rawstory--2020-01-15--Here are 10 startling revelations from the new Trump tell-all book ‘A Very Stable Genius’

Thanks to a new book written by Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and White House bureau chief Philip Rucker , who are both Pulitzer Prize winners , we now have a clearer picture regarding some of the concerns around President Trump ’ s mental and intellectual fitness for office — a picture that was provided to White House reporter Ashley Parker for a book review published at The Washington Post this Wednesday .
The book , A Very Stable Genius , is set to be released on January 21 .
Below are some key takeaways from the book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book review : Trump didn ’ t seem to grasp the fundamental history surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor While taking a private tour of the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu , Hawaii , President Trump said to his then-Chief of Staff John F. Kelly , “ Hey , John , what ’ s this all about ?
What ’ s this a tour of ?
” “ Trump had heard the phrase ‘ Pearl Harbor ’ and appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of a historic battle , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ else , ” the book ’ s authors wrote .
Early in his presidency , Trump could barely contain his eagerness to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin According to the authors , during the transition Trump interrupted an interview with one of his secretary of state candidates and asked , “ When can I meet Putin ?
Can I meet with him before the inaugural ceremony ?
” After meeting Putin for the first time , Trump immediately declared himself to be a Russia expert and dismissed the expertise of then-Secretary of State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of negotiating with Putin and studying his moves on the chessboard were suddenly irrelevant , ” the authors wrote .
“ ‘ I have had a two-hour meeting with Putin , ’ Trump told Tillerson .
‘ That ’ s all I need to know .
.
.
.
I ’ ve sized it all up .
I ’ ve got it . '
” Trump clashed with Tillerson after trying to task him with getting rid of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act , which prevents U.S. firms and individuals from bribing foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s just so unfair that American companies aren ’ t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas , ” Trump says , according to the book ’ s authors .
“ We ’ re going to change that.
” Speaking to the authors , a government aide accused Trump of destroying the “ gravity and allure ” that surrounds the presidency “ He ’ s ruined that magic , ’ this aide said .
“ The disdain he shows for our country ’ s foundation and its principles .
The disregard he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fist clenches .
Your teeth grate.
” Then-Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and other senior officials ran through private “ fire drills ” in case Trump triggered a “ Saturday night massacre ” — a reference to the mass resignations under President Nixon during the Watergate scandal “ They prepared for several scenarios : If Trump fired [ then-Attorney General Jeff ] Sessions , if Trump fired Rosenstein , and if Trump ordered the firing of Mueller , ” the authors write .
While participating in an HBO documentary , Trump attempted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but had a hard time reading the text Trump , who rails against people who leak details to the press , is a leaker himself After turning down Trump ’ s offer to be his chief of staff , former New Jersey governor Chris Christie asked Trump how the details of their meeting leaked out .
Trump was “ verbally and emotionally abusive ” toward then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen According to the book , “ He made fun of her stature and believed that at about five feet four inches she was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s so short , ’ Trump would tell others about Nielsen .
She and Kelly would try to make light of it .
Kelly would rib her and say , ‘ But you ’ ve got those little fists of fury ! '
” When former White House staff secretary Rob Porter was fired as a result of allegations of domestic abuse from his two ex-wives , Trump offered an excuse for him after a photo surfaced of one of Porter ’ s ex-wives with a black eye “ Maybe , Trump said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to give herself bruises and try to get money out of Porter ?
” the authors wrote .
You can read Parker ’ s full book review over at The Washington Post .

At present, Trump stands accused of 91 charges in four felony cases, testing his political death-defying ability.
“He is a tank. He is a boulder. I don't think there is literally anything that can happen to this man that would make him lose because he has such a chokehold on the Republican Party,” said Amani Wells-Onyioha, operations director at Democratic political firm Sole Strategies.
Others consider him vulnerable.
RELATED ARTICLE: Prison playbook: How Trump could run his campaign – and the nation – from behind bars
“There's a very real possibility that he gets convicted of one of these and is looking at prison time,” said Nicholas Creel, assistant professor of business law at Georgia College and State University. “When we get to the hypothetical point of him needing to take office, we've got to figure out now, is he actually above the law. The Supreme Court will have to step in.
“There is a very, very real possibility that a Supreme Court majority — probably a five-four ruling — could say you still have to face the music, Mr. President, and if we enter political paralysis, that's because we have chosen that you would be the president in prison,” Creel continued.
Here are 11 other scenarios where Trump fails for a second straight time to get back to the White House — without losing the 2024 general election.
Trump loses the Republican primary on votes
Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution, author of “Primary Politics: Everything you need to know about how America nominates its presidential candidates,” says Trump does not have an insurmountable lead in the primaries — even if he’s enjoying a massive lead today over the likes of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott and about a dozen other contenders.
“The polls right now are just sort of bologna,” she said. “If there are any polls you should pay attention to, pay attention to the early-state polls, which show a closer race. The national polls are totally meaningless.”
That, she said, is because the primaries are different than any other kind election in the United States.
“It is a sequence, not one election,” she said. “So, yeah, if the election were held today and we had a national primary, Trump would win. But what happens is something very different.”
Kamarck said the essential question is who comes in second in Iowa and what happens to Trump after that.
“If he shows some weakness and if there is another candidate who people decide to coalesce around, that’s the game,” she said. “[Trump] could very well lose.”
One big reason why Tim Scott poses a credible threat to Donald Trump Presidential candidate and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Getty Images
John Geer, dean of the college of arts and science and professor of political science and public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, said it's hard to imagine Trump not getting the nomination, especially if he wins Iowa and New Hampshire. But the indictments could start to take a toll on him.
“If he gets 30, 40 percent of the vote, he'll probably finish first in most primaries, and the way the Republicans allocate delegates means that he'll get the lion's share of delegates, so he'll lock things up pretty early,” Geer said. “He's going to be in pretty good standing, but we’re way ways away from that, and it'll be interesting to watch because this is beginning to pile on in a way that's just not good for him.”
Trump loses the GOP nomination in a floor fight
Kamarck noted that in 2016, “Never Trump” Republicans angled for a Republican National Convention floor fight.
But, she said, the second-place candidate, Ted Cruz, wasn’t strong enough to make that a viable effort and force multiple ballots
It could be different in 2024, she said.
If Trump goes into the convention with fewer than 50 percent of delegates, Kamarck said, “There’s nothing that keeps that second-place person from taking the third-, fourth- and fifth-place delegates and saying, ’Come with me and let’s win this nomination.’”
James Long, professor of political science at the University of Washington, said Trump supporters might have to ask themselves some tough questions amid the various indictments.
“Everyone saying they’re going to support Trump is going to have to face the reality that this is going to get worse and worse for him, and they’re going to have to think about whether or not he’s a credible winner in the election,” Long said. “And they’re going to have to decide if they care more about him as a person, or they care more about winning. At some point, you have to cut and run and go with somebody you think can win.”
While some of Trump’s rivals have started breaking with the imperled president, other Republican challengers for the GOP nomination have shied away from speaking out against Trump.
“They're hoping if Trump does get convicted of one or more crimes, that even if he's nominated, he could be removed by the Republican National Committee,” said Allan Lichtman, a professor of history at American University. “I'm not saying that will happen, but they could be thinking about that, and then any one of them could become the nominee.”
Geer imagined Trump’s revenge.
“A scenario is that if he doesn't get the nomination, he would withhold the support for the nominee and ensure the Democrats win,” Geer said.
Trump flees the country
As George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote, Trump “is one of the most recognized figures in the world. He would have to go to Mars to live incognito. It is facially absurd.”
As outlandish as it may sound, Trump could theoretically find refuge from legal threats in a country that’s not so friendly to the United States — but potentially friendly to Trump.
ALSO READ: Trump maintains trademarks with Russia, China and numerous other U.S. enemies and frenemies
Think Russia. China. Saudi Arabia. Even — dare one say it — North Korea. Unlike most people in legal peril, Trump has massive amounts of money and the physical means — specifically, his own “Trump Force One” Boeing 757 — to get to a place beyond the reach of special counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis or the U.S. justice system, writ large.
And in addition to the Russias and Chinas of the world, there are dozens of other nations that don’t have extradition treaties with the United States, which makes it extremely difficult for the U.S. law enforcement officials to spirit a wanted man into custody and back to American soil.
Of course, such a drastic move by Trump would all but guarantee that he could never again return to the United States as a free man.
But Trump has well-established business ties in numerous foreign countries and could ostensibly live like a fugitive king in a welcoming nation.
President Donald Trump at his plane (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
And in October 2020, days before the election he wouldn’t win, Trump himself floated the idea of becoming an ex-pat: “Could you imagine if I lose? I’m not going to feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country, I don’t know.”
Said Wells-Onyioha: “If he doesn't want to face charges, I can see him attempting to flee. Trump genuinely feels like the rules don't apply to him, so I think that there's nothing that he won't do. I don't think he wants to face any accountability or any repercussions for any of the things that he's done thus far, so I can see him trying to flee.”
In actuality, it’s much more likely that Trump’s legal team will just try to delay the court proceedings as long as possible, Geer said.
“I doubt that, but he can tie the legal system up for a long time, so that’s what I suspect he'll end up doing,” Geer said.
Trump falls gravely ill or dies of natural causes
When we discuss age and the presidency, it’s usually about President Joe Biden, the nation’s first octogenarian commander-in-chief.
But Trump, 77, is not a young man, either.
The average age of death for a man who’s served as president of the United States is about 72 years old, according to Statista, and only 12 out of the 45 have lived to celebrate their 80th birthday.
So while the topic itself is grim, even uncouth, the odds of Trump falling gravely ill or dying before Election Day 2024 are not insignificant.
What would happen next upon either scenario would largely be a function of the point in time Trump stopped running.
If Trump was unable to continue running for president in 2023 or early 2024 — prior to the Republican presidential primaries beginning or shortly thereafter — the longroster of other candidates would simply continue competing for the nomination without him.
If Trump couldn’t continue after winning enough primary votes to become the presumptive 2024 presidential nominee, the nation would almost certainly have to gird for a brokered Republican National Convention, which is scheduled for mid-July in Milwaukee, Wis.
And if Trump officially secured the GOP nomination, but couldn’t stand for election in November 2024, a select group of Republican Party bigwigs would likely convene to choose a replacement — whether that was Trump’s vice presidential running mate, or someone else.
Then-President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room on January 14, 2019, where the 2018 NCAA Football National Champions, the Clemson Tigers, were welcomed with food from Domino’s, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
Little is known about the current status of Trump’s health beyond what can be casually observed — that the 6’ 3” teetotaling former president is either clinically overweight or obese, has a taste for foods that aren’t the healthiest and isn’t exactly an exercisejunkie.
A summary of results of Trump’s final presidential physicals, released in June 2020, indicated the then-president weighed 244 pounds, had a normal blood pressure reading and a resting heart rate of 63 beats per minute.
But the summary did not include full details of Trump’s check-up, and Trump has not released any such information since leaving the White House more than two-and-a-half years ago.
Trump dies from assassination
Even more grim is the specter of assassination, an ever-present specter for presidents and presidential candidates alike.
Four presidents — John F. Kennedy, William McKinley, James Garfield and Abraham Lincoln — died after being shot.
Ronald Reagan, in 1981, could have been the fifth assassinated president but for the quick reactions of law enforcement and medical personnel.
This month, while attempting to serve a warrant, FBI agents shot and killed a Utah man who had allegedly made “credible” threats against Biden.
High-profile presidential candidates also come under threat. The most notable modern example is that of Robert F. Kennedy, who died in 1968 after being shot at a campaign event. (Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is now running against Biden in the Democratic primary, and has publicly stated that he believes his father’s convicted killer isn’t the man who committed the crime.)
Trump, like every past president and many presidential candidates, receives U.S. Secret Service protection and will ostensibly be entitled to such protection even if he’s convicted of a crime and sent to prison or home detention.
Trump takes a plea and agrees to quits the race before Election Day
Scott Galloway made this prediction recently on the popular podcast Pivot, which he hosts with journalist Kara Swisher:
Trump, Galloway said, "has a very nice life, and his life can be going back to golf and sycophants and having sex with porn stars. … Or he can live under the threat of prison. The [political] momentum he has is real leverage and power. And I think he’s going to cash that leverage and power in for a plea deal that includes no jail time.”
Now that Trump is facing state charges in Georgia and New York, he wouldn’t be able to escape by pardoning himself as president — something he could attempt to do for the federal-level charges he faces. Therefore, Trump’s calculus may change.
Creel noted Spiro Agnew’s resignation from the vice presidency in 1973 after facing the threat of jail for his corruption while governor of Maryland.
ALSO READ: Why does Trump continue to surprise some liberals?
“One of the parts of the agreement was [to] resign, get out of politics forever, and we will not pursue this,” he said. “So with a more rational defendant, that would absolutely be something that's on the table. That's something Jack Smith would be bringing to Trump, but for one, we're not dealing with a particularly rational individual. Two, this scenario is significantly different in that we have state-level charges also facing him. And so because they can't really immunize him against that at the state level, the incentive to take that sort of a deal is greatly diminished.”
Wells-Onyioha said Trump maybe – maybe – would come to the realization that prison, and the potential life-long loss of his freedom, is a real and unpalatable possibility.
“I can see them coming up with some sort of like plea agreement, where in exchange for dropping out of the race, they will let him be on probation or something like that,” she said. “I can see that happening. But even so, I'm not even sure if he would take that deal.”
Trump is removed via the 25th Amendment
The Constitution’s 25th Amendment spells out the succession plan if a president dies or is removed from office, which means the vice president takes over.
If the vice president and his cabinet determine that the president is unable to discharge his duties as president — say, being in prison — Congress will have 48 hours to convene and 21 days to decide if the president is fit to hold office. It can remove him by a two-thirds vote.
“You can even see his cabinet exercising the 25th Amendment, saying, look, you're incapacitated. You're not capable because you're needing to go to prison or are in prison. You're not capable of fulfilling the oath of office, therefore, we're invoking [the] 25th Amendment and removing you from office that way, and so you would see whoever his vice president elect is [at] that point stepping up,” Creel said.
If Trump wins the 2024 election, the Supreme Court will ultimately need to decide if a sitting president is immune from state-level prosecution in Georgia and New York, and the Court might rule against his ability to serve as president.
US Supreme Court (supreme.justia.com) US Supreme Court (supreme.justia.com)
“Functionally this would mean Trump is the legitimate president but would still be forced to carry out a sentence in a state prison,” Creel said. “In that scenario, it’s difficult to see how he wouldn’t be either impeached and convicted or otherwise removed via the 25th Amendment due to his ‘incapacity.’”
But with a third of the Supreme Court being Trump appointees, Svante Myrick, president of People For the American Way and former mayor of Ithaca, N.Y., said he could see the Court ruling in Trump’s favor and allowing him to serve any legal consequences at a later time.
“Uncharted legal territory with stakes this high means questions like that usually get kicked up to the Supreme Court. Given that, Donald Trump appointed three members of the Supreme Court on a six-person ultra conservative majority, I think the most likely scenario is that he's allowed to stand for office, and if he wins, he could avoid or at least delay paying his debt to society,” Myrick said.
Trump is impeached for a third time, then convicted and disqualified from serving as president
If the Supreme Court does say “nobody's above the law, and that includes the president” and lets the criminal justice system do its work, Creel said, Trump could still be disqualified from the presidency via the political system.
“We have a blueprint for how to do that. Impeachment. Conviction. Removal. That's how you could do it, and so you can see him taking office and having that avenue, where he's president for a day and then they just kind of have this perfunctory removal,” Creel said.
Trump was twice impeached while in office, but was acquitted on all counts by the Senate in both cases.
Congress could technically impeach Trump now with the goal of simply disqualifying him from running for elected office. Recall that Trump’s second impeachment trial took place several weeks after he left the White House.
But with Republicans currently controlling the House, where any impeachment proceeding would begin, such a scenario is exceedingly remote.
Trump has the 14th Amendment applied to him
The Constitution's 14th Amendment also poses a potential roadblock to Trump’s ability to serve out a presidency, some conservative Constitutional scholars say, as quoted by the New York Times.
The amendment, in part, bans anyone who “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from holding any civil, military or elected office without the approval of two-thirds of the House and Senate.
Trump’s second federal indictment involves four felony counts in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Trump’s alleged effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“Donald Trump cannot be president — cannot run for president, cannot become president, cannot hold office — unless two-thirds of Congress decides to grant him amnesty for his conduct on Jan. 6,” William Baude, a professor of law at the University of Chicago, told the Times.
The 14th Amendment originally intended to prevent Confederate officials from gaining power after the Civil War, but how the disqualification clause would be applied is unclear to legal experts, especially since it’s never been used in the case of a president before, FindLaw, a Reuters company, reported.
Certain states could disqualify Trump from the ballot, making an Electoral College victory impossible
If Trump isn’t disqualified from running for president at the federal level, states could still disqualify him on the same grounds, Creel said.
Two advocacy groups, The Free Speech For People and Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, have written letters to election officials in California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania pushing for the states to bar Trump from appearing on their ballots, citing the 14th Amendment, Newsweek reported.
ALSO READ: Fresh off Trump performance, silenced children’s choir to sing at U.S. Capitol
“Individual states do have through their own electoral mechanisms, individuals with the authority to remove him from the ballot,” Creel said. “That could potentially happen, which would ultimately, it would still go to the Supreme Court, but it would very potentially deny him the ability to get on those ballots, and therefore disqualify him.”
But with most trial dates to be determined, Geer says Trump likely won’t get disqualified from the state ballot while the cases are still pending.
“Innocent `til proven guilty is the mantra of the country and that applies to the former president, and that'll keep him from facing those kinds of things unless suddenly he was to be convicted, which he'll be drawing that process out as long as he can,” Geer said.
Biden pardons Trump with the understanding that he’ll quit the race
James Long, professor of political science at the University of Washington, said it could be another Republican who makes a deal to pardon Trump.
“Chris Christie probably wouldn’t do this, but maybe some of the others would,” Long said. “If they’re all on a debate stage, a journalist should say, ‘Are you willing, now, to say whether you would pardon Donald Trump on federal charges?’
“I could see him doing a back-room deal with somebody like DeSantis where he says, ‘Look, I’ll drop out of the race and support you and if you win, you have to promise to pardon me, and he’ll throw the full weight of MAGA behind that agreement.”
An even more exotic and unlikely scenario is Biden pardoning Trump with the understanding that Trump will quit the presidential race.
Biden, whose comments about Trump’s legal troubles have been minimal of late, has never spoken of such an idea.
A most imperfect historical parallel would be President Gerald Ford’s pardoning of President Richard Nixon after Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal. But there’s no evidence Ford’s pardon involved either an overt or secret quid pro quo, according to the National Constitution Center, and came only after Nixon had officially stepped down.
Also: Could Trump serve as president while set to serve time?
In short: yes.
There’s precedent that presidents don’t have full legal immunity — look at the 1997 Supreme Court ruling in Clinton v. Jones, Creel says — but Trump could be still allowed to serve any prison time post-presidency if convicted and sentenced for any of the 91 charges.
That would require the Supreme Court ruling that Trump couldn’t have his presidential duties interfered with by state level charges.
“We have to just set them aside to the point where he could realistically, in that scenario if that's what the Supreme Court says, be told January 20, at 12:01 p.m., 2028, report for incarceration in the state of Georgia,” Creel said. “That's an actual realistic possibility that could go his way.”


rawstory--2020-01-15--Trump brags about ‘momentous’ deal with China — but experts say it’s really just a ‘trade truce’

After nearly two years of conflict between the world ’ s two dominant economic powers , the United States and China signed a trade truce on Wednesday , letting businesses around the globe breathe a sigh of relief .
US President Donald Trump , who currently faces an impeachment trial and then a tough reelection bid later this year , called the agreement “ momentous.
” But tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports remain in place , leaving American consumers and businesses to foot the bill .
The “ phase one ” agreement includes pledges from China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other exports , provides protections for US technology , and new enforcement mechanisms .
“ Today , we take a momentous step , one that ’ s never taken before with China , ” that will ensure “ fair and reciprocal trade , ” Trump said at the White House signing ceremony .
“ Together , we are righting the wrongs of the past.
” As Trump ambled through a lengthy commentary on the deal , punctuated by introductions of many officials involved in the negotiations , major networks switched away from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show the presentation of articles of impeachment in the Senate as the first step towards a trial .
The easing of US-China trade frictions has boosted stock markets worldwide in recent weeks , as it takes the threat of new tariffs off the table for now .
Trump signed the deal with China ’ s Vice Premier Liu He , who has led Beijing ’ s negotiations with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin .
Trump also thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping and said he would visit China in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were tough on us , ” Trump said , but they led “ to this really incredible breakthrough.
” But he said he will only remove tariffs “ if we ’ re able to do phase two.
” “ I ’ m leaving them on .
Otherwise we have no cards to negotiate with.
” In a letter to Trump read by Liu , the Chinese leader said the deal is “ good for China , for the US and for the whole world.
” However , the most difficult issues remain to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” negotiations , including massive subsidies for state industry .
Prior to the signing , Mnuchin said the deal puts pressure on Beijing to stay at the negotiating table and make further commitments — including on cyber-security and access for US services firms to the Chinese markets — in order to win relief from the tariffs that remain in place .
“ In phase two there will be additional roll backs , ” Mnuchin said on CNBC early Wednesday .
“ This gives China a big incentive to get back to the table @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are still unresolved.
” Still , elements of the deal the administration has touted as achievements effectively take the relationship between the two powers back to where it was before Trump took office .
“ The US-China phase-one deal is essentially a trade truce , with large state-directed purchases attached , ” economist Mary Lovely said in an analysis .
But the trade expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics , cautioned that “ we will continue to see the impact of this in slower investment and higher business costs.
” After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States canceled a damaging round of new tariffs that were due to kick in two days later and also promised to slash in half the 15 percent tariffs on $ 120 billion imposed September 1 on consumer goods like clothing .
As part of the accord , Beijing agreed to import an additional $ 200 billion in US products over two years , above the levels purchased in 2017 , before Trump launched his offensive , including an additional $ 32 billion in agricultural goods .
Trump has repeatedly touted the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ farmers , who were hit hard by the tariff war .
Soybeans exports to China plunged to just $ 3 billion from more than $ 12 billion in 2017 and the Trump administration paid out $ 28 billion in aid to farmers in the last two years .
But many economists question whether US farmers have the capacity to meet that demand .
And Lovely raised a question about the wisdom on relying so heavily on the Chinese market .
“ It also means Chinese retaliation could be reinstated , dampening farmers ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard export targets in the deal.
” The agreement includes additional protections for intellectual property and addresses financial services and foreign exchange while including a provision for dispute resolution , which Mnuchin said will be binding for the first time .
Trump in August formally accused China of manipulating its currency to gain an advantage in trade and offset the impact of the tariffs .
The label , which had no real practical impact , was removed earlier this week .
The deal also restores a twice-yearly dialogue process that previous administrations conducted @ @ @ @ @ @

After nearly two years of conflict between the world's two dominant economic powers, the United States and China signed a trade truce on Wednesday, letting businesses around the globe breathe a sigh of relief.
US President Donald Trump, who currently faces an impeachment trial and then a tough reelection bid later this year, called the agreement "momentous."
But tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports remain in place, leaving American consumers and businesses to foot the bill.
The "phase one" agreement includes pledges from China to beef up purchases of American crops and other exports, provides protections for US technology, and new enforcement mechanisms.
"Today, we take a momentous step, one that's never taken before with China," that will ensure "fair and reciprocal trade," Trump said at the White House signing ceremony.
"Together, we are righting the wrongs of the past."
As Trump ambled through a lengthy commentary on the deal, punctuated by introductions of many officials involved in the negotiations, major networks switched away from the White House to the Congress to show the presentation of articles of impeachment in the Senate as the first step towards a trial.
The easing of US-China trade frictions has boosted stock markets worldwide in recent weeks, as it takes the threat of new tariffs off the table for now.
Trump signed the deal with China's Vice Premier Liu He, who has led Beijing's negotiations with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Trump also thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping and said he would visit China in "the not-too-distant future."
"Negotiations were tough on us," Trump said, but they led "to this really incredible breakthrough."
But he said he will only remove tariffs "if we're able to do phase two."
"I'm leaving them on. Otherwise we have no cards to negotiate with."
In a letter to Trump read by Liu, the Chinese leader said the deal is "good for China, for the US and for the whole world."
However, the most difficult issues remain to be dealt with in "phase two" negotiations, including massive subsidies for state industry.
- Whither tariffs? -
Prior to the signing, Mnuchin said the deal puts pressure on Beijing to stay at the negotiating table and make further commitments -- including on cyber-security and access for US services firms to the Chinese markets -- in order to win relief from the tariffs that remain in place.
"In phase two there will be additional roll backs," Mnuchin said on CNBC early Wednesday. "This gives China a big incentive to get back to the table and agree to the additional issues that are still unresolved."
Still, elements of the deal the administration has touted as achievements effectively take the relationship between the two powers back to where it was before Trump took office.
"The US-China phase-one deal is essentially a trade truce, with large state-directed purchases attached," economist Mary Lovely said in an analysis.
But the trade expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, cautioned that "we will continue to see the impact of this in slower investment and higher business costs."
After announcing the deal on December 13, the United States canceled a damaging round of new tariffs that were due to kick in two days later and also promised to slash in half the 15 percent tariffs on $120 billion imposed September 1 on consumer goods like clothing.
- What's in a deal? -
As part of the accord, Beijing agreed to import an additional $200 billion in US products over two years, above the levels purchased in 2017, before Trump launched his offensive, including an additional $32 billion in agricultural goods.
Trump has repeatedly touted the trade pact as a boon for American farmers, who were hit hard by the tariff war.
Soybeans exports to China plunged to just $3 billion from more than $12 billion in 2017 and the Trump administration paid out $28 billion in aid to farmers in the last two years.
But many economists question whether US farmers have the capacity to meet that demand.
And Lovely raised a question about the wisdom on relying so heavily on the Chinese market.
"It also means Chinese retaliation could be reinstated, dampening farmers' willingness to invest to meet the very hard export targets in the deal."
The agreement includes additional protections for intellectual property and addresses financial services and foreign exchange while including a provision for dispute resolution, which Mnuchin said will be binding for the first time.
Trump in August formally accused China of manipulating its currency to gain an advantage in trade and offset the impact of the tariffs.
The label, which had no real practical impact, was removed earlier this week.
The deal also restores a twice-yearly dialogue process that previous administrations conducted regularly but that Trump scrapped.


rawstory--2020-01-15--Trump literally unable to read US Constitution while filming HBO documentary: New book

Many have questioned President Donald Trump ’ s understanding of the U.S. Constitution , but a new book suggests he @ @ @ @ @ it .
Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig have a new book about @ @ @ @ @ A Very Stable Genius , ” based on hundreds of hours of interviews with more @ @ @ @ @ much of it backed by documentary evidence .
In one episode from the book , @ @ @ @ @ presidency to take part in an HBO documentary featuring judges , lawmakers and all the @ @ @ @ @ the Constitution .
But Trump struggles and stumbles over the words , according to the @ @ @ @ @ in the room for his bungling .
“ It ’ s like a foreign language @ @ @ @ @ according to the book .

"You mentioned the concept of accountability and how it is not something that Donald Trump is particularly familiar with," said anchor Alex Wagner. "I wonder what you think of the peril that he keeps putting himself in, legally speaking, by lashing out at prosecutors. Targeting judges. Speaking badly about the very people who will determine his fate. And being, effectively, not threatened, but potentially forced to pay a price for that in the form of a trial date that has moved, or a fine, or even the possibility of being incarcerated while he awaits trial. Do you think that there is anything at this point that could force Donald Trump to stop the vitriol and to stop the tweets and the rants? Or is he going to push it as far as he possibly can?"
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
"The short answer is no, he is not going to be able to stop himself," said Mary Trump. "There has been a really interesting shift over the last few months or couple of years. the way in which he is presenting himself in social media, the kind of attacking nature, and the aggressiveness, that used to be a strategy for him."
"You know, he used to throw temper tantrums strategically to get his way," she continued. "It is not strategy anymore."
"He is literally doing what he has done in other contexts, which is pushing the envelope to see how much he could get away with, which obviously, until this time, has been everything," she added. "But, the unconscious fear, terror, and especially if you have a fear of humiliation is so strong, that he cannot course correct and realize that what he's always done is, this time, not going to get him what he wants. In fact, quite the opposite."
Watch the video below or at the link.


rawstory--2020-01-15--Chris Wallace busts Trump trying to manipulate Fox News coverage during House impeachment vote

Fox News host Chris Wallace pointed out on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had likely tried to manipulate Fox News coverage as the House of Representatives was voting to begin an impeachment trial in the Senate .
Anchor Harris Faulkner spoke to Wallace minutes after the president held a China trade deal signing during House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ’ s ( D-CA ) historic speech in favor of transmitting articles of impeachment to the Senate .
“ Those two moments were on the screen at the same time , ” Faulkner observed .
“ The signing ceremony seemed to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , ” Wallace said .
“ And I was wondering whether someone was — this is just in my head , I have no reason to believe it was true — [ Trump ] was sort of hoping he would outlast Speaker Pelosi ’ s speech so he could continue and maybe we [ at Fox News ] would switch back full screen to his signing ceremony to kind of put a full stop on what the House is doing.
” In the end , Trump was not able to “ outlast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ full screen ” shot that he may have wanted from Fox News .
Watch the video below from Fox News .

That way it could be determined if a time capsule and “original manuscript” left by Neihardt, along with other items of value, are inside.
‘We all love a mystery’
“Let’s do it,” said Coralie Hughes, a granddaughter of Neihardt — who died in 1973 and is Nebraska’s poet laureate “in perpetuity” as well as a member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame.
“We all love a mystery, and this is a good one,” Hughes added from her home in Indiana.
Neihardt wrote an epic poem about “the crawl” as he called it, and led a group of students and professors from the Nebraska Normal College (now Wayne State College) to northwest South Dakota in 1923, near the site where Glass was attacked a century earlier.
The author wrote in 1923 that he left a time capsule and an “original manuscript” in the “bosom” of the monument. He then challenged members of the “Neihardt Club” of the Nebraska Normal College to return in 100 years to open it, read passages from his poem and celebrate like mountain men would.
But in June, a group from Wayne State College that took up the challenge was rebuffed in its effort to discover what’s inside the Hugh Glass monument.
‘Can’t dig without permission’
“It would still be interesting to find out what’s in there, but you can’t dig without the state archeologist’s permission,” said Joseph Weixelman, the Wayne State Western studies professor who led the group to Lemmon in June.
Cassie Vogt, the South Dakota state archeologist, told the Examiner that there are two conundrums to resolve: who really owns the monument, and whether permission should be granted to crack into something with such historical value.
The monument was originally placed on a private ranch, but the land was acquired later by the federal Bureau of Reclamation to build a reservoir. The monument now sits on a campground managed by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission.
But who owns the monument?
Neihardt, who led its construction, and his descendants? Wayne State College, whose club (now long disbanded) helped to build it? Or possibly the Neihardt State Historic Site, which was established to preserve and promote his legacy and works?
On Tuesday, Neihardt’s granddaughter said she’s ready to step up to see if her family can obtain permission to dig into the monument.
Important to discover what’s inside
“If it was important enough for my grandfather to put something in there, it is important enough to find out what it is,” Hughes said.
‘Educational experience’ Despite not gaining access to what’s inside the Hugh Glass monument, a Wayne State history professor said it was a “good educational experience” for the seven students who traveled with him to the site in June. Joseph Weixelman, who retired after the trip, said the group met the rest of the “challenge” posed by author/poet John Neihardt, which was to read some passages at sundown from his epic poem, “The Song of Hugh Glass,” start a fire “with steel and flint,” and play games that mountain men might have played at a “rendezvous” (a gathering of mountain men). The games were modified a bit, he said. The “tomahawk throw” involved a plastic projectile, and “skinning a beaver” became skinning a banana with a plastic knife. The students, Weixelman said, placed letters and items from 2023 inside a time capsule that they plan to leave at a local museum in Lemmon. They also issued a challenge for Wayne State students to return in 100 years to open the latest time capsule,and again celebrate the story of Hugh Glass. “We want to keep the challenge going,” Weixelman said.
Hughes said one possible document to help confirm ownership by the Neihardt family would be papers creating the Neihardt Trust, which declared that anything produced by her grandfather would be property of the trust.
There are also photographs showing Neihardt leading the construction of the Hugh Glass monument, as well as Neihardt’s writings in the student newspaper describing what was done and challenging students to revisit it in 2023.
But when asked if that would be enough proof of ownership, an official with the South Dakota State Historical Society didn’t know.
The 1923 monument is not recorded by the Historical Society, said spokesman Kevin Larsen, so it’s clear the society does not own it.
“Someone interested in opening the monument would need the appropriate permissions to access it,” Larsen said.
Vogt, the South Dakota state archeologist, said it would ultimately be up to the Bureau of Reclamation and South Dakota parks agency — who own and manage the land on which the monument sits—- to jointly decide whether someone should break into the monument.
‘Sad to see it wrecked’
Not everyone is crazy about the idea.
LaQuita Shockley, the owner/editor of the Dakota Herald, based in Lemmon, said it would be a shame to destroy the monument only to find that what’s inside wasn’t that valuable.
There are also questions about whether flooding at the reservoir ruined any papers inside the time capsule.
“Is what’s encased in there worth destroying the monument?” Shockley asked. “It would be sad to see it wrecked.”
Lemmon plans to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Hugh Glass story with a mountain man rendezvous, from Aug. 22-28.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.


rawstory--2020-01-15--Trump didn’t know basic Pearl Harbor history when he visited famous Hawaii memorial: report

A new book written by Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and White House bureau chief Philip Rucker , both Pulitzer Prize winners , paints a bleak picture of President Trump ’ s mental and intellectual fitness for office .
In a book review for the 417-page A Very Stable Genius published in The Washington Post this Wednesday , Ashley Parker highlights some eye-opening portions , one of which suggest Trump doesn ’ t even know the basic history of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor .
“ Trump had heard the phrase ‘ Pearl Harbor ’ and appeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scene of a historic battle , but he did not seem to know much else , ” the book ’ s authors wrote before quoting a former senior White House adviser who concludes : “ He was at times dangerously uninformed.
” According to Parker , many of the book ’ s key moments “ are rife with foreign policy implications , portraying a novice commander in chief plowing through normal protocols and alarming many both inside the administration and in other governments.
” Another portion details the newly-elected Trump ’ s alleged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump was so eager , that “ during the transition he interrupts an interview with one of his secretary of state candidates.
” “ When can I meet Putin ?
” Trump said according to the book ’ s authors .
“ Can I meet with him before the inaugural ceremony ?
” “ [ Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson ’ s ] years of negotiating with Putin and studying his moves on the chessboard were suddenly irrelevant , ” the authors wrote .
“ ‘ I have had a two-hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tillerson .
‘ That ’ s all I need to know .
.
.
.
I ’ ve sized it all up .
I ’ ve got it . '
” Parker says that the book suggests some inside Trump ’ s inner circle are just as worried about his behavior as the administration ’ s most vocal critics .
“ At the Justice Department , then-Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and other senior officials run through private fire drills in case Trump triggers a “ Saturday night massacre ” — an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Richard M. Nixon following his order to his attorney general to fire the Watergate independent special prosecutor , ” Parker writes .
The book also alleges that Trump was “ verbally and emotionally abusive ” towards then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen , accusing her of not doing enough when it came to illegal immigration .
“ He made fun of her stature and believed that at about five feet four inches she was not physically intimidating , ” the book ’ s authors wrote .
“ ‘ She ’ s so short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nielsen .
She and Kelly would try to make light of it .
Kelly would rib her and say , ‘ But you ’ ve got those little fists of fury ! '
” Read Parker ’ s full book review over at The Washington Post .

A new book written by Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and White House bureau chief Philip Rucker, both Pulitzer Prize winners, paints a bleak picture of President Trump's mental and intellectual fitness for office. In a book review for the 417-page A Very Stable Genius published in The Washington Post this Wednesday, Ashley Parker highlights some eye-opening portions, one of which suggest Trump doesn't even know the basic history of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
“Trump had heard the phrase ‘Pearl Harbor’ and appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of a historic battle, but he did not seem to know much else,” the book's authors wrote before quoting a former senior White House adviser who concludes: “He was at times dangerously uninformed.”
According to Parker, many of the book's key moments "are rife with foreign policy implications, portraying a novice commander in chief plowing through normal protocols and alarming many both inside the administration and in other governments."
Another portion details the newly-elected Trump's alleged eagerness to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump was so eager, that "during the transition he interrupts an interview with one of his secretary of state candidates."
"When can I meet Putin?" Trump said according to the book's authors. "Can I meet with him before the inaugural ceremony?”
"[Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's] years of negotiating with Putin and studying his moves on the chessboard were suddenly irrelevant,” the authors wrote. "'I have had a two-hour meeting with Putin,’ Trump told Tillerson. 'That’s all I need to know. . . . I’ve sized it all up. I’ve got it.'"
Parker says that the book suggests some inside Trump's inner circle are just as worried about his behavior as the administration's most vocal critics.
"At the Justice Department, then-Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and other senior officials run through private fire drills in case Trump triggers a “Saturday night massacre” — an allusion to the series of resignations under President Richard M. Nixon following his order to his attorney general to fire the Watergate independent special prosecutor," Parker writes.
The book also alleges that Trump was "verbally and emotionally abusive" towards then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, accusing her of not doing enough when it came to illegal immigration.
"He made fun of her stature and believed that at about five feet four inches she was not physically intimidating," the book's authors wrote. "'She’s so short,' Trump would tell others about Nielsen. She and Kelly would try to make light of it. Kelly would rib her and say, 'But you’ve got those little fists of fury!'"
Read Parker's full book review over at The Washington Post.


rawstory--2020-01-15--‘Do you paint houses, too?’ Nancy Pelosi suggests Trump is a mobster with line from The Irishman

Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised eyebrows on Wednesday during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives as she sent two articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate .
“ The president of the United States , in using appropriated funds enacted in a bipartisan way by this Congress , funds that were meant to help the Ukraine fight the Russians — the president considered that his private ATM machine , I guess , ” Pelosi said .
“ And said he could say to the president [ of Ukraine ] , he could make — ‘ do me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me a favor ?
Do you paint houses too ?
What is this ?
” Pelosi wondered .
“ Do me a favor ?
” Two generations ago , “ The Godfather ” popularized the mafia slang , “ I ’ ll make him an offer he can ’ t refuse.
” Similarly , the new hit Martin Scorsese film on Netflix , “ The Irishman ” has popularized a new mafia term .
In the movie , Robert De Niro ’ s character describes painting houses as slang for murder , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the walls when the victim was shot at close range .
The film is based on the 2004 Charles Brant book titled , I Heard You Paint Houses : Frank “ The Irishman ” Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa .

Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised eyebrows on Wednesday during a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives as she sent two articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate.
"The president of the United States, in using appropriated funds enacted in a bipartisan way by this Congress, funds that were meant to help the Ukraine fight the Russians -- the president considered that his private ATM machine, I guess," Pelosi said. "And said he could say to the president [of Ukraine], he could make -- 'do me a favor.'"
"Do me a favor? Do you paint houses too? What is this?" Pelosi wondered. "Do me a favor?"
Two generations ago, "The Godfather" popularized the mafia slang, "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
Similarly, the new hit Martin Scorsese film on Netflix, "The Irishman" has popularized a new mafia term.
In the movie, Robert De Niro's character describes painting houses as slang for murder, with the paint referring to blood splattered on the walls when the victim was shot at close range.
The film is based on the 2004 Charles Brant book titled, I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa.
Watch:


rawstory--2020-01-15--‘Dangerously uninformed’ Trump ‘toyed with’ awarding himself the Medal of Freedom: report

One of President Donald Trump ’ s most widely ridiculed assertions is that he is a “ very stable genius , ” and that line is used in an ironic way in the title of the forthcoming Philip Rucker/Carol D. Leonnig book , “ A Very Stable Genius : Donald J. Trump ’ s Testing of America ” — ironic because the book depicts Trump as being the opposite of stable during his time in the White House .
The Washington Post has obtained a copy of the 417-page book , which has a Tuesday , January 21 release date @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Post ’ s Ashley Parker , “ A Very Stable Genius ” is full of “ vivid details from Trump ’ s tumultuous first three years as president , from his chaotic transition before the taking office to Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III ’ s Russia investigation and final report.
” Rucker and Leonnig reveal in their book that Trump toyed with the idea of awarding himself the Medal of Freedom .
Yet when it came to foreign policy , Trump was “ at times , dangerously uninformed , ” according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , Rucker and Leonnig report , Trump didn ’ t appear to fully understand the importance of Pearl Harbor when the president and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly were getting ready to privately tour the USS Arizona Memorial .
Trump , according to Rucker and Leonnig , “ had heard the phrase ‘ Pearl Harbor ’ and appeared to understand that he was visiting the scene of an historic battle , but he did not seem to know much else.
” When Trump met with Indian President Narendra Modi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he told him , “ It ’ s not like you ’ ve got China on your border.
” But in fact , China is one of the countries India shares a border with .
Trump ’ s fondness for Russian President Vladimir Putin is discussed in the book , and at one point , Trump declared himself to be more of an expert on Russia than former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — who had extensive dealings with Putin during his years at Exxon .
Rucker and Leonnig write , “ Tillerson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and studying his moves on the chessboard were suddenly irrelevant .
‘ I have had a two-hour meeting with Putin , ’ Trump told Tillerson .
‘ That ’ s all I need to know … I ’ ve sized it all up .
I ’ ve got it.
’ ” “ A Very Stable Genius , ” Parker notes , is “ based on hundreds of hours of interviews with more than 200 sources , corroborated , when possible , by calendars , diary entries , internal memos and even private video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an interview for the book , the authors write , but ultimately declined , amid an escalating war with the media.
” Some of the anecdotes in the book , according to Parker , are more amusing than disturbing .
In 2018 , for example , Trump met with former New Jersey Gov .
Chris Christie to discuss the possibility of Christie becoming the next White House chief of staff ; Christie declined — and when Axios reported that the meeting had taken place , Christie wanted to know how the meeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Only three people were present during the meeting : President Trump , Christie and First Lady Melania Trump .

The video begins with a close up of the turtle’s head, its dark green, pebbled skin out of place against the stark-white boat deck. Robinson’s hands approach, moving the pliers toward the turtle’s nostril. The tool clamps down on the edge of something — A barnacle? A worm? — barely visible within the dark tunnel. The creature squirms and dribbles blood as the pulling begins. A long, thin object begins to emerge, inch by excruciating inch.
It was August 10, 2015, and marine conservation biologist Christine Figgener was collecting data for her Ph.D. a few miles off the coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. She and a colleague, Nathan Robinson, were researching olive ridley sea turtles when they noticed a male had something encrusted in its nose. The pair decided to try to extract the object. Robinson flipped open his Swiss army knife’s pliers and Figgener grabbed her phone and began to film.
“We had no idea what we were frigging looking at,” Figgener said in a newer, annotated version of the video. It wasn’t until one of the researchers cut off a piece of the object that they realized what it was: a four-inch piece of plastic straw.
“We couldn’t believe that such a mundane object that we really use on a daily basis … that we found it in the turtle’s nose,” she said — “that a tiny object caused so much suffering.”
A volunteer holds plastic straws picked during the World Clean-Up day activity in Kendari, Indonesia. Andry Denisah / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images A volunteer holds plastic straws picked during the World Clean-Up day activity in Kendari, Indonesia.
When Figgener uploaded the turtle straw video to her YouTube account eight years ago, it went viral. For a few years, plastic straws were the trendy rallying cry for sustainability. In many ways, the campaign was a success story — one that elevated our awareness of single-use plastics to the point where it resulted in actual policy change. But upon reflection, not all the solutions that spun out of the anti-straw movement actually held water. In recent years, many environmental pundits have focused on the movement’s shortcomings.
To many environmentalists fighting plastic pollution, anti-straw advocacy now feels passé — out of touch with the broader need to address all forms of single-use plastic. But the movement’s rise and fall still holds lessons for the activists of today.
From soda bottles to yogurt containers, there is a lot of plastic pollution out there. So how did we end up so obsessed with straws?
The anti-plastic straw movement didn’t actually originate with Figgener’s turtle video. Back in 2011, a 9-year-old named Milo Cress found it odd that the restaurants he would go to with his mom in Burlington, Vermont, would automatically serve drinks with a straw, whether or not their customer wanted one. He approached the owner of Leunig’s Bistro and Café in Burlington, and eventually, Leunig’s became one of the first establishments in the country to ask customers whether they wanted a straw or not.
Milo Cress, founder of the Be Straw Free campaign, photographed in Niwot, Colorado on August 7, 2012. Mark Leffingwell / MediaNews Group / Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images Milo Cress, founder of the Be Straw Free campaign, photographed in Niwot, Colorado on August 7, 2012.
Eventually, Cress and his mom made some calls to straw manufacturers and estimated that 500 million straws are used and discarded by people in the U.S. every day. The environmental advocacy group Eco-Cycle published Cress’s findings, which in the years since have been cited by nearly every major news media outlet that has covered the plastic straw beat, including CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. (The credibility of that figure has since been questioned, with market research firms determining the figure to be between 170 million and 390 million a day.)
But the turtle video added just the right amount of injury to plastic insult. Figgener’s viral footage helped stir single-use plastic outrage into a frenzy. Celebrities called on their followers to #stopsucking, a social media campaign that aimed to “turn the plastic straw into environment enemy number one.”
Thousands of restaurants joined the pledge and the idea took off, reaching the rare environmental threshold of actual policy change. In 2018, Seattle became the first big city in the United States to ban plastic straws. It was followed shortly by other major municipalities in California, New Jersey, Florida, and other states. That same year, companies including Starbucks and American Airlines jumped on the anti-straw bandwagon, the former announcing it would launch a new “sippy” lid for its cold beverages starting in 2020, allegedly diverting more than 1 billion straws per year.
A flat, plastic lid that does not need a straw is shown on a cup of Starbucks iced tea on July 9, 2018 in Sausalito, California. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images A flat, plastic lid that does not need a straw is shown on a cup of Starbucks iced tea on July 9, 2018 in Sausalito, California.
But for all its success in getting people riled up about plastic pollution, much of that outrage seemed limited to, well, straws, which only make up a small part of the single-use problem. National Geographic calculated that of the 8 million tons of plastic deposited into the world’s oceans each year, only 0.025 percent is comprised of plastic straws.
Some anti-plastic advocates began denouncing the straw bans as “slacktivism,” a type of activism characterized by a lack of commitment or effort. They said the bans gave people an overblown sense that they were making a difference in combating the plastics crisis. For example, anti-straw pledges didn’t seem as concerned with other types of plastic waste or the fossil fuels associated with every part of their life cycle. Even the anti-straw Starbucks sippy lids were actually made from polypropylene, a type of plastic that has a 3 percent recycling rate in the U.S. (The company claimed it was still an improvement, as the new lids could potentially be recycled. Plastic straws are too lightweight and thin to make it through the mechanical recycling sorting process.)
The anti-plastic straw movement also started getting pushback from disability advocates, who pointed out that some people need flexible straws to be able to drink liquids. Paper straws get soggy and fall apart more quickly, reusable straws made of metal are not easy to bend, and silicone straws are difficult to clean.
For the average consumer, functionality is often more important than sustainability, said Leslie Davenport, a climate psychology educator and consultant. “Our brains favor habits because they conserve energy. So if we are going against the current — a BYO straw for example — it’s hard for most people to do so unless highly motivated.”
San Francisco’s Boba Guys tests alternatives to plastic straws made of metal, bamboo, and reusable plastic ahead of a 2018 vote that would ban plastic straws in the city. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images San Francisco’s Boba Guys tests alternatives to plastic straws made of metal, bamboo, and reusable plastic ahead of a 2018 vote that would ban plastic straws in the city.
For restaurants that chose to continue to provide disposable straws, there were options beyond paper or plastic. Straws made with natural materials such as sugarcane and wheat are 100 percent biodegradable, but are inflexible and cost more to manufacture. As a result, many businesses looked to straws made from bioplastics — allegedly compostable plastics made from corn, sugarcane, agave, and other nonpetroleum sources. But according to Brandon Leeds, co-founder of SOFi Paper Products, bioplastics require specific disposal and processing methods, many of which aren’t always followed or clearly outlined, in order for them to decompose effectively.
“Many businesses desire to adopt sustainable practices, and when they encounter these plastic-like alternatives, they may mistakenly believe that they can be environmentally conscious without truly moving away from the plastic aesthetic,” Leeds said. “The absence of stricter governmental regulations allows companies to take advantage of greenwashing tactics, making it difficult to differentiate genuinely sustainable options from those that are not.”
Buying into greenwashing, a term that refers to environmental “solutions” whose appeal is based on appearing environmentally friendly rather than actually being so, “can be an unconscious psychological defense in individuals to shield them from the fear and overwhelming [feeling] of climate change,” Davenport said. “There can be an unexamined story of ‘I’m doing my part’ because it is more soothing than feeling out of control with the harmful and terrifying trajectory we are on with climate change.”
A plastic straw and lid is among the trash washed up on a beach in Santa Monica, California. Citizen of the Planet / Education Images / Universal Images Group via Getty Images A plastic straw and lid is among the trash washed up on a beach in Santa Monica, California.
Plastic straw bans are alive and well today, with new proposals still cropping up at the state and city levels. But eliminating plastic straws is no longer the go-to goal of the anti-plastic movement. Part of that is the result of the existing bans’ success: For many consumers, the absence of plastic straws has become normal, even mundane. Now, anti-plastic advocates hope to harness in new ways the outrage they once inspired.
According to Jackie Nuñez, the Plastic Pollution Coalition’s advocacy and engagement manager and the founder of The Last Plastic Straw, the anti-plastic straw movement helped advance awareness and understanding of other single-use products. California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have all placed some form of ban on plastic bags. The U.S. Interior Department stated that single-use plastic products will be phased out of national parks and around 480 million acres of federal land by 2032. In 2022, the Canadian federal government implemented a single-use plastics ban that included bags, cutlery, food service ware, and stir sticks.
It’s not really the item, it’s the material that’s the problem, Nuñez said. “All plastic is pollution by design.”
Some activists have attempted to call attention to the scourge of single-use plastics by staging ‘plastic attacks,’ in which protesters head to the grocery store and proceed to remove the plastic wrapping from the food in their carts and return the waste to the store.
Shoppers leave excess packaging at the entrance to a Brussels supermarket as part of a “plastic attack” designed to to emphasize the over-usage of plastic in supermarkets. NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / AFP via Getty Images Shoppers leave excess packaging at the entrance to a Brussels supermarket as part of a “plastic attack” designed to to emphasize the over-usage of plastic in supermarkets.
Since they began in 2018, the strategy has gone global. Plastic attacks have been reported in places including in Hong Kong, South Korea, Canada, Peru, and the United States. Some of the biggest demonstrations have drawn hundreds of participants.
The anti-plastic straw movement “triggered a lightbulb moment for a lot of people,” Nuñez said. “It ended up becoming a thing I call a gateway issue.”
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.


rawstory--2020-01-15--Trump raged against ‘unfair’ law prohibiting bribes to foreign officials: New book

President Donald Trump reportedly clashed in the early days of his administration with former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over rolling back a law prohibiting bribery of foreign officials .
Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig have a new book about the Trump presidency , “ A Very Stable Genius , ” based on hundreds of hours of interviews with more than 200 sources , and much of it backed by documentary evidence .
The book reports that Trump was single-mindedly focused on meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin during the presidential transition , and interrupted an interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ask if he could meet Putin face to face before his inauguration .
Trump and Putin finally did meet in summer 2017 at the G-20 summit in Hamburg , and suddenly the president considered himself more of an expert on Russia than Tillerson — who ’ d done Exxon corporate business with Russia for decades .
The president also clashed in spring 2017 with his secretary of state , who apparently refused to help Trump get rid of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibiting U.S. firms and individuals from bribing foreign officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s just so unfair that American companies aren ’ t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas , ” Trump said , according to the book .
“ We ’ re going to change that.
” Trump was frustrated by the 1977 law , which remains on the books , because it prevented his company ’ s executives and his business associates from paying off foreign governments to make deals overseas , the reporters wrote .

President Donald Trump reportedly clashed in the early days of his administration with former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over rolling back a law prohibiting bribery of foreign officials.
Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig have a new book about the Trump presidency, "A Very Stable Genius," based on hundreds of hours of interviews with more than 200 sources, and much of it backed by documentary evidence.
The book reports that Trump was single-mindedly focused on meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin during the presidential transition, and interrupted an interview with one candidate for secretary of state to ask if he could meet Putin face to face before his inauguration.
Trump and Putin finally did meet in summer 2017 at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, and suddenly the president considered himself more of an expert on Russia than Tillerson -- who'd done Exxon corporate business with Russia for decades.
The president also clashed in spring 2017 with his secretary of state, who apparently refused to help Trump get rid of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibiting U.S. firms and individuals from bribing foreign officials for business deals.
“It’s just so unfair that American companies aren’t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas,” Trump said, according to the book. “We’re going to change that.”
Trump was frustrated by the 1977 law, which remains on the books, because it prevented his company's executives and his business associates from paying off foreign governments to make deals overseas, the reporters wrote.


rawstory--2020-01-15--Putin picks little-known tax chief for prime minister

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday proposed the little-known head of Russia ’ s tax service Mikhail Mishustin for the post of prime minister , the Kremlin said .
The proposal to appoint 53-year-old Mishustin , a relatively obscure figure who has run the service since 2010 , came after the surprise resignation of Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev following the president ’ s unveiling of a package of constitutional reforms .
The two met in the Kremlin where Putin “ suggested to him that he take the post of the head of government ” and he accepted , the Kremlin said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s constitution , Mishustin should face a vote of approval in the Russian parliament within a week .
Parliament ’ s lower house , the State Duma , will review his candidacy on Thursday , Russian news agencies said .
The overwhelmingly pro-Kremlin body is unlikely to reject Putin ’ s proposal .
Mishustin is a “ neutral figure ” and does not seem like someone who is being groomed as Putin ’ s successor , political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann told AFP .
He worked in the information technology industry in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1998 .
He also ran the UFG investment group from 2008 until his appointment to head the tax service in 2010 , according to his official biography .
Mishustin is credited with making the Russian tax service highly efficient and supports electronic government services for the public .

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday proposed the little-known head of Russia's tax service Mikhail Mishustin for the post of prime minister, the Kremlin said.
The proposal to appoint 53-year-old Mishustin, a relatively obscure figure who has run the service since 2010, came after the surprise resignation of Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev following the president's unveiling of a package of constitutional reforms.
The two met in the Kremlin where Putin "suggested to him that he take the post of the head of government" and he accepted, the Kremlin said in a statement.
According to Russia's constitution, Mishustin should face a vote of approval in the Russian parliament within a week.
Parliament's lower house, the State Duma, will review his candidacy on Thursday, Russian news agencies said.
The overwhelmingly pro-Kremlin body is unlikely to reject Putin's proposal.
Mishustin is a "neutral figure" and does not seem like someone who is being groomed as Putin's successor, political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann told AFP.
He worked in the information technology industry in the 1990s before entering the Federal Tax Service in 1998.
He also ran the UFG investment group from 2008 until his appointment to head the tax service in 2010, according to his official biography.
Mishustin is credited with making the Russian tax service highly efficient and supports electronic government services for the public.
© 2020 AFP


rawstory--2020-01-16--MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch rains hell on ‘cabal of grotesque’ Trump officials exposed in Parnas interview

MSNBC “ Morning Joe ” regular Donny Deutsch was all over members of the Trump administration who were exposed as liars by Lev Parnas , an associate of Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani , who gave a stunning and extended interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night .
Speaking with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski , the MSNBC contributor got right to the point and said the explosive interview should be the centerpiece of every Democratic ad going forward towards the 2020 election .
“ If I am a Democrat or I am running a Democratic campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ longer running against Donald Trump .
I am running against Devin Nunes , Kevin McCarthy , Bill Barr , against Mike Pence , against Rudy Giuliani , ” he ranted .
“ I am running against this cabal of grotesque , dishonesty , corruption .
this is the swamp ten times , and the very irony , the very thing that Donald Trump ran on , we are seeing in technicolor as a demonstrative example of this administration.
” “ To me , once again , every time this happens we go , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bombshell , ’ but this is a new bombshell .
This is the clearest storytelling with one center , ” he added .

MSNBC "Morning Joe" regular Donny Deutsch was all over members of the Trump administration who were exposed as liars by Lev Parnas, an associate of Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who gave a stunning and extended interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night.
Speaking with hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the MSNBC contributor got right to the point and said the explosive interview should be the centerpiece of every Democratic ad going forward towards the 2020 election.
"If I am a Democrat or I am running a Democratic campaign or I am -- I am no longer running against Donald Trump. I am running against Devin Nunes, Kevin McCarthy, Bill Barr, against Mike Pence, against Rudy Giuliani," he ranted. "I am running against this cabal of grotesque, dishonesty, corruption. This is the swamp ten times, and the very irony, the very thing that Donald Trump ran on, we are seeing in technicolor as a demonstrative example of this administration."
"To me, once again, every time this happens we go, 'oh, this is a new bombshell,' but this is a new bombshell. This is the clearest storytelling with one center," he added.
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-01-16--China believes new virus behind mystery pneumonia outbreak

China believes a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that struck 59 people is caused by a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS , which killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago .
Lead scientist Xu Jianguo told the official Xinhua news agency that experts had “ preliminarily determined ” a new type of coronavirus was behind the outbreak , first confirmed on December 31 in Wuhan , a central Chinese city with a population of more than 11 million .
It initially sparked fears of a resurgence of highly contagious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hit by SARS in 2002-2003 — to take precautions , including stepping up the disinfection of trains and airplanes , and checks of passengers .
China has since ruled out a fresh outbreak of SARS , which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong .
“ A total of 15 positive results of the new type of coronavirus had been detected ” in the lab , through tests on infected blood samples and throat swabs , Xu said .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) confirmed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement .
“ Further investigations are also required to determine the source , modes of transmission , extent of infection and countermeasures implemented , ” said Gauden Galea , the WHO Representative to China .
Wuhan ’ s health commission said on Sunday seven of the 59 patients were seriously ill , but none had died .
All received treatment in quarantine .
Eight patients have recovered and were discharged from hospital on Wednesday , according to Xinhua .
The commission said the infection broke out between December 12 and 29 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a city seafood market since closed for disinfection .
No obvious evidence of human-to-human transmission has been reported so far .
Footage from January 1 by state broadcaster CCTV showed an official notice at the market saying it had been closed in light of the “ current pneumonia situation in our city ” , without providing a date for reopening .
The outbreak comes just a few weeks before China ’ s busiest annual travel period , when millions of people take buses , trains and planes for Lunar New Year .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ briefing that arrangements were made for “ disinfection , monitoring and prevention ” focusing on areas with large numbers of passengers , including stations and cargo hubs .
Civil aviation and national railway authorities said they had not received any reports of affected patients taking flights or trains , and that they were closely watching the situation .
Wan Xiangdong , chief flight officer of China ’ s Civil Aviation Administration , said all planes were equipped with emergency medical kits .
WHO representative Galea said “ people with symptoms of pneumonia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identified at international airports ” .
The organisation has not recommended any travel restrictions on China .
In Hong Kong , hospitals have raised their alert level to “ serious ” and stepped up detection measures — including temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers .
Authorities in the financial hub say 48 people have been hospitalised in recent days after returning from Wuhan and displaying flu-like illnesses , but none were confirmed to have contracted the mystery virus .
Twenty-five of the patients have been discharged , Hong Kong authorities said Thursday .
City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to buy face masks from local pharmacies , with many selling out earlier this week .
Inbound trains and flights from the mainland are undergoing extra cleaning and disinfection , authorities said .
Additional thermal imaging systems have been set up at the city ’ s airport , while inbound high-speed rail passengers from the mainland face checks by hand-held infrared thermometers .
The coming holiday has prompted concerns in Taiwan , where top officials urged the island ’ s health and welfare ministry to strengthen quarantine controls at airports .
On Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease control also advised residents planning to travel to or near Wuhan to wear masks and avoid contact with wild animals .
The US embassy in China warned on Tuesday that Americans travelling in the country should avoid animals and contact with sick people .

China believes a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that struck 59 people is caused by a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS, which killed hundreds of people more than a decade ago. Lead scientist Xu Jianguo told the official Xinhua news agency that experts had "preliminarily determined" a new type of coronavirus was behind the outbreak, first confirmed on December 31 in Wuhan, a central Chinese city with a population of more than 11 million.
It initially sparked fears of a resurgence of highly contagious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and prompted authorities in Hong Kong -- badly hit by SARS in 2002-2003 -- to take precautions, including stepping up the disinfection of trains and airplanes, and checks of passengers.
China has since ruled out a fresh outbreak of SARS, which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong.
"A total of 15 positive results of the new type of coronavirus had been detected" in the lab, through tests on infected blood samples and throat swabs, Xu said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the preliminary discovery of a new coronavirus in a statement.
"Further investigations are also required to determine the source, modes of transmission, extent of infection and countermeasures implemented," said Gauden Galea, the WHO Representative to China.
Wuhan's health commission said on Sunday seven of the 59 patients were seriously ill, but none had died. All received treatment in quarantine.
Eight patients have recovered and were discharged from hospital on Wednesday, according to Xinhua.
The commission said the infection broke out between December 12 and 29, with some of the patients employed at a city seafood market since closed for disinfection.
No obvious evidence of human-to-human transmission has been reported so far.
Footage from January 1 by state broadcaster CCTV showed an official notice at the market saying it had been closed in light of the "current pneumonia situation in our city", without providing a date for reopening.
The outbreak comes just a few weeks before China's busiest annual travel period, when millions of people take buses, trains and planes for Lunar New Year.
A Chinese transport ministry official said at a briefing that arrangements were made for "disinfection, monitoring and prevention" focusing on areas with large numbers of passengers, including stations and cargo hubs.
Civil aviation and national railway authorities said they had not received any reports of affected patients taking flights or trains, and that they were closely watching the situation.
Wan Xiangdong, chief flight officer of China's Civil Aviation Administration, said all planes were equipped with emergency medical kits.
WHO representative Galea said "people with symptoms of pneumonia and reported travel history to Wuhan have been identified at international airports".
The organisation has not recommended any travel restrictions on China.
- Hong Kong, Taiwan fears -
In Hong Kong, hospitals have raised their alert level to "serious" and stepped up detection measures -- including temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers.
Authorities in the financial hub say 48 people have been hospitalised in recent days after returning from Wuhan and displaying flu-like illnesses, but none were confirmed to have contracted the mystery virus.
Twenty-five of the patients have been discharged, Hong Kong authorities said Thursday.
City residents worried about the outbreak have rushed to buy face masks from local pharmacies, with many selling out earlier this week.
Inbound trains and flights from the mainland are undergoing extra cleaning and disinfection, authorities said.
Additional thermal imaging systems have been set up at the city's airport, while inbound high-speed rail passengers from the mainland face checks by hand-held infrared thermometers.
The coming holiday has prompted concerns in Taiwan, where top officials urged the island's health and welfare ministry to strengthen quarantine controls at airports.
On Monday, the country's centre for disease control also advised residents planning to travel to or near Wuhan to wear masks and avoid contact with wild animals.
The US embassy in China warned on Tuesday that Americans travelling in the country should avoid animals and contact with sick people.


rawstory--2020-01-16--Prince Harry resurfaces after royal bombshell

Britain ’ s Prince Harry was to make his first public appearance on Thursday since he and his wife Meghan ’ s bombshell decision to quit as full-time royals .
The Duke of Sussex was to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup draw at Buckingham Palace — with all eyes on whether he will address the still-unresolved royal crisis .
Harry , 35 , is patron of the Rugby Football League , the sport ’ s governing body in England , and his participation in the draw was planned long before last week ’ s shock announcement .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ royals , split their time between Britain and Canada , become financially independent from official royal funding and pull out of the palace ’ s media arrangements .
They made the announcement unilaterally on a new website — without first squaring their wishes with Queen The final outcome is set to be determined in the coming days .
Harry will now face the tricky decision of whether to say anything about the rolling storm as he hosts the draw from 1200 GMT .
Harry , who is sixth in line to the throne @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Wednesday , he announced in a video message that the sixth Invictus Games for wounded military veterans will be held in Dusseldorf in Germany in 2022 .
He made no mention of the crisis or his future plans .
AFP / Cecilia SANCHEZ Profiles of Britain ’ s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle “ They ( Dusseldorf ) will be exemplary hosts in picking up the mantle and showcasing what sport continues to do for these inspirational men and women in their recovery , ” he said .
Harry , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ army , serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan , founded the Paralympics-style event in 2014 .
It is considered as one of his major achievements .
Harry and Meghan spent six weeks over Christmas on Vancouver Island on Canada ’ s Pacific west coast and the duchess has returned after briefly coming back to Britain .
The 38-year-old US former television actress visited two women ’ s charities in Vancouver on Tuesday .
One was the Downtown Eastside Women ’ s Centre , a non-profit organisation that provides support to women who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or living in poverty .
“ She was very interested in what goes on for women in this community , who we all know are marginalised , ” said Kate Gibson , the centre ’ s acting executive director .
Queen Elizabeth , 93 , is Canada ’ s head of state and Harry is therefore sixth in line to the Canadian throne .
Despite Canadians ’ affection for the royal couple , who married at Windsor Castle in May 2018 , a large majority ( 73 percent ) do not wish to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relocation , according to an Angus Reid Institute survey .
Besides the ructions in the royal family , Meghan could face yet more upheaval with her own family — potentially facing her own estranged father Thomas Markle in court .
The weekly newspaper has now issued its defence , raising the possibility that Meghan and her father could be called to testify against each another in England ’ s High Court .
The front page of the Daily Mail — The Mail on Sunday ’ s sister paper — said Wednesday that Thomas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meanwhile , William , 37 , visited one of Britain ’ s most diverse cities — Bradford in northern England — with his wife Kate on Wednesday , as they returned to business as usual since Monday ’ s summit at Queen Elizabeth ’ s Sandringham country residence .
Among their engagements was a visit to a South Asian restaurant and a meeting with former world champion boxer Amir Khan , with whom they discussed mental health in sport .
Both William and Harry have worked together on tackling mental health issues .

Britain's Prince Harry was to make his first public appearance on Thursday since he and his wife Meghan's bombshell decision to quit as full-time royals. The Duke of Sussex was to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup draw at Buckingham Palace -- with all eyes on whether he will address the still-unresolved royal crisis.
Harry, 35, is patron of the Rugby Football League, the sport's governing body in England, and his participation in the draw was planned long before last week's shock announcement.
The couple want to step back as senior royals, split their time between Britain and Canada, become financially independent from official royal funding and pull out of the palace's media arrangements.
They made the announcement unilaterally on a new website -- without first squaring their wishes with Queen
POOL/AFP/File / Jeremy Selwyn Meghan has been a target of criticism in some sections of the British press POOL/AFP/File / Jeremy Selwyn Elizabeth II. Harry was summoned to a hastily-arranged family meeting on Monday with his grandmother, father Prince Charles and brother Prince William to thrash out a way forward.
The final outcome is set to be determined in the coming days.
Harry will now face the tricky decision of whether to say anything about the rolling storm as he hosts the draw from 1200 GMT.
- Invictus Games -
Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, might attempt a business-as-usual approach. On Wednesday, he announced in a video message that the sixth Invictus Games for wounded military veterans will be held in Dusseldorf in Germany in 2022.
He made no mention of the crisis or his future plans.
AFP / Cecilia SANCHEZ Profiles of Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle AFP / Cecilia SANCHEZ "They (Dusseldorf) will be exemplary hosts in picking up the mantle and showcasing what sport continues to do for these inspirational men and women in their recovery," he said. Harry, who spent 10 years in the British army, serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan, founded the Paralympics-style event in 2014. It is considered as one of his major achievements.
- Vancouver visits -
Harry and Meghan spent six weeks over Christmas on Vancouver Island on Canada's Pacific west coast and the duchess has returned after briefly coming back to Britain.
The 38-year-old US former television actress visited two women's charities in Vancouver on Tuesday.
One was the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, a non-profit organisation that provides support to women who are fleeing violence, dealing with homelessness or living in poverty.
"She was very interested in what goes on for women in this community, who we all know are marginalised," said Kate Gibson, the centre's acting executive director.
AFP / Don MacKinnon Meghan visited the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, a non-profit organisation that provides support to women who are fleeing violence, dealing with homelessness or living in poverty AFP / Don MacKinnon The second, Justice for Girls, also said Meghan had stopped by, tweeting photos on Wednesday. She discussed "climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous peoples", said the group, which helps teenage girls who live in poverty.
Queen Elizabeth, 93, is Canada's head of state and Harry is therefore sixth in line to the Canadian throne.
Despite Canadians' affection for the royal couple, who married at Windsor Castle in May 2018, a large majority (73 percent) do not wish to foot security or other costs for their relocation, according to an Angus Reid Institute survey.
- Legal battle -
Besides the ructions in the royal family, Meghan could face yet more upheaval with her own family -- potentially facing her own estranged father Thomas Markle in court.
AFP/File / Tolga AKMEN Prince Harry and Prince William have admitted drifting apart AFP/File / Tolga AKMEN He showed The Mail on Sunday an August 2018 handwritten letter to him from his daughter, which the weekly tabloid published in February last year. Meghan filed a claim in October against publishers Associated Newspapers over the alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The weekly newspaper has now issued its defence, raising the possibility that Meghan and her father could be called to testify against each another in England's High Court.
The front page of the Daily Mail -- The Mail on Sunday's sister paper -- said Wednesday that Thomas Markle was prepared to give evidence.
Meanwhile, William, 37, visited one of Britain's most diverse cities -- Bradford in northern England -- with his wife Kate on Wednesday, as they returned to business as usual since Monday's summit at Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham country residence.
Among their engagements was a visit to a South Asian restaurant and a meeting with former world champion boxer Amir Khan, with whom they discussed mental health in sport.
Both William and Harry have worked together on tackling mental health issues.


rawstory--2020-01-16--Lev Parnas ‘tore the lid off impeachment’ with his ‘John Dean moment’: Morning Joe

On Thursday morning MSNBC host Joe Scarborough stated that the claims made by Lev Parnas — an associate of Rudy Giuliani — made during a Wednesday night interview with fellow MSNBC host Rachel Maddow was a “ John Dean moment ” that exposed the lies of the entire Donald Trump administration .
Speaking with presidential historian , Jon Meacham , he stated , “ I mean , this guy , Jon Meacham , this guy has revealed the president is a liar .
He ’ s revealed the vice president is a liar .
He ’ s revealed , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He revealed Devin Nunes as a liar .
Kevin McCarthy is all tied up with him.
” “ Like , they ’ re all tied up with this guy , and they ’ ve all lied about their knowledge of him , and I was saying before , I couldn ’ t think of an interview in some time that could have the impact that this interview , that Rachel had last night with Lev Parnas , ” he continued .
“ But I do — I don ’ t know — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and if this follows its logical conclusion , which a few things in Washington follow their logical conclusion and the Trump Administration , we may be looking back on this 20 years from now as a John Dean moment .
This guy just tore the lid off of impeachment , and called the president and the vice president and the attorney general , the president ’ s attorney , and the Republican congress out as the liars that they are .
”

On Thursday morning MSNBC host Joe Scarborough stated that the claims made by Lev Parnas -- an associate of Rudy Giuliani -- made during a Wednesday night interview with fellow MSNBC host Rachel Maddow was a "John Dean moment" that exposed the lies of the entire Donald Trump administration.
Speaking with presidential historian, Jon Meacham, he stated, "I mean, this guy, Jon Meacham, this guy has revealed the president is a liar. He's revealed the vice president is a liar. He's revealed, of course, Rudy Giuliani is a liar. He revealed Devin Nunes as a liar. Kevin McCarthy is all tied up with him.''
"Like, they're all tied up with this guy, and they've all lied about their knowledge of him, and I was saying before, I couldn't think of an interview in some time that could have the impact that this interview, that Rachel had last night with Lev Parnas," he continued. "But I do -- I don't know -- I just go back to Watergate, and if this follows its logical conclusion, which a few things in Washington follow their logical conclusion and the Trump Administration, we may be looking back on this 20 years from now as a John Dean moment. This guy just tore the lid off of impeachment, and called the president and the vice president and the attorney general, the president's attorney, and the Republican congress out as the liars that they are."
Watch below: