Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani has warned Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election, that the White House is close to refusing to grant an interview with the president.Giuliani took the increasingly belligerent tone of the White House up a notch on Sunday when he called the Russian investigation the “most corrupt I’ve ever seen”. Speaking on This Week on ABC News, he accused the special counsel of assembling a team of investigators around him that included “very, very severe partisans working on an investigation that should have been done by people who are politically neutral”.Asked whether they had made a decision on whether or not Trump should participate in an interview with the inquiry, he replied: “We have not determined he will not sit down with Mueller, but we are close to that.”Giuliani’s round of the Sunday TV political talkshows is the latest sign that the core Trump team has decided to abandon its earlier approach of being seen to cooperate with the Russia investigation, and move towards an antagonistic position. On Friday, Giuliani told the New York Times that Mueller would get his interview with the president only if he could satisfy the White House that he had evidence that Trump had committed a crime.The attorney and former mayor of New York, who is a long-standing friend of Trump’s, walked back that suggestion a little on Sunday. He said the White House did not require evidence of a criminal deed but at least some factual basis supporting suspicion of a crime.Giuliani revealed to CNN’s State of the Union that the White House legal team had debriefed all the witnesses to the Mueller investigation, and reviewed 1.4m pages of documents handed over to the special counsel. As a result, he claimed, he could confidently say that Trump had nothing to answer.“I have a pretty good idea because I’ve seen all the documents they have, we’ve debriefed all their witnesses. They have nothing. They would not be pressing for this interview if they had anything.”He also professed to be untroubled by either the prospect of Trump being served with a subpoena to appear before the inquiry, or by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, flipping and handing over all his information to Mueller. “To subpoena the president has never been done successfully in the history of this country, and there is very strong law saying the president can’t be subpoenaed,” he said.On Cohen, Giuliani said “I don’t know what he has to flip over. I do know there’s no evidence of wrongdoing with President Trump. So we are very comfortable. If he believes it’s in his best interests to cooperate, God bless him.” Topics Trump-Russia investigation Rudy Giuliani Robert Mueller Donald Trump Russia Trump administration US politics news

José Mourinho has ruled out spending the rest of his career at Manchester United while talking up the “special” project at Paris Saint-Germain.The Portuguese, who came under fire for United’s defensive approach at Liverpool on Saturday, suggested he will not finish his career in Manchester during an interview with a French broadcaster.After winning the Europa League and the League Cup last season Mourinho has set his sights on the Premier League title with United but, following the 0-0 draw at Anfield, his side now trail free-scoring Manchester City by two points.The 54-year-old, who last season admitted his life in Manchester was a “disaster” because he was living out of a hotel in the city, has done nothing to suggest he intends a long stay. He told TF1’s Telefoot programme: “The only thing I can say is that I’m still a coach with worries, with ambitions and with the desire to do new things. And I don’t believe ... no, I’m sure that I won’t end my career here.”Asked if that meant at United, Mourinho said: “Yes.” Mourinho responded to the question of whether he might one day join PSG by revealing his son had taken the club to his heart.“The other day my son who lives in London went to Paris and not to Manchester to watch the match,” Mourinho said. Asked why his son chose that option, the United manager added: “Because at the moment in Paris there is something special. Magic, quality, youth, it’s fantastic.”Mourinho has never spent more than four years in one spell as manager at any of his seven clubs and has yet to work in France after success in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. He signed a three-year contract with United in 2016 and negotiations on an extension are expected in the coming months. Topics José Mourinho Manchester United Paris Saint-Germain news

Race in America White Nationalists and Counterprotesters Rally in Washington, D.C. By BARBARA MARCOLINI | Aug. 12, 2018 | 0:57 Thousands of people confronted a small group of white nationalists near the White House on Sunday. In Charlottesville, Va., a gathering honored Heather Heyer, who was killed there a year ago when a man who espoused white supremacist views rammed his car into a crowd of protesters. Show More

It was true after the racist mob in Charlottesville three months ago. And it’s still true today: Donald J Trump quite literally sympathizes with fascists.He shares their worldview as easily as he shares their language and videos. He gives their voice and values the biggest platform in politics. He is a neo-fascist sympathizer in the mainstream of American politics, sitting at the heart of the West Wing and world power.But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of the far-right Britain First group.After President Trump shared three of Fransen’s anti-Muslim videos on Twitter on Wednesday morning, the extremist agitator could barely contain herself: “THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN’S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP!”You know it’s a big deal with the fascists can’t stop tweeting in ALL CAPS.Now it doesn’t take much to learn about Fransen and Britain First. With the help of a wonderful website called Google, Trump could have discovered in milliseconds that Fransen was convicted and fined last year for religious harassment after she hurled abuse at a Muslim woman in front of her young children.At the time, Fransen was on what she calls a “Christian patrol” when she accosted the young British mother and told her that Muslim men were trying to rape women across Europe.Just last week Fransen was arrested for a speech she delivered in Belfast only a week before the Charlottesville mob tried to terrorize us with their tiki torches.“Britain First” were the last words shouted by the murderer of the British MP Jo Cox, before he brutally killed the rising political star, one week before the Brexit vote.How could a president whose inaugural address centered on the notion of America First disagree with a group called Britain First?The fact is, Fransen sounds a lot like the president of the United States. Consider her speech in Poland, which echoed many of the themes of Trump’s own statements in his infamous Warsaw speech. “There is a cancer moving through Europe and that is Islam. Our children are being bombed, our children are being groomed and our government does nothing … Evil will not prevail”, she said. Sound familiar?A little more presidential homework might have unearthed the helpful information that one of Fransen’s videos did not in fact show a Muslim beating up a Dutch teenager on crutches. Instead, it was simply a dark-haired Dutch teenager beating up a light-haired one.But that’s obviously not the point of what the 45th president of the United States was trying to do. Stirring up racial and religious hatred for political ends has become known as “populism” among the pundit class.It’s considered impolite to call it what it is: fascism. But we are long past the point of giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, or respecting voters who exercise their democratic rights for racist causes.There’s something more going on here that demands an honest response. Trump is a particularly stupid neo-Nazi sympathizer.By now, most rightwing politicians have figured out how to flirt with the neo-Nazis without getting burned by their torch-wielding mobs and burning crosses. They stir hatred for immigrants and preach about the sanctity of national culture and family values. But they generally stop short of circulating fascist propaganda. It’s just too offensively obvious.Even the pro-Brexit British government thinks that Britain First is too extreme for either polite company or presidential endorsements. “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values this country represents, decency, tolerance and respect,” said the spokesperson for Theresa May, the British prime minister. “It is wrong for the president to have done this.” So much for the special relationship and the transatlantic trade deal that was supposed to follow Britain’s departure from the European Union.“Prejudiced rhetoric” is a perfectly British way to describe Donald Trump’s everyday language. “Decency, tolerance and respect” are not the words that come to mind when you conjure up the president’s values and politics.The truth is the first casualty of fascism, and Trump has no use for it. According to the New York Times, he no longer believes his own voice was recorded on the infamous Access Hollywood tape that caught him boasting about assaulting women.“We don’t think that was my voice,” he told one Republican senator, using the royal ‘we’ to mask his personal delusions. He continues to suggest in private that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, even though his birth certificate is in the public domain. And his predecessor is, well, no longer president.But these kinds of fabrications are still helpful because they tarnish everyone. It’s a political game of pig wrestling where everyone is caked in mud, and nobody can get a hold of anything.So we have the remarkable spectacle of a president who boasted about grabbing women’s genitals taking to social media to wrestle in the mud with NBC News executives about the Today show’s Matt Lauer, who just got terminated for sexual harassment. “Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.’ But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!” the president tweeted. You might file this one under “stupid criminals”. What kind of serial sexual assaulter wants to talk about the sexual harassment of others? The answer is: the one who wants to drag everyone down into his mudbath.In a world where there are no media referees, and there is no truth, then one fake racist video is as good as a CNN report. And one president’s lie is as good as a video of him saying something incriminating.The damage caused by Trump’s behavior, as bizarre and reckless as it is, goes far beyond his personal reputation. It undermines American credibility at a time when the world needs to rally to confront the nuclear threat of North Korea, the continued threat of Islamist terror, and Russian manipulation of foreign elections.Trump has made it clear that he cannot and will not learn in office. There is no presidential pivot, no wisdom that will grow with experience.The only question is whether his enablers – the Republican leaders and White House staffers who indulge him – will try to salvage their own reputation before they get caked in mud forever. Topics Donald Trump Opinion Trump administration Race The far right comment

DELHI—The Yamuna River that flows through this ancient city has helped sustain some of India’s greatest empires. Hindu poets celebrated its life-giving properties. The Mughal dynasty built the Taj Mahal and other monuments along its banks.Today, the Yamuna is a foul sludge for much of its 855-mile run. In Delhi, it is black and nearly motionless, covered in many areas with a foam of industrial chemicals, floating plastic and human waste....

Late-night hosts ridiculed Donald Trump over his embarrassing trip to Argentina as the Russia investigation heats up.On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host joked that the president was visiting “the America he hasn’t ruined yet”.He then showed footage of the president taking considerably longer to sign his name on a trade deal than other leaders. “It’s like he’s colouring it in or something,” he joked.Kimmel continued: “I think this might be why it took him two months to answer Robert Mueller’s questions.”He then shared footage of Trump awkwardly leaving the stage before a planned photo with the Argentinian president, Mauricio Macri. “I guess he got word that the McRib was back and he had to go,” he said.Kimmel also joked that “he carries himself like a demented grandfather who accidentally wandered into a wedding ceremony”.On Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host also spoke about the president’s trip and how it coincided with yet more trouble from Robert Mueller’s investigation. “Every time Trump goes to one of these international summits, he’s under a cloud of suspicion,” he said. “He’s like a guy who goes on a date and tries to ignore the fact that his ankle bracelet is beeping like crazy.”He showed footage of the president awkwardly unsure of what to do after a group picture with other leaders. “He looks like he’s at a house party and the only other person he knows is in the bathroom,” he joked.Meyers said that Trump is “desperate to socialise at these things but he’s so bad at it” before talking about his on-camera attempt to smooth things over with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. After Trump claimed that their battle has strengthened their friendship, Meyers showed Trudeau’s expression. “That face is the closest thing Canada has to a middle finger,” he joked.He also referenced Trump’s quick exit from the stage with Macri and how a mic caught him saying, “Get me out of here.” Meyers joked: “First of all, we’re trying,” before asking: “Is there a more exhausting job than ‘man who has to chase President Trump’?” Topics Late-night TV roundup Jimmy Kimmel TV comedy Donald Trump US television Comedy Television news

It has emerged that US special counsel Robert Mueller is using a grand jury in Washington as part of an investigation into potential coordination or collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. But what is a grand jury, how does it work and what does Trump have to fear? Grand juries are used in only a handful of countries. In the US, they are normally made up of about 16 to 23 members of the public rather than the usual 12, hence “grand” jury. They are held in secret – the fact that one has been convened is not even officially acknowledged. The Wall Street Journal leaked that one has been set up in Washington by Mueller. It will look into links between the Trump team and Russia to influence the White House election and whether there has been any subsequent attempt to obstruct justice. Potentially huge. The grand jury decides whether a case is strong enough to push ahead with an indictment. But one of the main reasons for holding a grand jury is that it is a powerful investigative tool. It can subpoena witnesses and demand the production of documents. Yes. Richard Nixon was called before a grand jury in 1975 over the Watergate case after he resigned as president. Bill Clinton was president when he testified before a grand jury into the Whitewater real estate controversy. Donald Trump Jr and the president’s son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, could also be called to testify over their controversial June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer.Federal prosecutors often treat them as fishing expeditions. Witnesses can be questioned under oath for hours on end, with investigators hoping to trip them up and make them perjure themselves. Unlike in ordinary courts, witnesses are not allowed to have lawyers present. Witnesses have to leave the court to consult with lawyers sitting outside and grand juries are characterised by the time-consuming act of witnesses going in and out.Lawyers warn witnesses not to be lulled into over-confidence by answering a string of soft questions, and implore witnesses to consult with them before answering even seemingly easy questions. Unlike in ordinary courts, jurors are also allowed to ask questions.Mueller, appointed special counsel in May following the dismissal of FBI director James Comey, has been investigating since May whether members of the Trump team have lied about links to Russians and whether Trump himself tried to obstruct justice. As of yet, no subpoenas have been received by the president or Kushner. Grand juries tend to be slow, running for months or even years. He has for months insisted that reports about links to Russia are fake news and told a rally of supporters in West Virginia on Thursday night that “they’re trying to cheat you out of the leadership that you want with a fake story”. Topics Donald Trump Robert Mueller Jared Kushner US elections 2016 Russia US politics q&as

About two-and-a-half miles to the southwest is Siddhi Vinayak Mandir, a beautiful temple dedicated to Ganesha and an essential place of worship for many Mumbai Hindus. I arrived just in time one evening for a puja, and after leaving my shoes at a counter outside, was ushered in to the sound of clapping, drums, bells and the smell of incense. A small, serene-looking Ganesha statue sat among orange and white flowers while a group of about 150 of us stood engaged in an intense, rhythmic call-and-response that changed tempos and melodies throughout the course of the next 30 minutes. For those looking to worship in a hurry, a “quick darshan” line can be entered for a payment of 50 rupees.Any explorer of Mumbai will eventually need to try one of thousands of street vendors and restaurants that grace the city. Fortunately, there is no shortage of good options, and nearly every price point is covered. The Bombay street sandwich is one you’ll see everywhere and, if you’re feeling adventurous, certainly worth trying. A typical example features sliced cucumber, potato, onion, tomato and beetroot on toasted bread, served with a variety of spicy chutneys. At 25 or 30 rupees, it’s an absolute steal.Mumbai’s reputation for street food par excellence is well deserved, and on Sheikh Memon Street, near the Juma Masjid mosque, I indulged in another treat: a plate of dahi puri (40 rupees), savory chickpeas stuffed into flaky puri shells, drenched in tart yogurt and dusted with spices and herbs. And no Mumbai street food discussion is complete without mentioning vada pav, the quintessential carbohydrate bomb that features a fried potato fritter squished into soft white roll (about 10 rupees, and it can be found all over).The city does upscale dining with equal aplomb. Prateek Sadhu and Aditi Dugar own Masque, an elegantly repurposed industrial space that serves a 10-course tasting menu every day except Monday. The wine pairing alone, however, costs 6,000 rupees — it’s not exactly a place for penny-pinchers. Fortunately, Masque offers a bar menu for walk-ins like me looking for a lighter meal.

Communities along Southern California's coast were still seeing fresh evacuations on Sunday as the seemingly unstoppable Thomas fire, fueled by plentiful brush and shifty Santa Ana winds Several swaths of the city of Carpinteria were placed under mandatory evacuation overnight and into Sunday, fire officials confirmed, as the blaze continues to threaten structures. The Thomas fire, which since Monday has been battled by 4,400 firefighters and has torched 173,000 acres, remains only 15 percent contained. One firefighter suffered an injured leg while battling the Thomas fire, Cal Fire officials confirmed to ABC News. It has also knocked out power lines to thousands and Cal Fire told The Associated Press that they classified it as the 10th largest wildfire, and the 13th most destructive in California history.#ThomasFire Fire Forecast pic.twitter.com/ostT6ZR0nP— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) December 10, 2017 There was also limited refuge for the evacuees as parts of Ventura, Ojai, Casitas Springs, Santa Paula and Fillmore are still being threatened by blazes, fire officials said. The news of the fire's continued devastation in the already scorched region comes a day after firefighters across Southern California made dramatic headway in the week's battle against six major wildfires that have dragged the state's fire season well into December. On Saturday, Gov. Jerry Brown surveyed some of the remains of Thomas Fire, which started in Ventura, fire officials said. The governor said the prolonged fire season is becoming the norm. "[We're] facing a new reality in the state," he said. "It's a horror and a horror we need to recover from." He also noted that the years of drought and climate change have caused experts to conclude that "California is burning up." From here on in California, Brown said, fires are going to be more "intense" and penetrate lives and property. "Individuals need to come together to make our communities livable," he said. The breakdown of the blazes and shift in winds gave firefighters in the region much-needed respite. The newest blazes, the Lilac fire in San Diego County and the Liberty fire in Riverside County, which was 20 percent contained as of Saturday afternoon, are also being fueled by continued Santa Ana winds and low humidity, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ABC News meteorologist Daniel Manzo said the forecast for those fire-ravaged areas remains serious. Red flag warnings have remained in effect for much of Southern California with peak wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph. Low relative humidity –- as low as 5 percent -- is likely through this period, as well, Manzo said. Winds could exceed 50 mph in the mountains east of San Diego, an area that was of particular concern for fire growth on Sunday.By the numbers: Southern California wildfiresStriking images show California wildfires from spaceFire-stricken Southern California braces for more strong windsWildfires threaten several thousand homes in Southern California Winds gusts in Ventura and Los Angeles counties were expected to diminish Sunday afternoon from 60 mph to 45 mph due to an onshore flow beginning to develop, according to Cal Fire's website. The winds had exceeded 60 mph during the week, causing embers to spread. Gusts were in the 30 to 50 mph range in San Diego County and 25 mph in Santa Barbara where the evacuations were taking place. Low humidity around Southern California has staggered in the teens to single digits. It took 8,500 firefighters to battle the first four large wildfires and then new ones have continued spreading rapidly, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Overall, the six blazes have burned more than 200,000 acres and forced more than 98,000 residents from their homes. A 70-year-old woman was identified Friday as the first victim of the fires. Virginia Pesola, of Santa Paula, was killed in a car crash as she evacuated Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. The Skirball fire is small, but its threat to heavily populated areas of Los Angeles, including Bel Air, has drawn widespread attention. All Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the San Fernando Valley and 17 schools on Los Angeles' west side were shuttered last week, citing the poor air quality. At least 265 schools have been closed. UCLA canceled classes during the week because of the Skirball fire. On Friday, the district announced that all schools will reopen Monday. The Thomas fire in Ventura County, the largest of the six blazes, started Monday night as a 50-acre brush fire in foothills east of Santa Paula and grew to 10,000 acres in just four hours, authorities said. The fire had burned 173,000 acres of land by Sunday morning and was holding at just 15 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 98,000 residents were evacuated, and 25,000 structures are threatened by the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Thomas Fire has since spread to Santa Barbara County late Thursday, prompting California Gov. Jerry Brown to issue a state of emergency for the county, the third to be designated. There were 9,000 firefighting personnel on the scene of the massive blaze. Authorities said 834 structures were destroyed in the blaze and more than 100 were damaged. Officials were concerned about part of the Thomas Fire heading northeast and threatening a nursing home in Ojai. The 25 residents and staffers there were evacuated as a precaution, authorities said. It's unclear if the seniors have returned to the nursing home or remain evacuated. The Creek fire, in the Kagel Canyon area above Los Angeles' Sylmar neighborhood, has scorched 15,619 acres of land, destroyed at least 105 buildings and damaged another 70. Over 150,000 residents were evacuated and some 2,500 structures are threatened, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze was 90 percent contained as of Sunday morning, and 1,964 personnel are fighting the flames. The Creek fire was responsible for the death of almost 40 horses at Rancho Padilla, according to ABC station KABC in Los Angeles. The horses were trapped in a barn that burned to the ground as the owners were evacuated with no warning. All evacuation orders and warnings were lifted by Saturday morning. The Rye fire has scorched 6,049 acres in Santa Clarita, west of Valencia. The blaze was 90 percent contained as of Sunday morning, though 5,460 structures are still threatened by the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. About 2,000 residents were evacuated, though mandatory evacuation orders in the area have been lifted. There were 652 personnel on scene battling the Rye fire Sunday morning. The Skirball fire has burned more than 400 acres of land so far, but its proximity to Los Angeles and responsibility for briefly shutting down the infamously crowded 405 Freeway has drawn national attention. The fire had posed a threat to the acclaimed Getty Center, a museum in western Los Angeles. Officials managed to keep the flames from jumping the 405 freeway and heading east. The blaze was 75 percent contained as of Sunday morning, and firefighters have managed to keep it from breaching containment lines. Six structures were lost in the fire, with an additional 12 damaged. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the flames, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon because of the Skirball fire in the city's Bel-Air neighborhood. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday that flames from the Lilac fire were growing at a "dangerous rate" in San Diego County, where 4,100 acres of land have been burned thus far. At least 182 structures were destroyed and 23 were damaged by the blaze, while an additional 1,500 are threatened. The fire was 60 percent contained as of Sunday morning. AlertSanDiego, the region's cellphone emergency alert system, had sent out 23,000 evacuation messages as of Friday morning, including for new evacuations in Oceanside. Officials said the Lilac fire began late Thursday morning near Fallbrook and had grown to 50 acres in just an hour. Peak gusts had reached 66 mph Thursday afternoon in Pala, California, near the blaze, contributing to the rapid spread of flames. Four civilians had suffered injuries and were taken to local hospitals, though authorities could not confirm the severity of the injuries. Gov. Brown declared a state of emergency in San Diego County due to the Lilac fire, his office announced late last week. The Liberty fire, located in Riverside County near Murrieta, north of Temecula, has scorched 300 acres of land. It was 100 percent contained as of Sunday night, according to the Murrieta Fire and Rescue. Seven structures were destroyed in the flames, but authorities have lifted all evacuation orders for the area. One woman, Lauren Fuga, said she watched in shock as the Liberty fire burned down part of her home in Murrieta. "I just, I'm at a loss for words," Fuga told KABC through tears. "It's so horrible. You never think that it's going to happen to you, and it can." ABC News' Mark Osborne, Matthew Fuhrman, Michael Kreisel and Jonah Lustig contributed to this report.

“This was a nasty inflation shock and, as we have said before, shows that a gentle glide back to the 2% target cannot be taken for granted.“Looking at the components of RPI (up 3.5%), which is the underlying index for linkers, it appears that housing, leisure and travel costs have driven the stronger than expected inflation print. Indeed, the motorist continues to be clobbered by high petrol prices, which are up nearly 12% year-on-year. We would not read too much into the uptick in clothing and footwear, as this is a volatile component, and the trend here is not far from the four-month average.“The medium-term outlook for inflation remains unclear due to Brexit risks and potential supply disruptions. Moreover, ‘shrinkflation’ has been very much in evidence in Europe, for example, the size of fries in Belgium has contracted due to the very poor potato crop owing to the very dry weather over the summer. The UK will not be immune from similar pressures.

Ben Sasse, Nebraska’s first-term junior senator, says Americans “hate each other”. Looking at the Kavanaugh hearings in the rearview mirror, one is tempted to say he is right.Trumpism – like Brexit – is a harsh verdict on the supposed “end of history”, the death of ideology that never was. Six decades ago, lack of a college degree was a statement of fact, not a character flaw, and the world paid homage to those who brought home the bacon. Not any more. And yes, this development has real and potentially lasting consequences for American politics.Along with race, gender and religious affiliation, educational attainment has emerged as one of the strongest predictors of political preference. In the process, our politics have become sulfurous. Enter Sasse’s latest book, Them.Sasse is an Ivy League and Oxford-educated Republican who many think aspires to the presidency. He has published his thoughts before and he now offers his prescription for how America can “heal”. Among other things, he urges us to put political tribalism on the backburner, to rediscover “human-to-human relationships”, to seek out community and to love our neighbors. Suffice to say, all this is easier said than done.We did not reach this point overnight. Rather, our journey to this precipice spans decades and is a consequence of modernity, technology and globalization, as Sasse acknowledges. Throw in a deep recession, the collapse of the housing and stock markets and a war gone bad, and American cohesion has gone out the window.E pluribus unum? Not so much.With the exception of the top third of society, rapid change has exacted a heavy price. According to Sasse, “America is being split into ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, and the gap between them is growing.” According to CNN, there is a 30-point chasm between college graduates and non-college graduates on the generic congressional ballot.As for mobility, “in a stark departure from the middle half of the last century – it’s increasingly difficult to move up.” Too many have been left behind. Goodbye American Dream, hello opioid-induced haze.On top of discrepancies in life expectancy, Them catalogs other flashing red lights. Sasse notes that birth rates have dropped, that on society’s lower rungs pregnancy has been decoupled from marriage, and that marriage itself has morphed into a luxury item. To drive his point across, the senator lets the reader know that he sits at the desk used by the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a liberal Democrat who chronicled the state of African American families under Richard Nixon.Sasse could give greater context to these trends, but does not. After all, voter dissatisfaction is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Even before Donald Trump’s electoral college win, Britain was backing Brexit and Eurosceptics were flexing their muscle elsewhere. Not surprisingly, Sasse avoids drawing clear causal lines between immigration, stagnant wages, shuttered factories and Trump’s victory.About that ambition. Before Sasse was elected to the Senate in 2014, he worked at the Boston Consulting Group and served as one of the youngest university presidents at Midland University in his home state. He has since emerged as one of Trump’s sternest critics.In December 2015, he trashed Trump as a would-be “megalomaniac strongman”. A month later, he announced that he would not vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton but would support a constitution-respecting conservative. He also sees Trump as a man who would be king, a view shared by Trump’s own supporters, albeit with a smile.Since Trump became president, Sasse has challenged him on trade and immigration. As for special counsel Robert Mueller, Sasse says we are “really fortunate to have him leading this investigation”, an opinion probably not embraced by Trump or his minions. Bluntly, it’s hard to see Rudy Giuliani channeling Sasse’s enthusiasm for Mueller.But this disdain for Trump has not caused Sasse to reassess how he votes in the Senate – that is, with the president more than 87% of the time. By the numbers, Sasse is even more loyal than Kentucky’s Rand Paul (75%) and Utah’s Mike Lee (81%). Even as he openly muses about leaving the GOP in an effort to salvage the good name of conservatism, he toes the Republican line.Most recently, when it came to the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation Sasse let the world know the DC judge was not his first choice. Then he voted him through.The nomination shone a light on the tightrope Sasse must walk. So does his book. The senator recalls how Republicans refused to believe allegations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore, their candidate in last year’s Alabama senatorial election, because they were first reported by the Washington Post and CNN.These days, “who” does the reporting matters more than the actual content. “It isn’t just that living in ideological bubbles makes it harder to criticize one’s own side,” Sasse writes. “It’s also that it actually becomes harder to believe credible charges against one’s own tribe.”By this yardstick, it would appear Sasse found Dr Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony concerning Judge Kavanaugh somehow less than compelling.On a positive note, Them forcefully expresses Sasse’s support for freedom of the press and religious liberty, a combination that appears in short supply elsewhere. Laudably, Sasse also refuses to demonize those on the other side of the aisle.Sasse has kind words for Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader. Specifically, he recounts commencement addresses in which the Brooklynite repeatedly lauds the value of work, family ties and community.Sasse also delves into the impact of electronics on America’s adolescents, takes issue with identity politics and rejects demands for ideological conformity on college campuses.But what makes Them worth the read is Sasse’s amalgam of realistic alarm and warning. In his words, “we are in a period of unprecedented upheaval. Community is collapsing, anxiety is building, and we’re distracting ourselves with artificial political hatreds.”“That can’t endure” writes Sasse. “And if it does, America won’t.” Topics Republicans US midterms 2018 US domestic policy US politics Nebraska Politics books reviews

After experimenting with solar-powered train coaches last year, India’s diesel-guzzling railways now have an entire station that runs on renewable energy.The Guwahati railway station in the capital city of Assam is the first railway station in the country to be fully solar-powered. A major railway thoroughfare in India’s northeastern region, the station handles around 20,000 passengers every day.The Guwahati railway station building has grid-connected rooftop solar panels totalling a capacity of 700 kilowatt (0.7 megawatt) that will cater to the electricity needs of the station, the coach depot, and the railway colony area, the Northeast Frontier Railway, an arm of the Indian Railways, said in a statement. This will help the railway network save around Rs67.7 lakhs (approximately $99,900) per year in electricity bills.State-run engineering company Central Electronics executed the Rs6.7 crore (around $1 million) project, which has been funded by the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways. The solar-powered railway station initiative is part of the Indian Railways’ broader plans to put up 5,000 MW of solar power capacity to meet around 25% of its energy needs through renewable energy by 2025. In July last year, the Indian Railways rolled out the first set of train coaches with rooftop solar panels that powered the lights, fans, and information display systems inside. The coaches were used for suburban transit in New Delhi, and the railways estimate that each train with six solar-powered coaches could save around 21,000 litres of diesel every year, worth around Rs12 lakh.Multiple other railway stations in small cities across the country, such as Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Jaipur, too, are powered partially by solar and wind energy.

Meals have a way of bringing families together. As food is laid out, everyone gathers round the table, conversation flows and families bond. But traditionally, eating together has not been encouraged in India. Men and children are fed first and only then can women sit down to eat.But in millions of poor homes, this practice has had an unintended consequence - malnutrition among women.Now, however, campaigners are urging women to eat with their families instead of after them. And, they say, the results have been very encouraging. No-one knows when or where or how the practice started, but like every other symbol of patriarchy, it is deeply entrenched in people's psyche.As a child, in my home too, my mother, grandmother, aunts and cousin's wives would cook and serve, but they would always be the last to eat.In the pecking order, gods came first - once food was prepared, a small portion of all the dishes would be offered to them. In my Brahmin home, even the resident cow was fed before humans - when my grandfather sat down to eat, he would set aside bits of food from every dish onto a small thick round piece of bread that was placed on a leaf. He would eat only after one of us had fed that to the cow. This staggered eating sometimes caused minor friction at home - if men delayed mealtimes, it just meant that the women's wait to eat got longer. It didn't matter how hungry they were, they just had to wait.Our family was not an exception - this is how my neighbours ate, as did those living across the length and breadth of the country. In many families, a rather unhygienic practice involved women eating from the unwashed plates of their husbands.Anyone who sought an explanation for why this happened was told that it was the norm, that it had happened for centuries, that it was the traditional way. In cities though, it is becoming increasingly common for educated and employed women to eat as and when they want to, but the tradition of women eating last continues to be widely followed to this day, especially in rural areas. Calling your husband by name for the first time In the lion's den: The Indian women who answer cat calls In homes like ours, it has no serious impact because there is enough food to go around. But in poor rural homes, it often leaves women and children hungry."This tradition of prioritising men's needs means sometimes when women sit down to eat, there isn't enough left for them," says Vandana Mishra of Rajasthan Nutrition Project (RNP), executed by charities Freedom from Hunger India Trust and Grameen Foundation.A survey of 403 poor tribal women in the state's Banswara and Sirohi districts in March 2015 showed "food secure and food insecure people in the same household", Ms Mishra said."Men always said, 'I go to work first and children go to school, so we need to eat first'," Rohit Samariya, RNP project manager in Banswara, told the BBC. "We created plates to demonstrate what a man's plate looked like and what a woman's plate looked like to drive the point home that women were literally scraping the bottom of the barrel," he says.To break this pattern, the group came up with a very simple but unusual strategy - to encourage families to eat their meals together. Their two-year project concluded recently and to gauge its impact on rural communities, I travelled last month to the tribal-dominated Ambapara village in Banswara.As I arrive at Manshu Damor's house, I find him chopping a type of locally grown leafy vegetable while his wife and daughter-in-law cook in the kitchen behind him.The family's lunch menu includes vegetable, lentil soup and handmade bread.Ambapara is among India's poorest villages where 89% still defecate in the open, child marriages are rampant, literacy levels are low and women still cover their faces in the presence of men.So when the RNP campaigners suggested that people eat their meals together as a family, it was nothing less than revolutionary.Until then, Mr Damor tells me, he had never shared a meal with Barju, his wife of 35 years. The idea that his daughter-in-law Karma could sit alongside him was unthinkable."People said how could a woman eat in front of her father-in-law? It had always been against our tradition, so in the beginning I also resisted. I too found it a bit odd," he said.Mr Samariya says by asking men to eat together with the women, "we were asking them to change their behaviour". "In our patriarchal society, men are not brought up to care for their wives. So we have to sensitise them to gender issues."It was not just men - women also believed in the same tradition. But after some persuasion, the villagers agreed to give it a try.And, it's made a world of difference to women's well-being."I was the one always cooking, but by the time I would sit down to eat, there would be little food left. Men would finish all the vegetables, so I'd have to contend with bread and salt," says Karma, Mr Damor's daughter-in-law. "Now everyone gets equal food."Her neighbour, Ramila Damor, said her family had their first meal together two years ago."When I heard about it for the first time, I went home and cooked and I told my husband that from now on, we'll all eat together. It felt really nice sharing a meal," she said.All the other women I spoke to in the village said family meals had become the norm in their homes too.A survey done at the end of the two-year campaign in May showed heartening results - food security among the surveyed women had more than doubled. As the wellbeing of children is often linked to that of mothers, their food security too showed a huge increase. The impact of the campaign was not limited to improving nutrition levels, it brought on other positive changes too. Mr Damor says his daughter-in-law no longer covers her face entirely and the veil has moved up."Also, now she calls me Ba (father) instead of Haahoo (dad-in-law) and my wife Aaee (mother) instead of Haaharozi (mum-in-law)."Meals do have a way of bringing families together. Like they have done in the case of Damors.

What those senators are saying to all of us is that, for them, patriarchy and privilege occupy positions of primacy in this country. And, when that primacy is threatened, it is perfectly reasonable that those affected would whine and rage at the possibility of being denied that to which they are owed, as birthright and gender benefit.As sexual assault accusers go, one would have been hard pressed to find one more able and affable than Ford. She is a professor who talked about the alleged assault before Kavanaugh’s nomination, one who by all accounts wanted to remain anonymous. Compelled by her own sense of patriotism, she finally came forward and told her story with grace and composure as millions of Americans watched.The senators, unable to impeach her credibility outright and leery of exposing their callousness and contempt, chose instead a patronizing paternalism. They shed crocodile tears for Ford, painting her as a victim, yes: not of Kavanaugh but rather of the Democrats on the committee. To them, somehow she was a clueless pawn in the Democrats’ game to besmirch and indeed destroy the name of a good man.This diminished and belittled in every way the very real and very credible accusation that Ford made and completely blotted out the incredible courage it would take for a person to appear before them if it indeed happened to them.In other words, the Republicans on the committee patted her on her head while spitting in her face.And somehow we still have the gall to feign astonishment that people wouldn’t immediately report an attack, instead holding it for a year, decades, maybe even a lifetime.People don’t come forward because of authorities like the Republicans on the committee, the ones who will scoff at you, blame you and not believe you.Just as Ford was creaking the door open and empowering others to come out of the closet with their own stories, Republicans on the committee rushed to slam it back shut and secure its closure with enmity if necessary.They demand to make survivors quake with fear again.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

Police officers will be barred from patient-care areas at a hospital in Utah that drew widespread notice when an officer handcuffed a nurse, hospital officials said this week.The new policy, announced at a news conference on Monday, was put into effect soon after a Salt Lake City police officer detained Alex Wubbels, who on July 26 refused to allow an officer to take a blood sample from an unconscious patient at University of Utah Hospital. Video footage of the encounter surfaced last week, leading to fierce condemnation of the police tactics, including a rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday.In the videos, two of which were recorded by police body cameras, Ms. Wubbels can be seen explaining to the officer that she could not allow blood to be drawn from a patient unless he is under arrest, there is a warrant for his arrest or he has consented to having his blood drawn. The officer, Jeff L. Payne, handcuffed her in response, accusing her of impeding an investigation.Ms. Wubbels was not charged with any crimes. Mr. Payne and an unnamed officer were put on administrative leave as the department conducts a criminal investigation into the episode.On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Payne was also fired from his part-time job as a paramedic with Gold Cross Ambulance because of remarks he made that the company’s president said were “inflammatory” and “inappropriate.”In a video posted by the Salt Lake Tribune, Mr. Payne can be heard telling another officer that he takes patients to the University of Utah Hospital as part of his job with Gold Cross. In the future, he says that he will bring that hospital “all the transients and take good patients elsewhere.”Nurses at the hospital will no longer deal directly with law enforcement officers, according to the new policy. Instead, officers will check in at the front desk and will interact with a supervisor who is trained in law and hospital policy, said Margaret Pearce, the chief nursing officer at the University of Utah hospital system.The change in policy will allow nurses to focus on caring for patients, Ms. Pearce said.“If there is a discussion or an issue, it needs to occur outside the patient care environment,” she said.The patient, identified as William Gray, was a truck driver and reserve police officer for the Rigby Police Department in Idaho. He was not suspected of wrongdoing; a driver fleeing the police crashed into Mr. Gray’s truck, severely injuring Mr. Gray and killing himself.In a statement on Facebook, the police in Rigby sided with Ms. Wubbels in her confrontation with Mr. Payne.“The Rigby Police Department would like to thank the nurse involved and hospital staff for standing firm, and protecting Officer Gray’s rights as a patient and victim,” the statement read. “Protecting the rights of others is truly a heroic act.”The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that officers must have a warrant to draw blood in drunken-driving cases. In a statement last week, Mike Brown, the Salt Lake City police chief, said the department would “do what is necessary to fully investigate the issue, uphold the integrity of the Salt Lake City Police Department, and strengthen the trust with our community.”Ms. Wubbels has said in interviews that she hoped the episode would create a productive discussion.“I’m not here to police the police,” she said in an interview on Monday on “Today.” “The police need to do that if they’re going to regain any kind of trust by me or, I think, the public.”

Armed separatists have stormed the Chinese consulate in Karachi, triggering an hour-long shootout during which two Pakistani civilians, two police officers and the three assailants were killed.The assault, claimed by a militant group from the south-western province of Balochistan, reflected the separatists’ attempt to strike at the heart of Pakistan’s close relationship with China, which has invested heavily in road and transportation projects in the country.It was a particularly violent day across the region. A suicide attacker on a motorbike set off explosives in a crowded festival and market in northwest Pakistan’s Orakzai region, killing at least 25 people at around the same time as the Karachi bloodshed. Over the border in eastern Afghanistan, a suicide blast at a mosque on an army base killed at least 26 people and wounded 50, security officials said. Earlier in the week, a suicide bomber killed 55 people in the capital, Kabul.All the Chinese diplomats and staff at the consulate in Karachi were safe and unharmed during the attack and the shootout, said Ameer Ahmad Sheikh, a senior police official.The prime minister, Imran Khan, condemned the attack, describing it as part of a conspiracy against Pakistan and China’s economic and strategic cooperation. Khan lauded the Karachi police and paramilitary rangers, saying they showed exceptional courage in defending the consulate and the “nation salutes the martyrs”.He ordered an investigation and vowed that such incidents would never be able to undermine relations with China, which are “mightier than the Himalayas and deeper than the Arabian Sea”.In a separate incident a few hours later at least 35 people were killed in a bombing at an open-air market in the country’s north-west. Dozens of people were also wounded in the attack in the town of Klaya in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. Most of the casualties were minority Shia Muslims. Khan condemned the bombing, saying it was an “act of terrorism”.The Karachi attackers stormed the consulate shortly after 9am on Friday. They opened fire at guards and threw grenades, then managed to breach the main gate and enter the building, said Mohammad Ashfaq, a local police chief.Pakistani security forces quickly surrounded the area. Images taken from local TV broadcasts showed smoke rising from the building, which also serves as the residence of Chinese diplomats and other staff. Multiple blasts were heard soon afterwards.Because of a quick response by guards and police, the attackers could not reach the diplomats, Sheikh said after the fighting ended. “We have completed the operation, and a search is still under way to trace and capture all suspects,” he added.Sheikh said one of the attackers was wearing a suicide vest and authorities would try to identify the assailants by their fingerprints.The dead Pakistani civilians were a father and a son had come to the consulate to pick up their visas to China, police said. Dr Seemi Jamali, a spokeswoman for Jinnah hospital, said the bodies of two police officers were brought to its morgue, while one of the consulate guards who was wounded was undergoing treatment.Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was for years rife with political, sectarian and ethnic militancy.A crackdown by security forces in recent years has brought a lull in violence, but scattered attacks still take place.China has poured billions into Pakistan in recent years as part of a massive infrastructure project that seeks to connect its western province of Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea.The Chinese consulate is located in an affluent neighbourhood along with those of several other nations.In its claim of responsibility for the Karachi attack, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) said it was fighting “Chinese occupation” and released photos of the three attackers.Amir Rana, the executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said the attack in Karachi represented an escalation in the violence perpetrated by the Baloch separatists.So far this year, the BLA has claimed responsibility for 12 attacks against security personnel guarding projects linked to the China-Pakistan economic corridor, as well as against infrastructure.In a letter addressed to the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan earlier this year, the group warned China against the “exploitation of Baluchistan’s mineral wealth and occupation of Baloch territory”.But Rana said: “I don’t see that this will have any impact on the Chinese projects in Pakistan.”The suicide bomb attack in the Afghan border province of Khost came as people gathered for Friday prayers at the mosque on the army base. The Taliban, who are waging a war to oust the Western-backed Afghan government and expel foreign forces, have launched a series of high-profile attacks against Afghan security forces in recent weeks. The blast in Pakistan’s Orakzai region was also at a Friday festive gathering. There was no claim of responsibility for either of those blasts. Topics Pakistan China South and Central Asia Asia Pacific news

How best to describe this week? Oh, yes, this:It was the meme that captured the internet’s imagination, and provided a distraction from all the other news in the world last week. Because it the last seven days have pretty much been a garbage fire. Don’t believe us? Here’s what else was going on while the internet quietly hummed "Zendaya is Meechee."What Happened: The week started with a rumor that, if true, would mean that the constitutional crisis everyone has spent the last two years thinking about was literally about to begin. So, you know, it was a pretty intense way to end September.With all that as background, the week got off to quite a stunning start, with this story breaking early Monday morning:It was all based around the Axios story, with speculation and panic flowing from that as others sought clarification. That search brought its own confusion, however, as things were really nowhere near as straightforward as might have appeared to be the case:And then, the White House issued an official statement on the matter that cleared everything up without, you know, actually clearing anything up.So, what was actually going on? The usual tick-tock reports attempted to explain away why there had been so much confusion throughout the morning, but the truth may have been far more straightforward than that.Turns out, Axios' Jonathan Swan wasn't a fan of that idea:The Takeaway: It's hard to properly sum up how the ever-changing dynamic of Monday morning seemed at the time to anyone on social media, but this does a pretty good job, considering.What Happened: The president used to claim that the world was laughing at the United States. This week, he made his fantasy a reality. Good job, Sir!What Really Happened: President Trump had to address the United Nations General Assembly last week, a fact that made quite a few people nervous considering his famous disdain for the organization. What would he say to the assembled dignitaries of the world, and how quickly would other people be able to backtrack from it?And it wasn't just laughter, apparently.In a move that's at once surprising and utterly unsurprising, Fox News edited out the laughter from its footage, which brought a not-surprising response.Even if other people apparently weren't comfortable with it, at least President Trump said that it was OK.…Oh. In fact, a day later, the president claimed that, despite saying, he "didn’t expect that reaction," he actually had expected the reaction—and had, indeed, been hoping for it.Still, at least he didn't attempt anything ridiculous the very next day to try and win back the narrative of his being a great orator.The Takeaway: OK, this is perhaps a little dark, and yet not entirely unfitting…What Happened: After weeks of people wishing that the president would be more open with journalists, a mid-week press conference made a lot of people do a 180 and dream of him shutting up again.What Really Happened: The president’s relationship with the press has been, let's say, love/hate. Or maybe troubling. Abusive is also a possibility, let's be honest. White House press briefings have become rare, even as some think we should do away with them all together considering the obfuscation they deliver, but at least President Trump likes to talk to the press. Take this week, for example, when he held a press conference at the United Nations. It was ... shall we go with "freewheeling"? Let’s go with "freewheeling."Some wondered what the hell was going on, as the 80-plus-minute press conference—yes, it really went on for that long—continued.As always, the answer was exactly what you’d expect…The Takeaway: Midway through the press conference, it was fascinating to watch how journalists were responding to it; the idea that it was a strange battle of wills between the president and those having to pay attention became more and more apparent.What Happened: For anyone online, there was only one thing happening on Thursday: The Senate appearance of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh as both gave testimony about Ford's sexual abuse allegations against the Supreme Court nominee.What Really Happened: Thursday was utterly dominated by the latest round of Senate hearings about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. As opposed to the first round, these were called specifically to address Christine Blasey Ford's accusation that she had been sexually assaulted in high school by the judge. It wasn't, notably, touching on the other recent accusations against him, prompting him to declare that he was the victim of an organized smear campaign. Against that backdrop, tensions were high as Ford and Kavanaugh prepared to tell their stories.Ford's testimony came first, and it was, essentially, live-blogged via Twitter.Ford’s words hit home with many and were widely shared. The end result was that, ultimately, Ford came across as a smart, brave, and entirely credible witness.Of course, when I say that everyone was watching, I really meant that everyone was watching, as reporters made clear.And while Trump Sr. raged silently, Trump Jr.—did, well, something else.The Takeaway: Amongst the many things people learned from Ford's heartbreakingly honest and humble testimony was this: Few of us have ever been as strong or as brave as she was for hours, in front of senators, cameras, and a prosecutor, sharing some of the worst moments of her life. The question remained, however … what would Kavanaugh's testimony look like in response?What Happened: As if Ford’s experience hadn’t been heart wrenching enough, Kavanaugh's testimony added another layer of emotion to Thursday's Senate hearing. Namely, the layer called "anger and self-righteousness."What Really Happened: So, what about Kavanaugh's testimony? If Ford was restrained and noble, the accused's approach was more than a little different.Some noticed that Republican lawmakers appeared to treat Ford and Kavanaugh differently.Some couldn’t help comparing the two:The testimony was seen by many as over-the-top and surreal, but it apparently did what it was supposed to, with Republicans coming out in favor of him once again after he was finished. Even Trump took to Twitter to send out support for Kavanaugh's performance:As of this writing, the Senate Judiciary Committee has agreed to send Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate for a vote, but to postpone it for a week so that the FBI can investigate the new allegations against the judge. Stay tuned...The Takeaway: This tweet.

Countless local residents and officials, including San Diego’s powerful Republican mayor, Kevin Faulconer, say the abrupt transfer of hundreds of officers from ports of entry has put the daily flow of bodies and goods through checkpoints in slow-motion, interrupting the region’s cross-border economy. Wait times frequently exceed four or six hours.“Having our borders open and fully functioning is not an option, but a necessity,” Mayor Faulconer said in a statement, when asked about the extensive delays, which he tersely described as having a “negative impact.” The San Diego Association of Governments — a state regional agency — recently estimated that about $7.2 billion in gross output and more than 62,000 jobs are lost annually because of border traffic. And stoppages have only gotten worse this spring with the manpower shortage, which has led to commercial lane closures.As President Trump renews threats to close the border outright, customs brokers tell me their partners — in cross-border supply chains for aerospace, medical devices and agriculture — are “panicked.” Eduardo Acosta, vice president of a major customs brokerage company, says businesses are facing late fees, contract cancellations and assembly line freezes.“All that adds up,” Mr. Acosta said. “Twenty percent of cargo being laid over every day.” Another executive, Fidel Gutierrez Castro, C.E.O. of G-Global, agreed: “They have us all crazy, making contingency plans.” Places like the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez area in Texas, while not as heavily transited as Southern California, are also reporting disruptions.Ports of entry are at the center of hotly debated legal questions about asylum seekers — in the courts and in the media. Last month, nearly 11,000 asylum seekers legally entered the United States through them. About 53,000 families crossed illegally. Those here on the ground know that part of the decade-high surge in illegal crossings is directly linked to the long backlogs at ports of entry. Many migrants who fear for their lives in Mexico, or who don’t want to wait, cross illegally to avoid delays at the ports. (For asylum seekers, the wait time is weeks.) And with White House rhetoric painting a bleak picture of a lawless border, more armed militia groups have been heading here to detain these families at gunpoint, long before contacting the Border Patrol.

An Indian teenager who was kidnapped and gang raped last year has accused her parents of accepting money from her alleged assailants in return for pressing her to change her statement.Delhi police said they had arrested her mother and are searching for her father, who they say is on the run.The news emerged after the girl went to a police station with 500,000 rupees (about $7,600; £5,300) that she said her parents accepted from the accused.She is now being cared for in a refuge."We believe the accused made efforts to negotiate with the victim's parents by offering them money," Deputy Commissioner of Police MN Tiwari told the BBC.He said the girl had been aware of the negotiations and knew where her parents had hidden the money. Why India's rape crisis shows no signs of abating Why did India wake up so late to a child rape and murder? The child rape and murder that has Kashmir on edge "We will find out more only after we arrest the father."Police have registered a new case against the girl's parents and her alleged rapists. The original case was registered in September. Scrutiny of sexual violence has grown in India since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in the capital.The crime sparked days of protests and forced the government to introduce tougher anti-rape laws.However, reporting of sexual attacks against women and children across the country continues to rise.Last week there was fresh outrage after the rape, torture and murder of an eight-year-old girl near Kathua city in Indian-administered Kashmir.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is putting the brakes on the arrival this year of HomePod, its much-ballyhooed rival to Amazon’s Echo smart speaker.On Friday, the company said it would postpone the release of HomePod to early 2018. Apple introduced the speaker this year and was originally set to ship it next month, but the company said it was still working on the product.“We can’t wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple’s breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers,” Apple said in a statement.The postponement deals a setback to Apple in several ways. The company is already behind rivals like Amazon, which pioneered the market for speakers that can be controlled with voice commands and artificial intelligence with the release of the original Echo in 2015. The Echo, along with the virtual assistant Alexa, became a surprise hit.Now Apple will also miss out on selling HomePod during the holiday shopping season, the most lucrative time of year for electronics makers. That may enable rivals to gain even more traction with their products.Amazon recently released a family of new Echo products with lower prices. The standard-size Echo speaker costs $100, significantly less than its $180 predecessor.That makes the price for Apple’s HomePod — $349 — look especially steep. Apple has said HomePod will deliver superior audio quality. Customers will be able to summon Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, to play music and control smart home accessories. In addition, people will be able to link multiple HomePods to listen to music throughout the home, similar to products from Sonos.