Article:
A memo published by WikiLeaks indicates Clinton Foundation's fundraisers put pressure on donors to steer business and paid speech opportunities to former President Bill Clinton. WSJ's Anupreeta Das has details on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero. Photo: Zuma Press

 Two chief fundraisers for the Clinton Foundation pressed corporate donors to steer business opportunities to former President Bill Clinton as well, according to a hacked memo published Wednesday by WikiLeaks.

 The November 2011 memo from Douglas Band, at the time a top aide to Mr. Clinton, outlines extensive fundraising efforts that Mr. Band and a partner deployed on behalf of the Clinton Foundation and how that work sometimes translated into large speaking fees and other paid work for Mr. Clinton.

 ... ||||| Karl Rove came to Megyn Kelly’s defense tonight in her first The Kelly File broadcast since Newt Gingrich accused her of being so “fascinated with sex” she had no interest in public policy.

 Before Rove’s appearance on Kelly’s Fox News Channelshow, she’d also had under fire from GOP White House hopeful Donald Trump, who this morning applauded Gingrich for attacking Kelly, calling it an “amazing interview.”

 “We don’t play games, Newt, right?” Trump crowed during the ribbon-cutting ceremony on his new Washington D.C. hotel, as camera rolled.

 Rove, who was Kelly’s first guest tonight, blasted Trump for squandering precious time “to spend today dedicating his hotel in Washington D.C., and complimenting Newt Gingrich on having a food fight with you last night. That was not a good use of today,” with just 13 days left to campaign, he sniffed.

 Kelly diplomatically called the previous day’s Karlpocalypse a “debate about polls, and whether people should believe them.” Gingrich, she said, “did not believe them and said there were two alternate universes: one in which the pollsters live, and then the real one, in which Trump is winning.”

 Kelly’s second segment, not coincidentally, focused on Wikileaked DNC emails to and from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, aka “public policy” material Gingrich had accused Kelly of not being interested in owing to her sex obsession.

 Others had attacked Kelly after Gingrich’s appearance on her show. Dan Scavino, Trumps social media director, for instance, tweeted this:

 .@NewtGingrich just destroyed @MegynKelly. Shows she is totally biased against Mr. Trump & not very smart. Mr. Trump has long known!! — Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) October 26, 2016

 … adding, ominously: ||||| “If push comes to shove,” he added, and Mrs. Clinton “has to go by any means necessary, it will be done.”

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 Interviews with more than 50 Trump supporters at campaign events in six states over the past week revealed a distinct change from the rollicking mood earlier this year, when Mr. Trump’s surprising primary successes and emergence as an unconventional Republican standard-bearer set off broad excitement. The crowds appeared on edge and quick to lash out.

 And while some voters emphatically disputed polls suggesting that Mrs. Clinton would win, others offered an apocalyptic vision of what life would be like if she did.

 “It’s not what I’m going to do, but I’m scared that the country is going to go into a riot,” said Roger Pillath, 75, a retired teacher from Coleman, Wis. “I’ve never seen the country so divided, just black and white — there’s no compromise whatsoever. The Clinton campaign says together we are stronger, but there’s no together. The country has never been so divided. I’m looking at revolution right now.”

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 Julie Olson, a rancher who showed up for a rally in Colorado Springs, said that she and her husband had been through rough economic times in recent years, and that a Trump loss would worsen their burdens.

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 “I’d probably go into a depression, because life is hard enough for us right now,” Ms. Olson, 69, said. “And if Hillary gets in, it’s going to be a whole lot worse — income, lack of income, small business, large businesses.”

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 New York Times reporters spoke to people attending Trump rallies in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In every crowd, there were supporters who echoed Mr. Trump’s message that the polls did not reflect the “silent majority” who they said would turn out on Nov. 8 and elect him in a landslide.

 “You go through any neighborhood and see how many Trump signs there are and how many Hillary signs there are, and I guarantee you it’s not even going to be close,” said Bill Stelling, 44, of Jacksonville, Fla. “The only way they’ve done it is by rigging the election.”

 An information diet from Trump-friendly news media like Breitbart News and Infowars has led many to believe that there is no way Mr. Trump can lose, and that even contemplating the possibility is foolish. “I’d be shocked,” said Rick Hill, 58, of Fort Myers, Fla.

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 Mr. Hill added, “If you get on social media, he’s got Hillary beat, 3 to 1.”

 But others expressed unease about what a Trump loss would bring.

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 “Unfortunately, I’m not a man of vigilante violence,” said Richard Sabonjohn, 48, of Naples, Fla. “I’m more of a peaceful person. But I do think there will be a large amount of people that are terribly upset and may take matters into their own hands.”

 Mr. Trump has repeatedly called the election “rigged,” raised concerns about voter fraud and said that he might not accept the results if he lost, making Democrats and Republicans alike worry whether the transfer of power will be smooth.

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 Even some of his supporters who say they would peacefully accept Mrs. Clinton as the next president fear that the nation will take a violent turn — especially if Mrs. Clinton tries to infringe on Second Amendment rights.

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 Paul Swick, 42, who owns a moving business, went with his wife and daughter to see Mr. Trump speak in Green Bay last week. Mr. Swick considers himself a “Bible Christian” and “Thomas Jefferson liberal,” and said he hoped to beat Mrs. Clinton “at the ballot box.”

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 But Mr. Swick, by his own estimation, also owns “north of 30 guns,” and he said Mrs. Clinton would have trouble if she tried to confiscate the nation’s constitutionally protected weapons. (Mrs. Clinton has said she supports the Second Amendment, but she favors certain restrictions, like tighter background checks for gun buyers.)

 “If she comes after the guns, it’s going to be a rough, bumpy road,” Mr. Swick said. “I hope to God I never have to fire a round, but I won’t hesitate to. As a Christian, I want reformation. But sometimes reformation comes through bloodshed.”

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 Alan Weegens, 62, a retired truck driver in Colorado Springs, also wondered aloud how the country — with so many citizens who own guns and, he said, “are willing to trample a grandma on Black Friday at midnight to save $5 on a toaster” — would react if Mr. Trump lost.

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 “I am not going to take my weapon to go out into the streets to protest an election I did not win,” Mr. Weegens said, “but I think that if certain events came about, a person would need to protect themselves, depending on where they lived, when your neighborhood goes up in flames.”

 Asked what might cause such a conflagration, he pointed to places like Ferguson, Mo., and Charlotte, N.C., which have been hit by unrest after police shootings of black men, and said, “Because hungry people get mean.”

 As Mrs. Clinton pulls away in many polls, some Trump voters found it difficult even to contemplate what a Clinton presidency would be like for them.

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 “I’d go home and cry for four years,” said Ken Herrmann, 69, of Punta Gorda, Fla.

 Kathy Maney, 61, a hairstylist from Fletcher, N.C., used the language of love lost. “I won’t feel hatred or mad or anything like that, but my heart will be broken,” she said.

 And Vicki Sanger, 40, of Grand Junction, Colo., said she had more practical concerns. “I would just be scared that Hillary would be impeached before she finishes her term,” she said.

 But, Ms. Sanger added, she will accept the outcome on Election Day. “I would absolutely respect the result and support the next president,” she said. “Pray for the next president, whoever it is.” ||||| Trump tries to salvage the brand The Republican nominee ditches the campaign trail to hawk his new hotel and to talk up his executive credentials.

 With 13 days until Election Day, Donald Trump tried Wednesday morning to simultaneously burnish his business and political brands, both of which are badly tarnished.

 Drawing more than 200 members of the media to his opulent new Washington, D.C., hotel for an “official opening” that comes more than a month after the property opened to the public, Trump framed the renovated downtown post office as a testament to his abilities as an executive.

 Story Continued Below

 “My theme today is five words: under budget and ahead of schedule,” Trump said (using six words).

 Trump, who political forecasters now give just a 10 percent chance of winning the presidential election, is in a last-ditch fight to resuscitate his campaign and a business brand that has suffered from his presidential run. As Trump and his offspring lavished praise on themselves for completing the project, rooms at the hotel were being offered at $404 a night online, a discount of roughly 50 percent.

 “Today is a metaphor for what we can accomplish for this country, the same kind of thing,” Trump said Wednesday morning. “I’m tired of the excuses from our politicians. I’m tired of being told what cannot be done. I’m tired of people asking Americans to defer their dreams to another day but really what they mean is another decade. We can achieve our dreams for this country and we can do so more quickly than anyone ever thought possible. There is nothing we cannot accomplish."

 Eschewing the angry bombast and vitriolic attacks that define his rally speeches, Trump stood on a dais inside a packed ballroom agleam in gilded mirrors and crystal chandeliers and sought to strike a tone so uplifting and aspirational that it seemed a betrayal of his own campaign’s motto to make the country “great again.”

 “The United States is great. It’s great. Its people are great. There is no task or project too great. There is no dream outside of our reach. Don’t ever let anyone tell you it cannot be done,” he continued, diverging somewhat from his campaign’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. “The future lies with the dreamers, not the cynics and the critics. Everywhere I go in this country, all I see is untapped potential waiting to be set free, and the biggest element of all is our incredible people.”

 Trump’s decision to attend a ribbon-cutting at his D.C. hotel raised eyebrows, with the candidate’s time at a premium in the final stretch of a presidential race that, by his own admission, he is currently losing. He told the crowd he was heading straight to North Carolina following the ceremony in the hotel’s grand lobby, seemingly in recognition of complaints that the morning photo op seemed more about his personal brand than his campaign, which has sunk over the past week beneath the weight of myriad allegations of sexual assault.

 Speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash in the lobby, Trump became testy when asked why he’s taking time out of his swing-state tour to hawk his hotel.

 “I did yesterday eight stops and three major speeches, and I've been doing this for weeks straight. I left there for an hour and a half. I'm going to North Carolina right now and then to Florida, then up to New Hampshire,” Trump said flatly. “For you to ask me that question is actually very insulting, because Hillary Clinton does one stop and then goes home and sleeps, yet you'll ask me that question. I think it's a very rude question, to be honest with you.”

 To any observer, the final stretch of Trump’s campaign is taking the form of an infomercial — a nightly Facebook Live “newscast” featuring Trump surrogates and staff launched on Monday — that is selling a product as much as it is a candidate and blurring the lines that delineate official campaign business and activities like never before. The appearance at the downtown Washington hotel, which came a day after a campaign event at his Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in Florida, was the fourth one Trump has made as a presidential candidate.

 Trump's retreat within his newest gilded temple actually began Tuesday evening, shortly after his flight from Tallahassee landed in Washington. As campaign manager Kellyanne Conway was holding court in the hotel lobby, going from table to table speaking with guests, the bells in the post office's old bell tower rang loudly, taking waiters and bartenders by surprise. The unexpected fanfare — the Congress Bells, a Bicentennial gift from England, had not rung since 2006 — soon made sense, as Trump entered the room with his sons, acting out a dramatic tableau seemingly to remind himself of his own success.

 The ribbon-cutting had been billed specifically as a non-campaign event, even though it was listed on Trump’s campaign website. His campaign staff and advisers — including Conway, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and former "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa Manigault — were in attendance at a news conference beforehand in the hotel’s presidential ballroom. The wireless password provided to reporters was “trump2016,” and an eight-page, color-photo pamphlet handed out at the event focused entirely on the hotel and made no mention of its owner’s White House bid.

 While Trump was in Washington, D.C., his running mate, Mike Pence, was campaigning Wednesday in Nevada, a battleground state, and Utah, one of the country’s most reliably red states, where Trump has admitted that he is “having a tremendous problem.” Hillary Clinton, who has begun devoting more and more of her time on the campaign trail to boosting down-ballot Democrats, took the opportunity Wednesday morning to draw a contrast with Trump’s self-promotional show and to emphasize the hypocrisy of his anti-trade, “America first” message.

 As she wound down her speech in Lake Worth, Florida, Clinton noted Trump’s appearance in Washington “to open a new luxury hotel.” Trump, she claimed, “relied on undocumented workers to make his project cheaper.”

 “Most of the products in the rooms were made overseas, and he even sued to get his taxes lowered,” she continued, informing the crowd that at her next rally — in Tampa — she’d be appearing with José Andrés, the chef who pulled his restaurant venture from Trump’s Washington hotel in response to his caustic comments about Mexican immigrants at the start of his campaign last year.

 Trump’s team has billed the project as evidence of Trump’s business acumen, with Conway remarking that “his under-budget, ahead-of-schedule hotel” would show the “the tangible accomplishments of Donald Trump.” Speaking to reporters before the event, Gingrich said anyone concerned that Trump’s visit to his Washington property was a distraction was missing the point.

 “That's because they don't understand the message: It's under budget and ahead of schedule,” he said, repeating an apparent talking point for Trump surrogates. “That's a very important message because it means nothing in the current bureaucratic government tells you what a Trump administration would be like.”

 But whether or not the hotel did in fact arrive ahead of schedule remains an open question. While signs on scaffolding outside the building billed the hotel as “coming 2016,” a news release from February 2014 for the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago said the Washington hotel was supposed to open in late 2015.

 A modest but persistent protest outside the hotel, illustrative of how the property is seemingly attracting as many gawkers as it has paying customers, grew steadily as the event drew closer, with the crowd numbering roughly 150 by the time the event was set to begin. The protesters marched in a large circle, chanting, "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."

 Taking the stage before her father, Ivanka Trump acknowledged the launch of a new brand, Scion, the corporation’s initial attempt to downplay the "Trump" brand that has always been definitional. She lauded her father but also credited others involved in the hotel’s development, including Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, D.C.'s, congressional delegate and a Democrat. Norton supported the launch of the Pennsylvania Avenue project but did not attend Wednesday’s event.

 Ivanka Trump was the only one of Trump's four children present to speak, and her remarks were also an effort in self-preservation and the salvaging of a personal brand as a successful and nonpartisan female entrepreneur after a campaign that she described as “one of the most interesting journeys of my life.”

 In praising her father, she spoke of the countless Trump employees who have remained loyal over the years and support his latest venture. But in describing her father's vision when it comes to restoring old buildings, she also seemed to be imploring a broader electorate that largely views him unfavorably to see him differently.

 “My father trained my siblings and me not to see things for what they are," she said. "But for what they could be.”

 Gabe Debenedetti contributed reporting from Lake Worth, Florida. |||||Summary:

– Donald Trump's poll numbers among black Americans are abysmal—he's polling at around half the 6% Mitt Romney received in 2012—but he hasn't given up trying. On Wednesday, he offered a "new deal for black America" in a policy-heavy speech delivered to what the Washington Post reports was a largely white audience in North Carolina. The "deal is grounded in three promises: safe communities, great education, and high-paying jobs," Trump said, per the Hill, blaming Democrats for "total violence" in inner cities. He promised to provide incentives for companies to move to "blighted communities," and to allow cities and states to declare such places disaster areas to receive federal funding. In other election coverage: Earlier Wednesday, Trump took the morning off from campaigning to attend a ribbon-cutting at his new hotel in Washington, DC, reports Politico. "My theme today is five words: under budget and ahead of schedule," he said. He went on to describe America as a great country where there is "no task or project too great" and "no dream outside of our reach." At the DC event, Trump congratulated Newt Gingrich on his "great interview" with Megyn Kelly, in which Gingrich accused Kelly of being "fascinated with sex." Deadline reports that on The Kelly File Wednesday night, Karl Rove told Kelly that Trump had wasted precious time opening the hotel and "complimenting Newt Gingrich on having a food fight with you last night." The Wall Street Journal looks at the latest damaging WikiLeaks release on the Clintons. A 2011 memo from then-Bill Clinton aide Douglas Band outlines how his fundraising work on behalf of the Clinton Foundation also led to paid speaking engagements and other business opportunities for the former president. The New York Times spoke to Trump supporters at rallies in six states and found that many believe there will be violence, or even a "new Revolutionary War," if Hillary Clinton wins the election. But some still expect a landslide Trump win. "You go through any neighborhood and see how many Trump signs there are and how many Hillary signs there are, and I guarantee you it's not even going to be close," a 44-year-old Florida man says. "The only way they've done it is by rigging the election." The AP reports that Clinton, who celebrated her 69th birthday Wednesday, said she was struck that Trump "was paying more attention to his business than to the campaign. That's his choice, but we're going to keep working really hard to reach as many voters as possible." (Wednesday was a very bad day for Trump's Hollywood star.)


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Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| Even HBO's "Silicon Valley" has caught on. John P. Johnson/HBO

 I'm sitting in a San Francisco, counter-service restaurant waiting for my chopped salad, when a group of tall, white men wearing button-downs and fleece vests crowds around the cash register.

 My boyfriend, who works in venture capital, spots them and says they're VCs.

 "Do you know them?"

 "No," he says. "The fleece vests. It's a giveaway."

 It's true. The fleece vest, often in black and from outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia, has become the most quintessentially-VC item in an investor's wardrobe.

 No one seems to know how the fashion faux pas turned into a staple, and yet, the fleece vest is inescapable in Silicon Valley.

 For example, Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn and a partner at Greylock (whose investment portfolio includes Airbnb, Facebook, Flickr, and Zynga), rocked a Patagonia Men's Better Sweater Fleece Vest in Harvest Moon Blue. It retails for $99 on the website.

 Drew Angerer/Getty

 Marc Benioff, who has led Salesforce to fund some of the largest private cloud software companies in the world, wore a Salesforce-branded black vest on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt earlier this year.

 Steve Jennings/Getty

 Angel investor Joanne Wilson, the "Gotham Gal," invests across all industries, from food, to gyms, to real estate. She elevated the black fleece stereotype with this high-fashion, mixed-materials vest.

 Noam Galai/Getty

 Business Insider spoke with several venture capitalists for this story and could not track down what brought on the vest's popularity. But we have some theories.

 A practical reason why the vest might be so popular is, it gets chilly year-round in the Bay Area.

 This year, San Franciscans (reluctantly) enjoyed one of the mildest summers on record. The city saw only one 70-degree day in August, meteorologists tell The San Francisco Chronicle.

 As investors make trips up and down the Bay, meeting with entrepreneurs, sitting in on board meetings, and negotiating deals in eternal-spring weather, it helps to zip up.

 "This is the Bay Area so layering is useful," Kim Milosevich, a marketing partner at Andreeseen Horowitz, tells Business Insider.

 Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most well-known firms in Silicon Valley, orders Patagonia vests embroidered with the company's name for events. They typically order enough supplies for guests and employees.

 "Our swag is mainly created as a gift for guests of our events, so we want it to be high quality and something they'd like [or] find useful," Milosevich says.

 Jeff Berg, CEO and chairman of International Creative Management Ltd., and Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, Google's parent company, sport swag from the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in 2014. Scott Olson/Getty

 Patagonia has another explanation. They just make darn good vests.

 "I think one reason for the popularity is: Patagonia represents quality without being pretentious," Corey Simpson, a communications coordinator at Patagonia, says.

 A casual, slightly pilled fleece vest may help Silicon Valley's many millionaires and billionaires feel (or at least look) grounded.

 Patagonia would not disclose its corporate sales customers. But with a retail location in Palo Alto, Simpson says Patagonia fields a lot of questions about the trend — especially after its best-selling vest made a cameo in HBO's "Silicon Valley."

 Donald "Jared' Dunn, played by actor Zach Woods, is the lovable and eccentric head of business development at Pied Piper. Whether he's living it up at a launch party for the fictional capital firm Bachmanity or polling TechCrunch Disrupt attendees on how to pivot the company, he dons a soft, fleece vest in Supply Green from Patagonia.

 HBO

 The show's production designer, Richard Royon, told The San Francisco Chronicle in 2014 that before the show aired, his team spent months surveying Silicon Valley for aesthetic inspiration. They racked up hours at Google, Facebook, Zynga, Apple, and Dell.

 "Patagonia was clearly very important," Toyon said. "You walk around University Avenue and look at all the people wearing Patagonia during the day. It's kind of crazy."

 The vest trend even spans from Silicon Valley to New York City's Silicon Alley.

 Henry McNamara, a general partner at New York-based Greak Oaks Venture Capital, tells Business Insider he also owns a fleece vest. He's not sure why he sees so many in the wild.

 "I guess I've never really thought about it," McNamara says. "I just really like vests."

 Disclosure: The author is in a relationship with an employee of Andreessen Horowitz. ||||| The vest has become the unofficial uniform for Silicon Valley investors. HBO; Uniqlo; Melia Robinson/Business Insider

 San Francisco's airport has a vending machine that dispenses vests — the unofficial uniform for venture capital investors — and Twitter has been poking fun all week.

 But a spokesperson for the airport tells us that the machine's sales figures are no joke.

 The Uniqlo-branded vending machine earns $10,000 a month on average, according to Doug Yakel, a public information officer for San Francisco International Airport.

 At nearly $50 a pop, that means the vending machine sells about 200 vests per month.

 It's one of the highest-earning vending machines that its leasing tenant — a third-party company that also sells electronics and other consumer goods out of vending machines — operates at the airport, according to Yakel. It's unclear what cut SFO and Uniqlo take.

 "This is the first time we've had clothing available for sale from a vending machine, which we thought was very unique," Yakel told Business Insider.

 Japanese retailer Uniqlo started selling clothes out of vending machines in airports and malls across the US last year. At the time, these so-called "Uniqlo To Go" machines stocked two of the most popular items from the brand's "LifeWear" collection: a thermal heat-tech T-shirt ($14.90) and a lightweight down jacket ($69.90) in an array of colors.

 It appears Uniqlo added down vests for the tech set at San Francisco's airport. The Men's Ultra Light Down Vest typically retails for $49.90 online and in the vending machine.

 "SFO has a down vest vending machine for visiting VCs," said Frank Barbieri, a serial entrepreneur, in a now-viral tweet that included a photo of the vending machine.

 Venture capitalists can be seen sporting the practical outerwear wherever techies gather, from Blue Bottle Coffee shops to the Battery to the VC offices on Sand Hill Road.

 San Francisco has chilly summers, with temperatures hovering between the mid-50s and high-60s. As investors travel across the Bay Area, meeting with entrepreneurs, sitting in on board meetings, and negotiating deals in eternal-spring weather, it helps to zip up. ||||| Focused crawls are collections of frequently-updated webcrawl data from narrow (as opposed to broad or wide) web crawls, often focused on a single domain or subdomain. ||||| The vest has become the unofficial uniform for Silicon Valley investors. John P. Johnson/HBO; Uniqlo; Melia Robinson/Business Insider

 San Francisco has reached peak San Francisco with the addition of a vending machine that dispenses down vests at the city's airport, and Twitter is having a field day.

 "SFO has a down vest vending machine for visiting VCs," Frank Barbieri, a serial entrepreneur, said in a tweet that included a photo of the now infamous machine.

 The vest has become the unofficial uniform for Silicon Valley investors. Venture capitalists can be seen sporting the practical outerwear wherever techies gather, from Blue Bottle Coffee shops to the Battery to the VC offices on Sand Hill Road.

 Japanese retailer Uniqlo started selling clothes out of vending machines in airports and malls across the US last year. At the time, these so-called "Uniqlo To Go" machines stocked two of the most popular items from the brand's "LifeWear" collection: a thermal heat-tech T-shirt ($14.90) and a lightweight down jacket ($69.90) in an array of colors.

 It appears Uniqlo has added down vests for the tech set at San Francisco International Airport. The Men's Ultra Light Down Vest typically retails for $49.90 online.

 Uniqlo started selling clothes out of vending machines in airports and malls across the US in 2017. Uniqlo

 "This is the first time we've had clothing available for sale from a vending machine, which we thought was very unique," Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for SFO, told Business Insider.

 Yakel doesn't know how sales have been at this particular machine, but he said the airport has heard that "the leasing tenant is very happy with it."

 Twitter has been roasting San Francisco all week long, and it's brutally funny.

 Here are the best reactions:

 Uniqlo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. |||||

– It's an odd tale of vests, venture capitalists, and San Francisco: Start with this Business Insider story in 2016 declaring that the vest had "become the most quintessentially-VC item in an investor's wardrobe" in Silicon Valley. Flash forward to a different BI story from last week, taking note of a vending machine in San Francisco's airport that dispenses, yes, vests, and the social media jokes that revelation has generated. ("SFO has a down vest vending machine for visiting VCs," wrote one; "automatic vesting" wrote another.) And finally, a followup story at the site that the vendor is surely laughing all the way to the bank—with $10,000 in sales per month. The vests cost about $50, meaning that the machine from third-party vendor Uniqlo is dispensing about 200 of them per month at San Francisco International Airport. "This is the first time we've had clothing available for sale from a vending machine, which we thought was very unique," says an airport spokesman. Turns out, it's one of the most profitable machines at the airport.


Here is a news article: Josina Anderson says the people who came out to back Colin Kaepernick were given courage from the recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Boston. (2:14)

 NEW YORK -- Supporters of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the national anthem to protest police brutality against black people, showed their solidarity with him and his cause at a rally outside NFL headquarters Wednesday, demanding that he be signed by the start of the regular season next month.

 More than 1,000 people, many wearing jerseys bearing Kaepernick's name, crowded the steps outside the NFL's midtown Manhattan offices.

 Kaepernick, who once took the 49ers to the Super Bowl, opted out of his contract with the team in March and remains unsigned. Supporters say he is being blackballed for his advocacy, but some critics say he should not have sat or kneeled during the anthem or contend his lack of a job is more about his on-field talent. Kaepernick led the 49ers to a 3-16 record the past two seasons.

 Chants at the demonstration included "Boycott! Boycott!''

 Women's March organizer Tamika Mallory, addressing football fans, said, "I don't care how long you've been watching football, if they don't stand up for your children, turn the damn TV off."

 Some speakers said the league's treatment of Kaepernick is of a piece with a cavalier attitude toward players' health.

 "How in the world can we call ourselves the land of the free, the home of the brave, and you get vilified and criminalized just for speaking your mind?'' the Rev. Jamal Bryant said. "The NFL has proven with their treatment of Colin Kaepernick that they do not mind if black players get a concussion. They just got a problem if black players get a conscience."

 More than 1,000 people attended a rally in front of the NFL's offices in New York in support of unsigned quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

 Earlier Wednesday, the NAACP called for a meeting with the NFL to discuss the fate of Kaepernick, who was born to a white woman and a black man but was adopted by a white couple. The civil rights organization's interim president, Derrick Johnson, said in a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that it's apparently "no sheer coincidence'' that Kaepernick isn't on a roster.

 "No player should be victimized and discriminated against because of his exercise of free speech,'' Johnson said. "To do so is in violation of his rights under the Constitution and the NFL's own regulations."

 ESPN Staff Writer The Colin Kaepernick rally concluded after about an hour and a half of speeches, poems and prayers. Hard to tell how many people were outside the NFL headquarters in NYC, but suffice to say it was a lot more than the approximately 70 who showed up in the first rally back in late May.

 The NAACP's state president in New York, Hazel Dukes, said: "Right now, the action of the league seems to imply to young black men that this league, which is comprised of 70 percent African-Americans, only values black lives if they are wearing a football uniform."

 Goodell has said the league isn't blackballing Kaepernick.

 Some other players followed Kaepernick's actions last season, and some are doing so in this year's preseason. On Monday, a group of Cleveland Browns players prayed in silent protest during the national anthem. Among those kneeling was a white player, Seth DeValve. Another white player, Britton Colquitt, did not kneel but kept his hand on the shoulder of a teammate who did.

 That protest earned the ire of an Ohio Supreme Court justice, the lone Democrat holding an Ohio statewide office. Justice Bill O'Neill wrote on Facebook that he wouldn't attend any games at which "draft dodging millionaire athletes disrespect the veterans who earned them the right to be on that field."

 "Shame on you all,'' he said. ||||| Eric Hamilton of New York joins others gathered in support of unsigned NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Wednesday, Aug 23, 2017, in front of NFL headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) (Associated Press)

 Eric Hamilton of New York joins others gathered in support of unsigned NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Wednesday, Aug 23, 2017, in front of NFL headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) (Associated Press)

 NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on efforts in support of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the national anthem (all times local):

 8:45 p.m.

 Supporters of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (KAP'-ur-nihk) are demanding he be signed by a team before the National Football League season starts next month.

 They gathered outside the NFL's New York City headquarters on Wednesday to show their support for the free agent, who once played in the Super Bowl but opted out of his contract and hasn't been signed.

 Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before games as a protest of police brutality targeting blacks. His supporters say he's being blackballed. Critics point to his playing ability and say he should have stood.

 The Rev. Jamal Bryant says the league doesn't mind if black players get concussions but "they just got a problem if black players get a conscience."

 ___

 6 p.m.

 Hundreds of supporters of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (KAP'-ur-nihk) are rallying outside the New York City headquarters of the National Football League to support him.

 Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem as a protest against police brutality and is now without a team. His supporters say he's being blackballed. The free agent once played in the Super Bowl but hasn't been signed by any football club.

 Some critics say it's about his ability as a player. Others say he should have stood for the anthem.

 The NAACP sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday about the situation, saying it's "no sheer coincidence" Kaepernick is unsigned. The civil rights organization wants a meeting with the NFL to discuss the situation.

 ___

 Noon

 The NAACP wants a meeting with the NFL commissioner to discuss the fate of Colin Kaepernick (KAP'-ur-nihk).

 He's the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who refused to stand for the national anthem — kneeling as a protest against police brutality. He once took his team to the Super Bowl, but he's a free agent now, and no club has signed him.

 The NAACP says in a letter to the football commissioner, Roger Goodell, that it's apparently "no sheer coincidence" that Kaepernick hasn't been picked up.

 Derrick Johnson — the NAACP's interim president and CEO — says "no player should be victimized and discriminated against because of his exercise of free speech."

 The NAACP plans to participate in a rally Wednesday at NFL headquarters in New York in support of Kaepernick. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Supporters of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick are demanding he be signed by a team before the National Football League season starts next month. ESPN reports that thousands gathered outside the NFL's New York City headquarters on Wednesday to show their support for the free agent, who once played in the Super Bowl but opted out of his contract and hasn't been signed. Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before games as a protest of police brutality targeting blacks. His supporters say he's being blackballed, per the AP; but critics point to his playing ability as the reason, while others say he should have stood for the anthem. The NAACP sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, saying it's "no sheer coincidence" Kaepernick is unsigned. The civil rights organization has noted it wants a meeting with the NFL to discuss the situation. Derrick Johnson, the NAACP's interim president and CEO, says "no player should be victimized and discriminated against because of his exercise of free speech." Meanwhile, the Rev. Jamal Bryant says the league doesn't mind if black players get concussions, but "they just got a problem if black players get a conscience." Goodell has insisted the league isn't blackballing Kaepernick.


Write a summary based on this article:

Lie detector tests could be used regularly on 'high risk' sex offenders

 Compulsory lie detector tests are set be introduced to monitor convicted sex offenders under a change to the law due to be approved later.

 MPs will debate the relevant legislation in the House of Commons and are expected to approve routine use of polygraph screening for the most serious offenders across England and Wales from next year.

 If convicted rapists or other dangerous sex attackers are found to have lied about crucial matters or breached the terms of their licence after being released from jail they could be sent back to prison.

 Justice Minister Jeremy Wright issued a statement saying: "Introducing lie detector tests, alongside the sex offenders register and close monitoring in the community, will give us one of the toughest approaches in the world to managing this group.

 "We recently announced the creation of a new National Probation Service tasked with protecting the public from the most high-risk offenders.

 "They will be able to call on this technology to help stop sex offenders from reoffending and leaving more innocent victims in their wake."

 The Government aims to roll out the tests next spring, subject to the parliamentary timetable.

 The move follows a successful pilot scheme in the Midlands. Trials in two areas found the tests made sex criminals more open with probation officers.

 Polygraph tests measure blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and levels of perspiration.

 These vital signs display subtle changes when someone is deliberately evasive and polygraph experts can usually determine if that person is lying.

 Studies have shown that polygraphs are accurate around 85% of the time.

 The method is widely used in the US, with 19 states using lie detector tests in criminal cases, including during court testimonies. ||||| MPs are expected to clear the way for the introduction of compulsory lie detector tests to monitor convicted sex offenders across England and Wales from next January.

 The national rollout of US-style mandatory polygraph tests for serious sex offenders who have been released into the community after serving their prison sentence follows a successful pilot scheme. The trial was carried out from 2009-11 in two Midlands probation areas and found that offenders taking such tests were twice as likely to tell probation staff they had contacted a victim, entered an exclusion zone or otherwise breached terms of their release licence.

 Continuing concerns about the reliability of the tests and misinterpretation of the results mean they still cannot be used in any court in England and Wales.

 But it is expected that the compulsory polygraph tests will be used to monitor the behaviour of 750 of the most serious sex offenders, all of whom have been released into the community after serving a sentence of at least 12 months in jail.

 The tests involve measuring reactions to specific questions by monitoring heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and levels of perspiration to assess whether the subject is being truthful. The results will be used to determine whether they have breached the terms of their release licence or represent a risk to public safety and should be recalled to prison.

 The power to introduce compulsory lie detector tests was put on the statute book six years ago in the Offender Management Act 2007. On Tuesday MPs will debate secondary legislation in the form of a statutory instrument to come into force from 6 January 2014. The House of Lords will be asked to approve it later this month.

 The justice minister Jeremy Wright said: "Introducing lie detector tests, alongside the sex offenders register and close monitoring in the community, will give us one of the toughest approaches in the world to managing this group.

 "We recently announced the creation of a National Probation Service tasked with protecting the public from the most high-risk offenders. They will be able to call on this technology to help stop sex offenders from reoffending and leaving more innocent victims in their wake."

 Hertfordshire police used the tests in a pilot scheme in 2011 to help decide whether to charge suspected sex offenders and gauge the risk they posed to the public. "Low level" sex offenders were involved in the original pilot. At least six revealed more serious offending and were found to pose a more serious risk to children than previously estimated. A further trial was ordered but at the time the Association of Chief Police Officers voiced caution about the adoption of such tests: "Polygraph techniques are complex and are by no means a single solution to solving crimes, potentially offering in certain circumstances an additional tool to structured interrogation," a spokesman said.

 Polygraph testing is used in court in 19 states in America, subject to the discretion of the trial judge, but it is widely used by prosecutors, defence lawyers and law enforcement agencies across the US. |||||

– Serious sex offenders in the UK will soon be forced to take routine lie detector tests after being released from prison, Sky News reports. The new legislation is expected to be approved shortly and implemented next year. Though the polygraph test results won't be admissible in court, officials expect they'll help reveal probation violations that could land offenders back in jail. While the test could point out those who may be lying about their activities, there's also a big chance it'll spur them to own up to such behavior, per the Guardian. The paper reports that a three-year trial program found that offenders who took polygraphs were twice as likely to cop to prohibited behavior like communicating with a victim. "Introducing lie detector tests, alongside the sex offenders register and close monitoring in the community, will give us one of the toughest approaches in the world to managing this group," says a Justice Minister in a statement, adding that the new approach will "help stop sex offenders from reoffending and leaving more innocent victims in their wake."


– Another Ikea dresser has apparently toppled over and killed a young child. Theodore "Ted" McGee was 22 months old when the unstable dresser fell and crushed him while he was napping on Feb. 14 in Apple Valley, Minn., his family's lawyers tell the Philadelphia Inquirer. His parents "didn't hear the dresser fall," says attorney Alan Feldman. "They didn't hear Ted scream." The accusation is swinging a spotlight back on Ikea, which started a program last July to help stabilize 27 million dressers after a toddler and a 2-year-old were crushed to death under similar circumstances. Under the "repair program," Ikea issued warnings and offered to send anchoring kits to customers who requested them, USA Today reported at the time. But Ted McGee's parents had never heard about the danger or Ikea's program, their lawyers say. Janet and Jeremy McGee bought the dresser specifically for Ted, their first child after each had kids in earlier marriages. On the day Ted died, Janet was checking on him and noticed his empty bed, but figured he was just hiding somewhere during nap time. That's when she found his lifeless body under the fallen six-drawer dresser. Now the family's lawyers—who have already sued Ikea for the other two families and started a website about the crisis—are readying a lawsuit for the McGees. Ikea has offered the McGee family condolences but reminds them that anchoring the product "is an integral part of the product's assembly instructions." Federal safety regulators are investigating the case.

Expand this summary.

Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE Ikea's new repair program is considered a recall, but consumers aren't supposed to return the furniture. Instead, they should order or pick up a new free wall anchoring kit for the affected chests and dressers. USA TODAY

 This IKEA chest is part of the repair program that includes free anchoring kits to secure the furniture to the wall. (Photo: CPSC)

 Ikea is recalling about 27 million chests and dressers because they can tip over and crush children if they aren't anchored to the wall, the retailer and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday.

 Two children died after Ikea's Malm chests fell on them in 2014. Ikea says it knows of reports of three additional deaths since 1989 from tip-overs involving other models of Ikea chests and dressers.

 While Ikea's new repair program is considered a recall, consumers aren't supposed to return the furniture. Instead, they should order or pick up a new free wall anchoring kit for the affected chests and dressers. Consumers should move unanchored chests and dressers into storage or other areas where they cannot be accessed by children until the chests and dressers are properly anchored.

 Patty Lobell, Ikea's U.S. commercial manager, said in a statement that the company is "deeply saddened" by the deaths and hopes "our efforts prevent further tragedies.”

 Furniture and TV tip-overs have been a top concern at CPSC for several years. A child dies every two weeks and one is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from furniture or TVs tipping over, according to CPSC data.

 In an interview Wednesday, CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye called on the entire industry to make more stable furniture — and for Ikea to lead the way considering their "big market share."

 "Today is a positive step, and I commend Ikea for taking that step," Kaye said. "But they need to do more and to make more stable furniture and they need to help lead industry."

 Ikea is known for its low-priced, low-frills furniture. In Sweden, where it is based, Kaye says the company meets Europe's more stringent voluntary safety standard, which states furniture units need to be anchored to walls.

 CPSC did work with the U.S. standard-setting body in 2014 to update the furniture stability standard, but Kaye says it's still "much fuzzier" than Europe's.

 It isn't realistic to expect consumers with small children to anchor all large chests, in part because many can't do it because they live in rental units or there are other issues with their walls, Kaye says. And "plenty of parents don’t know about the issue," making it far more important for industry to make what could be very inexpensive design changes, he says.

 Ikea spokeswoman Mona Liss said they company will "continue to collaborate with the CPSC to find solutions for more stable furniture."

 "We don’t know yet what those solutions will be, but we are committed to working in collaboration to try to find better solutions," she said.

 In February 2014, a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pa., died after a Malm six-drawer chest tipped over and fatally pinned him against his bed. A nearly 2-year-old child from Snohomish, Wash., died in June of last year after he became trapped beneath a three-drawer Malm chest that tipped. Neither chest was secured to the wall.

 Ikea and CPSC also have 14 reports of tip-over incidents involving Malm chests that led to four injuries. Since 1989, Ikea is aware of three other reports of deaths from tip-overs involving other Ikea chests and dressers.

 The American Home Furnishings Alliance, which represents more than 200 large furniture manufacturers and importers, has been active in efforts to improve safety measures to reduce the number of furniture tip-over accidents, says spokeswoman Jackie Hirschhaut.

 "The AHFA, through the work of its members, is engaged in exploring improved product safety methods through innovations in materials and technology," she says.

 About 7 million Malm chests and 20 million other Ikea chests and dressers are part of this nationwide repair program.

 The Malm chests were sold starting in 2002 and ranged from about $80 to $200.

 To receive a free wall-anchoring kit, consumers can visit an Ikea store, register at www.IKEA-USA.com/saferhomestogether, or call toll-free at 888-966-4532.

 Ikea's Lobell said the retailer "is committed to helping raise the awareness of this serious home safety issue and to continue to provide consumers with the tools and knowledge they need to prevent these accidents."

 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MI2jyA ||||| Theodore "Ted" McGee died Feb. 14 when a bureau in his Apple Valley, Minn., bedroom tipped onto him, according to the family's lawyers.

 Theodore "Ted" McGee died Feb. 14 when a bureau in his Apple Valley, Minn., bedroom tipped onto him, according to the family's lawyers.

 Federal safety regulators are investigating the death of a Minnesota toddler crushed by an Ikea dresser in February, seven months after the retailer disclosed millions of its dressers are at risk of falling forward if not properly stabilized.

 Theodore "Ted" McGee died Feb. 14 when a bureau in his Apple Valley, Minn., bedroom tipped onto him, according to the family's lawyers. His parents thought the 22-month-old was napping.

 "They didn't hear the dresser fall," attorney Alan Feldman said. "They didn't hear Ted scream."

 Ikea and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission are reviewing McGee's death, according to representatives at both.

 Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the commission, called it a "tragic tip-over fatality" but declined to discuss the investigation, citing a federal law that bars the agency from disclosing details of such reviews without the company's consent.

 Last July, the commission and Ikea publicly acknowledged the company's dressers can become dangerously unstable if not attached to a wall. In a release, they said two children, including a West Chester 2-year-old, had died since 2014 when Ikea Malm dressers toppled onto them. Ikea also announced plans to send anchoring kits to any customers who requested them.

 The so-called repair program - a type of recall - affected 27 million dressers, including seven million Malm units, a popular line that ranges in price from $46 to $179. In August, the Canadian government issued a similar recall affecting about six million more Ikea dressers.

 The Swedish retailer, whose U.S. headquarters are in Conshohocken, says it has since sent more than 300,000 anchoring kits to consumers. It also launched a campaign to alert the public of the danger and remind consumers to attach their furniture to the wall.

 In a statement to the Inquirer, safety commission chairman Elliot Kaye said the agency expected companies to remain vigilant, even after a recall.

 "Without commenting on any specific case, companies are now on notice that even if there has been a public announcement about a remedy to address a dangerous product, the company must take every possible step to prevent further harm," he said. "This is especially the case when a child dies. Companies need to move fast and work with us on a comprehensive plan that offers their customers every necessary measure required for the sake of safety. I expect companies to truly put safety first."

 Tip-overs, most involving unsecured dressers and televisions, lead to dozens of deaths and more than 38,000 emergency-room visits in the United States each year, experts say.

 Ted McGee's parents didn't know the risk and never heard about the Ikea campaign, their lawyers said.

 That had been a concern of safety advocates, who questioned why federal regulators and Ikea promoted the action as a "repair program" instead of labeling it a recall. Some argued doing so lessened the impact, since the word recall carries more weight with consumers. Advocates also stressed that including anchoring hardware with dressers - as Ikea long has - isn't enough, since many consumers don't realize the threat or attach the restraints.

 Jeremy and Janet McGee bought their dresser in 2012, before their son was born. Both had children from previous marriages, but Ted was their first child together.

 After putting him down for a nap that day, Janet McGee checked on her son about every 20 minutes, according to an Apple Valley police report reviewed by the Inquirer. On one visit, it said, she opened the door and saw her son's empty bed but expected to find Ted hiding in the room, as he often did when he was supposed to be napping.

 Instead, she saw the tall, six-drawer dresser on the floor, toppled onto her son, the report said. First responders could not resuscitate the boy. Mann and Feldman said they were preparing a lawsuit against Ikea in connection with Ted McGee's death. They have already filed lawsuits on behalf of the families of the two other children who the safety commission said died in Malm tip-overs.

 Curren Collas, the West Chester toddler, died in February 2014. His mother found him pinned between his toppled six-drawer Ikea dresser and his bed frame.

 Camden Ellis, a 2-year-old from Snohomish, Wash., died four months later beneath a smaller, three-drawer Malm dresser. His parents said it happened on one of the first nights he slept in a toddler bed instead of a crib.

 Believing other families have been affected by Ikea furniture tip-overs, the attorneys have launched a website - www.furniture-tip-over-accidents.com - hoping to hear from consumers. They also want Ikea to issue a recall that includes buying back its dressers and replacing them with ones that are more stable. Feldman called the repair program inadequate.

 "How many kids should we sacrifice simply because this is a product that has some utility and that people will buy because it's inexpensive furniture?" he said.

 Ikea spokeswoman Mona Astra Liss, in a statement, offered condolences to the McGee family. She said that product safety was Ikea's highest priority and that the company immediately notified the safety commission after learning of Ted McGee's death.

 "Ikea has been advised that the product was not attached to the wall, which is an integral part of the product's assembly instructions," she said. "We wish to emphasize that the best way to prevent tip-over of chests of drawers is to attach products to the wall with the included restraints and hardware per the assembly instructions."

 Liss said the company plans to expand its campaign "to ensure that this important message reaches even more people," but she did not elaborate.

 Wolfson, the safety commission spokesman, reiterated its concerns about unanchored Ikea furniture.

 "It just takes a few minutes to save a life," he said, urging consumers to get and attach the restraints. "Because we would be deeply concerned if a family had that dresser readily accessible to children before it is actually repaired."

 tnadolny@phillynews.com

 215-854-2730 @TriciaNadolny ||||| IKEA announced the recall of 29 million dressers on June 28, 2016. The recall comes as the company faces lawsuits after the deaths of at least three children who were tragically killed when IKEA dressers overturned on them.

 The attorneys at Feldman Shepherd are leading the fight against IKEA on behalf of these innocent victims. If your child has been harmed or killed, we can help you seek justice. Contact us at (844) 480-0100 or by filling out the form on this page to find out what we can do for your family. |||||


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 LONDON — India chose an “untouchable” as its next president Thursday after the first contest in which both candidates were from the lowest tier of the country's caste system.

 Ram Nath Kovind, nominated by the ruling BJP party, had been clear favorite for the largely ceremonial post, which is decided by 4,800 lawmakers across the country.

 Under India’s constitution, the prime minister and his ministers wield executive power but the president sometimes plays a role such as deciding which party should form a government if a general election is inconclusive.

 Kovind, 72, is not the first president to be “Dalit,” a term that means “oppressed” in Sanskrit and refers to members of the lowest caste. Kocheril Raman Narayanan took office in 1997 more than half a century after Gandhi pledged to end the country’s ancient system of discrimination.

 Ram Nath Kovind, India's 14th president. Amit Dave / Reuters

 It is, however, the first time since India gained independence from Britain in 1947 that both the final candidates were Dalit — former diplomat Meira Kumar was also low-caste — and it is also the first time that the upper-caste dominated BJP has nominated a Dalit for the job.

 One-fifth of all parliamentary candidates must be Dalit under decades-long affirmative-action laws introduced to improve representation and outlaw discrimination. Dalits are also guaranteed a proportion of college places and government jobs.

 But while social mobility has improved, particularly in India’s fast-growing cities, rural areas still often witness members of lower castes forced to live in separate areas or prevented from using communal facilities such as water fountains.

 Caste campaigner Behan Mayawati called Thursday’s result “a huge victory.”

 James Chiriyankandath, a senior research fellow at the University of London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies, said the real significance was not about caste but rather the expanding influence of the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and its brand of Hindu nationalism.

 Related: Why Cow Urine Can Be as Valuable as Milk in India

 “Caste still plays an important role in electoral mobilization but the religious divide between Hindus and non-Hindus, particularly Muslims, has become one of the main fissures in Indian politics,” he told NBC News.

 “It is the most explosive division in India today. Tensions could be built up with the pursuit of policies such as bans on the slaughter of cows.”

 He said BJP lawmakers in northern areas of India has “ratcheted up the tension on these religious lines.”

 14th President of India is #RamNathKovind. A Dalit who has made it big by quiet hard work, not because of his family or for serving a family — Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) July 20, 2017

 One-sixth of India’s population — about 200 million out of a total 1.35 billion — is Muslim, Chiriyankandath said. Much smaller minorities include Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists.

 India will next month elect a vice-president. Another victory for the BJP would give it unprecedented influence in parliament — and potentially a role in deciding the outcome of the 2019 general election if the result is inconclusive.

 “These elections are important in terms of consolidation of BJP’s grip on power,” Chiriyankandath said.

 Since the rise of the BJP, India has seen a rise in Hindu nationalism, including the emergence of “cow vigilante” attacks on people accused of eating beef or slaughtering cows, which are sacred to Hindus. ||||| New Delhi (CNN) A relatively unknown political operator and member of India's lowest Dalit caste has been elected as the country's 14th president.

 Ram Nath Kovind, who until recently was governor of the eastern state of Bihar, won an overwhelming majority to beat opposition Congress party candidate, Meira Kumar, a former parliament speaker and also a member of the Dalit community.

 Kovind secured 2,930 votes in a secret nationwide ballot involving near to 5,000 lawmakers from the central parliament and state legislatures. Kumar received 1,844 votes.

 20 years ago and the present...always been a privilege to know you, President Elect. pic.twitter.com/IkhnOtYf8N

 The election of 71-year-old Kovind, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, is widely viewed as part of a strategy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to widen support among India's 200 million-strong Dalit community.

 Kovind is the second Dalit to become Indian president, after K. R. Narayanan , in office from 1997 to 2002.

 Dalits, who are often referred to as untouchables, occupy the lowest rung on India's caste system. Traditionally viewed as "impure" the group continues to grapple with persecution and exclusion.

 Kovind, a lawyer by training who has practiced in both the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court, has never held popularly elected office and lacks an independent power base. For the last two years he has occupied the governorship of Bihar, a position appointed by the prime minister. He also served as the national spokesman of the BJP between 2010 and 2012.

 Ram Nath Kovind delivers a speech in presence of Gujarat Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) members in Gandhinagar, on July 15, 2017.

 Ceremonial role

 Though the five-year post is largely ceremonial, Kovind's election will help strengthen Modi's grip on power, say analysts.

 "Modi would not like anyone in Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's House) who can question him, that's why Kovind was picked," said Satish Misra, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank based in Delhi.

 Unlike the American president, and in line with other Westminster-style governments, the role of India's president lacks any real executive authority. All decisions taken by the president require the approval of the prime minister and the council of ministers.

 However, each piece of legislation passed by parliament requires the president's sign-off. As a result, the president can delay key legislation taken by the prime minister, and can symbolically signal disapproval of controversial bills.

 Having a compliant president will help Modi if parliament does not cooperate with his agenda. The prime minister can pass ordinances, similar to a US executive order, with the approval of the president, said Shailesh Kumar, a senior analyst with the Eurasia Group.

 Dalit identity

 Analysts point to the recent rise in mob violence directed at minorities as among the BJP's primary motives in selecting Kovind.

 "There's a disillusionment among the Dalits," said Satish Misra. "That's why it's necessary for the ruling party to send a signal that we are with you."

 Kovind is also a member of the the Koli ethnic group, an important voting bloc in Modi's home state of Gujarat. A survey by the Centre for Study of Developing Societies found that members of the Koli community, many of whom are Dalit, switched their support from the Congress Party to the BJP between 2007 and 2012.

 "Until now, Dalits never voted for the BJP. But in 2014, some percentage of the votes went to the BJP," Misra added. "The fact remains that Dalits constitute over 20% of the Indian population and they're a vote bank." |||||Summary:

– Members of the low-caste Dalit community in India were once known as "untouchables." How times have changed: Two just competed against each other for the largely ceremonial office of president, and 71-year-old Ram Nath Kovind came out on top, reports CNN. In India, the real power is with the prime minister. Kovind isn't actually the first Dalit president, the first coming in 1997, notes NBC News. In fact, one analyst tells the network that the real significance of the election isn't the caste factor but its reflection of the growing power of the ruling BJP Party. Both Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi belong to the BJP (which is why the election was never really in doubt), and Modi's blessing of Kovind is seen as a calculated strategy to woo other members of the 200-million-strong Dalit community. "Dalit politics suddenly has come center stage with a bang," another analyst tells the New York Times. "Every leader is bending over backward to show, 'I am a well-wisher.'" India elects its vice president next month, and BJP is counting on another win to cement its influence over Parliament.


The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has announced that its database was accessed by a Russian hacking group, which posted the confidential medical data of several US athletes online on Monday.

 The cyber espionage group, known as Fancy Bear, released records on four female American Olympic athletes: tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, gymnastics multi-gold medallist Simone Biles and basketball player Elena Delle Donne.

 In each case, the hackers published records of so-called “Therapeutic Use Exemptions”, which permit athletes to use certain otherwise banned substances if they have a verified medical reason to do so. In making the disclosure, Fancy Bear said it planned to release more information in due course.

 The group, also known as Tsar Team, claimed the Therapeutic Use Exemptions constituted evidence of doping by US Olympians. “After detailed studying of the hacked Wada databases we figured out that dozens of American athletes had tested positive,” the hackers said in a statement. “The Rio Olympic medallists regularly used illicit strong drugs justified by certificates of approval for therapeutic use. In other words, they just got their licences for doping.”

 US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief Travis Tygart said in a statement that it was “unthinkable” for hackers to “illegally obtain confidential medical information in an attempt to smear athletes to make it look as if they have done something wrong.” He added: “In fact, in each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication.”

 Wada Report Outlines Alleged Russian Doping Cover Up System Used in Sochi

 Wada had previously warned that it might face cyberattacks, following its investigators’ revelations of Russian state-sponsored doping in the run-up to the Rio Games this summer. “These criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia,” said Olivier Niggli, the agency’s director general. “Wada deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged.”

 The agency said it believed the hack was carried out using spear-phishing emails to gather passwords for the Wada Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (Adams) database. Less than a month ago, the agency confirmed that a hacker had accessed the Adams account for Yuliya Stepanova, the Russian 800-metre runner who blew the whistle on the widespread doping among her country’s Olympic team.

 More than 100 Russian athletes were subsequently banned from competing in Rio, following the publication of an independently commissioned Wada report, which found evidence of a Russian state-run doping programme going back at least four years. ||||| Image copyright AP Image caption Simone Biles' confidential medical data has been released

 The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has condemned Russian hackers for leaking confidential medical files of star US Olympic athletes.

 Athletes affected include tennis players Venus and Serena Williams and teenage gymnast Simone Biles.

 A group calling itself "Fancy Bears" claimed responsibility for the hack of a Wada database.

 After the leak, Ms Biles said she had long been taking medicine for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

 The hacker group had accused her of taking an "illicit psycho-stimulant", but she said she had "always followed the rules".

 The Rio Olympics quadruple gold medallist had obtained the necessary permission to take prescription medicine on the Wada banned drugs list, USA Gymnastics said in a statement.

 Image copyright @Simone_Biles

 Wada said in a statement that the cyber attacks were an attempt to undermine the global anti-doping system.

 Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "out of the question" that the Kremlin or secret services were involved in the hacking, Russian news agencies reported.

 The hackers accessed records detailing "Therapeutic Use Exemptions" (TUEs), which allow the use of banned substances due to athletes' verified medical needs.

 "By virtue of the TUE, Biles has not broken any drug-testing regulations, including at the Olympic Games in Rio," USA Gymnastics said.

 Fancy Bears said TUEs amount to "licences for doping".

 The leaked documents allege that Serena Williams was granted permission to use drugs commonly used to treat muscle injuries, such as anti-inflammatories, while Biles is said to use Ritalin - a treatment for her ADHD.

 Former - Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority head Richard Ings said: "Nothing I see here gives me cause for alarm," adding it looked "totally normal".

 "The issue here is privacy breach."

 'Compromising trust'

 Russia's track and field team were banned from the Rio Olympics over an alleged state-backed doping programme. All of its athletes are barred from the ongoing Paralympics.

 "Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia," Wada director-general Olivier Niggli said.

 'An act of revenge?' - Analysis by BBC sports editor Dan Roan

 This is the latest twist in what was already the biggest doping scandal in the history of sport, and further evidence of the bitter divisions it has sparked.

 The hack appears to be an act of revenge - retaliation for Wada's damning report into Russian state-sponsored cheating.

 Although the Russian government has denied any involvement, it has always maintained that the country has been made a scapegoat for a much wider problem, and this will only add fuel to that fire.

 Although the athletes concerned have broken no rules, the revelations - along with the threat of more leaks of other competitors' medical records - will inevitably exacerbate the controversy surrounding TUEs at a time when sport's leaders are desperately trying to restore trust.

 Many athletes will now be nervously wondering if their private medical details records are the next to be made public.

 And with the future of Wada currently in the balance, the fact its security was so badly compromised will raise more questions over the entire anti-doping system, especially after the account of Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova was hacked last month, leading to fears for her safety.

 US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart called the hack "cowardly and despicable".

 "In each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication," he said.

 Image copyright PA Image caption Serena Williams has won four Olympics golds in her career

 The US Olympic Committee has had "zero adverse findings from the Rio Olympic Games that weren't 100% within the medical guidelines set forth by anti-doping authorities," spokesman Patrick Sandusky said.

 Earlier this month, Mr Niggli said Wada was experiencing almost daily cyber attacks originating from Russia.

 Fancy Bears, which is also known as Tsar Team (APT28), has pledged to release confidential records from other national Olympic teams.

 How Wada was hacked - Dave Lee, BBC North America technology reporter

 Image copyright Reuters

 It's an old adage in cybersecurity that the weakest point of any supposedly secure system is the people that use it.

 Wada says it believes this hack was made possible thanks to a successful spearphishing attack. Phishing is a term given to the technique of tricking a user into giving up crucial information - often by clicking a link that takes them to a malicious website disguised as a familiar one, such as the log-in page for a bank or social network.

 Spearphishing takes this one significant step further. While a phishing attack is often aimed at many people in the hope some will fall for it, spearphishing is highly targeted. Hackers perhaps identified a small number of people, or even just one person, and wrote a phishing attack specifically designed to trick them.

 Other than pushing a message of vigilance among staff, spearphishing is incredibly difficult to defend against. Attackers often scour the internet, looking for added information on the target that might make an email more believable. Sometimes even knowing a person's favourite football team is enough to tip the balance in making a spearphishing email seem genuine. ||||| Russian hackers — possibly the same group that compromised the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers — have made top American athletes their latest target.

 Joining an intercontinental dispute over sports doping, the hackers penetrated the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athlete database and publicly revealed private medical information about three of the United States’ most famous athletes: Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Simone Biles.

 The hackers published documents this week showing that Ms. Biles, who won four gold medals in gymnastics at the Rio Olympics last month, and the Williams sisters received medical exemptions to use banned drugs.

 The antidoping agency confirmed the authenticity of the documents in a statement Tuesday, attributing the hack to Fancy Bear, a Russian cyberespionage group that forensics specialists have tied to breaches against government agencies, nonprofit organizations and corporations. That group is believed to be associated with G.R.U., the Russian military intelligence agency suspected of involvement in the recent theft of emails and documents from the D.N.C. ||||| The World Anti-Doping Agency said Tuesday that a Russian government hacking group had gained access to a database containing drug-test results and confidential medical data from last month’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On Monday, the group began posting confidential information about noteworthy U.S. Olympic athletes — tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, four-time gymnastics gold medalist Simone Biles and women’s basketball standout Elena Delle Donne — and promised more leaks would be forthcoming.

 WADA said in a statement that the hacking group was able to access passwords to its Rio Olympic database via spear-phishing, the practice by which computers are infected after a user opens an email that is thought to be from a trusted source.

 “WADA deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act,” Director General Olivier Niggli said in the statement. “We are reaching out to stakeholders … regarding the specific athletes impacted.”

 The data release comes as the FBI is conducting a broad investigation into Russian government hacking and influence operations in the United States, including a possible effort to undermine confidence in the U.S. elections. The latest incident appears to be part of a larger campaign of strategic releases of hacked material by the Russian government to embarrass victims or raise doubts about their integrity, analysts said.

 It comes after nearly every member of that country’s track and field team was banned from this year’s Olympics after numerous investigations uncovered a widespread, government-run doping scheme that dated back years.

 “They’re trying to sow doubt over the integrity of the individual athletes and the various Olympic bodies and watchdog groups,” said Rich Barger, chief information officer at ThreatConnect, a cybersecurity company. “It’s just ultimately sour grapes. What we’re seeing here is a digital temper tantrum.”

 The information released mostly involves Therapeutic Use Exemptions, situations in which WADA allows athletes to take certain banned substances if they’re used to treat legitimate medical issues.

 In a statement to Newsweek, the International Olympic Committee said none of the athletes mentioned in the hack had done anything wrong.

 “The IOC strongly condemns such methods which clearly aim at tarnishing the reputation of clean athletes,” the organization said. “The IOC can confirm, however, that the athletes mentioned did not violate any anti-doping rules during the Olympic Games Rio 2016.”

 The hacking group, which is known as Fancy Bear or APT28, works for the military intelligence service GRU. It was one of two Russian spy groups that hacked the Democratic National Committee and may be linked to the release of embarrassing DNC emails by WikiLeaks in July. It has also been active in propaganda operations, researchers say. And last year it hacked the French TV5Monde station, knocking the network off the air for 18 hours in April 2015.

 In its statement, WADA said one of the victims whose password was stolen was Yuliya Stepanova, a whistleblower who exposed widespread doping in Russia athletics.

 “We will start with the U.S. team which has disgraced its name by tainted victories,” the group said on a website that exposed the hacked WADA documents. “We will also disclose exclusive information about other national Olympic teams later. Wait for sensational proof of famous athletes taking doping substances any time soon.” |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– In what one analyst calls a "digital temper tantrum," hackers linked to the Russian government have hacked into the World Anti-Doping Agency's Olympic database and released information on star American athletes, including Serena and Venus Williams. WADA has confirmed the security breach, and the hacking group "Fancy Bears"—which was apparently motivated by revenge for WADA's exposure of state-sponsored Russian doping—says there are more leaks to come, the Washington Post reports. A roundup of developments: Fancy Bears also posted information on gymnast Simone Biles and basketball player Elena Delle Donne relating to "Therapeutic Use Exemptions" that allow athletes to use banned substances for valid medical reasons, the Independent reports. The hackers claimed the exemptions were "licenses for doping." WADA says it believes the attacks were carried out with a "spear-phishing" attack that gathered passwords with emails to authorized users that convinced them to click on infected links. According to the leaked documents, Biles uses medication to treat ADHD. "Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of" and "nothing that I'm afraid to let people know," she tweeted in response. Venus Williams, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Sjogren's syndrome in 2011, issued a statement saying she followed all the rules and was disappointed "that my private, medical data has been compromised by hackers and published without my permission." The Fancy Bears group is believed to be linked to the Russian military intelligence agency suspected of hacking the DNC, reports the New York Times, which notes that the Kremlin "has gone to to great lengths to maintain plausible deniability in matters of espionage"—and denies involvement in the WADA hack. The hackers are "trying to sow doubt over the integrity of the individual athletes and the various Olympic bodies and watchdog groups," Rich Barger of cybersecurity firm ThreatConnect tells the Post. "It's just ultimately sour grapes. What we're seeing here is a digital temper tantrum." US Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart called the hack "cowardly and despicable," saying that the athletes involved had "done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication," the BBC reports. Fancy Bears, which claims to be allied with Anonymous, says it will release information on other countries' athletes this week, reports the AP, which found that a French phone number provided by the group was bogus and the mailing address it gave was that of a florist east of Paris.


Updated 6:30 p.m.

 Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown has been found guilty in 18 of 22 counts of conspiracy, wire/mail fraud and tax fraud for her role in a scam that bilked $833,000 from donors who thought sham charity One Door for Education was awarding scholarships to disadvantaged students.

 Only $1,200 actually made it to students’ education.

 Listen to the story airing on 89.9 WJCT-FM

 Brown’s charges include seven counts of wire fraud, five of mail fraud, one of conspiracy, and three of falsifying tax returns. She was found not guilty on two mail fraud and two wire fraud charges.

 Prosecutors argued Brown inflated her charitable giving to receive larger tax refunds and also failed to disclose tens of thousands of dollars in income she received from One Door and other sources.

 Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tysen Duva and Eric Olshan painted Brown as an egotistical politician who lived beyond her means. Using bank records, checks, letters, emails and hundreds of other documents, prosecutors made the case Brown directed the deposit of $37,000 of One Door cash into her account. They also claimed she was instrumental in planning nine events that cost the sham charity $330,000.

 Brown’s attorney James Smith crafted a defense that hinged upon the jury believing Brown Chief of Staff Ronnie Simmons was the real mastermind behind the around four-year fraud.

 Smith told the court Brown was an aging public servant who relied heavily on Simmons and other staff to help keep her personal life in order.

 Brown, who maintains her innocence, refused to answer questions while leaving court.

 Her lawyer James Smith read this statement: “While she’s certainly disappointed by today’s verdict, she respects the American justice system and the jury."

 Smith said he plans to ask for a new trial.

 “There are a number of motions that we intend to file that we believe will stop this case from going forward to sentencing,” he said.

 Judge Timothy Corrigan has at least three months to sentence Brown if he rejects Smith’s motions. Corrigan has wide discretion in her punishment because there are no mandatory minimum sentences for Brown’s charges, Smith said.

 Corrigan will also decide the fate of two Brown associates — former chief of staff Ronnie Simmons and One Door for Education President Carla Wiley — who both testified against her. Simmons told the court he’s hoping for leniency in exchange for his cooperation.

 Corrine Brown Verdict - Curated tweets by RyanMichaelBenk

 LISTEN | This story is airing on Redux

 Reporter Ryan Benk can be reached at rbenk@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter @RyanMichaelBenk ||||| Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown Convicted Of Stealing From Phony Charity

 Enlarge this image toggle caption Mark Wallheiser/AP Mark Wallheiser/AP

 Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown has been found guilty of siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from a charity that she and her chief of staff had passed off as a scholarship service for students. The Florida Democrat had faced 22 counts ranging from conspiracy to tax fraud; she was convicted of 18.

 Of the more than $800,000 she and Elias "Ronnie" Simmons raised for One Door for Education, member station WJCT reports that just $1,200 actually went where they told donors it would: students' education. In roughly five years, prosecutors say, the charity distributed just two scholarships.

 Prosecutors alleged — and on Thursday, the jury agreed — that Brown and Simmons pocketed the rest of the funds, using them for lavish events such as a golf tournament and luxury boxes for an NFL game and a Beyonce concert.

 WJCT has more from the courtroom:

 "Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tysen Duva and Eric Olshan painted Brown as an egotistical politician who lived beyond her means. Using bank records, checks, letters, emails and hundreds of other documents, prosecutors made the case Brown directed the deposit of $37,000 of One Door cash into her account. They also claimed she was instrumental in planning nine events that cost the sham charity $330,000."

 Brown had argued that the fraud was entirely the doing of Simmons, who earlier pleaded guilty and testified against her. Brown didn't speak after the verdict was rendered, but her attorney James Smith told reporters, "I still have a lot of work to do on this case," referring to the sentencing phase and the motion he plans to file for a new trial.

 WJCT's Ryan Michael Benk reports the sentencing phase could take 90 days or longer for Brown, who left office earlier this year after losing her re-election bid in the district she had represented for nearly a quarter-century. ||||| Tough words for Corrine Brown from the Justice Department, found guilty today on numerous charges:

 “Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown violated the public trust, the honor of her position, and the integrity of the American system of government when she abused one of the most powerful positions in the nation for her own personal gain. She shamefully deprived needy children of hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have helped with their education and improved their opportunities for advancement, and she lied to the IRS and the American public about secret cash deposits into her personal bank accounts,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco. “The Department of Justice is committed to fighting corruption and fraud wherever we find it, at all levels of government, regardless of their power and influence.”

 “Former Congresswoman Brown chose greed and personal gain over the sacred trust given to her by the community that she served for many years,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Muldrow. “These guilty verdicts underscore our Office's resolve in holding public officials at all levels of government accountable for their actions. In this case, former Congresswoman Brown stole money that was donated on the false promise of helping further the educational goals of underprivileged children.”

 “Former Congresswoman Brown took an oath year after year to serve others, but instead she exploited the needs of children and deceived her constituents to advance her own personal and political agendas,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles Spencer. “Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust, and that is why investigating public corruption remains the FBI’s top criminal priority. I am proud of our special agents, analysts and support personnel who spent countless hours following the money trail in this case, and thank our law enforcement partners at the IRS-CI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for their efforts to hold Brown and her associates accountable for their inexcusable actions.”

 “Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown failed to deliver and uphold her duty to file true and correct tax returns by lying about her income and charitable contributions to feed her greed. No one is above the law, including those in a position of public trust, and there isn’t a separate standard when it comes to paying taxes, said Chief Richard Weber of the IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS CI, along with our law enforcement partners, will hold accountable those who violate the tax laws and cheat the taxpayers.” ||||| Bishop Rudolph W. McKissick, Sr., left,) escorts Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown outside the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse on Thursday, May 11, 2017 in Jacksonville, Fla. Brown was found... (Associated Press)

 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — After a historic, nearly 25-year career representing Florida in Congress, former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was found guilty on Thursday of taking money from a charity that was purported to be giving scholarships to poor students.

 The verdict came after prosecutors outlined a pattern of fraud by Brown, 70, and her top aide that included using hundreds of thousands of dollars from the One Door for Education Foundation for lavish parties, trips and shopping excursions. She was convicted of 18 of the 22 charges against her, including lying on her taxes and on her congressional financial disclosure forms.

 Wearing a lavender suit, Brown watched the judge read each verdict in a silent courtroom with no visible reaction. She later left the courthouse holding onto the arm of a companion, surrounded by dozens of reporters. A few supporters shouted "We love you Corrine!" and "Keep the Faith!" as she silently made her way to a waiting car.

 Brown, a Democrat who was one of the first three African Americans to be elected to Congress from Florida since Reconstruction, represented the district that included Jacksonville since 1993.

 Since her indictment last summer, she had been publicly defiant of the government's charges, saying in a statement she was among black elected officials who have been "persecuted." She had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, including the fraud, but lost re-election last fall after her indictment.

 "Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown violated the public trust, the honor of her position, and the integrity of the American system of government when she abused one of the most powerful positions in the nation for her own personal gain," Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco, said in a statement after the verdict.

 Key to the government's conviction was the testimony of Brown's former chief of staff, Elias "Ronnie" Simmons, and the charity's president, Carla Wiley. Both pleaded guilty after their federal indictments for misusing the charity's funds, and testified against Brown.

 Federal prosecutors said Brown and her associates used One Door to bring in more than $800,000 between 2012 and 2016, including a high-profile golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass. Brown's indictment said the Virginia-based One Door only gave out one scholarship for $1,200 to an unidentified person in Florida.

 Simmons said Brown ordered him to take cash and checks from One Door's account. On dozens of occasions, Simmons said he was told to take out of One Door's account the maximum $800 from an ATM near his house and deposit hundreds of it in Brown's personal account. Sometimes he kept some for himself.

 Brown testified in her own defense, saying she was left in the dark about the goings-on with One Door's money, and blamed the theft on Simmons.

 Brown said she left those details to Simmons and other hired staffers, and said she should have paid more attention to her personal and professional finances.

 Her attorney, James Smith, said he plans to file a motion for a new trial and said Brown respects the American judicial system and the jury's verdict, even though she disagrees with it.

 "She's strong and fighting for her innocence," Smith said outside the courthouse. "And she will continue to do that."

 The judge did not set a date for Brown's sentencing, which could include many years of jail time.

 ___

 Follow Jason Dearen on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JHDearen |||||

Write a summary.

– Former US Rep. Corrine Brown's "One Door for Education" charity raised $833,000 between 2012 and 2016 to award scholarships to disadvantaged students—but prosecutors say only $1,200 was spent on a total of two scholarships. Brown, a Democrat who represented a Florida district in Congress for 24 years, is facing years in prison after being found guilty on 18 of 22 federal fraud charges, WJCT reports. Prosecutors said Brown and aide Elias Simmons siphoned off the rest of the money raised by the sham charity, spending it on travel, lavish parties, and luxuries like private boxes for NFL games and a Beyonce concert, NPR reports. Prosecutors accused the 70-year-old of choosing "greed and personal gain" over public service. She "shamefully deprived needy children of hundreds of thousands of dollars that could have helped with their education and improved their opportunities for advancement," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco, per the Tampa Bay Times. Brown, who lost her re-election bid after she was indicted last year, maintained her innocence and blamed the theft on Simmons. He pleaded guilty to fraud and testified against Brown, as did the charity's president, Carla Wiley, the AP reports. All three will be sentenced at a later date.


Article:

doi: 10.3897/zookeys.215.3547

 Published: 17.08.2012

 Viewed by: 38090

 Abstract

 The new spider genus and species Trogloraptor marchingtoni Griswold, Audisio & Ledford is described as the type of the new family Trogloraptoridae. The oblique membranous division of the basal segment of the anterior lateral spinnerets of Trogloraptor suggests that this haplogyne family is the sister group of the other Dysderoidea (Dysderidae, Oonopidae, Orsolobidae and Segestriidae). Trogloraptor is known only from caves and old growth forest understory in the Klamath-Siskiyou region of Oregon and California. Full text: HTML | XML | PDF ||||| They managed to avoid the notice of nosy humans beings for thousands of years, mostly by clinging to the roofs of dark caves and keeping their six, tiny eyes peeled for trouble.

 But the secret existence of these eight-legged West Coasters has come to an end.

 On Friday, scientists announced the discovery of a heretofore unknown family of spider that some have playfully compared to Bigfoot, the privacy-loving man-beast of legend.

 In the journal Zookeys, California Academy of Sciences arachnologist Charles E. Griswold and colleagues described their discovery of trogloraptor, or “cave robber,” a spider that is partial to caves and redwood debris in coastal forests from California to British Columbia.

 Trogloraptor, which is roughly the size of a half-dollar coin when its legs are extended, has large raptorial claws, suggesting it is a fierce, specialized predator.

 Roughly a dozen specimens were plucked from the roofs of caves by scientists and spelunkers who found them hanging from a few strands of spun silk. Most were obtained in southwest Oregon, while one adolescent spider was found in the debris of old-growth redwoods in northwest California.

 The newly discovered arachnid is not about to give up all its long-held secrets, however. Scientists have yet to determine exactly how it mates, or what it eats. Captive trogloraptors have so far refused to eat a variety of prey provided in the lab.

 The Klamath-Siskiyou region of Oregon and California is home to a number of ancient species of plants and animals, including the coastal red tailed frog and the mountain beaver. Study authors note that with many caves and hard-to-access areas, this may not be the last historic find.

 “If such a large and bizarre spider could have gone undetected for so long, who knows what else may lurk undiscovered in this remarkable part of the world,” the study said.

 By examining the spider under an electron microscope, etymologists found a number of unique features that suggested a very ancient lineage. The discovery may yet result in some revisions to their understanding of spider evolution.

 Among those groups who helped to collect the specimens were the Western Cave Conservancy, the California Academy of Sciences and San Diego State University.

 Follow me on Twitter @montemorin |||||
What is a summary?

– The first new spider species discovered in North America in more than 110 years has been found in the caves of the Pacific Northwest, reports the Telegraph. The Trogloraptor, or "cave robber" spider, measures about three inches long when outstretched and is seen as a "fierce, specialized predator," according to the Los Angeles Times. "For a spider, this is a pretty big one," says arachnologist Charles Griswold, who compared the discovery to finding a spider Bigfoot. "It has remarkable claws and feet which are like scythes or hooks. We think these work to snap and trap their prey." Much is still a mystery about these newly discovered spiders, although scientists think the Trogloraptor evolved separately from more commonly known spiders thanks to their remote cave locations. "If such a large and bizarre spider could have gone undetected for so long, who knows what else may lurk undiscovered in this remarkable part of the world," says the study. You can read the original journal article at ZooKeys.