Facebook is carefully walking back statements it made about hiring a Republican opposition-research group to investigate billionaire George Soros.
In a blog post published late Wednesday, right before many Americans left work to begin the Thanksgiving holiday, Facebook admitted to asking an opposition-research company to investigate billionaire George Soros over his public criticism of the social network.
Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s outgoing head of communications and policy, explained the company’s decision to hire Definers Public Affairs and essentially took the blame for the decision.
“In January 2018, investor and philanthropist George Soros attacked Facebook in a speech at Davos, calling us a menace to society,” said Schrage.
“We had not heard such criticism from him before and wanted to determine if he had any financial motivation. Definers researched this using public information.”
“Later, when the Freedom from Facebook campaign emerged as a so-called grassroots coalition, the team asked Definers to help understand the groups behind them,” he added.
“They learned that George Soros was funding several of the coalition members. They prepared documents and distributed these to the press to show that this was not simply a spontaneous grassroots movement.”
Schrage’s admission flies in the face of statements previously made by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, who both denied having any knowledge of hiring Definers until the news was made public by a New York Times investigation last week.
Sandberg said in a comment attached to the bottom of Schrage’s post that she initially did not remember hiring the Republican opposition-research firm when she read the New York Times story.
But Sandberg inevitably walks back her denial of knowing about Definers, admitting that the work “crossed her desk.”
Sandberg emphasized that the company did not intend to play into anti-Semetic conspiracy theories about Soros.
“I also want to emphasize that it was never anyone’s intention to play into an anti-Semitic narrative against Mr. Soros or anyone else,” she said.
“Being Jewish is a core part of who I am and our company stands firmly against hate. The idea that our work has been interpreted as anti-Semitic is abhorrent to me — and deeply personal.”
But Facebook’s response to the scandal, and the many scandals that have predated this, suggest that the company is trying scuttle the admission that it did indeed hire a Republican-opposition research company to conduct a smear campaign against its critics, as first reported by the New York Times.
Still, despite all of this drama, Facebook does not have any major leadership changes planned. Zuckerberg told CNN Tuesday he has no plans to step down as chairman, and that he supports COO Sheryl Sandberg, who feared she may lose her job according to a Wall Street Journal report.
So it seems that despite all the public backlash, Facebook remains an unsinkable and unshakeable network. We just hope that some of the more savvy users will finally consider deleting their accounts.
Shuafat refugee camp, occupied East Jerusalem – Three earthmovers continued to take away the debris of over a dozen Palestinian shops that used to line the street at the entrance to Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.
Bulldozers tore through the mangled wire and concrete on Thursday, sending clouds of dust into the air while boys and men watched from behind the red barricade tape set up by Israeli police.
“Am I allowed to go through?” a seven year-old boy asked in a concerned tone.
Sadly, for some, this was just another day living under Israeli military occupation.
“Only God can help us,” said a man observing the scene from a chair while having dessert.
The fate of UNRWA-administered schools remains unclear [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]
Shufuat refugee camp hasn’t been issued a single building permit since Israel’s military occupation began in 1967, forcing its residents to build illegally.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces entered the camp, sealed off its entry and exit points, positioned snipers on rooftops and began demolishing 16 shops, affecting the livelihood of more than 60 families. Demolition notices were issued to 20 Palestinian shops a day earlier.
Israel regularly demolishes Palestinian homes and buildings, claiming they were built without Israeli-issued permits. This demolition was believed to be the largest by Israeli authorities since the camp’s establishment in 1965.
Changing the ‘character of the camp’
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) slammed the demolitions on Wednesday, saying they were part of former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat’s plan to end Shuafat’s status as a refugee camp, oust UNRWA, the UN refugee agency and end the basic services it provides.
Ahmad Abu Holy, head of the PLO’s refugee department, accused the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem of waging war on the camp with the demolition “under the illegal pretext of building without a permit”.
Holy added that the latest demolition was part of former West Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat’s goal to change the “character of the camp” and oust UNRWA from the capital.
Last month, Barkat announced plans to get rid of UNRWA’s services in the city to “end the lie of the Palestinian refugee problem”. He said that all services operated by UNRWA in East Jerusalem, such as schools, clinics and sports centres, will be transferred to Israeli authorities.
It did not provide an exact timeframe, but said schools serving 1,800 students would be closed by the end of the current school year.
Barkat said the US decision to cut $300m in aid to UNRWA prompted his decision.
Yara Hawari, PalestinePolicy Fellow at Al-Shabaka told Al Jazeera that Barkat’s statement to remove the camp’s refugee status is an attempt to “severe Palestinians from their land and turn them into residents with minimal rights that can be taken away arbitrarily”.
The demolition of the shops impacts at least 60 families [Mersiha Gadzo/Al Jazeera]
“What is clear from this is that Israel is accelerating its plan to drastically alter the geographic and demographic reality of Greater Jerusalem,” said Hawari.
“It has been emboldened to do so by not only the Trump Administration, which moved the US embassy to the city earlier this year, but also by the majority of the international community which continues to be impotent in the face of such political manoeuvres.”
Tightening control
Shuafat is the only Palestinian refugee camp in Jerusalem and is home to around 23,000 people.
An eight-metre high concrete wall circles the camp, cutting it off from the rest of the city.
The camp is part of Jerusalem Municipality, yet no municipal or governmental services are provided here. UNRWA has provided the most basic services thus far.
“It [the demolition] is to tighten Israeli control over Jerusalem,” said Khader Dibes, a resident, who agreed with the PLO’s statement.
“This is Barkat’s plan to end the services of the [UNRWA] agency. We are determined to keep the presence of UNRWA here so that it provides services.”
Jerusalem municipality workers entered the camp for the first time last month and removed waste, raising eyebrows for many that this was a first step towards replacing UNRWA.
In the same month, 50 Palestinian structures were demolished in the occupied West Bank, displacing 43 people. Since 1967, more than 48,700 structures have been demolished in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The neighbourhoods of Ras Shehada, Ras Khamis, Dahiyat as-Salam, on the other side of the wall, lack municipal services as well.
“If the municipality wants to serve the public, it wouldn’t make a wall, it wouldn’t put a checkpoint to stop me from entering my city, it wouldn’t put obstacles for women and children,” Thaer Fasfous, spokesperson for the camp’s Fatah movement, told Al Jazeera.
“This barbaric demolition is under the excuse of opening up the road but the goal is to control Shuafat refugee camp. Nir Barkat said it – he wants to break our heads.”
If you decided to wait until Black Friday to upgrade from an Xbox One to an Xbox One X, that was a good choice. There are plenty of deals this year that will help you save big, including bundle deals with some of the hottest games from this year.
For anyone who already has a full library of games and just needs the console, the Xbox One X is $100 off at a number of retailers, bringing the price down to $399.99. But if you’re looking for something new, the bundles available include Battlefield V, Fallout 76, PUBG, NBA 2K19, or Shadow of the Tomb Raider for $429 or $429.99 (depending on the store.)
Many of the major retailers are carrying the Xbox One X on sale, and while some may have cycled through stock already, stores are doing their best to make sure they have plenty more waiting in the wings. So if you see the dreaded “Out of Stock” message, keep checking back — there’s a good chance there will be more.
Warning: The following post contains mild plot spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a whole lot of movie, jumping clumsily from plot to plot and character to character with little care or skill in tying them together.
Yet between these expanses of idiocy, there are some rare nuggets of intrigue, seeds to stories that could grow into something people actually want to see, if only given the chance.
And so: Here are the only six things we cared about in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
If you caught this movie in theaters on opening weekend, chances are you felt an immediate, tangible change of atmosphere when we see that glorious castle silhouette emerge from the mountains. Seeing Hogwarts and hearing “Hedwig’s Theme” provide a deep comfort we didn’t know we needed amid sloppy storytelling and unknown characters. This right here is the feeling that The Crimes of Grindelwald tries and fails desperately to evoke.
We get to see Dumbledore teaching, McGonagall being badass (even though her mere existence conflicts with canon), clusters of students in house colors whose only concern is passing Charms, not tracking down an angry Obscurial for reasons unknown. Why didn’t WB just green light a Hogwarts franchise that follows every character we’ve ever met through school?
2. The Leta Lestrange love triangle
Image: Jaap Buitendijk
The Harry Potter movies got an added dose of magic in the form of teen romance starting with Goblet of Fire and carrying us through to Ron and Hermione making out in the Chamber of Secrets in Deathly Hallows – Part 2. They injected a supposed children’s fantasy series with the tender humor and pain of burgeoning adulthood, rounding the films out.
Fantastic Beasts had some lovely romantic seeds with Queenie and Jacob as well as the slower burn of Newt and Tina, but Crimes of Grindelwald introduces the straight-out-of-a-telenovela love triangle between Leta Lestrange and both Scamander brothers. Leta’s thrilling final “I love you” to either or both of them gave me life and also took it away immediately when her character died. The whole thing was wild and scandalous and deserves its own five-film franchise!
3. Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s history
These two are far too old to live out the backstory described in the Harry Potter books, wherein they are drawn together by intellectual attraction (and then some) and simultaneously fall in love and plot immortality/Muggle subservience.
Crimes of Grindelwald gives us a quick flashback to the boys’ sexually charged blood oath, so why not extend the flashback, like Newt and Leta’s? Why not make it a whole act, or even a whole movie in this never-ending franchise?
4. Newt and Tina
Who are you kidding? Just kiss already!
Image: Jaap Buitendijk/warner bros.
One of the rare sufferable moments in this movie is when Newt and Tina infiltrate the French Ministry of Magic and he laboriously explains to her that he’s not engaged, suddenly reopening the door to their potential (inevitable) romance.
There’s a lot of murmuring and longing stares, and Newt, against Jacob’s advice, starts to compare Tina’s eyes to a salamander’s. It’s a sweet moment when Tina herself completes the thought, and then they SHOULD HAVE KISSED, but then some other dumb thing happened.
5. Nagini
Image: Jaap Buitendijk
The origins of this character are obviously being withheld for the remaining Fantastic Beasts movies, but after the shocking reveal of Nagini’s true identity and blood curse, it would have been great for The Crimes of Grindelwald to tell us more about her than all the revelations of the final trailer. Most of the time she just stuck to Credence and looked worried, which caused more annoyance than intrigue.
6. Newt’s assistant
To no one’s surprise, Newton Artemis Fido Scamander’s London flat is a veritable magical menagerie of creatures who are effectively nannied by a benevolent woman named Bunty. Bunty learns to care for the creatures even when they bite at her fingers, and she is completely in love with Newt. Tell me more about Bunty, and please don’t break her heart!
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is now in theaters.
Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will sit out Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions due to a shoulder injury, meaning Chase Daniel will start in his place.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that Trubisky’s injury is only expected to be a one-week issue and that the quarterback would have had a “fairly good chance” of playing had the Bears not been on a short week:
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
From @gmfb: The #Bears expect QB Mitch Trubisky (shoulder) back after just one week, but if not, Chase Daniel is ready. He’s known since Monday he was starting today. https://t.co/p0E3qvLGCw
Chicago’s next game will come against the New York Giants on Dec. 2.
Trubisky, 24, was injured in Sunday’s 25-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings, in which he threw for 165 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
In his second NFL season, Trubisky has taken a massive leap after a shaky rookie year. He’s posted 2,469 yards and 20 touchdowns against nine interceptions, adding 363 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“He’s seen more defenses now,” Bears coach Matt Nagy told reporters ahead of the Vikings game. “Every game, every third down that he sees, every red-zone defense that he sees, put it in a locker and we’ll come back to that next year, like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that play, running that play against that defense.’ It’s all banking knowledge right now for him, and that’s important. He’s slowly improving, which I love. It’s not going to be an overnight thing.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the injury has been diagnosed as an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder.
Daniel has been in the NFL a decade but has started just two games, with the last one coming in 2014. He has only thrown 78 regular-season passes in his professional career.
“The No. 1 thing that you learn about Chase when you’re around him is that in a really good way, he’s extremely confident in how he plays,” Nagy told reporters of Danielon Tuesday. “Because he’s so smart. The game is not fast to him.”
The Bears have reeled off four straight wins to take first place in the NFC North.
An Arizona jury on Wednesday acquitted a United States Border Patrol agent of involuntary manslaughter in the killing of a Mexican teen through a border fence, sparking a protest in downtown Tucson following another loss for federal prosecutors in the second trial over the 2012 killing.
Jurors in Tucson found Lonnie Swartz not guilty of involuntary manslaughter but didn’t come to a decision on voluntary manslaughter. The verdict comes months after Swartz was acquitted of second-degree murder by another jury that had deadlocked on manslaughter charges, allowing prosecutors to pursue the case again.
Border Patrol agents are rarely criminally charged for using force. But the killing of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez sparked outrage on both sides of the border and it came at a time when the agency was increasingly scrutinised for its use of force.
Outside the court on Wednesday, a small group of activists protested the verdict, and one man was detained, local media outlets reported.
The protest grew later in the day as scores of demonstrators shut down an intersection, snarling traffic in downtown and prompting authorities to briefly close several freeway ramps.
Family of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, killed by @cbp agent Lonnie Swartz in cross border shooting 2012. If the agent returns to work he will kill again—- mother. pic.twitter.com/GnD8w9oaXm
One sign protesters carried said, “Abolish Border Patrol”, while another read, “No justice, no peace”.
A spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office said prosecutors haven’t decided whether to try Swartz again on the voluntary manslaughter charge.
“We fully respect the jury’s decision, and we thank every member of the jury for the time and attention given to this trial,” Elizabeth A Strange, first assistant US attorney for the District of Arizona, said in a statement.
Sean Chapman, Swartz’s lawyer, said his client was relieved. “He has had to live with the burden of this case hanging over his head for years. He is glad that it is finally over,” Chapman said in an email to the Associated Press.
Shot 10 times in back and head
During the trial, prosecutors said Swartz was frustrated over repeated encounters with people on the Mexico side of the border fence who throw rocks at agents to distract them from smugglers. They say he lost his cool and fatally shot Elena Rodriguez. Swartz fired about 16 rounds, and the teen was hit at least 10 times in the back and head.
Swartz had then said he was following his training and defending himself and other law enforcement officers from rocks, which he said could be deadly.
Prosecutors acknowledge that Elena Rodriguez was throwing rocks at agents while two smugglers made their way back to Mexico, but they said that wasn’t justification for taking his life. Members of Elena Rodriguez’s family maintain he wasn’t throwing rocks and was killed while walking home.
Speaking to Al Jazeera earlier this year, Elena Rodriguez’s grandmother Taide questioned how officials would have reacted had it happened the other way around. “What if a Mexican official had fired into the US, killing a US citizen. This would have been an international crisis,” she said.
Swartz still faces a civil rights lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the teen’s mother.
Wednesday’s verdict comes as President Donald Trump has deployed troops to the border to support US authorities in response to thousands of Central American migrants and refugees who have made their way to the US border as part of a caravan, dubbed the Central American exodus. The troops have been given authority to protect Border Patrol agents and other personnel, even though there have been no instances of violence against US authorities. Trump on Thursday, renewed his threats to close the border if things get to a “level where we are going to lose control”, adding that he has given troops the “ok” to use lethal force against migrants and refugees “if they have to”.
A US pro-migration activist holds a candle and a picture of slain Mexican youth Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez through the border fence between Mexico and the US in Nogales [File: Alonso Castillo/Reuters]
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Get something nice for your space-obsessed friend this season.
There’s nothing quite like a night spent out under the stars, learning a little bit more about your place in the cosmos.
Everyone has that friend who’s obsessed with space — I am that friend for many people — so maybe this holiday it’s time to give them a gift they’ll use all the time when heading out for long nights of skywatching.
You might think that a telescope or a pair of binoculars might be the perfect gift for that friend obsessed with skywatching, but in reality, they probably have their heart set on a very specific piece of expensive gear.
Instead of buying one of those big-ticket items, more understated gift will be sure to please and surprise the budding skywatcher in your life.
Those late nights spent in dark places during the fall and winter can get chilly, so your favorite skywatcher will always appreciate a cuddly blanket to bundle up with.
It also helps if the blanket is waterproof and can be used on the ground like a picnic blanket, like the quilted fleece stadium blanket. Versatility is key when it comes to skywatching, and a good convertible blanket is a great option.
Just like a warm blanket, a thermos can come in quite handy during a long night of skywatching. Fill the thermos with tea or coffee and settle in for a long night of gazing up at the stars with your friends.
Even picky skywatchers should be pleased with the 20-ounce YETI Rambler in stainless steel, though as long as it keeps your liquids the right temperature, anything will do.
We all know that it’s important to take a headlamp out with you into dark places after nightfall, but the type of headlamp matters when it comes to skywatching.
Bright white light can ruin night vision, and since it takes about 30 minutes for eyes to adjust to the dark, you don’t want to constantly have white light shining when trying to read a map or guide.
My personal favorite headlamp is the Black Diamond Cosmo, which has more settings than most of us ever need, including a red light mode that won’t ruin your night vision.
Skywatchers need entertainment even when there’s no meteor shower on display, so what’s better than a good book to enhance the stargazing experience?
One of my personal favorites is The End of Night by Paul Bogard. The book walks readers through a well-written account of how and why the dark night sky is disappearing around the world and what, if anything, we can do about it.
Even the best skywatcher can get turned around when looking up at the night sky. We all need help getting oriented sometimes, and one of the best ways to do that is with a skywatching app. My personal favorite of the many night sky apps out there is Star Walk.
The app has a simple interface and points out all the great items of interest, including satellites and any planets that might be visible. It always helps to be able to quickly tap on an app and hold it up to the sky to figure out exactly what you’re seeing at a moment’s notice.
— AP’s ANNABELLE LIANG in Singapore: “Global stock markets mostly fell Thursday as concerns about economic growth continued to weigh on sentiment and trading was thinned by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. …
“Economic figures have raised further concerns about the impact of the ongoing trade disputes. Durable goods orders in the U.S. fell 4.4 percent last month from September, the largest amount in 15 months, with commercial and military aircraft leading the decline. This could point at adverse effects of a trade dispute between the U.S. and China, who have imposed additional tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods.” AP
— BLOOMBERG’S DEBBY WU: “Apple iPhone Supplier Foxconn Planning Deep Cost Cuts”: “Foxconn Technology Group, the biggest assembler of iPhones, became the latest Apple Inc. supplier to warn of anemic demand, with an internal memo suggesting that expenses will be cut by almost a half next year.
“The contract manufacturer aims to cut 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) from expenses in 2019 as it faces ‘a very difficult and competitive year,’ according to an internal document obtained by Bloomberg. … Foxconn has been hit by a slowing smartphone market, while trade tensions with the U.S. add to global uncertainty. Earlier this month its flagship Hon Hai posted earnings that were about 12 percent below expectations.” Bloomberg
— WSJ:“Global Selloff Tests Changed Credit Market: The selloff has descended on a market that has both grown enormously and decreased in quality,” by Mike Bird and Steven Russolillo
ON THE BORDER — L.A. TIMES’ DAVID CLOUD: “White House approves broad new powers — including use of deadly force — for U.S. troops on the border”: “In a broad expansion of the controversial military mission along the southwest border, the White House has authorized extensive new powers for U.S. troops to potentially use against migrants, including searches, detentions, crowd control and, if necessary, deadly force.” LA Times
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for spending your mornings and afternoons with us, and for helping make our live events so much fun.
SPOTTED: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at the Nassau, Bahamas airport – pic…Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) poolside yesterday at Lago Mar Resort in Fort Lauderdale … Rudy Giuliani flying yesterday from LGA to BOS — pic
NYT’S EMILY COCHRANE is today’s print pooler. She sent this dispatch at 7:41 a.m.: “Good morning, and happy Thanksgiving from cloudy West Palm Beach.
“Your pool assembled at 7:15 a.m. and just arrived near Mar-a-Lago. The president is scheduled to have a teleconference with members of the military at 9 a.m. He has also been tweeting. Your pooler has also requested more details about the president’s day and a copy of his Thanksgiving menu.”
THANKSGIVING EVE FEUD … AP’S MARK SHERMAN: “Trump spars with chief justice over their views of judges”: “President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts clashed in an extraordinary public dispute over the independence of America’s judiciary, with Roberts bluntly rebuking the president for denouncing a judge who rejected his migrant asylum policy as an ‘Obama judge.’ There’s no such thing, Roberts declared Wednesday in a strongly worded statement contradicting Trump and defending judicial independence. …
“The pre-Thanksgiving dustup was the first time that Roberts, the Republican-appointed leader of the federal judiciary, has offered even a hint of criticism of Trump, who has several times blasted federal judges who have ruled against him.
“Before now, it has been highly unusual for a president to single out judges for personal criticism. And a chief justice’s challenge to a president’s comments is downright unprecedented in modern times. … Roberts had refused to comment on Trump’s earlier attacks on judges, including the chief justice himself.
“But on Wednesday, after a query by The Associated Press, he spoke up for the independence of the federal judiciary and rejected the notion that judges are loyal to the presidents who appoint them. ‘We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them,’ Roberts said. On the day before Thanksgiving, he concluded, ‘The independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.’” AP
THE PRESIDENT RESPONDS … (@realDonaldTrump) at 3:51 p.m.: “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an ‘independent judiciary,’ but if it is why……”
… at 4:09 p.m.: “…..are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security — these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!”
— AND HE CONTINUED THIS MORNING … at 7:21 a.m.: “Justice Roberts can say what he wants, but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster. It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any Circuit in the Country, 79%, & is used to get an almost guaranteed result. Judges must not Legislate Security…” …
… at 7:30 a.m.: “….and Safety at the Border, or anywhere else. They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe. Our great Law Enforcement professionals MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB! If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death. We want the Constitution as written!”
MORE BORDER TALES …
— WAPO’S NICK MIROFF, JOSHUA PARTLOW and JOSH DAWSEY: “Trump plan would force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as cases are processed, a major break with current policy”: “Central Americans who arrive at U.S. border crossings seeking asylum in the United States will have to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed under sweeping new measures the Trump administration is preparing to implement, according to internal planning documents and three Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the initiative. …
“The plan, called ‘Remain in Mexico,’ amounts to a major break with current screening procedures, which generally allow those who establish a fear of return to their home countries to avoid immediate deportation and remain in the United States until they can get a hearing with an immigration judge. … Senior adviser Stephen Miller has pushed to implement the Remain in Mexico plan immediately, though other senior officials have expressed concern about implementing it amid sensitive negotiations with the Mexican government.” WaPo
NEWTGINGRICH praises NANCY PELOSI in a Mike DeBonis/Bob Costa piece in the Post: “Former Republican House speaker Newt Gingrich said Pelosi has a savvy understanding of what it takes to win high-stakes leadership elections, especially in an era in which institutional power is diminished.
“‘This isn’t Sam Rayburn’s Congress, where speakers could personally and institutionally intimidate people,’ he said, referring to the Texas Democrat who was the longest-serving House speaker. ‘She is doing exactly what she needs to do, whether it’s inventing 16 meaningless titles so everybody can get something, or when people ask for a seat at the table, just building a bigger table.’” WaPo
FALLOUT ON KHASHOGGI — TOP-ED – FRED RYAN in WaPo, “Trump’s dangerous message to tyrants: Flash money and get away with murder”: “We do not make the world safer by abandoning our commitment to basic freedoms and human rights. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has committed atrocities that, if perpetrated by other countries, would draw a strong rebuke from the United States. … The crown prince, in the role for barely 17 months, has led a reign of terror and has already established a dark legacy of opposing press freedom. … The CIA has thoroughly investigated Khashoggi’s murder and concluded with high confidence that it was directed by the crown prince.
“If there is reason to ignore the CIA’s findings, the president should immediately make that evidence public. In the absence of such evidence, and given this failure of leadership from Trump, it now falls to Congress to truly put America first by standing up for America’s sacred values and lasting interests. … Congress … should use its investigative and subpoena powers to press for an independent, thorough inquiry — no matter where it leads. It should use its power of the purse and authority to regulate foreign commerce to impose effective penalties on Khashoggi’s murderers and suspend the sale of U.S.-made weapons to the Saudis.” WaPo
— NYT’S DAVID KIRKPATRICK in London and BEN HUBBARD in Beirut: “The Invisible American in a Saudi Prison Cell”: “President Trump once offered a simple rationale for his hands-off approach to the case of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul: ‘It’s in Turkey, and it’s not a citizen.’ But this week, as Mr. Trump declared that he was sticking by the Saudi crown prince despite accusations that he was behind the killing, an American citizen was languishing in the bowels of the Saudi prison system. The citizen, Walid Fitaihi, a Harvard-trained doctor, hospital owner, television host and motivational speaker, has been detained without trial for more than a year.” NYT
SUNDAY SO FAR … FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Sandra Smith guest hosts): Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie. Panel: Jonah Goldberg, Adrienne Elrod, Matthew Continetti and Mo Elleithee
NYT’S JACK NICAS in SAN FRANCISCO — “How Facebook’s P.R. Firm Brought Political Trickery to Tech”: “When Tim Miller, a longtime Republican political operative, moved to the Bay Area last year to set up a public relations shop, he brought with him tradecraft more typical of Washington than Silicon Valley. … Definers quickly found plenty of business, from start-ups like Lyft, Lime and Juul to giants like Facebook and Qualcomm, the influential chip company that was in a nasty legal fight with Apple over royalties, according to five people with direct knowledge of Mr. Miller’s work who declined to be named because of confidentiality agreements.
— CROOKED MEDIA has officially severed its relationship with TIM MILLER over his Definers work for Facebook. Their statement
AOC WATCH — “Ocasio-Cortez takes on the Amazon fight in New York,” by Dana Rubinstein in New York: “Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is assuming a leadership role in efforts to combat Amazon’s plan to build a new headquarters in Queens, an initial test of the incoming House freshman’s clout in her home city.
“The 29-year-old progressive darling headlined a closed-press, standing-room-only meeting of activists in lower Manhattan on Monday, near the site of the Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park.
“The meeting’s purpose, according to those who attended, was to strategize about how to kill Amazon’s deal to build a headquarters in Long Island City — a deal that proponents say would bring at least 25,000 well-paying jobs in exchange for roughly $3 billion in subsidies. Ocasio-Cortez did not explicitly say she wanted the deal to die, according to two attendees. But she implied as much.
“‘Her message was mostly about, how is it possible we’re giving that much money to the wealthiest corporation in the world, and how is it that our elected officials are expecting us to be quiet, and [how] that’s not going to be the case,’ said Maritza Silva-Farrell, executive director of ALIGN, an alliance of labor and community groups in New York.” POLITICO
AVENATTI UPDATE … “Michael Avenatti will not face felony charges in domestic violence probe,” by LA Times’ James Queally and Hannah Fry: “Attorney Michael Avenatti will not face felony charges based on allegations of domestic violence lodged against him by a 24-year-old actress. Los Angeles County prosecutors announced Wednesday they sent the case to the L.A. city attorney for possible misdemeanor charges. … Avenatti has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, lashed out at media outlets and insinuated in a series of tweets that his arrest was a setup by a conservative activist.” LAT
SPOTTED at Sen. Mark Warner’s (D-Va.) 32nd annual Pilgrim’s Lunch at the Palm, which benefits Share our Strength: Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Virginia AG Mark Herring, Terry McAuliffe, Russ Ramsey, Mark Ein, Raul Fernandez, Jack Davies, Jan Brandt, Mike Harney, Mike Henry, Ambassador William Eacho, Ambassador Howard Gutman, Ambassador Tod Sedgwick, Ambassador Tim Broas, Michael Powell, Ken Baer and Dan Feldman.
BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Ned Price, director of policy and communications at National Security Action, Georgetown professor and NBC contributor. What he’s been reading recently: “One of the joys of teaching is re-reading—or reading for the first time—material I’ve assigned. I recently found myself in a rabbit hole of investigative documents from the Watergate era for a class on intelligence oversight. It got me thinking that the post-Trump era—regardless of when it begins—similarly will require some national soul-searching and, in all likelihood, not insignificant reforms. The difference will be that, while the post-Watergate era was about curbing intelligence excesses, in this case, we’ll need to protect our intelligence and law enforcement communities from future presidents with corrupt intent.” Playbook Plus Q&A
BIRTHDAYS: Josh Alcorn is 38 … ABC News’ Matthew Mosk (hat tip: Ali Dukakis) … Jacob Wood, OMB deputy communications director (h/t Ninio Fetalvo) … Bettina Inclán Agen … Shefali Razdan Duggal … Matt Strawn … Cassie Spodak, producer for CNN digital politics (h/t fiance Matt Mowers) … Scott Wong, senior staff writer for The Hill … Pat Cunnane, writer for ABC’s “Designated Survivor” and an Obama WH alum … Hannah August … Jeff Tiller … Barney Keller, partner at Jamestown Associates, is 34 … Michael J. Szanto … Martin Burns … Robert Christie, VP of international media at Alibaba Group … Roger Fransecky … Marshall Schoenthal is 45 … Anne Shoup … Jonathan Kubakundimana … Politico’s Sarah O’Neill … TJ Cholnoky … Zoe Schlag … BBC’s George Alagiah … Rep.-elect Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.) is 4-0 …
… Andy Stern is 68 … Josh Goldstein … IBM’s Sammy Jordan … Tim R. Cohen … Yarden Golan, COS of Israel’s Embassy in Washington … theSkimm’s Jessica Turtletaub, who earlier this year married Lee Pepper — wedding pic … Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (h/t the ITIF team) … Welles Orr … Natasha Lennard … Meena Ganesan … James Williams, president of Engage Cuba, is 35 … Alexa Lucas … Lauren Pastarnack … Brian Francis Kelley … Harry Siegel, senior editor at The Daily Beast … Ryan Fitzgerald … Barbara Cameron … Craig Gilbert (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen argued against signing the declaration which would grant the military broad authority at the border. | Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images
The two squared off against administration immigration hawks over an order they said was beyond the president’s constitutional powers.
President Donald Trump this week presided over an explosive meeting on a new Cabinet order granting the troops deployed at the southern border the right to use lethal force to defend border patrol agents.
Several White House aides and external advisers who have supported the president’s hawkish immigration agenda attended the Monday meeting, which devolved into a melee pitting two of Trump’s embattled aides, White House chief of staff John Kelly and Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, against other attendees, according to three people briefed on the exchange.
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Kelly and Nielsen argued against signing the declaration, which granted the military broad authority at the border, telling the president that the move was beyond his constitutional powers. They were vocally opposed by, among others, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller; Chris Crane, president of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council; and Brandon Judd, president of the border patrol union. Also present was Vice President Mike Pence, who did not take a stand on the issue, according to one of the people briefed on the debate.
The bitter dispute ended Tuesday evening when Kelly, on Trump’s orders, signed a Cabinet declaration granting the military the disputed authority. The move ran afoul of the guidance offered by the White House counsel, Emmet Flood, who cautioned that it was likely to run into constitutional roadblocks, according to a second source familiar with the conversations.
The signing of the declaration, which vests Nielsen with the power to request military action to protect U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, appeared to take Defense Secretary James Mattis by surprise. It’s an indication of the extent to which immigration policy in the Trump White House is engineered by a small group of hawks, including Miller — and, as a result, has often caught other stakeholders off guard.
Mattis appeared not to have seen the order before it was signed, telling reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday, “I’m reviewing that now.” He also suggested he was aware that Kelly had signed the order at Trump’s insistence: Kelly “has the authority to do what the president tells him to do,” Mattis said, adding that regardless of what he himself is asked to do, he will not order troops to violate the law.
“The brave men and women at Customs and Border Protection willingly put themselves in extremely dangerous situations every day to protect Americans and their families,” said deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley in a statement. “The President’s authorization ensures the Department of Defense can step in to protect those who protect us.”
The move comes at a time of intense speculation over both Kelly’s and Nielsen’s future in the administration. Since the midterm elections, the president has told friends and associates that he is intent on firing Nielsen, but has yet to make a move. He has criticized her repeatedly for what he views as her weakness on immigration and border issues, matters on which Kelly has repeatedly come to her defense.
Kelly has argued, for example, that Nielsen bears no responsibility for the rising number of apprehensions at the southern border, and White House aides speculated that he had signed a declaration he personally opposed — and that empowered her to take actions she had also resisted — in another effort to protect her position.
The president’s move on Tuesday is also illustrative of the extent to which, on immigration in particular, he has stretched the limits of his constitutional powers, preferring to issue executive orders rather than work through Congress. It’s an instinct that has been encouraged by advisers like Miller, who have pointed out that previous presidents have extended the powers of the executive branch further.
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily suspended an executive order that denies asylum to all migrants who cross the border illegally, and a federal appeals court earlier this month ruled that Trump’s decision last year to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which granted legal status to children brought into the country illegally, was unconstitutional.
Some legal experts are saying the same about Tuesday’s declaration, arguing that it violates the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law that prohibits the U.S. military from acting as law enforcement agents on American soil. A White House official said the Justice Department supports the measure, arguing that it is “consistent with the protections offered to federal personnel … in prior instances.”
“We’ll decide if it’s appropriate for the military, and at that point, things like Posse Comitatus obviously are in play,” Mattis said. “We’ll stay in strict accordance with the law.”
The tense White House meeting came after the commander overseeing the mission at the southern border, Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, told POLITICO earlier this week that the 5,000-plus troops deployed there did not have the authority to use lethal force — or to conduct any law enforcement activity on U.S. soil.
Happy Thanksgiving, now you’ll be forced to spend time with your family.
While you may be excited by the prospect of enjoying some quality time with your family, you may also have some concerns and reservations about dinner. There are — as we have all learned this year — so many ways that things can quickly shift from joyous to horrifying.
But don’t worry, we’ve come up with a couple of unique and effective ways for you to shift the energy at your Thanksgiving dinner table, should things take a turn for the worst. From playing with pets to handy Alexa skills, we’ve got you covered this holiday season. Oh, and, feel free to reuse these ideas come Christmas as well.
Here are the 13 best ways to get out of your most uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner moments:
1. Call upon Alexa for back up
Things just got super weird, and your family has an Echo or Echo Dot? Call out to Alexa for help. No, seriously.
Alexa now has over 20,000 skills available for almost anyone to use. We recommend asking:
Alexa, play Beer Goggles
Alexa, launch This Day In History
Alexa, play Jeopardy
You can also check out this handy article to see the 60 most useful Alexa’s abilities, for even more skills and commands to call out during dinner.
2. Change the subject
This advice is obviously easier said than done, especially when conversations get heated and emotional. But, there are ways to effectively transition from difficult talks to slightly less trying ones!
Real Simple has a really smart and easy to use guide on changing the subject and repositioning conversations — invaluable insights for awkward family gatherings.
3. Keep football on in the background
Even if you’re not super into football, keeping the game on in the background can serve as a welcome distraction at tenser moments during the evening and it gives everyone something to talk about.
Even if you know nothing about football, you can comment on the commercials, make fun of referees, or just pick a team to root for to make the time pass by faster.
4. Play with pets
Pets are meant to be played with — and this is even more true during a difficult time with family. Beckon pets over to you for cuddles and kisses, use a turkey bribe if you must, so that you can enjoy their comforting presence.
5. Discuss the book you read last
If you’re afraid of accidentally bringing up a touchy subject, instead bring up a book or article you read last that you found to be super interesting — and invite others to do the same.
As long as the last books you or your family read aren’t super controversial this is bound to be a good topic of conversation.
6. Play Bop It!
Take a page from the Gilmore Girls, and break out the Bop It! when things get dire.
Bop It! is quite possibly one of the easiest games to play since there’s no set up, no board, all you have to do is team up with someone to play it. And the game is goofy enough that you’ll all find yourselves laughing at how impossible it is to beat.
7. Call or DM Turkey hot lines
For years, Butterball has catered to less intuitive home cooks by keeping its “Turkey Talk Line” open for any and all turkey-related questions. But this year, they’ve gone digital.
You can now tweet, dm, or ask Alexa for help with all of your turkey cooking needs. (And yes, you can still call them.)
If you’ve run out of things to talk about, or just want to switch topics, tweeting at or asking Alexa some ridiculous turkey questions could be just what you and your family needs.
8. Invite a “buffer” over for dinner
It might seem cruel to invite someone to Thanksgiving in the hopes that they’ll create a buffer for you and your weirdo family, but in reality this tends to make the meal much more enjoyable for everyone.
If you know someone who doesn’t have anywhere to go this holiday, or someone that’s spending their first holiday in the states, why not invite them over? You and your family will spend time asking your buffer about what they do, their family traditions, and they’ll be so distracted that they’ll forget to ask you if you’re seeing anyone special this year.
9. Bring some Play-Doh along
Another valuable tool in the Thanksgiving dinner arsenal is play dough! If there are kids at your gathering, they’re sure to get a kick out of playing with Play-Doh, and adults will have fun revisiting this childhood toy.
It may seem kind of goofy, but your guests will definitely enjoy and welcome this distraction.
You can buy a pack on Amazon, or if you’re feeling overly ambitious this year, you can make your own fall-scented dough with the help of this recipe — just don’t let anyone eat it!
10. Read off some funny tweets
Make a list on Twitter of all the funniest people you follow, and refresh it to keep yourself amused throughout the evening.
And, if you’re wondering who to follow, we recommend, I’ve Pet that Dog, for some extremely wholesome content, any of these celebrity trolls for hilarious commentary, and the always amusing comedian Rob Delaney. Alternatively, you can always just look back on some of the best tweets of the year.
11. Take a break
There’s no hard and fast rule that says you’re never allowed to get up from the dinner table. If you need a break, take a break. Walk around the block, chill out in the bathroom, or head anywhere else you like for a little reprieve.
You’re an adult! You can do whatever you want — with a few minor caveats.
If things aren’t going great, do what you need to make yourself more comfortable. Sure, dinners can get tense, but you shouldn’t feel like you’re being tortured.
12. Use telemarketers to break up fights
Telemarketers Save Thanksgiving is a website that allows you to send a call to whatever phone you want, that will play a selection a soothing recording of your choosing.
You can choose to have the National Anthem, calming ambient sounds, and positive affirmations, among other non-antagonizing messages play when the telephone is answered.
13. Eat through the pain
Look, we’ve all gathered for the food — and to be thankful, or whatever — so why not fully lean into the dinner.
Savor the smorgasbord of food at your table, compliment the dishes you like, and give thanks to whomever your host is. Everyone loves food, and almost everyone loves to talk about it, so why not make it your mission to discuss nothing but this year.
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Daily Trends Hunter 