The super popular robot vacuum by iRobot — the Roomba 960 — is on sale for just $415.99, or $283.01 off its list price on Amazon, with a coupon that will be calculated at checkout. This is the best price we’ve *ever* seen on this item, so you should probably get on that.
Tidying up around the home is tedious enough, but taking on this terrible task on a daily basis will drive anyone bonkers. Thankfully, the iRobot Roomba 960 robot vacuum will take the chore out of doing your chores with its easy-to-schedule cleaning modes that are accessible from your smartphone via Wi-Fi.
The Roomba 960 uses iRobot’s new iAdapt 2.0 Navigation with Visual Localization to seamlessly navigate through just about any household surface like hardwood and carpeted floors. The robot vacuum can run for up to 75 minutes and then automatically recharges when its battery is low before it goes back to cleaning your home.
Just press “clean” or schedule a cleaning on the iRobot Home app and the Roomba 960 will do the rest, even if you’re at the office or away from home. The vacuum is also compatible with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant.
iRobot’s AeroForce Cleaning System can lift dirt from floors with up to five times more power than previous models, while it can loosen and untangle pet and human hair with ease. The Roomba 960 is ideal for pet owners, busy professionals, the elderly, and tech enthusiasts who want the latest and greatest in smart home technology.
“I am a single mother and the first night I got this my 8 year old son and I sat on the floor eating popcorn watching it. It just doesn’t get old and I’ve had it two months. I took it to my parents house and they ended up getting one because vacuuming is getting harder for them as they get older. Despite the need and entertainment factor, on my best day vacuuming I could never come close to what this thing gets. It is actually shocking. And for the tech geeks out there, you will LOVE this. I can only imagine how happy the engineer was the first time this actually worked. It has literally changed my life and my parents. Never thought I’d be so excited about a vacuum, but it is what it is.”
The statement made by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reflects ongoing tension between the White House and Pentagon over the border mission that President Donald Trump ordered. | Win McNamee/Getty Images
The 5,800 active-duty troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border will remain mostly unarmed and won’t expand their duties to arresting migrants, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday — despite a new White House order giving him the discretion to provide new types of protection to Border Patrol agents.
“I’m reviewing that now,” Mattis said of the order. But he added: “We are not doing law enforcement. We do not have arrest authority.”
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The development reflects ongoing tension between the White House and Pentagon over the border mission that President Donald Trump ordered just before the midterm elections. Trump has repeatedly said the numbers of troops would grow and argued they are defending the United States against a migrant “invasion” moving north through Mexico, only for the Pentagon to send smaller numbers and insist that their only role is to support civilian authorities.
The new order, signed Tuesday night by White House chief of staff John Kelly, does not give new tasks to the military but allows Mattis to expand the troops’ duties if Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen requests it. Neither the Pentagon nor the White House would immediately release the text of the document.
“I now have the authority to do more. Now we’ll see what she asks me” to do, Mattis said Wednesday, referring to Nielsen. He also referred to the Posse Comitatus Act, the 19th-century federal law that prohibits the use of active-duty troops for domestic law enforcement.
“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.”
Asked why the White House issued the memo if it does not significantly change the troops’ role, Mattis seemed to suggest that Trump himself had directed Kelly to issue it out of concern for the protection of Border Patrol agents.
Kelly “has the authority to do what the president tells him to do,” Mattis said. “It’s not an unreasonable concern on the part of the president that we may have to back up Border Patrol.”
But Mattis said the military’s main way of protecting the agents will be what it has been — stringing concertina wire and constructing other barriers at U.S. ports of entry.
The Army commander overseeing the border mission, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, told POLITICO this week that his troops do not have the authority to defend Border Patrol agents — only to defend other military personnel. “We have the authority to protect ourselves but essentially this becomes a law enforcement task, and so it takes the president to direct us to do so,” Buchanan said.
On the other hand, the rules governing military activity in the U.S. already grant troops the explicit authority to protect nonmilitary personnel involved in their missions. It was not clear whether the Kelly memo constituted the extra step Buchanan referred to.
Mattis also downplayed the risk that the military mission could lead to troops firing on migrants — a possibility Trump has raised by saying he would respond to anyone throwing rocks as if they had a firearm.
“They’re not even carrying guns, for Christ’s sake,” Mattis said when asked how the military would avoid a repeat of a 1997 incident in which Marines on the border mistakenly shot a teenager. The military has said the work parties building fortifications on the border include one pistol-armed military policeman for every three or four unarmed combat engineers.
If troops are used to defend Border Patrol agents in violent situations, either under the existing authorities or new ones, they will be “unarmed MPs with shields, batons, no firearms,” Mattis said.
The only circumstance under which troops might detain migrants even for “minutes” at a time, he added, would be if they were “beating on a Border Patrolman and we’re in a position to stop them.” In such a case, the troops would promptly turn the detainee over to civilian authorities, he said.
Devin Lima, singer in the boy band LFO, died on Wednesday morning (November 21) following a yearlong battle with cancer, according to TMZ. He was 41.
In October 2017, fellow LFO member Brad Fischetti revealed that Lima had been diagnosed with stage four adrenal cancer after undergoing surgery to remove a large tumor from his abdomen earlier that month.
“I wish we had better news to share,” Fischetti said in an emotional video to fans after his bandmate’s diagnosis in 2017. “It’s devastating news, but at the same time, there’s nobody I know stronger than Devin Lima. No one has a stronger body, mind, or soul, and if anybody can defeat this, it’s Devin.”
Getty Images
Tragically, Lima is the second member of LFO to die of cancer — his death comes eight years after the trio’s frontman, Rich Cronin, died at the age of 36 following a lengthy battle with leukemia.
Lima joined the Massachusetts trio — LFO was short for Lyte Funky Ones — in 1999. The band broke big with their quirky ode to Abercrombie lovers, “Summer Girls,” that year, and followed it up with the hit “Girl on TV.” Their self-titled debut album went platinum in the U.S., and they released one more album in 2001, Life Is Good, before taking a hiatus in 2002.
Fischetti and Lima reunited as a duo in 2017 and released their first new song in 15 years, “Perfect 10,” that summer. The pair were planning to tour in spring 2018, but put their plans on hold following Lima’s cancer diagnosis.
A whole new year is right around the corner, and you know what that means for Samsung: a new Galaxy phone.
As the company prepares to launch its next flagship Galaxy phone (expected to be called the Galaxy S10) early next year, several reports of leaked features suggest the plan of attack is the same as it’s been: overwhelm rivals with tons of new features.
The latest S10 whispers come from the Wall Street Journal. The report claims Samsung’s next phone could come in three display sizes, measuring between 5.8 to 6.4 inches. These three versions are rumored to come with 3 to 5 cameras.
Additionally, the WSJ says Samsung’s working on a special fourth version with a massive 6.7-inch screen (the largest ever in a Samsung Galaxy S or Note phone) that’ll include 5G cellular connectivity. This would be Samsung’s first 5G phone and would be released initially in the U.S. and South Korea.
This 5G-equipped Galaxy S10 might have six cameras — two on the front and four on the rear. Even the most sophisticated smartphone, such as the LG V40 ThinQ and Huawei Mate20 Pro only have five and four cameras, respectively.
It’s still unclear which, but some S10’s might have a reverse wireless charging feature, which would allow the phone’s backside to wirelessly charge another device, such as another phone or a pair of wireless earbuds. Huawei’s Mate20 Pro already has this feature.
These new features alone could make the S10 stand out for the phone line’s 10th anniversary, but there’s more we’ve heard.
Previous reports suggest the S10 could have a built-in ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, displays that stretch even closer toward the edges with only a “punch hole” cutout in one corner for the selfie camera (so no notch), and Samsung’s revamped “One UI” interface for Android 9 Pie.
No word on whether Samsung will use a next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon chip (it’s very likely), but it’s possible a rumored Exynos 9820-powered variant could be quite the powerhouse. The 8-nanometer chip has eight cores and is 20 percent faster on single-core, and 15 percent faster on multi-core operations.
The chip also has a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) just for handling AI tasks, a faster LTE modem capable of up to 2Gbps download speeds, and an improved image signal processor for possibly better video recording (8K-resolution capture at 30 fps or 4K-resolution at 150 fps).
It’s a lot to take in if you’re not a phone geek. These rumors all suggest the S10 might boil down to a classic Samsung philosophy: More everything.
Premium hardware is easy now, and Samsung needs to make software advancements a priority.
As a tech reporter and reviewer, that has me a little worried. I’ve watched Samsung cram more and more technologies into its phones over the last decade, and while it makes for an impressive spec list to boast about, it also pushes software into the backseat.
A bigger screen, larger battery, more cameras, and faster performance will always be things to look forward to, but Samsung still needs to work on its software. It’s not just slapping a new “One UI” coat of paint on top of Android and calling it day.
Increasingly, phone makers are levering AI to improve things like voice assistants, to better predict what you want to do before you do it, and even to aid mobile photography (i.e., the impressive Night Sight feature for the Pixel 3).
Samsung’s made some headway improving its once promising Bixby assistant, which was originally intended to allow users to use voice controls for all phone operations in lieu of touching and tapping. But Bixby is still nowhere near as intelligent as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, or even Apple’s Siri.
Samsung’s weakness has never been hardware — it’s software. And with the S10, that doesn’t appear to be changing. I could be proven wrong as Samsung gets on stage to announce myriad ways software will be pushed front and center, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
What Samsung needs to do to make the S10 a winner — to give people a compelling reason to upgrade — is to balance both new hardware and software features. Otherwise, I predict it won’t be able to maintain a lead (if it gets one) for long.
Premium hardware is easy now. Huawei, OnePlus, and virtually every phone maker can easily catch up. Not to mention, cramming in more hardware features is a risk of its own without additional safety checks. Samsung won’t want another Note 7 situation on its hands just because it decided to pack more into a glass and metal slab.
Software is hard. Samsung needs to make software advancements a priority as well.
Facebook’s outgoing head of public policy, Elliot Schrage, (right), and TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington (left). TechCrunch acquired Shcrage’s internal memo in which the outgoing exec takes blame for the work of the public policy firm Definers, of which Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg have said they had no knowledge.
Facebook’s head of public policy, Elliot Schrage, sent a memo to Facebook employees in which he took the blame for hiring public policy agency Definers. Conveniently enough, this happened after he had already announced he was planning to leave Facebook.
TechCrunch acquired and published the memo Tuesday. You can read it in its entirety here.
Definers is the Republican-affiliated firm the New York Times recently exposed for using opposition research tactics to spread negative news about Facebook’s competitors.
Definers responded to the Times report by saying that it was “not hired as an opposition research firm” by Facebook, even though a “fraction” of its work “included providing research and background information about critics” of the company. Schrage’s note affirms that Definers helped Facebook “positively distinguish us from competitors.”
Elliot’s mea culpa comes as both Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg deny having known about Definers and their work.
“Responsibility for these decisions rests with leadership of the Communications team,” Schrage wrote. “That’s me.”
Schrage is Facebook’s outgoing head of public policy; he announced that he would be stepping down in June, after what he called an “intense” tenure at Facebook, which also happened to be in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Somewhere, one stone is hurtling towards two birds.
Sheryl Sandberg commented on Schrage’s memo to also take responsibility for Definers, sort of. She apparently oversees the teams, but had little knowledge of the opposition research work. Mark Zuckerberg reiterated in a CNN interview that Sandberg will be staying on at Facebook.
“I want to be clear that I oversee our Comms team and take full responsibility for their work and the PR firms who work with us,” Sandberg wrote.
Sandberg said that prior to the Times report, her knowledge of Definers was limited to a “small number of emails” that she had seen.
Facebook fired Definers one day after the Times article was published. According to Schrage’s memo, Sandberg and Zuckerberg have now ordered a review of Definers’ work and the work of other public policy firms with whom Facebook contracted.
Facebook leadership including Schrage, Sandberg, and Zuckerberg maintains that Definers did not spread “fake news” about its competitors. But Schrage characterizes the reason for the firm’s firing as Facebook holding itself to a “higher standard” than the mud-slinging of other firms.
“Mark has made clear that because Facebook is a mission driven company, he wants to hold us to a higher standard,” Schrage wrote. “He is uncomfortable relying on any outside firm to make decisions about how to make our case about our mission, policies, competitors and critics until he can become comfortable with our management, oversight and escalation.”
Sheryl Sandberg described the revelations in the Times article as a “distraction,” and Schrage wrote that he’s “deeply disappointed that so much internal discussion and finger pointing has become public.”
Both reaffirmed support for the communications team that oversaw Definers, while also explaining that Definers’ work went on — supposedly without the knowledge of higher ups — because of organizational issues within the comms team. It’s so nice when the problem is the “management process,” as Schrage described it, and not managers, right?!
Schrage previously worked for Google, where he faced Congressional scrutiny in 2006 for the company’s censoring of search results in China.
New Delhi, India –Women journalists and activists in India have hit back after Twitter apologised for a photo of its top official holding a photo that criticised patriarchy propped by India’s caste system.
Twitter accounts sympathetic to India’s far-right branded Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s holding the sign as “hate-mongering”.
The placard that read “smash Brahminical patriarchy” referred to the highest Hindu caste and its alleged sanction for patriarchal oppression of women.
The controversial photograph was taken during Dorsey’s recent India trip, when Twitter hosted a closed-door discussion with a group of women journalists and activists.
The poster was handed to Dorsey by Sanghapali Aruna, a Dalit activist. Dalits fall at the bottom of India’s complex, and often brutal, caste hierarchy.
On Monday, Vijaya Gadde, a top Twitter official, apologised on behalf of the company following a massive backlash from mostly upper caste Indians, who were incensed by what they read as “hate speech” against Brahmins.
I’m very sorry for this. It’s not relective of our views. We took a private photo with a gift just given to us – we should have been more thoughtful. Twitter strives to be an impartial platform for all. We failed to do that here & we must do better to serve our customers in India
On Wednesday, a group of journalists and activists, who were at the meeting with Dorsey, accused Twitter of “misrepresentation and half-truths”.
A statement issued by a group of women journalists and activists said the apology came as a “disappointment to all of us dealing with abuse, harassment and legal threats”.
“This is also in sharp contrast to Twitter’s strong stand in favour of women and marginalised communities in other countries,” it said.
“We call on Twitter to step up and not capitulate to bigotry, disinformation and bullying and to address in serious terms the problem of trolls threatening the life and liberty of scores of women and marginalised communities online,” the statement added.
Divided over a placard
Frequent instances of so-called “honour killings”, where young inter-caste couples are killed most often by irate upper caste families, are a reflection of just how tightly caste holds India in its grip.
A recent Reuters poll said India is the world’s most dangerous country for women while Dalits have suffered thousands of years of exclusion and extreme poverty.
“Traditionally, Brahmins have had power and privilege over others and had control over knowledge, resources and women’s sexuality. That power hierarchy is still intact,” Aruna, founder of rights group Project Mukti, who gave the placard to Dorsey, told Al Jazeera.
“Lower caste women, and those from minority communities, are vulnerable to injustice and oppression from upper caste men in positions of authority,” she said.
On the other hand, Indians sympathetic to Hindu nationalists, like journalist Chitra Subramaniam, said the Twitter CEO’s photo with the placard was “an incitement to violence”.
Woke up Tuesday morning to see Brahmin names floating around on my TL. If Smashing Brahminical Patriarchy is not an incitement to violence, what is? An influential platform like @twitter must be responsible. @TwitterIndia
A government official said the placard was “a fit case for registration of a criminal case for attempt to destabilise the nation”.
Do you realise that this picture has potential of causing communal riots at a time when several States are going to Assembly Elections in India. Even now an apology is not offered. Actually its a fit case for registration of a criminal case for attempt to destablise the nation.
T V Mohandas Pai, former finance chief at software company Infosys, accused Dorsey of “hate-mongering” against the Brahmins.
Religion and caste often clash violently with womens’ rights in India.
In recent weeks, conservative Hindu groups have prevented women from entering an ancient Hindu temple in southern India, defying a Supreme Court order that lifted a centuries-old ban on women devotees.
Social media and far-right groups
Twitter’s apology has sparked outrage over the perceived inability of social media giants to stand-up to far-right bullying in India.
“Jack wasn’t advocating any campaign. The poster wasn’t trying to create animosity between groups. Twitter had no reason to apologise, except they feared a backlash from the right-wing and the government,” Tejas Harad, editor at the Economic and Political Weekly, told Al Jazeera from Mumbai.
Dorsey had also met Hindu nationalist leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his India trip.
Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for having us today. I enjoyed our conversation about the importance of global conversation. Also: thanks for the ideas for Twitter! pic.twitter.com/aelfOEZ65v
“The poster upset many because upper castes in India don’t like to publicly acknowledge the caste system. It embarrasses them,” said Harad.
Meanwhile, Twitter said it is committed to remaining “apolitical”.
“We are proud of the fact that Twitter is a platform where marginalised voices can be seen and heard, but we also have a public commitment to being apolitical. We realize that the photo may not accurately represent that commitment and we apologise for any offence caused,” a Twitter spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
Hate online
But Twitter’s apology, and its distancing itself from the anti-caste placard, has left many disappointed.
“These platforms back movements against oppressive structures if it benefits them. Take the case of feminism. Twitter had introduced special emojis for the #metoo hashtag. Is the feminist movement not political?” asked Harad.
Analysts point out that social media channels have given its users a platform to be heard and a role in catalysing democratic voices in many parts of the world.
“Twitter’s apology itself is a political stand,” said Aruna.
“Our communities need to be protected from any kind of hate speech and bullying that can translate into physical violence including lynching. We don’t want India to be the next Rakhine state.”
Earlier this year in the US, Twitter faced flak for “verifying” and handing out “blue ticks” to several hate groups and white supremacists.
Twitter, like other social media platforms, is struggling to curb online hate in countries like India, home to its fastest growing user-base.
According to networking giant CISCO, India’s internet market will exceed 800 million by 2021.
Meanwhile, online hate against critics of the government or right-wing groups has reached unprecedented levels in the past few years.
“Twitter accounts which repeatedly spew hate, post death threats – no action is taken against them. So many anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit messages go unpunished. Criticise upper caste oppressive systems, and you are swiftly apologising for it. This is worrying,” said Harad.
ALERT FOR MAR-A-LAGO … AP’S MARK SHERMAN: “Roberts criticizes Trump for ‘Obama judge’ comment”: “Chief Justice John Roberts is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s description of a judge who ruled against Trump’s new migrant asylum policy as an ‘Obama judge.’
“It’s the first time that the leader of the federal judiciary has offered even a hint of criticism of Trump, who has previously blasted federal judges who ruled against him.
“Roberts said Wednesday the U.S. doesn’t have ‘Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.’ He commented in a statement released by the Supreme Court after a query by The Associated Press.
“Roberts said on the day before Thanksgiving that an ‘independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.’” AP
WSJ’S ALEX LEARY (@learyreports) at 12:32 p.m.: “WH: ‘POTUS is playing a quick round of golf with Jack Nicklaus and his son Gary, and grandson G.T.’ The president is spending the holiday at Mar-a-Lago.”
PELOSI IS CLEANING UP … NEW YORK REP. BRIAN HIGGINS, who has long had gripes with HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI (D-CALIF.), will back her for speaker: Via the Buffalo News’ Jerry Zremski: “Higgins, in a telephone interview with The Buffalo News, said he decided to support Pelosi after she agreed to rank two of his top priorities among the new Democratic House’s priorities.
“He said Pelosi agreed that Democrats will advance a major infrastructure bill early in the next Congress, and that Higgins will be able to take the lead as House Democrats also work to pass his proposal to allow people to buy in to Medicare at the age of 50.
“‘I have an agreement in principle with the Democratic leader that those are going to be two priorities, and that I will be the lead person on the Medicare buy-in,’ Higgins said.
“Higgins’ move comes five months after he announced that he would not back Pelosi, 78, for the top Democratic position in the next House. Calling her ‘aloof, frenetic and misguided,’ Higgins said at the time that his problems with Pelosi stemmed from the fact that she was not pushing infrastructure investment and his Medicare bill as aggressively as he would have liked.” Buffalo News
PELOSI on Higgins’ support: “For years, Congressman Higgins has been an extraordinary leader on the issue of achieving quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
“His Medicare buy-in proposal is central to this debate, as we work to build on the Affordable Care Act. We looking forward to working together to lower the cost of health care for hard-working families and raise their paychecks by building infrastructure of America, which is also an important issue to Congressman Higgins. I am honored by his support.”
HIGGINS: “Some will ask why I have changed my position. The answer is simple: I took a principled stand on issues of vital importance not only to my constituents in Western New York but also to more than 300 million Americans whose lives can be improved by progress in these areas.
“A principled stand, however, often requires a pragmatic outlook in order to meet with success. I look forward to new beginnings in the 116th Congress, where with leadership’s help, I will continue to advocate for these changes so that this body can better fulfill its constitutional roles.”
— LET’S REVIEW: From Marcia Fudge to Brian Higgins, the opposition is shrinking very quickly. No opponent has surfaced. We’ve spoken to some members of the rebel crew that seem very concerned about their growing isolation. Watch for more deals soon.
UPDATE … RHODE ISLAND REP. DAVID CICILLINE is running for chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, a newly created operation that will provide another fiefdom for a leadership aspirant.
L.A. TIMES’ JEN HABERKORN on THEDCCC RACE: “In the race to become head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, [Illinois Rep. Cheri] Bustos is up against another Democrat who won in a Trump district, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, as well as two Democrats from Washington state, Reps. Dennis Heck and Suzan DelBene. All of them, like Bustos, have worked with the campaign group in prior years.
“Pelosi, who is facing her own leadership race, has not put her thumb on the scale in the DCCC contest. But Bustos said Pelosi ‘has personally said to me and many others’ that she wants to see a woman in the job. A Pelosi spokesman declined to comment on a private conversation.” LAT
Good Wednesday afternoon. REMINDER: This is the last Playbook PM for the week. Playbook will be in your inboxes as usual all week.
AT THE BORDER … MILITARY TIMES’ TARA COPP: “White House approves use of force, some law enforcement roles for border troops”: “The new ‘cabinet order’ was signed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, not President Donald Trump. It allows ‘Department of Defense military personnel’ to ‘perform those military protective activities that the Secretary of Defense determines are reasonably necessary’ to protect border agents, including ‘a show or use of force (including lethal force, where necessary), crowd control, temporary detention. and cursory search.’ …
“Some of those activities, including crowd control and detention, may run into potential conflict with the 1898 Posse Comitatus Act. If crossed, the erosion of the act’s limitations could represent a fundamental shift in the way the U.S. military is used, legal experts said.” Military Times
WHAT’S ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND — @realDonaldTrump at 7:49 a.m.: “Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82. Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let’s go lower!”
— CONTEXT … @CBCAlerts: “Saudi Arabia has sought to boost oil prices by promising to pump fewer barrels in December. A week ago, it backed a proposal for OPEC nations to cut production by one million barrels per day.”
MORE KHASHOGGI FALLOUT … REUTERS/ISTANBUL: “Turkey accuses U.S. of turning blind eye to Saudi killing of Khashoggi”: “Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy chairman of President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, dismissed Trump’s assessment. ‘Yesterday’s statement is a comic statement,’ he told state broadcaster TRT Haber.
“‘It is not possible for an intelligence agency such as the CIA, which even knows the colour of the fur on the cat walking around the Saudi consulate’s garden … to not know who gave this order,’ he said. ‘This is not credible either for U.S. public opinion or the world public opinion.’” Reuters
IVANKA UPDATE … “GOP committee chairmen ask White House for details on Ivanka Trump’s email use,” by Caitlin Oprysko: “In a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) asked that the administration provide his committee with an accounting of Ivanka’s email use for government business, including details on whether the White House had complied with security and record-keeping requirements as laid out by the Presidential Records Act, and whether Trump, a senior adviser to her father, had sent any sensitive or classified information over her personal email. …
“The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday also wrote to the White House asking for details about Ivanka’s email use and any training she received regarding compliance with record-keeping statutes.” POLITICO … Gowdy’s letter … SHSC letter
THE INVESTIGATIONS … DARREN SAMUELSOHN: “Mueller urges court to reject Papadopoulos’ bid to delay his prison sentence”: “[George] Papadopoulos is scheduled to surrender Monday to the Bureau of Prisons to begin a 14-day sentence stemming from his guilty plea last October for making false statements to the FBI. …
“Papadopoulos has shifted course and tried to reopen his case by citing a pending appeal from a longtime aide to Roger Stone who is challenging Mueller’s underlying appointment to investigate connections between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. In a six-page reply filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Mueller’s prosecutors shredded Papadopoulos for trying to back his way out of his original guilty plea while noting point blank to the judge that there is ‘no pending appeal in this case’ for him to even rule on.” POLITICO … The six-page reply
WHITAKER WATCH — WAPO’S MICHAEL KRANISH: “As U.S. attorney, Whitaker imposed longer-than-usual drug sentences”: “Raeanna Woody’s crimes hardly seemed like they would add up to a life sentence in prison. She had two nonviolent drug convictions … But when she was arrested in a third drug case, she said, the office of U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker decided to make an example of her. …
“Woody was given a choice: spend the rest of her life in jail, or accept a plea-bargain sentence of 21 to 27 years, according to court records. She took the deal. Federal Judge Robert W. Pratt in the Southern District of Iowa later accused prosecutors of having ‘misused’ their authority in her nonviolent case. He urged President Barack Obama to commute her sentence — and Obama did shorten her term, after she had served 11 years. Woody’s case highlights one of the most controversial if little-known aspects of Whitaker’s career: his efforts to obtain unusually stiff sentences for people accused of drug crimes.” WaPo
THE LATEST IN CALIFORNIA — California Playbook’s Carla Marinucci emails: “Arnold Schwarzenegger showed up unannounced this morning at the Camp Fire base near Chico. He came with no entourage, just started serving breakfast to first responders.
“He’s speaking to the firefighters on their daily brief, then going to the town’s emergency operations center to meet with the mayor and elected officials to see what help they need, pack and deliver lunches for the people who are homeless.” Pic
TRADE FILES — BURGESS EVERETT: “GOP senators seek quick passage of Mexico-Canada trade deal”: “In a letter to Trump obtained by … POLITICO, a dozen Senate Republicans with wide-ranging views on trade policy urged the president to submit the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement by the end of November to Congress to allow a vote on it before the end of the year. … The biggest problem for these senators is the agenda crush at the end of the year.” POLITICO … The letter
KNOWING JOHN THUNE … BURGESS EVERETT and JOHN BRESNAHAN: “Meet the GOP’s new arm-twister in the Trump era”: “Thune comes in with a chairman’s pedigree after running the Senate Commerce Committee for four years. Though a conservative, his mild-mannered politics contrast with the bare-knuckled partisan jabs of outgoing whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) …
“The South Dakota senator isn’t as close to Trump as Cornyn is, yet. He describes a warm relationship with the president and aligns with Trump on the border wall and the president’s opposition to legislation protecting Mueller. But he knows they won’t always see eye to eye. If it makes the most sense for his members, Thune is willing to put distance between himself and the president.” POLITICO
IMMIGRATION FILES — “Why Big Law Is Taking on Trump Over Immigration,” by NYT’s Annie Correal: “Big Law — a nexus of power where partners are often plucked for top government posts — has emerged as a fierce, and perhaps unexpected, antagonist to President Trump’s immigration agenda. While pro bono work is nothing new, over the past two years, major law firms have become more vocal and visible in pushing back against the administration’s policies.
“Top firms have a well-earned reputation as cautious defenders of the establishment, and immigration is generally considered a safe area for pro bono work because it rarely conflicts with corporate clients. Still, both supporters and critics of the president’s agenda have noticed that large firms have been behind several of the biggest court battles.” NYT
ON THE WORLD STAGE … “South Korean named Interpol president in blow to Russia,” by AP’s Aya Batrawy and Angela Charlton in Dubai: “South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang was elected as Interpol’s president on Wednesday, edging out a longtime veteran of Russia’s security services who was strongly opposed by the U.S., Britain and other European nations.
“Kim’s surprise election was seen as a victory for the White House and its European partners, who had lobbied up until the final hours before the vote against Alexander Prokopchuk’s attempts to be named the next president of the policing organization. The U.S. and others expressed concern that if Russia’s candidate had been elected, that would have led to further Kremlin abuses of Interpol’s red notice system to go after political opponents and fugitive dissidents.” AP
NYT’S ADAM LIPTAK: “Conservative Heritage Foundation Revives ‘Training Academy’ for Judicial Clerks”: “The Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that has played a leading role in moving the courts to the right, is reviving a ‘federal judicial clerkship academy,’ according to materials posted on Wednesday on the group’s website.
“The foundation canceled an earlier version of the program last month after an article in The New York Times raised questions about some of its features, including requirements that participants keep teaching materials secret and promise not to use what they learned ‘for any purpose contrary to the mission or interest of the Heritage Foundation.’” NYT
AFTERNOON READ — “Inside the Hunt for the World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist,” by John Carlin in POLITICO Magazine, excerpted from his new book, “Dawn of the Code War: America’s Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat” ($17.14 on Amazon): “The new tactics from al Qaeda and ISIS eluded all of our well-placed trip wires; by switching to encouraging would-be recruits to remain at home, in the United States or Europe, and carry out attacks there, terror recruiters made it nearly impossible for us to spot typical behaviors—suspicious travel or money transfers—that would indicate a looming attack. …
“In some ways, though, as I looked at the problem, the situation was even more grating than that. We were, as a country and a society, providing technology to our adversaries … And we’d given it all to them for free—available for an easy download in the app store, just a few clicks away. It was as if we developed game-changing military command-and-control technology at the height of World War II and just handed it over to the Nazis and Japanese. In the midst of this already threatening environment, we began to hear the name Junaid Hussain.” POLITICO Magazine
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Caley Cronin, group VP of media relations and corporate communications at Fox News, and her husband welcomed Gunnar, who joins big brother James and sister Reagan. Pic
— Amanda Culp, director of communications at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and Josh Culp, global emergency response program manager at Micron Technology, welcomed Caroline Elizabeth Culp. Pic
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Google‘s latest Assistant update on iOS is packing quite the integration.
The app now supports Siri Shortcuts, which means, with that in tow, you can now say “Hey Siri, OK Google” to beckon Google’s assistant. Users who have the Google Assistant installed will find an update waiting in the App Store, and new users can download it here.
It’s not quite as easy as using the Google Assistant on an Android device like the Pixel 3. On that phone, all you need to do is say “OK Google,” followed by any command you’d like. On iOS, you still need to go through Siri to use the Google Assistant.
The “OK Google” command is used to open the Google Assistant app and get it listening. Saying “Hey Siri, OK Google” while your phone is locked will result in Siri telling you to unlock your iPhone to do that. It will then open the app, and the Google Assistant will be listening for a command.
It’s a neat integration, but it can be a bit clunky. On an iPhone or any iOS device, I don’t think we”ll ever see the day where a third-party assistant is as user-friendly as Siri. The “OK Google” command is made possible thanks to Siri Shortcuts. It’s a simple and easy way to program steps and tasks on an iOS device that launched in iOS 12.
Thanks to this integration, you can also use Siri Shortcuts and the Google Assistant for specific commands. Also, for all those smart home devices that don’t work with Apple HomeKit, but do work with Google’s ecosystem, this is an easy way to control those.
With the holidays approaching and smart home products being top gifts, this should make life a little easier across ecosystems. But for those wondering, these shortcuts don’t work with Apple’s HomePod.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers reportedly believed “the entire chemistry of the team was at stake” following the Draymond Green-Kevin Durant dustup.
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic reported Green’s suspension was a power move to ensure the Warriors locker room did not allow “personal grievances and lingering resentments” to ruin their season.
The Warriors suspended Green following a verbal attack he unleashed on Durant after the team’s Nov. 12 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Green reportedly called Durant a “b—h” on several occasions and accused him of holding his impending free agency over the Warriors’ heads.
“You’re a b—h and you know you’re a b—h,” Green said to Durant, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Durant and Green have both attempted to move on from the spat, but the Warriors are losers of three straight games and have struggled to score without Stephen Curry.
Durant told Haynes the argument with Green will not affect his free agency:
“Nah, [it won’t factor]. Because at the end of the day, I’m just a ballplayer that’s just trying to be in a great environment to play basketball and groom my skills every day. And I want to compete on a level that once the game starts, I’m just totally comfortable with my surroundings, with just going out there and being me.”
Some have wondered whether the decision to suspend Green signified Warriors management was taking sides should it have to choose between the two. Green has been the emotional heart and soul of the team, but he’s not of Durant’s caliber as a player, and his game isn’t likely to age well. Durant, on the other hand, is one of the 20 greatest players ever already and perhaps the most lethal scorer the NBA has ever seen.
There’s no question which player is more important from a basketball perspective.
That the Warriors felt the need to suspend Green is a sign that some of these issues have festered longer than anyone knows.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is expected to easily win the vote for speaker, which only requires a majority of the caucus. | AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Rep. Brian Higgins’ support deals a setback to the group looking to oust the California Democrat.
Nancy Pelosi has picked off another Democratic detractor who vowed to oppose the long-time Democratic leader, putting her one step closer to regaining the speaker’s gavel in January.
Rep. Brian Higgins, a New York Democrat who has criticized Pelosi for months and promised to vote against her in the new Congress, announced his support for the California Democrat Wednesday.
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“Power has been too consolidated atop the caucus and it was my hope that along with like-minded members, we would forge a new leadership structure,” Higgins said in a statement Wednesday. “Following conversations with Nancy and other caucus leaders, I have renewed confidence that more voices will be heard, that members will each have greater opportunities to advance policies meaningful to the communities and country we love. “
Higgins is the latest Pelosi critic to make an about-face — Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) announced she was backing Pelosi on Tuesday, just days after openly considering a bid against her. Fudge’s change of heart leaves the rebel group without anyone to challenge Pelosi for the top job.
Higgins’s flip deals another blow to the group of rebels looking to oust Pelosi after her 16 year reign over the caucus. Higgins was one of 16 current and incoming Democrats who signed a letter Monday promising to vote against Pelosi on the floor.
Higgins said he will now back Pelosi after she agreed to support two of his key legislative priorities in the new Congress: a major infrastructure package and legislation dealing with the Medicare enrollment age.
“Some will ask why I have changed my position. The answer is simple: I took a principled stand on issues of vital importance not only to my constituents in Western New York but also to more than 300 million Americans whose lives can be improved by progress in these areas,” he said.
Pelosi put out a statement Wednesday praising Higgins as an “extraordinary leader” on health care issues and saying she was “honored” to have his support.
The question now centers on whether other Democrats who have said they’ll oppose Pelosi for speaker stand firm in their opposition or relent, clearing her path back to the gavel.
Democrats meet next Wednesday for a closed-door vote for speaker and other leadership positions. Pelosi is expected to easily win the vote, which only requires a majority of the caucus.
The expected victory will give Pelosi and her allies more than a month to try to convince Democratic opponents to back her on the House floor in January.
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