Revisiting superhero films of the ’90s in honor of ‘Captain Marvel’

We are currently living in the golden age of superhero movies. Every few months, a new one arrives in theaters and dominates the zeitgeist for a few weeks before hype (or dread) starts to build for the next film.

Captain Marvel, the latest movie in Marvel’s decade-long streak, is the first in the modern era to take us back into the 1990s, a time before caped crusaders took up such a sizable chunk of the movie and television market.

In anticipation of seeing Carol Danvers tear shit up at the end of the 20th century, I went back and revisited a whole bunch of superhero movies from the ‘90s to examine what the world of superheroes looked like before Marvel and DC built up their own interconnected film dynasties.

SEE ALSO: Who’s who in ‘Captain Marvel’

From Darkman to Mystery Men and everything in between, the ‘90s make for an interesting decade of superhero movies, especially when compared to what came after. First of all, across 10 years, there weren’t even 10 notable movies that starred superheroes.

The sun rarely shines on ‘90s superheroes

The biggest and most impactful movies by far were the three Batman movies that followed up on Tim Burton’s 1989 masterpiece, as well as one movie that still stands as one of the best superhero movies ever made: Blade. Surrounding those movies is a mishmash of releases that focused on characters that never were and probably never will be household names: Darkman, The Rocketeer, and Judge Dredd to name a few.

Judge Dredd, starring Sylvester Stallone past his prime Rocky and Rambo days, is arguably one of the worst superhero movies of all time to hit theaters. Stallone is terrible as the trigger-happy cop/executioner Dredd, Rob Schneider is as annoying of a supporting sidekick as you can imagine, and the writing is completely devoid of any nuance or tact.

And yet, planted firmly in the middle of the ‘90s with its theatrical debut in 1995, Judge Dredd contains the inescapable DNA the runs through every superhero movie of the decade.

Sylvester Stallone in 'Judge Dredd' delivers lines as poorly as they are written. — Sylvester Stallone in ‘Judge Dredd’ delivers lines as poorly as they are written.

The deep dark ’90s

There’s an overwhelming sense of seriousness and encroaching darkness that seeps through almost every scene of every superhero movie in the ‘90s. Sure, there can be light moments here and there, but it’s incredibly rare to see an actual joke or moment of levity in any of these movies.

Not only are they thematically dark, they’re visually dark. The sun rarely shines on ‘90s superheroes.

It’s a stark contrast from today’s heroes

Except for, ironically, Darkman. Darkman, directed by Sam Raimi (best known for his three-film Spider-Man run in the 2000s) and starring Liam Neeson, kicked off the ‘90s in interesting fashion, being one of the first superhero movies to not be based on an existing property.

Darkman begins with scientist Peyton Wilder (Neeson) being attacked by a gang of mobsters leaving Wilder horribly injured and nearly dead, but was luckily revived by scientists who inadvertently made him super strong and unable to feel pain, but his face still looked nasty.

Luckily, he was working on a synthetic skin for burn victims and began to create realistic skin masks to reunite with his girlfriend (Frances McDormand, of all people) and impersonate mob members to sabotage their nefarious plans.

While there are plenty of fights in construction sites and warehouses, there’s a fair amount of outdoor, daytime action in Darkman. Nothing’s ever too bright in Darkman though, because Wilder’s horribly disfigured face is either on the surface is lurking just beneath every scene.

On the other side of the ‘90s superhero coin is Blade, a fantastic film about a vampire hunter named Blade (played by Wesley Snipes) who runs around killing vampires with reckless abandon. It stands at the precipice of the old era of superhero movies, going all out in ‘90s-style action that sits perfectly between the machismo of the ‘80s and the sleekness of the 2000s.

Blade contains an amount of blood and violence that hasn’t been given this amount of attention in superhero movies since. The movie opens on a scene where a vampire rave ecstatically dances in a literal shower of blood before Blade ruins the party with his vampire-vaporizing bullets and silver stakes, capping off the evening by impaling a vampire to a wall and lighting him on fire. The camera does not cut away.

'Blade' doesn't hold back. — ‘Blade’ doesn’t hold back.

It’s wonderfully gory and it’s unlike anything that Marvel or DC has put out since the beginning of the superhero renaissance marked by Batman Begins and Iron Man in the mid-to-late-2000s.

There are no light moments in Blade, and there are almost no light moments in any of the other ‘90s superhero movies. It’s a stark contrast from today’s heroes.

Inhuman heroes

In the golden age of superhero movies, especially in the more recent releases, there’s a clear attempt to humanize every hero by giving the audience at least a few scenes to laugh at, making these heroes more relatable to everyday folks like us. With a light joke or a slapstick gag, even god-like figures like Wonder Woman and Thor are brought down to earth.

This modern staple is completely absent in the ‘90s.

They never really stray from being serious

Let’s look at the Batman movies, Batman Returns (‘92), Batman Forever (‘95), and Batman & Robin (‘97). Despite starring three different men as Bruce Wayne/Bats (Michael Keaton reprising his role from 1989’s Batman, followed by Val Kilmer and George Clooney), they all exist within the same storyline.

The Batman tetralogy is essentially a direct response to comic book writer Frank Miller’s approach to the character from the mid-’80s, which helped ignite a serious, dark, and broody era for comics that stretched through the ‘90s and into the 2000s.

While the characters like Danny DeVito’s Penguin, Tommy Lee Jones’ Two Face, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze are undeniably over the top and ridiculous, they never really stray from being serious, villainous caricatures, and Batman responds in kind with an unbreakably dark, heroic stoicism.

Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face and Jim Carey as the Riddler take themselves very seriously.

None of the Batmen are ever the deserving butt of a joke, never in a position where they are comically underprepared, never able to deliver a funny line to make them seem relatable. We’re supposed to take them and everything they do completely seriously.

Nowadays we’re used to laughing along with characters as they poke fun of Captain America’s inability to grasp modern references or laugh at the sight of an octopus playing drums in Aquaman.

While those Batman movies stood as DC’s pillars of the ‘90s, Marvel really only had Blade. Well, at least that most people are aware of.

Major failures

The biggest difference between the ‘90s movie landscape and now is that there were two Marvel movies in the ‘90s featuring major household names that were either so bad or so beleaguered by problems that they’ve been all but swept under the rug.

In 1992 there was Captain America. In 1994 there was The Fantastic Four.

Captain America was so bad that it almost didn’t come out, instead being released as a straight-to-TV movie two years after it was supposed to hit theaters. It is terrible, according to Entertainment Weekly’s review, and you can see it for yourself on YouTube.

Captain America would be disappointed in that '90s movie. — Captain America would be disappointed in that ’90s movie.

The Fantastic Four is equally bad but never actually saw an official release, and you can also watch the whole thing on YouTube if you dare.

This was an era where companies like DC and Marvel were still figuring out exactly how to monetize their properties on the big screen, how to tell superhero stories that weren’t so one-dimensional, and how to write talent contracts so you didn’t end up with with three Batmen in four connected movies.

Marvel cared so little about these movies that they’ve been watched millions of times on YouTube for free without a hitch. You would never see that happen with today’s Captain America, or even today’s Fantastic Four which is still really bad but, you know, you can tell there’s a little effort there.

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US House Democats delay anti-Semitic resolution amid pressure

Washington, DC – US House Democrats have delayed a vote on a second resolution condemning anti-semitism as politicians squabble over its wording, according to US media.

The resolution, which was slated for a Wednesday vote, was initially drafted as an indirect rebuke of Ilhan Omar, one of first Muslim congresswomen in the United States.

But after pressure from some Democrats to include language addressing anti-Muslim attacks on the representative, House leaders are now looking at adding broader language that addresses bigotry in general.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, confirmed on Wednesday the vote was pushedback to work on “language”. He said no date has been set for a vote.

“Let me repeat, every Democrat is against all these `isms,’ all this hate, all this prejudice which unfortunately the President of the United States stokes on a regular basis,” he told reporters.

“Israel hasn’t always existed obviously as a country, but this is not a new trope. Therefore, it was perceived to be, correctly in my opinion, a particular danger to this kind of rhetoric, whoever said it. So that is why this question is being raised and being dealt with and being discussed,” he said, adding that he did not think Omar was anti-Semitic.

Omar, an African, Muslim, American immigrant, has been under fire for weeks over what has been labeled as anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Controversy swirled around Omar first last month when she suggested pro-Israel politicians in the US were being influenced by the lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), who advocate pro-Israel policies.

In the wake of the comments, the House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, and Omar apologised.

But the Somali-American politician is under fire again for making comments during a discussion at a Washington, DC event last week that some politicians and Jewish groups called “anti-Semitic”.

“I want to talk about … political influence in this country that says it’s okay for people to push for allegiance for a foreign country,” Omar said at the event.

“I want to ask why is it okay for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, or fossil fuels industries, or Big Pharma, and not talk about a powerful lobbying that is influencing policy,” she said.

Her comments prompted Jonathan Greenblatt, the nation director of the Anti-Defamation League, to write a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accusing Omar of using a “vile anti-Semitic slur”.

Others, including Representatives Eliot Engel and Nita Lowey have joined Greenblatt in publicly critcising Omar and demanding an apology.

Omar and her supporters, which includes Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, among others, contend her comments were in reference to Israeli lobbyists and not the Jewish community.

Pelosi, along with House Majority leader Steny Hoyer, began drafting the second resolution over the weekend, but by Tuesday night it appeared they decided to postpone any vote while they consider amending the text to include language addressing all forms of hate and bigotry.

Death threats

The controversy comes just days after Omar was the subject of an anti-Muslim attack in the West Virginia legislature, where a poster falsely linking her to the 9/11 terrorist attacks was on display at a Republican-sponsored gathering.

The poster with a picture of the twin towers burning and Omar’s face in front of it, said: “I am the proof you have forgotten”. The poster was later removed, and the state’s Republican Party chairwoman said it was not affiliated with the party.

Omar has also been subjected to death threats on a daily basis, she confirmed last week. Recently, the words “Assassinate Ilhan Omar” were written across a toilet in Minnesota petrol station. The incident is under investigation by the FBI.

Rights groups and activists worry that the continued condemnation from Congress and the president are fueling Islamophobic attacks on Omar and other Muslims.

Phyllis Bennis, a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies who serves on the board of Jewish Voices for Peace, was among those who attended last week’s disputed event in Washington, DC.

She said while anti-Semitism was on the rise in the US, Omar “said nothing that was anti-Semitic”.

Bennies believes attacks on Omar have been driven “more about who she is than what she said”.

“She is being attacked for what people think what she might have meant,” she told Al Jazeera. People are “looking for ways to take her down.”

Although Omar is not the first Muslim in Congress, she is the most visibility Muslim person in the House to date due to her hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women. Khaled Beydoun, a law professor, civil rights activist and author of a book on Islamophobia, said this contributed to her “vilified” image and “anti-Semitic” label.

“Anything critical of the state of Israel has been translated as anti-Semitic,” he told Al Jazeera.

Omar was not available for comment, but during last week’s event she shared Beydoun’s argument.

“What I am fearful of, because Rashida [Tlaib] and I are Muslim, that a lot of our Jewish colleagues, a lot of our constituencies, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel to be anti-Semitic because we are Muslim,” she said. “And so to me it is something that becomes designed to end the debate,” she said.

‘Hypocrisy’

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, called the House Democrats’ behaviour “shameful”, and proof that they did not listen to what Omar said during the event, a video of which is available online.

“They don’t care what Ilhan actually said,” he told Al Jazeera. “It’s a manufactured crisis from the beginning,” he added. “This is not even a crisis – they are making one.”

The House’s lack of response to Omar’s recent GOP poster attack was “hypocritical”, Zogby said, and “worrisome”, as it could incite and normalise hatred towards Omar.

Although some politicians have condemned the acts, including Ocasio-Cortez, others remain silent.

“They are inciting against Ilhan Omar, giving an open invitation to people who, as we seen, issue death threats,” he said.

A coalition of Muslim and Jewish groups on Wednesday held a press conference on Capitol Hill to call on Democratic Party leaders to equally condemn anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, and physical threats against any member of Congress. They coalition also declared their “unequivocal” support for Omar.

With additional reporting by William Roberts

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How Luke Perry Won The Battle Against Riverdale’s Darkness

Fred Andrews was a white knight in the town of Riverdale, where serpent-themed biker gangs, drug-peddling nuns, and mafioso-adjacent kingpins run rampant. Over the course of three seasons, Luke Perry imbued the parental character with the kind of warmth that brought color to the town’s dreary atmosphere, its air weighed down by constantly broiling secrets. While I missed his star-making role in Beverly Hills, 90210, I became a fan of Perry — who died earlier this week at the age of 52 — through Riverdale. Although a supporting performance, the gravity of his role and portrayal made his character an avatar for justice in pop culture.

Through Fred Andrews, I learned the power of a subtle smile.

Riverdale is a show about power, and, often times, it comes from its characters’ ability to hide their shady dealings. The black of these teenagers’ pupils offer portals to their darkest secrets. The show’s main four — Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, and Veronica Lodge — are good kids at heart who get into some (very) bad things. While they flit and flat, exploring the confounds of love, lust, and murder, their parents are revealed to be heightened versions of them, as are all parents to their kids. Archie Andrews always tries to do the right thing, like his dad, even if he goes about it the wrong way. There’s something of a moral compass in him, but it’s not fully formed.

The CW

In the first episode, we’re introduced to Fred Andrews, a construction business owner who puts his entire body in the dirt, not just his hands. He gets a surprise visit from Veronica’s mother, the sharply dressed Hermione Lodge who is later revealed to be someone that he shares a past with. Fred’s greeting to her is warm, inviting, and stern. She’s looking for a seasonal position and tries her best to power her way into the job. Initially, Fred is distant, but even in his apprehension, there’s altruism — a man who, sometimes against his better judgement, wants to give people the benefit of the doubt.

It might sound platitudinous, that his heart of gold made the absence of his character felt whenever he wasn’t in the frame. Perry’s honest portrayal of Fred Andrews helped the character become more than a knowing father to Archie Andrews and a voice of reason to the main cast, but also a patriarch for viewers at home who are just trying to live their lives just a little bit better. His piercing gaze looked for the truth in Archie’s lies, and in doing so, he saw into our souls too. His campaign for mayor in Season 3 was built on honesty instead of insults, transparency with motives instead of lies. On paper, Fred sounds like a saint, literally too good to be true. But Perry’s performance grounded the guardian’s loftiness with the late actor’s grizzled past. There’s a bad boy edge just behind the smile.

One of the show’s most jarring choices comes at the end of the first season when Fred gets shot in the chest, sending Archie, and the rest of Riverdale, into a dark pit of violence and gloom. It’s almost symbolic; Fred Andrews, Riverdale’s bearded saint, swallowed in darkness from a man wearing a black hood, an omen and harbinger of death. Without his presence, Archie begins to make reckless decisions that involve carrying a gun for retribution, creating a cringe-y hunting squad, and recklessly putting himself and those around him in danger. When Fred finally returns, so does the show’s moral center.

With Fred around, Riverdale felt a little more grounded, a tad more balanced. Perry’s portrayal of a father struggling to be a role model for his son in a town full of sin pulled us into his comforting orbit. The other three fathers of Riverdale — Betty’s dad Hal Cooper, who turned out the be the murderous Black Hood, retired Southside Serpent gang leader F.P Jones, and Devil-incarnate Hiram Lodge — all have varying degrees of darkness lurking beneath their brows. But not once throughout Riverdale’s three seasons do you question the truth of Fred’s character. When he consoles his son, it’s from a place of understanding, solidified by Perry’s firm but warm embrace.

Fred Andrews became my favorite character because of his constant wisdom, both knowing and unknowing. Even when he wasn’t giving advice to his son and the other denizens of Riverdale, Fred was something of a holy presence.

The CW

It feels weird knowing that the show’s all-knowing father figure won’t be in his house when the show needs him to be — drinking coffee in the kitchen and waiting for Archie to walk in, ready to ask his son about his day and offer him a tired smile. With Fred gone, Riverdale is a little dimmer now.

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Feel like your phone’s spying on you? You’re not alone

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Mashable’s short documentaries feature compelling individuals, innovations, and movements from around the world.

Alex Humphreys

about 1 hour ago

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, there’s no question that our personal data is being collected. Exactly how tech companies gather information about our personal lives remains unclear. Can our devices be controlled? Are microphones and cameras being turned on? Though a definitive answer is hard to explain; Tega Brain and Sam Lavigne teamed up to create the The New Organs— an online project showing what it’s like to live under digital surveillance.

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‘Plan With Me’ videos will inspire you to get your life together

This post is part of Hard Refresh, a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.

If you’ve never watched someone doodle an umbrella, you’re in for a treat.

We all have those planners we bought and never used. Perhaps we got through a couple of weeks of jotting down dates before we abandoned it on a shelf somewhere. But those weeks, those planned weeks, were just so nice. We remembered the things we were supposed to do because we wrote them down, perhaps even with nice pens we bought for that very purpose.

But the weeks piled up faster than we could keep up with our planners and they began to collect dust instead of dates. In a perfect world, our planners would remain by our sides, ready to be written in at all times.

It turns out that that perfect world exists in the planning community on YouTube. Date-centric people from all over the world come together to show us how they keep their lives on track, usually via the bullet journal method.

Bullet journaling was created by Ryder Carroll to help people organize their schedules, to-do lists, and random thoughts all in one place. The method utilizes a system of bullets, hence the name, to keep everything in check.

This type of planning goes beyond writing “lunch with Mark” on a specific day of the week. It’s more in depth and requires daily attention.

These YouTube creators are so dedicated to planning that they plan their planners. Most come up with themes for each month, which they illustrate with the detail that an architect might put into drawing up floor plans. However, instead of plotting the design of a home they’re building month-long logs, complete with mood trackers, content goals, and ink-drawn doodles.

The monthly spreads are littered with inspirational quotes and bright colors. “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you,” is one example of the kind of quotes that are regularly used. They may feel “Live, Laugh, Love,” in theory, but when written on the pages of a well-executed Bullet Journal they feel more meaningful for some reason.

If journaling was a super power, these planners would be saving the world with their straight lines and inky doodles, drawn with the help of rulers, tape, and sometimes even lasers. No, seriously. Lasers. Watch this video to see a laser used to write on a straight line without the actual line:

Others achieve intricate designs by taking their sweet time with an old fashioned ruler. This video is sped up and set to music, but I’m sure the process took a while— which is lucky for us because it’s just so satisfying to watch:

If you’ve somehow watched all of the plan with me videos, don’t worry. There will be more next month. These planners aren’t getting forgotten in a drawer anytime soon.

Now, if you’ll, excuse me, I’ve got to go buy some pens.

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UN human rights chief calls for release of Saudi activists

The United Nations human rights chief has called on Saudi Arabia to release women activists allegedly tortured in detention after Saudi authorities accused them of harming the country’s interests.

In a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday, Michelle Bachelet addressed claims by activists that 10 Saudi women are being held for their activism.

“Today, allow me to voice my concern at the apparently arbitrary arrest and detention and alleged ill-treatment and torture of several women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia,” Bachelet – who herself was a victim of torture under the regime of Augusto Pinochet in Chile – told the UN Human Rights Council at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

“The persecution of peaceful activists would clearly contradict the spirit of the country’s proclaimed new reforms. So we urge that these women be released,” she said.

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is preparing the trials of the women, identified by watchdog groups as women’s rights activists, after completing its investigations, state news agency SPA said last Friday.

The Saudi office denied the claims of torture, calling the reports “false”.

On Thursday, European countries will urge Saudi Arabia to release activists and cooperate with a UN-led probe into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in an unprecedented rebuke of the kingdom at the Human Rights Council.

‘Very serious issues’

During Wednesday’s speech, which followed the publication of her annual report, Bachelet said she regretted Israel‘s “immediate dismissal” of a recent UN report on its security forces killing protesters in Gaza “without addressing any of the very serious issues raised”.

A recent UN report suggested Israeli soldiers committed crimes against humanity in response to 2018 protests in Gaza [File: Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo]

Taking aim at the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza, now in it’s 12th year, Bachelet pointed out the high levels of unemployment and reliance on humanitarian assistance among Gaza’s residents and called for “restraint” on all sides ahead of the March 30 anniversary of weekly protestsby Palestinians to demand the right of return to their ancestral lands.

She also addressed concerns raised by illegal settlements in the West Bank, which she said “affect all aspects of Palestinians’ daily lives, including significant negative impact on freedom of movement and access to work, education and healthcare”.

“Imposing economic hardship on Palestinians does not make Israelis safer,” she said.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Bachelet condemned Turkey‘s prolonged crackdown on dissent following an failed coup attempt in 2016 and the fallout from ongoing conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

Hope and alarm in Latin America

Turning to Latin America, the former Chilean President addressed the “alarming” multiple crises engulfing Venezuela.

“The situation in Venezuela clearly illustrates the way violations of civil and political rights – including failure to uphold fundamental freedoms, and the independence of key institutions – can accentuate a decline of economic and social rights,” Bachelet said.

“This situation has been exacerbated by sanctions and the resulting current political, economic, social and institutional crisis is alarming.”

More than 300 people have been killed in Nicaragua since protests began in April, according to the UN [File: Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters]

A ray of hope was visible in Bachelet’s comments on Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega has agreed to resume talks with opposition groups after months of violent state repression.

“The government must ensure that the dialogue is respectful, safe and inclusive of all political actors and civil society groups,” she said.

“It is my hope that it will lead to concrete steps to better uphold all human rights, including freedom of expression, victims’ rights to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition and economic and social rights.”

The problem of inequality

France was rocked by waves of protest against planned diesel tax rises [File: Thibault Camus/AP Photo]

Throughout her remarks, Bachelet frequently returned to the theme of inequality and its negative impacts.

“In recent months, we have seen people across the world take to the streets to protest inequalities and deteriorating economic and social conditions.

“Their demands call for respectful dialogue and genuine reform. And yet, in several cases, they are being met with violent and excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, torture and even alleged summary or extrajudicial killings,” Bachelet said, making reference to recent widespread protest movements in Sudan, Haiti and France.

Addressing religious inequality, Bachelet identified China and India as areas of concern for repression of Muslim minorities.

India has seen an increase in attacks on Muslims under its Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while China is facing increasing criticism for its treatment of its Uighur Muslim ethnic-minority group.

“My Office seeks to engage on this issue with the [Chinese] government for full access to carry out an independent assessment of the continuing reports pointing to wide patterns of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Bachelet said.

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POLITICO Playbook PM: Aaron Schock cuts deal with DOJ

BREAKING — WAPO’S MATT ZAPOTOSKY: “Ex-congressman Aaron Schock strikes deal to avert prosecution”: “Federal prosecutors on Wednesday finalized a deal to resolve the criminal charges against a former Illinois congressman accused of misspending campaign and government money for his personal benefit — allowing the ex-lawmaker to avoid prosecution personally while his campaign committee pleads guilty to a record-keeping violation.

“Aaron Schock, 37 … conceded as part of the deferred prosecution agreement that he had done some wrong, and he agreed to pay back taxes and reimburse his campaign committees nearly $68,000. But the case that once threatened to put Schock in prison will now likely end without him being convicted at all.” WaPo

— RELIVE what POLITICO found Schock did in Congress. The POLITICO story

UPDATE — HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER STENY HOYER said “it hasn’t been decided if there will be a vote this week on the Rep Omar / anti-Semitism resolution — it’s still being worked on,” per NBC producer extraordinaire Alex Moe.

— BEHIND THE SCENES … HEATHER CAYGLE and SARAH FERRIS: “Tensions flare as Democrats struggle to respond to Omar controversy”: “Tensions ran high at a caucus meeting Wednesday as some Democrats privately vented that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team had failed to adequately respond to the escalating political crisis, with too little outreach to their own rank-and-file.

“Freshman Rep. Jahana Hayes stood up and confronted Pelosi directly, arguing that she shouldn’t have to learn about the Democratic Caucus’ official response from MSNBC. The Connecticut Democrat said she now has to vote on a resolution that she’s barely read, without a private briefing from leadership, according to five sources. Pelosi countered that the Democratic measure to condemn anti-Semitism is not final, though text had been circulating and a vote had been tentatively planned for Wednesday. That vote was postponed amid a last-minute backlash from progressives in the caucus.” POLITICO

Good Wednesday afternoon. SPOTTED: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump having dinner with Tim Cook on Tuesday night at Cafe Milano.

IMMIGRATION FILES — TED HESSON: “Nielsen argues border in crisis: ‘This chain of human misery is getting worse’”: “In opening remarks to the House Homeland Security Committee, Nielsen called the current state of border security a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ and described the border as a conduit for criminals, drugs, and human trafficking. …

“Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) slammed Nielsen in opening remarks for a failure to provide the committee with documents related to family separation and the treatment of children in custody.” POLITICO

— NBC’S GARRETT HAAKE (@GarrettHaake): “Just in: Senators @ChuckGrassley & @SenFeinstein send letter calling on HHS to open investigation into reports of sexual abuse of minors in their custody at the border.” The letter

HALLEY TOOSI: “Rubio says Saudi crown prince has gone ‘full gangster’”: “Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince of going ‘full gangster’ and urged the Trump administration’s nominee for ambassador to Riyadh to hold the country accountable for human rights abuses.

“The comments by Rubio (R-Fla.) drew agreement from others on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and underscored the ongoing bipartisan frustration among U.S. lawmakers with the oil-rich Arab kingdom. … The ambassadorial nominee, retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, stressed that the U.S. relationship with the Saudis was bigger than the crown prince, and that the best way to change conditions in the Arab kingdom was through engagement.” POLITICO

THE LATEST ON VENEZUELA — NEW STATEMENT FROM JOHN BOLTON: “The United States is putting foreign financial institutions on notice that they will face sanctions for being involved in facilitating illegitimate transactions that benefit Nicolas Maduro and his corrupt network.”

BLOOMBERG’S MIKE DORNING (@MikeDorning): “BREAKING: Trump Cancels Annual Report Disclosing Civilian Deaths in U.S. Drone Strikes, @margarettalev reports.”

NEW ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN comms team: Zach Parkinson will be deputy comms director in charge of research. Parkinson worked in White House comms. … Erin Perrine will be deputy comms director. She was press secretary for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). … Matt Wolking will be deputy comms director for rapid response. He worked for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The campaign says he will be focused on “refuting attacks and exposing the fake news media.”

HEADLINE THE PRESIDENT WON’T LIKE — DOUG PALMER: “U.S. trade gap with China reaches all-time high under Trump”: “The U.S. trade deficit in goods with China set a new record during President Donald Trump’s second year in office, despite his efforts to rein in what the administration views as Beijing’s trade transgressions. The trade gap rose to $419.2 billion billion in 2018, from the previous record of $375.5 billion in 2017, a Commerce Department report released Wednesday showed.

“Overall imports grew 7.5 percent, to $3.1 trillion, while overall exports grew 6.3 percent, to $2.5 trillion, a Commerce Department highlights sheet showed. The resulting overall trade deficit of $621.0 billion was the highest since 2008. Both the goods trade deficit and the services trade surplus individually set records. … The U.S. trade deficit tends to rise when the economy grows.” POLITICO

TRADE WARS — “U.S. and E.U. Are Headed for a Food Fight Over Trade,” by NYT’s Ana Swanson and Jack Ewing: “American and European negotiators are at odds over what to include in a prospective trade deal, ratcheting up trans-Atlantic tensions and jeopardizing talks before they even begin. Trump administration officials insist that any deal must address the agricultural trade barriers that the president says put American farmers at a disadvantage, in part because such an agreement would be more likely to win congressional approval. European officials counter that agriculture was never on the table — not last July, and not now. …

“[W]hile Mr. Trump sees the car tariffs as leverage, the Europeans see them as a bomb that could shatter negotiations. … [Cecilia] Malmstrom is scheduled to meet with Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, on Wednesday, while [Larry] Kudlow and Martin Selmayr, the European Commission’s secretary general, will convene on Thursday.” NYT

WSJ’S KRISTINA PETERSON: “Senators Propose Repeal of 1991 and 2002 Mideast War Authorizations”: “A bipartisan pair of senators will introduce legislation Wednesday repealing decades-old resolutions that authorized the use of military force for the Gulf and Iraq wars, the latest bid by lawmakers to reassert Congress’s role in shaping foreign policy.

“Sens. Tim Kaine (D., Va.) and Todd Young (R., Ind.) … are hopeful that this effort could gain traction at a time when President Trump is touting his own plans to wind down long-running conflicts and withdraw U.S. forces in Syria.” WSJ

JOSH GERSTEIN in New York: “Fresh court battle could expose more details in Acosta’s controversial Epstein plea deal”

ANITA KUMAR: “White House launches fire-breathing campaign to attack House Dem probes”: “The White House launched a fire-breathing public relations response to House Democrats while the Trump administration has refused or delayed turning over documents in 30 investigations by a dozen different committees, according to House Democrats. …

“Six administration officials refused to appear before five committees while two officials have refused to come in for interviews with two other committees … Some Democrats are repaying the Trump administration’s early unresponsiveness by upping the ante.” POLITICO

BLOOMBERG’S CALEB MELBY: “Trump Fussed Over Tablecloths and Rockettes for the Inauguration: Despite White House denials that he played a role, the president was actively involved in planning an event that’s now under scrutiny from federal prosecutors.” Bloomberg

ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA — NYT’S CHOE SANG-HUN in Seoul: “Will Kim Jong-un Return to Brinkmanship? Weak Economy Is Forcing His Hand”: “[E]xperts on North Korea say Mr. Kim may be boxed in: He returned home without sanctions relief amid strong signs that the North Korean economy is continuing to contract. The deepening economic trouble may force the country to return to the negotiating table.” NYT

— “A snub and a last minute Hail Mary. Trump’s tough lesson in North Korean diplomacy,” by CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Kylie Atwood, Jeremy Diamond and Kevin Liptak: “As Air Force One made its way toward Hanoi, Vietnam, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was already on the ground, expecting to meet once more before the summit with North Korea’s lead envoy on the nuclear negotiations, Kim Yong Chol. …

“Kim Yong Chol, North Korea’s vice chairman, wouldn’t meet with Pompeo, three U.S. officials and a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The U.S. secretary of state waited several hours hoping Kim would agree to meet, but ultimately turned in for the night, frustrated. It was not the first time North Korean officials had stood up their U.S. counterparts, but the high-level snub just a day before Trump and Kim were scheduled to sit down was a worrying and ultimately portentous signal that the second summit would not be the triumph Trump had hoped for.” CNN

THE STEP BACK — WAPO’S ANNE GEARAN and BOB COSTA: “‘I think you mean that, too’: Trump’s aides struggle to defend, explain his foreign policy statements”: “Trump’s foreign policy is part nationalist, part conservative, part isolationist, part militaristic pageantry. … For the president’s supporters, that foreign policy is notable as much for what it opposes as it is for its own stances. … But arguing in favor of that singular style has proved easier from outside the administration than within. … When trying to finesse Trump’s statements and negotiating stances, [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo has sometimes adopted a strategy of denial and redirection.” WaPo

— L.A. TIMES’ ELI STOKOLS: “Trump works to maintain illusions of progress, as his main promises go unfulfilled”

2020 WATCH — STEPHANIE MURRAY: “Trump’s primary challenger stumbles out of gate”: “Bill Weld announced his presidential exploratory bid last month with a flourish, capturing headlines by calling Donald Trump ‘a schoolyard bully’ and dismissing Washington Republicans for exhibiting ‘all the symptoms of Stockholm syndrome.’

“Then he went dark. Aside from a few television hits and public appearances, the former Massachusetts governor has done little to suggest his primary election challenge to Trump is something the president needs to worry about.” POLITICO

— ALEX THOMPSON: “Biden nabs big-name Latino operative in latest sign he’s running”

HMM — “Companies Falsely Labeled Products ‘Made in U.S.A.’ Their Financial Penalty? $0,” by NYT’s Annie Karni: “Last fall, the F.T.C. determined that … four companies had violated federal law by engaging in ‘unfair or deceptive acts’ and falsely marketing their goods as American-made. But while President Trump has accused China of destroying American jobs and prioritized strengthening United States manufacturing, his appointees at the F.T.C. did little to punish the firms. The companies faced no fines and were not required to admit any wrongdoing or to notify customers of their false marketing. …

“The trade commission’s treatment of the companies has angered Democratic lawmakers, who are urging the Trump administration to pursue tougher punishments for companies that profit by producing products in China and falsely labeling them as American-made.” NYT

K STREET FILES — “Top-level turnover sparks questions about Chamber,” by The Hill’s Alex Gangitano

SPOTTED: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Karl Rove on the same Southwest flight from Austin to DCA. … Martha Raddatz dining at Westend Bistro in the Ritz-Carlton on Tuesday. … Joe Biden at Le Diplomate on Tuesday for a going-away party for Lynn Rosenthal, who is leaving the Biden Foundation to head the Center For Family Safety and Healing at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a lunch for Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) honoring the late John Dingell at the Kuwaiti Embassy on Tuesday: Rima Al-Sabah, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Kellyanne Conway, Hilary Geary Ross, Abigail Blunt, Lisa McGovern, Alma Powell, Lea Berman, Nancy Bagley, Jennifer LaTourette, Victoria Barnes, Marlene Malek, Liz Dubin, Lynda Carter, Lois Romano, Andrea Mitchell, April Delaney, Amy Baier, Majida Mourad, Roxanne Roberts, Jan Smith and Mary Jordan.

— SPOTTED at a reception Tuesday night hosted by U.N. Women, the United Nations Foundation, and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security to honor leading congressional women in foreign policy: award recipients Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) and Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.); Libyan Ambassador Wafa Bugaighis, Afghan Ambassador Roya Rahmani, Albanian Ambassador Floreta Faber, Melanne Verveer, Amanda Bennett, Heidi Przybyla, Lara Jakes and Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.). Pic

— SPOTTED at a reception for the Duke Ellington School at the French ambassador’s residence Tuesday: Justice Samuel Alito and Martha-Ann Alito, Ambassador Gérard Araud, Abbe Lowell and Molly Megan, Kathleen Biden, Evelyn Farkas, Steve Rabinowitz and Lori Moskowitz, Ian Cameron, Francesca Craig, Josh and Ali Rogin, Norm Eisen and Lindsay Kaplan, Ben Haddad and Amy Kauffman and Ken Weinstein.

HILL MOVES — HEATHER CAYGLE: “Jeffries announces senior leadership team”

Anna Palmer @apalmerdc
Jake Sherman @JakeSherman
Daniel Lippman @dlippman
Eli Okun @eliokun
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Apple will allow repairs for iPhones with third-party batteries

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By Rachel Kraus2019-03-06 17:12:13 UTC

Apple is no longer serving pettiness at the Genius Bar.

Apple will allow Apple stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) to repair iPhones that have non-Apple replacement batteries, according to documents obtained by MacRumors.

Previously, Apple policy has been to deny repairs if an iPhone has an off-brand replacement battery — even if the repair issue had nothing to do with the battery. In June 2018, it got in trouble for this policy in Australia, where Australian officials fined the company 9 million Australian dollars ($6.7 million) for not offering repairs to customers being affected by a glitch caused by a third party repair issue.

Now, three “reliable sources,” according to MacRumors, confirm that there has been an internal policy change. Apple will repair phones that have received non-Apple replacement batteries, even when the off-brand battery is the root of the issue; they’ll replace your janky battery with a nice Apple one, for a fee. How kind.

Apple made a similar policy change regarding screen replacements in 2017. Then, it decided that third party screen repairs would no longer totally void the warranty. However, according to MacRumors, it still won’t touch phones with replacement “logic boards, enclosures, microphones, Lightning connectors, headphone jacks, volume and sleep/wake buttons, TrueDepth sensor arrays.”

What’s behind the reported change of heart? Apple and other electronics manufacturers have faced increasing criticism over how tightly they hold the reins when it comes to repairing their devices. Some feel that consumers should have the “right to repair” the devices they bought and paid for, however they wish — and that companies like Apple should enable that. Right-to-Repair legislation, which would codify this stance in law, is currently wending its way through multiple state legislatures; California became the 18th state to introduce a bill like this in March 2018.

Apple has been lobbying against these efforts. So perhaps the new repair policy is a way to show that they’re willing to have a more lenient and open stance about device repair, as long as their customers always come back to the mothership.

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This is what it takes for a Tesla Model S to become a police car

The used car bought through Tesla looks a lot like the other patrol vehicles parked in back of Fremont police headquarters. But unlike the Fords and Chevys, this particular car requires a lot of special attention.

Transforming the 2014 Tesla Model S 85-kwH sedan into a standard police vehicle took more than slapping a Fremont police insignia on the door. At police headquarters ahead of the car’s March 15 debut patrol ride, Fremont police Capt. Sean Washington explained why the car required $4,000 in modifications. Unlike the force’s Ford police cars, a Tesla doesn’t come with a “police package,” essentially a barebones version of a car that can be easily modified with police lights and center equipment.

This particular Tesla has garnered significant attention. Fremont police are the first law enforcement agency in the U.S. to deploy an all-electric vehicle (EV) for patrol duty. The Los Angeles Police Department looked into an EV program, but haven’t moved forward as quickly as Fremont has. Police in Basel, Switzerland have a police car Model X, and Washington said he’s been in touch to compare notes and hear advice.

The Tesla tablet still works, but the police Panasonic computer is also installed.

Washington plans to share with Tesla what police need and don’t need to help create a police-ready Tesla in the future. Other police departments throughout the U.S. and beyond are eager to hear how Fremont transformed the vehicle. An agency from Georgia recently called to hear exactly how they could emulate the EV program for patrol duty.

A custom partition was put into the car.

Everything from a hard smooth plastic prisoner seat (people vomit and urinate in the back, a lieutenant told me as we toured the car) and prisoner partition and push-bumper had to be customized for a Tesla Model S. It’s a long list of modifications that went into the Fremont PD EV: an overhead light bar, rear flashers, in-vehicle camera, trunk lighting, push-bumper, partitions between the front seat and back and between the backseat and trunk area, the center console pulled out and replaced with police equipment, the front doors replaced with armored door panels, and so many other details, like disabled windows and door handles for the back seat.

Tesla engineers were consulted to make sure drilling into certain sections wouldn’t destroy the vehicle. The Tesla tablet remains in the dashboard, but the police computer sits in front of it. The features that Tesla is known for were disabled, like the Autopilot semi-autonomous system and self-parking.

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Washington explained that the department didn’t set out to buy a Tesla in particular, but any EV as part of a program to reduce emissions from city vehicles. After evaluating different brands for battery range, size (“police have a lot of equipment”), and performance, Tesla came out on top. It just happens that Tesla vehicles are manufactured in Fremont, California.

The bill shows it cost $61,478.50 to buy it used through Tesla last year. Washington knows some residents are going to think the police are being frivolous and overspending on a splashy car, but after careful calculations the department can justify it. Compared with the typical gas Ford police vehicle over a five-year period and putting on about 90,000 miles (Fremont patrol cars don’t put on much mileage with short trips) it comes out to $5,130 for five years worth of energy compared to $32,297 in gas. The initial costs are where it gets people: $74,500 for the Tesla compared to $40,500 for a Ford.

But CO2 emissions over five years really add up: 22,421 pounds in the Tesla compared to 210,994 pounds from the Ford. The department already has charging infrastructure set up for plug-in hybrid Ford vehicles bought over the past few years.

A dedicated Tesla driver has been getting used to small things, like the lack of a gear shifter and the location of the spotlight. They’ve been warned that for the first few months the car will attract a lot of attention and requests for pictures, especially with the label as the first police patrol EV. “It comes with being the first,” Washington said, bracing for the attention. The car, along with the department’s other hybrids, will be on display for a media viewing Wednesday morning.

It's a police car from all angles. — It’s a police car from all angles.

After the testing period, Washington hopes the city can keep adding Teslas or other EVs to the patrol fleet. If all goes well, another 10 could be purchased and retrofitted, then eventually another 20. Washington is confident electric vehicle technology will improve in the coming years, making it more realistic to have a mostly electric fleet.

Until then, the one Tesla will suffice.

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Tensions flare as Democrats struggle to respond to Omar controversy

Democratic leaders have rushed to rewrite a resolution condemning anti-Semitism that was initially aimed at Rep. Ilhan Omar’s remarks last week. | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Congress

Some lawmakers privately vented that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team had failed to adequately respond to the escalating political crisis.

House Democratic leaders are struggling to contain the controversy over Rep. Ilhan Omar‘s comments about Israel, with the caucus fighting behind closed doors over whether — and how — to respond.

Tensions ran high at a caucus meeting Wednesday as some Democrats privately vented that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team had failed to adequately respond to the escalating political crisis, with too little outreach to their own rank and file.

Story Continued Below

Freshman Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut stood up and confronted Pelosi directly, arguing that she shouldn’t have to learn about the official Democratic Caucus response from MSNBC. Hayes said she now has to vote on a resolution that she’s barely read, without a private briefing from leadership, according to five sources.

Pelosi countered that the Democratic measure to condemn anti-Semitism is not final, though text had been circulating and a vote had been tentatively planned for Wednesday. That vote was postponed amid a last-minute backlash from progressives in the caucus.

Pelosi also said Democratic leaders were forced to respond quickly over the weekend — a task made trickier with Omar on a congressional delegation trip to East Africa over the weekend.

As Hayes was then talking to another member, Pelosi said, “Well if you’re not going to listen to me, I’m done talking,” then set down the microphone and walked out of the room, the sources said.

A senior Democratic aide disputed that it was a tense exchange, saying Pelosi was merely trying to explain why things unfolded the way they did over the past few days.

Hayes later said in an interview that she didn’t hear Pelosi responding to her and had already started to walk out of the room.

“I’m not interested in legislating through the media and social media,” Hayes said, noting when she received a copy of the draft resolution it wasn’t even clear which lawmakers were the lead authors. “I know that leadership has the ability to tighten up the process and do something about it.”

That moment of frustration reflects widespread anxiety in the caucus over how to handle the latest bout of remarks from Omar — one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress — after she suggested that pro-Israel advocates had “allegiance” to Israel. The remarks offended multiple top Democrats, who said it alluded to painful, decades-old stereotypes that Jews had “dual loyalties.”

Multiple Jewish lawmakers, including Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) stood up in the caucus meeting to explain why Omar’s latest remarks were so offensive and potentially dangerous. But other Democrats — including a Jewish lawmaker — stood up to defend Omar and say they didn’t see the remarks as deeply offensive.

Omar did not speak in the meeting, multiple sources said, although she was spotted chatting with some Democrats one-on-one and received hugs from others.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who is Jewish, said Omar has personally apologized to her, which she said ended with a friendly embrace.

“I do not believe that Ilhan Omar is anti-Semitic,” Schakowsky said. “I absolutely believe that she has become, as a result, a target. I think the Republicans love that, and frankly, I think the media loves to exploit the divisions.”

“I think we ought to stay off of social media to have these conversations,” Schakowsky added, referring to multiple spats that have broken out among members, including an exchange between Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Juan Vargas of California over the weekend.

Democratic leaders have rushed to rewrite a resolution condemning anti-Semitism that was initially aimed at Omar’s remarks last week. That measure, which is expected to reach a floor vote Thursday, is now being written to include broader language to condemn other forms of hate speech.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus had spoken out loudly against a measure aimed at Omar’s comments at a time when Omar herself has been the target of anti-Muslim attacks.

“It’s not just the Congressional Black Caucus. Many members of the Democratic Caucus are concerned,” CBC Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) said of the previous draft of the resolution. “We want to make clear that we stand against the general rise of hatred.”

“I also think, frankly, that it puts her at risk.” Bass said.

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