The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly “expected to consider trade requests” for superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown before the start of the NFL free-agent period March 13.
On Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the Steelers haven’t “closed the door on the thought of Brown playing for someone else” after he missed the team’s Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals following a rumored dispute with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Pittsburgh is thought to seek a “high pick” as part of any potential trade package, per Rapoport:
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
From @gmfb Weekend: The #Steelers are expected to consider trade offers for WR Antonio Brown, and they will ask for a lot. As they should. https://t.co/C77EB3bJbl
The 30-year-old Miami native is coming off another terrific season with 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and a league-leading 15 touchdowns.
It was a campaign that also featured off-field issues, though.
In September, Brown responded to a Twitter post by a former Steelers staffer questioning his value to the offense compared to Roethlisberger bystating, “Trade me let’s find out.”
He was the subject oftwo lawsuitsin October related to an alleged Aprilincidentin which furniture was thrown from his 14th-floor apartment at a complex in Miami.
“It has now been made public that two lawsuits containing false claims have been filed against me,” Brown told reporters. “The facts will soon come out that prove my innocence. My focus will remain on football and I will not let the cases serve as a distraction.”
His contract could pose a hurdle in trade discussions.
He’s scheduled to count $22.2 million against the salary cap in 2019, and a deal before free agency would only secure $1.0 million for Pittsburgh in cap savings, perSpotrac. His dead cap figure would drop from $21.1 million to $12 million if the trade happens after June 1.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin refused to rule out a Brown trade during his season-ending press conference Wednesday, replying “certainly” when asked whether Brown’s “antics could outweigh his production.”
“I’m not speculating on what life is going to be like going forward,” hetold reporters. “What I am going to do is address the circumstances and then move on from there.”
Tomlin said Brown has not requested a trade out of Pittsburgh, however.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI won’t be changing her flying habits now that she has regained the speaker’s gavel. The California Democrat “intends to travel commercially,” according to her deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill. The speaker can make use of an Air Force jet to travel around the country given she is second in line to the presidency.
PELOSI used military planes to fly back and forth to San Francisco during her early years as speaker the first time around, drawing criticism from some quarters. Pelosi and her predecessor Denny Hastert used the military planes for security reasons at the direction of the House sergeant-at-arms.
JOHN BOEHNER and PAUL RYAN both opted against using government-funded private jets during their speakerships, though both used chartered planes for some political travel. Pelosi has always traveled commercially for political travel.
SHUTDOWN … DAY 15 … WHERE THINGS STAND: THE WHITE HOUSE is hosting a meeting of leadership aides this morning to try to find a way out of this shutdown, which is now starting its third week. There seems to be cautious optimism from some — the White House, House Republican leaders — that a deal could come soon. We are a tad more skeptical.
THE STALEMATE LOOKS LIKE THIS: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is still demanding $5.6 billion for a wall, and says he’s comfortable dragging this out for a while. NANCY PELOSI and Democrats want the president to reopen government while continuing to negotiate on the Homeland Security bill. Republicans say they won’t reopen government in bits and pieces.
THE BIG QUESTION … Is there any formula where Democrats can say they didn’t build a wall, Republicans say the same initially, with a wink and a nod that indeed they are? Trump couldn’t come out and say there’s a wall in this construct. But can there be some sort of sleight of hand of some sort?
KEEP IN MIND: Even if a deal is reached today or tomorrow, we’re likely looking at a mid- to late-week vote next week. But there’s no obvious sign there will be a breakthrough.
WHAT’S ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S MIND — @realDonaldTrump at 8:55 a.m.: “Many people currently a part of my opposition, including President Obama & the Dems, have had campaign violations, in some cases for very large sums of money. These are civil cases. They paid a fine & settled. While no big deal, I did not commit a campaign violation!”
… at 7:57 a.m.: “The Democrats could solve the Shutdown problem in a very short period of time. All they have to do is approve REAL Border Security (including a Wall), something which everyone, other than drug dealers, human traffickers and criminals, want very badly! This would be so easy to do!”
… at 7:31 a.m.: “Great support coming from all sides for Border Security (including Wall) on our very dangerous Southern Border. Teams negotiating this weekend! Washington Post and NBC reporting of events, including Fake sources, has been very inaccurate (to put it mildly)!”
ANDREW RESTUCCIA, “Trump claims support from past presidents for the wall: Clinton, Bush and Obama beg to differ”: “President Donald Trump claimed without evidence on Friday that past presidents have privately confided to him that they regret not building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. But at least three of the four living U.S. presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — did no such thing.
“Asked if Clinton told Trump that he should have built a border wall, Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said, ‘He did not. In fact, they’ve not talked since the inauguration.’ Bush spokesman Freddy Ford also said the two men had not discussed the matter. And Obama, for his part, has not spoken with Trump since his inauguration, except for a brief exchange at George H.W. Bush’s funeral in Washington, D.C.” POLITICO
THE IMPACT … “Millions face delayed tax refunds, cuts to food stamps as White House scrambles to deal with shutdown’s consequences,” by WaPo’s Damian Paletta andErica Werner: “Food stamps for 38 million low-income Americans would face severe reductions and more than $140 billion in tax refunds are at risk of being frozen or delayed if the government shutdown stretches into February, widespread disruptions that threaten to hurt the economy. The Trump administration, which had not anticipated a long-term shutdown, recognized only this week the breadth of the potential impact, several senior administration officials said. …
“Lawmakers last year appropriated $3 billion into a ‘contingency’ fund for SNAP. USDA officials would not comment on the status of the $3 billion, but if all of that money is still available, it would cover just 64 percent of February’s obligations.” WaPo
— “Hundreds of TSA screeners, working without pay, calling out sick at major airports,” by CNN’s Rene Marsh and Gregory Wallace: “Hundreds of [TSA] officers, who are required to work without paychecks through the partial government shutdown, have called out from work this week from at least four major airports, according to two senior agency officials and three TSA employee union officials. The mass call outs could inevitably mean air travel is less secure.” CNN
— DANIEL DALE (@ddale8): “Asked if he’d ask landlords to go easy on federal workers not getting paid right now, Trump says, ‘I think they will…I think that happens. Hey, I’ve been a landlord for a long time…they work with people.’ Pressed, he eventually says he would indeed tell them to go easy.”
ON RASHIDA TLAIB … When Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted “You Lie” during Barack Obama’s address to a joint session to Congress in 2009, it caused an international firestorm. Wilson, a relatively mild-mannered congressman, later apologized. But the next week, House Democrats passed a resolution of disapproval.
— THIS WEEK, MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC REP. RASHIDA TLAIB said “we’re going to impeach the motherf***er” and there will be no repercussions. Zero. Criticisms are met by scuffaws, since there’s so much vulgar language everywhere — even the White House. The president directs his venom everywhere. He’s gone after cancer-ridden patients, dead people and many others. When he calls someone out, it mostly rings hollow. After 24 or 48 hours, this thing will be done, and Tlaib will be like any other member of the House.
SURE, cable will have fun with this. But, in reality, she’ll raise more money and will actually be rewarded by this.
BEHIND THE SCENES – WaPo’s Seung Min Kim, Erica Werner and Josh Dawsey: “The president often used profanity during [Friday’s White House] meeting, apologizing to Pelosi at one point for cursing so much.” WaPo
Good Saturday morning. SPOTTED: MICK MULVANEY having dinner last night with REINCE PRIEBUS at the Trump hotel … SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO and his detail leaving the CVS on M Street across the Four Seasons.
SNEAK PEEK … ANNA spoke with HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS CHAIRWOMAN NITA LOWEY (D-N.Y.) for next week’s WOMEN RULE podcast. Lowey is the first woman to chair the powerful panel since it was created in 1865. Yes, you read that right — 1865. Subscribe to Women Rule podcast to listen to the podcast Wednesday.
— ON THE SHUTDOWN: “I think it’s outrageous that anybody, Republican or Democrat, should even think that the government should be shut down for months. So the president should be an adult and talk to Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Schumer, and the other leadership that are going to be there and pass the options we gave him. It is so easy to do. I want to repeat again: the six bills that we want to pass until September 30th and then leave the one bill where there are questions for 30 days to discuss options. That’s the way it should happen.”
— THE RETURN OF EARMARKS?: “I think there is a way to do it. Now, I think it’s important that we understand the needs of every member of Congress, especially the new members. Whether there are specific earmarks or not, we ask them to submit their priorities and, on many issues, you can address their priorities even without earmarks. But I would be supportive of earmarks and I’m not sure how that is going to resolve itself.”
UPDATE … BEN SCHRECKINGER: “NASA invite to sanctioned Russian official postponed indefinitely”: “The Trump administration has indefinitely postponed a proposed visit by a sanctioned Russian official to the U.S., a spokeswoman for NASA said on Friday. The indefinite postponement could throw a wrench in U.S.-Russia space cooperation and represents a setback for Vladimir Putin’s efforts to undermine U.S. sanctions.
“The proposed visit, which was supposed to have taken place some time early this year, faced mounting backlash this week from Senate Democrats who threatened congressional action to block it in response to a Tuesday POLITICO report about plans for the visit.” POLITICO
WSJ’S MIKE BENDER: “FBI Investigating Fake Texts Sent to GOP House Members: Person impersonating aide to Vice President Mike Pence sought whereabouts of certain lawmakers”: “The [FBI] is investigating fake text messages sent to some House Republican lawmakers from someone impersonating a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Several House Republicans have received the texts, and at least one member has been repeatedly engaging with the imposter, who posed as Alyssa Farah, Mr. Pence’s press secretary and a former House staffer, one of the people said.
“An FBI spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A person familiar with the fake texts said the messages sought the whereabouts of certain lawmakers and their availability for meetings. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the House Republican conference chairwoman, has been made aware of the fake texts and referred the matter to the House Sergeant at Arms office, a spokesman for Ms. Cheney said.” WSJ
2020 WATCH … NATASHA KORECKI’S IOWA DISPATCH on the ground in Council Bluffs: “SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN landed here Friday evening, becoming the highest profile potential 2020 candidate to hit this first presidential state this year. About 500 people turned out to the Thunderbowl for Warren’s first event. The room, booked inside of a bowling alley, was quickly at capacity – a line snaked along the entirety of the building and into the parking lot outside.
“A few dozen supporters couldn’t make it inside but still stuck around during the unseasonably warm evening and watched through a garage door opening to the room. Warren focused her talk on economic populism that’s a central tenet of her lifelong work and emphasized the need for a grassroots campaign.
“‘These are dangerous times for our country,’ she told the crowd. ‘And Iowa is going to have a big part in determining where we go next.’ For those wondering about Warren’s vow to be more accessible and transparent, she took questions from the audience, posed for selfies with anyone who got in line, then gaggled with reporters afterward.” See POLITICO’s Scott Mahaskey photo gallery
TODAY: Warren makes stops in Sioux City, Storm Lake and Des Moines. On Sunday, she’ll close out the tour in Ankeny with a discussion with female leaders. Follow @natashakorecki for daylong updates
— “Elizabeth Warren nabs Obama’s chief digital strategist, beefs up national staff,” by CNN’s MJ Lee: “Joe Rospars, who led former President Obama’s digital strategy in both 2008 and 2012, has joined Warren’s newly launched presidential exploratory committee in a senior capacity … He will oversee the senator’s grassroots mobilization, national operations and planning in the early states.” CNN
— “Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand gauges Wall Street executives’ interest in backing a potential 2020 presidential run,” by CNBC’s Brian Schwartz: “Gillibrand has personally been working the phones and calling senior executives at Wall Street firms in recent weeks to see whether they would back her campaign if she jumps into the race, according to two senior business leaders who spoke on the condition of anonymity.” CNBC
— @ShaneGoldmacher: “NEW: At an off-the-record with journalists and political types in Manhattan [Thursday] night at @MollyJongFast’s house, South Bend Mayor @PeteButtigieg left the distinct impression he’s not only running for president in 2020 but could announce very soon, per attendees.”
CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 11 funnies
THE INVESTIGATIONS – “Expiring Mueller grand jury gets extension,” by Josh Gerstein: “The key grand jury used by Mueller came into existence on July 5, 2017, and would have run out Saturday without action from the court. Chief Judge Beryl Howell approved the extension of the investigative panel, although there was no comment by the court on why. ‘The chief judge confirms that grand jury 17-1 has been extended,’ an aide to Howell said Friday.” POLITICO
– NYT’S KEN VOGEL: “Congress Is Examining Decision to Lift Sanctions on Russian’s Firms”: “Congress is reviewing the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions on companies owned by Oleg V. Deripaska, an influential Russian oligarch [whose 51st birthday was on Wednesday] with close ties to President Vladimir V. Putin, Democrats said on Friday. The reviews could fuel a congressional effort to block the administration’s decision, which came after an aggressive lobbying and legal campaign against the sanctions by Mr. Deripaska’s corporate empire.” NYT
K-FILE – “VA Secretary Robert Wilkie didn’t disclose pro-Confederate associations on confirmation paperwork,” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski: “Wilkie was required to disclose in a sworn statement submitted to the Senate committee his public statements, published materials and memberships he held in organizations over the past decade. Wilkie, however, did not disclose any of his ties to Confederate groups. … Curt Cashour, a spokesperson for Wilkie, did not answer questions as to why the secretary did not list the associations on the questionnaire.” CNN
AT FOGGY BOTTOM — “Former Trump critic promoted to top anti-ISIS job,” by Nahal Toosi: “James Jeffrey, who oversees America’s engagement with other nations on Syrian issues, will now also serve as Trump’s special envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State. … Trump aides now say the drawdown could span four months. On Friday, a senior State Department official added to the confusion by saying there is no timeline.” POLITICO
FACEBOOK VS. NYT – NBC’S DYLAN BYERS: “Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives are fed up with The New York Times after weeks of what they see as overtly antagonistic coverage that betrays an anti-Facebook bias, several sources at the social media giant tell me.
“The frustration was rekindled this week after the Times bought a sponsored post on Facebook to promote ‘a step-by-step guide to breaking up with’ Facebook and Instagram — a move sources likened to Facebook taking out an ad in the Times encouraging readers to cancel their subscriptions.” NBC News
GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:
— “‘It Was Camelot on Steroids’: Trump, Marla, The Beach Romp, Anti-Semitism, and the Epic Battle for Mar-a-Lago,” by Laurence Leamer, author of “Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump’s Presidential Palace,” in Vanity Fair: “Back in the mid-90s, Trump was a nearly bankrupt grifter who fell in love—with a beachfront resort. In order to save Mar-a-Lago, he took on Palm Beach, went to war with the National Enquirer, and race-baited. It was the fight of his life … and it may have informed everything that came after.” VF … $20.93 on Amazon
— “Pan Am Flight 103: Robert Mueller’s 30-Year Search for Justice,” by Garrett Graff in Wired – per Longreads.com’s description: “Today, Robert Mueller heads the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. At Wired, Garrett M. Graff reports on one of Mueller’s perhaps lesser known but nonetheless fascinating and insightful previous assignments: at one time, Mueller oversaw the U.S.’ investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.” Wired
— “How America Grew Bored With Love,” by David Masciotra in the American Conservative: “The pop love song and rom-com have died, relics in a world of instant gratification and consumerism.” American Conservative
— “What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency,” by Elizabeth Goitein in the Atlantic’s Jan./Feb. issue: “From seizing control of the internet to declaring martial law, President Trump may legally do all kinds of extraordinary things.” The Atlantic
— “Learning China’s Forbidden History, So They Can Censor It,” by Li Yuan in the NYT: “Thousands of low-wage workers in ‘censorship factories’ trawl the online world for forbidden content, where even a photo of an empty chair could cause big trouble.” NYT
— “Who Killed The Weekly Standard?” by the New Yorker’s Benjamin Wallace-Wells in the New Yorker: “‘If you know very little you think it’s about Trump,’ one Standard staffer told me. ‘And if you know almost everything then you think it has almost nothing to do with Trump. But if you know absolutely everything there is to know you realize it really is about Trump after all.’” New Yorker
— “Lost in the Valley of Death,” by Harley Rustad in Outside – per Longreads.com’s description: “The Parvati Valley in the Indian Himalayas — known for its overwhelming beauty — calls to those who want to shed their possessions as part of a quest for spiritual enlightenment. As Harley Rustad reports at Outside, it’s also known for a plethora of missing and (presumably murdered) Western adventure tourists.” Outside
— “Would Human Extinction Be a Tragedy?” by Todd May in the NYT: “Our species possesses inherent value, but we are devastating the earth and causing unimaginable animal suffering.” NYT
— “The star treatment,” by Geoff Edgers in WaPo: “As R. Kelly’s career flourished, an industry overlooked allegations of abusive behavior toward young women.” WaPo (h/t Longform.org)
— “An internment camp for 10 million Uyghurs: Meduza visits China’s dystopian police state” – Meduza – per TheBrowser.com’s description: “Millions of CCTV cameras cover the province, even the deserts. Police checkpoints straddle every road and corner; the police routinely search every house. Old Kashgar has been razed and rebuilt. All books published before 2009 have been confiscated. The government bugs every phone. Perhaps a million Uyghurs — ten percent of the population — are held in prison-like re-education camps.” Meduza
— “More legal Mexican farm workers are coming to SC than ever. But few are protecting them,” by the Post and Courier’s Hannah Alani: The “‘guest worker’ program … has surged exponentially in recent years … Nearly a quarter-million foreign workers poured into the country to fill these jobs [in 2017] through the U.S. Labor Department’s H-2A visa program — almost triple the number recorded just five years earlier.” Post and Courier
— “See the ingenious toys made by refugee children,”by NatGeo’s Nina Strochlic: “These kids would have been the first generation to grow up in an independent South Sudan, if war hadn’t so quickly dispelled them. Today, more than 1 million children have fled the country, building new lives in refugee camps scattered in Uganda and other neighbors of South Sudan.” NatGeo
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: TOM DAVIS, the former Republican congressman from Virginia, has started as a senior partner at Holland and Knight. He will be working on government relations, congressional investigations, tech M&A and land use law. He previously was managing director of federal government affairs at Deloitte, where he spent 10 years.
JAY SURES, co-president of UTA, has been appointed by outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown to the University of California Board of Regents.
BIRTHDAYS: David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation, is 49 … former CIA Director George Tenet is 66 … former Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) is 7-0. He’s celebrating by running 10 miles … former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is 75 … former Vice President Walter Mondale is 91 … The Hill’s John Solomon is 52 … Katie Lillie, COS at the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group in Seattle (hat tip: Ben Chang) … Allison Price … WSJ’s Nick Timiraos … Nick Lanyi … Kuwaiti PM Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah is 77 … Shab Sharbatoghlie … AP’s David Bauder … Ally Flinn … Mimi Mager … Joe Wineke … Kristen Grimm … Alexis Bataillon (h/ts Jon Haber) … Sruti Ramadugu (h/t Allison Bormel) … Mark Hancock … former Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) is 84 … former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) is 75 … Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) is 49 … Ohio Attorney General and former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine is 72 …
… Josh Galper is 47 (h/t Eleanor McManus) … CEI’s Christine Hall … Niskanen Center’s Andrew Mills (h/t Annie Starke) … Matthew La Corte (h/ts Joey Coon) … Bush alum Carrie Underwood … Richard Harris … Ariella Lehrer is 66 … Jeff Hauser … Nash Jenkins, MA candidate in American literature at UChicago and a Time alum … Mercury’s Jake Dilemani … Allison Biasotti … RNC’s Mandi Merritt (h/t Ryan Mahoney) … Google’s Tom Youngblood … Val Mack … Karen Gray Houston … Thomas Suddes … Daniel Sieberg is 47 … John Drogin … Majid Siddiqui … Jessie Torres Perkins … Veronica Vaquer … Sharon Scates … John Reid … Aaron Dowd … Lara Bergthold … Patrick Ottenhoff … Sara Throener … Thad Nation … Juan Carlos, former King of Spain, is 81 … Dalit Toledano … Peter O’Keefe … Danielle Melfi (h/t Teresa Vilmain)
THE SHOWS, by @MattMackowiak, filing from Austin:
NBC
“Meet the Press”: Mick Mulvaney … Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) … House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Panel: David Brooks, Matthew Continetti, Donna Edwards and Kasie Hunt
CNN
“State of the Union”: Mick Mulvaney … Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). Panel: Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), David Urban, Patti Solis Doyle and Bill Kristol
ABC
“This Week”: Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) … Julián Castro. Panel: Matthew Dowd, Meghan McCain, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Stefanie Brown James and John James
CBS
“Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) … Democratic new member panel: Reps. Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Colin Allred (D-Texas), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) and Jahan Hayes (D-Conn.). Panel: Dan Balz, Shannon Pettypiece, Mark Landler and Ed O’Keefe
Fox
“Fox News Sunday”: Sarah Huckabee Sanders … Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.). Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Marie Harf, Jonah Goldberg and Mo Elleithee … “Power Players of the Week”: Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Green (R-Tenn.)
Fox News
“Sunday Morning Futures”: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) … Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) … Alan Dershowitz. Panel: Gordon Chang and former State Department official Jim Roberts
Fox News
“MediaBuzz”: Guy Benson … Susan Ferrechio … Capri Cafaro … Ben Domenech … Mara Liasson … Paul Steinhauser
CNN
“Inside Politics”: Manu Raju, Maggie Haberman, Eliana Johnson and Lisa Lerer
CNN
“Fareed Zakaria GPS”: Panel: Ian Bremmer, Rana Foroohar and David Miliband … Michael Pillsbury … author Steven Johnson (“Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most”)
CNN
“Reliable Sources”: Connie Schultz … panel: Karen Finney, Symone Sanders and Dan Pfeiffer … David Frum and Frank Bruni … William Arkin
Univision
“Al Punto”: Ana María Archila and Alfonso Aguilar, former undocumented workers at the Trump National Golf Club Victorina Morales and Sandra Díaz … “Perfectos Desconocidos” director Manolo Caro … Daniel Habif … María McFarland
C-SPAN
“The Communicators”: Kai-Fu Lee (“AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order”) … “Newsmakers”: Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Mark Takano (D-Calif.) … “Q&A”: Keach Hagey
MSNBC
“Kasie DC”: Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee … Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif. ) … Saxby Chambliss … Nadeam Elshami … Michael Steel … Rick Tyler … John Harwood … Shawna Thomas… Jeremy Peters … Laura Barron-Lopez
Washington Times
“Mack on Politics” weekly politics podcast with Matt Mackowiak (download on iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher or listen at MackOnPolitics.com): Steve Forbes.
The invitation to ultranationalist Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, also prompted protests from gay rights groups. | Yuri Kochetkov/Pool Photo via AP
The Trump administration has indefinitely postponed a proposed visit by a sanctioned Russian official to the U.S., a spokeswoman for NASA said on Friday.
The indefinite postponement could throw a wrench in U.S.-Russia space cooperation and represents a setback for Vladimir Putin’s efforts to undermine U.S. sanctions.
Story Continued Below
The proposed visit, which was supposed to have taken place some time early this year, faced mounting backlash this week from Senate Democrats who threatened congressional action to block it in response to a Tuesday POLITICO report about plans for the visit.
The invitation from NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine to his Russian counterpart, ultranationalist Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, to visit Houston and speak at Rice University also prompted protests from gay rights groups this week on account of Rogozin’s history of homophobic rhetoric.
Rogozin, a former deputy prime minister who has also gained notoriety for racist and harshly anti-American rhetoric, was sanctioned in 2014 for his role in the Crimea annexation.
Undermining Western sanctions, which have hamstrung Russia’s economy and irritated its rulers, is among Putin’s top priorities. The U.S. currently depends on Russian cooperation for parts of its space program, and the appointment of Rogozin to head Russia’s space agency earlier this year has presented a conundrum for U.S. sanctions enforcement, as evidenced by NASA’s invitation and the controversy it has created.
On Thursday, Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking member on the subcommittee that oversees NASA’s funding, and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking member on the foreign relations committee, threatened to block the visit by invoking a 2017 law that gives Congress greater oversight powers over the executive branch’s handling of Russian sanctions.
A day later, NASA put the brakes on its plans. “NASA has informed the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, that the proposed visit of Roscosmos Director General, Dr. Dimitry Rogozin, currently planned for February 2019 will need to be postponed,” said NASA spokeswoman Megan Powers in a statement. “A new date for the visit has not been identified.”
Powers did not immediately respond to a question about why NASA had postponed the visit.
A NASA official said that the original invitation, which Bridenstine issued to Rogozin in October during a meeting in Kazakhstan hosted by Roscosmos, was made in coordination with other relevant agencies and that the Treasury Department, which oversees most aspects of sanctions enforcement, had cleared NASA’s engagement with Rogozin last June.
A spokeswoman for the Treasury Department did not immediately confirm NASA’s account of events.
Sleek looking • Heats a room quickly • App is easy to use and packed with visual data
No heat controls in app • Pricey
You’ll spend a lot on Dyson’s air purifier/space heater combo, but there’s no question it’s excellent at its two jobs: cleaning up and warming the air in your home.
When Dyson upgraded its smart air purifier, the Pure Cool, earlier this year, it went out of its way to make it was less irritating to use in winter months. Since the Pure Cool doubles as a cooling fan, Dyson gave it a backwards-airflow mode that pushes the air out the sides, greatly reducing its “chilling” effect.
So it was probably inevitable that the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool came later. Dyson has had cooling fans that double as space heaters ever since the first Dyson Hot came out in 2011, pairing the company’s bladeless Air Multiplier air-blowing tech with, well, heat. I’ve used the Dyson Hot as a space heater, and it works well, heating up smaller rooms in just a few minutes.
That’s why I was excited to check out the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link (the “Link” signifies it’s a smart device, connecting to the Dyson Link app). I was a fan of the Pure Cool tower, which seemingly thought of everything that most folks would want in an air purifier, combining that with a well-designed app that captured impressively granular data about the air quality in your house.
Dyson is definitely going for the ‘clinical’ look.
Image: Pete Pachal/Mashable
Now Dyson’s bringing the heat. It’s a welcome upgrade, though the Pure Hot+Cool isn’t just a Pure Cool with an extra setting. Dyson modified the design in ways both obvious and subtle. The end result is still an impressive household appliance that does its job well, though it might not suit everyone’s needs.
It certainly won’t suit everyone’s price range. The Pure Hot+Cool costs $599.99, which is $50 more than the Pure Cool tower. The company offers less expensive versions with fewer features, though they never get cheap per se. This is Dyson, after all.
Hot looks
The Dyson Pure Hot+Cool (left) with the Pure Cool tower.
Image: Pete Pachal/Mashable
Let’s start with the obvious: It’s smaller. The Pure Hot+Cool has a smaller “loop” (the hollow oblong part) than the Pure Cool tower, but it’s not circular like some of Dyson’s other small fans. It definitely looks like what you’d get if a Pure tower and Hot fan had a baby, which is a little on the nose.
While the upper portion is smaller, the base — which houses the air intake, filters, motors, and other components — is bulkier. That makes sense; besides the sophisticated air-filtration system, this model needs to house a heating element as well. It is slightly heavier than the Pure Cool tower, but only by about half a pound.
The heating mechanism requires other modifications, however. Whereas the power cord is removable from the chassis on the Pure Cool, not so on the Pure Hot+Cool, and the cable end is no longer a Dyson-branded adapter but a standard plug. The cable’s also gray instead of white.
The Dyson Pure Cool cord (left) vs. the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool’s.
Image: PETE PACHAL/MASHABLE
Otherwise, the design is pretty much the same as the Pure Cool tower. There’s a circular display on the front that can show the current mode, tiny air-quality charts, the temperature and humidity, WiFi connectivity, and more. You toggle through them by pressing the “i” button on the remote, but the app is loaded with more info.
They Dyson Pure Hot+Cool remote control pushes the limit on the number of acceptable buttons to be considered ‘simple.’
Image: PETE PACHAL/MASHABLE
The remote control may be the most “complex” remote Dyson has made. In addition to controls for oscillation, the timer, backward-flow, and night mode (which never raises the fan above level 4), you also get buttons for heating and cooling. In total there are 10 buttons (12 if you count +/- controls separately), which isn’t too crazy, but it’s getting borderline for folks who want something that “just works.”
New purifier, same filters.
Image: PETE PACHAL/MASHABLE
Both the Pure Cool and Pure Hot+Cool use the same filters, which are rated to last a year of normal use and cost $TK to replace.
What’s different, what’s missing
Going into this review, I expected to repeat a lot of what i said about the Pure Cool, and that mostly stands. But the Pure Hot+Cool managed to surprise me, and not always for the better.
First, a quick recap of the air filtration tech: Dyson breaks down contaminants into four buckets: The first two tell are microscopic particles, PM2.5 (particles 2.5 microns wide or smaller) and PM10 (~10 microns). The third is VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are potentially dangerous chemicals like benzene or formaldehyde. Last is nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which can contribute to diseases like asthma.
The display on the front shows air quality info.
Image: PETE PACHAL/MASHABLE
Just like the Pure Cool, you can cycle through the current air quality, with separate screens for all those contaminants, on the front panel, but the data really comes alive in the app. Not only does it show current air quality in a brilliantly color-coded way — contrasting your inside air with the air quality outside — but you can really dive into historical data as the purifier continuously monitors and records the state of your air (you can turn continuous monitoring off if you’re not comfortable with this).
Adding the Pure Hot+Cool to the Dyson Link app is easy, and I didn’t have as many false starts with the Pure Cool, which seemed to require the app to “forget” the purifier every time I unplugged it at the start (it still saved my data). If you have more than one Dyson Link product, you just swipe from one to the other.
The app also lets you control the Hot+Cool just like the remote does, with one key weakness: You can’t adjust the heat. That’s a big disappointment since it means you can’t warm up a room remotely or even from another room. There’s a safety factor here, certainly, but I wish there was a better way to balance it.
As such, if you turn on the fan remotely or via the scheduler, it’ll default to “cooling” mode, with a target temperature much lower than the room temperature. There’s no actual air conditioning going on, so it’s not like it’ll freeze things, but it will prevent the purifier from shutting down the fan since it’ll never get to the target temperature. But if you want to heat things up, you’ll need to go to the room the purifier is in and use the physical remote.
A cosy combo
The Dyson Pure Hot+Cool
Image: PETE PACHAL/MASHABLE
That was pretty much the only issue I had with the Pure Hot+Cool, however, and it’s not even that fair a criticism since Dyson was clearly forced to strip those controls due to safety standards. The only other thing to consider when thinking about the Pure Hot+Cool is whether you really want to pay 600 bucks for an air purifier.
Check that. The question is really, do you want to pay 600 bucks for an air purifier and a space heater. Now, you can definitely buy relatively inexpensive versions of both and save a lot. But you’d also need to give up more floor space. There are other purifier/heater combos, but actually not as many as you’d think, and many of those aren’t much cheaper than the Dyson.
In other words, the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link may not be the only game in town when it comes to serving the twin needs of air quality and heat, but given everything it does — and the sleek, smart, and singular package it all comes in — the extra expense is an easy thing to warm up to.
Turkey has asked for major military assistance from the United States in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Syria, a news report said, weeks after Washington announced its plan to withdraw troops from the country.
The substantial request for military support included air raids, logistics and transportation so Turkish forces could finish off the remaining ISIL fighters in Syria, senior US officials were quoted as saying on Friday.
“The Turkish requests are so extensive that, if fully met, the American military might be deepening its involvement in Syria instead of reducing it,” the newspaper reported.
The unidentified American officials told the Journal there was little chance Washington would agree to Ankara’s requests in full.
Turkey and the US appeared to agree to coordinate the troops’ withdrawal from the area to avoid a power vacuum that could attract a number of parties interested in filling it.
Talks on the fight against ISIL are expected to take place on Tuesday in Ankara.
US officials – including White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and James Jeffrey, the State Department envoy for Syria – are expected to attend.
The US still has about 2,000 troops in Syria, many of them special operations forces working closely with an alliance of US-backed Kurdish and Arab armed groups known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
‘US troops should stay’
Meanwhile, the Yazidi minority group has called on the US military to remain in the region amid fears its withdrawal may bring back the threat of ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
In a statement on Friday, the Free Yezidi Foundation, an independent organisation working to help the minority group, warned the US pullout would leave Yazidis and other minorities unprotected and vulnerable.
“The removal of US forces and potentially the cessation of US air strikes… will further diminish SDF’s strength on the ground. These areas will then be ripe for return to ISIS control,” the group said, using an alternative acronym for ISIL.
Since 2014, ISIL fighters have killed thousands of Yazidi men captured during their attack on the minority.
About 3,100 Yazidis were killed – more than half were shot, beheaded or burned alive – and about 6,800 were kidnapped to become sex slaves or fighters, according to a report published in the Public Library of Science journal, PLoS Medicine.
As the nearly eight-year Syrian war progressed, the SDF gained significant amounts of territory in eastern and northern Syria in its fight against ISIL.
Turkey, however, sees the territorial expansion as a threat as it has long battled Kurdish separatists who want a state of their own.
Egypt’s president has told a US broadcaster his country and Israel are cooperating against armed groups in the Sinai Peninsula, a potentially damaging acknowledgement that could explain a request that the network not air the interview.
Excerpts from the interview released by CBS over the weekend also showed President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi denying there are political prisoners in Egypt, where he has overseen one of the largest crackdowns on dissent in the country’s modern history since the overthrow by the military, then led by him, of a divisive president.
CBS, which will air the full interview Sunday on its show 60 Minutes, said it has rejected a request by the Egyptian government not to show it. It did not say which part of the president’s comments Cairo objected to, but the cooperation with Israel, with whom Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty, appears to be the most contentious part.
Egypt’s military last year denied press reports that it and Israel were cooperating against insurgents in northern Sinai, a region of rugged mountains and desert bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip where Egyptian security forces have for years battled the fighters, now led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
According to the excerpts, el-Sisi was asked if his country’s cooperation with Israel was the closest ever between the two countries. “That is correct… We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis,” he responded.
Israeli officials have publicly praised security cooperation with el-Sisi’s Egypt, which has successfully secured Israel’s permission to deploy troops, artillery, and helicopter gunships close to the Israeli border to fight the armed groups in contravention of the peace treaty’s limitations on the number of troops and weapons Egypt can have in the region.
El-Sisi has, since taking office in 2014, met at least twice with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Their meetings have received little media attention in Egypt, a country where most people still view their neighbour as their sworn enemy and where trade unions and most political parties are vehemently opposed to the “normalisation” of relations with Israel.
What detentions?
In the interview, Sisi questioned a recent Human Rights Watch report that Egypt was detaining 60,000 political prisoners.
“I don’t know where they got that figure. I said there are no political prisoners in Egypt. Whenever there is a minority trying to impose their extremist ideology we have to intervene regardless of their numbers,” he told CBS.
El-Sisi has in the past claimed that everyone in detention is facing legal proceedings for a specific crime committed, but rights activists complain of long detentions without charges – as long as two years or more in some cases – trials that don’t observe the letter or the spirit of the law and judges more concerned with “protecting the state” than enforcing the law.
The detentions are part of a large crackdown on dissent that includes tight control of the media, placing draconian restrictions on rights groups and reversing most of the freedoms gained by a 2011 uprising against autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
El-Sisi won a second, four-year term in office last year after running virtually unopposed.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he could begin requesting documents between Mark Harris’ campaign and McCrae Dowless this month. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
The investigations could be another avenue to an eventual special election in North Carolina’s 9th District.
House Democrats are preparing to launch their own investigations into the disputed congressional election in North Carolina, where Republican Mark Harris’ campaign is facing fraud allegations and the state elections board had refused to certify the results.
Harris’ campaign has sued in state court to be seated in Congress, despite an ongoing investigation by the elections board that suffered a setback when the board was dissolved at the end of 2018. Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes in the unofficial vote count, but voters and election workers have filed numerous affidavits detailing irregularities during the election, including reports that McCrae Dowless, a subcontractor for Harris’ campaign consultants, ran an operation that collected and marked voters’ absentee ballots.
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The House Democratic investigations could pave the way for a new election in the district, even if the court orders the board of elections to certify Harris as the winner instead of the board ordering a re-vote itself. The House Administration Committee, now controlled by Democrats, has the authority to call for another election after investigating the 2018 results.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), who is slated to chair an election-focused subcommittee of the House Administration Committee, told POLITICO that the House will intervene if the North Carolina court ordered the election certified for Harris before the state investigation has concluded. Any House member could object to seating Harris and block him, triggering an investigation by Fudge’s committee.
Fudge said that three House panels — the Oversight, Judiciary and Administration committees — have started discussing the situation and will be meeting over the next week “to determine what all of our options are.”
“It is our hope that the courts in North Carolina would do the right thing,” Fudge said. “If they chose not to the right thing, or if for some reason he brings a certification here, we would challenge the propriety of seating him at that point until such time as there was a proper investigation done by the House.”
Fudge added that the full House could possibly go so far as to sue the state of North Carolina. If a judge orders that Harris be declared the winner, Fudge said, she is “confident that the House would bring an action against the state of North Carolina.”
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he could begin requesting documents “like paychecks, any kind of agreements” between Harris’ campaign and Dowless this month. Cummings, who now wields subpoena power in the majority, also threatened to call Dowless to Washington for an interview.
“It’s quite possible that we’ll want to bring in [Dowless],” Cummings said. “We’re certainly are looking at it very carefully.”
“When it comes to a state’s electoral process I think we have to be very careful and try to allow that state to provide due process. But at the same time we cannot just turn our heads to alleged voter fraud,” Cummings added. “It would be almost legislative malpractice if we fail to consider at least getting some preliminary information.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who is expected to head an Oversight subcommittee with jurisdiction over the North Carolina matter, said to “stay tuned” for a hearing announcement.
If Harris does manage to get certified as the election winner, McCready — who initially conceded the race but has since withdrawn the concession and started preparations for a new election — could contest the certification, triggering a provision in the federal election law that would prompt an investigation by the Administration Committee.
Even if McCready didn’t contest the result and Harris showed up to Congress with certification papers demanding to be seated, any member could object by presenting a resolution, which would force a floor vote. At that point, Democrats expect they would have enough votes to send the matter to the House Administration Committee for investigation.
Back in North Carolina, the state election board plans to respond to Harris’ legal challenge by the Jan. 14 deadline imposed by the court for briefing statements. But the matter has been complicated by the dissolution of the board last week. New board members will not be seated until Jan. 31, meaning a hearing will likely take place no earlier than mid-February.
Harris and North Carolina Republicans argue that there isn’t enough public evidence proving the ballot irregularities were enough to swing outcome of the election.
“We think that Mark Harris will at some point in the future be presenting a certificate of election from a certified race in North Carolina to Congress, because Mark Harris in fact won more legal votes, and after 60 some days a board of elections presented no evidence to show otherwise,” charged Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican party.
Susan Mills, the vice chair of the 9th District GOP, said Harris is “doing what’s necessary”by filing a petition with the court.
“The North Carolina GOP should challenge anything coming out of the Democratic-controlled House,” Mills said. “I wouldn’t do anything that Nancy Pelosi and her buddies wanted without challenging and without more information.”
Still, the North Carolina elections board is functioning at the staff level, carrying out interviews, including one with Harris. And it intends to continue the election fraud investigation regardless of any intervention by the state court.
“As a staff we want to conduct an evidentiary hearing at some point so that the public may fully understand what occurred in this election,” NCSBE spokesperson Patrick Gannon said when asked if a judicial certification would impact the investigation. “The agency remains steadfast in its obligation to ensure confidence in the elections process.”
Beirut, Lebanon – When Jaseem heard President Donald Trump decided to pull US troops out of Syria, he began planning his escape from the northern city of Manbij.
In the days following Trump’s announcement, both the Syrian government and Turkey moved to fill what they assumed would be a vacuum, starting in Manbij. The United States’ military presence guaranteed Kurdish rule in the city since 2016.
Jaseem, whose name has been changed for security reasons, is an ethnic Arab – like most Manbij residents – but he said he preferred rule by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to either the Syrian government or Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army militias, such as those ruling the rebel enclave of Idlib.
“The SDF made us feel safe,” the 40-year old told Al Jazeera. “The Syrian government thinks we are all traitors and may arrest us, and we cannot go to Idlib because every day there are explosions and kidnappings there.”
Trump’s decision last month was an unexpected boon, on the surface, for both the Syrian government and Turkey. The SDF controls not only Manbij but most of Syria east of the Euphrates, where the US has guaranteed SDF rule.
The Syrian government, however, wants to retake all of the country, while Turkey regards the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which dominates the SDF, as a “terrorist” entity that is part of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Ankara already launched one bloody battle against the YPG in the town of Afrin last February.
Abandoning the Kurds?
Trump subsequently suggested the withdrawal of troops would be “slow” and told the Republican Senator Lindsey Graham he would not abandon the US’ local allies, or leave eastern Syria open to Iranian influence.
Lindsey Graham: Trump ‘slowing’ US pullout from Syria
“ISIS is mostly gone, we’re slowly sending our troops back home to be with their families, while at the same time fighting ISIS remnants,” Trump tweeted, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIL.
The New York Times reported from Washington that Trump had extended the deadline for the troops’ return from 30 days to four months. But a day after the report, Trump denied fixing any timeline for the withdrawal, merely emphasizing his intentions. He said, “We are getting out of Syria.”
Jaseem, who has four daughters, said he was relieved at the change. He said he fears arrest by the Syrian regime, or at least conscription into the army, if it takes over Manbij.
“I cannot tell you how safe we feel with the Americans present,” said Jaseem. “The American presence protects us from both the Syrian government and Turkey.”
But he is still uncertain how long his family will be safe for and where their lives are heading next, torn between staying put or leaving the city.
Change America’s mind?
Mohammad, a Kurdish activist in Manbij, told Al Jazeera Trump’s latest comments provided some temporary relief.
“It is too early to understand what it means,” said Mohammad, requesting only his first name be used. “We are not sure if the pullout will be delayed, but I know that Kurdish fighters are working very hard to change America’s mind.”
Former US defense secretary James Mattis and former special envoy to counter ISIL Brett McGurk both resigned in opposition to Trump’s troop withdrawal decision.
At one stage of Syria’s war, the YPG pursued the establishment of autonomous self-rule across the vast swath of territory it carved out along the Turkish border, running from the Iraqi border in the northeast, through Kobane to Afrin in the northwest.
Can Syria protect the Kurds?
That dream was quashed by the loss of Afrin, but the Kurds remain hopeful of setting up some form of autonomous rule in the territory they continue to hold.
The American presence gave them a sizeable bargaining chip in the final settlement of the conflict. The slower the US pullout, the more time the Kurds will have to work on a deal.
Aaron Stein, director of the Middle East programme at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the YPG did not have to evacuate from Manbij – as Turkey demands – if it played its cards right.
“I do not think they have to withdraw, but rather accept nominal regime return while negotiations continue over more tangible things like political and military control,” he said.
On January 2, the Syrian government said at least 400 Kurdish fighters left Manbij, even as locals on the ground told Al Jazeera many are still remaining as a part of the Manbij Military council. Turkey has not yet responded to Syria’s assertion.
Russia will be a key player, particularly if the US decides not to intervene further. It retains strong influence over both Turkey and Damascus, as the regime’s guarantor.
Fawzia Yousif, a member of the Kurds’ autonomous administration in Syria’s northeast, said the delay in the US withdrawing troops could give the Kurds more time to get better terms in a final understanding with the Syrian government.
“If the pullout delay takes place, it would have a positive impact on the war on ISIS, which is still going on in Deir Az Zor,” she said. “It would also have an impact on the political process and the upcoming talks in Geneva.”
‘Bad choices’
The Trump administration can still apply pressure on the Syrian government through the decisions it takes as it prepares an exit.
Trump says Erdogan will ‘eradicate’ ISIL in Syria
The military commanders of the Pentagon, caught off-guard by Trump’s decision, are preparing a list of recommendations for the troops’ withdrawal. They may suggest retaining some American presence to maintain the series of air bases the US has built across the northeast, and leave the Kurds with the weapons with which they were provided to fight ISIL.
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was unlikely to give the Kurds complete autonomy, it might be open to some cultural concessions.
“For Kurds, there are bad choices all around,” he said. “But now the Syrian government is entering America’s shoes. The Kurds may not be happy with this but that’s what they are likely to get.”
Landis said the people of Manbij had “kept their heads down” and refrained from expressing outright loyalty to either side in the war. They might now be better off sticking to the same playbook.
Jaseem said the takeover of Manbij, first by the Free Syrian Army in 2012, and then ISIL in 2014, had left residents scarred. “We are tired of war. We just do not want more war.”
A Japanese sushi tycoon paid a record $3.1m for a giant tuna at the first pre-dawn new year auction in Tokyo’s new fish market on Saturday.
Self-styled “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura forked over the whopping sum for a 278-kilo bluefin tuna, an endangered species that was caught off Japan’s northern coast.
“The tuna looks so tasty and very fresh, but I think I did too much,” Kimura, who runs the popular Sushi Zanmai chain, told reporters.
“The price was higher than originally thought, but I hope our customers will eat this excellent tuna.”
Kimura has been the highest bidder at the new year auction for several years. He paid the previous record of 155 million yen ($1.4m) for a fish in 2013.
Although the auction prices were way above usual for bluefin tuna, wholesalers and sushi tycoons have been known to pay eye-watering prices for the biggest and best fish, especially at the first auction of the new year.
‘Black diamond’
Later in the day sushi chefs sliced up the giant fish with special knives resembling Japanese swords at Kimura’s main restaurant. Hundreds of sushi lovers queued for a taste.
“I have come here every year to eat new year sushi but this tuna is tastier than ever,” Reiko Yamada, a 71-year-old housewife, told AFP news agency.
Japan consumes a large portion of the global bluefin catch, a highly prized sushi ingredient known as “kuro maguro” (black tuna) and dubbed the “black diamond” by sushi connoisseurs because of its scarcity.
A single piece of “otoro”, or the fish’s fatty underbelly, can cost dozens of dollars at high-end Tokyo restaurants.
Surging consumption of the Pacific bluefin tuna in Japan and overseas has led experts to warn it faces possible extinction, with stocks depleting by 96 percent from pre-industrial levels.
Kimura has been the highest bidder at the new year auction for several years [Reuters]
New market
The 2019 auction was the first new year sale to take place at the new fish market in Toyosu, on the site of a former gas plant.
In previous years, the market was held at Tsukiji, which was the world’s biggest fish market and a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops.
Opened in 1935, Tsukiji was best known for its pre-dawn daily auctions of tuna, caught from all corners of the world, for use by everyone from Michelin-star sushi chefs to ordinary grocery stores.
The new market at Toyosu hopes to attract tourists who previously visited Tsukiji.
“I sincerely hope this market will be loved by many people,” said Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, who attended the sale, wearing the white rubber boots favoured by auctioneers.
The move to Toyosu was repeatedly delayed because of concerns over soil contamination.
The 2019 auction was the first new year sale to take place at the new fish market in Toyosu [Reuters]
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on Saturday for international support to defend the self-ruled island’s democracy and way of life in the face of renewed threats from China.
The comments came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country’s armed forces must strengthen their sense of urgency and do everything they can to prepare for battle.
“We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us,” Tsai told reporters in Taipei, referring to threats by China to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.
If the international community did not support a democratic country that was under threat, “We might have to ask which country might be next?” Tsai added.
Taiwan is China’s most sensitive issue and is claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory. Xi has stepped up pressure on the democratic island since Tsai from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party became president in 2016.
President Xi said on Wednesday that China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but will strive to achieve peaceful “reunification” with the island.
In response, Tsai has said the island would not accept a “one country, two systems” political arrangement with China, while stressing all negotiations needed to be carried out on a government-to-government basis.
Xi’s Taiwan speech came just days after US President Donald Trump signed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act into law, reaffirming the US commitment to the island’s security.
Tsai on Saturday also urged China to have a “correct understanding” of what Taiwanese think and said actions such as political bullying were unhelpful in cross-strait relations.
China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war.
Military urgency
China is eager to beef up its armed forces amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea and escalating tension with the United States over issues ranging from trade to the status of Taiwan.
The official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday Xi told a meeting of the top military brass that China faced increasing risks and challenges, and the armed forces must work to secure its security and development needs.
Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the armed forces must devise strategies for the new era and take on responsibilities for preparing and waging war.
“The world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century, and China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development,” he was quoted as saying.
He said the armed forces needed to be able to respond quickly to emergencies, needed to upgrade their joint operations capabilities, and nurture new types of combat forces.
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