As the storm approaches, you can monitor real-time conditions along its path using a slew of live webcams, although they may cut out periodically if conditions get particularly bad.
Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work.
“I love you” in sign language.
Image: Shutterstock / Phonix_a Pk.sarote
By YOHANA DESTA
Learning to sign is easier than ever, thanks to the internet.
The visual language, designed to aid the deaf or hard of hearing, is a set of gesticulations and hand movements that correspond to the spoken word.
There are numerous ways to learn American Sign Language (ASL) outside the old classroom method. From free online lessons to video tutorials, a world of possibilities is open for those aspiring to teach themselves this hands-on language.
One of the easiest ways to learn sign language is through YouTube tutorials. The video hosting site has dozens of teachers who give free lessons on how to sign the alphabet, common phrases, numbers, and more.
Here are a few places to start:
Dr. Bill Vicars: The hard of hearing ASL expert has numerous degrees in deaf-centric studies, according to his bio on Lifeprint. His love of the language is evident on his YouTube page, which hosts a plethora of ASL lessons.
Expert Village: The YouTube channel is home to lessons on pretty much anything, and is a great source of ASL videos for beginners. There’s an extensive series on common phrases, letters of the alphabet, and more.
Laura Berg Life: This channel, previously called “My Smart Hands,” is especially great because it was designed with teaching ASL to both adults and young children in mind. It offers videos that share how to sign temperatures, common phrases, read names, and more. Some videos are even dedicated to answering viewer questions.
2. Web resources
Outside of YouTube, the internet also offers a plethora of resources for those looking to learn sign language, including quizzes, courses, and more. Here are three helpful options to consider.
Learn sign language with SIGNASL.ORG.
Image: screengrab/signasl.org
ASL Pro: Don’t let the site’s old school appearance fool you. ASL Pro is a free tool with a wealth of quizzes, fingerspelling practices, and a super detailed dictionary complete with video examples for learning how to sign hundreds of words.
Start ASL: This online resource offers a variety of courses for those interested in learning sign language. There’s a free three-level course that offers workbooks and activities, along with fingerspelling lessons. And if you’re looking for more advanced ASL learning, the site also offers additional paid courses, both online and office, created and taught by professional ASL instructors.
SignASL.org: This online ASL Dictionary is the perfect place to search for words and phrases and learn their corresponding signs. Simply type in a term and the site will show you a selection of ASL videos and resources from trusted websites to choose from.
3. Apps
You can also keep a sign language lesson in your very own pocket by downloading an app onto your smartphone. On-the-go ASL lessons can help you stay refreshed on little things and come in hand when you need to look something up. Not to mention, apps that teach sigh language will let you study any time, anywhere.
Image: screengrab/asl coach
There’s a variety of sign language apps available for popular Apple devices, Android devices, and more, but here are a few recommendations if you’re struggling to decide how to learn ASL.
ASL Coach: This free iOS app keeps things short and sweet, teaching you how to master the sign language alphabet.
ASL: Fingerspelling: The $3.99 iOS app from ASL resource Lifeprint helps gets users up to speed on their fingerspelling techniques.
Marlee Signs: Oscar-winning deaf actress Marlee Matlin is also in on the app game. Marlee Signs is free for iOS and teaches ASL with video lessons and fingerspelling practice.
Test yourself!
Want to test out your skills? We learned the ASL alphabet and gave fingerspelling a shot. Can you figure out what we spelled? Answer below.
(Answer: Mashable rules!)
Additional reporting by Nicole Gallucci. This story was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2018.
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car division, keeps racking up the miles.
On Wednesday, the company announced it had hit 10 million robot car-driven miles on public roads across 25 cities in states like California, Arizona, and Michigan.
In August, Waymo announced it had reached the 8 million mile mark. Just months before in June, it wasat 7 million miles. In less than half a year, the company has tested an additional 3 million miles on public roads.
According to CEO John Krafcik, if you add in simulated rides on a computer, not real roads, Waymo has driven 7 billion miles. Those 10 million daily miles help challenge the self-driving software and put it in situations both new and old.
In its latest blog post, Waymo belatedly addressed issues brought up in a report from The Information from late August. Waymo’s self-driving taxi service is supposed to kick off with truly driverless cars by the end of the year in Arizona and is already in testing with 400 early riders in Phoenix. The report highlighted some road bumps, like the problems Waymo’s cars have with merging and left-hand turns.
“Our cars are programmed to be cautious and courteous above all, because that’s the safest thing to do,” said Krafcik. The post seemed to defend Waymo’s emphasis on safety: “We stay out of other driver’s blind spots, give wide berth to pedestrians, and come to a full stop at 4-way stops.”
It also explained that there’s a balance between driving naturally and assertively, especially while merging.
For some perspective on Waymo’s announcement, we called Optimus Ride co-founder and president Sertac Karaman. He said it’s not just about getting the most miles, but testing miles you can actually use.
He explained that a lot of self-driving car companies aren’t making much progress, even though they’re racking up miles. “They end up collecting a lot of data which is fancy garbage,” he said.
Instead, he promotes testing in geo-fenced areas at medium speeds around 30 mph to get denser data. He described the difference as driving 10,000 miles all over the country but only seeing every place once. Those same 10,000 miles in a smaller area that you’ve driven through repeatedly means you’ve seen the same places thousands of times and know so much more about every intersection and bump in the road.
Most importantly for the machine-learning robot cars, they “absorb the culture of how to drive in that environment,” Karaman said.
For self-driving cars to improve and get to the point of actually driving people around autonomously they need to see a lot of samples (stretches of road) with a lot of repetition. With the end of the year looming, Waymo better hope its miles are teaching its cars as much as possible. The clock’s ticking.
PlayStation Network launched in 2006. The service has grown exponentially since then, but in all of that time one much-asked-for feature has eluded subscribers: name changes.
We all make questionable choices when we’re young. Some smoke cigarettes. Others toilet paper the homes of their enemies. One youthful transgression most of us can relate to, though, especially in a post-internet world: the embarrassing screen name.
There are respectable grown-ass adults walking around right now hiding that terrible secret. Online, they’re xXxBiGB00TY69xXx, or L33t_3dg3l0rd, or Weed4Lyfe420. And it’s a scarlet letter. They’re terrified of having to share their online handle.
Now, at long last, PSN will fall in line with virtually every other online service you can think of and let users change their name. The feature will be here soon, and Sony’s breakdown makes it sound like a pretty simple process — one that should sound familiar to Xbox users.
Your first PSN name change is a freebie, on Sony. Any name changes after that will cost you $10 a pop. If you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you get a discount: $5 per name change.
That’s it! There’s going to be a preview program for registered PlayStation testers during which all name changing will be free.
There’s a few quirks to the upcoming feature that you should know about, especially if you’re the sort of person who likes to dive into their library and play older games. Here’s what the PlayStation Blog post has to say:
When you change your online ID, you will have the option to display your previous ID with your new ID, so your friends can recognize you. Once you decide to display your old ID or not, you won’t be able to adjust this after completing the online ID change process.
This feature is compatible with PS4 games originally published after April 1, 2018, and a large majority of the most-played PS4 games that were released before this date. However, please note not all games and applications for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita systems are guaranteed to support the online ID change, and users may occasionally encounter issues or errors in certain games. If for any reason you experience issues after changing your ID, you can revert back to your original ID for free at any time (you will only be able to revert once during the preview program). Reverting back to an old ID will resolve most issues caused by the ID change. In addition, when this feature officially launches, a list of compatible games published before April 1, 2018, will be provided on PlayStation.com for reference before you make a change.
The testing process should begin soon, as Sony expects it to end in November. There’ll be a short wait after that, with the feature set to officially roll out for all users sometime in early 2019.
Why it’s time for the Cowboys to make a coaching change, Drew Brees sets a record that may never be broken and the Browns have the NFL talking. All that and more in this week’s 10-Point Stance.
1. Nice only gets you so far in the NFL
A question: Why is Jason Garrett still the head coach of the Cowboys? In fact, why is he a head coach at all?
This isn’t meant to be cruel or snide, but it’s a fair question to ask after his eight-plus seasons on the job.
Does Garrett come up with brilliant offensive schemes like Andy Reid or Sean McVay? No.
Does he inspire players? No. Does he intimidate other coaches the way Belichick does? No. Is he bold like Bears head coach Matt Nagy? Nope.
Does he generate brilliant defensive schemes? No. Do his assistants? No.
There aren’t long lines of assistants who’ve coached under him and gone on to helm other teams. He isn’t known for fixing issues or being forward-thinking.
Think about it. Really think about it: What coaching box does Garrett check?
Look no further than this past Sunday for an example of the typical Garrett-inspired Cowboys performance. It was impossible to miss how the Texans played with passion, skill and desperation, while the Cowboys looked staid and uninventive. Dak Prescott has made a distinct lack of progress since his breakout rookie season two years ago, and a Cowboys team that appeared to be building around an exciting young core seems to be moving in reverse.
The Cowboys have a terrific offensive line and one of the best running backs in football. Yet with a chance to be bold and make a statement that could have motivated the roster for weeks, Garrett, whose team faced a 4th-and-1 from the Texans’ 42-yard line on the first possession of overtime, decided to punt.
Garrett has gone for it before in such situations, but this instance just reeked of playing it too safe.
And there are too many times when Garrett shrinks from the challenge instead of rising to it.
Are there things Garrett does well? Yes. He’s a very nice guy. But nice only gets you so far.
A number of anonymous coaching sources are ripping Garrett after the Texans loss. He remains one of the few coaches who other coaches around the league routinely shred off the record. That’s only gotten worse.
We don’t need to do that, though. What Garrett represents is obvious enough. He essentially does the bidding of owner Jerry Jones. That’s long been the case, and it remains that way, perhaps more than ever.
The Cowboys are 2-3 this year. For his career, Garrett is 69-56 with two playoff appearances. That’s it.
Barring a significant turnaround, many around the league expect Garrett to be the first coach fired this year.
This isn’t said with glee, but it is what many in the game believe.
It all comes down to that original point: Why is Jason Garrett still the coach of the Cowboys?
2. Catch this…everybody else did
Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
One night, while watching Jim Kirk fight a Gorn and eating cookies, I tweeted out a list of my top five active wide receivers.
Innocent enough, right? I mean, it’s just a list. Who would care about a stupid list?
Just as Kirk karate-chopped the Gorn, the feedback came in swiftly, with lots of curses and insults. Hundreds of responses arrived within minutes, and eventually, thousands of angry Twitter users started weighing in.
There were two main beefs: I didn’t include the Vikings’ Adam Thielen or the Saints’ Michael Thomas.
A member of the Jets even came after me. But in true Starfleet manner, we made peace.
Darron Lee @DLeeMG8
Trash list. Put my bro @Cantguardmike on it then you look like you know what you’re talking about https://t.co/c6P4AZ9Hvy
Two days later, angry tweets from Saints and Thomas fans were still pouring in. Ohio State fans eventually joined in since Thomas is a former Buckeye.
What puzzles me is this: Why did this list anger so many?
Some of it is just passion, for sure. But I can’t help but wonder if some of it is because of the tone of discourse in the country now. Fueled in part by social media’s love of strong opinions and our increasingly tribal politics, sports discussions seem to boil down to: If you don’t support my guy, you aren’t just wrong, you’re a blithering idiot who needs to be destroyed.
One guy got so mad over the list that he tweeted he was going to give my science fiction short story a one-star review on Amazon. I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. Minutes after he tweeted me, the one-star review appeared. My story is at least two stars.
Peterson clearly isn’t done. Through four games, he is on pace to rush for almost 970 yards and 12 touchdowns. At age 33, Peterson is clearly special both physically and mentally as a football player.
Yup, I was wrong.
4. We won’t see the likes of Drew Brees again
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
On Monday night, Drew Brees took the all-time passing-yardage mark from Peyton Manning with 72,103 yards. Even more remarkable is the possibility that whatever mark Brees eventually ends with may never be matched.
As Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports noted, Brees has two solid years left, at least. He could finish with more than 80,000 passing yards. Even with today’s inflated protection of quarterbacks and easy-peasy passing rules, it will be virtually impossible to top that because of Brees himself.
He has the rare trifecta: talent, accuracy and perhaps most importantly, longevity. Brees has been playing since 2001, and since 2004, do you know how many games he has missed? Three. Three in 15 seasons.
Given that, this record could last 50 years…or longer.
5. The Browns, yes, the Browns, have caught the league’s attention
Jeff Haynes/Associated Press
An AFC South scout told me just about all you need to know about the somewhat resurgent Cleveland Browns: “I have rarely seen a team turn it around so quickly after being bad for so long. They finally have playmakers like Baker [Mayfield], but that defense is full of them. They’ve changed the entire culture there overnight. It’s something we haven’t really seen in this league for a long time.”
The scout added something else, which isn’t quite so obvious: “Hue Jackson was the right man for the Browns job. It was smart to keep him. His patience and ability to keep the locker room from falling apart during all of the losing was key. If I was the Browns I’d sign him to a long-term extension right now.”
J.J. is tied for first in sacks with six, tied for fourth with seven tackles for loss and tied for fourth with 10 quarterback hits.
T.J., with the Steelers, has the same numbers, except he’s tied for fifth with nine quarterback hits.
That J.J. could produce at this level is no surprise; he’s a future Hall of Famer.
That T.J. could do so as well is a bit of an eye-opener, albeit something the Steelers always believed the younger Watt could do: be his own wrecking ball. Just like big brother.
7. Beware the scrum
Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
I’ve done numerous stories on what happens at the bottom of a pile in an NFL game. There have long been tales of punching someone’s cajones, biting, arm-twisting and other malfeasances.
The NFL has done a good job over the years of weeding out a lot of that stuff, but, amazingly, it still happens.
Thielen told NBC Sports’ Peter King this week that after he recovered an onside kick during the Vikings’ win over the Eagles, he encountered something really, well, interesting:
“It wasn’t a normal end-over-end onside kick. It had a nasty spin on it, and when I saw it coming at me I just wanted to make sure I could just knock it down then jump on it. Just wanted to get on it and secure it because when it’s a bang-bang play like that there’s a lot of guys on you—a lot of pinching and hair-pulling. They were trying to pull my hair. Good thing I got my hair cut. It was not fun under there.”
I’m told by an NFL official the league saw these comments from Thielen and will be on the lookout for this type of stuff at bottom of piles.
8. Trench warfare
Geoff Schwartz @geoffschwartz
Oh my goodness. Watch DJ Fluker (RG) with the savage pancake of Suh on this touchdown. https://t.co/OleSTLNNrQ
Ndamukong Suh is 6’4″ and 313 pounds. He is one of the strongest, nastiest men in football, but on an NFL Sunday, even he was unable to avoid getting pancake blocked.
Seahawks guard D.J. Fluker used a combination of technique and brutality to block Suh onto his backside during a first-quarter Mike Davis touchdown run. It’s the kind of thing that happens on occasion in football but doesn’t make the highlights because it isn’t a passing score or big run.
But this was big-boy, nasty football. While the NFL continues to enact rules that make the league less violent (rules that are simultaneously beneficial and awful), the trench-fighting aspect of the sport remains intense.
And fun to watch.
9. Wrong answer
Looking for a reason the Dolphins are sliding after getting off to a 3-0 start? Let Miami writer and broadcaster Adam Beasley offer some perspective:
Adam Beasley @AdamHBeasley
If you remove Tannehill’s two shovel passes to Grant and Wilson that went for touchdowns, he’s averaging 6.9 yards per pass and his rating is 84.7. That would rank 27th and 25th, respectively. That’s basically Blake Bortles.
It’s as clear as day that for the Dolphins to be successful as a franchise, they have to dump Ryan Tannehill.
I’ve seen franchises hold on to quarterbacks who can’t really play before, and it often ends in disaster. It’s time for the Dolphins to face the truth.
10. One of the greatest NFL calls of all time
Jason E. Miczek/Associated Press
Panthers broadcasters Jaime Moreno and Luis Moreno, Jr.‘s description of Graham Gano’s game-winning 63-yard field goal against the Giants on Sunday was simply beautiful. It’s like listening to music or poetry.
Spanish broadcasts of NFL games have been, for decades, one of the league’s most successful ventures. It opened NFL broadcasts to people who might not otherwise have heard them.
And to think it almost didn’t happen. A few years ago, as the NFL was expanding en masse into Spanish language broadcasts, one league executive expressed to me how some in the NFL were worried that the initiative might alienate red-state America.
Now, that decision is one of the best the NFL ever made.
Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @mikefreemanNFL.
On World Mental Health Day 2018, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced the appointment of Jackie Doyle-Price as Minister for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention.
In a statement, Doyle-Price said she understands the devastating and long-lasting impact suicide has on families and communities.
“In my time as health minister I have met many people who have been bereaved by suicide and their stories of pain and loss will stay with me for a long time,” said Doyle-Price.
“It’s these people who need to be at the heart of what we do and I welcome this opportunity to work closely with them, as well as experts, to oversee a cross-government suicide prevention plan, making their sure their views are always heard,” she added.
The prime minister also announced that new resources will be created to support children and young people’s mental health. This includes funding “mental health support teams” who will work in young people in schools. Per the announcement, trainees will “begin studying” in January 2019 and will start work in schools that year. Also announced were tools to “help schools measure their students’ health, including their mental wellbeing.”
In a statement, Samaritans — a helpline dedicated to people in emotional distress who are at risk of suicide — welcomed this move.
“We are particularly pleased that the government has announced today that it will be introducing mental health lessons in schools,” reads the statement. “Samaritans believes that learning to deal with your emotions is as important as learning to read and write. We therefore welcome this announcement and look forward to seeing details of it.”
“We hope that they will be rolled out to every child in good time and are accompanied by an evidence-based, comprehensive syllabus,” the statement continued.
If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. If you’re based in the UK or the ROI, call the Samaritans on 116 123. For international resources, this list is a good place to start.
Banks had criticised Del Rey for a comment she left on Kanye West’s Instagram, condemning West for his pro-Trump views.
“To me this just looks like the typical white woman […] using a weakened target to ‘pretend’ to be an ally,” Banks wrote in response.
Wow okay Lana, this would be cute if you were consistent with your outrage and refused to collab with ASAP rocky who has physically assaulted women too. To me this just looks like the typical White woman taking using a weakened target to “pretend” to be an ally. https://t.co/34VEqiiy2t
But she didn’t stop there. Del Rey continued to post a series of dramatic tweets directed at Banks. “I won’t not fuck you the fuck up,” she wrote. “Period.” Watch those double negatives, Lana.
After that, things got really offensive. Banks took to making a long series of derogatory comments about Del Rey’s appearance, after declaring that she felt “powerful.”
“We need her to call the surgeon who did her pointy Michael Jackson nose,” Banks wrote.
First, we need her to call the surgeon who did her pointy Michael Jackson nose and ask for some kybella for those chicken patties!!’ Next we need her to head over to Instagram and invest in some @FlatTummyCo lollipops and a $20 waist trainer!
Banks responded with a tweet criticising Del Rey for mentioning her mental health.
“Of course the white woman makes fun of mental health. Showing her true colors!,” Banks wrote, adding a comment referring to Del Rey’s previous attempt to put a spell on Donald Trump.
And of COURSE the white woman makes fun of mental health. Showing her truest colors! How’d that trump spell work out for ya sis??
27 DAYS until Election Day … PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP pens an op-ed in USA TODAY with a dire message: “Democrats ‘Medicare for All’ plan will demolish promises to seniors”: “The truth is that the centrist Democratic Party is dead. The new Democrats are radical socialists who want to model America’s economy after Venezuela.
“If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America. Government-run health care is just the beginning. Democrats are also pushing massive government control of education, private-sector businesses and other major sectors of the U.S. economy.
“Every single citizen will be harmed by such a radical shift in American culture and life. Virtually everywhere it has been tried, socialism has brought suffering, misery and decay. Today’s Democratic Party is for open-borders socialism. This radical agenda would destroy American prosperity. Under its vision, costs will spiral out of control. Taxes will skyrocket. And Democrats will seek to slash budgets for seniors’ Medicare, Social Security and defense.” USA Today
— THIS IS UNUSUALLY dire language in the weeks before an election. Remember when jaws dropped after Democrats said Republicans were trying to push granny off a cliff during the 2012 election? The president of the United States is saying that Democrats are looking to model the U.S. off a socialist country whose leader is the hemisphere’s enemy No. 1 at the moment.
BREAKING … MIKE BLOOMBERG has registered as a DEMOCRAT.
— He posted a photo on Instagram at around 5:40 a.m. of him filling out the paperwork: “At key points in U.S. history, one of the two parties has served as a bulwark against those who threaten our Constitution. Two years ago at the Democratic Convention, I warned of those threats. Today, I have re-registered as a Democrat – I had been a member for most of my life – because we need Democrats to provide the checks and balance our nation so badly needs.” The Instagram post
REPLACING NIKKI … BEN WHITE in New York: “Dina Powell tops White House list for U.N.”: “Dina Powell, the Goldman Sachs executive and former senior White House official, is the top candidate to replace outgoing United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
“Powell, who returned to Goldman in a senior role after leaving her job as President Donald Trump’s deputy national security adviser, is said to be strongly considering the job but also weighing family concerns. Powell already lives in New York, where the UN is based, but has young children and left the administration in part to spend more time with family. She is also said to be happy in her job at Goldman. …
“Two people familiar with the matter also cited as a possible concern the need for more extensive financial disclosure for Powell and potentially for family members than was required for her previous role in the White House. … Haley posted a picture on Twitter over the weekend of her on a boat with Powell and Powell’s fiancé, David McCormick, the co-CEO of the global investment firm Bridgewater Associates.” POLITICO … The pic
— @IvankaTrump: “It is an honor to serve in the White House alongside so many great colleagues and I know that the President will nominate a formidable replacement for Ambassador Haley. That replacement will not be me.”
THE BIG QUESTION: COULD TRUMP get Nikki Haley’s replacement confirmed before a new Congress is seated in January? That’s unclear to us. The already tricky vote dynamics for Trump get trickier if Democrats gain in any way.
WAPO’S JOSH ROGIN: “Haley’s departure sparks a battle for the future of Trump’s foreign policy”: John“Bolton is expected to push for an alternative candidate, though it’s not yet clear who that would be. Bolton has been consolidating power and exerting increasing influence over decision-making regarding national security personnel, with the help of his skilled deputy Mira Ricardel. Bolton is said to want a conservative hawk, someone more in line with his plans to continue challenging international institutions and international agreements. …
“Speculation around Bolton’s potential candidate centers on U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, a favorite of pro-Trump pundits who have already begun their public lobbying campaign. But Grenell’s confirmation for his current job was held up for months due to Senate Democrats’ concerns about his past undiplomatic behavior and derogatory remarks he made about women on Twitter. Since he has taken up his post in Berlin, Grenell’s aggressive style has angered his German hosts.
“Bolton and Trump may favor that more arrogant approach, but Grenell’s confirmation process would be tortured and slow. If Democrats somehow take control of the Senate, it would be impossible. That’s likely why Trump threw cold water on the idea Tuesday afternoon, saying, ‘He’s doing so well in Germany. … Rather keep Ric where he is.’” WaPo
DEPARTMENT OF YA CAN’T MAKE IT UP … SEN. JON KYL (R-ARIZ.), who was named to fill John McCain’s Senate seat, has said that he will serve likely until the end of the year. He had been previously working as a lobbyist for Covington and Burling. How much was he making there? We might never know! He was granted an extension on his financial disclosure form until “no later than January 03, 2019.” He might be out of the Senate by then!
PLAYBOOK LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MIDTERMS …
— SENATE MAJORITY WHIP JOHN CORNYN (R-TEXAS) was the special guest at a SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TEXAS) fundraiser last night at The Capital Grille on Pennsylvania Avenue. It raised $130,000 for Cruz, who is locked in a tough race with REP. BETO O’ROURKE. A source familiar with the event told us this: “Sen. Cornyn is making clear that it’s time to get off the sidelines and is prepared to help in any way he can.”
— PETE BUTTIGIEG, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who made a run for DNC chair, is starting a push to boost 21 mostly young Democrats running for Congress. Buttigieg is going to contribute and raise money for the candidates, in addition to making swings through several districts.
THIS WEEKEND, for example, he is in South Carolina to raise money, rally and campaign with Joe Cunningham, the Democrat looking to succeed Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.). He will also campaign with Democratic candidates Abigail Spanberger in the Richmond area and Jennifer Wexton in Northern Virginia. The full list of candidates
— HOUSE DEMS COUNTERATTACK … HOUSE DEMOCRATS are unveiling a new project ahead of the midterms to try and counter Trump on the campaign trail — a series of state-level reports focused on the rising cost of health care, prescription drugs, infrastructure needs and wages. UP FIRST: a Pennsylvania report to coincide with Trump’s visit to Erie, Pa., tonight. The project…The Pennsylvania report
Good Wednesday morning.
TRUMP ON THE TRAIL IN IOWA … “Criticizing ‘wacko’ Democrats, Trump promotes ethanol, local Republicans at Bluffs rally,” by the Omaha World-Herald’s Roseann Moring and Aaron Sanderford in Council Bluffs, Iowa: “Republicans who were hoping President Donald Trump would take the fight to the Democrats were not disappointed at his Council Bluffs rally on Tuesday. Trump struck a confrontational tone at Tuesday’s rally in Council Bluffs, going after Democrats locally and nationally as he promoted ethanol and Republicans up for re-election. He offered the same defiant speech that he has in several other political rallies in the lead-up to the Nov. 6 election.
“‘The Democrats have become too extreme, and they’ve become, frankly, too dangerous to govern,’ he said. ‘They’ve gone wacko.’ As he repeatedly urged followers to get out and vote, he said, ‘The only reason to vote Democrat is if you are tired of winning.’ He said the midterm elections were about security and prosperity.” World-Herald
— CHRIS CADELAGO: “Trump’s midterm pitch: Vote for me”: “President Donald Trump, who as a candidate warned that he alone could fix the nation’s ills, is making the midterms a referendum on the one thing he appears most comfortable talking about: himself.” POLITICO
MIAMI HERALD’S JENNY STALETOVICH, DAVID OVALLE and ELIZABETH KOH: “Hurricane Michael grows stronger, ‘explicitly forecast to become’ Cat 4 before slamming into Florida Panhandle”: “Florida’s Panhandle scrambled to ready for its worst hurricane strike in at least a decade as Michael gained power overnight, on track to strike somewhere near Panama City Wednesday afternoon — possibly as a dangerous Category 4 system packing a thundering surge of seawater that could float cars and crest rooftops.
“More than 180,000 people were under evacuation orders along a stretch of the Panhandle better known for its small town feel and big white sand beaches.
“After forming quickly into a hurricane Monday, Michael made steady progress across the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, gathering strength and plowing up the sea in its path. Water levels had already risen up to 2 feet above normal along the Gulf Coast, hurricane forecasters said, with heavy surf pounding some beaches and minor flooding near Apalachicola.
“At 11 p.m. Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center reported Michael’s sustained winds had reached 125 mph and forecasters predicted it will whip up even stronger before making landfall.” Miami Herald
SPOTTED: GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz — who represents a slice of the Florida Panhandle — on an Orlando-to-DCA flight last night. Pic
NEW POLITICO/MORNING CONSULT POLL … “Poll: Kavanaugh confirmation energizes Democrats more than GOP,” by Steven Shepard: “Republicans are touting the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as rocket fuel for the GOP grass roots in next month’s midterm elections, but it’s Democrats who appear more energized by the nomination fight, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.
“Kavanaugh’s confirmation is not popular: In the poll, which was conducted entirely after last week’s Senate vote, 46 percent of voters said the Senate ‘made the wrong decision‘ in approving the controversial judge, while 40 percent said it was right to elevate him to the high court.
“And following the GOP-led effort to push through his nomination, enthusiasm among Democratic voters has surged. More than three-in-four Democrats (77 percent) say they are ‘very motivated’ to turn out and vote in the midterms — more than the 68 percent of Republicans who also say they’re ‘very motivated.’” POLITICO
— “CNN poll: Democrats are fired up and maintain a strong 2018 lead,” by CNN’s Grace Sparks: “Four weeks out from Election Day, Democrats remain well ahead of Republicans in a generic ballot matchup, with 54% of likely voters saying they support the Democrat in their district and 41% backing a Republican, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.This is the widest margin of support for Democrats in a midterm cycle since 2006, when at this point, the party held a whopping 21-point lead over Republicans among likely voters. …
“This year, Democrats’ enthusiasm about their congressional vote has increased and 62% now say they’re extremely or very enthusiastic to vote, up seven points since September among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.” CNN
BURGESS EVERETT and ANTHONY ADRAGNA: “Murkowski faces firestorm over Kavanaugh vote”: “Lisa Murkowski is facing fresh political fallout for opposing President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, as Republicans fret about her future in the GOP and whether Trump’s attacks on the Alaska senator will alienate her on future votes for his nominees.
“Her Senate GOP colleagues are defending her, pushing back against Trump’s vow to make her pay a political price for opposing Kavanaugh. But Murkowski may be censured by her state party over her vote and Republicans are growing uneasy with her standing in today’s GOP. She’s opposed both Obamacare repeal and Kavanaugh, putting her on the wrong side of the president on two critical votes over the past two years.” POLITICO
2020 WATCH — AP’S JULIE PACE, KEN THOMAS and STEVE PEOPLES: “Democrats warily eye Avenatti’s flirtation with 2020 bid”: “[Michael] Avenatti’s brash confidence is being closely watched by Democrats in Washington and key political battleground states with a mix of intrigue and trepidation. Trump’s victory over more experienced politicians in the 2016 campaign has reshaped traditional views of who would make a viable presidential candidate. Yet some party leaders are worried about trying to replicate Trump’s approach by backing another untested and unpredictable candidate — a concern that was heightened after Avenatti’s involvement in the recent Supreme Court confirmation fight.
“Still, Avenatti has so far managed to stand out among the senators, governors and mayors expected to vie for the Democratic presidential nomination. Early state operatives are offering him advice, and he’s sold out Democratic Party dinners in Iowa and New Hampshire. He’s scheduled to be in South Carolina this weekend, and has another trip to New Hampshire planned on Oct. 22.” AP
— @DylanByers: “I’m having lunch with Michael Avenatti @MichaelAvenatti at the Vanity Fair Summit and he’s proposing a three-round mixed-martial arts fight with Donald Trump Jr. @DonaldJTrumpJr for charity. No joke.”
TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY — The president will meet with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and FEMA Administrator Brock Long at 11:45 a.m. He is having lunch with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at 12:45 p.m. At 2 p.m., Trump will participate in a drug prices bill signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room. He will then leave the White House for Erie, Pa. At 6:20 p.m., the president will meet with supporters at the Erie Insurance Arena. He will then headline a political rally before returning to Washington.
PLAYBOOK ELECTION CHALLENGE — Predict what will happen in key House, Senate and gubernatorial races — and compete for prizes come Election Day. The challenge
NEW WOMEN RULE PODCAST — ANNA sat down with CECILE RICHARDS for a live “Women Rule” podcast taping at the Texas Tribune Festival recently. Richards, who left as head of Planned Parenthood in May after 12 years, talked about her efforts to elect women this election cycle and how she’s open to running herself. Listen and subscribe
LATEST ON KHASHOGGI … “Turkish Officials Say Khashoggi Was Killed on Order of Saudi Leadership,” by NYT’s David Kirkpatrick in Ankara and Carlotta Gall in Istanbul: “Top Turkish security officials have concluded that the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on orders from the highest levels of the royal court, a senior official said Tuesday.
“The official described a quick and complex operation in which Mr. Khashoggi was killed within two hours of his arrival at the consulate by a team of Saudi agents, who dismembered his body with a bone saw they brought for the purpose. ‘It is like “Pulp Fiction,”’ the official said. …
“Fifteen Saudi agents had arrived on two charter flights last Tuesday, the day Mr. Khashoggi disappeared … All 15 left just a few hours later, and Turkey has now identified the roles that most or all of them held in the Saudi government or security services … One was an autopsy expert, presumably there to help dismember the body.” NYT
— “Khashoggi case: CCTV disappears from Saudi consulate in Turkey,” by The Guardian’s Martin Chulov in Istanbul: “Security camera footage was removed from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and Turkish staff were abruptly told to take a holiday on the day the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared while inside the building, Turkish authorities have claimed. …
“Investigators believe the squad responsible for his disappearance from the Saudi consulate spent several hours at the nearby consul general’s house before leaving for the airport in a convoy of six cars, one of which is thought to have carried the missing dissident or his body. A still-frame image emerged on Tuesday of Khashoggi striding towards the diplomatic mission before he disappeared. The black van that was allegedly used later to smuggle him away was parked next to the front door.” Guardian
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — “EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler Engaged With Racist, Conspiratorial Posts On Social Media,” by HuffPost’s Alexander Kaufman: “Andrew Wheeler, the acting administrator of the [EPA], repeatedly engaged with inflammatory content on his personal Facebook and Twitter accounts over the past five years, including some in the past month. The previously-unreported interactions include liking a racist image of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Facebook and retweeting an infamous ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theorist. The findings paint an embarrassing, if unsurprisingly partisan, picture of the 53-year-old former coal lobbyist and Republican aide. …
“In an email to HuffPost on Tuesday, Wheeler said he didn’t recall liking the image of the Obamas and clicked on tweets from conspiracy theorists without reviewing the source. ‘Over the years, I have been a prolific social media user and liked and inadvertently liked countless social media posts,’ Wheeler said. ‘Specifically, I do not remember the post depicting President Obama and the First Lady. As for some of the other posts, I agreed with the content and was unaware of the sources.’” HuffPost
SCOOP — “Federal investigators wiretapped George Norcross’ phones in 2016,” by New Jersey Playbooker Matt Friedman: “Federal authorities wiretapped the phones of New Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross for several months in 2016, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. The document — a letter from William McSwain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to an unidentified recipient whose ‘electronic, oral, and/or wire communications’ with Norcross were recorded — does not say why Norcross’ phones were tapped. …
“Norcross, whose insurance brokerage has millions of dollars in public contracts across the state, is one of the most powerful people in New Jersey — and arguably the single most powerful unelected person in the state.” POLITICO
BUSINESS BURST — “SoftBank Discusses Taking Majority Stake in WeWork,” by WSJ’s Eliot Brown, Dana Mattioli and Maureen Farrell: “SoftBank Group Corp. is in discussions to take a majority stake in WeWork Cos., in what would be a giant bet on the eight-year-old provider of shared office space, according to people familiar with the talks. The investment could total between $15 billion and $20 billion and would likely come from SoftBank’s Vision Fund … The $92 billion Vision Fund, which is backed largely by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi wealth funds as well as by SoftBank, already owns nearly 20% of WeWork after last year committing $4.4 billion in equity funding at a $20 billion valuation.” WSJ
SPOTTED: RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel dining at RPM Italian with Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Caroline Wren, president of BlueBonnet Fundraising. How she got her start in politics: “In 2007 for Christmas I asked my parents for a flight to New Hampshire to go and campaign for John McCain. I showed up unannounced at the McCain New Hampshire HQ and luckily someone let me sleep on their floor and I spent a week waving McCain signs in the snow. From then on I was hooked and ended up taking a semester off from Auburn University to work on the McCain campaign and I’ve been in politics ever since.” Playbook Plus Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: Raj Shah, principal WH deputy press secretary, is 34 (hat tip: Sarah Sanders) … Adam Nagourney … Healy Baumgardner … Eleanor Worcester … Brian Nick, VP of comms at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, is 43 … Kevin Geary … California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is 51 … POLITICO’s Clea Benson, Jason Millman and Matthew Rohan … Victoria Lee … Jason Mida … Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) is 57 … Shrupti Shah, managing director of GovLab at Deloitte … former Democratic Illinois Sen. Adlai Stevenson III is 88 … Stanley Kay (h/t fiancée Rebecca Nelson) … Nathaniel Koloc … Algirde Pipikaite … Thad Logan … former Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) is 79 … former Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) is 53 … Dirk Maurer, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for countering WMD … Marty Smith … Deloitte’s Chrissie Del Tatto … Vincent-Immanuel Herr … Casey Enders … Dena Battle (h/t Kristina Baum) … Michael Long, senior adviser to House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is 36 (h/t Mitchell Rivard) …
… Guillermo Meneses, director of media relations at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association … Natalie Montelongo, national campaign strategist for immigrant rights at the ACLU (h/t Kristin Lynch) … Alexandra LaManna, who works on comms at Lyft (h/t Campbell Matthews) … Tanveer Kathawalla (h/t Renée Rinehart) … Sarah Sweeney … Spencer Anderson of the State Department … Tricia Messerschmitt … James Schuelke … Seth Levey of the Edison Electric Institute … Rosie Daly … Richard Flyer … Stefan Sambol … Zack Nacheman … Edelman’s Alessandra Pollare … Dan O’Meara … Don Burnette … B.J. Goergen, executive director of the Philanthropy Centre at J.P. Morgan … Carrie (Sarver) Hall … Megan McCafferty … Doug Rivlin … Victoria Glover … Lindsay Deloria … Michael Limperopulos … Katie Segoviano … Scott McAdams … Jim Cullinan (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)
Warning: Contains *huge* spoilers for the ending of A Star is Born.
Anyone’s who seen A Star is Born will know that the final song in the movie is by far the most gut-wrenching and emotional moment.
Lady Gaga sings “I’ll Never Love Again” — a song written about her by her late husband Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) — in tribute to him. It’s a powerfully moving moment that reduces you — and everyone else in the cinema — to a sobbing wreck.
Lady Gaga has shared a personal story about the day that scene was filmed and the reason that scene was so important to her. Right before filming the scene, Gaga received a phone call that her best friend Sonja Durham was about to pass away from stage IV cancer.
“On that day my friend Sonja — who had been battling cancer for years — her friend called me and I could hear her moaning in the background and she said she’s not doing well,” Gaga told Zane Lowe. “And I thought she was dying so I left the set.
“I didn’t even stop to go see Bradley [Cooper], I just got in my car and started driving and I missed her by 10 minutes,” she continued.
“I didn’t even stop to go see Bradley, I just got in my car and started driving and I missed her by 10 minutes.”
Gaga says she lay with her friend’s widower and her stepson for some time before saying to them that she didn’t know what to do. “He said ‘you’ve gotta do what Sonja would want you to do,’” Gaga said. “She gave me a tragic gift that day and I took it with me to set and I sang that song for Jackson and for her on that very same day within an hour.”
Gaga said that Cooper was very kind to her when she returned back to the studio to film the final song.
“Bradley was so beautiful with me that day, he was so loving. He was like, ‘You don’t have to do it too many times, it’s ok.’ And, I was like, ‘All I wanna do is sing, man.’
“Life is hard man, but we’ve gotta stick together. What’s more important than any of this, the fame, the accolades? What’s important is the process of love and kindness,” said Gaga. “I think the star of this film is human courage, bravery.”
This isn’t the first time J.K. Rowling has fielded a tweet about Quidditch, and it almost certainly won’t be the last.
Anyone who does think about challenging the Harry Potter author’s fictional sport, though, may want to think twice. Because she is definitely 100% done it.
On Tuesday evening, someone tagged her in a tweet reading, “the scoring system of quidditch makes zero sense”.
Her response was… pretty blunt.
It makes total sense. There’s glamour in chasing an elusive lucky break, but teamwork and persistence can still win the day. Everyone’s vulnerable to blows of fate and obstructive people, and success means rising above them. Quidditch is the human condition. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/0VYCgo13xh
Those are definitely the parting words of someone who does not want to read another tweet about Quidditch again, ever.
Doesn’t look like she’ll be getting her wish, though.
I still dont like the scoring system. If a team is down by over 150 points they have 0 incentive to go for the snitch, as they would lose if they caught it.
You mean like Krum did in the World Cup when his team was losing? He knew they weren’t going to win so he grabbed the snitch and put the team out of its misery. In other words, there is nothing wrong with losing so long as you do so with dignity. Same goes for winning.
On the plus side, you know you’ve created a memorable fictional sport when people are still discussing its finer points over 20 years after you first wrote about it.
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F861349%2Fbe7f7f1a-8d92-428a-9458-9fb9561c8115.jpg)
By Chloe Bryan/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F856488%2F6a29b192-041a-4589-bb9e-ae09d232abd0.jpg)
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F861312%2F9c297e48-c442-4f97-b953-63b0c3aaba1a.jpg)
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F861268%2F9e32b820-9ee1-4166-b1d0-fc36d94483a0.jpg)
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F861203%2Faa52237e-3868-4d69-8f23-d02e9e818b40.jpg)
Daily Trends Hunter 