mercurynews--2020-08-28--Laura thrashes Louisiana, but damage is less than predicted

LAKE CHARLES , La .
( AP ) — One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. , Laura barreled across Louisiana on Thursday , shearing off roofs , killing at least six people and maintaining ferocious strength while carving a destructive path hundreds of miles inland .
A full assessment of the damage wrought by the Category 4 system was likely to take days , and the threat of additional damage loomed as new tornado warnings were issued after dark in Arkansas and Mississippi .
But despite a trail of demolished buildings , entire neighborhoods left in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without power , a sense of relief prevailed that Laura was not the annihilating menace forecasters had feared .
“ It is clear that we did not sustain and suffer the absolute , catastrophic damage that we thought was likely , ” Louisiana Gov .
John Bel Edwards said .
“ But we have sustained a tremendous amount of damage.
” He called Laura the most powerful hurricane to strike Louisiana , meaning it surpassed even Katrina , which was a Category 3 storm when it hit in 2005 .
The hurricane ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 241 kph ) put it among the strongest systems on record in the U.S. Not until 11 hours after landfall did Laura finally lose hurricane status as it plowed north and thrashed Arkansas , and even by Thursday evening , it remained a tropical storm with winds of 40 mph ( 65 kph ) .
The storm came ashore in low-lying Louisiana and clobbered Lake Charles , an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people .
On Broad Street , many buildings had partially collapsed , and those that didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out , awnings ripped away and trees split in half in eerily misshapen ways .
Police spotted a floating casino that came unmoored and hit a bridge .
At the local airport , planes were overturned , some on top of each other .
In front of the courthouse was a Confederate statue that local officials had voted to keep in place just days earlier .
After Laura , it was toppled .
“ It looks like 1,000 tornadoes went through here .
It ’ s just destruction everywhere , ” said Brett @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with three family members in Moss Bluff , near Lake Charles .
He described Laura passing over his house with the roar of a jet engine around 2 a.m. “ There are houses that are totally gone .
They were there yesterday , but now gone , ” he said .
Not long after daybreak gave the first glimpse of the destruction , a massive plume of smoke visible for miles began rising from a chemical plant .
Police said the leak was at a facility run by Biolab , which manufactures chemicals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bleach scrub and chlorine powder for pools .
Nearby residents were told to close their doors and windows and turn off air conditioners .
State and federal aircraft headed into the skies over the coast to look for signs of any other industrial damage .
The fatalities included a 14-year-old girl and a 68-year-old man who died when trees fell on their homes in Louisiana , as well as a 24-year-old man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence .
Another man drowned in a boat that sank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No deaths had been confirmed in Texas , which Republican Gov .
Greg Abbott said would amount to “ a miracle.
” Chevellce Dunn considered herself among the fortunate after a night spent huddling on a sofa with her son , daughter and four nieces and nephews as winds rocked their home in Orange , Texas .
Left without power in sweltering heat , she didn ’ t know when power might be restored .
“ It ain ’ t going to be easy .
As long as my kids are fine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
President Donald Trump planned to visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to tour the damage .
More than 580,000 coastal residents evacuated under the shadow of a coronavirus pandemic and calls for masks and social distancing to combat its spread .
It was the largest evacuation order since the pandemic began and many people followed it , filling hotels and sleeping in cars .
Although not everyone fled from the coast , officials credited those who did leave for minimizing the loss of life .
Forecasters had warned that the storm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be “ unsurvivable ” and could push 40 miles inland .
Edwards said the storm surge wound up being measured in the range of 9 feet to 12 feet — still bad , but far from the worst forecast .
He was hopeful that damaged homes could quickly be made habitable .
The priority , Edwards said , was search and rescue , followed by efforts to find hotel or motel rooms for those unable to stay in their homes .
Officials in Texas and Louisiana have both sought to avoid traditional mass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 , and Edwards was concerned that the storm would inhibit coronavirus testing as schools and universities are reopening .
Bucky Millet , 78 , of Lake Arthur , Louisiana , considered evacuating but decided to ride out the storm with family due to concerns about the coronavirus .
He said a small tornado blew the cover off the bed of his pickup and made him think the roof on his house was next .
“ You ’ d hear a crack and a boom and everything shaking , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ blew out every window of the living room in the Lake Charles house where Bethany Agosto survived the storm with her sister and two others .
They sought safety in a closet when the hurricane was at its worst .
“ It was like a jigsaw puzzle in this closet .
We were on top of each other , just holding each other and crying , ” Agosto said .
The storm was so powerful that it could regain strength after turning east and reaching the Atlantic Ocean , potentially threatening the densely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after killing nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola , including 20 in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic , where it knocked out power and caused intense flooding .
It was the seventh named storm to strike the U.S. this year , setting a new record for U.S. landfalls by the end of August .
The old record was six in 1886 and 1916 , according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach .
Laura was tied with five other storms for fifth most powerful U.S. hurricane , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ storm , 1969 ’ s Camille , 1992 ’ s Andrew and 2004 ’ s Charley , Klotzbach said .
Associated Press contributors include Jeff Martin in Marietta , Georgia ; Kevin McGill in New Orleans ; John L. Mone in Holly Beach , Louisiana ; Paul J. Weber in Austin , Texas ; Seth Borenstein in Kensington , Maryland ; Juan A. Lozano in Houston ; Jay Reeves in Birmingham , Alabama ; Jill Bleed in Little Rock , Arkansas ; and Sophia Tulp in Atlanta .

By MELINDA DESLATTE, STACEY PLAISANCE and GERALD HERBERT
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., Laura barreled across Louisiana on Thursday, shearing off roofs and killing at least six people while carving a destructive path hundreds of miles inland.
A full assessment of the damage wrought by the Category 4 system was likely to take days, and the threat of additional damage loomed as new tornado warnings were issued after dark in Arkansas and Mississippi even as the storm weakened into a depression.
But despite a trail of demolished buildings, entire neighborhoods left in ruins and almost 900,000 homes and businesses without power, a sense of relief prevailed that Laura was not the annihilating menace forecasters had feared.
“It is clear that we did not sustain and suffer the absolute, catastrophic damage that we thought was likely,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “But we have sustained a tremendous amount of damage.”
He called Laura the most powerful hurricane to strike Louisiana, meaning it surpassed even Katrina, which was a Category 3 storm when it hit in 2005. The storm toppled trees and damaged structures as far north as central Arkansas.
Laura’s top wind speed of 150 mph (241 kph) put it among the strongest systems on record in the U.S. Not until 11 hours after landfall did Laura finally lose hurricane status as it plowed north and thrashed Arkansas, and even by Thursday evening, it remained a tropical storm with winds of 40 mph (65 kph).
The storm crashed ashore in low-lying Louisiana and clobbered Lake Charles, an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people. On Broad Street, many buildings had partially collapsed. Windows were blown out, awnings ripped away and trees split in eerily misshapen ways. Police spotted a floating casino that came unmoored and hit a bridge. At the local airport, planes were overturned, some on top of each other. Part of a transmission tower toppled into the emptied-out studios of KPLC-TV, whose staff evacuated hours before landfall to broadcast from other locations.
In front of the courthouse was a Confederate statue that local officials had voted to keep in place just days earlier. After Laura, it was toppled.
“It looks like 1,000 tornadoes went through here. It’s just destruction everywhere,” said Brett Geymann, who rode out the storm with three family members in Moss Bluff, near Lake Charles. He described Laura passing over his house with the roar of a jet engine around 2 a.m.
“There are houses that are totally gone. They were there yesterday, but now gone,” he said.
Following Laura’s passage, a massive plume of smoke visible for miles began rising from a chemical plant. Police said the leak was at a facility run by Biolab, which manufactures chemicals used in household cleaners such as Comet bleach scrub and chlorine powder for pools.
Nearby residents were told to close their doors and windows and turn off air conditioners, and the fire smoldered into the night. State and federal aircraft headed into the skies over the coast to look for signs of any other industrial damage.
The fatalities included a 14-year-old girl and a 68-year-old man who died when trees fell on their homes in Louisiana, as well as a 24-year-old man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence. Another man drowned in a boat that sank during the storm, authorities said.
No deaths had been confirmed in Texas, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said would amount to “a miracle.”
Chevellce Dunn considered herself among the fortunate after a night spent huddling on a sofa with her son, daughter and four nieces and nephews as winds rocked their home in Orange, Texas. Left without power in sweltering heat, she didn’t know when electricity might be restored.
“It ain’t going to be easy. As long as my kids are fine, I’m fine,” Dunn said.
President Donald Trump planned to visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to tour the damage.
More than 580,000 coastal residents evacuated under the shadow of a coronavirus pandemic and calls for masks and social distancing to combat its spread. It was the largest evacuation order since the pandemic began and many people followed it, filling hotels and sleeping in cars. Although not everyone fled from the coast, officials credited those who did leave for minimizing the loss of life.
Forecasters had warned that the storm surge of 15 to 20 feet would be “unsurvivable” and could push 40 miles inland. Edwards said the storm surge wound up in the range of 9 feet to 12 feet — still bad, but far from the worst forecast. He was hopeful damaged homes could quickly be made habitable.
The priority, Edwards said, was search and rescue, followed by efforts to find hotel or motel rooms for those unable to stay in their homes. Officials in Texas and Louisiana have both sought to avoid traditional mass shelters for evacuees over fears of spreading COVID-19, and Edwards was concerned that the storm would inhibit coronavirus testing as schools and universities are reopening.
Bucky Millet, 78, of Lake Arthur, Louisiana, considered evacuating but decided to ride out the storm with family due to concerns about the coronavirus. He said a small tornado blew the cover off the bed of his pickup and made him think the roof on his house was next.
“You’d hear a crack and a boom and everything shaking,” he said.
The force of Laura’s winds blew out every window of the living room in the Lake Charles house where Bethany Agosto survived the storm with her sister and two others. They fled to a closet when the hurricane was at its worst.
“It was like a jigsaw puzzle in this closet. We were on top of each other, just holding each other and crying,” Agosto said.
The storm was so powerful that it could regain strength after turning east and reaching the Atlantic Ocean, potentially threatening the densely populated Northeast.
Laura hit the U.S. after killing nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola, including 20 in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic, where it knocked out power and caused intense flooding.
It was the seventh named storm to strike the U.S. this year, setting a new record for U.S. landfalls by the end of August. The old record was six in 1886 and 1916, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Laura was tied with five other storms for fifth most powerful U.S. hurricane, behind the 1935’s Labor Day storm, 1969’s Camille, 1992’s Andrew and 2004’s Charley, Klotzbach said.
___
Associated Press contributors include Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Kevin McGill in New Orleans; John L. Mone in Holly Beach, Louisiana; Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas; Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland; Juan A. Lozano in Houston; Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama; Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Sophia Tulp in Atlanta.


mercurynews--2020-08-28--Trump, on huge White House stage, decrying Biden, radicals

WASHINGTON ( AP ) — Facing a fraught national moment , President Donald Trump was accepting his party ’ s renomination from a massive White House South Lawn stage Thursday night , breaking with tradition by using the executive mansion as a political backdrop and defying pandemic guidelines to address a tightly packed , largely maskless crowd .
As crises churned outside the gates , Trump was painting an optimistic vision of America ’ s future , including an eventual triumph over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 175,000 people , left millions unemployed and rewritten the rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could only be secured , Trump asserted , if he defeated Joe Biden , against whom he was set to unleash blistering attacks meant to erase the Democrat ’ s lead in the polls .
“ We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years , ” Trump was to say according to speech excerpts confirmed by his campaign .
“ At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties , two visions , two philosophies or two agendas.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an American way of life under siege from radical forces , Trump declared the Democratic agenda as “ the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee.
” As his speech brings the scaled-back Republican National Convention to a close , Trump risks inflaming a divided nation reeling from a series of calamities , including the pandemic , a major hurricane that slammed into the Gulf Coast and nights of racial unrest and violence after Jacob Blake , a Black man , was shot by a white Wisconsin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a setting that was both familiar and controversial .
Despite tradition and regulation to not use the White House for purely political events , a huge stage was set up outside the executive mansion , dwarfing the trappings for some of the most important moments of past presidencies .
The speaker ’ s stand was flanked by dozens of American flags and two big video screens .
Trying to run as an insurgent as well as incumbent , Trump rarely includes calls for unity , even in a time of national uncertainty .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ effectively , tried to portray Biden — who is considered a moderate Democrat — as a tool of the radical left , fringe forces he has claimed don ’ t love their country .
The Republicans claim that the violence that has erupted in Kenosha and some other American cities is to be blamed on Democratic governors and mayors .
Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said that Americans wouldn ’ t be safe in “ Joe Biden ’ s America.
” That drew a stern rebuke from his predecessor in the post @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now is that we are in Donald Trump ’ s America , ” said Biden on MSNBC .
“ He views this as a political benefit to him , he is rooting for more violence not less .
He is pouring gasoline on the fire.
” Both parties are watching with uncertainty the developments in Wisconsin and cities across the nation with Republicans leaning hard on support for law and order — with no words offered for Black victims of police violence — while falsely claiming that Bides had not condemned the lawlessness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kamala Harris offered counter-programming for Trump ’ s prime-time speech .
She delivered a speech a half mile from the White House , declaring , “ Donald Trump doesn ’ t understand the presidency.
” “ He thinks it ’ s all about him , ” she said , adding that “ It ’ s about all of us.. … Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a president of the United States : He failed to protect the American people , plain and simple.
” Demonstrations were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a march planned for the next day .
New fencing set up along the White House perimeter was expected to keep the protesters at bay , but their shouts were likely to be heard on the South Lawn — and potentially by the millions watching at home .
Shortly before the event started , about 200 people were gathered at nearby newly christened Black Lives Matter Plaza , drumming loudly and and chanting , “ No justice , no peace.
” If those chants , coming from masked faces , can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where more than 1,000 people were expected , it could also intrude on another illusion that the Republicans have spent a week trying to create : that the pandemic is largely a thing of the past .
The rows of chairs on the lawn were tightly packed , inches apart .
Protective masks were not required , and COVID-19 tests were not to be administered to everyone .
This followed the scene at Pence ’ s speech the night before in Baltimore , where the vice president was seen offering fist bumps and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not all of whom were tested .
But Trump , who has defended his handling of the pandemic , was to tout an expansion of rapid coronavirus testing .
The White House announced Thursday that it had struck a $ 750 million deal to acquire 150 million tests from Abbott Laboratories to be deployed in nursing homes , schools and other areas with populations at high risk .
Four years ago , Trump declared in his acceptance speech that “ I alone can fix ” the nation ’ s woes , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ term at the nadir of his presidency , amid a devastating pandemic , crushing unemployment and real uncertainties about schools and businesses reopening .
Another one million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week , in numbers released Thursday .
And the U.S. economy shrank at an alarming annual rate of 31.7 % during the April-June quarter as it struggled under the weight of the viral pandemic .
It was sharpest quarterly drop on record .
Price reported from Las Vegas .
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller , Jill Colvin , Darlene Superville @ @ @ @ @ @

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, MICHELLE L. PRICE and KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blasted Joe Biden as a hapless career politician who will endanger Americans’ safety as he accepted his party’s renomination Thursday on the South Lawn of the White House. While the coronavirus kills 1,000 Americans each day, Trump defied his own administration’s pandemic guidelines to speak for more than an hour to a tightly packed, largely maskless crowd.
Facing a moment fraught with racial turmoil, economic collapse and a national health emergency, Trump delivered a triumphant, optimistic vision of America’s future. But he said that brighter horizon could only be secured if he defeated his Democratic foe, who currently has an advantage in most national and battleground state polls.
“We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years,” Trump said, referring to the former senator and vice president’s career in Washington.
When Trump finished, a massive fireworks display went off by the Washington Monument, complete with explosions that spelled out “Trump 2020.”
His acceptance speech kicked off the final stretch of the campaign, a race now fully joined and, despite the pandemic, soon to begin crisscrossing the country. Trump’s pace of travel will pick up to a near daily pace while Biden, who has largely weathered the pandemic from this Delaware home, announced Thursday that he will soon resume campaign travel.
Teasing once more that a vaccine could arrive soon, the president promised victory over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 175,000 people, left millions unemployed and rewritten the rules of society. And, in the setting for his speech, Trump sought to project a sense of normalcy by throwing caution about the coronavirus aside.
All week long, Republicans at the nonconvention convention tried to create the illusion that the pandemic is largely a thing of the past. The rows of chairs on the South Lawn were inches apart. Protective masks were not required, and COVID-19 tests were not administered to everyone.
As his speech brought the scaled-back Republican National Convention to a close, Trump’s incendiary rhetoric risked inflaming a divided nation reeling from a series of calamities, including the pandemic, a major hurricane that slammed into the Gulf Coast and nights of protest after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot by a white Wisconsin police officer. Prosecutors charged a white, 17-year-old police admirer with the fatal shooting of two protesters and wounding of a third.
The president spoke from a setting that was both familiar and controversial. Despite tradition and regulation to not use the White House for purely political events, a huge stage was set up outside the executive mansion, dwarfing the trappings for some of the most important moments of past presidencies. The speaker’s stand was flanked by dozens of American flags and two large video screens.
Trying to run as an insurgent as well as incumbent, Trump rarely includes calls for unity, even in a time of national uncertainty. Presenting himself as the last barrier protecting an American way of life under siege from radical forces, Trump has repeatedly, if not always effectively, tried to portray Biden — who is considered a moderate Democrat — as a tool of extreme leftists.
He mockedd his opponent’s record and famous empathy, suggesting that “laid off workers in Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania” don’t “want Joe Biden’s hollow words of empathy, they wanted their jobs back.”
In a week of racial tumult, Republicans have claimed that the violence that has erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and some other American cities is to be blamed on Democratic governors and mayors and would only grow worse under a Biden administration. That drew a stern rebuke from Biden.
“The problem we have right now is that we are in Donald Trump’s America,” Biden said on MSNBC. “He views this as a political benefit to him, he is rooting for more violence, not less. He is pouring gasoline on the fire.”
Both parties are watching with uncertainty the developments in Wisconsin and cities across the nation with Republicans leaning hard on support for law and order — with no words offered for Black victims of police violence — while falsely claiming that Biden has not condemned the lawlessness.
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney and New York City’s former mayor, declared that Democrats’ “silence was so deafening that it reveals an acceptance of this violence because they will accept anything they hope will defeat President Donald Trump.”
Though some of the speakers, unlike on previous nights, offered notes of sympathy to the families of Black men killed by police, Giuliani also took aim at the Black Lives Matter movement, suggesting that it, along with ANTIFA, was part of the extremist voices pushing Biden to “execute their pro-criminal, anti-police policies” and had “hijacked the protests into vicious, brutal riots.”
Along with Biden, running mate Kamala Harris offered counter-programming for Trump’s prime-time speech. She delivered a speech a half mile from the White House, declaring, “Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a president of the United States: He failed to protect the American people, plain and simple.”
Some demonstratiors took to Washington’s streets Thursday night, ahead of a march planned for Friday. New fencing was set up along the White House perimeter to keep the protesters at bay, but some of their shouts and car horns were clearly audible on the South Lawn where more than 1,500 people gathered. Soon after Trump began talking, the horns and sirens — which came through occasionally to the millions watching at home — caused some people in the last row to turn around and look for the source of the disturbance.
Trump, who has defended his handling of the pandemic, touted an expansion of rapid coronavirus testing. The White House announced Thursday that it had struck a $750 million deal to acquire 150 million tests from Abbott Laboratories to be deployed in nursing homes, schools and other areas with populations at high risk.
Most of the convention has been aimed at former Trump supporters or nonvoters, and has tried to drive up negative impressions of Biden so that some of his possible backers stay home. Many of the messages were aimed squarely at seniors and suburban women.
Four years ago, Trump declared in his acceptance speech that “I alone can fix” the nation’s woes, but he has found himself asking voters for another term at the nadir of his presidency, amid the devastating pandemic, crushing unemployment and real uncertainties about schools and businesses reopening.
Another one million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, in numbers released Thursday. And the U.S. economy shrank at an alarming annual rate of 31.7% during the April-June quarter as it struggled under the weight of the viral pandemic. It was sharpest quarterly drop on record.
___
Price reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, Darlene Superville and Aamer Madhani contributed reporting.


mercurynews--2020-08-28--It’s the US vs. most of UN security council over Iran sanctions

By Edith M. Lederer and Matthew Lee | Associated Press UNITED NATIONS — The United States and most of the rest of the U.N. Security Council dug in their heels Thursday on diametrically opposed positions over the restoration of international sanctions on Iran .
In increasingly intense rhetorical terms , U.S. officials insisted they had acted legitimately in triggering a so-called “ snapback ” mechanism that would re-impose all U.N. sanctions Iran next month .
They said the re-imposition of sanctions is a done deal and nothing can stop it .
“ Last week , the U.S. triggered the 30-day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Iran after the Security Council failed to uphold its mission to maintain international peace and security , ” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet .
“ These sanctions will snap back at midnight GMT on September 20.
” But as they did when Pompeo traveled to the U.N. to invoke snapback , almost all other council members flatly rejected that position , repeating their position that the U.S. had lost its legal standing to act after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal two years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the Security Council resolution that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , or JCPOA , between Iran and six major powers — the U.S. , Russia , China , United Kingdom , France and Germany .
It allows “ a JCPOA participant state ” to trigger the “ snapback ” mechanism .
The U.S. insists that as an original JCPOA participant it has the legal right even though it ceased participating in 2018 .
The impasse sets the stage for a potential crisis in the Security Council next month with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctions and most of the rest of the world saying the Trump administration ’ s action is illegal and ignoring it .
The president of the council on Tuesday said there was overwhelming opposition in the 15-member body to the U.S. position and that it was unlikely there would be any action on Washington ’ s demand .
But Pompeo said that wouldn ’ t matter , citing the process for sanctions re-imposition outlined in council resolution that enshrined the nuclear deal .
Under the terms of that resolution , if a participant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant non-performance , ” the council must vote affirmatively to continue sanctions relief .
The U.S. would veto any such resolution .
“ If any member of the UN Security Council introduces a resolution to continue sanctions relief , the U.S. will oppose it , ” Pompeo said .
“ If no resolution is introduced , the sanctions on Iran will still return on September 20 .
That ’ s how UNSCR 2231 works.
” The European Union ’ s foreign policy chief , who coordinates the JCPOA ’ s Joint Commission , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ latest statement that since the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in 2018 “ it can not … be considered to be a JCPOA participant state for the purposes of possible sanctions snapback foreseen by the resolution.
” EU High Representative Josep Borrell added that he “ will continue to do everything possible to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the JCPOA by all , ” saying it remains “ a key pillar ” of global nonproliferation that contributes to regional stability .
The EU announced last Friday that the six remaining parties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Sept. 1 .
Russia ’ s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky tweeted Thursday : “ Under intl law you can ’ t withdraw from an agreement and then claim you can still benefit from its provisions .
Under ` rules-based intl order ’ where the rules are defined by the US this seems to be OK provided it serves US interests.
” The Trump administration has been waging war on the nuclear deal for years .
During the 2016 presidential campaign candidate Trump denounced it as the worst deal ever negotiated and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to blow it up .
U.S. officials say the deal is fatally flawed because certain restrictions on Iran ’ s nuclear activity gradually expire and will allow the country to eventually develop atomic weapons .
JCPOA supporters warn that if the deal blows up or Iran pulls out it could pursue nuclear weapons .
Pompeo came to the United Nations last week to demand restoration of U.N. sanctions after the Security Council resoundingly rejected a U.S. resolution to indefinitely extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran , which is set to expire Oct. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions to be lifted .
Only the Dominican Republic supported the United States .
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton , who has long questioned the validity of the administration ’ s argument for snapback , told The Associated Press : “ The lesson you take away from this is for the United States it ’ s perfectly honorable to stand alone at the U.N. in vindication of our principles .
But at least you ought to try and do it smartly , and not so that you look foolish.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
“ And what we ’ re going to see here is what happens when you get into this kind of foolishness .
It really is too cute by half and now it is coming back to bite the United States , and it was entirely predictable .
”

By Edith M. Lederer and Matthew Lee | Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — The United States and most of the rest of the U.N. Security Council dug in their heels Thursday on diametrically opposed positions over the restoration of international sanctions on Iran.
In increasingly intense rhetorical terms, U.S. officials insisted they had acted legitimately in triggering a so-called “snapback” mechanism that would re-impose all U.N. sanctions Iran next month. They said the re-imposition of sanctions is a done deal and nothing can stop it.
“Last week, the U.S. triggered the 30-day process to restore virtually all UN sanctions on Iran after the Security Council failed to uphold its mission to maintain international peace and security,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet. “These sanctions will snap back at midnight GMT on September 20.”
But as they did when Pompeo traveled to the U.N. to invoke snapback, almost all other council members flatly rejected that position, repeating their position that the U.S. had lost its legal standing to act after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal two years ago.
At the heart of the dispute is the Security Council resolution that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, between Iran and six major powers — the U.S., Russia, China, United Kingdom, France and Germany.
It allows “a JCPOA participant state” to trigger the “snapback” mechanism. The U.S. insists that as an original JCPOA participant it has the legal right even though it ceased participating in 2018.
The impasse sets the stage for a potential crisis in the Security Council next month with the United States claiming to have re-imposed the sanctions and most of the rest of the world saying the Trump administration’s action is illegal and ignoring it.
The president of the council on Tuesday said there was overwhelming opposition in the 15-member body to the U.S. position and that it was unlikely there would be any action on Washington’s demand.
But Pompeo said that wouldn’t matter, citing the process for sanctions re-imposition outlined in council resolution that enshrined the nuclear deal. Under the terms of that resolution, if a participant in the deal accuses Iran of “significant non-performance,” the council must vote affirmatively to continue sanctions relief. The U.S. would veto any such resolution.
“If any member of the UN Security Council introduces a resolution to continue sanctions relief, the U.S. will oppose it,” Pompeo said. “If no resolution is introduced, the sanctions on Iran will still return on September 20. That’s how UNSCR 2231 works.”
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, who coordinates the JCPOA’s Joint Commission, reiterated in response to Pompeo’s latest statement that since the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in 2018 “it cannot … be considered to be a JCPOA participant state for the purposes of possible sanctions snapback foreseen by the resolution.”
EU High Representative Josep Borrell added that he “will continue to do everything possible to ensure the preservation and full implementation of the JCPOA by all,” saying it remains “a key pillar” of global nonproliferation that contributes to regional stability.
The EU announced last Friday that the six remaining parties to the JCPOA will meet in Vienna on Sept. 1.
Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky tweeted Thursday: “Under intl law you can’t withdraw from an agreement and then claim you can still benefit from its provisions. Under `rules-based intl order’ where the rules are defined by the US this seems to be OK provided it serves US interests.”
The Trump administration has been waging war on the nuclear deal for years. During the 2016 presidential campaign candidate Trump denounced it as the worst deal ever negotiated and has made no secret of his desire to blow it up. U.S. officials say the deal is fatally flawed because certain restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity gradually expire and will allow the country to eventually develop atomic weapons.
JCPOA supporters warn that if the deal blows up or Iran pulls out it could pursue nuclear weapons.
Pompeo came to the United Nations last week to demand restoration of U.N. sanctions after the Security Council resoundingly rejected a U.S. resolution to indefinitely extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, which is set to expire Oct. 18, in one of the first restrictions to be lifted. Only the Dominican Republic supported the United States.
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who has long questioned the validity of the administration’s argument for snapback, told The Associated Press: “The lesson you take away from this is for the United States it’s perfectly honorable to stand alone at the U.N. in vindication of our principles. But at least you ought to try and do it smartly, and not so that you look foolish.”
“I think we look foolish,” he said. “And what we’re going to see here is what happens when you get into this kind of foolishness. It really is too cute by half and now it is coming back to bite the United States, and it was entirely predictable.”


mercurynews--2020-08-28--Bay Area man found with 24 lbs of meth sentenced to five years in prison

SAN FRANCISCO — A man was found sleeping in a car with 24 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk was sentenced to five years in federal prison Wednesday , court records show .
Vladimir Magallan Gallegos will also be on supervised release for four years after serving his sentence , according to the minute order of the hearing .
The sentence , handed down by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer , is half of what federal prosecutors asked for .
Gallegos was indicted on meth distribution charges last year , a week after federal agents caught him with 24 pounds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his car outside of a San Mateo home .
Before that , authorities used a confidential informant to conduct multi-pound meth deals with Gallegos , prosecutors said .
The prosecution sentencing memo says Gallegos was a middleman in a drug ring , not someone pulling strings .
The meth seized during the case has a value of $ 64,400 if broken down and sold , authorities estimated .
Gallegos showed up on authorities ’ radar while they were investigating another person who was believed to be in contact with the Sinaloa Cartel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gallegos ’ attorney , Robert Waggener , described his client in court records as nothing more than a courier in a drug ring , who was “ living hand to mouth.
” Waggener also described Gallegos ’ Oct. 3 arrest .
“ A San Mateo police officer woke Mr. Gallegos up by knocking on the driver ’ s side window , and asked if he was alright .
Mr. Gallegos engaged the officer in a conversation , cooperated with him , and stepped out of the car , ” Waggener wrote in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had no idea that there was a surveillance airplane flying overhead , and that the encounter was being monitored by numerous ATF agents and other San Mateo police officers .
”

SAN FRANCISCO — A man was found sleeping in a car with 24 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk was sentenced to five years in federal prison Wednesday, court records show.
Vladimir Magallan Gallegos will also be on supervised release for four years after serving his sentence, according to the minute order of the hearing. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, is half of what federal prosecutors asked for.
Gallegos was indicted on meth distribution charges last year, a week after federal agents caught him with 24 pounds of the drug as he slept in his car outside of a San Mateo home. Before that, authorities used a confidential informant to conduct multi-pound meth deals with Gallegos, prosecutors said.
The prosecution sentencing memo says Gallegos was a middleman in a drug ring, not someone pulling strings. The meth seized during the case has a value of $64,400 if broken down and sold, authorities estimated.
Gallegos showed up on authorities’ radar while they were investigating another person who was believed to be in contact with the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the prosecution sentencing memo.
Gallegos’ attorney, Robert Waggener, described his client in court records as nothing more than a courier in a drug ring, who was “living hand to mouth.” Waggener also described Gallegos’ Oct. 3 arrest.
“A San Mateo police officer woke Mr. Gallegos up by knocking on the driver’s side window, and asked if he was alright. Mr. Gallegos engaged the officer in a conversation, cooperated with him, and stepped out of the car,” Waggener wrote in a sentencing memo. “Mr. Gallegos had no idea that there was a surveillance airplane flying overhead, and that the encounter was being monitored by numerous ATF agents and other San Mateo police officers.”


mercurynews--2020-08-27--‘It has to change’: Chris Wondolowski’s emotional reaction to this moment of protest

SAN JOSE — Chris Wondolowski spoke Thursday about racial injustice and why the San Jose Earthquakes boycotted their game the previous night with a passion he rarely has shown off the field .
Wondolowski , Major League Soccer ’ s all-time leading scorer with 161 goals , spoke for about 30 minutes to reporters in a Zoom call to send a message from the Quakes locker room : “ It is time to change and it has to change.
” The Earthquakes were one of 10 MLS clubs who joined other professional teams Wednesday night to make a statement against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The profound moment in American sports started with the Milwaukee Bucks and involved two other NBA playoff games as well as baseball , including the San Francisco Giants .
The actions took place in the wake of a police shooting Sunday of Jacob Blake , an unarmed Black man , in Kenosha , Wisconsin .
Wondolowski , 37 , has been one of the league ’ s least controversial players in his 16 seasons , all but 3½ in San Jose .
But the first-known Indigenous player in Major League Soccer wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the team took action on a day the NHL Players Association announced its members would not play for two days .
Wondolowski said the idea to not play began percolating about 3½ hours before kickoff — after the Bucks decided to sit out their playoff game in Orlando , Florida , where the NBA is holding its playoffs .
Wondo , as the team captain is known to teammates and fans , said the Quakes did not feel justified to resume the regular season against the Portland Timbers at Earthquakes Stadium .
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Timbers ’ Jeremy Ebobisse to seek his counsel .
Ebobisse said he would not play , Wondolowski said .
The Earthquakes voted unanimously to sit out the game , he added .
The MLS players ’ decision to not play was praised throughout most corners of the league .
However , Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen expressed disgust with the players in a radio interview Thursday morning .
Real did not play its game in Sandy , Utah , against Los Angeles FC .
“ I think it misses the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Wondolowski said of Hansen ’ s comments .
“ I mean , for me , that ’ s the disrespect right there .
You know , I think that it ’ s so much bigger than a game .
It has nothing to do with you personally , and I ’ m sorry you feel that way.
” Wondolowski added , “ I appreciate everything , all the money that you have put into this league , but that ’ s it , thank you , move on .
If you don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , our system , our play , who we are as a human being , then how can we support that owner ?
I know I would not want to play for that owner and I think that those were very hurtful remarks.
” Wondolowski said players were talking Thursday about what to do next .
He started the year saying it would be his final season as a player .
But with the suspension of play because of the novel coronavirus pandemic Wondolowski has said he might return for the 2021 season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fioranelli said he would consider .
But Thursday , Wondolowski said soccer is secondary as a national conversation surrounding policing and social justice has led to protests since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in late May .
“ This game is part of my life , ” Wondolowski said .
“ But we ’ re talking about human beings not being treated equally .
If I never play another game I will have the biggest smile on my face still if it can change even one or two people .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the action Wednesday night is not about one game .
“ We realize the traction of how we can make a difference , ” he said .
“ That was how we felt we could make the biggest impact .
We still want to make an impact in any way we can .
We don ‘ t want lip service anymore.
” Other highlights from talking to Wondolowski , a De La Salle High graduate from Danville .
— As a member of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma Wondolowski has a particular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indigenous people .
“ It is something that we need to continue to help and continue to shed light on , ” he said .
“ I ’ m all in with Black Lives Matter and I ’ m all in with any social inequality ( situation ) we need to continue to raise .
We see it with the Native American culture and population.
” Wondolowski called attention to the way the U.S. Census is being conducted among Native Americans .
According to reports , a decision to reduce the collection period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people more than other groups .
The census is used for federal funding and legislative representation .
“ It ’ s just one of the many microcosms of how the social injustices plague our culture , ” Wondolowski said .
“ A lot of these minor things add up to huge , huge things.
” — Wondolowski endorsed athletes ’ role in ushering in social changes .
“ The whole narrative of shut up and dribble is ridiculous to me , ” he said .
“ Politics are intertwined with every part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you to need to vote Republican or Democrat .
All that we ’ re saying is vote .
“ Many small steps we need to take for it to become where we want to be .
The meter is only going to move minimally but you have to keep pushing in the right direction .
The time you stop and pass a blind eye to it and you don ’ t say anything or the instance where you let that comment slide is what sets us back .
We need to continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treat everybody equally .
It has to start here .
We can ’ t ” undo it “ by just letting it go.
” — On explaining why he didn ’ t play to his oldest daughter , Emerysn , 6 .
“ It was surreal , ” Wondolowski said .
“ It was something that should not be taking place but needs to be taking place .
That ’ s why we did it .
So the father and mother can be talking to their kids why they are not playing because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would do it again in a heartbeat .
It ’ s not to try to get back at the league or get back at the owners to try to show them who ’ s boss .
It ’ s nothing like that .
It ’ s just to show that every human being is the same.
” — On Colin Kaepernick ’ s protest four years ago to the day of when the players decided not to compete Wednesday night : • San Jose Earthquakes game against Portland is among those postponed • @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Santa Clara County since coronavirus shutdown “ He was a pioneer that got ostracized for the wrong reason , ” Wondo said .
“ People didn ’ t listen .
He said the same message we ’ re all saying .
Kneeling wasn ’ t enough .
Not playing ” for 8 minutes 46 seconds during the opening game of the MLS Is Back tournament .
That wasn ’ t enough .
It needs to be something groundbreaking , something new .
This is a 50-year problem .
This is the step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We missed that step in the 60s .
We need to take another step .
It ’ s not going to be easy and it is not going to be quick but this is an absolute must .
”

SAN JOSE — Chris Wondolowski spoke Thursday about racial injustice and why the San Jose Earthquakes boycotted their game the previous night with a passion he rarely has shown off the field.
Wondolowski, Major League Soccer’s all-time leading scorer with 161 goals, spoke for about 30 minutes to reporters in a Zoom call to send a message from the Quakes locker room: “It is time to change and it has to change.”
The Earthquakes were one of 10 MLS clubs who joined other professional teams Wednesday night to make a statement against racial injustice by not playing scheduled games.
The profound moment in American sports started with the Milwaukee Bucks and involved two other NBA playoff games as well as baseball, including the San Francisco Giants. The actions took place in the wake of a police shooting Sunday of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Wondolowski, 37, has been one of the league’s least controversial players in his 16 seasons, all but 3½ in San Jose. But the first-known Indigenous player in Major League Soccer wanted to tell the media and fans why the team took action on a day the NHL Players Association announced its members would not play for two days.
Wondolowski said the idea to not play began percolating about 3½ hours before kickoff — after the Bucks decided to sit out their playoff game in Orlando, Florida, where the NBA is holding its playoffs.
Wondo, as the team captain is known to teammates and fans, said the Quakes did not feel justified to resume the regular season against the Portland Timbers at Earthquakes Stadium.
According to Wondolowski, team leaders talked to the Timbers’ Jeremy Ebobisse to seek his counsel. Ebobisse said he would not play, Wondolowski said. The Earthquakes voted unanimously to sit out the game, he added.
The MLS players’ decision to not play was praised throughout most corners of the league. However, Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen expressed disgust with the players in a radio interview Thursday morning. Real did not play its game in Sandy, Utah, against Los Angeles FC.
“I think it misses the whole point and it enrages me,” Wondolowski said of Hansen’s comments. “I mean, for me, that’s the disrespect right there. You know, I think that it’s so much bigger than a game. It has nothing to do with you personally, and I’m sorry you feel that way.”
Wondolowski added, “I appreciate everything, all the money that you have put into this league, but that’s it, thank you, move on. If you don’t believe and support your team, our system, our play, who we are as a human being, then how can we support that owner? I know I would not want to play for that owner and I think that those were very hurtful remarks.”
Wondolowski said players were talking Thursday about what to do next. He started the year saying it would be his final season as a player. But with the suspension of play because of the novel coronavirus pandemic Wondolowski has said he might return for the 2021 season. It is something general manager Jesse Fioranelli said he would consider.
But Thursday, Wondolowski said soccer is secondary as a national conversation surrounding policing and social justice has led to protests since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in late May.
“This game is part of my life,” Wondolowski said. “But we’re talking about human beings not being treated equally. If I never play another game I will have the biggest smile on my face still if it can change even one or two people. It would be worth it.”
Wondolowski said the action Wednesday night is not about one game.
“We realize the traction of how we can make a difference,” he said. “That was how we felt we could make the biggest impact. We still want to make an impact in any way we can. We don‘t want lip service anymore.”
Other highlights from talking to Wondolowski, a De La Salle High graduate from Danville.
— As a member of the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma Wondolowski has a particular interest in speaking out about issues with Indigenous people.
“It is something that we need to continue to help and continue to shed light on,” he said. “I’m all in with Black Lives Matter and I’m all in with any social inequality (situation) we need to continue to raise. We see it with the Native American culture and population.”
Wondolowski called attention to the way the U.S. Census is being conducted among Native Americans. According to reports, a decision to reduce the collection period by a month threatens to impact Indigenous people more than other groups. The census is used for federal funding and legislative representation.
“It’s just one of the many microcosms of how the social injustices plague our culture,” Wondolowski said. “A lot of these minor things add up to huge, huge things.”
— Wondolowski endorsed athletes’ role in ushering in social changes.
“The whole narrative of shut up and dribble is ridiculous to me,” he said. “Politics are intertwined with every part of our life. No athlete will tell you to need to vote Republican or Democrat. All that we’re saying is vote.
“Many small steps we need to take for it to become where we want to be. The meter is only going to move minimally but you have to keep pushing in the right direction.
The time you stop and pass a blind eye to it and you don’t say anything or the instance where you let that comment slide is what sets us back. We need to continue to call out and change a generation to treat everybody equally. It has to start here. We can’t” undo it “by just letting it go.”
— On explaining why he didn’t play to his oldest daughter, Emerysn, 6.
“It was surreal,” Wondolowski said. “It was something that should not be taking place but needs to be taking place. That’s why we did it. So the father and mother can be talking to their kids why they are not playing because of these racial inequalities.
Why we would do it again in a heartbeat. It’s not to try to get back at the league or get back at the owners to try to show them who’s boss. It’s nothing like that. It’s just to show that every human being is the same.”
— On Colin Kaepernick’s protest four years ago to the day of when the players decided not to compete Wednesday night:
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San Jose Earthquakes GM talks Total Football to Wondolowski San Jose Earthquakes | Earthquakes set for for first sports event in Santa Clara County since coronavirus shutdown “He was a pioneer that got ostracized for the wrong reason,” Wondo said. “People didn’t listen. He said the same message we’re all saying. Kneeling wasn’t enough. Not playing” for 8 minutes 46 seconds during the opening game of the MLS Is Back tournament. That wasn’t enough. It needs to be something groundbreaking, something new. This is a 50-year problem. This is the step that needs to be taken.
“We missed that step in the 60s. We need to take another step. It’s not going to be easy and it is not going to be quick but this is an absolute must.”


mercurynews--2020-08-27--California Supreme Court reinstates bail reform from landmark Humphrey ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — In a decision that could significantly affect the number of people who are in jail solely because they can not afford bail , the California Supreme Court has ordered that a portion of a landmark 2018 appellate ruling be binding , compelling judges to more heavily consider non-monetary methods to secure court appearances from criminal defendants .
Late Wednesday , the high court granted requests by the nonprofit Civil Rights Corps and the state Attorney General ’ s office that a primary tenet of the Humphrey decision — written by the First District Appellate Court in San @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the case is under review .
That means absent a substantial safety risk , judges have to consider a defendant ’ s ability to pay when setting bail rather than relying on conventional bail schedules affixed to specific crimes .
Judges must also give increased consideration to alternatives like electronic monitoring .
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that current practices amount to “ a virtual presumption of incarceration ” for low-income people arrested for felonies .
“ In making bail determinations , trial courts across California must now take into account individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pay , ” Becerra said in a statement .
“ Bottom line : this is a critical step forward for fairness in our bail system .
I ’ m grateful to the California Supreme Court for taking swift action on this request.
” Kenneth Humphrey was charged with stealing a bottle of cologne and $ 5 from an elderly neighbor at a San Francisco residential hotel in May 2017 .
Humphrey ’ s bail was initially set at $ 600,000 and later reduced to $ 350,000 , a number still well beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On appeal , the First District court sided with Humphrey ’ s counsel — the San Francisco Public Defender ’ s Office and Civil Rights Corps — and in its 2018 decision wrote that Humphrey was “ entitled to a new bail hearing at which the court inquires into and determines his ability to pay , considers nonmonetary alternatives to money bail , and , if it determines petitioner is unable to afford the amount of bail the court finds necessary , follows the procedures and makes the findings necessary for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruling ’ s legal impact was halted in May 2018 when the Supreme Court granted a review of the case .
In the meantime , the state Legislature got involved , passing Senate Bill 10 , which then-Gov .
Jerry Brown signed that fall to officially eliminate the use of cash bail in California .
That bill was then rendered moot by an aggressive referendum effort by the state bail-bonds industry , and its fate will now be decided by voters this November as Proposition 25 .
Raj Jayadev , co-founder of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , was among several initial supporters of SB 10 , including the ACLU , that backed off after late changes to the bill replaced cash bail with a risk-assessment system they feared would repeat the same racial and socioeconomic inequities of the old conventions .
Even with Proposition 25 looming , Jayadev said he was glad to see the Humphrey ruling back in effect given the constant threat of COVID-19 in county jails — an issue that Becerra also cited — and the country ’ s current public reckoning with racial justice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is common sense and is urgent given the pandemic and conditions inside jails : Money should have no place in determining someone ’ s freedom , ” he said .
“ That was true before global pandemic , and before the largest social unrest in American history.
” Jayadev also alluded to a remaining question in the Humphrey decision being evaluated by the state Supreme Court — when the state can constitutionally deny bail in noncapital cases — as something to closely watch .
“ What we have now until the ( Supreme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a litmus test , ” he said .
“ If you remove the automatic bail schedule , so people can ’ t be held simply because of inability to pay , will you see see an increase in DA ’ s seeking no bail to keep people detained ?
”

SAN FRANCISCO — In a decision that could significantly affect the number of people who are in jail solely because they cannot afford bail, the California Supreme Court has ordered that a portion of a landmark 2018 appellate ruling be binding, compelling judges to more heavily consider nonmonetary methods to secure court appearances from criminal defendants.
Late Wednesday, the high court granted requests by the nonprofit Civil Rights Corps and the state Attorney General’s office that a primary tenet of the Humphrey decision — written by the First District Appellate Court in San Francisco — become binding while the rest of the case is under review.
That means absent a substantial safety risk, judges have to consider a defendant’s ability to pay when setting bail rather than relying on conventional bail schedules affixed to specific crimes. Judges must also give increased consideration to alternatives like electronic monitoring.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that current practices amount to “a virtual presumption of incarceration” for low-income people arrested for felonies.
“In making bail determinations, trial courts across California must now take into account individual circumstances and the person’s ability to pay,” Becerra said in a statement. “Bottom line: this is a critical step forward for fairness in our bail system. I’m grateful to the California Supreme Court for taking swift action on this request.”
Katherine Hubbard, a senior attorney with Civil Rights Corps who helped spearhead Humphrey appeal, said the court’s decision “vindicates the right of presumptively innocent people to not be jailed solely because they are unable to pay the arbitrary amount of money bail determined by a schedule.”
“We hope this will result in pretrial release for many who would otherwise have languished in jail cells simply because they were too poor to pay money bail,” Hubbard said in a statement.
Kenneth Humphrey was charged with stealing a bottle of cologne and $5 from an elderly neighbor at a San Francisco residential hotel in May 2017. Humphrey’s bail was set at $600,000 and later reduced to $350,000, a number still well beyond his ability to pay or post bond.
On appeal, the First District court sided with Humphrey’s counsel — the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office and Civil Rights Corps — and in its 2018 decision wrote that Humphrey was “entitled to a new bail hearing at which the court inquires into and determines his ability to pay, considers nonmonetary alternatives to money bail, and, if it determines petitioner is unable to afford the amount of bail the court finds necessary, follows the procedures and makes the findings necessary for a valid order of detention.”
But the ruling’s legal impact was halted in May 2018 when the Supreme Court granted a review of the case. In the meantime, the state Legislature got involved, passing Senate Bill 10, which then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed that fall to officially eliminate the use of cash bail in California. That bill was then rendered moot by an aggressive referendum effort by the state bail-bonds industry, and its fate will now be decided by voters this November as Proposition 25.
Raj Jayadev, co-founder of the South Bay civil-rights group Silicon Valley De-Bug, was among several initial supporters of SB 10, including the ACLU, that backed off after late changes to the bill replaced cash bail with a risk-assessment system they feared would repeat the same racial and socioeconomic inequities of the old conventions.
Even with Proposition 25 looming, Jayadev said he was glad to see the Humphrey ruling back in effect given the constant threat of COVID-19 in county jails — an issue that Becerra also cited — and the country’s current public reckoning with racial justice.
“This lifts up a truth that is common sense and is urgent given the pandemic and conditions inside jails: Money should have no place in determining someone’s freedom,” he said. “That was true before global pandemic, and before the largest social unrest in American history.”
In lauding the Humphrey ruling, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju also said the remaining question of the case before the high court — about when the state can constitutionally deny bail in a non-capital case — is something to closely watch.
“We continue to urge that the state constitutional ‘no bail’ detention provision be limited to those who are truly unlikely to appear for court hearings or to those charged in felony cases where release is likely to result in great bodily injury,” Raju said in a statement. “The reality now is that there are many persons, jailed while awaiting trial, that fit neither category.”


mercurynews--2020-08-27--The Latest: 6 deaths in Louisiana tied to Hurricane Laura

LAKE CHARLES , La .
— Louisiana officials now know of 6 deaths tied to Hurricane Laura .
The fatalities included a 24-year-old male that died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence , Mike Steele , communications director for the Louisiana Governor ’ s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said .
A man , whose age is unknown , died of drowning while aboard a sinking ship .
Earlier Thursday , a 14-year-old girl died when a tree crashed onto her family ’ s mobile home near Leesville , the Vernon Parish Sherriff ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Louisiana coast and made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday , wreaking damage on the industrial , casino city of Lake Charles .
The storm has left more than 875,000 people without power .
ORANGE , Texas — Some of the cities and communities in Texas hardest hit by Hurricane Laura were near the Louisiana border .
In Orange , Texas and nearby Newton County , Texas , many streets were blocked by large trees that had been toppled by Laura ’ s powerful winds .
Many homes had wind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nearly all businesses appeared to be closed as much of the area was still without electricity .
By Thursday afternoon , crews were clearing debris from streets and fixing power lines .
Some residents could be seen using chainsaws to clear fallen trees in front of their homes .
LAKE CHARLES , La .
— Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said state officials now know of four deaths tied to Hurricane Laura .
The deaths were all caused by trees falling on residences , Edwards said .
None were on the coast , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Acadia parishes .
One death in Jackson in north Louisiana demonstrated the power of the storm , which made landfall as a Category 4 storm early Thursday , and traveled farther inland .
Edwards said the current priority is search and rescue , followed by efforts to find hotel or motel rooms for those who have lost their homes .
Hotel rooms are needed because conventional communal shelters pose a risk for spreading the coronavirus , he said .
Edwards said storm surge was measured in the range of 9 feet to 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — bad but far less than the 20 feet ( 6 meters ) that had been forecast .
He said that has led him to hope that there will be less water damage to homes close to the coast , and that damaged homes can be made habitable more quickly .
LITTLE ROCK , Ark .
— Tropical Storm Laura is thrashing parts of southern Arkansas with powerful winds and heavy rainfall as the storm system lunges its way through the state after battering the Louisiana Gulf Coast .
Downed trees and structural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arkansas at midday Thursday , and more than 30,000 homes and businesses in the state were without electricity .
The National Weather Service says the damaging winds and torrential rains will be in the Little Rock area later Thursday afternoon and evening .
Many schools canceled classes or had early dismissals in anticipation of Laura ’ s arrival .
Forecasters say there ’ s also the risk of isolated tornadoes in the eastern part of the state .
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hurricanes to hit the United States .
Trump said he would visit Texas and Louisiana on Saturday or Sunday to survey the destruction caused by Laura , which Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said has killed at least four people .
Laura slammed the Gulf Coast early Thursday and roared through Louisiana .
The bulk of the damage was reported in Louisiana .
The storm barreled over Lake Charles , Louisiana , an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people .
Extensive property damage has been reported ; a floating casino that came @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Trump that the situation on the ground “ is fluid and challenging , ” but the Federal Emergency Management Agency is responding .
The hurricane ’ s top wind speed of 150 mph ( 241 kph ) put it among the most powerful on record in the U.S. ORANGE , Texas — Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott says his state appeared to have made it through Hurricane Laura with minimal or no loss of life , which he said was a “ miracle.
” Abbott on Thursday described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trees following aerial tour of the damage near the state border with Louisiana .
The storm surge that was predicted to be as high as 10 feet ( 3 meters ) before landfall wound up being closer to 3 feet ( 0.9 meters ) , he said .
And nearly 12 hours after landfall , Abbott says there were still no confirmed fatalities .
Abbott said about 8,500 people were served in Texas shelters .
He said the state minimized potential loss of life because residents in the storm ’ s path heeded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ROUGE , La .
— Greg Langley , spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality , said emergency crews in the Lake Charles area were working a fire at a chemical plant that handles chlorine for swimming pools , in an emergency that had area residents under a shelter-in-place directive .
Monitors from agency workers in the area so far have failed to pick up indications of a chlorine leak , Langley said .
State police , firefighters and other emergency workers were responding , and an Environmental Protection Agency plane was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damage meant crews had difficulty clearing downed utility equipment and trees and other wreckage to reach the site .
Langley said he knew of no other major industrial threats from the storm so far .
Louisiana state environmental officials would be going up into the air over the storm area when cleared by aviation officials , looking for signs of any other industry fires or leaks , he said .
AUSTIN , Texas — Police in Austin , Texas , say a bystander was shot and killed after a fight broke out among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coast from Hurricane Laura .
Austin police say two groups of people who had left Port Arthur and Beaumont on the southeast Texas coast got into a large fight in a downtown Austin street at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday .
Police say one person opened fire , striking a woman .
Police say the woman was homeless and had not been involved the fight .
She was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m. MIAMI — Hurricane Laura has weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of nearly 70 mph ( 113 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) southeast of Shreveport .
Flooding rainfall and damaging winds spread inland over central and northern Louisiana , where the storm made landfall eleven hours earlier as a Category 4 storm .
Communities along the Gulf Coast experienced high water levels in the wake of Laura , the strongest storm to hit the U.S. this year .
More than 700,000 people in Louisiana and Texas were without power Thursday afternoon , according to the website PowerOutage.Us , which tracks utility reports .
National Weather Service officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spawn tornadoes and cause flash flooding in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee .
WESTLAKE , La .
— Louisiana State Police say they ’ re responding to a chlorine leak at a company that makes chemicals along Interstate 10 just west of Lake Charles , La.
, which was hard-hit when Hurricane Laura slammed into the Gulf Coast early Thursday .
Police say the leak is at the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake .
Residents in the area are being told to close their doors and windows , turn off their air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re working with plant managers to try and contain the leak .
BioLab ’ s Lake Charles plant was built in 1979 and manufactures trichloroisocyanuric acid , chlorinating granules and other chemicals used in such household cleaners as Comet bleach scrub and pool chlorine powder .
Both trichloroisocyanuric acid and chlorine are potentially acutely toxic to people and animals if ingested or inhaled .
Chlorine gas , which can appear in the air as a greenish yellow cloud , was used as a chemical weapon in World War 1 .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , throat and lungs .
LAKE CHARLES , La .
— A Confederate general has fallen victim to Hurricane Laura .
The South ’ s Defenders monument has stood since 1915 outside a courthouse in Lake Charles , Louisiana , where local authorities voted 10-4 this month to keep it in place .
Critics call it a symbol of racism that glorifies slavery .
But a Calcasieu Parish official said they asked for public comments , and got 878 written responses against relocating the monument , and only 67 in favor of moving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the Confederate statue is in pieces on the ground , victim to a Category 4 hurricane that struck the city early Thursday .
LAKE CHARLES , La .
— A large chemical fire has sent a dangerous cloud over Lake Charles , Louisiana , hours after the eye of Hurricane Laura passed directly over the city .
Louisiana Gov .
John Bel Edwards says the fire was burning Thursday morning just outside the city , and he ’ s advising storm survivors to shelter in place .
Edwards tweeted that people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should close their windows and doors and turn off their air conditioning units .
MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center says Laura remains a hurricane , sustaining top winds of 75 mph ( 120 kph ) more than 170 miles ( 274 kilometers ) after landfall .
The powerful storm struck land near Cameron on the southwest Louisiana coast at about 1 a.m. Thursday .
Nine hours later , it was about 10 miles ( 16 kilometers ) north of Natchitoches , Louisiana , and had not yet weakened into a tropical storm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drenching Louisiana and then Arkansas as a tropical storm , causing widespread flash flooding and damage from winds .
It was moving north near 16 mph ( 26 kph ) .
LAKE CHARLES , La .
— Reports are coming in from people who rode out Hurricane Laura in Louisiana .
Brett Geymann lives in Moss Bluff , just north of Lake Charles , and said the eye of the storm passed directly over them .
He says his house survived but every other building , structure and tree on his property is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s OK but “ there ’ s destruction all around ” them .
He says “ It looks like 1,000 tornadoes ” came through , with some houses “ totally gone.
” Drone video in the Lake Charles area shows water surrounding homes with large parts of their roofs peeled off , hotels with rooms exposed and giant trees uprooted .
LITTLE ROCK , Ark .
— Hurricane Laura is headed toward Arkansas , where an unusual tropical storm warning has been issued for much of the state .
The storm is hitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back at public school since March .
Many schools in the southern half of Arkansas opted to cancel classes Thursday or dismiss early because of the storm .
Arkansas Gov .
Asa Hutchinson declared an emergency and set aside $ 250,000 for the state to prepare for the hurricane ’ s impact .
Hutchinson said the state will have search and rescue teams on standby .
Laura is now a Category 1 hurricane but still blowing hard enough to be deadly .
The first reported death , of a girl whose house was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leesburg , more than 100 miles ( 161 kilometers ) inland from the coast .
LAKE CHARLES , La .
— Early reports emerging in the wake of Hurricane Laura show less damage than what was feared .
The eye passed directly over Lake Charles , where drone video shows roofs ripped off , exposing living rooms to the elements ; trees downed and water overflowing the banks of coastal properties .
But Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor says the damage seems to be less than what they feared with Laura @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Category 4 hurricane early Thursday .
Gaynor told ABC ’ s “ Good Morning America ” that the surge turned out to be less than what was forecast , but he expects significant wind damage to buildings once they do proper surveys of the disaster area .
Louisiana State Police Maj. Doug Cain said they received a report that the Isle of Capri ’ s riverboat casino broke from its mooring and was stuck against the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles .
The casino says its Grand Palais riverboat houses 34 table @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gov .
John Bel Edwards said he ’ s received report of the first fatality from Hurricane Laura in Louisiana , a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home in Leesburg .
The governors of Louisiana and Texas say search and rescue teams are still looking , but they ’ ve found no reports so far of widespread fatalities .
Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott is crediting the evacuations of thousands of people for preventing deaths in Texas .
Edwards says they are only beginning to assess the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surge appears to have been not as bad as they feared .
Abbott said the hurricane ’ s storm surge hit the east Texas communities of Port Arthur , Beaumont and Orange “ pretty hard ” overnight and the eye of the hurricane has continued to move about 100 miles ( 161 kilometers ) north along the Texas-Louisiana state line .

The Associated Press
The Latest on Laura:
JONESBORO, Ark. — A reported tornado tore part of the roof from a rural church in northeastern Arkansas as the remnants of Hurricane Laura crossed the state.
Craighead County was under a tornado warning with there was a report of a tornado on the ground Thursday night near the Refuge Baptist Church in the western end of Lake City, Arkansas, 15 miles east of Jonesboro. Jonesboro E-911 Director Jeff Presley said a gas line also was ruptured, but no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, Presley says rescue crews were working to extricate a woman after she was trapped when storm winds dropped a tree limb on her mobile home in Jonesboro.
Major roof damage was reported in the Goobertown, a community 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Jonesboro, Presley said.
—-
MIAMI — The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded Laura to a tropical depression as the storm system crosses Arkansas.
Maximum sustained winds were recorded at 35 mph (55 kph) late Thursday, according to the hurricane center’s 10 p.m. CDT update. Forecasters said Laura was centered about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north-northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Laura smashed across the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday. The system maintained hurricane strength for about 11 hours before being downgraded to a tropical storm.
The Miami-based center said the storm system is expected to continue moving over Arkansas in the night and then on into the mid-Mississippi Valley on Friday before reaching the mid-Atlantic States on Saturday. It says the system will dump heavy rains in spots, raising the risk of flash floods.
____
LAKE CHARLES, LA. — The top part of a large transmission tower snapped and toppled into the studios of a Lake Charles television news station as Hurricane Laura tore across south Louisiana.
The general manager at KPLC-TV said no one was hurt because all staff members had evacuated from the station hours before Laura’s landfall. And the staff continued broadcasting storm news uninterrupted from sister stations elsewhere in Louisiana.
The station published photographs online showed part of the tower punched through the roof of the building, and piles of debris scattered inside the broadcast studio. KPLC-TV General Manager John Ware said Thursday that the media outlet would continue to deliver its regular newscasts while it rebuilds.
KPLC is owned by Atlanta-based Gray Television. Ware says that while some staffers who had evacuated remained in Lake Charles, while the majority relocated to Gray stations in the Louisiana cities of Alexandria and Baton Rouge as they kept up their broadcasts.
____
MIAMI, Fla. — Threats from the remnants of Hurricane Laura are continuing hundreds of miles inland and well after nightfall.
Forecasters have issued a string of tornado warnings for Mississippi and Arkansas, where Laura is now a tropical storm. No major damage has been reported from twisters, but tornadoes can be particularly dangerous at night.
The National Weather Service says Laura could dump as much as 7 inches of rain on Arkansas as it continues moving north away from Louisiana, where it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday.
The storm is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression overnight as it makes an eastward turn near southern Illinois.
____
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Louisiana officials now know of 6 deaths tied to Hurricane Laura.
The fatalities included a 24-year-old male that died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence, Mike Steele, communications director for the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said.
A man, whose age is unknown, died of drowning while aboard a sinking ship.
Earlier Thursday, a 14-year-old girl died when a tree crashed onto her family’s mobile home near Leesville, the Vernon Parish Sherriff’s Office said.
Laura blasted through the Louisiana coast and made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane early Thursday, wreaking damage on the industrial, casino city of Lake Charles.
The storm has left more than 875,000 people without power.
—-
ORANGE, Texas — Some of the cities and communities in Texas hardest hit by Hurricane Laura were near the Louisiana border.
In Orange, Texas and nearby Newton County, Texas, many streets were blocked by large trees that had been toppled by Laura’s powerful winds.
Many homes had wind damage or damage from fallen trees. Nearly all businesses appeared to be closed as much of the area was still without electricity.
By Thursday afternoon, crews were clearing debris from streets and fixing power lines. Some residents could be seen using chainsaws to clear fallen trees in front of their homes.
—-
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said state officials now know of four deaths tied to Hurricane Laura.
The deaths were all caused by trees falling on residences, Edwards said. None were on the coast, having happened in Vernon, Jackson and Acadia parishes. One death in Jackson in north Louisiana demonstrated the power of the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm early Thursday, and traveled farther inland.
Edwards said the current priority is search and rescue, followed by efforts to find hotel or motel rooms for those who have lost their homes.
Hotel rooms are needed because conventional communal shelters pose a risk for spreading the coronavirus, he said.
Edwards said storm surge was measured in the range of 9 feet to 12 feet (2.7 to 3.7 meters) — bad but far less than the 20 feet (6 meters) that had been forecast. He said that has led him to hope that there will be less water damage to homes close to the coast, and that damaged homes can be made habitable more quickly.
—
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Tropical Storm Laura is thrashing parts of southern Arkansas with powerful winds and heavy rainfall as the storm system lunges its way through the state after battering the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Downed trees and structural damage were reported in some parts of Arkansas at midday Thursday, and more than 30,000 homes and businesses in the state were without electricity.
The National Weather Service says the damaging winds and torrential rains will be in the Little Rock area later Thursday afternoon and evening. Many schools canceled classes or had early dismissals in anticipation of Laura’s arrival.
Forecasters say there’s also the risk of isolated tornadoes in the eastern part of the state.
—-
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he will visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to tour damage from one of the fiercest hurricanes to hit the United States.
Trump said he would visit Texas and Louisiana on Saturday or Sunday to survey the destruction caused by Laura, which Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said has killed at least four people.
Laura slammed the Gulf Coast early Thursday and roared through Louisiana. The bulk of the damage was reported in Louisiana. The storm barreled over Lake Charles, Louisiana, an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people.
Extensive property damage has been reported; a floating casino that came unmoored hit a bridge.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told Trump that the situation on the ground “is fluid and challenging,” but the Federal Emergency Management Agency is responding.
The hurricane’s top wind speed of 150 mph (241 kph) put it among the most powerful on record in the U.S.
—-
ORANGE, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says his state appeared to have made it through Hurricane Laura with minimal or no loss of life, which he said was a “miracle.”
Abbott on Thursday described seeing roofs sheared off buildings and uprooted trees following aerial tour of the damage near the state border with Louisiana. The storm surge that was predicted to be as high as 10 feet (3 meters) before landfall wound up being closer to 3 feet (0.9 meters), he said.
And nearly 12 hours after landfall, Abbott says there were still no confirmed fatalities.
Abbott said about 8,500 people were served in Texas shelters. He said the state minimized potential loss of life because residents in the storm’s path heeded local advance warnings to evacuate.
—-
BATON ROUGE, La. — Greg Langley, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, said emergency crews in the Lake Charles area were working a fire at a chemical plant that handles chlorine for swimming pools, in an emergency that had area residents under a shelter-in-place directive.
Monitors from agency workers in the area so far have failed to pick up indications of a chlorine leak, Langley said.
State police, firefighters and other emergency workers were responding, and an Environmental Protection Agency plane was monitoring overhead, Langley said.
Storm damage meant crews had difficulty clearing downed utility equipment and trees and other wreckage to reach the site.
Langley said he knew of no other major industrial threats from the storm so far. Louisiana state environmental officials would be going up into the air over the storm area when cleared by aviation officials, looking for signs of any other industry fires or leaks, he said.
—-
AUSTIN, Texas — Police in Austin, Texas, say a bystander was shot and killed after a fight broke out among 60 people who had fled the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Laura.
Austin police say two groups of people who had left Port Arthur and Beaumont on the southeast Texas coast got into a large fight in a downtown Austin street at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Police say one person opened fire, striking a woman.
Police say the woman was homeless and had not been involved the fight. She was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m.
—-
MIAMI — Hurricane Laura has weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of nearly 70 mph (113 kph). Authorities say the storm is now 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Shreveport.
Flooding rainfall and damaging winds spread inland over central and northern Louisiana, where the storm made landfall eleven hours earlier as a Category 4 storm.
Communities along the Gulf Coast experienced high water levels in the wake of Laura, the strongest storm to hit the U.S. this year.
More than 700,000 people in Louisiana and Texas were without power Thursday afternoon, according to the website PowerOutage.Us, which tracks utility reports.
National Weather Service officials said the remnants of Hurricane Laura could spawn tornadoes and cause flash flooding in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee.
—-
WESTLAKE, La. — Louisiana State Police say they’re responding to a chlorine leak at a company that makes chemicals along Interstate 10 just west of Lake Charles, La., which was hard-hit when Hurricane Laura slammed into the Gulf Coast early Thursday.
Police say the leak is at the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake. Residents in the area are being told to close their doors and windows, turn off their air conditioning and stay inside.
Police say they’re working with plant managers to try and contain the leak. BioLab’s Lake Charles plant was built in 1979 and manufactures trichloroisocyanuric acid, chlorinating granules and other chemicals used in such household cleaners as Comet bleach scrub and pool chlorine powder.
Both trichloroisocyanuric acid and chlorine are potentially acutely toxic to people and animals if ingested or inhaled. Chlorine gas, which can appear in the air as a greenish yellow cloud, was used as a chemical weapon in World War 1. It is a potent irritant to the eyes, throat and lungs.
—-
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Confederate general has fallen victim to Hurricane Laura. The South’s Defenders monument has stood since 1915 outside a courthouse in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where local authorities voted 10-4 this month to keep it in place.
Critics call it a symbol of racism that glorifies slavery. But a Calcasieu Parish official said they asked for public comments, and got 878 written responses against relocating the monument, and only 67 in favor of moving it.
Now the pedestal is empty, and the Confederate statue is in pieces on the ground, victim to a Category 4 hurricane that struck the city early Thursday.
___
LAKE CHARLES, La. — A large chemical fire has sent a dangerous cloud over Lake Charles, Louisiana, hours after the eye of Hurricane Laura passed directly over the city.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says the fire was burning Thursday morning just outside the city, and he’s advising storm survivors to shelter in place.
Edwards tweeted that people “in the Westlake/Moss Bluff/Sulphur area” should close their windows and doors and turn off their air conditioning units.
___
MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center says Laura remains a hurricane, sustaining top winds of 75 mph (120 kph) more than 170 miles (274 kilometers) after landfall.
The powerful storm struck land near Cameron on the southwest Louisiana coast at about 1 a.m. Thursday. Nine hours later, it was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and had not yet weakened into a tropical storm.
The hurricane is expected to keep drenching Louisiana and then Arkansas as a tropical storm, causing widespread flash flooding and damage from winds. It was moving north near 16 mph (26 kph).
__
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Reports are coming in from people who rode out Hurricane Laura in Louisiana.
Brett Geymann lives in Moss Bluff, just north of Lake Charles, and said the eye of the storm passed directly over them. He says his house survived but every other building, structure and tree on his property is gone.
Geymann says his family’s OK but “there’s destruction all around” them.
He says “It looks like 1,000 tornadoes” came through, with some houses “totally gone.”
Drone video in the Lake Charles area shows water surrounding homes with large parts of their roofs peeled off, hotels with rooms exposed and giant trees uprooted.
___
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Hurricane Laura is headed toward Arkansas, where an unusual tropical storm warning has been issued for much of the state.
The storm is hitting during the state’s first week back at public school since March. Many schools in the southern half of Arkansas opted to cancel classes Thursday or dismiss early because of the storm.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared an emergency and set aside $250,000 for the state to prepare for the hurricane’s impact. Hutchinson said the state will have search and rescue teams on standby.
Laura is now a Category 1 hurricane but still blowing hard enough to be deadly. The first reported death, of a girl whose house was hit by a tree, was in Leesburg, more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) inland from the coast.
___
LAKE CHARLES, La. — Early reports emerging in the wake of Hurricane Laura show less damage than what was feared.
The eye passed directly over Lake Charles, where drone video shows roofs ripped off, exposing living rooms to the elements; trees downed and water overflowing the banks of coastal properties.
But Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter Gaynor says the damage seems to be less than what they feared with Laura hitting the coast as a potentially catastrophic Category 4 hurricane early Thursday.
Gaynor told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the surge turned out to be less than what was forecast, but he expects significant wind damage to buildings once they do proper surveys of the disaster area.
Louisiana State Police Maj. Doug Cain said they received a report that the Isle of Capri’s riverboat casino broke from its mooring and was stuck against the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles. The casino says its Grand Palais riverboat houses 34 table games and more than 1,175 slot machines.
___
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he’s received report of the first fatality from Hurricane Laura in Louisiana, a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home in Leesburg.
The governors of Louisiana and Texas say search and rescue teams are still looking, but they’ve found no reports so far of widespread fatalities.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is crediting the evacuations of thousands of people for preventing deaths in Texas. Edwards says they are only beginning to assess the damage.
Both governors say the storm surge appears to have been not as bad as they feared.
Abbott said the hurricane’s storm surge hit the east Texas communities of Port Arthur, Beaumont and Orange “pretty hard” overnight and the eye of the hurricane has continued to move about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north along the Texas-Louisiana state line.


mercurynews--2020-08-27--Hayward man who allegedly told undercover cop he molested 4-year-old gets 15 years in federal prison

OAKLAND — A federal judge handed down a 15-year prison sentence last week , against a Hayward man who allegedly admitted to molesting a 4-year-old girl who he also distributed child porn pictures of online .
Brian Paul Morales , 25 , pleaded guilty in federal court to child porn distribution , in an open-ended plea deal with prosecutors .
On Aug. 20 , U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers handed down the sentence , after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense .
The case was based on posts in chat applications between Morales and an undercover officer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a short time , the ( undercover officer ) and the defendant began messaging on the Kik app , ” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo .
“ In the private Kik chat , the defendant claimed to have engaged in sexual acts with Minor 1 , and he sent at least six photos of Minor 1 to the UC through their Wickr private messages.
” According to court records in Alameda County — where Morales was charged before his case was taken on by the U.S. Attorney ’ s office — Morales @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more photos of the victim .
When police searched his electronic devices , they found 800 files depicting child sexual abuse , federal prosecutors said .
When police interviewed Morales after his arrest , he denied having actually molested the girl , according to court records .
• Tutor who gave private math lessons to South Bay teens arrested on suspicion of molestation • Man charged with enticement of a minor through Instagram took care of kids at Bay Area churches , authorities say • Sex registrant charged in lewd act on 2-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 10-year prison term , pointing out that Morales had no criminal history and that he accepted an open-ended plea deal early in the prosecution .
“ Mr .
Morales does not object to the recommendation of United States Probation that the Court impose a 10-year term of supervision instead of the minimum of 5 because , in his words , ‘ I know that this will never happen again , and I will prove that to the judge , ' ” his attorney wrote in court records , later adding : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for his conduct , and the harm he has caused .
He has read the victim impact statements , and understands the harm it has caused to the victim and her family .
”

OAKLAND — A Hayward man who allegedly admitted to molesting a 4-year-old girl after being caught distributing pictures of her online has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, court records show.
Brian Paul Morales, 25, pleaded guilty in federal court to child porn distribution, in an open-ended plea deal with prosecutors. On Aug. 20, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers handed down the sentence, after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense.
The case was based on posts in chat applications between Morales and an undercover officer, according to court records.
“After a short time, the (undercover officer) and the defendant began messaging on the Kik app,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “In the private Kik chat, the defendant claimed to have engaged in sexual acts with Minor 1, and he sent at least six photos of Minor 1 to the UC through their Wickr private messages.”
According to court records in Alameda County — where Morales was charged before his case was taken on by the U.S. Attorney’s office — Morales told the undercover officer he would send more photos of the victim. When police searched his electronic devices, they found 800 files depicting child sexual abuse, federal prosecutors said.
When police interviewed Morales after his arrest, he denied having actually molested the girl, according to court records.
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Big Sur man sentenced to 30 years for child sexual abuse Crime and Public Safety | Facing more than 500 abuse lawsuits, San Francisco Archdiocese says bankruptcy ‘very likely’ The defense argued for a 10-year prison term, pointing out that Morales had no criminal history and that he accepted an open-ended plea deal early in the prosecution.
“Mr. Morales does not object to the recommendation of United States Probation that the Court impose a 10-year term of supervision instead of the minimum of 5 because, in his words, ‘I know that this will never happen again, and I will prove that to the judge,'” his attorney wrote in court records, later adding: “Mr. Morales has repeatedly taken responsibility for his conduct, and the harm he has caused. He has read the victim impact statements, and understands the harm it has caused to the victim and her family.”