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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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US blames Iran for Saudi strike; big hit for oil prices

https://apnews.com/3c3ce6a941f5489eaa778ccc5db2437c

US blames Iran for Saudi strike; big hit for oil prices

By ROBERT BURNS | Published September 16, 2019 1:28 PM ET | AP | Posted September 16, 2019 1:32 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. tried to build its case Monday that Iran was behind the fiery weekend attack on key Saudi Arabian oil facilities that raised new war worries and sent energy prices spiraling worldwide. Iran denied responsibility, while President Donald Trump said the United States was "locked and loaded" to respond if necessary.

American officials released satellite images of the damage at the heart of the kingdom's crucial Abqaiq oil processing plant and a key oil field, and two U.S. officials said the attacker used multiple cruise missiles and drone aircraft.

The Americans alleged the pattern of destruction suggested Saturday's attack did not come from neighboring Yemen, as claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels there. A Saudi military spokesman later made a similar accusation, alleging "Iranian weapons" had been used in the assault.

Iran rejected the allegations, and a government spokesman said there now was "absolutely no chance" of a hoped-for meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Trump at the U.N. General Assembly next week.

For his part, Trump sent mixed signals, saying his "locked and loaded" government waited for Saudi confirmation of Iran being behind the attack while later tweeting that the U.S. didn't need Mideast oil "but will help our Allies!"

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the U.S. was considering dispatching additional military resources to the Gulf but that no decisions had been made. The U.S. already has the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group in the area, as well as fighter jets, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and air defenses.

Downplaying any talk of imminent U.S. military action, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, told reporters at the White House that the president's language was "a reflection" that his administration was advancing policies that protect the U.S. "from these sorts of oil shocks."

"I think that 'locked and loaded' is a broad term that talks about the realities that" the U.S. is "safer and more secure domestically from energy independence," Short said.

The new violence has led to fears that further action on any side could rapidly escalate a confrontation that's been raging just below the surface in the wider Persian Gulf in recent months. There already have been mysterious attacks on oil tankers that Washington blames on Tehran, at least one suspected Israeli strike on Shiite forces in Iraq, and the downing of a U.S. military surveillance drone by Iran.

Those tensions have increased ever since Trump pulled the U.S. out of Iran's 2015 agreement with world powers that curtailed Iranian nuclear activities and the U.S. re-imposed sanctions that sent Iran's economy into freefall.

Benchmark Brent crude prices gained nearly 20% in the first moments of trading Monday before settling down to over 10% higher as trading continued. A barrel of Brent traded up $6.45 to $66.67.

That spike represented the biggest percentage value jump in Brent crude since the run-up to the 1991 Gulf War that saw a U.S.-led coalition expel Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait.

U.S. benchmark West Texas crude was up around 10%. U.S. gasoline and heating oil similarly were up.

The attack halted production of 5.7 million barrels of crude a day, more than half of Saudi Arabia's global daily exports and more than 5% of the world's daily crude oil production. Most of that output goes to Asia.

Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have been targeted by a Saudi-led coalition since March 2015 in a vicious war in the Arab world's poorest country, maintain they launched 10 drones that caused the extensive damage. They reiterated that Saudi oil sites remained in their crosshairs, warning foreign workers to stay away.

U.S. officials say that the damage done to the north-facing parts of the facilities suggest the attack instead came across the Persian Gulf from Iraq or Iran. American officials have yet to offer substantial evidence to support their claims, though Iran in the past has relied on hard-to-attribute attacks or proxy forces to launch assaults against its enemies.

At a news conference, Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said, "All the indications and operational evidence, and the weapons that were used in the terrorist attack, whether in Buqayq or Khurais, indicate with initial evidence that these weapons are Iranian weapons."

Al-Maliki offered no immediate evidence to support his allegations, which came after Trump said the U.S. awaited word from Saudi Arabia about who it suspected launched the attacks.

Iraqi Premier Adel Abdel-Mahdi said he received a call Monday from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who confirmed that the attack didn't come from Iraq. The State Department did not immediately acknowledge what was discussed. Iraq is home to Iranian-backed Shiite militias who aided it in its fight against the Islamic State group.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi again denied the U.S. claims Monday, telling journalists the accusation was "condemned, unacceptable and categorically baseless." Government spokesman Ali Rabiei meanwhile said a Trump-Rouhani meeting in New York as of now wouldn't happen.

"Currently we don't see any sign from the Americans which has honesty in it, and if the current state continues there will be absolutely no chance of a meeting between the two presidents," Rabiei said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry, while expressing "grave concern" about the attack, warned against putting the blame on Iran, saying that plans of military retaliation against Iran are unacceptable.

U.S. satellite photos released overnight appeared to show the attack on Abqaiq, the world's largest oil processing facility, may have struck the most sensitive part of the facility, its stabilization area. The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies has said the area includes "storage tanks and processing and compressor trains — which greatly increases the likelihood of a strike successfully disrupting or destroying its operations."

At 5.7 million barrels of crude oil a day, the Saudi disruption would be the greatest on record for world markets, according to figures from the Paris-based International Energy Agency. It just edges out the 5.6 million-barrels-a-day disruption around the time of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to the IEA.

Though the world's overall energy demands in the past were smaller, the Saudi outage has sparked concern among analysts of prices pushing to $80 a barrel and beyond. Publicly traded airlines, whose major costs include jet fuel, suffered globally. That could in turn push up prices on everything from travel to a gallon of gas at the pump.

Saudi Arabia has pledged that its stockpiles would keep global markets supplied as it rushes to repair damage at the Abqaiq facility and its Khurais oil field. However, Saudi Aramco has not responded publicly to questions about its facilities.

Stabilization means processing so-called sour crude oil into sweet crude. That allows it to be transported onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, or to refineries for local production.

Fernando Ferreira, the director of geopolitical risk at the Washington-based Rapidan Energy Group, said rebuilding that infrastructure "will take many months."

___

AP Writers Jon Gambrell and Aya Batrawy contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP writer Zeke Miller contributed from Washington, Tali Arbel from New York, Elaine Kurtenbach from Bangkok, Nasser Karimi from Tehran, Dave Rising from Berlin, Samy Magdy from Cairo and Qassim Abdul-Zahra from Baghdad.

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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Biden’s Birmingham speech

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/bidens-birmingham-speech/

Biden’s Birmingham speech

THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK…Monday: THE PRESIDENTwill participate in a ceremony for new ambassadors, and he will participate in presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mariano Rivera. He will meet with the crown prince of Bahrain before going to Albuquerque for a political rally.Tuesday: THE PRESIDENTwill raise money in Palo Alto and Beverly Hills.Wednesday: THE PRESIDENTwill raise money in Los Angeles, San Diego and then leave for Washington.Friday: THE PRESIDENTwill host the Australian PM for a state visit.

— MARIANO RIVERAwas a closer for the Yankees, and a legendary one at that. The Nats could use him at this point.

SNEAK PEEK … JOE BIDENis speaking today at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. From his remarks: “The domestic terrorism of white supremacy has been the antagonist of our highest ideals from before our founding. Lynch mobs – arsonists — bomb makers and lone gunmen. And as we all now realize, this violence does not live in the past.

“The same poisonous ideology that lit the fuse at 16th Streetpulled the trigger in Mother Emanuel, unleashed the anti-Semitic massacre in Pittsburgh and Poway, and saw a white supremacist gun down innocent Latino immigrants in an El Paso parking lot with military-grade weapons declaring it would stop a quote ‘Hispanic invasion of Texas.’ …

“I am sure, in those first hours after the bomb exploded—it was hard to see through the smoke and rubble to a day like today.

“As Dr. King eulogized those girls – perhaps not even he could haveimagined the day nearly 50 years later – when this nation’s first black president would award them the Congressional Gold Medal—one of our highest civilian honors.

“It is only with persistent effort… It is only with fortitude in our actions…It is only with faith in ourselves and the future that may yet be…That change comes— sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once— and progress continues. “

STORY OF THE DAY … NYT’S MAGGIE HABERMAN: “Despite Turning Down Inauguration Gig, Elton John Has a Recurring Role in Trump’s Presidency”:“The email was cordial, warm and deferential.

“‘Thank you so much for the extremely kind invitationto play at your inauguration,’ wrote one of President Trump’s favorite musicians, Sir Elton John. ‘I have given it a lot of thought, and as a British National I don’t feel that it’s appropriate for me to play at the inauguration of an American President. Please accept my apologies.’ …

“But for Mr. Trump, the rejection from Mr. John was probablyparticularly tough to swallow. In multiple books, Mr. Trump had praised Mr. John’s talent and drive. In 2005, Mr. Trump had arranged for Mr. John to perform at his third wedding, to Melania Knauss. Eleven years later, Mr. John sent his carefully-worded email passing on an encore performance, this time at Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

“‘Tiny Dancer,’ one of Mr. John’s most well-known songs,still rings out at the president’s rallies, part of a playlist that Mr. Trump personally selects. The president nicknamed the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, ‘Little Rocket Man,’ a homage to the song by Mr. John and a reference to the strongman’s missile tests. When the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, went to a meeting with Mr. Kim, he came bearing an Elton John record. And aides say the president has seen the singer’s biopic, ‘Rocketman.’”NYT

TRYING TO PUSH NETANYAHU OVER THE LINE … WAPO: “Trump floats idea of mutual defense pact with Israel, days before close election,”by Anne Gearan and Steve Hendrix: “President Trump said he had discussed a possible new defense pact with Israel during a phone call Saturday with Benjamin Netanyahu, highlighting the Israeli prime minister’s close ties to the Trump administration days before Netanyahu faces a difficult reelection vote.

“Trump did not promise to install a mutual defense pact,nor divulge further details of the conversation. The idea is generally popular in Israel, where the United States is the most important ally and defense partner.

“‘I had a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the possibilityof moving forward with a Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Israel, that would further anchor the tremendous alliance . . . between our two countries,’ Trump wrote in a pair of tweets Saturday.

“The language of the tweets suggests he is contemplating a formal treaty,which would have to be submitted to the Senate for ratification.”WaPo

— COLOR US A BIT SURPRISED.This is not a terribly strong statement.

Happy Sunday. THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS’ bullpen gave up 10 runs yesterday, and the Nats lost 10-1. The Nats are now 1.5 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card spot.

SPOTTED: Bob Costa having brunch with Guster’s Ryan Miller and his wife, Angela, at Le Diplomate on Saturday.

CONNECTICUT POST: “Pelosi, in CT appearance, says she’s optimistic on background checks,”by Kaitlyn Krasselt: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is optimistic a series of bipartisan bills, including pay equity and background checks, that have passed in the U.S. House of Representatives but stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate will pass prior to the 2020 election.

“‘The first 10 bills that we advanced when we took control of the House,they all had bipartisan support,’ Pelosi said Saturday in New Haven. ‘It is interesting though, that if they don’t pass those bills, there is a consequence in the election, so we hope that would be a motivator in addition to doing the right thing.’”CT Post

FRONT PAGE OF THE SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS …“Trump’s Bay Area event shrouded in secrecy”

QUITE THE IMAGE … FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTISon the front page of the Tampa Bay Times, playing golf with a golf tee in his mouth.Front page PDF

CRAIN’S DETROIT: “Grand Hotel considered for 2020 G7 summit,”by Chad Livengood: “President Donald Trump’s administration scoped out Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel for a possible 2020 G7 summit location before the White House opted to hold the annual gathering of world economic powers at the president’s south Florida golf club and resort, Crain’s has learned.

“A spokeswoman for the Grand Hotel told Crain’s on Fridaythat the famed Mackinac Island hotel and resort was vetted and considered for the G7 meeting. The spokeswoman could not divulge any additional information, other than to say that unnamed federal officials visited Mackinac Island as part of the vetting process.

“The 397-room Grand Hotel, which is in the midst of a historic saleto a Denver-based private equity firm, is believed to be the only Michigan site considered for the Group of Seven meeting of the leaders of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.”Crain’s Detroit

NYT’S SHANE GOLDMACHER: “Planned Parenthood and Fired Former Chief Mired in Escalating Dispute”:“Leana Wen, the recently fired former president of Planned Parenthood, appears headed toward an increasingly contentious exit, after accusing the organization’s leadership of trying to “buy my silence” in a dispute that threatens to prolong and magnify an acrimonious transition at the top of the nation’s best known women’s health care and reproductive rights group.

“Dr. Wen has been engaged in two months of fraught negotiationsover her severance package since she was fired in July. She led Planned Parenthood for less than a year and accused the organization of withholding her health insurance and departure payout as ‘ransom’ to pressure her to sign a confidentiality agreement.

“She made the accusations in a barbed 1,400-word letterto Planned Parenthood’s board of directors this past week, which was obtained by The New York Times. ‘No amount of money can ever buy my integrity and my commitment to the patients I serve,’ Dr. Wen wrote.”NYT

BREAKING … AP/DUBAI: “Iran dismisses US allegation it was behind Saudi oil attacks”:“Iran denied on Sunday it was involved in Yemen rebel drone attacks the previous day that hit the world’s biggest oil processing facility and an oil field in Saudi Arabia, just hours after America’s top diplomat alleged that Tehran was behind the ‘unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.’

“The attacks Saturday claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels resultedin ‘the temporary suspension of production operations’ at the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Riyadh said.

“That led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 millionbarrels in crude supplies, authorities said while pledging the kingdom’s stockpiles would make up the difference. The amount Saudi Arabia is cutting back is equivalent to over 5% of the world’s daily production.

“While markets remained closed Sunday, the attack could shockworld energy prices. They also increased overall tensions in the region amid an escalating crisis between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.”AP

— WSJ: “Saudi Oil Attack Is Unlikely to Dent U.S. Economy:If strikes trigger higher energy prices, China and Japan will suffer most, economists warn,” by David Harrison: “While the total impact of the Saturday attacks remains unknown, analysts say the U.S. economy is very different than it was in the 1970s, when surging oil prices tipped the economy into recession. Oil-price shocks no longer pack the same punch, they say.

“Today, energy accounts for about 2.5% of household consumption,down from around 8% in the 1970s, according to Bank of America economists. Since the early 2000s, U.S. energy companies have dramatically ramped up production using new drilling techniques, such as fracking. Oil production doubled between 2008 and 2018, and the U.S. is now the world’s top oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia, according to the Energy Information Administration.

“The Saudi oil-field attack adds a new factor to consider for Federal Reserveofficials, who have been weighing how a variety of geopolitical risks will influence the economic outlook, including the U.S.-China trade war, unrest in Hong Kong and Britain’s impending departure from the European Union.”WSJ

NEW …Adapted from NYT’s Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly’s new Brett Kavanaugh book:“But while we found Dr. Ford’s allegations credible during a 10-month investigation, Ms. Ramirez’s story could be more fully corroborated. During his Senate testimony, Mr. Kavanaugh said that if the incident Ms. Ramirez described had occurred, it would have been “the talk of campus.” Our reporting suggests that it was.

“At least seven people, including Ms. Ramirez’s mother,heard about the Yale incident long before Mr. Kavanaugh was a federal judge. Two of those people were classmates who learned of it just days after the party occurred, suggesting that it was discussed among students at the time.

“We also uncovered a previously unreported story about Mr. Kavanaughin his freshman year that echoes Ms. Ramirez’s allegation. A classmate, Max Stier, saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different drunken dorm party, where friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student. Mr. Stier, who runs a nonprofit organization in Washington, notified senators and the F.B.I. about this account, but the F.B.I. did not investigate and Mr. Stier has declined to discuss it publicly. (We corroborated the story with two officials who have communicated with Mr. Stier.)

“Mr. Kavanaugh did not speak to us because we could not agree on termsfor an interview. But he has denied Dr. Ford’s and Ms. Ramirez’s allegations, and declined to answer our questions about Mr. Stier’s account.”NYT

THE PRESIDENT,just before 9 a.m.@realDonaldTrump:“Brett Kavanaugh should start suing people for liable, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue. The lies being told about him are unbelievable. False Accusations without recrimination. When does it stop? They are trying to influence his opinions. Can’t let that happen!”Trump corrected the tweet to say libel.

KANSAS CITY STAR: “Kris Kobach sent names of Nebraska residents to ICE while running for Kansas governor,”by Jason Hancock and Jonathan Shorman: “Kris Kobach was in the middle of running for Kansas governor in December 2017, but he had unfinished business in Nebraska.

“The former Kansas secretary of state helped write an ordinance in 2010for Fremont, Neb., banning landlords from renting homes to immigrants living in the country illegally. Four years later, he successfully defended his handiwork on behalf of the town all the way to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“His legal victory attracted national attention.Still, enforcing the law had proven difficult because information collected on rental applications wasn’t enough for the federal government to determine whether someone was in the country legally.

“But Kobach wasn’t ready to give up. So in 2017,while still receiving a $10,000-a-year retainer from Fremont, he emailed the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a list of 289 people who had applied for an occupancy license in the eastern Nebraska city, where about 15 percent of its 26,000 residents are Hispanic.”KC Star

FOR MCCARTHY AND THE NRCC …So many Republicans are retiring that it’s front page news when your delegation is NOT retiring.

— POST AND COURIERin South Carolina:“GOP leaders from SC fight on:State’s 5 congressmen to run next year, even as others call it quits”

2020 …

— NYT’S LONG RUN SERIES: “Kamala Harris Was Ready to Brawl From the Beginning:In her first race, she defied her old boss, a fund-raising pledge — and the implication that she owed her career to her ex-boyfriend.,”by Matt Flegenheimer in San Francisco

— MARC CAPUTO: “Biden allies attack Warren’s electability”:“As Elizabeth Warren climbs in the polls, Joe Biden’s Massachusetts allies are warning that her home-state election history suggests she runs weakest among the types of voters Democrats need to win over to capture the White House.

“While Warren won re-election easily in 2018, Biden’s backerspoint to her performance among independent and blue-collar voters as evidence she’ll fail to appeal to similar voters in the Rust Belt — just as Hilary Clinton did in 2016.

“‘The grave concern of many of us Democrats in Massachusettsis that in many of the counties where Sen. Warren underperforms, they are demographically and culturally similar to voters in key swing states,’ said state Rep. John Rogers, who backs Biden. ‘The tangible fear here,’ Rogers said, “is that these Massachusetts counties are bellwethers for states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio — key states that Democrats can’t afford to lose in the battle to beat President Trump.’”POLITICO

SUNDAY BEST … PETE BUTTIGIEGtoGEORGE STEPHANAOPOULOSonABC’s “This Week”reacting toDONALD TRUMPsaying the South Bend mayor was up two in Texas: “I mean, you can’t take it that seriously. Other than I’m — I’m very curious to know what pollster let him know that I’m beating him in Texas by two points. That’s news to me, but it’s very good news if it’s true.”

— KELLYANNE CONWAYto Bill Hemmer on“FOX NEWS SUNDAY”on a possible meeting with Iran’s president: “He has never … we never committed to that meeting at the United Nations General Assembly. The president just said he’s looking at it.”

— SEN. CORY BOOKERto Chuck Todd onNBC’s “Meet the Press”about his flagging poll numbers: “The polls have never been predictive this far out. In fact, if you’re polling ahead right now, you should worry because we’ve never in my lifetime and yours had somebody who was polling ahead this far out that went on to the presidency. The people that usually win are younger, dynamic candidates that are considered long shots. Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama.”

— JAKE TAPPERspoke toPETE BUTTIGIEGabout Beto O’Rourke’s calling to confiscate guns onCNN’s “STATE OF THE UNION”.TAPPER: “Do you agree? Did Beto O’Rourke say something that’s playing into the hands of Republicans?”BUTTIGIEG: Yes.

“Look, right now, we have an amazing moment on our hands.We have agreement among the American people for not just universal background checks, but we have a majority in favor of red flag laws, high-capacity magazines, banning the new sale of assault weapons.

“This is a golden moment to finally do something,because we have been arguing about this for as long as I have been alive. When even this president and even Mitch McConnell are at least pretending to be open to reforms, we know that we have a moment on our hands.Let’s make the most of it and get these things done.”

— WYOMING REP. LIZ CHENEYtoCHUCK TODDonSEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY.):“Look, I think if you look back at what, what Senator Paul has said over many, many years, he’s very different from where President Trump is on these issues. President Trump puts America first. Senator Paul, whenever given the opportunity, blames America first.”

— RAND PAULtoJAKE TAPPERon CNN’s “State of the Union”: “I can’t meet a general who can clearly tell me what our national security interest is in Afghanistan. Most of the military, over 60 percent of the military who served in Iraq or Afghanistan now think both of the wars should come to an end.

“So I think the president’s right to do this, but I think we have to callout the Republicans who are preventing him. This is the Bolton-Cheney wing. Dick Cheney to this day still thinks the Iraq War was a good thing. The Iraq War, President Trump has said, was the biggest geopolitical blunder of the last generation. It destabilized the Middle East. It increased the strength of Iran. It tipped the balance towards Iran.

“So there really was nothing good about the Iraq War.And Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, John Bolton, they still don’t get it. They still are advocating for more regime change in the Middle East.”

THE PRESIDENT’S SUNDAY …No public events scheduled

NEW EXCERPT … “’No turning back now’: The inside story of James Comey’s trip to Trump Tower”from Josh Campbell’s“Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump’s War on the FBI”

BEYOND THE BELTWAY … BOSTON GLOBE’S VICKY MCGRANEin Springfield, Mass.:“Potential Joe Kennedy vs. Ed Markey face-off at center of Democratic convention”:“Senator Elizabeth Warren on Saturday said she sees nothing to criticize in Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III launching a primary challenge to the candidate she has endorsed, Senator Edward J. Markey.

“Warren told reporters that she stands by her endorsement of Markey,which she made in February. But she declined to offer any words of discouragement for the 38-year-old Kennedy as he mulls a challenge to Markey.

“‘I couldn’t ask for a better partner in the Senate,’ Warren saidof Markey in comments made shortly before she took the stage at the state Democratic Party’s annual convention here. But she called both men friends and offered equally strong praise of Kennedy, noting that she had him and his wife as students at Harvard Law School.”Boston Globe

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS,curated by Daniel Lippman (@dlippman):

— “How David Swensen Made Yale Fabulously Rich,”by Drake Bennett, Janet Lorin and Michael McDonald in Bloomberg Businessweek: “He walked away from the stock market, built a network of elite private funds, and created a fortune with no end in sight.”Bloomberg Businessweek

— “What I Wish I’d Known About Sexual Assault in the Military,”by Sandra Sidi in October’s Atlantic: “For women, fending off unwanted male attention is the job that never ends.”The Atlantic

— “The Moral Logic of Humanitarian Intervention,”by The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins: “Samantha Power made a career arguing for America’s ‘responsibility to protect.’ During her years in the White House, it became clear that benevolent motives can have calamitous results.”New Yorker

— “I Was Caroline Calloway,”by Natalie Beach in The Cut: “Seven years after I met the infamous Instagram star, I’m ready to tell my side of the story.”The Cut(h/t Longreads.com)

— “Notre-Dame’s Toxic Fallout,”by NYT’s Elian Peltier in Paris and James Glanz, Weiyi Cai and Jeremy White in NYC: “Flames engulfed 460 tons of lead when Notre-Dame’s roof and spire burned, scattering dangerous dust onto the streets and parks of Paris.”NYT

— “Malcolm Gladwell Reaches His Tipping Point,”by The Atlantic’s Andy Ferguson: “Among his other talents, he’s one of those ‘professional communicators’ that public-speaking coaches always say we should emulate: First he tells his audience what he’s about to tell them, then he tells them, and then he tells them what he just told them.”The Atlantic(h/t ALDaily.com)

— “Superfans: A Love Story,”by Michael Schulman in The New Yorker: “From ‘Star Wars’ to ‘Game of Thrones,’ fans have more power than ever to push back. But is fandom becoming as toxic as politics?”New Yorker

— “Competitive Oyster Shucking Is Real, Decadent, And China’s Best Party,”by Noelle Mateer in Deadspin: “Do not assume, just because there is champagne and whiskey and maybe, sometimes, drugs, that these shuckers aren’t also thinking long and hard, and often poetically, about their métier.”Deadspin(h/t Longform.org)

— “The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen,”by Tucker Carlson in Esquire in Nov. 2003: “Recently, an eminent, varied, large, and unlikely delegation of Americans, led by the Reverend Al Sharpton, went to Africa to heal a wounded continent. They took the whitest man in America with them.”Esquire

— “Ship of horrors: life and death on the lawless high seas,”by Ian Urbina in The Guardian: “From bullying and sexual assault to squalid living conditions and forced labour, working at sea can be a grim business – and one deep-sea fishing fleet is particularly notorious.”Guardian

— “Confessions of an Islamic State fighter” —1843 Magazine’s Aug./Sept. issue: “Fitim Lladrovci travelled to Syria to fight a holy war. Now back in Kosovo, he continues to call for jihad. Alexander Clapp is granted a rare interview.”1843 Magazine

— Why Can’t California Solve Its Housing Crisis?”by Tessa Stuart in Rolling Stone: “It’s the epicenter of the tech industry and the wealthiest, most progressive state in the union, but homelessness is surging — and no one can agree on how to fix it.”RS(h/t Longform.org)

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at [email protected].

SPOTTED:Pete Buttigieg hosting friends and supporters at Morris American Bar in D.C. before attending the Congressional Black Caucus gala at the Convention Center on Saturday.Pic

SPOTTEDat a party for Kim Wehle’s new book, “How To Read The Constitution And Why,” ($17.99 on Amazon) at the home of Megan Rupp in Chevy Chase, Md.: Rod and Lisa Rosenstein, Rick Wilson, Maya MacGuineas and Will Rabbe.

TRANSITION — Cari Lutkinsis now deputy chief of staff for operations at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She was previously director for strategic initiatives at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and is a Trump White House alum.

WEEKEND WEDDINGS – OBAMA ALUMNI: Alexa KissingertoGareth Rhodes —per NYT’s Vincent M. Mallozi: “New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo officiated. … The couple met at Harvard, from which each received a law degree. The bride, 29, is a judicial clerk for Judge Robert L. Wilkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously served as an aide to Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama. … The groom, 31, is special counsel to the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services in New York and Albany. … He previously served as an aide to Governor Cuomo and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in New York’s 19th Congressional district in 2018.”With a pic,NYT

— “Taylor Barnes, Alexander Logan,”via NYT: “Ms. Barnes, 29, is the constituency operations director and the women’s political director of the [DNC], where she helps manage constituency outreach groups in Washington. … Mr. Lord, 33, is the database manager at the National Guard Association, where he oversees reporting and analytics, membership acquisition and retention strategy in Washington.”With a pic,NYT

— “Katie Rodihan, Heath Hyatt,”via NYT: “Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, officiated …Ms. Rodihan, 27, is the national press secretary for Inslee for America, the presidential campaign of Gov. Jay Inslee, Democrat of Washington, who last month dropped out of the 2020 race. …Mr. Hyatt, 29, is an associate at Perkins Coie, a law firm in Seattle. … [T]heir relationship developed while they were campaigning for Mr. Kaine in Virginia in 2012.”NYT

— Chris Hayden,deputy communications director for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign, andRachel Chaney,a longtime organizer who most recently worked at Democracy Forward, were married last night in Ocean City, N.J.SPOTTED:Ben Ray, Alex Kellner, Adrianne Marsh and Paul Dunn, Rob Flaherty, Carla Frank, Lily Adams, Corey Ciorciari, James Singer, Rachael Hartford, Caitlin Legacki, Cameron Sullivan, Stewart Boss, Suzy Smith, Morgan Finkelstein, Noah Dion and Joe Philbin.Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Erin Memmott,a partner at Oorbeek Memmott Group, andJustin Memmott,counsel for the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, welcomed Samuel David to the world.Pic

BIRTHDAYS:Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) is 43 … Ashley Parker, WaPo White House reporter and MSNBC/NBC senior political analyst … Sara Fagan, CEO of Deep Root Analytics … former Bush/Cheney speechwriter John McConnell … Kirsten Kukowski … Christian Pinkston … Chris Lehmann … NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik … Todd Breasseale … Ben Kamisar … “CBS This Morning” producer Adam Aigner-Treworgy … Alana Russo … former Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is 6-0 … POLITICO’s Kathy Wolfe, Jenn Miller and Hung-Su Nguyen … Alexandra Berg … Eliza Shapiro … Tiffany Haverly, director of public affairs at PhRMA … Sabrina Rush … Sandra Alcalá, House director of member services (hat tip: Jon Haber) … Jon Gossett … Chandler Smith Costello, SEC deputy director for public affairs …

… Ryan Nobles,CNN Washington correspondent … Zara Rahim,head of comms of The Wing … Herb Rothschild is 82 (h/t son Gregg) … Tony Mauro … League of Conservation Voters’ Dawn Cohea … Katie Thompson … David Lloyd … Elizabeth Meyer of Booz Allen Hamilton … Cat Cheney … Don Irvine … Jodi Hanson Bond … Marya Hannun … Amy Sisk … Rebecca McGrath … Hannah Connaghan … Bryan Doyle … Wayne King, deputy COS for Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) … Mal Kline … Kristen Bor … Dave Shott … Bloomberg Opinion’s Max Berley … Veronica Lew … Nathan Hurst … Allyson Alvaré Kranz … CNBC’s Ryan Ruggiero … Theola DeBose … Connie Carter … Neil Makhija … Marie Arana … Phil Zabriskie … Wayne Reynolds … Chip Rodgers … Todd Olsen … Jill Moschak

Anna Palmer @apalmerdc

Jake Sherman @JakeSherman

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#Birmingham #Foreign #Politics #speech

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lawyersinajman · 4 years

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Ajman’s Legal Representatives for Providing Welfare

Family lawyer in Ajman are familiar with Sharia Law which is required in the accomplishment of the child’s guardianship. Rendering to UAE rule, a child should be given safety from emotional and physical mutilation. This abuse usually occurs due to divorce amid spouse. Dubai lawyers are experts in providing welfare for children whilst dealing with child custody cases.

What to do in case of Domestic violence ?

Domestic violence, which is stated as the use of power in order to harm the spouse or child. Apart from physical maltreatment, mental damage also comes under domestic violence circumstances. In such a case, the magistrates have a preference for the welfare of children in allowing guardianship to any of the parents.

Lawyers in Ajman and UAE authority is very strict in providing child supervision in the case of exploitation. Moreover, a child’s agreement is also obligatory that with whom he feels secure and content.

Verdicts of domestic violence Cases

Decisions of domestic violence cases are given on the subsequent factors: • The association between the parent and child is well-thought-out that either the child feel safe and healthy with their maternities or not

• Preceding cases of exploitation that have psychologically impacted the children • The relation between the spouse that can harm the child and parent Henceforth, in case of any indication of domestic violence, the court will give the verdict seeing the child’s subsidy.

Child protection associations in the UAE

In case parents are not successful in providing an appropriate atmosphere for their children then child defense centers are the ultimate option. These centers aim to provide a hale and hearty environment for children who are not safe in their homes. These centers will benefit them to cultivate into a strong individual.

Covering up

Lawyers in Ajman, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi are experts in handling child abuse cases. They have proper knowledge of UAE law and can give you proper advice. Hire them to acquire unfailing services. If you have any issue for reporting the child abuse case, contact law firms in Dubai. They are eager to help you with any difficulty and protect the future of our generations.

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askthelaw · 5 years

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Criminal Lawyers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Criminal Law in UAE contains many provisions obtained from Islamic Sharia Law. This is essential for a Criminal Lawyer to understand the Islamic Sharia Law Provisions with International Criminal Law system so he could properly deal with the UAE Criminal Law system. UAE Criminal Law covers every area of crime e.g. Finical Crimes, Violation, Sexual Abuse, Human Rights Violation, Forgery, Drinking, Breach of Trust and much more.

Criminal Defense Attorneys of Ask The Law – Al Shaiba Advocates & Legal Consultants represent the clients in Police Station, Public Prosecution, Court of First Instance, Court Of Appeal, Court of Cassation and Federal Supreme Court. Our Criminal Litigation Services are offered to all the clients whether they are victimized or accused. From Legal Advice to Legal Service, our Civil Lawyers help you by fully utilizing their high-profile professional skills.

The expertise of our Criminal Lawyers is available for every Criminal Case including:

Fraud

Human Right Violation

Bounced Cheque

Financial Crimes

Public Office Offense

Tax Evasion

Insolvency

Driving

Bank Loan, Credit Card Frauds

Conspiracy, Absconding, Insolvency

Forgery

Wrong use of Power

Cyber Crime

Domestic Violence

And much more

ASK THE LAW – Al Shaiba Advocates & Legal Consultants provides Criminal Law services in every emirate of UAE including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah. Our Criminal Law Attorneys help the Clients from Police Station to Final Judicial Declaration.

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newstfionline · 6 years

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Trump’s ‘recklessness’ spurs jitters in the Middle East

By Liz Sly, Washington Post, May 18, 2018

BEIRUT--President Trump’s moves to open a new Jerusalem embassy and withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal are destabilizing an already volatile Middle East, risking a wider regional war that the United States will be unable or unwilling to contain.

Scenes of the bloodshed in Gaza have been twinned on television screens across the Arab world this week with footage of presidential advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner celebrating at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, reigniting forgotten Arab sympathies with the plight of the Palestinians and implicating the United States in the violence.

Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal days earlier had already triggered concerns among friends and foes alike that he is steaming ahead in making major policy shifts without a coherent strategy for addressing the fallout.

Either one of these steps would have rocked the region, but both coming in the space of less than a week amounted to “a recklessness that is frightening,” said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution in Washington.

With the Arab-Israeli peace process at a dead end and wars already raging in Syria, Yemen and Libya, “the Middle East is already a dangerous enough environment,” he said. “The last thing we needed was very provocative moves that only add further toward the momentum towards an even larger regional confrontation.”

In the space of eight days, election results in Iraq and Lebanon dealt setbacks to U.S. political allies in places where the United States competes for influence with Iran, and the biggest confrontation yet between Israel and Iran erupted in Syria and the Golan Heights. All of this added to the sense that the Middle East is hurtling toward some new form of upheaval.

These events all run counter to U.S. interests by strengthening hard-liners in Iran, undermining the United States’ Arab allies, fueling passions that can lead to extremism and ceding ground to rivals such as Russia, said Riad Kahwaji of the Dubai-based Inegma defense consultancy.

“Iran, Russia, ISIS, al-Qaeda--you are playing into the hands of all the U.S. enemies in the region,” he said. ISIS is another name for the Islamic State.

Even the closest U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf are growing uncomfortable with Trump’s policies, which they increasingly suspect are rooted more in his desire to fulfill election promises to his domestic base than in any alignment with their interests, analysts say.

Although Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates publicly welcomed Trump’s decision last week to withdraw from the nuclear deal, officials from those countries have privately expressed misgivings about the apparent lack of any alternative strategy for containing Iran, the analysts say. The rulers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE have energetically cultivated close personal relationships with the Trump family but are starting to realize that their close ties to the president could backfire.

“These are the policies of one president. He will go, another will come, and we will be left to face the music in the region,” said Mustafa Alani, director of security studies at the Gulf Research Center in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia and its allies had vociferously opposed the nuclear deal because it failed to address their concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile program and its expansionist activities in the region. But they didn’t expect Trump to withdraw from the accord without a replacement strategy that would address their foremost concerns, he said.

The Trump administration has yet to fully articulate its Iran strategy, but the U.S. president indicated in his statement announcing the withdrawal from the deal that his approach will rely on sanctions to curb Iran’s behavior. Alani said that could take years.

“The time frame is not encouraging because we don’t think Trump can achieve the objective of Iran containment in two years,” he said. “We are 100 percent with this policy, but what is this containment going to be, what is our role, and are you going to put us on the front line?”

The Gulf countries had agreed that the deal was too weak to stop Iran’s nuclear development, Alani said, “but we needed amendment, not cancellation. We need some sort of deal. We don’t want war.”

The feeling that Trump is undermining his allies was compounded by the opening of the Jerusalem embassy on Monday, which thrust images of Israelis killing Palestinians back into the Middle East media for the first time in years and revived memories of an era when the United States was seen as the foremost enemy of Arab aspirations.

“The Massacre of Trump’s Declaration” read a headline in the pan-Arab Al-Hayat, making it clear who the newspaper blamed for the deaths of 60 Palestinians by Israeli gunfire.

“Trump was beginning to have momentum vis-a-vis Iran with the support of the other Arab countries, but after Gaza, it’s like he’s someone shooting himself in the foot,” said Kahwaji. “When we have scenes like we saw in Gaza, Iran gains more popularity because Iran is the one advocating resistance against Israel.”

These developments could put Arab allies of the United States “in a weak spot,” Kahwaji said. “At some point they will have to distance themselves from the Trump administration.”

Most ordinary Arabs in the region see Trump’s moves simply as “bizarre,” said Rami Khouri, a professor at the American University of Beirut.

“The United States posture has shifted into a very unusual, predatory, chest-thumping bravado, and we’re seeing the results in the ratcheting-up of tensions,” he said. “But then they don’t take any action.”

Khouri said he doubts there will be a major war because the costs would be too high for everyone involved, and Trump has clearly indicated he does not want to engage the United States in military action. Instead, continuing flare-ups and skirmishes are likely, he said.

But the risk remains that a miscalculation or unforeseen incident could ignite a larger conflict. Debates rage over which front line might become the next flash point.

The most obvious one is Syria, where Israel and Iran are already locked in a cycle of escalating confrontations. An Israel-Iran clash in Syria could draw in Lebanon, where Iran’s ally Hezbollah has recently cemented its hold on Lebanese politics with a narrow election win by its allies over the U.S.-backed bloc led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Yemen is another potential flash point. A big worry is that one of the missiles now being fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels at Riyadh will cause mass casualties or hit a facility such as the airport terminal and kill Americans, necessitating a U.S. response, said Firas Maksad, director of the Arabia Foundation, which is based in Washington and backed by Saudi Arabia.

The outcome of the election in Iraq, meanwhile, has brought Iraq into play by delivering the largest number of seats in the country’s parliament to the mercurial cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and relegating the U.S.-backed Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to third place, according to unofficial results.

Sadr is opposed to both the United States and Iran, both of which have a military presence in Iraq. According to the latest figures made available by the Pentagon, as of December, 5,200 U.S. troops were based there, coexisting alongside Iranian military advisers and Iranian-backed militias under a detente that took hold during the Obama administration.

But Sadr’s win was narrow, and he will need allies if his bloc is to lead the next government, setting up a contest between Iran and the United States to influence its shape.

“The most dangerous place is probably Iraq, because we have a substantial American presence in Iraq, and the Iranians have many proxies,” said the Brookings Institution’s Riedel. “The election has put the future of the country very much up in the air. I’d be worried that Iranian proxies will start targeting American soldiers, as they have done before, and then we’re in a very shaky situation.”

#US foreign policy #Trump foreign policy #Trump's Jerusalem embassy move

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studentofrhetoric-blog · 7 years

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Tuesday, February 14th, 2017

International News:

--- "WASHINGTON Multiple Russian military aircraft came close to a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Black Sea on Feb. 10, incidents considered "unsafe and unprofessional," a U.S. official said on Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry said no such incidents had occurred. "There were no incidents of any kind on Feb. 10, related to flights by Russian military jets in the Black Sea near the U.S. Navy destroyer Porter," Russian news agencies cited a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, as saying. But Captain Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for U.S. European Command, cited three separate incidents involving Russian aircraft and the USS Porter. One involved two Russian Su-24 jets, another a separate Su-24, and the third a larger IL-38. "USS Porter queried all aircraft and received no response," Hernandez said. "Such incidents are concerning because they can result in accident or miscalculation," he added."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-military-idUSKBN15T2MU

--- "The U.S. government strongly believes that North Korean agents murdered the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Malaysia, U.S. government sources said on Tuesday. American authorities have not yet determined exactly how Kim Jong Nam was killed, according to two sources, who did not provide specific evidence to support the U.S. government's view. A South Korean government source also had said that Kim Jong Nam had been murdered in Malaysia. He did not provide further details. South Korea's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the country's intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment. In Washington, there was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Trump administration, which faces a stiff challenge from a defiant North Korea over its nuclear arms program and the test of a ballistic missile last weekend. Kim Jong Nam was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside North Korea and had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated state. If confirmed as an assassination, it would the latest in a string of killings over the decades at home and abroad meant to silence those perceived by North Korea's leaders as threats to their authority, one of the U.S. sources said on condition of anonymity."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-malaysia-kim-idUSKBN15T1DN

Domestic & International News:

--- "DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of the United Nations' atomic agency said Tuesday the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to be in touch with him or others about their criticism of the Iran nuclear deal. Yukiya Amano, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told The Associated Press that his organization was "in constant touch" with the U.S., but had yet to hear from the new administration on their concerns. "I'm expecting to have direct contact with the new administration very soon," Amano said. Trump has signaled he wants to take a harder line on Iran than his predecessor Barack Obama, for whom the deal reached between Iran and world powers was a major foreign policy achievement."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/30562b5100a444838aee1996129358ca/AP-Interview:-Trump-yet-to-call-UN-atomic-chief-on-Iran-deal

--- "Russia has deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints by U.S. officials that it violates an arms control treaty banning ground-based U.S. and Russian intermediate-range missiles, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday.Russia had secretly deployed the ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile that Moscow has been developing and testing for several years, despite U.S. complaints that it violated sections of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, the official said, confirming a story first reported by the New York Times. “We know that this is an old issue. The Russians have been building and testing these things in violation of the INF treaty going back to the Obama administration,” the official told Reuters, asking to remain anonymous to speak freely. "The issue now is the things are deployed and it’s an even greater violation of the INF treaty,” the official added. The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Times story."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-missiles-idUSKBN15T2CS

--- "U.S. President Donald Trump supports the goal of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, even if it does not involve the two-state solution, a senior White House official said on Tuesday. Speaking a day before Trump holds a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official said peace was the ultimate goal. "Whether that comes in the form of a two–state solution if that's what the parties want, or something else," the official said, adding that Trump would not try to "dictate" a solution. Failure by a U.S. president to explicitly back a two-state solution would upend decades of U.S. policy embraced by Republican and Democratic administrations. It has long been the bedrock U.S. position for resolving the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been at the core of international peace efforts."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-israel-idUSKBN15U04I

--- "Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald Trump's presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing four current and former U.S. officials. U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around the same time they were discovering evidence that Russia was trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee, three of the officials said, according to the Times. The intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election, the newspaper said. The officials interviewed in recent weeks said they had seen no evidence of such cooperation so far, it said. However, the intercepts alarmed U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in part because of the amount of contact that was occurring while Trump was speaking glowingly about Russian President Vladimir Putin."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKBN15U0BK

--- "U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear he expects Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine and reduce violence in Ukraine, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Tuesday. "President Trump has made it very clear that he expects the Russian government to de-escalate violence in the Ukraine and return Crimea," Spicer said at a daily news briefing. "At the same time, he fully expects to and wants to get along with Russia.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-ukraine-idUSKBN15T2IY

Russian Response (Wednesday):

"Russia said on Wednesday it would not hand back Crimea to Ukraine or discuss the matter with foreign partners after the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump expected the annexed Black Sea peninsula to be returned. Moscow says an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted to become part of Russia in a 2014 referendum wanting protection from what the Kremlin cast as an illegal coup in Kiev. Ukraine says the referendum was a sham held at gunpoint after Russian troops illegally annexed the peninsula, that Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted by people power, and that Moscow should return Crimea. "We don't give back our own territory. Crimea is territory belonging to the Russian Federation," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told a news briefing on Wednesday."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-ukraine-idUSKBN15U0U0

Domestic News:

--- "OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican Oklahoma lawmaker who defended his description of pregnant women as "hosts" won approval Tuesday for his bill that would require women seeking an abortion to first receive written consent from the father. The state House Public Health Committee voted 5-2 in favor of the bill by Rep. Justin Humphrey, despite Humphrey's own concession that it might be unconstitutional. It now proceeds to the full House, where it's likely to pass if granted a hearing...The bill would require women seeking an abortion to provide the name of the father and would prohibit her from going through with it without his written informed consent. It also would allow the father to demand that a paternity test be performed and would provide exceptions in cases where the woman is the victim of rape or incest or if the pregnancy would endanger her life."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/d548d0eaeeb1472e864cecf09a285625/Oklahoma-lawmaker-defends-pregnant-women-are-'hosts'-comment

--- "INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump's pick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid advised Vice President Mike Pence on health care issues while he was Indiana's governor, a post she maintained amid a web of business arrangements — including one that ethics experts say conflicted with her public duties. A review by The Associated Press found Seema Verma and her small Indianapolis-based firm made millions through consulting agreements with at least nine states while also working under contract for Hewlett Packard. The company holds a financial stake in the health care policies Verma's consulting work helped shape in Indiana and elsewhere...Legal and ethics experts contacted by AP say Verma's work for Hewlett, and offshoot HP Enterprises, raised questions about where her loyalties lay — to the company, or to state taxpayers."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/e4f03763a32a4f40b418a1133ec20f64/Pick-for-Medicare-post-faces-questions-on-Indiana-contracts

--- "U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy plans to step down next month, the agency said on Tuesday, two years after he took charge of the agency following high-profile security lapses by the service responsible for protecting the president. "Congratulations Dir Clancy on your retirement! The men & women of the @SecretService are grateful for your 29 years of service & leadership," the Secret Service said on Twitter. Clancy will leave on March 4, an agency spokesman said. Clancy's departure means that President Donald Trump will be able to select his own security chief. The Secret Service has almost 7,000 employees and is charged with protecting the president and his family as well as combating counterfeiting."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-secretservice-idUSKBN15T2J0

--- "U.S. immigration authorities have detained a 23-year-old Mexican man who was brought to the United States illegally as a child and given a work permit during the Obama administration, according to a lawsuit challenging the detention in Seattle federal court. The man's lawyers say this could be the first time under U.S. President Donald Trump that a person covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has been taken into immigration custody...Ramirez, who has no criminal record according to court papers filed in his case, was taken into custody last week at his father's home in Seattle by ICE officers. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-arrest-exclusiv-idUSKBN15T307

--- "The White House should consider disciplinary action against presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway for appearing to violate government ethics rules by publicly endorsing Ivanka Trump products, the Office of Government Ethics wrote in a letter made public on Tuesday. The letter, dated Monday and addressed to a White House ethics official, asked President Donald Trump's administration to investigate the incident and gave it two weeks to provide its findings and detail any disciplinary steps taken...Federal ethics rules prohibit executive branch employees from using their positions to endorse products."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-nordstrom-idUSKBN15T2M7

--- "The Federal Reserve will likely need to raise interest rates at an upcoming meeting, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday, although she flagged considerable uncertainty over economic policy under the Trump administration. Yellen said delaying rate increases could leave the Fed's policymaking committee behind the curve and eventually lead it to hike rates quickly, which she said could cause a recession. "Waiting too long to remove accommodation would be unwise," Yellen told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, citing the central bank's expectations the job market will tighten further and that inflation would rise to 2 percent. "At our upcoming meetings, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with these expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate.""

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-yellen-testimony-idUSKBN15T1ZY

--- "Parts of California damaged by recent storms, including the areas around the damaged Oroville Dam, will receive federal disaster assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday. Federal aid will be sent to three counties near Lake Oroville, where the tallest earthen dam in the United States suffered damage last week and over the weekend, prompting the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people. Funds will also be sent to other parts of California inundated with rains over the past month."

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/california-dam-relief-idINKBN15U04W

--- "WASHINGTON (AP) — House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz wants to know more about the security measures at Mar-a-Lago, which President Donald Trump calls the "Winter White House." The Utah Republican asked White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to describe the security protocols in place to protect sensitive information while the president is at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort that he owns and has visited two weekends in a row. Chaffetz's letter to Priebus, dated Tuesday, comes after news reports described a Saturday powwow between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after North Korea launched a missile. The leaders were at a terrace restaurant that was in full view — and earshot — of Mar-a-Lago members. White House spokesman Sean Spicer reiterated Tuesday what he'd said earlier about Trump not receiving or reviewing any classified material at the dinner table. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Tuesday that was also his understanding. The Oversight leader wants to be briefed on whether security protocols were followed that weekend, what documents were reviewed in common areas and whether any classified information was discussed. Chaffetz is also asking Priebus for an "explanation about whether and how the guests, employees, and residents at Mar-a-Lago are vetted in order to ensure that they are not foreign agents or spies on behalf of a foreign government." Priebus is asked to provide the information to the Oversight Committee by Feb. 28."

Source: https://www.apnews.com/5f5bb06bcef045e495cc920aa5b8bcfd/Just-how-secure-is-Mar-a-Lago,-House-Oversight-chairman-asks

#international affairs #domestic affairs #trump administration #source: reuters #source: ap

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