman Taking a Selfie Falls from Californias Tallest Bridge | A woman lost her balance and fell 60 feet from underneath California's highest bridge while trying to take a selfie with friends on Tuesday, CNN reports. The unidentified Sacramento woman landed on the trail below the bridge and suffered an arm injury, fractured some bones and was knocked unconscious, her friend told CNN-affiliate KOVR. The group of six friends was walking on a support girder for the 730-ft.-tall bridge that is not open to the public. The Placer County Sheriff's Office said people generally found there are cited or arrested. "They were taking a picture on the bridge, and then the big bolts that are holding the beams togethershe stepped on them kind of weirdly and lost balance and fell backwards," the woman's friend, Paul Goncharuk, told KOVR. , The woman was airlifted to a medical center nearby and is expected to recover, the Sacramento Bee reports. , CNN |
US | Cincinnati Zoo Director Explains Why Gorilla Was Killed Instead of Tranquilized | The director of the Cincinnati Zoowhere a gorilla was shot dead Saturday to protect a three-year-old boy who fell into the enclosuredefended the zoo's actions on Monday, amid criticism from animal rights advocates. Thane Maynard said at a press conference on Monday that the 420-pound gorilla, named Harambe, was agitated and disoriented and acting erratically during the incident, the Associated Press reported. Maynard also explained why a tranquilizer could not have been used. "The idea of waiting and shooting it with a hypodermic was not a good idea," Maynard said at the press conference, People reported. "That would have definitely created alarm in the male gorilla. When you dart an animal, anesthetic doesn't work in one second, it works over a period of a few minutes to 10 minutes. The risk was due to the power of that animal.", The family of the toddlerwho have also faced criticism for not watching the boy closely enoughthanked zoo employees for making "a very difficult decision." And at a vigil on Monday, animal advocates said they wanted to remember Harambe, not protest the zoo. "We extend our heartfelt thanks for the quick action by the Cincinnati Zoo staff," the family's statement said. "We know that this was a very difficult decision for them, and that they are grieving the loss of their gorilla." |
US | Serena Williams Just Gave Birth and Her Sister Venus Couldnt Be More Excited | Serena Williams gave birth to a baby girl as the U.S. Open was going on. The news broke that Serena Williams had given birth to a baby girl shortly before Venus Williams had a U.S. Open match. "I'm super excited. Words can't describe it," Venus Williams said during a prematch interview with ESPN Friday. Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou also tweeted his support saying, "Congratulations @SerenaWilliams for your baby girl. I am so happy for you and I feel your emotion. Recover well enjoy without limitation. Btw @serenawilliams I wish you a speedy recovery we have a lot of work ahead of us.", Beyonce, who also just gave birth to twins, also posted a image, saying "Congratulations Serena!" on Instagram. The news that Serena Williams gave birth was broken by Chris Shepherd of West Palm Beach news station WPBF-25. "Tennis star Serena Williams gives birth to a baby girl weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Mom and baby doing well," Shepherd tweeted, which he said was confirmed by a source in St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. |
US | A Republican County Headquarters in North Carolina Was Firebombed Police Say | Police are investigating after the Orange County Republican headquarters in North Carolina was firebombed. A bottle of flammable liquid was thrown through the office's front window, authorities said, according to the Charlotte Observer. The words, "Nazi Republicans get out of town or else" were spray painted on a next-door building. "The office itself is a total loss," Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of state GOP told the Charlotte Observer. "The only thing important to us is that nobody was killed, and they very well could have been.", "This highly disturbing act goes far beyond vandalizing property it willfully threatens our community's safety via fire, and its hateful message undermines decency, respect and integrity in civic participation," Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said in a statement. No injuries were reported. Late Sunday, a GoFundMe page raising funds for rebuilding the office was set up by author David Weinberger, calling on Democrats to donate "no matter what your party affiliation" is. So far, over 13,000 has been raised from more than 500 people. |
US | North Carolina Republicans File Bill to Ban SameSex Marriage | Three Republican lawmakers have filed a bill seeking to outlaw same-sex marriage within North Carolina. House Bill 780, otherwise known as the "Uphold Historical Marriage Act," says the United States Supreme Court "overstepped its constitutional bounds" when it negated an amendment of North Carolina's constitution in its 2015 landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. , If passed, North Carolina's new bill would invalidate same-sex marriage, reportedly including marriages that have already been officiated both in and out of the state despite the Supreme Court's ruling. The bill's main sponsors are Reps. Larry Pittman, Michael Speciale, and Carl Ford, who in the filed bill cite a 61 affirmative vote for Article 14, Section 6 of the state's constitution that voided same-sex marriage and civil unions in 2012. |
US | Hugh Hefner May Be Deposed in Bill Cosby Suit | Hugh Hefner will be asked to testify in a civil suit accusing comedian Bill Cosby of molestation, celebrity attorney Gloria Allred said on Wednesday. Allred, who is representing client Judy Huth in the suit, said she intends to depose the Playboy founder, announcing it in a California courtroom, the New York Daily News reported. "Mr. Hefner is going to be 90 years old next week we need to proceed with his deposition," Allred said, according to the Daily News. Huth said she was plied with alcohol and molested by Cosby at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1974 when she was 15 years old. Dozens of women have accused Cosby of sexual abuse, with some also saying their abuse took place at the Playboy Mansion. Cosby, 78, has denied any wrongdoing. Read more Here Are All The Legal Cases Plaguing Bill Cosby, "Bill Cosby has been a good friend for many years and the mere thought of these allegations is truly saddening," Hefner said in a statement in 2014 after Huth filed the lawsuit, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "I would never tolerate this kind of behavior, regardless of who was involved.", In a ruling on Wednesday, a judge postponed further depositions of both Cosby and Huth, citing the comedian's right to avoid self-incrimination in a separate criminal case pending in Pennsylvania, Reuters reported. Allred previously deposed Cosby in October and had been scheduled to question him again on April 7, according to Reuters. The judge said he would allow other depositions to proceed. |
US | Rachel Dolezal Is Flat Broke But Unapologetic About Identifying as Black | Rachel Dolezal, the former civil rights activist whose claim to be black caused outcry in 2015, has said she is living in penury and facing the prospect of losing her home in a new interview. Yet Dolezal, who was a N.A.A.C.P. branch president when it was discovered she had been born to white parents, said in the interview with the Guardian that she will not "apologise and grovel" for her actions. She generated global headlines after questions from a local reporter led to her parents releasing childhood photos of her and denouncing her as a fraud. Today, she continues to identify as black and denies doing anything wrong. "I don't think you can do something wrong with your identity if you're living in your authenticity," Dolezal said. "I'm not going to stoop and apologize and grovel and feel bad about it.", She has written a memoir about her experiences, which will be released next month after having been turned down by around 30 publishing houses. In the midst of the race scandal, the activist resigned her position at the N.A.A.C.P. and was fired from a teaching position at Eastern Washington University. Dolezal said she wrote the memoir to "set the record straight" and to "open up this dialogue about race and identity". "Calling myself black feels more accurate than saying I'm white," she said. Guardian, , , |
US | President Trump Says the US May be Near a Big Trade Agreement with Mexico | Bloomberg President Donald Trump said the U.S. may be on the verge of a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico as the Nafta representative of that nation's president-elect signaled that the thorny issue of rules for the energy industry seems to be resolved. Trump emphasized the collaboration with the current and incoming Mexican administrations. "Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour," he tweeted early Saturday. "Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together.", , Jesus Seade, the envoy from incoming Mexican leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, arrived at a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer saying the nations have resolved concerns that the deal had too many restrictions on how the next government can treat foreign oil companies investing in Mexico. "It was a rich, fun, important negotiation, from which everything emerged in a very satisfactory way for all involved," Seade told reporters after returning to Washington following meetings with the incoming administration in Mexico City on Thursday. "We've adjusted very well the focus, but without changing the content, the substance, and we've arrived at a solution that should be satisfactory for everyone," Seade said. "We still need to check technical texts, and I want to be respectful of everyone, but it's now substantially agreed, with the correct focus.", Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray also attended the meeting with Lighthizer, and Guajardo said he expects Saturday to be a big day for negotiations. Nafta talks are poised to spill into next week, pushing up against the goal for a deal by the end of the month, as the countries work out their issues before Canada is expected to rejoin the talks to update the three-nation agreement. |
US | A Pardon Is Unnecessary Muhammad Alis Lawyer Responds to President Trumps Pardon Consideration | After President Donald Trump said on Friday he "may pardon" Muhammad Ali, the late boxer's attorney responded that the pardon would be "unnecessary.", "We appreciate President Trump's sentiment, but a pardon is unnecessary," the statement from Ron Tweel said. "The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Muhammad Ali in a unanimous decision in 1971. There is no conviction from which a pardon is needed.", , Trump had said earlier Friday morning that he was "very seriously" considering pardoning Ali amid a string of recent pardons and commutations from the President, including the late boxer Jack Johnson, who received a rare posthumous pardon in May. Ali was arrested in 1967 when he refused to be drafted into the U.S. military during the Vietnam conflict. The boxer refused three times to step forward when his name was called at his draft induction in April of that year, for which he faced a 10,000 fine and up to five years in prison. "My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America," Ali said at the time. Shoot them for what? How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.", Ali was eventually convicted of violating Selective Service laws and sentenced to five years in prison. However, as Ali's lawyer pointed out in the statement, during the 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case Clay v. U.S. Ali was cleared of all charges. The court unanimously decided he was in fact a true contentious objector and not just a draft dodger. "In this Court the Government has now fully conceded that the petitioner's beliefs are based upon religious training and belief," the court's opinion said. "For the record shows that the petitioner's beliefs are founded on tenets of the Muslim religion as he understands them." |
US | Princes Death Another Fatality in the Rise of Opioids | News that Prince died of an opioid overdose is just one more tragic example of a nationwide trend Opioids, such as prescription painkillers, are the leading cause of deaths due to drug overdoses in America, and rising quickly. Opioids are considerably more deadly among the general population than heroin, another drug that has seen a rise in fatalities in recent years. In 2014, 18,893 Americans died from overdosing on opioids, compared to 10,574 from heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control figures. Nearly 6 people for every 100,000 residents in the United States died of an opioid overdose in 2014, according to the CDC. Source CDC |
US | Millions of Spiders Appear in Giant Web in Tennessee | Millions of spiders have appeared in a web at least a half mile long in North Memphis, Tenn. The Washington Post reports that town residents are frightened, but that the occurrence isn't a dangerous one. It's part of "ballooning," where young spiders float away. "Young juvenile spiders of most families disperse by sending out a swath of silk threads that may be over a meter in length," Susan Riechart, a professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and former president of the American Arachnological Society, told The Post. "Particular air currents favor ballooning. This would explain the fact that thousands to hundreds of thousands may take off at the same time. Caught by the air currents, the spiderlings have no control over where they will land, but it is not surprising that they may fall in the same area.", functiond, s, id var js, fjs d.getElementsByTagNames0 if d.getElementByIdid return js d.createElements js.id id js.src 'https//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.jsxfbml1versionv2.11' fjs.parentNode.insertBeforejs, fjsdocument, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk', Riechart also said the spiders in Memphis appear to be "harmless," but that hasn't stopped residents from wishing away their new neighbors. "You can't even sit in a neighbor's house because they're all on the wall, on the door. We been killing spiders for about an hour now," Debra Lewis told WMC Action News 5 of her neighbor's house. |
US | The Controversy Behind Denvers Historic 420 Celebration | Marijuana enthusiasts are already descending on Denver for what should be a raucous 4/20 celebration this weekend. Long marijuana's unofficial holiday, this April 20 will be the first since legal recreational pot shops opened in America and celebrants are preparing to mark occasion in high style. Among the festivities planned for Denver, America's largest city with legal weed, are concerts by Snoop "Smoke Weed Every Day" Dogg and Wyclef Jean, a student-run pot symposium and pot-friendly speed dating. The Cannabis Cup, a giant paraphernalia trade show running over the weekend, sold out its run of nearly 40,000 tickets. But the organizers behind Denver's long-established 420 Rally, a centerpiece of the celebration, wanted more. Smoking pot in public remains illegal in Denver, and though "smoking out" Denver's Civic Center has become a tradition of the rally, organizers wanted permission from city officials to light up in the park. In February, Miguel Lopez, who works year-round fundraising and organizing the rally, sent a letter through his lawyer Robert Corry to city officials, stating that the public consumption of marijuana would be actively encouraged during the festival. "It is patently obvious to anyone that has paid attention over the past ten years that, in that place, on that day, marijuana will be consumed by thousands of people," Corry wrote. "It is important for public servants to recognize fact, and live in the world of reality.", One of Lopez and Corry's central arguments was that Denver makes exceptions to its ban on the sale or consumption of alcohol in city parks, such as during the annual LGBT pride festival, which takes place in the same space as the 420 Rally. Now that recreational marijuana has been legalized, they reasoned, such tacit endorsements, or allowances, should be made for the green stuff, too. The letter backfired, as city officials pointed out that the 420 Rally had not yet received the permit organizers needed to legally hold any gathering at all. About two weeks later, Corry sent another letter rescinding his first one, and Lopez eventually agreed to stricter-than-normal terms including notifying attendees that "current law prohibits the consumption of marijuana in public.", Corry says he hoped that officials would be ready "to stop with the wink, wink, nudge, nudge" approach and sent the letter in the hopes that the festival attendees could finally be transparent about their imbibing this year. Mass arrests have not been a problem at the previous rallies, which have in part been so popular because the possession of marijuana in Colorado had a maximum 100 civil penalty before it was legalized there in 2012. But Corry says the city's response is a reminder that marijuana, which can only be legally smoked in private locations, remains on unequal footing with alcohol. "The war is not over," Corry says, "but battles are being won.", Amber Miller, a spokeswoman for the city of Denver, hints that rally attendees aren't going to have to worry too much about getting citations this year either, though police will certainly be present. "Every year the police department works to use their discretion around this event," she says. "We do our best to ensure the highest level of safety.", Lopez says that though the 420 Rally has been officially designated as a festival rather than a free-speech rally this year, the event "still maintains a strong political course and direction." He says they're expecting 80,000 people at the weekend-long event. "Marijuana is still illegal, even in Colorado, under federal law, so there's still a need for a rally," Corry adds. "No one is free if not everyone is free. And our brothers and sisters in other states are still operating under the yoke of prohibition.", You can find an exhaustive list of the events taking place in Denver to celebrate 4/20 at the Cannabist, the Denver Posts publication dedicated entirely to marijuana coverage. You can read their letter exchanges with the Denver government here, Denver 420 Festival Letter from Organizers to City, , Denver 420 Festival Letter Rescinded from Organizers, , Denver Government Letter to Organizers, |
US | Heres How Republicans Want to Crack Down on Large Protests | Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have introduced legislation aimed at curbing large protests, sparking heated debates as high-profile demonstrations greeted President Donald Trumps arrival in the White House. Sponsors and supporters of the bills defend them as a way to prevent riots and protect public safety, while critics call them a threat to First Amendment rights. That tug-of-war played out in Arizona this week, as Republican leaders on Monday declared a controversial bill dead after criticism that it undermined the Constitutional right to assembly. The bill would have expanded the definition of racketeering to include rioting and allowed protest organizers to be charged for demonstrations that escalated into riots. , "At the end of the day, I think the people need to know we are not about limiting people's rights," House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, a Republican, said in an interview with The Arizona Republic on Monday. The Republican-sponsored proposal had passed the state Senate last week. Arizona state Sen. Sonny Borrelli, who sponsored the bill, told the Republic that his goal had been to prevent property damage caused by riots. Across the country, bills introduced in at least 18 states this year have sought to criminalize some acts of protest and increase penalties for unlawful demonstrations, targeting protests that turn into riots, as well as those that block highways and require extra policing, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Most of these measures are either still under consideration or have been voted down. These are some of the key issues they address, Blocking public roadways Several states including Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Washington have all considered bills that would increase the penalties for obstructing traffic and blocking highways. A proposed state law in Tennessee would provide civil immunity to drivers who injure protesters who are blocking traffic on a public road "if the driver was exercising due care." Last month, a similar bill failed in North Dakota, where activists camped for months and, at times, marched on highways to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. Costs of policing Minnesota lawmakers are still considering a bill that would allow government agencies to sue protesters for the cost of policing unlawful demonstrations. Protests in the state turned violent last year over the police killing of Philando Castile during a traffic stop. The incident garnered national attention after Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, livestreamed the aftermath of the shooting. Protests-turned-riots As in Arizona, a few proposed state laws have targeted protests that turn violent. In Oregon where an anti-Trump protest in November was declared a riot a proposed law would require community colleges and public universities to expel any student convicted of rioting. The bill is currently in committee. A Virginia bill proposed an increased penalty for protesters who remain at a riot after being warned to leave. It was defeated in the state Senate earlier this year. And in North Dakota, four measures inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests were signed into law last week, increasing the penalties for trespassing and rioting and making it a misdemeanor to wear a mask while committing a crime. Major protest movements in the U.S. have often been met with legislative responses at the state level, said Stanford professor Doug McAdam, author of Deeply Divided Racial Politics and Social Movements in Postwar America. He drew comparisons between current proposals and legislation in the 1950s and 1960s that sought to curtail participation in the civil rights movement. "We're really living in a period of escalating political action on both sides, deepening divisions," McAdam said. "Talk of proposing such legislation or even the passage of such bills is not likely to put the genie back in the bottle.", T.V. Reed, an English professor at Washington State University and author of The Art of Protest, said the scope and severity of recent bills differentiate them from earlier legislation. "In 40 years of studying protest, I have seen nothing like these proposals," Reed said in an email to TIME. "These kinds of laws would be un-American." |
US | Utah Policeman Kills His Family Then Himself | A Utah police officer shot four members of his family before killing himself, police there said Friday. Police in Spanish Fork, Utah believe Joshua Boren, 34, killed his wife, their two children, and his mother-in-law with a handgun before turning the weapon on himself, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Chief Steve Adams said Boren had not reported for duty Thursday night and his supervisor sent officers to his home. When they arrived, they found the lights on, but no answer at the door. "Through a window, officers noticed blood on the carpet of the front room as well as empty handgun shell casings," said Spanish Fork Lt. Matthew Johnson. When the officers gained entry to the house, they found the bodies of Boren, his wife Kelly, 32 their children Joshua, 7, and Haley, 5 and Boren's mother-in-law Marie King, 55. Authorities said they didn't find a suicide note, but did note that the Boren had been going through marital problems for several months. Despite that, Johnson said Boren showed no outward signs of trouble. "There were no warning signs," he said. "This was a total shock to everyone.", Salt Lake Tribune |
US | Sandra Bland May Have Killed Herself Because Nobody Posted Bail Jail Officials Say | Jail officials allege that Sandra Bland may have killed herself because her family didn't post bail soon enough, according to a motion filed to dismiss the lawsuit against two jailers. Blandwhose death in a Texas jail in July after she was arrested at a routine traffic stop sparked protests as another example of fraught encounters between white police officers and black citizenshung herself in her cell, a medical examiner ruled. Bland's family is suing the jail for negligence. In a motion to dismiss Bland's family's lawsuit, attorneys for Waller County, Texas say that jailers followed protocol, including suicide screening, and that Bland took her own life after she could not get the 515 she needed for bail. "It is apparent now that Bland's inability to secure her release from jail and her family and friends' refusal to bail her out of jail led her to commit suicide," the motion said, according to the Chicago Tribune. Cannon Lambert, an attorney for Bland's family, said the motion was "extremely premature," and said that she is still seeking more information. Chicago Tribune |
US | Thousands Gather in Orlando for Somber Vigil | They held burning candles aloft in tearful silence as the single church bell tolled, the pauses between chimes just long enough to dull the anticipation of the next. For nearly five minutes the bell atop Orlando's First United Methodist Church rang 49 times, the echoes reverberating across the plaza across from city hall. Each represented one of the 49 lives lost early Sunday morning when a hate-filled gunman opened fire at the Pulse nightclub one mile away. Nearly 10,000 people filled the square in downtown Orlando in the searing evening heat to mourn those lost and pray for the injured. Local political, law enforcement and faith leaders joined with Latino and LGBT leaders to try to begin the healing process after the worst mass shooting in American history and the largest terrorist attack in the country since 9/11. "Tonight we remain a city in pain," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said, flanked by local leaders and Orlando police chief John Mina, credited with ordering the operation that rescued dozens trapped inside the nightclub. "We are mourning and we are angry.", The vigil marked a somber day of grim accounting in the city, as medical examiners completed the identification of the dead and officials finished the notification of family members of the fallen a task completed just before the vigil began. The Orlando Gay Chorus performed Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" and the Beatles' "Let It Be," as hundreds of people held homemade signs, rainbow and American flags and flowers toward a makeshift memorial on the green in front of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. But through the agony, Dyer predicted the city would emerge stronger from the tragedy. "We can't wait to show the world that joy and love conquers hate," he said. "Hate will not define us. Hate will not defeat us. Because we are One Orlando.", He announced the formation of the One Orlando Fund, a nonprofit to help the victims and their families 53 were injured in the attack, and dozens remain hospitalized which raised more than 700,000 in its first few hours from local businesses. Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, joined the Rev. Bryan Fulwider on stage to condemn the atrocity committed by Omar Mateen, a Muslim who officials said was radicalized online and pledged allegiance to ISIS before he was killed in a shootout with police officers. "We are deeply hurt," Musri said. "Our heart is broken. Our lives are upside down We cannot believe that someone who claims my peaceful faith brought a massacre, an atrocity on our city.", Musri called on Muslim leaders across the country to gather on the National Mall in Washington next month to condemn extremism. "We call on Muslim leaders around the world to stand up and deal with this cancer once and for all," he said. "We are all part of the Latino community. We are all part of the Islamic community here in Orlando," Fulwider said. Neema Bahrami, the manager of the LGBT nightclub, joined more than two dozen Pulse employees past and present to proclaim that the nightclub will rebuild. , "I want you to know we are not leaving," he said. "We are here to stay. We will be bigger and better than you can ever imagine. We will not be defeated. We are here to stay.", A formal memorial service was being set for Thursday, with President Obama planning a trip to the city, the White House said late Monday. |
US | New York City Reaches 59 Million Settlement With Eric Garners Family | Nearly one year after the death of Eric Garner, his family has reached a settlement agreement with the city of New York that will award them 5.9 million. Garner's wife, mother and other relatives had taken legal steps last year to bring a lawsuit against the city, but the comptroller, Scott Stringer, elected to award them the settlement before a lawsuit was formally filed. This method is meant to bring closure to the family more quickly and save taxpayers money that would be spent on hefty legal fees, according to the New York Times. Garner was killed in a chokehold during an arrest by the police on Staten Island. A grand jury did not indict the officer who placed him in the chokehold, Daniel Pantaleo. Garner's death prompted outrage around the country, with protestors repeating his final words, "I can't breathe," as a battle cry for justice. Garner's family will reportedly lead a rally petitioning the federal government to bring charges against the officers who arrested him on Saturday, one day after the one-year anniversary of his death. NYT |