The bill for compensating families of those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire in London may be as low as 4 million pounds ($5 million), according to several lawyers and a Reuters analysis of how damages laws apply in England. The blaze engulfed a 24-storey social housing block in west London on June 14, killing an estimated 80 people in the country s deadliest fire since World War Two. While similar disasters in the United States have led to massive payouts, any compensation for Grenfell would be far lower because English laws offer less generous damages and don t allow punitive claims, even if companies are found criminally responsible, said Brett Dixon, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). The four main firms that have been linked to the Grenfell fire - U.S. companies Arconic Inc. and Whirlpool Corp. and Britain s Harley Facades and Rydon Group - declined to comment on the size or calculation of potential payouts. The Reuters calculation of a bill of 4 million pounds is based on the compensation amounts stipulated in the Fatal Accidents Act of 1976, precedents set in previous cases and the individual circumstances of the 70 victims identified so far. Three personal injury lawyers have verified the methodology used by Reuters and said the estimate for the total payout is reasonable. If the courts find there was no unlawful behavior by any of the companies or public bodies involved, victims will not be entitled to sue for compensation and would only get the financial support and temporary housing already provided by the government and public donations, personal injury lawyers said. The British judicial system is not renowned for being generous, said Rebecca Thomas of law firm Duncan Lewis, which is representing some victims families. It s not about money for the families, said Tim Murphy, whose brother Denis, a disabled former painter who lived on the 14th floor, died in the fire. Nothing can ease our pain, (but) I think it s quite insulting. The U.S. legal system sees punitive damages as a way of encouraging companies to behave lawfully, but British and European governments have taken the view this approach would put excessive burdens on the judicial system, businesses, insurers and state bodies that might be liable, some legal experts say. While APIL said the Grenfell Tower disaster demonstrated the inadequacy of payouts to victims, Duncan Fairgrieve, who has advised the UK government on compensation rules, said more generous payouts could also harm society. They could drive up insurance costs for all and lead to big claims against government bodies such as the National Health Service and the police, he said. There is an affordability issue, said Fairgrieve, a Senior Research Fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. If the courts find someone was wrongfully killed, the claim categories are a flat 12,980 pounds per victim for bereavement, costs such as funeral bills, dependency damages where minors or dependent spouses are left behind, and property damage - all to be paid by the party found responsible. Under the 1976 law, only family members who were supported by those who died can claim dependency damages. Reuters has identified only five people who died leaving dependents who could definitely claim damages - on the basis they were financially dependent on the deceased. Daniel Machover, a lawyer at Hickman and Rose, which is representing some victims families, also said he didn t expect there to be many claims. Most of the others who died in the fire were minors, single or elderly and did not leave family members who were financially dependent upon them. The biggest dependency payout will be for children who lost both parents, said lawyers representing some of the victims. One five-year-old girl, Tasnim Belkadi, lost her mother, father and all her siblings in the fire. Lawyers said she could get 300,000 pounds, based on a share of her parents income and some childcare costs up to her 18th birthday. Her aunt, with whom she now lives, did not respond to requests for comment on the Reuters calculation. Grenfell plaintiffs can also claim expenses they incurred as the result of a death, such as the cost of a modest funeral. Heirs to the deceased could also claim the value of goods lost in the fire. The Association of British Insurers puts the cost of replacing the contents of an average three-bedroom home at 55,000 pounds. However, Thomas said Grenfell claims would probably be less than 30,000 pounds per property because compensation is based on the market value of personal belongings rather than replacement value, and the flats destroyed had only one or two bedrooms. Based on the victims circumstances, Reuters has calculated the payout for dependency damages could be 1.2 million pounds, for property it could be 1.4 million and for bereavement it could come to 1.0 million. Other smaller claims for costs and loss of parental guidance take the total to 4 million pounds. Police said the fire started in a fridge freezer made by a subsidiary of U.S. company Whirlpool and have been investigating whether the tower s cladding, made by U.S. firm Arconic Inc., played a role in the spread of the blaze. Arconic said it was up to contractors to ensure its products were used correctly. Whirlpool said it was investigating the fire. Rydon Group, the contractor that oversaw the refurbishment when the new cladding was added, said it had complied with all regulations. Sub-contractor Harley Facades Ltd said it was not aware of any link between the fire and the cladding. Fears among investors that companies linked to Grenfell could be sued for large sums in the United States hit their shares. Whirlpool s market value fell about $250 million on June 23 when police identified the maker of the appliance as Hotpoint, a brand owned by Indesit, which is a subsidiary of Whirlpool based in Italy. More than $1 billion was wiped off Arconic Inc. s value after Reuters reported in June that internal emails showed it had supplied flammable cladding panels, knowing they would be used on the tower and despite warning in its brochures that only non-combustible panels should be used on tall buildings. Arconic s share price has recovered since its late June lows but it and Whirlpool s stock are below the levels they were at just before the fire, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 7 percent over the same period. Awards against companies in U.S. courts have run into the tens of millions of dollars per family in some cases. In 1980, a fire blamed in part on inadequate fire safety measures killed 85 people at the MGM Grand Hotel in Nevada and injured hundreds. The hotel operator and contractors agreed to pay victims families and survivors more than $200 million. Foreigners have often tried to sue U.S. corporations in U.S. courts over alleged wrongdoing abroad. However, judges have consistently ruled they lacked jurisdiction in such cases, saying adequate tribunals existed in the plaintiff s own country and that it would be hard for defendants to make their case in the United States. Machover at Hickman and Rose said he was considering whether Grenfell victims could bring a U.S. case on the basis that two of the companies involved were based there. But Thomas at Duncan Lewis and Leigh Day partner Jill Paterson were skeptical that U.S. courts would agree to hear Grenfell claims given the United Kingdom offers a reasonable forum for redress and because the U.S. companies were involved through European-registered subsidiaries. I can t see any circumstances under which they could bring this in the United States, said Thomas. Arconic and Whirlpool declined to comment on the possibility of legal claims against them.


Flint, Michigan (CNN) It was no Republican debate -- nobody talked about the size of their hands or made up demeaning nicknames -- but Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were ready for action Sunday night. Personal frustration peeked through as Clinton unloaded new attacks on Sanders over his opposition to the auto bailout and Sanders portrayed Clinton as a candidate straight out of Wall Street central casting. Sunday was also '90s night, as the candidates essentially re-litigated major political battles of the era -- including NAFTA, the assault weapons ban and crime bill -- through modern eyes. The debate came two days before Michigan's primary -- a key test of whether Sanders can expand his appeal to a broader and more diverse electorate -- and was shaped by the concerns of voters in this city that is still struggling with a water crisis for which local, state and federal officials share the blame. Here are five takeaways from Sunday's debate: Sanders waved, shouted, eye-rolled, baited and goaded his way through the debate. Clinton laid into his opposition to the auto industry bailout. That measure was part of a broader rescue of the financial industry, a point Sanders was only too happy to make by saying: "If you are talking about the Wall Street bailout, where some of your friends destroyed the economy —" And then Clinton said: "If you're going to talk, tell the whole story." Sanders railed against the bailout, saying that he decided to "let the billionaires themselves bail out Wall Street -- it shouldn't be the middle class" -- when Clinton tried to interject again. "Could I finish? You'll have your turn," he said. He showed his frustration with Clinton again later, saying: "Can I finish, please? All right?" The exchange demonstrated a new level of comfort with the hand-to-hand combat of presidential campaigns. But it was also a risky move, making him sound potentially patronizing or dismissive of a candidate who could become the first female president. This from a candidate who entered the race bragging about never running a negative ad. Sanders might keep their disputes focused on differences of policy -- but at times Sunday night, it looked and sounded personal. When Clinton was asked about fracking, she launched into a nuanced answer that gave credence to localities, state governments, and more. Her bottom line: There wouldn't be many places where it would be OK under her. Sanders had a much simpler answer. "No," he said. He doesn't support it. And he said he doesn't care about all the Democratic governors who support it. This, in a nutshell, is the difference between them. She has nuanced positions that look at the breadth of opinion across the country. She's also keenly aware of the limitations of government, and strains to keep her positions within those limits -- part of what she calls her "responsibility gene." Sanders has definitive positions that take a look at his ideology. That's the Democrat's choice: nuance or no nuance. This same difference showed up when the two delved into the Flint water crisis at the debate's outset. Clinton's big move on stage -- her news-making comment at the debate's outset -- was one she'd resisted for months, arguing it was simplistic. But she went for it Sunday night, saying she agrees with Sanders in saying Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder needs to go. "I agree the governor should resign or be recalled," she said. "First thing you do is say, people are not paying a water bill for poison water. And that is retroactive," he said. So she readied an attack that Sanders didn't seem prepared for, going at the Vermont senator for opposing the auto bailout. "The money was there and had to be released in order to save the auto industry and 4 million jobs and to begin the restructuring," Clinton said. "I voted to save the auto industry. He voted against the money that ended up saving the auto industry. I think that is a pretty big difference." Then, she ticked off a list of states where she thinks that vote will hurt Sanders. "Given the terrible pressures that the auto industry was under and that the middle class of this state and Ohio and Indiana and Illinois and Wisconsin and Missouri and other places in the Midwest were facing, I think it was the right decision to heed what President-elect Obama asked us to do," she said. "You were either for saving the auto industry or against it. I voted to save the auto industry and I'm very glad that I did." The damage was done: When Clinton dropped the auto bailout bomb, the audience audibly ooooohed, highlighting the potency of that argument in the home of the U.S. auto industry. But he had his tone-deaf moments, sparking outrage on social media when he seemed to suggest that black people grow up poor and in ghettos and white people do not -- a particular eye-raiser because he'd been asked about his racial blind spots. "When you're white, you don't know what it's like to be living in a ghetto, you don't know what it's like to be poor," Sanders said. For Sanders, this is the central challenge facing his campaign. Clinton blew him out across the South among African-Americans, and Sanders can't withstand her doing so again in big, Midwestern states. Michigan's March 8 primary will be a key test of whether Sanders can win with a more diverse electorate. The following week -- when Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Florida and North Carolina vote -- will be his moment of truth. Near the end of the debate, Sanders also cracked a joke about boosting funding for mental health, saying that "when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health." It was the right target (Republicans) and the right audience (liberals) -- but perhaps the wrong topic, as he again risked appearing insensitive. One for the base The debate was a strong sign that both candidates still see room to gain or lose ground among liberal voters. They spent so much time jockeying to get to each other's left that there was virtually no talk of Republicans at all. Clinton and Sanders defended government spending and intervention, teachers' unions, gun control, clean energy programs and efforts to fight climate change. They talked about a beefed-up role for the Environmental Protection Agency. There was no talk about foreign policy, the deficit, entitlements -- subjects always front-and-center at Republican debates. It's a clear sign that the Sanders camp doesn't see the Democratic nominating contest ending anytime soon, with liberal bastions like New York (which votes in April) and California (June) available as opportunities to rack up lots of delegates. Increasingly, Clinton is eyeing the general election on the campaign trail -- axing her usual shots at Sanders from her stump speech, focusing on the economy and laying into Republican front-runner Donald Trump. That wasn't apparent Sunday night.


The most crooked person to ever run for President The Obama administration is moving to dismiss charges against an arms dealer it had accused of selling weapons that were destined for Libyan rebels.Lawyers for the Justice Department on Monday filed a motion in federal court in Phoenix to drop the case against the arms dealer, an American named Marc Turi, whose lawyers also signed the motion.The deal averts a trial that threatened to cast additional scrutiny on Hillary Clinton s private emails as Secretary of State, and to expose reported Central Intelligence Agency attempts to arm rebels fighting Libyan leader Moammar Qadhafi.Government lawyers were facing a Wednesday deadline to produce documents to Turi s legal team, and the trial was officially set to begin on Election Day, although it likely would have been delayed by protracted disputes about classified information in the case.A Turi associate asserted that the government dropped the case because the proceedings could have embarrassed Clinton and President Barack Obama by calling attention to the reported role of their administration in supplying weapons that fell into the hands of Islamic extremist militants. They don t want this stuff to come out because it will look really bad for Obama and Clinton just before the election, said the associate.In the dismissal motion, prosecutors say discovery rulings from U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell contributed to the decision to drop the case. The joint motion asks the judge to accept a confidential agreement to resolve the case through a civil settlement between the State Department and the arms broker. Our position from the outset has been that this case never should have been brought and we re glad it s over, said Jean-Jacques Cabou, a Perkins Coie partner serving as court-appointed defense counsel in the case. Mr Turi didn t break the law .We re very glad the charges are being dismissed. Under the deal, Turi admits no guilt in the transactions he participated in, but he agreed to refrain from U.S.-regulated arms dealing for four years. A $200,000 civil penalty will be waived if Turi abides by the agreement.A State Department official confirmed the outlines of the agreement. Mr. Turi cooperated with the Department s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in its review and proposed administrative settlement of the alleged violations, said the official, who asked not be named. Based on a compliance review, DDTC alleged that Mr. Turi engaged in brokering activities for the proposed transfer of defense articles to Libya, a proscribed destination under [arms trade regulations,] despite the Department s denial of requests for the required prior approval of such activities. Turi adviser Robert Stryk of the government relations and consulting firm SPG accused the government of trying to scapegoat Turi to cover up Clinton s mishandling of Libya. The U.S. government spent millions of dollars, went all over the world to bankrupt him, and destroyed his life all to protect Hillary Clinton s crimes, he said, alluding to the deadly Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.


The Hill reported:The NAACP President Cornell William Brooks is calling on Donald Trump to apologize to Alabama Rep. John Lewis, after attacking the civil rights icon in a series of tweets. By disrespecting John Lewis, Donald Trump dishonored Lewis sacrifice & demeaned Americans & the rights, he nearly died (for). Apologize, Brooks tweeted.More and more Democrats are bailing on the Inaugural Let them! You know they didn t want to go anyway Some of the Dems who aren t going are as radical as they come so why even have them there.Please tell us what John Lewis has done LATELY for America


You have to love this! A Florida man greeted President Trump today with a question that the president told him to ask the press: Where was Obama on the last hurricane? Then he answered his own question: Obama Was Playing Golf During The Last Hurricane Remember that? Obama didn t want to interrupt his vacation to travel to see hurricane survivors Not one peep from Michelle either. What a difference a presidency makes!FLASHBACK TO MARTHA S VINEYARD: Where was President Obama when the most serious natural disaster happened during his 8 years in office? He was golfing on Martha s Vineyard, and refused to leave his golfing vacation to assess the situation.President Obama is stirring resentment over his refusal to interrupt his Martha s Vineyard vacation to survey the Louisiana flood the worst U.S. natural disaster since 2012 while drawing comparisons to President George W. Bush s hotly criticized response to Hurricane Katrina in the same state.Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson defended Mr. Obama at a press conference Thursday, insisting that the president is closely monitoring the situation but that he will not cut short his two-week breather in the tony Massachusetts resort. The president can t be everywhere, Mr. Johnson told reporters in Denham Springs, Louisiana.Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, backed him up, saying at the press conference that he is not complaining in any way about our federal partnership. Even so, Mr. Obama s lack of urgency is drawing unflattering parallels to the federal response in 2005, when Mr. Bush was branded as uncaring and even racist for not touching down during a flyover two days after Hurricane Katrina. Washington Times


U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday there could be unintended consequences from legislation allowing relatives of Sept. 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. "It appears there may be some unintended ramification of that (the law) and I do think it is worth further discussing," Republican McConnell told reporters. Congress on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected President Barack Obama's veto of the legislation.


Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is reportedly considering a run for U. S. Senate in 2018, when incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein ( ) is said to be considering retirement. [Several media outlets report that Schwarzenegger, who recently raised his profile with a series of Twitter clashes with President Donald Trump, is thinking of the political fray after several years' absence. Politico's Carla Marinucci reports: "The prospect of Schwarzenegger's return to elected politics in a 2018 U. S. Senate run — possibly as an independent — is generating increasing buzz in state Republican circles, fueled by the former governor's seeming ability to get under the skin of President Donald Trump on social media. " Schwarzenegger also opposed Trump in the Republican presidential primary, backing Ohio governor John Kasich instead. If elected, Schwarzenegger could pose a significant opposition threat to the Trump administration on issues such as climate change. California's controversial system was introduced under Schwarzenegger's administration. However, Schwarzenegger will have to confront his own political record along the way. Though he was to a second term in 2006, Schwarzenegger is mostly remembered for leaving the state in a fiscal mess after abandoning the reform agenda that brought him to office in the first place. The East Bay Times recalls: The Republican governor's approval ratings fluctuated while he was in office and were as high as 63 percent in March 2007. But five months after he left office, a Field Poll found that three of four California voters surveyed had a negative image of Schwarzenegger in the wake of revelations he had fathered a boy with a former household staff member while married to TV journalist Maria Shriver. Whether he runs as an independent or as a Republican, Schwarzenegger would face stiff competition from a long line of California Democrats who have been waiting, patiently, to angle for Feinstein's seat. Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the "most influential" people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.


A Kurdish referendum for independence has decreased focus on fighting Islamic State militants in Iraq, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the militant group said. The focus which used to be like a laser beam on ISIS is now not 100 percent there, so there has been an effect on the overall mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq as a result of the referendum, said coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon, using an acronym for Islamic State. Dillon added that there had been no impact on current military operations out of Erbil s airport.


Three prominent universities were sued on Tuesday, accused of allowing their employees to be charged excessive fees on their retirement savings. The universities — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Yale — each have retirement plans holding more than $3 billion in assets and are being individually sued by a number of their employees in cases seeking status. The lawyer representing the three groups of plaintiffs, Jerome J. Schlichter, is a pioneer in retirement plan litigation. Over the last decade, he has filed more than 20 lawsuits on behalf of workers in 401( k) retirement plans and has been widely credited with lowering plan fees across corporate America. With the suits filed in federal courts on Tuesday, the focus has turned to a corner of the retirement savings market, 403( b) plans, which are named for a section of the tax code. The accounts are similar to 401( k) plans, but are offered by public schools and nonprofit institutions like universities and hospitals. The complaints allege that the universities, as the plan sponsors, failed to monitor excessive fees paid to administer the plans and did not replace more expensive, investments with cheaper ones. Had the plans eliminated their long lists of investment options and used their bargaining power to cut costs, the complaints argue, participants could have collectively saved tens of millions of dollars. "It is important for retirees and employees of universities to have the same rights and ability to build their retirement assets as employees of companies," said Mr. Schlichter, a founding partner of Schlichter Bogard Denton in St. Louis. "They shouldn't be penalized. " In a statement, New York University said that it took the welfare of its faculty and employees seriously, including a dignified retirement. "The retirement plans offered to them are chosen and administered carefully and prudently. We will litigate this case vigorously and expect to prevail," said John Beckman, a university spokesman. A spokeswoman for M. I. T. said it did not comment on pending litigation, while Yale said it was "cautious and careful" in administering its plans and would defend itself vigorously. More attention is being paid to investment costs shouldered by American workers, who are less likely today to have pension plans. With the strong support of the Obama administration, the Labor Department introduced new rules in April to strengthen investor protections, requiring a broader group of financial professionals to act in customers' best interest when handling their retirement money. The aim is to reduce conflicts of interest and the fees consumers pay. Even modest reductions in costs can have a significant effect on retirees' savings. An example from the Labor Department: Paying one percentage point more in fees over a career — say 1. 5 percent instead of 0. 5 percent — could leave a worker with 28 percent less at retirement. An account with $25, 000 — and no further contributions for those 35 years — would rise to only $163, 000 instead of $227, 000, at an annual rate of 7 percent. Mr. Schlichter said the three universities' plans were targeted because more people were asking questions about their retirement accounts and "these involve clear breaches of the law. " The complaint against N. Y. U. — which involves two 403( b) plans covering faculty, research administration and the medical school — centers largely on costs. The complaint said that participants were offered too many investment choices (there were more than 100 options for faculty) and that many of them were too expensive. The suit, filed in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, singles out several investments, including the TIAA Traditional Annuity, which it said has severe restrictions and penalties for withdrawal, as well as variable annuities that have several layers of fees and have historically underperformed. A spokesman for TIAA said it offered plans and investments that provide lifetime income. The suit also argues that even the cheapest funds offered could have been provided for less, given the enormous size and bargaining power of the faculty and medical school plans, which together held $4. 2 billion in assets for more than 24, 000 participants at the end of 2014. The complaint alleges that the university did not use its negotiating powers to select a single record keeper for administrative tasks such as sending statements to employees. It said it also overpaid for these services for many years. The issues concerning Yale's 403( b) retirement plan — which held nearly $3. 6 billion in assets in the spring of 2014 — follow a similar pattern: multiple record keepers with excessive fees, costing participants millions of dollars over the last six years too many investments of the same style and the use of funds instead of identical but ones. That case was filed in Federal District Court in Connecticut. Yale eventually consolidated to one provider, TIAA, in April 2015, and swapped in some investments, but the suit claims that the changes did not go far enough to fully protect the interests of its employees. Mr. Schlichter said participants were still burdened with sorting through more than 100 options, many of which were too expensive. The complaints lodged against M. I. T. 's retirement plan (unusually, it is a 401( k) like those used by corporations) are similar but with a twist. The suit alleges that the university, because of its longstanding relationship with nearby Fidelity, did not conduct a thorough search for a plan provider, which might have provided better service for less. The retirement plan offered more than 340 investment options — including 180 Fidelity funds — until July 2015, when M. I. T. reduced the lineup to 37 options but still retained Fidelity as the record keeper. The complaint said that Fidelity had donated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to M. I. T. while Abigail Johnson, Fidelity's chief executive, has served as a member of M. I. T. 's board of trustees, giving her influence over the institution's . Had the plan reduced its options to those on the menu it adopted last year, "participants would have saved over $8 million in fees in 2014 alone, and many millions more since 2010," according to the complaint, filed in Federal District Court in Massachusetts. M. I. T. recognized that the plan structure was inefficient, the filing said, since that was part of the reason it said it made the changes. But even after the overhaul, the suit alleges, investment costs could be further reduced. Fidelity, which noted that it was not a defendant in the case, declined to comment. Mr. Schlichter's firm has settled about half of his 20 cases over the last 10 years. His first case involving a 403( b) was against Novant Health, a nonprofit hospital system, which settled last year for $32 million. In a landmark case he argued last year before the Supreme Court, the justices, in a unanimous decision, agreed that plan sponsors had a "continuing duty to monitor investments and remove imprudent ones. " A series of suits, from Mr. Schlichter's firm and others, continue to be filed in the corporate world: Several asset managers, including Neuberger Berman and Franklin Resources, among others, have recently been sued for putting their own investments in their employees' 401( k) plans. Some of the more prominent cases against 401( k) plans settled by Mr. Schlichter include a $62 million settlement against Lockheed Martin, $57 million from Boeing and $27. 5 million from Ameriprise, all in 2015. He also settled cases with Cigna, International Paper, Caterpillar, General Dynamics, Bechtel and Kraft. Mr. Schlichter said his firm, which works on a contingency basis, typically collects up to a third of the settlement, while the remainder goes to the plaintiffs and members of the class. He said that his settlements also required employers to make changes to their plans to ensure fees were reasonable in the future.


Deepwater Horizon Continues to Impact Public Health Deepwater Horizon Continues to Impact Public Health By 1 135  It's hard to believe that the Deepwater Horizon incident, which discharged over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, happened six years ago. What's not hard to believe is that the environmental health implications of the spill are stubbornly lingering.  Gulf residents of variety of species are paying a high price for it — so high that litigation against BP for its role in the spill, officially deemed " negligent ," is likely to continue for decades as people fight to get help with ongoing medical expenses.  Last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the spill was linked to an uptick in dolphin deaths , illustrating that this unprecedented release of petroleum products in the Gulf had a lasting health impact for animals.  Similarly, abnormalities in heart development among fish have also been connected to Deepwater Horizon exposure. Part of the problem is that sediments remain coated in oil and sludge . Because it was impossible to clean up every drop of crude from the Gulf, the oil that settled to the bottom continues to interfere with the embryonic development of a range of fish species.  But humans aren't doing too well either.  In the aftermath of the spill, people were exposed both to crude petroleum and to Corexit , a chemical dispersant used in unprecedented volumes during the cleanup.  Subsequent research has shown that in addition to having some hazardous health effects on its own, the combination of Corexit and the type of crude spilled during the Deepwater Horizon incident packs a hefty punch for marine animals.  In the weeks following the spill, first responders reported symptoms like rashes, respiratory problems, headaches, seizures and depression. In response to the complains, agencies closely monitored these individuals.  As the years went by, enough significant health problems arose for a class action lawsuit against BP. The company eventually agreed to a settlement that included the potential for…


A sit-down meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel went from painfully awkward to downright offensive when Trump couldn t even muster an ounce of humility and grace. During a photo op, the two world leaders sat in stony silence as photographers did their best to try to capture a picture that showed some warmth between what are supposed to be two close allies. Instead they got Trump looking like his dad just told him they wouldn t be getting ice cream after all and Merkel squirming in discomfort.Trump s obvious irritability was bizarre to begin with, but his refusal to interact with Merkel only got worse. When a reporter suggested the pair give a handshake (as is customary when two leaders meet for the first time), Merkel leaned over to Trump to ask if he wanted to give it a go only to have Trump continue to stare straight ahead, ignoring her. She stared in astonishment, then resignation. The realization that the President of the United States really is this pathetic was written all over her face.Photographers: Can we get a handshake? Merkel (to Trump): Do you want to have a handshake? Trump: *no response* Merkel: *makes awkward face* pic.twitter.com/ehgpCnWPg7 David Mack (@davidmackau) March 17, 2017Trump could have been in a bad mood for any number of reasons. His healthcare plan is going down in flames. His budget cuts which focus primarily on stripping funding away from the elderly and children in favor of more military spending are getting some of the worst press since his Muslim ban. His second Muslim ban was just shot down by two federal judges. And his plan to accuse the British government of helping Obama wiretap him didn t just blow up in his face, but actually caused an international scandal. Or it could be the fact that Germany has shown zero interest in indulging his tantrums.Whatever the cause, America just got another clear reminder that the damage Trump is doing isn t just domestic. He s undermining relationships with crucial allies in ways that may take decades to repair. And he s not even willing to give a simple handshake to prevent it.


U.S. Republican Ted Cruz carefully left the door open to a future run for president on Tuesday after a campaign that outlasted a long list of rivals but could not overcome the anti-establishment appeal of Donald Trump. Cruz, who still holds his U.S. Senate seat from Texas for another two years before facing re-election in 2018, told supporters in Indiana where he lost badly in the state's primary, that his campaign was suspended but that his role in the future of the party was not over. "I am not suspending our fight for liberty," Cruz said. He could be among several Republicans who may resurface in the 2020 presidential campaign after failed bids this time, should the presumptive nominee this year, Donald Trump, falter in the Nov. 8 election. The 45-year-old Cruz became a favorite of evangelicals and the party's conservative wing after he won Iowa's caucuses, the first nominating contest of the race. He built the best organization of any other Republican campaign this year, but his zealous conservatism fell victim to Trump's outsider appeal. In the days leading up to the Indiana vote, Republicans were reminded of Cruz's take-no-prisoners approach in the Senate when former House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner called him "Lucifer in the flesh" and the "most miserable son of a bitch" he had ever worked with on Capitol Hill. The next test for Cruz will be determining what role he will play in the general election and whether, after months of attacks, he will throw his support behind Trump. Trump clearly would like his support as he tries to unite the Republican Party after a bitter primary battle. "I want to congratulate Ted Cruz," Trump said in New York at a victory rally. "He's a tough, smart competitor." Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, gained prominence in conservative circles as the Texas solicitor general, arguing cases on religious liberty and states' rights. After he was elected to the Senate in 2012, he alienated colleagues but drew national attention for his role in the 2013 government shutdown. In a 21-hour talkathon, in which he sought to convince lawmakers to cut funding for President Barack Obama's signature health-care law, Cruz chided the "cheap suits" and "bad haircuts" of some politicians and read the children's book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. Cruz cast himself as the leader of a grassroots conservative army when he jumped into the White House race in March 2015, and he argued he was the only candidate who could unite disparate groups of the Republican Party, such as social conservatives and libertarians. He was buoyed by early wins in Iowa and at home in Texas, and Cruz claimed he was the Republican best suited to take on Trump after candidates favored by the party's establishment, such as Jeb Bush, left the race. As Cruz ended his campaign, vendors hawking campaign-themed apparel outside the Indianapolis event quickly discounted the merchandise bearing Cruz's campaign slogan, lowering prices from $20 a shirt to just $5. Supporters lingered in the remodeled train station where Cruz held his rally, some crying and others hugging one another as the news sunk in. Despite having long odds when he announced his candidacy, Cruz beat expectations. "Cruz certainly performed better than anyone in Washington expected, and he still has Texas wired. However, no one is stopping the Trump machine now," Texas-based Republican strategist Joe Brettell said.


Former CIA director James Woolsey pitched a $10 million contract to two Turkish businessmen to help discredit a controversial U.S.-based cleric while Woolsey was an adviser to Donald Trump's election campaign, three people familiar with the proposal said. Just eight days after formally joining Trump's campaign as an adviser on national security issues, Woolsey met on Sept. 20, 2016 with businessmen Ekim Alptekin and Sezgin Baran Korkmaz over lunch at the Peninsula Hotel in New York, they said. Woolsey and his wife, Nancye Miller, proposed a lobbying and public relations campaign targeting Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Gulen of instigating a failed coup in July 2016 and wants him extradited to Turkey to face trial. Gulen has denied any role in the coup. In an email memo seen by Reuters, Woolsey and Miller sketched a plan to "draw attention to the cleric's possible role in the coup attempt" and encourage an official investigation into his activities. Alptekin, an ally of Erdogan, had already agreed through one of his companies to a $600,000 contract with the consulting firm of Michael Flynn to research Gulen. Flynn was also a Trump campaign adviser and later became his national security adviser before being fired in February. Woolsey was a member of Flynn's firm, the Flynn Intel Group, according to a Justice Department filing by the firm and an archive of the company's website, although a spokesman for Woolsey disputed that characterization, saying he was an unpaid adviser and his affiliation was "loosely defined." At the Sept. 20 meeting, Miller said she and Woolsey were in a better position than Flynn to influence decision-makers about Gulen's alleged role in the coup, according to Alptekin and two other people familiar with the discussion. Bidding for a lobbying or consulting contract with a foreign company or government is not illegal, and Woolsey and Miller did not win the contract in any event. But the previously undisclosed meeting shows for the first time that two Trump aides were competing with each other to win the lucrative business deal with Alptekin. The deal with Flynn is now being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his wider probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russians who tried to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment. Jonathan Franks, a spokesman for Woolsey and Miller, said his clients were not under investigation. Flynn is a central figure in Mueller's investigation because of conversations he had with then-Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak last year and because he waited until March to retroactively register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for the work he did for Alptekin. In that filing, Flynn's lawyer, Robert Kelner, said the work done for Alptekin's company "could be construed to have principally benefited the republic of Turkey." Flynn was fired as national security adviser in February after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his conversations with Kislyak. Franks described the Sept. 20 meeting as "unremarkable" and said Miller could not locate the email memo or remember writing it. He also said Woolsey had pursued with Turkish interests an "economic development proposal in the wake of the coup that centered around reassuring folks that Turkey was a safe place to do business" but that the project's focus was not on Gulen. Alptekin said Woolsey and Miller pursued his business at the Sept. 20 meeting, pitching the project to target Gulen, but he decided to stick to his contract with Flynn's firm. Kelner declined to comment for this story. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The disclosure in March of Flynn's contract to discredit Gulen sparked intense media scrutiny of people who had worked with Flynn, including Woolsey. Shortly after, Woolsey alleged in media interviews that Flynn and others had, at a Sept. 19, 2016 meeting in New York, discussed with Turkey's foreign and energy ministers the idea of covertly spiriting Gulen out of the United States and to Turkey. Flynn has denied through a spokesman ever discussing such a plan. Alptekin also denied it was ever discussed and said Woolsey's claim was "all the more astounding" because he had sought Alptekin's business at a meeting the following day. "His story is fiction," Alptekin told Reuters. Franks said Woolsey stands by his account of the meeting. Woolsey first proposed the $10 million project to Korkmaz, the second Turkish businessman, at a meeting in California in August 2016. The proposal was outlined in an email sent from Miller to Woolsey on Aug. 18, printed out and shown by Woolsey to Korkmaz, who then forwarded it on to Alptekin. Korkmaz, who had known Woolsey for some years, invited Woolsey to the meeting, according to two people familiar with the meeting. Korkmaz told Woolsey that he was looking for someone who could handle a lobbying and public relations project related to Gulen. Korkmaz and Alptekin have no business ties but knew each other through a U.S-Turkey trade group, according to two people with knowledge of their relationship. Anil Leylek, a spokeswoman for Korkmaz's company, declined to comment. Franks confirmed the August meeting but described it as "brief" and "not a pitch." Woolsey and Miller's proposal included getting Washington insiders like then-Senator Jeff Sessions, who is now Trump's attorney general, to co-author articles on the situation in Turkey, engaging with influential lawmakers such as Republican Senator Bob Corker, and getting Woolsey on Fox News and CNN, the memo said. "The cost of this engagement will be $10,000,000," it said. Woolsey, who led the CIA for two years under former President Bill Clinton, joined the Trump campaign in September. He was on the transition team after Trump's election victory in November but he stepped down in January. Franks said Woolsey was an unpaid adviser to the campaign, had no obligation to report any efforts to pursue work for Turkish interests, and was now being smeared. "With growing speculation that indictments could be handed down soon, it's not a surprise that others are attempting to accomplish in the press what they cannot in the grand jury room," Franks added.


People in Thailand celebrated the Loy Krathong or floating basket festival on Friday, following a year of mourning for late King Bhumibol Adulyadej that saw many celebrations muted or canceled. The mourning ended on Monday after a five-day funeral last week, and many citizens have returned to wearing colored garments after having stuck to black for a year. Participants in the festival pay respects to the water spirits, floating small, traditionally-hand crafted rafts carrying flowers, bamboo and candles on waterways in an ancient ritual. The rafts are also thought to carry away bad luck and usher in good fortune during the festival, which is celebrated all over Thailand, but is particularly spectacular in the north. Festivities will stay in a low key this year, out of respect for the late monarch, however, authorities in the capital said. We will not have excessive celebrations but will focus more on showcasing Thai culture, Chalermpon Chotinuchit, of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), told Reuters. The BMA urged celebrants to use rafts made from natural materials this year, after environment groups flagged concerns about non-biodegradable components clogging rivers and drains. Festival participants also struck a somber note. It will be a sadder period this Loy Krathong because everyone loves the late King Rama IX, said 23-year-old Nanthicha Sorndee. Safety concerns have prompted national carrier Thai Airways International to cancel some roundtrip flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai on Friday and Saturday, it said in a statement, without elaborating. The northern Thai city celebrates Loy Krathong alongside Yi Peng, a festival in which brightly lit lanterns are wafted into the sky.


Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker Ann McElhinney took down a clueless liberal student during a discussion on global warming Ann is the quickest and smartest at debate. This liberal picked on the wrong person The student insults Ann with the following comment: I can t take anything you said seriously because you said that washing machines were more liberating than the birth control pill, the student yelled as a friend tried to calm her. You don t know anything! You are the least credible human being I ve like ever encountered in my life. She then called Ann a Goddamn idiot. Ann proceeded to give this student a BIG reality check on the EU and then American exceptionalism. Bravo Ann!On a side note- If you ever have the chance to hear Ann McElhinney speak, DO IT! She is one of the best speakers around!We ve had the pleasure of hearing her speak and came away very impressed!Her latest project is on the Gosnell abortion case:


Will shake things up  Media ratings magnet / Likely to steal all the thunder  Since Trump's June 2015 announcement speech, every word or phrase listed above describes what the American electorate witnessed or felt during the campaign because, as I said, Trump's consistency has been uncanny.  Now, let's now examine three quotes from the speech and then refer back to the list. All three reinforce the premise in my headline. But it was the following statement that haunted Trump's campaign from the second the words left his mouth:  When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.  Watching Trump say that on live television, I immediately thought, "There goes the Hispanic vote!" The fact is demographic voter data shows that for a Republican to be elected president, he or she must win at least 47% of the national Hispanic vote. Then poof, in one 20-second rant, Trump destroyed all the Republican Party's Hispanic outreach rendered since Romney won only 27% of the Hispanic vote in 2012.  From the "impression list," Trump's inartful Mexican statement branded him with "lacks a political filter," and "lacks presidential demeanor" to put it mildly. These two major negative "branding phrases" may have begun with his much-maligned Mexican comments, but later applied to numerous Trump-isms which popped up over the last year slowly undermining and unraveling his chances of ever winning 270 electoral votes.  Next is a Trump foreign policy gem about terrorism:  Islamic terrorism is eating large portions of the Mideast. They've become rich. I'm in competition with them.  What the #@& does that mean? Let's go to the "impression list" where we apply incoherent, inarticulate, uninformed, and desperately in need of a speech writer , to name just a few. And once again, repeat after me: "Aall we need to know we learned…."  For my last selection, I chose an example of how Trump, right out of the starting gate, tried to antagonize and denigrate other Republican presidential candidates (and later high-ranking party leaders.) It is important to note that Trump made the following statement within the first minute of his announcement speech:  The other candidates — they went in, they didn't know the air conditioning didn't work. They sweated like dogs. They didn't know the room was too big because they didn't have anybody there. How are they gonna beat ISIS? I don't think it's gonna happen.  Yikes! That nonsensical statement exploded the "impression list." It was the opening act of an obstinate candidate who, we found out too late, is totally resistant to change even after his campaign began its slow-motion meltdown.  Sadly, Trump's announcement speech stands as living proof that he flunked kindergarten etiquette. Circling back to Flughum's theory, during his campaign, Trump never learned to clean up his own mess and has never said he was sorry after hurting someone (or a group of someones.)  In the end, Trump's likely defeat will be written off as an historical fluke. He will be viewed as a charismatic, untested, one-time outsider candidate who spearheaded a successful movement of fed-up voters. Through his celebrity status, he managed to parlay mass frustration into winning the Republican presidential nomination but, along the way neglected to learn the basics of kindergarten-level political behavior.  The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the editors.  Cross-posted at RedState


At least four automakers knew for years that Takata's airbags were dangerous and could rupture violently but continued to use those airbags in their vehicles to save on costs, lawyers representing victims of the defect asserted in a court document filed on Monday. The Justice Department's criminal investigation into Takata's airbags has so far painted automakers as unwitting victims duped by a rogue supplier that manipulated safety data to hide a deadly defect, linked to at least 11 deaths and over 100 injuries in the United States. But the fresh allegations against Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota, made as part of a lawsuit in Florida and based on company documents, point to a far deeper involvement by automakers that used Takata's defective airbags for years. Honda vehemently denied the new allegations on Monday. The three other automakers either declined to comment or said a response would come through legal channels. Last summer, The New York Times reported indications that automakers, rather than being the victims of Takata's missteps, had pressed their suppliers to put cost before all else. That report focused on General Motors, which is not named in the Florida case, though plaintiff lawyers said they were preparing to take action against the company. The defect has prompted the nation's largest automotive recall ever, affecting nearly 70 million airbags in 42 million vehicles. The plaintiffs' filing came hours before Takata pleaded guilty, under a deal announced last month, to charges of wire fraud for providing the false data, a rare outcome for businesses accused of wrongdoing. Federal prosecutors also said last month that they had charged three Takata executives with fabricating test data and fined the Tokyo company $1 billion. "I deeply regret the circumstances that resulted in the agreement today," Yoichiro Nomura, Takata's chief executive, said at the federal court hearing in Detroit. The company's actions were "completely unacceptable," he said. "Takata is fully committed to ensuring such conduct never happens again," he added. The allegations in the Florida case came in response to a court document filed by the automakers last week that pointed to Takata's plea deal to argue that the supplier alone was culpable. But the plaintiffs, who could gain from suing the automakers alongside Takata, argue that the automakers were more deeply involved in the handling of the defect. The fines and costs associated with the scandal have also taken a heavy financial toll on Takata, and it has been searching for a financial lifeline — possibly in the form of a white knight that would effectively take it over. One of the plaintiffs' lawyers, Kevin R. Dean, filed an objection to Takata's plea deal on Monday in Detroit, arguing that the automakers were accomplices in the . He urged the judge to reject the agreement and for the Justice Department to further investigate the automakers' role. The plaintiffs have taken particular issue with the amount set aside for victims in Takata's plea — a total of $125 million. In contrast, the automakers will have recourse to draw on an $850 million fund to offset continuing recall costs. Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Mr. Dean's objections, saying that Takata's plea deal was in the best interest of the victims. He said any further action against the automakers should be pursued in civil court, and approved the plea deal as is. Randi Johnston, 26, of Farmington, Utah — who was injured in September 2015 when the airbag in her 2003 Honda Civic ruptured and metal shards struck her throat — attended the hearing and said afterward that she was shocked by the judge's decision. The shards severed most of her vocal cords, leaving her able to speak only in a whisper. "I really don't have any words right now," said Ms. Johnston, a plaintiff in the Florida case. The filing by the plaintiffs says emails and internal documents turned over by Honda show that in 1999 and 2000, the automaker was intimately involved in developing a problematic propellant, or explosive, used in Takata's airbags. The propellant is housed in a steel container called the inflater, which in the Takata case can rupture, shooting metal fragments toward the car's driver or passengers. That propellant, based on a volatile compound, raised concerns internally at Takata at the time, and long plagued the company's engineers. During testing of Takata's inflaters in 1999 and 2000 at Honda's own facilities, at least two inflaters ruptured, according to the filing. Still, Honda pushed a particularly problematic configuration of the propellant over Takata's objections, the filing said. Honda chose Takata's airbags because of their relative "inexpensiveness," the filing quoted Honda documents as saying. The first recalls of Takata's airbags did not take place until almost a decade later, when Honda recalled 4, 000 vehicles in 2008. The Times has reported that Honda and Takata became aware in 2004 of an airbag explosion in a Honda Accord in Alabama that shot out metal fragments and injured the car's driver. But the two companies deemed it "an anomaly" and did not issue a recall or seek the involvement of federal safety regulators. On Monday, Honda strongly y denied the allegations in the plaintiffs' filing. When it installed Takata's airbags, it said in a statement, "Honda reasonably believed, based on extensive test results provided by Takata, that they were safe. " Honda said it believed it reacted "promptly and appropriately" in handling known airbag defects. It also said Takata's airbags had not necessarily been cheaper than those of its competitors. "Sometimes they were more expensive, sometimes less," the carmaker said. The filing also cites internal documents from Ford, Nissan and Toyota indicating that cost considerations influenced the automakers' decision to adopt Takata's airbags in the early 2000s, despite safety concerns. Toyota used Takata's airbags "primarily" for cost reasons, even though the automaker had "large quality concerns" about Takata and considered the supplier's quality performance "unacceptable," the filing said. In 2003, a Takata inflater ruptured at a Toyota facility during testing, the court filing said. In 2005, Nissan began investigating the use of adding a drying agent to Takata's airbag inflaters out of concern that exposure to moisture made the propellant particularly unstable, the filing says. Takata engineers had long known that its explosive was sensitive to moisture and adopted it despite internal concerns over its safety. Although patents show that its engineers have long struggled to tame the propellant, the company still maintains that the explosive can be stabilized to withstand moist conditions. Ford chose Takata's inflaters over the objections of the automaker's own inflater expert, who opposed the use of Takata's propellant because of its instability and sensitivity to moisture, the filing said. Ford overrode those objections because it thought Takata was the only supplier that could provide the large number of inflaters Ford needed, the filing says. The filing says that Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota were also aware of instances of ruptures years before any recalls. It also mentions the German carmaker BMW and points to circumstantial evidence that BMW was similarly involved in what federal prosecutors, in their criminal complaint and in announcing the Takata agreement, have called a . But BMW has so far refused to submit documents in the case, the filing says. Representatives of Nissan and BMW said the companies could not comment on active cases. A Toyota representative also declined to comment. A Ford spokeswoman said the automaker would respond through appropriate legal channels.


Former vice-presidential nominee and governor of Alaska Sarah Palin made her first foray into the 2016 presidential race Tuesday by announcing she is endorsing Donald Trump. "I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for President of the United States of America," Palin said in a statement from the Trump campaign announcing the endorsement. She later appeared alongside Trump at a campaign event at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa "You're putting relationships on the line for this country because you're willing to make America great again," she said at the rally. "I am here because like you, I know it's now or never." "I'm in it to win it because we believe in America," she added. Trump told supporters he was "greatly honored" to receive Palin's support. "She's the woman that from day one I said I needed to get her support," he said. Palin, who became a symbol of the Tea Party movement following the 2008 presidential election, is the highest-profile backer for a Republican contender so far in the race. In her endorsement speech, Palin praised Trump for bringing up controversial issues to create "a good, heated primary," while taking aim at what she called "establishment candidates" in the race. "They've been wearing political correctness kind of like a suicide vest," she said. The endorsement comes less than two weeks ahead of the critical lead-off Iowa caucus, where Trump is locked in a dead heat with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. In the statement announcing the endorsement, Trump's campaign described Palin as a conservative who "helped launch the careers of several key future leaders of the Republican Party and conservative movement." The statement also quoted Cruz as once saying he "would not be in the United States Senate were it not for Gov. Sarah Palin...She can pick winners." Campaigning in New Hampshire, Tuesday, Cruz responded to Palin's endorsement of Trump, saying "regardless of what Sarah intends to do in 2016, I will remain a big, big fan of Sarah Palin." Trump's national political director Michael Glassner previously worked with Palin, who was a virtual newcomer to the national political arena when McCain named her as his running mate. Palin is expected to join Trump on Wednesday for campaign events in Norwalk, Iowa and Tulsa, Okla. "Even with a record number of candidates and internal calls to become more inclusive as a party, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin remain two of the GOP's most influential leaders," Mark Paustenbach, Democratic National Committee Press secretary, said in a statement responding to the endorsement. "Their divisive rhetoric is now peddled by everyone from Ted Cruz to Marco Rubio. Americans deserve better than what Trump and Palin have to offer, but it seems like the other Republican candidates would rather follow in their footsteps," the statement continued. Palin's endorsement was not the only one Trump received Tuesday. While campaigning at Iowa's John Wayne Birthplace Museum, he received an endorsement from the western film actor's daughter, Aissa Wayne. Wayne said the country needs a strong and courageous leader like her father, and that he would be offering his endorsement if he were still alive. Trump said he was a big fan of Wayne and that the actor represented strength and power — which, he said, the American people are looking for. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Former President George W. Bush made an appearance today at the Southern Methodist University football field in Dallas, where his wife, the former first lady Laura Bush is an alumni. SMU is also the home of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The former President talked to the players and coaches about the devastating floods their families may be dealing with. He also offered his support and encouragement to the players.G.W. stood in the middle of the field and spoke to the players and coaches, as he tried to reassure them that they would recover: I know there s some people from Houston here, and the Houston area. And I know you re going through a really tough time. And just know that there ll be a lot of people that are gonna help, help the people down there a lot. The country, right now, they re recovering, and so the key thing on the recovery is to keep people safe. And then it s gonna be the rebuilding. And if you re from that area, you d be amazed at all the people who come down there to help all kinds of people. And so, the days are dark now, but they re gonna get better. If anyone knows about hurricanes, and what is required to rebuild entire neighborhoods and cities, it s former President George W. Bush. The media destroyed the former president for not acting fast enough to help the Hurricane Katrina victims where severe flooding affected residents from Gulfport, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana, and areas in between. Now the media is criticizing President Trump for visiting the victims too soon.Watch Bush s remarks here from the SMU Football Twitter account:Thank you President Bush for coming to practice today to offer support to our players from the Houston area!@TheBushCenter pic.twitter.com/7lQRfWGrjQ #PonyUpTempo (@SMU_Football) August 29, 2017


Afghan President Ashraf Ghani sacked the chairman of the country s Independent Election Commission on Wednesday, raising doubts over whether parliamentary and council ballots scheduled for next year will take place as planned. Najibullah Ahmadzai, head of the body charged with organizing the elections, had faced growing pressure following repeated delays to preparations for them and had lost the support of both Ghani and disillusioned foreign donors. The 2018 votes are seen as dry runs for a presidential election in 2019 and a key test of the progress made by Afghanistan s Western-backed government towards establishing durable democratic institutions. Following a contentious presidential election in 2014, marred by allegations of massive voter fraud on both sides, international donor countries have laid heavy emphasis on the need for successful elections next year. But planning has been beset by a mix of technical and political problems that have made the officially scheduled date of July 2018 increasingly unrealistic. Five members of the seven-member IEC wrote to Ghani this week accusing Ahmadzai of was incompetence. Ambitious plans for a biometric voter registration system had to be abandoned and squabbling between members of parliament and Ghani s fragile National Unity Government over issues including who sits on the election commission have caused months of delay. The problems underline the fragility of the political institutions created in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led campaign brought down the Taliban in 2001. The bitter 2014 presidential election produced no agreed winner and led to a U.S.-brokered deal which saw former rivals Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah forced into an uneasy coalition that has struggled to win popular support. District council elections have never been held, despite being mandated in the 2004 constitution, while the current parliament s term was supposed to end in June 2015 but has been extended due to the difficulty of holding new elections. Last month, officials from international partners including the United Nations told the Afghan government that even under the most favorable conditions, the earliest date on which an election could feasibly be held was Oct. 2018. Many Western diplomats believe even that date is impossible. If not ready by October, Afghanistan s mountainous terrain, bad roads and lack of security mean that registering voters and setting up balloting stations across the country are likely to face severe delays over the winter months, potentially pushing the date into the following year.


U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was moved to tears on Thursday after visiting a nearly decade-old camp for Congolese displaced by violence in the country's east, and insisted there has to be a way to hold "safe and fair elections." Haley, the most senior member of President Donald Trump's administration to visit Democratic Republic of Congo, traveled by helicopter to Mungote camp in Kitchanga, home to some 15,000 displaced people. Dozens of excited children waved as Haley left on a U.N. peace-keeping helicopter to return to the provincial capital of Goma. She was visibly upset. "The reason I got emotional today was the hundred-plus kids that were chasing our cars and seeing us off," Haley told reporters after the visit. "All I kept thinking was, what's going to happen to them? The sad reality, as it looks now, is that they are going to end up just like their parents." A single mother named Angelique told Haley she had been raped twice. "It's hard for her when she sits in the kitchen with her seven children because they watched her getting raped," Haley said as she recounted what Angelique told her. "She doesn't know what to say to them," Haley said. "No one should live like this. We can't turn a blind eye to all of this," Haley said. Congo is the final stop on Haley's week-long Africa visit, which has also taken her to Ethiopia and South Sudan, where she met with President Salva Kiir. On Friday she is due to meet with Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since 2001 when he took over from his father. Congo has never had a peaceful transition of power, and Kabila refused to step down when his second elected term ended in December, fueling insecurity in a country where millions died in conflicts between 1996-2003, most from hunger and disease. Under an accord struck on Dec. 31 between Kabila's representatives and opposition leaders, Kabila is barred from trying to change the constitution to stand for a third term. "We have to find a way to have a peaceful situation," Haley said. "We have to find a way for them to have safe and fair elections, so we that we can get some leaders that know how to handle this situation and get these armed groups to stop." The Congolese electoral commission said earlier this month that an election to replace Kabila cannot take place before April 2019, a delay that the opposition said would cause an impatient population to "take matters into its own hands." The largest U.N. peace-keeping mission is deployed in Congo, costing more than $1 billion annually. Haley is reviewing all operations in a bid to cut costs, as the United States is the largest contributor, paying 28 percent of the budget. The 193-member U.N. General Assembly agreed in June to a $7.3 billion peace-keeping budget, a cut of some $600 Million. The Congo operation has to cut $93 million. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that any further budget cuts could harm the U.N. mission in Congo. "The state is still absent from many parts of the country and all too often preys on the citizens it is meant to protect," Guterres wrote in a report to the 15-member Security Council last month Peace-keepers kept watch while Haley was at Mungote camp in Kitchanga, where she also visited a small bakery started by 50 women. "They're making a profit and they just bought a sheep with the profits that they made," she said. "So it's inspiring to see they're not just sitting here complaining, they're trying to make the best of the life that they have."


George W. Bush was famously attacked with flying shoes. So was Hillary Clinton. William Kristol was hit in the face with a cream pie. Last month, Donald Trump barely escaped being hit with tomatoes.The takeaway? American projectiles are lame.In order to see how it s really done, we have to travel by video to New Zealand where Minister Steven Joyce was hit in the face this week with a flying rubber dildo hurled by a protester. Joyce is a conservative member of the island nation s House of Representatives who supports the infamous trade agreement known as TPP the Trans-Pacific Partnership.The unknown dildo-tossing protester was arrested by law enforcement.Joyce was holding a press conference in Waitingi on the North Island during which he was discussing the benefits of the TPP. That s when the dildo smacked point-blank in Joyce s face.After being hit, Joyce said astutely, It would be unfortunate for being known for this incident. As the New York Post quipped: too late.Of course, I stand by my position that assaulting public officials with projectiles or blood-red paint or, for that matter, sex toys is bad form and only serves to underscore how the respective protesters are clearly incapable of verbally expressing their dissatisfaction. Which case, they probably should seek out other hobbies because activism isn t their bag. But, I will admit, seeing a stuffy conservative politician get hit in the face with a flying penis is never not funny.Now that I m really thinking about it, part of me wishes this had been Ted Cruz? If there s one man in the United States who s in desperate need of being hit in the face with a giant rubber dick, it s Ted Cruz. Best case: Cruz getting hit in the face with a penis while he s doing his awful misquoted JFK impression. (I m joking of course. Hitting Ted Cruz in the face with a penis is wrong and illegal.)


The use of the #NeverTrump hashtag grew on Twitter on Monday as detractors of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump fretted over his momentum on the eve of Super Tuesday election contests. On Twitter, the top influencer, or person who received the most engagement on their #NeverTrump tweets, was Trump rival Marco Rubio, according to online research firm Hashtagify.me. The senator from Florida and real estate billionaire Trump are engaged in an increasingly personal battle of insults on social media before voters in more than a dozen states select their party's nominee to run for the White House in November. Rubio began using the tag on Friday, tweeting: "Donald Trump is a con artist - and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump." The tweet received more than 8,000 "likes" and 5,100 retweets. He repeated the tag in three more tweets over the weekend, with each one getting several thousand likes or retweets. A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately return calls for comment. Another major influencer on the tag was conservative commentator Glenn Beck (@glennbeck), even though he has used it just once, on Sunday. Beck supports U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in the campaign. Still, Beck's post - "Praying for this great country. Praying for a true constitutionalist! God bless (an emblem for the American flag). #NeverTrump #CruzCrew" - proved influential, getting retweeted nearly 1,000 times and liked nearly 2,000 times. Traffic on the hashtag was dominated by users who identify as conservative or Republican, most expressing vexation with the front-runner. Many tweets focused on Trump's CNN interview on Sunday, when he declined to repudiate an endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Trump later said he did not hear the question properly because of a defective ear piece. Whitney Westerfield (@KyWhitney), a Republican state senator from Kentucky, tweeted on Monday, "Wow. Trump blaming his failure to repudiate the hatred & extremism of the KKK on a #BadEarpiece. #NeverTrump." "No, the white supremacist/David Duke/KKK question isn't hard. Reject their support & denounce their hate. Again & again & again. #nevertrump," said Stephen Hayes (@stephenhayes), a writer for the Weekly Standard, a weekly conservative magazine. Trump supporters have countered with their own hashtag: #AlwaysTrump. "We must continue to fight on social media, the Peoples Revolution, the strongest tool right now! #TRUMP2016 #AlwaysTrump," wrote Trump supporter Linda Alexander (@noopdoggy). Still, the #NeverTrump hashtag was winning the trending battle, seeing roughly twice the traffic as #AlwaysTrump on Monday, according to social media analytics firm Zoomph. (Reporting by Gina Cherelus; Editing by Dan Burns and Grant McCool) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production.


In the September issue of W magazine, Rihanna was cast as Tomorrow, an otherworldly warrior queen and champion of the downtrodden, resplendent in diamonds and foil. A month earlier, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Beyoncé projected a similarly astral vibe. Flanked on the stage by twin columns of attendants, she was a galactic goddess in a white ermine cape. In November, on "Saturday Night Live," her sister, Solange Knowles, flaunted a headdress of crystals and braids, looking every inch a regal visitor from distant planet. Each was in her way a beacon of Afrofuturism, a social, political and cultural genre that projects black space voyagers, warriors and their heroic like into a fantasy landscape, one that has long been the province of their mostly white counterparts. [See more Year in Style articles] Familiar to some, exotic to others, the term refers loosely to an unlikely fusion of parts: Egyptian and other mythologies, mysticism and magical realism with Afrocentricity, modern technology and science fiction. A freighted concept in more ways than one, it gained traction this year, muscling its way into the pop cultural mainstream via the intertwined worlds of entertainment, art and style. In part, Afrofuturism, an aesthetic dating roughly from the 1970s, has taken on a new public face through a new generation of recording artists — Erykah Badu, Missy Elliott and Janelle Monáe among them — who have given it not only a voice, but also a look. You will likely know it when you see it: a of cyborg themes, loosely tribal motifs, android imagery and gleaming metallics that might be appropriate for a voyage to Pluto's outer reaches. Its latest incarnation seems timely, if not downright inevitable. "With the diversity of the nation and world increasingly standing in stark contrast to the diversity in futuristic works, it's no surprise that Afrofuturism emerged," writes Ytasha L. Womack, who chronicled and popularized the evolution of the genre in her 2013 book, "Afrofuturism: The World of Black and Fantasy Culture. " "But when, even in the imaginary future," she goes on, "people can't fathom a person of descent a hundred years into the future, a cosmic foot has to be put down. " The internet has lent the movement a force unknown in previous incarnations. A visual metaphor for empowerment on sites like the Afrofuturist Affair and influential Instagram accounts like Inkrayable_girafe, it permits black men and women to take charge of their image. Today, Ms. Womack writes, "a fledgling filmmaker can shoot his web series on a $500 DV cam, post it on YouTube, and promote it on Instagram and Twitter. " Lina Iris Viktor, a artist in New York who paints queenly with a futuristic edge, picked up the thread. "The internet democratized the playing field," she said. "Now the voices you hear are authentically ours. Instead of everybody else telling you stories, explaining to you what our work is about, we are telling you what it's about. " An Afrofuturist narrative is embedded as well in a recent flurry of museum shows. On view through November at El Museo del Barrio were the fashion illustrations of Antonio Lopez, a pioneer in the genre whose works of the '70s and '80s featured a multiracial cast of robotlike figures and astronauts propelled into a Tomorrowland. It is a brave new world, as a review in The New York Times noted in June, "in which race and gender were fluid, and existing social inequities corrected or transcended. " Afrofuturism is a current in the multimedia installations of the artist Saya Woolfalk, whose utopian universes and Empathics, a future race fusing — and all but erasing — racial and ethnic boundaries, were featured this year in shows at the Brooklyn Museum, a light show in Times Square and, just this month, an installation at Art Basel Miami Beach. Afrofuturist allusions crop up less overtly in the sprawling canvases of Kerry James Marshall, whose exhibition at the Met Breuer, through Jan. 29, includes idealized portraits of Boy and Girl Scouts wreathed in halos of the kind often seen on heroes. This summer, the movement flexed its muscle at the megaplex, where "Captain America: Civil War" featured the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) a superhero who in 2018 will star in "Black Panther" as the king and protector of the imaginary nation of Wakanda. Afrofuturism's resurgence could not be more timely, arriving as it does in a climate perceived as indifferent, if not downright inimical, to racial and ethnic minorities. In her book, Ms. Womack recalls a time when black or brown characters were all but invisible in the culture at large. As a girl, she would fantasize that she was Princess Leia of "Star Wars. " "While it was fun to be the chick from outer space in my imagination," Ms. Womack writes, "the quest to see myself or browner people in this space age, galactic epic was important to me. " It was in the absence of minorities from pop lore, she goes on, "that seeds were planted in the imaginations of countless black kids who yearned to see themselves in spaceship too. " Count among them Tim Fielder, a New York graphic artist and animator whose illustrations, produced over a span, drew visitors last spring to "Black Metropolis," at the Gallatin Galleries at New York University. Mr. Fielder's pioneering cartoon narratives — notably those of "Matty's Rocket," his spirited black female cosmonaut, who will lift off next year in graphic novel form — are particularly relevant now, he maintained: "They let young artists know that they're not on dangerous turf, that someone has gone there before them. " Afrofuturism's epic imagery offers youth a mirror, Mr. Fielder said. "These kids are able now to see themselves in environments that are expansive, both technologically and in terms of social mores and gender," he said. They also see themselves newly reflected in the comic books that remain a potent form of Afrofuturist expression. Last spring, the Black Panther, lately of "Captain America," was resurrected by Marvel as the noble protagonist of his own comic book series, written by Coates, the author of "Between the World and Me. " And this year, Riri Williams, an teenage superheroine with an M. I. T. degree, will slip into the fabled power suit in the "Iron Man" comic series. Such vanguard characters can trace their genesis to early champions of Afrofuturism, paramount among them Sun Ra, the jazz composer, poet and philosopher who incorporated themes into his music and his seminal film, "Space Is the Place," a tale of interplanetary time travel. Afrofuturism owes as important a debt to the writer Octavia Butler, whose 1979 "Kindred," posits an alternate reality in which an heroine is transported from Los Angeles to early Maryland. It owes a debt as well to the music of George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, with their prophetic lyrics in "Mothership Connection": Time to move on Light years in time Ahead of our time. Afrofuturist themes were revisited in the '90s, but still as a genre without a name until the cultural critic Mark Dery formally christened it in his 1994 essay "Black to the Future," after which it flourished for a time before retreating to the shadows. Now the movement has returned in force, beamed down to the concert stage. Last month, the '70s disco diva Grace Jones, Afrofuturism's mascot, toured in the British Isles, her stage persona, covered in tribal paint and feathers, a reprise of her performance at the Afropunk Fest in Brooklyn last year. On a broadcast of "The Tonight Show" in February, the singer FKA Twigs seemed to alight from the clouds swathed in a incandescent white. Her costume, in crystals, was created with Grace Wales Bonner, a London designer whose work in the past has been rife with Afrofuturist allusions. In her "Lemonade" album, released in April, Beyoncé reigns in an utopia, leading a phalanx of women in ethereal white dresses that simultaneously conjure ancient and societies. The style world, too, has now embraced the movement, if only, perhaps, to reinforce its stature as an arbiter of cool. For the W September cover and editorial feature shot by Steven Klein, Rihanna's costumes were cobbled from scratch. "She's a a queen," said Edward Enninful, the magazine's fashion and style director. "A queen does not wear clothes off the runways. " Instead she wears an otherworldly pastiche of vanguard creations by Gareth Pugh, Prada, Proenza Schouler and others, clothes conceived, Mr. Enninful said, to emphasize Rihanna's majestic persona. "It's a look that many young black females out there haven't seen before," he said. Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy was among the first to integrate Afrofuturist imagery into his runway shows. Two years earlier, he signed Ms. Badu as the face of the brand. Mr. Tisci followed up repeatedly, most recently with a fall 2016 line replete with cosmological symbols, including that familiar Afrofuturist talisman, the Egyptian Eye of Horus. Calvin Klein released a fall advertising campaign starring the rapper Young Thug, dressed in flares and a fitted pinstripe chasuble, its neckline embellished with an orb. A recent campaign from Chanel featured Willow Smith festooned in Afrofuturistic jewels. Others are advancing this aesthetic in more subtle ways, thrusting aside clichés as they go. "Afrofuturism has to become something more than just an idea of black people in shiny metallic clothing," said Michelle Busayo Olupona, the designer behind Busayo NYC, a label incorporating Afrofuturist themes in a abstract way. "In my own work, I try to create an aesthetic and style evocative of the past but very much grounded in the now. " Ms. Olupona said her abstract, Afrocentric designs, some incorporating fantasy fauna and futurist imagery, "suggest ways in which we can differentiate ourselves. " "What they say about the future," she continued, "is that we're always going to be here. " Another showcase for contemporary, less literal interpretations of Afrofuturism is 9J, a boutique and gallery recently sprung up on Bruckner Boulevard in the South Bronx. It aims to usher in the movement's next wave, with items like a ribbed sweater worthy of "Star Wars," created by a local designer Jesenia Lopez Birkenstock platforms covered in feathers and Swarovski "gems" and an outsize headdress of spiraling silver wire. These pieces mingle technology, fantasy and Afrocentric themes with a streamlined opulence. The shop's owner, Jerome LaMaar, whose line, 5:31 Jérôme, has drawn clients like Beyoncé and the model Hailey Baldwin, wore goggles the other week while presiding at the opening of Africollision, an installation at 9J that eschewed the hallmarks of old school Afrofuturism. "We want to play with the idea of what is tribe, what is Africa, what is the future, and mix it all up without being predictable. " Mr. LaMaar insisted. "Who wants to see what's already been done?"


The Washington Post just got called out BIG TIME on a fake story they published This is a screenshot of the article:THE BIG LIE FROM WASHINGTON POST: President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.They tried to discredit President Trump in his dealings with Russia by saying President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russians .NOT TRUE! They got caught and then called out by the Trump administration s National Security Advisor.This is awesome:National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster made a statement saying, The story that came out tonight, as reported, is false. Natl Security Adviser McMaster made a statement denying a report that @POTUS revealed classified info to Russia. https://t.co/LB3P3BgT10 pic.twitter.com/gRNcLlZNvC Fox News (@FoxNews) May 15, 2017


RT October 27, 2016  The number of wild animals on Earth could fall by more than two-thirds in the 50 years to 2020, according to a new report which places the blame on the destruction of habitats, hunting and pollution. The forecast could lead to major consequences for humans.  The Living Planet Report 2016 says that animal losses are on track to reach 67 percent in the 50 years to 2020. The report's authors also took into consideration a recent trend in animal population decline, citing a 58 percent plummet between 1970 and 2012.  The researchers analyzed the changing presence of 14,152 monitored populations of the 3,706 vertebrate species – mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles among them.  According to the paper, the biggest cause of the plummeting animal populations is the destruction of wilderness areas by farming and logging. Pollution was also mentioned as a significant problem. Vaccine-laden M&M's to be distributed via drone for endangered ferrets https://t.co/wm4DUucNxn pic.twitter.com/9a6F9x3raG  "Humanity's misuse of natural resources is threatening habitats, pushing irreplaceable species to the brink, and threatening the stability of our climate," said WWF's director of science, Mike Barrett. A d v e r t i s e m e n t  Animals across the planet are expected to be affected. However, rivers and lakes are the hardest-hit areas. Barrett noted that global warming is exacerbating the pressures.  "We are no longer a small world on a big planet. We are now a big world on a small planet, where we have reached a saturation point," the Stockholm Resilience Center's Professor Johan Rockström said in a foreword for the report.  The decline in wildlife, along with climate change, is part of the proposed notion of Anthropocene, a term which suggests a new era in which humans have managed to have a significant global impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems.  The notion – which has yet to be officially approved as a term used to explain geological time – can lead to major consequences.  "The richness and diversity of life on Earth is fundamental to the complex life systems that underpin it. Life supports life itself and we are part of the same equation. Lose biodiversity and the natural world and the life support systems, as we know them today, will collapse," WWF Director-General Marco Lambertini said, as quoted by the Guardian.  In fact, the report states that humans could be anything but happy if the forecast comes to fruition, noting that the predicted situation could provoke serious competition.  "Increased human pressure threatens the natural resources that humanity depends upon, increasing the risk of water and food insecurity and competition over natural resources," the report states.  There does, however, appear to be some hope. Some species are beginning to recover, suggesting that conservation efforts could help tackle the crisis.  However, Barrett noted that in order for such efforts to take place, society must largely change how it consumes resources.  "You'd like to think that was a no-brainer in that if a business is consuming the raw materials for its products in a way that is not sustainable, then inevitably it will eventually put itself out of business," Barrett said.  "The report is certainly a pretty shocking snapshot of where we are," he added. "My hope though is that we don't throw our hands up in despair – there is no time for despair, we have to crack on and act. I do remain convinced we can find our sustainable course through the Anthropocene, but the will has to be there to do it."  The new report comes less than two months after a similar analysis found that Earth has lost one-tenth of its wilderness sites since the early 1990s. 6:41


The leaders of a far-right British political group, Britain First, were charged with causing religiously aggravated harassment on Wednesday, police said. Paul Golding, 35, and his deputy Jayda Fransen, 31, both from southeast London, were arrested in May over the distribution of leaflets in Kent to the east of London, and online videos they posted during a court trial. The case involved a number a Muslim men who were later convicted of rape. Both were bailed to appear at Medway magistrates in Kent on Oct. 17. The fringe group, which is opposed to all mass immigration and says it is not a racist but a loyalist movement, has staged a number of demonstrations around Britain, usually attracting a few hundred protesters.


A congressional tax oversight committee will not seek U.S. President Donald Trump's tax returns despite calls from Democrats for a review to determine possible business ties to foreign countries including Russia, the panel's Republican chairman said on Monday. Defying decades of precedent, Trump has refused to release his tax documents, which Democrats say could show whether his business empire poses any conflicts of interest as he moves forward on issues ranging from tax reform to foreign relations. "If Congress begins to use its powers to rummage around in the tax returns of the president, what prevents Congress from doing the same to average Americans?" House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told reporters. "Privacy and civil liberties are still important rights in this country, and (the) Ways and Means Committee is not going to start to weaken them." The Texas Republican was responding to questions about a Feb. 1 letter from Representative Bill Pascrell, a Ways and Means Democrat who asked Brady to obtain Republican Trump's returns from the U.S. Treasury so the committee could review them in closed session and vote on whether to make them public. Pascrell later said he continued to hope for action, saying: "Our committee must respond by using its legal authority as Congress has in the past to provide proper oversight. This is Checks and Balances 101." Experts say federal law authorizes the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation to examine individual tax returns. The two other panels are headed by Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican who dismissed the idea of seeking Trump's returns last week. House Republicans contend that the authority to examine tax returns was meant to ensure the proper administration of the tax code. Brady said his panel was doing just that in 2014, when it released confidential tax data during a probe of IRS treatment of conservative group applications for nonprofit status. Pascrell's letter said Trump's business empire involves state-owned enterprises in China and the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Saudi Arabia. "It is imperative for the public to know and understand his...financial positions in domestic and foreign companies," Pascrell wrote. Brady said the letter misrepresented the law's intent to promote confidentiality and privacy. "I've read his letter and I disagree with all of it," he said.


A new video investigation released Monday by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas Action shows how Democratic-aligned organizations used a tactic called 'bird-dogging' to incite violence and chaos at Trump rallies for media consumption. A key Clinton operative is captured on camera saying, "It doesn't matter what the friggin' legal and ethics people say, we need to win this motherfucker."    In the video, Democratic activists Robert Creamer and Scott Foval reveal their strategy to create a sense of "anarchy" in and around Donald Trump events over the course of the campaign. Foval tells an undercover operative: "One of the things we do is we stage very authentic grassroots protests right in their faces at their own events. Like, we infiltrate."    "So the term bird dogging: You put people in the line, at the front which means that they have to get there at six in the morning because they have to get in front at the rally, so that when Trump comes down the rope line, they're the ones asking him the question in front of the reporter, because they're pre-placed there," explains Foval. "To funnel that kind of operation, you have to start back with people two weeks ahead of time and train them how to ask questions. You have to train them to bird dog."    In another undercover interview, Creamer tells Project Veritas that his organization, Democracy Partners, has daily check-ins with the Clinton campaign in order to coordinate efforts. "I just had a call with the campaign and the DNC, every day at one o'clock," says Creamer subordinate Zulema Rodriguez in the video.    Foval explains to O'Keefe's undercover journalist how the web of Democratic organizations is designed to subvert laws preventing Super PACs and political action groups from organizing directly with campaigns: "The campaign pays DNC, DNC pays Democracy Partners, Democracy Partners pays the Foval Group, the Foval Group goes and executes the shit on the ground... Democracy Partners is the tip of the spear on that stuff."    "We're consultants so we're not the official entity and so those conversations can be had between consultants," Foval explains, "The campaigns and DNC cannot go near [Democratic super PAC] Priorities [USA], but I guaran-damn-tee you that the people who run the Super PACs all talk to each other and we and a few other people are the hubs of that communication."    One event specifically mentioned by the Democratic operatives to have been 'bird-dogged' was the September incident in North Carolina where a 69-year-old woman was supposedly assaulted by a Trump supporter. In reality, the woman was "trained" by Foval as part of his operation. "She was one of our activists," he says.    "I'm saying we have mentally ill people, that we pay to do shit, make no mistake," says Foval in the video. "Over the last twenty years, I've paid off a few homeless guys to do some crazy stuff, and I've also taken them for dinner, and I've also made sure they had a hotel, and a shower. And I put them in a program. Like I've done that. But the reality is, a lot of people especially our union guys. A lot of our union guys…they'll do whatever you want. They're rock and roll. When I need to get something done in Arkansas, the first guy I call is the head of the AFL-CIO down there, because he will say, 'What do you need?' And I will say, I need a guy who will do this, this and this. And they find that guy. And that guy will be like, Hell yeah, let's do it."    "It doesn't matter what the friggin' legal and ethics people say, we need to win this motherfucker," Foval also said.     Update: James O'Keefe Demands The Corporate Media to Report Veritas        In this video, James O'Keefe explains how the corporate media, including Fox News, are allowing themselves to be intimidated by the Clintons and the DNC and are refusing to air the bombshell investigative video released by Project Veritas Action.