WASHINGTON/ASUNCION (Reuters) - The United States on Friday ramped up its attempt to dislodge Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, imposing new sanctions and revoking visas, while opposition leader Juan Guaido said Maduro’s support among the military was cracking. Venezuelan military officials last weekend blocked an opposition-backed effort to bring food into the country via its borders with Colombia and Brazil, leaving two aid trucks in flames and five people dead. Guaido, who is recognized by most Western nations as Venezuela’s rightful leader, visited Paraguay and Argentina on Friday to shore up Latin American support for a transition government for the crisis-stricken nation. But Maduro retains control of state institutions and the apparent loyalty of senior figures in the armed forces. Following a meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires, Guaido said, without providing evidence, that 80 percent of Venezuela’s military nonetheless supported a change in leadership and that he would continue to seek the support of officers. Earlier on Friday in Paraguay, he said 600 members of Venezuela’s armed forces had already abandoned Maduro’s government following the clashes over the aid. Foreign military intervention is seen as unlikely and Guaido’s international backers are instead using a mix of sanctions and diplomacy to try to put pressure to bear on Maduro. “We are sanctioning members of Maduro’s security forces in response to the reprehensible violence, tragic deaths, and unconscionable torching of food and medicine destined for sick and starving Venezuelans,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. The United States “will continue to target Maduro loyalists prolonging the suffering of the victims of this man-made humanitarian crisis,” he said. U.S. sanctions block any assets the individuals control in the United States and bars U.S. entities from doing any business or financial transactions with them. The list includes National Guard Commander Richard Lopez and five other police and military officials based near the Colombian or Brazilian borders. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, talks to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, during their meeting at the Olivos Presidential Residence, in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 1, 2019. Argentine Presidency/Handout via REUTERS The U.S. State Department later said it had revoked the travel visas of 49 people as it cracked down on “individuals responsible for undermining Venezuela’s democracy.” Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Guaido slipped out of Venezuela last week, in violation of a Supreme Court order not to leave the country, to join the aid convoys in Colombia. There, he met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and other regional leaders and later traveled to Brazil. He has promised to return to Venezuela by Monday, seen as a form of direct defiance to Maduro, who has said Guaido will eventually “face justice.” The Argentine foreign ministry said in a statement that it expects the peaceful and safe return of the opposition leader to Venezuela, without risk to him, his family or his supporters. “Any act of intimidation or violence against the acting president, his family and his inner circle will be considered the responsibility of the Maduro regime,” the ministry’s statement said. On Thursday, Guaido told reporters in Brazil that he had received threats against himself and his family, including prison. Paraguayan President Mario Abdo tweeted on Friday evening that he authorized expired Venezuelan passports to be valid in Paraguay, a gesture of support for Venezuelans who have fled their home country. Governments around the region have called on Maduro to let aid in as inflation above 2 million percent per year and chronic shortages of food have left some eating from garbage bins in order to ward off malnutrition. Maduro has called the U.S.-backed humanitarian aid effort a veiled invasion meant to push him from power, and has insisted that there is no crisis in the country. Slideshow (7 Images)Russia has accused the United States of preparing to intervene militarily in Venezuela and, along with China, blocked a U.S. bid this week to get the United Nations Security Council to take action on Venezuela. Guaido is scheduled to travel to Ecuador on Saturday to meet with President Lenin Moreno. Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Daniela Desantis, additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Lisa Lambert in Washington, Mayela Armas in Caracas, Alexandria Valencia in Quito, and Eliana Raszewski and Cassandra Garrison in Buenos Aires; writing by Brian Ellsworth and Hugh Bronstein; editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Taiwan is fast becoming the preferred destination for Hong Kongers seeking protection.President Tsai Ing-wen today (July 19) acknowledged that Hong Kong protesters had arrived in Taiwan and said that these “friends” from Hong Kong would be “treated in an appropriate way on humanitarian grounds.” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which is in charge of relations with China, did not confirm whether it had been in contact with the protesters or how many had fled to Taiwan, but said that it would handle any cases in accordance with human rights while reiterating its support for Hong Kong’s freedoms.The case of the Hong Kong protesters is a test of Taiwan’s commitment to human rights and progressive values at a time of ever-tightening restrictions on personal freedoms in China, and as many see Beijing’s heavy hand eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy. Tsai herself has been extremely outspoken on the recent protests in Hong Kong, which are also fueling solidarity in both Taiwan and Hong Kong against Beijing.The protesters who have allegedly fled to Taiwan would not be the first from Hong Kong who have done so out of fear for their personal safety or for political reasons. In April, Lam Wing-kee—one of five Hong Kong booksellers who had disappeared in 2015 and later turned up in China—moved to Taiwan and vowed never to return to Hong Kong. Lam said at the time the government’s proposal to pass the extradition bill meant that he could be extradited to China, where he is wanted. Lam said he chose to go to Taiwan rather than other Western nations as he wanted to continue his work as a bookseller there.The Hong Kong government said in June that the bill was suspended, and later said it was “dead.” Protesters continue to press the government to fully withdraw it.Another Hong Kong woman, Lee Sin-yi, who was found guilty for her role in the 2016 “Fishball Revolution” riot, left the city for Taiwan in 2017 ahead of a court hearing. Having gone dark for almost two years, a recording purportedly featuring Lee surfaced in May where she warned that more Hong Kongers would be forced to go into exile in the future as Beijing tightens its grip on the city. Taiwanese media at the time said that Lee’s whereabouts were unknown after she had overstayed her visa.Two Hong Kong activists also gained refugee protection status in Germany in 2018 as they faced prison sentences for their role in the Fishball Revolution riot. Their status was only made known earlier this year—an announcement that shocked the city, which was once a haven for those fleeing persecution from mainland China. Writing from Göttingen in June, one of the men, Ray Wong, said in a New York Times op-ed that it was a “painful choice,” and likened the growing trend of Hong Kongers going into exile to that of the Dalai Lama and other Chinese political dissidents.However, those who have fled to Taiwan will not be able to receive the same treatment as the men who went to Germany. Attempts to pass a refugee law in Taiwan have stalled and the United Nations refugee agency does not operate there because Taiwan is not a member state. Chinese nationals (including those from Hong Kong), however, are treated under different rules under Taiwanese law because of the political relationship between Taipei and Beijing. China has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan. An article in Focus Taiwan, a government-linked news outlet, explained that that rules governing how to treat those fleeing political persecution from China are ambiguous, although the government is obligated to provide “necessary assistance” to those from Hong Kong whose lives are “immediately threatened.”In a recent instance of two men from China who fled to Taiwan, the government granted them entry for “professional exchanges” and then gave them humanitarian visas after they spent 125 days in limbo in Taipei’s airport. In the case of Lam, the bookseller, the Taiwan government has granted him a visa extension to give him more time to settle there and look for a job.

Attorneys General from New York and Texas are spearheading two separate multistate investigations into alleged anticompetitive practices at Facebook and Google’s parent company Alphabet.New York’s investigation will focus on Facebook’s dominance among social networks and what that power led to—alleged failures in safeguarding consumer data and monopolistic advertising practices. “The largest social media platform in the world must follow the law,” State Attorney General Letitia James said on Twitter. Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia will join James in the probe, according to a statement from her office.The Wall Street Journal also reported Friday that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton would lead a multi-state investigation into Google over alleged anticompetitive behavior, which would home in on the company’s impact on digital advertising markets and handling of consumer data. Paxton’s office confirmed a “multistate investigation” looking at “whether large tech companies have engaged in anticompetitive behavior that stifled competition, restricted access, and harmed consumers” to The Daily Beast.When asked about the state investigations, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda told The Daily Beast, “We look forward to working with the attorneys general to answer questions about our business and the dynamic technology sector.” Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tech giants have come up against an increasing amount of regulatory scrutiny in recent months that echo the Department of Justice’s crusade against Microsoft two decades ago. The Justice Department has opened a broad antitrust probe into the technology industry, though it has not zeroed in on particular companies.In July, the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion for mishandling users’ personal information, and just this week the FTC announced that it would fine YouTube $136 million for targeting children with advertising, though in both cases the fines were largely regarded as little more than a slap on the wrist.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Thousands of school teachers joined an 11th weekend of anti-government protests in Hong Kong on Saturday, as shops pulled down their shutters and braced for another restive summer night. Weeks of increasingly violent demonstrations have plunged the city into turmoil. Water-filled barricades fortify the airport and government offices. Posters showing bloody clashes are stuck on street corners and there is a protest nearly every night. The unrest began in June in opposition to a now-suspended extradition bill, and have since grown to include broader demands. Following an escalation in violence over the past few days, rallies on Saturday and Sunday are a test of whether the movement can retain the broad support it has appeared to enjoy. Saturday’s mostly peaceful protest suggested that it may - though thousands also attended a pro-police counter-rally, and a clearer picture is not likely to emerge until Sunday when a protest is scheduled that could draw tens of thousands. “The government has been ignoring us for months. We have to keep demonstrating,” said CS Chan, a maths teacher at a rally of teachers, which police said up to 8,300 people had attended, in heavy rain. Organisers said 22,000 were present. Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement that has enshrined some autonomy for Hong Kong since China took it back from Britain in 1997. During the past week they have increasingly directed their frustration toward police, who have responded with fiercer determination to clear them from the streets. As storms cleared, anti-government demonstrators also marched through Kowloon - the main built-up area on the mainland side of Hong Kong harbour - while large pro-police crowds rallied in a harbourside park across the bay. “I’m heartbroken to see the city being split up like this,” a retired telecoms technician, Michael Law, 69, told Reuters at the pro-police rally. “What the violent protesters have been doing shows no respect for Hong Kong’s rule of law.” Organisers said 476,000 people attended the pro-police rally, while police said 108,000 attended. Reuters was not able to verify either estimate. Riot police walk past a shop as they chase anti-government protesters down Nathan Road in Mong Kok in Hong Kong, China August 17, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas PeterMany shops in Kowloon had shut early, even on big retail boulevards, in anticipation of clashes that have tended to turn nasty at night as front-line activists attack police. On Saturday, protesters who had surrounded a police station soon vanished when riot officers advanced with shields and batons. Some said they were saving their energy for Sunday, when the pro-democracy Civil Human Rights Front, which organised million-strong peaceful marches in June, has scheduled another protest. The increasingly violent confrontations have plunged one of Asia’s financial capitals into its worst crisis for decades. The unrest also presents one of the biggest challenges for Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012. Hong Kong’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, has warned activists not tip their home into an abyss. The European Union urged all sides to engage in dialogue, following other calls for restraint as Chinese paramilitary police have run drills close to the Hong Kong border. Police in Australia also warned supporters and opponents of the Hong Kong protest movement to behave after scuffles at a rally in Melbourne. [nL8N25D04J] Chinese officials have likened some actions by protesters to “terrorism” and Chinese state media outlets have urged Hong Kong police to respond more robustly. Protesters have used slingshots to fire marbles at police, shone lasers at them and at times thrown bricks and firebombs. Having fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the streets, and at one point in a subway station, police are warning that they could get tougher. Although their stations have been attacked scores of times during the crisis, they have so far refrained from deploying water cannon, armoured cars or the dog squad. They have made some 750 arrests, charging some protesters with rioting, which can attract a 10-year jail term. Slideshow (20 Images)But many remain on the side of the demonstrators. Yu, a secondary school music teacher in her 40s, said she was determined to show support for protesting students, even though she did not agree with all their actions: “I do appreciate their courage and caring about Hong Kong ... they are definitely braver than our government.” Reporting by Marius Zaharia, Felix Tam, Anne Marie Roantree, Julie Zhu, Donny Kwok and James Redmayne in Hong Kong. Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels. Writing by Tom Westbrook and Greg Torode; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil (Reuters) - The leading candidate in Brazil’s presidential election is in serious but stable condition after being stabbed by an assailant at a campaign rally on Thursday, doctors said, pushing an already chaotic campaign into further disarray. Far-right firebrand Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a controversial figure who has enraged many Brazilians for years with divisive comments, but has a devout following among conservative voters, could take two months to fully recover and will spend at least a week in the hospital, said Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who operated on the candidate. “His internal wounds were grave and put the patient’s life at risk,” Borsato said, adding that a serious challenge now would be preventing an infection that could be caused by the perforation of Bolsonaro’s intestines. The attack on Bolsonaro, 63, is a dramatic twist in what was already Brazil’s most unpredictable election since the country’s return to democracy three decades ago. Corruption investigations have jailed scores of powerful businessmen and politicians in recent years, and alienated infuriated voters. There were fears that violence could flare across Brazil on Friday, as the nation celebrates its Independence Day and political groups are expected to march in hundreds of cities. Bolsonaro’s rival candidates called off their campaign activities for Friday. Under Brazilian campaign laws, Bolsonaro’s tiny coalition has almost no campaign time on government-regulated candidate ad blocs on TV and radio. That means he relies deeply on social media and raucous rallies around the country to drum up support. If Bolsonaro is not able to go out in the streets, it could jeopardize his campaign. But Flavio Bolsonaro, the candidate’s son, said early Friday outside the hospital where his father was treated that he was conscious and the attack was a political boost. “I just want to send a message to the thugs who tried to ruin the life of a family man, a guy who is the hope for millions of Brazilians: You just elected him president. He will win in the first round,” said Flavio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, a retired Army captain, is running as the law-and-order candidate and positioned himself as the anti-politician despite having spent nearly three decades in Congress where he has managed to author just a few laws. He has long espoused taking a radical stance on public security in Brazil, which according to United Nations statistics has more homicides than any other country. Bolsonaro, whose trademark pose at rallies is a “guns up” gesture with both hands to make them resemble pistols, says he would encourage police to kill suspected drug gang members and other armed criminals with abandon. He has openly praised Brazil’s military dictatorship and in the past said it should have killed more people. In casting his vote on the floor of Congress for the 2016 impeachment of former President Dilma Rousseff, he dedicated his ballot to the military regime figure who oversaw the prison where Rousseff was jailed for three years and brutally tortured. FILE PHOTO: Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro leaves an agribusiness fair in Esteio, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil August 29, 2018. REUTERS/Diego Vara/File photoBolsonaro faces trial before the Supreme Court for speech that prosecutors said incited hate and rape. He has called the charges politically motivated. Political violence is rampant in Brazil at the local level. For instance, in the months before 2016 city council elections in Baixada Fluminense, a hardscrabble region the size of Denmark that surrounds Rio de Janeiro, at least 13 politicians or candidates were murdered before ballots were cast. Earlier this year, Marielle Franco, a Rio city councilwoman who was an outspoken critic of police violence against slum residents, was assassinated. But violence against national political figures, even in the extremely heated political climate that has engulfed Brazil in recent years, is rare. The Federal Police said in a statement that it had officers escorting Bolsonaro at the time of the knife attack and the “aggressor” was caught in the act. It said the circumstances were being investigated. Local police in Juiz de Fora confirmed to Reuters that the suspect, Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, 40, was in custody and that he appeared to be mentally disturbed. Oliveira was affiliated with the leftwing Socialism and Liberty Party from 2007 to 2014, the party said in a written statement, in which it repudiated the violence. Police video taken at a precinct and aired by TV Globo showed Oliveira telling police that he had been ordered by God to carry out the attack. “We do not know if it was politically motivated,” said Corporal Vitor Albuquerque, a spokesman for the local police. TV images showed Bolsonaro being carried on someone’s shoulders in the middle of a crushing crowd of cheering supporters on one of the city’s main streets when a knife was seen raised above heads just before it plunged into the candidate’s body. The pictures show Bolsonaro screaming in pain, then falling backward into the arms of those around him. It took a few moments for the crowd to realize what occurred, but they quickly rushed the candidate out of the street. A few people gathered outside the hospital where Bolsonaro was treated Thursday night where the scene was calm. Slideshow (10 Images)Bolsonaro’s rivals in the race expressed outrage at the attack. Fernando Haddad, who will likely be the leftist Workers Party presidential candidate, said the stabbing was a “shame” and a “horror.” President Michel Temer and Bolsonaro’s electoral rivals Ciro Gomes, Marina Silva, and Geraldo Alckmin all expressed disdain of the violence. Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter in Juiz de Fora, Brad Brooks in Sao Paulo, and Anthony Boadle, Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl in Sao Paulo and Bruno Federowski in Brasilia; Editing by Grant McCool, Rosalba O'Brien and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Brazil’s justice minister Sérgio Moro is facing renewed pressure to resign after the country’s leading conservative magazine waded into a snowballing scandal over his role in a mammoth anti-corruption investigation that helped reshape South America’s political landscape.Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his supporters have tried to portray the slew of revelations about Moro’s conduct in ‘Operation Car Wash’ as part of a leftwing assault being spearheaded by the investigative website the Intercept and its co-founder Glenn Greenwald.In early June, the Intercept began publishing a series of exposés based on what it called “a vast trove” of leaked messages between Brazilian law enforcement officials.But efforts to disqualify the revelations were undermined on Friday when Brazil’s most influential conservative magazine, Veja, published a front-page report featuring damaging new disclosures about Bolsonaro’s most famous minister.Veja – long a cheerleader for Moro’s anti-corruption crusade – said its journalists had spent a fortnight poring over nearly 650,000 leaked messages between officials involved in the investigation, and concluded the former judge was guilty of serious “irregularities”.They included claims that – despite being a supposedly impartial judge in the ‘Car Wash’ inquiry – Moro had “illegally” steered prosecutors as they worked to convict Brazilian politicians.In a damning editorial Veja said its reporting “revealed with precision how Sérgio Moro had overstepped his role as a judge”.The magazine even drew parallels between the way it claimed Moro had taken “the law into his own hands” and the activities of death squads and vigilante killers.“There are those who applaud and defend this kind of behaviour, but as a responsible media outlet we cannot support such attitudes,” Veja said, denying its report was intended to boost Brazil’s left or help Lula escape prison.Reinaldo Azevedo, a prominent conservative commentator who has also collaborated with the Intercept, said Moro’s behaviour, as described by Veja, was a “scandal” and offered a roadmap “for everything a magistrate should not do”.“The report is devastating for Moro’s reputation. Devastating for the reputation of Brazil’s legal system. And this is only just the beginning,” Azevedo wrote.In a statement Moro – who has denied wrongdoing and resisted calls to resign – condemned “the distorted and sensationalist diffusion of supposed messages obtained by criminal means”.Bolsonaro, who this week completes six months in power, has so far stuck by his minister, celebrating Moro as a “national treasure” and parading him at a football match in the capital, Brasília. Topics Brazil Jair Bolsonaro Americas news

Last week’s horrific school shooting reminded us that Donald Trump has made America less safe. While mass shootings predate Trump, he has done something his predecessors did not: domestically, he’s shifted our focus towards immigrants and Muslims as threats, while willfully neglecting the threat posed by racists and rightwing extremists.Internationally, he’s imposed a Muslim ban that targets citizens of countries with no history of engaging in terrorism on US soil, at the expense of far more accurate predictors of violence.There were many signs that Nikolas Cruz posed a severe threat. He wrote on social media that he was going to be a professional school shooter. He talked about killing animals. According to his fellow students, he held racist views, degrading black people, Latinos and Muslims.“[H]e would degrade Islamic people as terrorists and bombers. I’ve seen him wear a Trump hat,” Ocean Parodie, a student at the school, told the Daily Beast. “He would always talk about how he felt whites were a bit higher than everyone,” another student added. Because Cruz did not match Trump’s definition of a threat: immigrants, African American youth, and Muslims – that is, non-white people.Neither did the 17-year-old alleged neo-Nazi in Virginia who is charged with killing Scott and Buckley Fricker right before Christmas – parents of my son’s soccer teammate.The teen’s neighbors said he mowed a swastika about 40ft across into the grass of a community field. They raised the issue with his parents, but they never called the police. A few weeks later, he was charged with murdering Scott and Buckley.Would the neighbors have called the police had the 17-year-old mowed 40ft Isis logos? Or would they just have complained to his parents? Had the FBI received reports that Cruz was a dangerous Isis sympathizer, would they have failed to investigate?We may never know. But much indicates that law enforcement would diligently follow up on any tips regarding Isis terrorists for a very simple reason: the political signal is that they are the priority – and everything else is not. It is a signal even ordinary people feel, people who would probably report an Isis sympathiser, but not an alleged neo-Nazi.This Trumpian signal is not rooted in a neutral threat assessment. Rather, it is itself motivated by politics: Trump apparently considers neo-Nazis, white supremacists and those motivated by racial and cultural anxiety as his constituency. Depicting them as a threat counters his interests while depicting those whom they hate as dangerous serves his agenda. The more immigrants and Muslims are seen as threats, the more America’s racists are compelled to back Trump.This makes Americans less safe. Not just because it turns Americans against Americans, but because Trump further shifts our focus away from the threat of rightwing extremists and racists even though they are at least as dangerous as Isis extremists. (Between 12 September 2001 and 31 December 2016, far-right elements committed 62 acts of terror, while Islamic extremists committed 23, though the latter group is responsible for more deaths, 119 to 106.)But Trump is not only jeopardizing America’s security domestically. His Muslim ban follows the same pattern of shifting our focus towards politically convenient threats at the expense of real and existing threats. According to the Cato Institute, citizens of the seven countries included in Trump’s initial ban accounted for zero terrorist-related deaths in the United States.More than 94% of all American terrorist-related deaths between 1975 and 2015 were perpetrated by citizens of three US allies who were not included in the ban. But more importantly, a homeland security report concluded that citizenship was “likely an unreliable indicator” of terrorist activity – undermining the very basis of Trump’s ban.Isis-inspired terrorists obviously do constitute a threat. But instead of addressing them – which would entail pressuring US allies who fund the terrorist network – Trump chose the politically convenient path of targeting Muslim-majority countries whose citizens were less geopolitically costly to ban. That way he could perpetuate the idea that immigrants and Muslims constitute a central threat, appease his base by imposing a ban, while willfully neglecting terror-supporting governments his administration considers allies.As willfully neglected rightwing extremists perpetrate more massacres, Americans are starting to recognize how Trump is playing politics with their security. Hopefully, the American public will also recognize that he is doing the same with their border security. Trita Parsi is president of the National Iranian American Council and author of Losing an Enemy – Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy Topics Parkland, Florida school shooting Opinion Gun crime Race Donald Trump US politics US school shootings comment

Five years after hosting the World Cup, Brazil again was home to a major competition; this time the Copa América with 12 teams competing over 26 matches. Chris Brunskill is one of a few European photographers that headed to South America to cover the tournament

A judge suggested that a teenage boy accused of raping a drunk girl at a party should be treated leniently because he came from “a good family”, and cast doubt on whether such an attack amounted to rape at all.Judge James Troiano in New Jersey made the remarks while ruling that the boy, who was identified only as “GMC”, should not face trial as an adult for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl while recording the incident on his mobile phone.“This young man comes from a good family who put him into an excellent school where he was doing extremely well,” Troiano said. “He is clearly a candidate for not just college but probably for a good college. His scores for college entry were very high.” Troiano, 69, also noted that the boy was an Eagle Scout.Investigators said GMC sent a clip of the alleged rape to seven of his friends, and later sent a text adding: “When your first time having sex is rape.” Yet Troiano suggested that, in his view, the alleged incident was a sexual assault rather than a rape.Troiano’s remarks, which he delivered at a family court hearing in July 2018, were highlighted this week in a sharply worded overturning of his decision by an appeals court. Prosecutors told NJ1015.com they would now seek an indictment from a grand jury so they may prosecute GMC as an adult.Prosecutors had alleged that GMC’s attack had been “sophisticated and predatory” and that he showed “calculated and cruel” behaviour by filming the incident, sharing the footage and then lying about it.Adult cases are heard by a jury and typically involve harsher punishments for those convicted. Records of juvenile cases are largely kept secret from the public.But Troiano refused, pointing to GMC’s background and saying that, in his view, a “traditional case of rape” involved more than one attacker using a weapon to take advantage of a victim in a remote location.The judge also cast doubt on allegations GMC’s victim was too drunk to understand what was happening, asserting that she “walked hand-in-hand” with GMC to a basement area where the alleged rape took place.And he dismissed the significance of GMC’s boastful text messages, describing this as “just a 16-year-old kid saying stupid crap to his friends”.The appeals court panel said Troiano had exceeded his role and “decided the case for himself” rather than properly reviewing the application by prosecutors to try GMC as an adult.In one drily scathing passage, the appeals court judges said they hoped juveniles would not be made to stand trial as adults if they “do not come from good families and do not have good test scores”. Topics New Jersey US crime news

By Updated Dec. 20, 2018 1:16 pm ET A German court Thursday found Apple Inc. infringed on a Qualcomm Inc. patent and must stop selling some older iPhones, the second time in weeks a court has ruled against the iPhone maker in the long-running dispute over smartphone technology. The district court in Munich issued an injunction that would block sales of iPhone 7 and 8 models, including the larger Plus devices, as well as the iPhone X. In order for a sales ban to go into effect, Qualcomm must pay a security deposit of €668.4 million ($761 million) for each of... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In

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The German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland has provoked an outcry by launching what it called a Jewish group within its ranks that it says will battle against the mass immigration of Muslim men who hold antisemitic views.The party said a group of 19 had formed “Jews in the AfD”, and that anyone joining had to be a card-carrying member of the party who was either ethnically or religiously Jewish.The move drew a backlash from Germany’s Jewish community, which called the AfD a racist and antisemitic party.About 250 people, many from Jewish organisations, held a protest in Frankfurt on Sunday against the new group.“You won’t get a kosher stamp from us,” Dalia Grinfeld, who heads the Jewish students’ union in Germany, said at the protest.Leading members of the AfD have been repeatedly criticised for comments appearing to play down the Holocaust, and Jewish organisations including the Central Council of Jews in Germany issued a statement condemning the the party ahead of Sunday’s march.“The AfD is a party that provides a home for hatred for Jews as well as the relativising, or even denial of the Holocaust,” it said.The AfD’s deputy parliamentary group leader, Beatrix von Storch, hit back in an interview published on Sunday by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.Taking aim at the Central Council of Jews, she compared it to “official churches” that she dismissed as “part of the establishment”. The AfD positions itself as a group offering voters an alternative to the country’s established mainstream parties.Capitalising on discontent over an influx of asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016, the AfD is the biggest opposition party in Germany with more than 90 seats in parliament.The deputy parliamentary group leader of Angela Merkel’s CDU party, Stephan Harbarth, called the AfD’s bid to start a Jewish wing hypocritical.“Whoever calls the Holocaust a speck of bird poo in German history does not fight antisemitism but mocks its victims, and definitely does not stand on the side of the Jews,” he told Sunday’s edition of Bild. Topics Germany The far right Europe Antisemitism Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) news

Former Intel Corp. chief Brian Krzanich has found a new job in the technology sector. CDK Global Inc., which makes software for auto dealerships, on Wednesday said it hired Mr. Krzanich as its new president and chief executive officer. He will also join the software company’s board.Mr. Krzanich succeeds Brian MacDonald, who had served as...

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, has agreed to cooperate with Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election as part of a plea deal.This comes just weeks after Manafort was also convicted on eight charges of bank and tax fraud, which happened within minutes of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” pleading guilty to charges including campaign violations.This all brings the number of presidential aides found to have broken the law to five.Since his election in November 2016, Trump’s campaign chairman, his deputy campaign manager, his national security adviser, his personal lawyer and a foreign policy aide have all admitted crimes or been convicted as a result of special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation.Manafort, 69, was the president’s campaign chairman for five months in 2016 during a crucial period in the run-up to the election.On Friday, he admitted to conspiring to defraud the US and conspiring to obstruct justice in return for other charges against him being dropped. A filing to the court by Mueller’s team indicated that Manafort would receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.The charges against Manafort are related to his Ukrainian consulting work not Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which is the central issue in the special counsel’s investigation. But the deal requires him to cooperate “fully and truthfully” with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation – in what could be a significant blow to Trump.This comes just weeks after he was found guilty on five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to report a foreign bank account, and faced decades in prison on those charges.The president has variously defended and distanced himself from Manafort, who worked for Ronald Reagan and other high-profile Republicans before establishing a lucrative political consulting business in Ukraine.Prosecutors said Manafort amassed $65m (£50m) in foreign bank accounts between 2010 and 2014, spending more than $15m on luxury purchases in the same period and developing a penchant for ostrich leather jackets.Cohen, 51, began working for Trump in 2006 as a lawyer and a “fixer”, going on to hold the title of executive vice-president at the Trump Organization. A staunch defender of his boss, he once declared he “would take a bullet for the president”, but his loyalty to Trump has apparently waned.On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to a number of charges, most notably making an “excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate or campaign”, ie Trump. This related to payments made to the Playboy model Karen McDougal and pornographic film actor Stormy Daniels. Following the plea, Cohen’s lawyer tweeted: “If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?”Cohen is expected to be sentenced on 12 December.Flynn, 59, enjoyed a brief tenure as national security adviser – a mere 23 days – before he resigned after it emerged he had misled Mike Pence, the vice-president, over his communications with the Russian ambassador prior to Trump taking office.In December 2016, he struck a plea with special counsel Robert Mueller and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and vowed to fully cooperate with the Russian interference investigation. The retired army lieutenant-general’s sentencing has been delayed on four occasions amid suggestions he is proving useful to law enforcement in the Russia investigation.Flynn’s sentencing has been repeatedly delayed and is slated to be pushed back until 17 September.When asked by prosecutors at his trial earlier this month: “Did you commit crimes with Mr Manafort?” Gates reportedly said: “Yes”.He went on to detail the litany of offences – from filing falsified tax returns, to setting up shell companies to hide sources of foreign income, and misleading banks to get loans – that he committed upon Manafort’s instructions.No date has yet been set for Gates’s sentencing – with any jail time likely to be reduced depending on his level of cooperation with the investigation.Papadopoulos, 31, was a foreign policy adviser to Trump during the election campaign and became the first of his advisers to plead guilty in Mueller’s investigation when he confessed to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Russians during the campaign.The prosecutors said he caused irreparable damage to the investigation after repeatedly lying in an interview in January 2017, which resulted in the FBI missing an opportunity to effectively question a potential key witness.Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in prison in district court for the District of Columbia on 7 September.He became the second person to be sentenced to prison in a prosecution brought by Mueller. The Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators about his conversations with former Trump aide Rick Gates, who testified in court against Manafort. Topics Trump administration Donald Trump Paul Manafort Michael Cohen Michael Flynn Robert Mueller Trump-Russia investigation news

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman who has accused President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault decades ago wants her allegations to be investigated by the FBI before she appears at a U.S. Senate hearing, her lawyers said on Tuesday. The development further roiled a confirmation process that once seemed smooth for Kavanaugh, whose confirmation to the lifetime post could consolidate the conservative grip on the top U.S. court. Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her and trying to remove her clothing while he was drunk at a suburban Maryland party in 1982 when they were both high school students, allegations Kavanaugh has called “completely false.” The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the nomination, had called a hearing for Monday to examine the matter, and the White House had said Kavanaugh was ready to testify. In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Ford’s attorneys said an FBI investigation needed to come first. "A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions," the lawyers wrote. A copy of the letter was posted on the committee's website. (bit.ly/2OAJWD0) Grassley said there is no reason to delay Ford’s testimony and an invitation for her to appear before the committee on Monday stands. “Dr Ford’s testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events. Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay,” Grassley said in a statement. Democrats, already fiercely opposed to the nominee, have also been seeking an FBI investigation, a request that Republicans have rebuffed. Trump and other Republicans said they did not think the FBI needed to be involved. A hearing would represent a potential make-or-break moment for the conservative federal appeals court judge’s confirmation chances, as Trump pursues his goal of moving the federal judiciary to the right. “The Supreme Court is one of the main reasons I got elected President. I hope Republican Voters, and others, are watching, and studying, the Democrats Playbook,” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday. Republicans control the Senate by only a narrow margin, meaning any defections within the party could sink the nomination and deal a major setback to Trump. Earlier on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the committee’s Republicans, said the panel would vote on the nomination next week whether or not Ford testified. A vote in committee would be a precursor to action in the full Senate. “If she does not want to come Monday, publicly or privately, we’re going to move on and vote Wednesday,” he told Fox News Channel. In a statement on Monday, a representative for the Justice Department said the FBI had followed protocol forwarding information about the allegation to the White House. “The FBI’s role in such matters is to provide information for the use of the decision makers,” the statement said. Trump earlier on Tuesday stepped up his defense of Kavanaugh and expressed sympathy toward his nominee, who met with officials at the White House for a second straight day, although not with the president. “I feel so badly for him that he’s going through this, to be honest with you,” Trump told a news conference. “This is not a man that deserves this.” “Hopefully the woman will come forward, state her case. He will state his case before representatives of the United States Senate. And then they will vote,” Trump added. Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, appeared to cast doubt on Ford’s allegations. “We just don’t know what happened 36 years ago and there are gaps in her memory. She doesn’t know how she got there, when it was, and so that would logically be something where she would get questions,” Cornyn told reporters. Cornyn’s fellow Republicans have generally avoided criticizing Ford, instead castigating Democrats for not revealing her allegations earlier. The confirmation fight comes just weeks before the Nov. 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Trump’s fellow Republicans, which would be a major blow to the president’s agenda. Ford detailed her allegation in a letter sent in July to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s top Democrat. The letter’s contents leaked last week and Ford identified herself in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday that included details about the alleged assault. In a statement, Feinstein, said the committee should accede to Ford’s wishes and postpone Monday’s hearing. “A proper investigation must be completed, witnesses interviewed, evidence reviewed and all sides spoken to. Only then should the chairman set a hearing date,” she said in a statement. Lisa Banks, an attorney for Ford, told CNN her client was dealing with “hate mail, harassment, death threats” and that her immediate focus was protecting herself and her family. Democrats have objected to the proposed hearing format, with Feinstein arguing there should be more than just two witnesses, possibly to include people in whom Ford previously confided. The committee’s Democrats said witnesses should include Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge, who Ford has said witnessed the alleged incident. A lawyer representing Judge sent a letter to Grassley saying Judge did not want to speak publicly about the matter. “In fact, I have no memory of this alleged incident. Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr Ford describes,” the letter quoted Judge as saying. Judge is the author of a 1997 memoir titled “Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk,” which recounts his experiences as a teenage alcoholic. One Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination. FILE PHOTO: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the third day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski/File Photo“I believe Dr Ford. I believe the survivor here,” Blumenthal said. “She has come forward courageously and bravely, knowing she would face a nightmare of possible and vicious scrutiny.” The showdown has echoes of current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ contentious confirmation hearings in 1991 involving sexual harassment allegations lodged against him by a law professor named Anita Hill. Thomas, the court’s second black justice, was ultimately confirmed, but only after a nasty televised hearing in which Hill faced pointed questions from Republican senators and the nominee said he was the victim of “a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks.” Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Roberta Rampton, Steve Holland, Andrew Chung, Amanda Becker and Mohammad Zargham; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter CooneyOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In addition, Schaffner wrote,college-educated white women voted 2-to-1 in favor of Democratic House candidates over Republican House candidates, a margin that is larger than we’ve ever seen it. There was a lot of talk about how Trump’s abrasive rhetoric, attack on health care, and aggressive immigration enforcement might drive away this group, and it certainly has.Mike Allen of Axios outlined how the success of both right and left in the election serves to further divide the electorate:The Democratic strategy of targeting women, minorities and the young was vindicated with the new House majority. We saw record liberal turnout in many suburbs.The Republican strategy of targeting men, whites and rural voters was vindicated with the larger Senate majority. We saw record conservative turnout in rural Trump country.As for President Trump, the election put a dent in his armor both by exposing weaknesses in the Midwest and assuring sustained congressional investigations over the next two years.The long-awaited special counsel report — now threatened by Trump’s appointment of Matthew G. Whitaker, a critic of the inquiry into Russian interference with 2016 election, as acting attorney general — may change things, but Trump remains a more than viable candidate in 2020.The results of state legislative contests also demonstrated the failure of the election to turn into the blue wave that many Democrats were hoping for. Wendy Underhill of the National Conference of State Legislatures reported:Democrats scored significant wins Tuesday in 2018 legislative elections — but it was hardly a blowout. Republicans continue to have a robust advantage in legislative and state control, as they have since 2010. Democrats won five legislative chambers from Republicans as well as moving the Connecticut Senate from tied to their column. That’s a shift of only six chambers, well below the average chamber switch of 12 in election cycles all the way back to 1900.Democratic gains at the state legislative level will have little influence over redistricting, which Republicans have used to their advantage in the 23 states where they controlled the legislature and governors’ mansions.Democratic victories in governor races, however, in Wisconsin, Kansas and Illinois will give the party crucial leverage in redrawing congressional and legislative districts after the 2020 census.Even with everything we knew going into Election Day, Democratic discontent under the Trump administration was glaring. Exit polls conducted by CNN, ABC and other networks found that 77 percent of Democratic voters now support impeachment.Gary Langer, who oversees polling for ABC, reported that views of Trump among all voters were not favorable:Voters said they were casting their ballot to show opposition rather than support for Trump, by a 12-point margin, 38 to 26 percent. That left a third for whom Trump was not a factor — and they voted Republican for the House by 52-44 percent, sapping some force from the blue wave.Exit polls, Langer noted, show the growing importance of minority voters.Nonwhites accounted for 28 percent of voters, highest ever for a midterm and 1 point from the record in any election, set in 2016. Consider the change: Nonwhites accounted for 9 percent of voters in the 1990 midterms.Gary Jacobson, emeritus professor of political science at the University of California-San Diego, wrote in an email that the centrality of Trump in an election without his name on the ballot was clear everywhere:The election continued a long-term trend toward more nationalized, partisan, and president-centered midterm elections. Trump’s person and behavior extended all of these trends into new territory.As a result, Jacobson continued, “a remarkable 91 Senate seats in the 116th Congress will be held by the party that won the state in 2016.” Senate elections, in other words, have been nationalized, with the vast majority of states picking presidential and senate candidates from the same party, instead of splitting tickets between the parties.In addition,the level of congruence between presidential approval and the House vote (for the president’s party if approving, for the other party if disapproving) in both pre-election polls and the one postelection poll now available is the highest on record, over 90 percent.Put all this together and what do you get?Overall, the election exacerbated partisan divisions and ratcheted up polarization to an even greater level than before. The demographic realignment continues.Looking toward the 2020 presidential election, the most favorable development for Democrats in Tuesday’s election was the fact that Trump has failed to convert his Midwest victories into a firm Republican base in the region.

人民网曼谷7月19日电（记者林芮）7月19日，驻新加坡使馆发言人针对《海峡时报》刊登《报告显示中国如何在新加坡进行影响力操作》发表谈话，内容如下： 7月18日，《海峡时报》刊登《报告显示中国如何在新加坡进行影响力操作》（Report flags how China conducts influence operations in Singapore）的报道，引述美国詹姆斯敦基金会近日发表的一份报告，诬称中国利用统战手段，通过新加坡商会、宗乡会馆、文化组织和华文媒体等不同渠道对新加坡华人施加影响，引导社会舆论和政策走向 ... 上述说法完全是无中生有，是编造抹黑。包括经贸、人文在内，中新各领域交流合作，是两个友好国家关系的具体体现，是两国政府和社会各界共同努力的结果。中新独特的历史文化渊源是推进两国关系的天然优势，却被一些人当成了攻击的口实。这不仅是对中国的攻击，也是对新加坡的伤害。谎言取代不了事实，只能越说越无趣。该基金会报告的内容很荒唐，但用心很明确，就是要离间两国人民的感情，阻碍两国的正常交往。营造和维护中新关系健康发展的社会氛围和舆论环境，是双方的共同愿望，也是包括媒体在内大家的共同责任

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge fiercely criticized President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday for lying to FBI agents in a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and delayed sentencing him until Flynn has finished helping prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told Flynn, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, that he had arguably betrayed his country. Sullivan also noted that Flynn had operated as an undeclared lobbyist for Turkey even as he worked on Trump’s campaign team and prepared to be his White House national security adviser. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his December 2016 conversations with Sergei Kislyak, then Russia’s ambassador in Washington, about U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow by the administration of Trump’s Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. The conversations took place between Trump’s November election victory and his inauguration in January 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, leading the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia ahead of the election, had asked the judge not to sentence Flynn to prison because he had already provided “substantial” cooperation over the course of many interviews. Lying to the FBI carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Flynn’s plea agreement stated that he was eligible for a sentence of between zero and six months. Sullivan sternly told Flynn his actions were abhorrent, noting that Flynn had also lied to senior White House officials, who in turn misled the public. The judge said he had read additional facts about Flynn’s behavior that have not been made public. At one point, Sullivan asked prosecutors if Flynn could have been charged with treason, although the judge later said he had not been suggesting such a charge was warranted. “Arguably, you sold your country out,” Sullivan told Flynn. “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain for this criminal offense.” Flynn, dressed in a suit and tie, showed little emotion throughout the hearing, and spoke calmly when he confirmed his guilty plea and answered questions from the judge. Sullivan appeared ready to sentence Flynn to prison but then gave him the option of a delay in his sentencing so he could fully cooperate with any pending investigations and bolster his case for leniency. The judge told Flynn he could not promise that he would not eventually sentence him to serve prison time. Flynn accepted that offer. Sullivan did not set a new date for sentencing but asked Mueller’s team and Flynn’s attorney to give him a status report by March 13. Sullivan later imposed travel restrictions on Flynn, ordering him to surrender his passport and to obtain court permission before traveling outside the Washington area. The curbs are typical for people released on their own recognizance, the judge said. Prosecutors said Flynn already had provided most of the cooperation he could, but it was possible he might be able to help investigators further. Flynn’s attorney said his client is cooperating with federal prosecutors in a case against Bijan Rafiekian, his former business partner who has been charged with unregistered lobbying for Turkey. Rafiekian pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to those charges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 11. Flynn is expected to testify. Prosecutors have said Rafiekian and Flynn lobbied to have Washington extradite a Muslim cleric who lives in the United States and is accused by Turkey’s government of backing a 2016 coup attempt. Flynn has not been charged in that case. Former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn departs after his sentencing was delayed at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua RobertsFlynn was a high-profile adviser to Trump’s campaign team. At the Republican Party’s national convention in 2016, Flynn led Trump’s supporters in cries of “Lock her up!” directed against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. A group of protesters, including some who chanted “Lock him up,” gathered outside the courthouse on Tuesday, along with a large inflatable rat fashioned to look like Trump. Several Flynn supporters also were there, cheering as he entered and exited. One held a sign that read, “Michael Flynn is a hero.” Flynn became national security adviser when Trump took office in January 2017, but lasted only 24 days before being fired. He told FBI investigators on Jan. 24, 2017, that he had not discussed the U.S. sanctions with Kislyak when in fact he had, according to his plea agreement. Trump has said he fired Flynn because he also lied to Vice President Mike Pence about the contacts with Kislyak. Trump has said Flynn did not break the law and has voiced support for him, raising speculation the Republican president might pardon him. “Good luck today in court to General Michael Flynn. Will be interesting to see what he has to say, despite tremendous pressure being put on him, about Russian Collusion in our great and, obviously, highly successful political campaign. There was no Collusion!” Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. After the hearing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters the FBI had “ambushed” Flynn in the way agents questioned him, but said his “activities” at the center of the case “don’t have anything to do with the president” and disputed that Flynn had committed treason. “We wish General Flynn well,” Sanders said. In contrast, Trump has called his former long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to separate charges, a “rat.” Slideshow (8 Images)Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election and whether Trump has unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe has cast a shadow over his presidency. Several former Trump aides have pleaded guilty in Mueller’s probe, but Flynn was the first former Trump White House official to do so. Mueller also has charged a series of Russian individuals and entities. Trump has called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt” and has denied collusion with Moscow. Russia has denied meddling in the election, contrary to the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that have said Moscow used hacking and propaganda to try to sow discord in the United States and boost Trump’s chances against Clinton. Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Ginger Gibson; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Kieran Murray and Will Dunham, Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Trump administration needs to come up with better arguments for blocking Central American immigrants from requesting asylum.On Monday (Nov. 19), a US district judge ordered the president to halt a policy rolled out earlier this month that prohibits immigrants who enter the country illegally from applying for asylum. The court order, which prevents the administration from enforcing the asylum ban until Dec. 19, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and others.The parties are set to appear in court next month.In a Nov. 9 executive order, Donald Trump had said illegal immigrants’ entry “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.” It was the same argument he successfully deployed to keep his travel ban from being thrown out by the courts. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that keeping people out of the US on national security grounds was well within the president’s authority.But the judge overseeing the asylum case, Jon Tigar, found the government’s arguments defy existing law and legal logic.The central question in the case is whether Trump has the authority to contradict Congress, which, as Tigar writes “has clearly commanded that immigrants be eligible for asylum regardless of where they enter.”He cited legal precedent on how courts should handle such situations: “If the intent of Congress is clear, that is the end of the matter.”In spite of Congress’s clear language on the issue, the Trump administration argues that it can make immigrants ineligible to apply for asylum solely based on whether they entered the country illegally.“The argument strains credulity,” Tigar wrote. It’s technically impossible for immigrants to both be eligible to apply for asylum no matter how they got to the US, as Congress states, and to lose that right by entering the country illegally, as the Trump administration has mandated, he said. “There simply is no reasonable way to harmonize the two.”The president, through the office of the Attorney General, has the authority to determine that an immigrant is ineligible for asylum based on exceptions spelled out by the law, or by weighing in the particular details of each case. But he can’t rewrite the whole law by changing administrative rules and issuing executive orders, Tigar implied. (Trump’s order was paired with new policies at the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security on how to treat asylum seekers.)“Basic separation of powers principles dictate that an agency may not promulgate a rule or regulation that renders Congress’s words a nullity,” he wrote.The Trump administration also argues that entering the US in defiance of a presidential order is a more serious transgression than crossing the border illegally. But Tigar says that’s “not supported by evidence or authority.”“If what Defendants intend to say is that the President by proclamation can override Congress’s clearly expressed legislative intent, simply because a statute conflicts with the President’s policy goals, the Court rejects that argument also,” he wrote.Although it’s not looking good for the asylum ban, Trump’s administration has vowed to press on.“We look forward to continuing to defend the Executive Branch’s legitimate and well-reasoned exercise of its authority to address the crisis at our southern border,” the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security said in a joint statement.

虎扑7月24日讯 德国媒体《图片报》日前对拜仁慕尼黑目前比较有前途的青年队球员进行了一番盘点，拜仁慕尼黑全队日前已经飞往美国开始了今夏的北美之旅，而在此次北美之旅中，有多达14名年轻球员随队出行，除了上赛季就在一线队获得过机会的福吕希特尔（18岁）、霍夫曼（19岁）、弗里特（24岁）以及沙巴尼（19岁）之外，还有多名球迷们可能不太熟悉的年轻人。奥利弗-迈尔（Oliver Batista-Meier）：17岁，这名有着巴西血统的球员2016年从凯泽斯劳滕加盟，场上位置是左路攻击型中场，他已经为球队贡献了22球和13个助攻，是球队今夏进入U17决赛的功臣。约纳森-迈尔（Jonathan Meier）：18岁，左后卫，在2012年之前一直为慕尼黑1860青年队效力。保罗-威尔（Paul Will）：19岁，今夏从凯泽斯劳滕加盟，被认为是球队在防守型中场的希望之星。马克西米利安-蔡泽（Maximilian Zaiser）：19岁，中场中路球员，本赛季将为拜仁二队效力。克里斯-理查兹（Chris Richards）：18岁，从达拉斯租借而来的美国后卫，将在拜仁积攒经验。约西普-施坦尼西奇（Josip Stanisic）：有着克罗地亚血统的U19后卫。莱恩-约纳松（Ryan Johansson）：17岁，来自卢森堡，父亲是瑞典人。马塞尔-齐拉（Marcel Zylla）：18岁，攻击型中场，经纪人是胡梅尔斯的父亲。约书亚-契尔科基（Joshua Zirkzee）：17岁，来自费耶诺德青年队的前锋，对阵巴黎的比赛攻入一球。郑宇永（Woo-yeong Jeong）：18岁，年初加盟拜仁U19的韩国边锋，很快会进入拜仁二队 ... (编辑：Mask)