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– Three wildfire cleanup workers in California have been fired for clowning around in the ruins of people's homes and posting what the town of Paradise calls "reprehensible" photos on social media. One photo shows the burned remains of a pet cat with a bottle near its mouth and the caption: "Dude… I was just chilling with my homies, having a couple of cold ones, and BAM… damn fire breaks out," NBC News reports. Another shows a worker jumping on burned trampoline, with the caption: "Trampolines are stupid. (By the way), it used to be called a Jumpoline until your mom got on it." The town recently began allowing residents to return after the devastating Camp Fire, which killed at least 88 people. The town of Paradise shared the photos in a Facebook post and promised that Rob Freestone, the worker seen in many of them "will no longer be working in our town." Bigge Crane and Rigging Co., which had been subcontracted by the PG&E utility for Camp Fire cleanup, says Freestone and two other workers have been fired. In a statement, the company said it regrets that residents have suffered an "egregious insult" at an already difficult time. Paradise police spokesman Matt Gates says the department is looking into filing charges, the Redding Record Searchlight reports. "It's shocking. It’s disheartening," Gates says. "It’s the type of thing no one needs to see right before they come into town." (A dog guarded the ruins of a Paradise home for weeks.)

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 proved. ARRB uses innovative technology, which includes a series of lasers, to assess the current status of our roads. They will collect data before and after the debris removal process. This data will be used to asses the damage done to our roads as large trucks and equipment come through our town. The Town of Paradise would like to give a big thank you to North Valley Community Foundation whose donation has helped fund this survey.

 At the Jan 23 Town Council meeting a contract with ARRB Group was ap ||||| Rob Freestone appears to have posted several Facebook photos from Camp Fire cleanup sites that drew outrage from social media users. (Photo: Town of Paradise)

 Paradise police say they will pursue criminal charges against a Camp Fire cleanup worker who posted photos of himself in destroyed properties that some are calling disrespectful.

 The man, identified by police as Rob Freestone, worked on cleanup efforts as a third-party contractor for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a spokesman for the utility company said.

 Freestone appears to have posted several inflammatory images on his Facebook page while working in the Camp Fire area.

 One post showed cleanup workers posing for a photo in a burned out RV. One showed a dead cat with a bottle up to its mouth. Another showed him jumping on a burned-out trampoline with the caption: "Trampolines are stupid. (By the way), it used to be called a Jumpoline until your mom got on it."

 Screenshots of the posts were published on the Town of Paradise Facebook page Friday night. Paradise police public information officer Matt Gates said his department learned of the situation early Saturday morning after seeing posts on social media.

 Gates said police have yet to interview Freestone, as that usually takes place after a preliminary investigation. And although Freestone has not been charged with a crime, Gates said police will pursue whatever criminal charges apply to his actions.

 More: Crews work to prevent debris from washing down five Shasta County creeks post-Carr Fire

 One possibility, Gates said, includes Freestone being charged for being in an evacuated area. Normally, those rules have exceptions for authorized cleanup workers. But since Freestone was operating outside of his responsibility of a cleanup worker when taking the photos, Gates said those rules might not protect Freestone.

 "It's shocking. It’s disheartening," Gates said Saturday, when the last set of evacuations was lifted for homeowners. "It’s the type of thing no one needs to see right before they come into town."

 A spokesman for PG&E, Paul Doherty, said Freestone has been removed from Camp Fire cleanup.

 "We learned of his reprehensible and unfortunate actions today," Doherty said. "Immediate action was taken, and this individual is no longer working with the Camp Fire response."

 Freestone was fired from his job at Bigge Crane and Rigging Co. of San Leandro, according to spokesperson Jerry Tanaka. The company sent out a press release Saturday stating three employees involved in the incident had been terminated.

 The press release reads:

 We have identified three participants in this abhorrent event and their employment has been terminated. Bigge expects its employees and contractors to work with the utmost integrity and professionalism. The behavior of these individuals is not consistent with our company values and ethical code. Bigge regrets that the residents of Paradise and Butte County have suffered an egregious insult during an already devasting time at the hands of these three individuals. Bigge supports and appreciates all our surrounding communities.

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 Read or Share this story: https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/fires/2018/12/15/paradise-police-charges-camp-fire-cleanup-worker-facebook-photos/2323919002/ ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

 By Daniella Silva

 Three employees of a construction company helping to clear the wreckage of the deadliest wildfire in California history were fired after posting insensitive photos from properties destroyed by the blaze.

 Photos posted Saturday to the Facebook page of the Town of Paradise, which was destroyed by the deadly Camp Fire that killed 88 people, showed workers posing with damaged property. One photo showed the body of a burned cat with a beer bottle placed near its mouth with the caption, “Dude… I was just chilling with my homies, having a couple of cold ones, and BAM… damn fire breaks out.”

 “This is unacceptable and reprehensible behavior,” the Town of Paradise wrote on its Facebook page, adding that the Paradise Police Department was looking into criminal charges.

 Construction company Bigge Crane and Rigging issued a statement Saturday saying it had identified three people who participated in “this abhorrent event” and that their employment had been terminated.

 The company said in its statement that it “expects its employees and contractors to work with the utmost integrity and professionalism.”

 “Bigge regrets that the residents of Paradise and Butte County have suffered an egregious insult” during an already devastating time, the company added.

 An earlier post by the company said it regretted the “insensitive and reprehensible” actions of an employee named Rob Freestone. Bigge said Freestone had been removed from the Camp Fire recovery effort.

 Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which subcontracted Bigge, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

 Earlier this month, a civil complaint accused the electric company of failing to properly maintain a tower near the town of Pulga in Butte County, which allowed a live wire to come loose on the morning of Nov. 8 and touch off the devastating Camp Fire. |||||


Here is a news article: Edvard Munch/Sotheby’s Auction House, via Associated Press

 A version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” one of the most recognizable images in art history, sold at Sotheby’s on Wednesday night for just under $120 million, the most ever paid for an artwork at auction. Five bidders competed for the work, which sold to a telephone bidder.

 Munch made four versions of “The Scream,” three of which are now in Norwegian museums; the one that sold on Wednesday, a pastel on board from 1895, was the only one still in private hands. It was sold by Petter Olsen, a Norwegian businessman and shipping heir whose father was a friend, neighbor and patron of the artist.

 “The Scream” has been reproduced endlessly in popular culture in recent decades, making it nearly as famous as the Mona Lisa. ||||| One of the art world's most recognizable images _ Edvard Munch's "The Scream" _ sold Wednesday for a record $119,922,500 at auction in New York City.

 FILE - This undated photo provided by Sotheby's shows "The Scream" by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. The work, which dates from 1895 and is one of four versions of the composition, will lead Sotheby's... (Associated Press)

 The 1895 artwork _ a modern symbol of human anxiety _ was sold at Sotheby's. The price includes the buyer's premium.

 The image of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked, blood-red sky is one of four versions by the Norwegian expressionist painter. The auctioned piece at Sotheby's is the only one left in private hands.

 The previous record for an artwork sold at auction was $106.5 million for Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," sold by Christie's in 2010.

 The image has become part of pop culture, "used by everyone from Warhol to Hollywood to cartoons to teacups and T-shirts," said Michael Frahm of the London-based art advisory service firm Frahm Ltd.

 "Together with the Mona Lisa, it's the most famous and recognized image in art history," he added.

 Sotheby's said its pastel-on-board version of "The Scream" is the most colorful and vibrant of the four and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, detailing the work's inspiration.

 In the poem, Munch described himself "shivering with anxiety" and said he felt "the great scream in nature."

 Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and patron of the artist, said he sold the piece because he felt "the moment has come to offer the rest of the world the chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work."

 Proceeds from the sale will go toward the establishment of a new museum, art center and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen's father and Munch were neighbors.

 The director of the National Museum in Oslo, Audun Eckhoff, says Norwegian authorities approved the Munch sale since the other versions of the composition are in Norwegian museums. One version is owned by the National Museum and two others by the Munch Museum, also in Oslo.

 Sotheby's said a total of eight works have sold for $80 million or more at auction.

 Only two other works besides Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust" have sold for more than $100 million at auction. Those are Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)" for $104.1 million in 2004 and Alberto Giacometti's "Walking Man I" for $104.3 million in 2010.

 ___

 Online: http://www.sothebys.com |||||
A summary of this is?

– The experts thought Edvard Munch's The Scream would bring in a princely sum, but not this much: $119.9 million. That's the most ever paid for a painting at auction, reports the New York Times. (The previous record was $106.5 million for a Picasso, notes AP.) No word yet on who bought the 1895 painting at Sotheby's. Five bidders were in contention, and the winning bid came via the telephone.


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State Representative Daniel B. Winslow, a former judge and onetime aide to Governor Mitt Romney, said Thursday he is entering the special election for the US Senate, the first Republican to officially declare his candidacy.

 “I’m in,” Winslow said in a telephone interview. He had said earlier this week that he was “99 percent” certain he would run.

 Winslow said he has donated $100,000 of his own money to jumpstart his campaign, which he estimated will cost between $4 million and $6 million.

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 On Monday, he said, he is flying to Washington to meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill and with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which controls much of the party’s national fundraising. Nex month, Winslow said, he will resign from his law firm, Proskauer, where he is senior counsel in the litigation department.

 “I’m going to be 100 percent running for the US Senate,” Winslow said. “This is a heavy lift. I’m going to give this race everything I’ve got.”

 Winslow, 54, is a second-term state representative from Norfolk who served as Romney’s chief legal counsel from 2001 to 2005. Before that, he was a district court judge.

 “I have a proven record of respect for Second Amendment constitutional freedoms,” Winslow wrote in an email announcing his candidacy to party activists and supporters. “My experience as a fiscal conservative and problem solver is experience we need in Washington DC. Our future depends on getting this right.”

 Many of the bigger-name Republicans, including former senator Scott Brown, former governor Wiliam F. Weld, and former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey, have taken themselves out of consideration.

 Other Republicans considering the race include Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, former congressional candidate Sean Bielat, and Gabriel E. Gomez, a private equity investor and former Navy SEAL. Jon Fetherston, a former chair of the Ashland Board of Selectman, is also planning to run for the seat.

 Two US House members, Stephen F. Lynch and Edward J. Markey, are running on the Democratic side.

 To qualify for the April 30 ballot, candidates will have to gather 10,000 certified signatures by Feb. 27. That hurdle may weed out many of the little-known candidates who cannot raise substantial sums of money. Winslow said he plans to use volunteers and paid staff to collect signatures and has no doubt he can make the ballot. ||||| State Rep. Daniel B. Winslow became the first Republican to officially join the U.S. Senate special election to replace Secretary of State John F. Kerry yesterday, saying he is “110 percent” committed to what will be a short but potentially bruising race.

 “I’m going to give this everything I’ve got, with all that I have, because the crisis confronting our country demands nothing less,” Winslow (R-Norfolk) said. “I am confident I am going to be on the Republican ballot.”

 Winslow is the first Republican to officially enter the race after Democratic U.S. Reps. Stephen F. Lynch and Edward J. Markey announced they were running. Gabriel Gomez, a Cohasset businessman, and state Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr (R-Gloucester) are also mulling a run.

 Tarr said he will make a decision as to whether he is in or out of the race “no later than Monday.”

 Joining the special election has become increasingly difficult with every day that passes because candidates must collect 10,000 signatures before Feb. 27 to get on the ballot.

 Winslow, who launched an exploratory committee Tuesday, said he is confident he can get all the signatures, even though candidates usually must collect up to 20,000 signatures in case some aren’t accepted.

 “We’re going to use a combination of paid vendors and an army of volunteers to get this done,” said Winslow, who once served as former Gov. Mitt Romney’s chief legal counsel.

 Republicans have been scrambling to find a candidate since former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown announced last Friday that he isn’t running. |||||

– After being rebuffed by Scott Brown, Tagg Romney, William Weld, and Kerry Healey, Massachusetts Republicans finally have at least one candidate for Senate. State Rep. Daniel Winslow, who had previously said that he was "99% certain" he'd run, yesterday told the Boston Globe he was "going to be 100% running for the US Senate." Winslow chipped in $100,000 of his own money to start the campaign, but that's a fraction of the $4 million to $6 million he estimates the venture will cost. Before becoming a state rep, Winslow served as chief legal counsel to Mitt Romney and as a district court judge. He'll fly to Washington on Monday to meet with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, presumably in the hopes of securing more funding. At least three other Republicans are also publicly considering runs, but every day they delay getting in will make that prospect harder, the Boston Herald points out, because candidates need 10,000 signatures by Feb. 27—and generally shoot for 20,000 in case some are challenged.


Here is a news article: Cory Monteith Drinking w/ Friends ... Days Before Sudden Death

 Cory Monteith -- Drinking With Friends ... Days Before Sudden Death [Photos]

 EXCLUSIVE

 These are some of the last photos ever taken of-- snapped just days before he was found dead in a hotel room -- while the "" Star was hanging with friends and drinking alcohol.Sources tell TMZ ... the pics were taken on July 6th, the same day Cory checked-in to the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver ... where he was found dead one week later.In the pics, Cory and a few buds are seen hanging out at The Shop -- a local coffee house and clothing store for people who love motorcycles.We spoke to the owner, who tells us, Cory came in ... was extremely friendly and really interested in choppers ... even sitting on the owner's bike.We're told he and his friends chilled for awhile -- laughing and drinking beers. One source on-site said Cory knocked back 3 cold ones over the course of a few hours -- despite his recent stint in rehab -- but didn't seem out of control or wasted. He was perfectly nice.Cory's not physically seen drinking in the pics ... but thedoppelganger he's standing next to -- who we're told is just a friend -- is seen clutching two beer cans. Possibly because cameras were around ... and Cory has been open about his substance abuse issues.As TMZ previously reported ... Fairmont hotel staff found Cory dead in his hotel room Saturday, after spending Friday night out with friends. He was 31.Now here's Cory's best moment in "" history ... R.I.P. ||||| Cory Monteith: 1982-2013 The 'Glee' star tragically dies at age 31. Let's take a look at the young star over the years.

 With no obvious cause of death for "Glee" star Cory Monteith, the British Columbia Coroners Service says it will do further testing to determine how the 31-year-old died.

 The autopsy was taking place Monday, but the coroners' service says it could take several days before toxicology test results are in.

 Vancouver police have ruled out foul play.

 Sgt. Randy Fincham says there's nothing to indicate Monteith's death was due to illicit drug use.

 Monteith, who achieved his greatest fame as the star of the Fox series "Glee," was found dead in his hotel room Saturday afternoon by staff at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Monteith was due to check out of the hotel, where he had been staying since July 6, and staff went up to the room after Monteith missed the noon checkout time.

 Police said Monteith had been out with people earlier, but video and electronic records from the hotel indicated he returned to his room by himself early Saturday morning.

 The Fox network and the producers of "Glee," including 20th Century Fox Television, called Monteith an exceptional performer "and an even more exceptional person." They said he was "a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously." 20th Century Fox Television is owned by 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News.

 Lea Michele, Monteith's "Glee" co-star and real-life girlfriend, asked for privacy upon hearing the news of his death. Outside the hotel, a makeshift memorial popped up where fans left flowers and notes commemorating the actor.

 The grief at Monteith's passing was not confined to North America. The news rocked a "Glee" fan convention in England.

 The hundreds of "gleeks," as they're known -- joined a chorus of thousands worldwide who took to social media with similar expressions about Monteith's passing. The actor's struggles with addiction echoed those of other young stars whose premature deaths also left young fans grieving.

 "The whole day was simultaneously the best and worst experience of my life," said Chloe Harvey, an 18-year-old fan from Portsmouth, England. "The news was devastating. No one had any idea what to say or do. It just shows how much of a truly amazing guy Cory was that everyone was so shocked and emotional about the news. Everyone was crying and sharing their stories."

 Monteith admitted himself to a treatment facility in April for substance addiction and asked for privacy as he took steps toward recovery, a representative said at the time. Michele told People magazine that she loved and supported him and was proud he was seeking help. It was not Monteith's first time in rehab. He also received treatment when he was 19.

 "I think kids really need a place to go and feel like they belong," he said in the video posted the site for Project Limelight, a Vancouver charity offering theater and arts programs to at-risk youth. "When I was a kid, I struggled a lot with who I was and where my life was going and what I was interested in. And I was fortunate to have the arts inspire me."

 Monteith similarly moved fans. At the weekend "Glee" convention, instead of planned revelry like singing competitions and autograph sessions with actors who've played members of the rival Warblers glee club, organizers Starfury Conventions rescheduled the final day of the three-day event at Heathrow's Thistle Hotel so the 250 attendees could mourn him together.

 "We all woke up to hear the story, and no one really wanted to believe it was true," said Chloe-Louise Bond, a 22-year-old fan from Wakefield, England. "Walking into the main room, you could just feel the tragedy in the air, absolute strangers became a family right in that moment. Everyone was crying and hugging and just trying to get over the shock."

 It was a day filled with sadness and songs. The attendees chanted "Cory! Cory! Cory!" In unison, they sang tunes like "Don't Stop Believin'," the Journey cover crooned by Monteith in the high school-set musical's first episode. Curt Mega, Telly Leung and other actors who've played Warblers led a group discussion with fans about their memories of Monteith.

 "Glee," with its catchy song-and-dance numbers and high-profile guest stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Britney Spears, became an instant hit when it debuted in 2009 and made celebrities of Montieth and the rest of the relatively unknown cast. Over the past four seasons, he delivered renditions of such classics as U2's "One" and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion."

 Monteith served as the show's resident hunk with a heart of gold. He played Finn Hudson, a football quarterback with two left feet who found more camaraderie in the choir room than on the football field. After his character graduated high school, Hudson sought out to find himself before settling on what he wanted to do with his life: become a teacher and mentor.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Cory Monteith dined at a Vancouver restaurant and was photographed during his meal, apparently relaxed and enjoying the company of others, just over 24 hours before he died.

 Monteith had dinner at Vancouver’s East of Main Café with Maureen Webb, a British Columbia-based casting agent, and Elena Kirschner, his manager, during which a photo was posted on Twitter showing him in the shadows of the venue.

 “Great meal with good friends,” Kirschner wrote as the caption for the photo. The Glee star later re-tweeted the missive and used the image as his post picture on his own Twitter page.

 PHOTOS: Celebs Who Died Young

 “We are deeply saddened by the unexpected death of our good friend, Cory Monteith,” Webb, the co-founder of Project Limelight Society, a Vancouver charity close to the actor’s heart, told RadarOnline.com.

 “Cory was an amazing young man with a generous heart. Our heart goes out to his family, fans and close friends. Cory was a friend and will be dearly missed.”

 During the dinner, Monteith “looked so good, so healthy,” Webb added. “I hadn’t seen him look that good in a long time.”

 She said no one drank alcohol at the catch-up.

 PHOTOS: Glee Rocks The Staples Center

 There were unconfirmed reports Monteith, 31, had partied at the Roxy Nightclub and The Queen’s Republic Nightclub in the hours before his death, however, both venues would not confirm to RadarOnline.com if was there.

 Cops are investigating whether drugs were at the center of the tragic and sudden death and an autopsy will take place on Monday to determine the official cause and manner of death.

 He died alone in the 21st floor room of the Vancouver Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel sometime in the early hours of Saturday morning. ||||| The entertainment world was shocked Saturday night when Vancouver police announced Cory Monteith, the actor who played Finn on Fox's Glee, was found dead in a hotel room Saturday afternoon after a year spent struggling with addiction.

 Doug LePard, acting chief of Vancouver police, told reporters Saturday night that the 31-year-old Monteith, a Victoria, British Columbia native, was found by hotel staff shortly after noon on Saturday at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in downtown Vancouver. The actor, who broke out playing Finn Hudson on the Fox show, had missed his check out and staff found his body in the room, alone, when they went to check on him. Family, co-workers and fans have to wait for the autopsy and investigation results to find out exactly what killed the fresh-faced star, but police are trying to piece together what happened in the 24 hours leading to Monteith's death. LePard ruled out foul play when speaking with reporters, and said hotel security video showed Monteith leaving with friends Friday evening only to return to his room alone early Saturday morning.

 Monteith had a serious history with substance abuse, which crept back into his life earlier this year, forcing Glee writers to explain him off the back half of last season. He checked into a rehab facility in March -- his second stint searching for recovery, the last coming when he was just 19 years old.

 "Cory was an exceptional talent and an even more exceptional person," said Fox and 20th Century Fox Television, Glee's producers, in a statement. "He was a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones."

 Monteith had struggled in bit roles before breaking out as Finn during Glee's first few seasons. He was the football star, the cool kid, who didn't want to have anything to do with glee club. He joins, of course, and went on to become one of the show's most important characters: "As Monteith played him, Finn was also often the heart and emotional anchor of a show that could take dizzying plot twists and roller coaster shifts in tone," writes Time's James Poniewozik. Finn also competed for the affection of the two cutest girls on the squad. One of those girls, actress Lea Michelle, became his real life girl friend.

 Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson at gmail dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire. ||||| Cory Monteith's 11 Best Glee Performances

 Two days before he was found dead, Cory Monteith enjoyed "a quiet night with a lot of laughing" with one of his first mentors, Maureen Webb."He looked so good, so healthy," Webb, the co-founder of Project Limelight Society, a Vancouver charity close to the actor's heart, tells PEOPLE. "I hadn't seen him look that good in a long time."Joined by Monteith's manager Elena Kirschner, the trio dined at East of Main, a restaurant that supports the organization. "We ate a lot of food," recalls Webb, noting no one drank alcohol. "We drank the rhubarb lemonade."Monteith initiated the dinner, telling Webb he wanted to get more involved the non-profit arts program for children that he had supported since its 2011 launch."I told him, 'I remember everything we talked about when we first talked about this project. Now it's happening.' His face just lit up. He was in great spirits."Two days later, on Saturday, the 31-year-old Glee star's body was discovered in his hotel room. No cause of death has been determined but police have ruled out foul play. ||||| Sadly Cory Monteith passed away on July 13 in a Vancouver hotel room. He was 31. His devoted girlfriend, Lea, wasn’t with him at the time of his death. A source close to the actor tells HollywoodLife exclusively that she is ‘devastated’ beyond belief.

 Lea Michele, 26, and Cory Monteith began dating in early 2012 and were together for a year and a half. The Glee songstress was clearly not expecting to receive the tragic news about the one she loves.

 Cory Monteith’s Death — Lea Michele’s Reaction:

 “She [Lea Michele] is absolutely hysterical and completely inconsolable,” a source close to the actor tells HollywoodLife exclusively. She is devastated beyond belief.”

 Lea, who was in Mexico during Cory’s passing, “was shaking when she heard the news,” a source tells New York Daily News.

 At this time the cause of the actor’s death is yet to be determined and no foul play is suspected, however Cory was always very open about his struggle with substance abuse and began his second stint in rehab in March 2013 — and his devoted girlfriend bravely stood by his side during the difficult time, saying, “I love and support Cory and will stand by him through this,” she told PEOPLE. “I am grateful and proud he made this decision.”

 It’s clear that one of the people he was closest to, his loving girlfriend, had no idea that he might still be struggling with this addiction. In fact just last week Lea took a quick girls trip to Cabo San Lucas, to celebrate the birthday of her friend and jewelry designer Jennifer Cohen. The Glee gal seemed so happy and carefree while having fun in the sun, snapping pics of her pedicure and sharing a slew of bikini pics on Instagram.

 How Lea Michele Stood By Cory Monteith:

 Cory returned from his March 2013 trip to rehab at the end of April — and he rushed right back to Lea. The star was so supportive of Cory, accompanying him to Victoria, British Columbia on April 26, where the couple enjoyed a relaxing vacation in his hometown right after his stint in rehab. The pair was spotted at a slew of local restaurants, including a coffee shop, where they were seen with Cory’s mom, Ann.

 Lea was always extremely vocal about her strong feelings for Cory. “No one knows me better than Cory,” she told Marie Clare in an interview in January. “No one knows what it’s been like to go through this more than he does. Feeling like you have that net underneath you allows you to jump higher and go farther. He makes me feel like I can do anything.”

 “For the first time in my life, I feel really, really settled and happy,” Lea said. “I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”

 Lea was so in love with Cory and stuck by him during such a difficult time because she was confident in their future together — and she couldn’t wait to start a family with the 31-year-old actor. Back in April, a source told HollywoodLife, “Not only does Lea want Cory to get better for his personal well being, she also wants to get pregnant and she thinks that Cory is the one and would be a wonderful father — and the sooner he is better, the sooner they can start a family!”

 Cory Monteith’s Substance Abuse Struggle:

 The actor’s most recent stint in rehab was mere months ago. His rep released a statement confirming his treatment, saying, “Cory Monteith has voluntarily admitted himself into a treatment facility for substance addiction. He graciously asks for your respect and privacy as he takes the necessary steps towards recovery.”

 That wasn’t the first time Cory went for treatment — he first checked in for his addiction when he was 19. In an interview with Parade magazine back in 2011, he candidly addressed his struggles with substance abuse, saying he often stole money to be able to afford his addiction. “I was out of control,” Cory said. “[I used] anything and everything, as much as possible. I had a serious problem.”

 Cory’s mother staged an intervention in order to help her teen get clean. “That’s when I first went to rehab,” he said — but his sobriety didn’t last long. “I did the stint but then went back to doing exactly what I left off doing.”

 Eventually the actor made the decision to get clean — and he said it was a life-changing decision. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he admitted.

 The actor was raised in Victoria, B.C., which isn’t far from Vancouver, where his body was discovered.

 Our thoughts are with Lea and Cory’s friends and family during this sad time. The news is just heartbreaking.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYddGbqKRWM&list=PLDovhwKa3P8-Rvf4NB1uOOarbjZENBbJS&index=1

 Katrina Mitzeliotis, Reporting By Russ Weakland

 Follow

 @KatrinaCM

 More On Cory Monteith’s Death: ||||| Cory Monteith appeared a few months ago as if he was truly looking forward to the future, having finally put behind him the demons of substance abuse that had plagued him since he was a youth.

 "Sending out my love to everyone," the "Glee" star said in a late April tweet to fans following a monthlong stint in rehab. "Thank you for the continued support. It means the world to me." The tweet ended with a smiley face.

 He was pictured in magazines that month smiling and vacationing with longtime girlfriend and "Glee" costar Lea Michele, who had proclaimed her steadfast support for Monteith through his struggles. And he was planning to return to "Glee," the television show that had made him a heartthrob for fans known as "Gleeks."

 PHOTOS: Cory Monteith dies; 'Glee' star was 31

 Monteith's apparent happiness and turnaround made the news of his death even more shocking to costars and fans. The body of the 31-year-old actor was discovered Saturday shortly after noon in a room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in downtown Vancouver after he failed to check out as scheduled.

 Police noted there seemed to be no evidence of foul play and said an autopsy was planned for Monday to determine the cause of death.

 Monteith had been staying at the hotel since July 6, and hotel security records indicated he had returned to his room in the early-morning hours of Saturday and was believed to have been alone at the time of his death.

 "OMG!! My Cory..." tweeted Iqbal Theba, who plays Principal Figgins on the Fox series, which will be entering its fifth season this fall. Dot-Marie Jones, who plays Coach Shannon Bieste, tweeted, "I have no words! My heart is broken. Cory was not only a hell of a friend he was one amazing [man] that I will hold close to my heart forever."

 Representatives for Michele, who recently has been putting the final touches on her debut album, released a statement Sunday: "We ask that everyone kindly respect Lea's privacy during this devastating time."

 PHOTOS: Celebrities who died young

 How Monteith's death will affect the series, which revolves around graduates and present members of a high-school choir filled with an odd collection of characters whose love of performing brings them both pleasure and pain, remained uncertain Sunday. Executive producers and executives at 20th Century Fox Television and the Fox network had not had any discussion about how the sudden death would affect the show, according to a source close to production.

 Monteith had not appeared in the final episodes of the fourth season last spring due to his rehab stint.

 He was one of the key attractions of "Glee," which launched with a splash in 2009, becoming an overnight sensation with its catchy renditions of popular tunes and Broadway standards. Monteith played Finn Hudson, a somewhat-clueless but kind-hearted jock who had a love for singing — and for exuberant singing star Rachel Berry (Michele).

 At the height in the second season, the series was averaging more than 10 million viewers a week. But by its third season,"Glee" couldn’t hit the high notes quite like it used to. The latest season averaged 8.7 million viewers on Thursday nights.

 Through the show's ups and downs, the fresh-faced Monteith had always displayed a public air of excitement and frequent awe over his fame and popularity. But he was also open about his substance-abuse problems, which dated to when he was a youngster growing up in Victoria, Canada.

 PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2013

 His parents divorced when he was 7, and Monteith lived with his mother. In an interview with Parade magazine in 2011, he said that by the age of 13 he was skipping school to get drunk and smoke pot. By age 16, he had tried "anything and everything, as much as possible. I had a serious problem." He attended 12 different schools, including alternative schools for troubled teens.

 His family staged an intervention when he was 19, and he went to rehab. "But then I went back to doing exactly what I left off doing." Stealing money from a family member proved to be a turning point. He moved in with a family friend in Nanaimo, a small city in Canada, quit using drugs and got a job as a roofer.

 Monteith began taking acting classes and working with a coach. He had bit parts on "Smallville" and "Final Destination" early in his career. A recurring role in "Kyle XY" in 2006 and 2007 was his most prominent TV part before "Glee."

 He wasn't exactly a natural fit for the musical show. Creator Ryan Murphy wanted to cast young people who could act, sing and dance. Monteith didn't consider himself a "triple threat," so he sent in an audition tape of him playing "the drums" on Tupperware.

 When Murphy requested another tape of him singing, Monteith obliged with what he called a cheesy rendition of the REO Speedwagon '80s classic "Can't Fight This Feeling." He got the job.

 In a 2009 TV interview in Canada, Monteith said he didn't know if he would be typecast due to his "Glee" role or what the future had in store for him. He indicated that he wanted to keep acting and work hard, and believed the rest would follow.

 "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," he said.

 ALSO:

 How will "Glee" move forward?

 "Glee" co-stars tweet grief, disbelief

 Cory Montheith dies: found dead in Vancouver hotel |||||
A summary of this is?

– There's no word yet on what killed Cory Monteith—the autopsy is scheduled for today, Fox News reports—but one thing is certain: After completing a month in rehab in April, Monteith seemed upbeat and looking forward to whatever the future held, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was seen in magazines vacationing with girlfriend and Glee co-star Lea Michele, and it appeared he had turned things around. In his last interview, he told E! he was "really, really happy to be coming back" to Glee; one of E!'s sources says he was "committed to getting sober. He would say this was his last chance." Then he was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room Saturday just after noon; security records show he had returned to the room in the wee hours that morning. Police say he went out with friends Friday night, but was alone when he got back to his room, the Atlantic Wire reports. Two days before his death, Monteith had "a quiet night with a lot of laughing" with a mentor who runs a children's arts charity, she tells People. "He looked so good, so healthy," she says. "I hadn't seen him look that good in a long time. ... He was in great spirits." (Click to see a photo from the meal, which could be the last photo taken of Monteith.) The mentor says no one drank alcohol during the meal, but TMZ notes Monteith was drinking on July 6, the day he checked into the hotel. Many of his Glee co-stars, as well as the show's producers and Fox network, are reacting to Monteith's death, but the only official word from Michele's rep: "We ask that everyone kindly respect Lea's privacy during this devastating time." A source tells HollywoodLife that Michele, 26, "is absolutely hysterical and completely inconsolable. She is devastated beyond belief."


Here is a news article: The Caliente's Inaugural Season Had Blood, Sweat, Broken Bones, and a Lot of Lace

 In seconds, beauty morphs into brutality.

 The quarterback takes the ball and drops back three steps, right elbow cocked, eyes darting across the field. Anonka Dixon spots her favorite receiver, Tina Caccavale, but she's double-covered. The quarterback searches for another receiver but instead sees a tall defensive end barreling down hard.

 It's fourth down — 30 seconds until halftime, with the Miami Caliente down seven points — and the Chicago Bliss defense has applied relentless pressure to the quarterback. This will be Miami's last chance to score before halftime. As the seconds tick away, the sparse crowd speckled about the arena at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is tense.

 The quarterback tucks the ball to her ribs and squares her shoulders with the oncoming defender. A quick juke to the left sends the Chicago player flying by, a blur of orange jersey and blond hair. Dixon looks back down the field. A muscular 33-year-old born and raised in Miami, she always dreamed of playing full-contact football in front of a television audience.

 And she's doing it at last. In a skintight teal bikini made of satin and lace. With a bright number 12 on her butt and nothing at all on her toned legs and midriff.

 Anonka Dixon is the best player in the league. With lightning speed, the ability to plant either foot, pivot, and reverse field in a blink, and a right arm that can launch a perfect spiral 60 yards, she's the female version of Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, and the good parts of Michael Vick all rolled into one.

 Dixon's receivers are crossing the field now, waving their hands, calling her name. She doesn't see the linebacker right behind her, but she somehow feels the pressure, spins backward to the right, and narrowly avoids the sack. She immediately cuts left again to slip another defender.

 She tucks the ball once more and charges past the line of scrimmage. Her receivers become blockers. She directs them with her left hand as she sprints through traffic, her legs turning faster than the high-definition cameras around the arena can pick up clearly. She speeds across the field, up the right sideline.

 Bliss safety Deborah Poles is tracking Dixon at an angle now, sprinting toward her. The two forces finally collide at the Chicago 13. They connect first at the shoulders, but in a split second, both bodies are parallel to the ground, feet in the air, their fate now up to gravity.

 The sound of the collision — a clap of plastic pads and helmets and the slap of human flesh — reverberates around the arena. There is an echo of "oooohhh"s.

 "Bring it, bitch!" yells a Chicago player in the aftermath of the hit. "All night! All fucking night!"

 Both players are slow to get up. Dixon lifts herself to one knee and flips the ball softly to the referee. The hit leaves her a bit stunned, her helmet and shoulder pads slightly ajar. She senses something is wrong and grabs the top of her right arm. She hasn't the time to worry about what will later be diagnosed as an "acromioclavicular joint separation." She just got a first down.

 It's win or go home. The game is a playoff matchup for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the inaugural Lingerie Football League championship game. What started as a one-off pay-per-view Super Bowl halftime alternative in 2004 is now an entire league in which ten satin-clad teams with names like Los Angeles Temptation, San Diego Seduction, and Dallas Desire each play a four-game schedule stretched over four months.

 This year's Lingerie Bowl, billed as "The Ultimate Catfight" and aired during halftime of Super Bowl XLIV, is available for $9.95 on the league's website.

 The two conference playoff games and the league championship were played a few days before Peyton Manning battled Drew Brees in Miami Gardens. Lingerie football can be nearly as brutal as the fully clothed men's game. These women deal with broken bones, torn ligaments, concussions, and a lot of nasty burns from playing on the indoor turf in underwear. Miami alone lost three players to torn ACLs this season. Add to that team drama, drunken fans, cheesy businessmen at the top of the league, and little money and the life of a lingerie football player is hardly beautiful.

 The women themselves are proportioned like quarterbacks and wide receivers but in a female form. They are ripped physical specimens, Amazon-like warriors geared for battle.

 Of course, the concept itself is as subtle as a 350-pound lineman. "You have to consider the demographic of Super Bowl Sunday," says league founder and commissioner Mitch Mortaza. "It's primarily men. And what are two great things that all men universally love? Beautiful women and football."

 The truth is, the public en masse isn't likely to feel comfortable watching or buying anything with Lingerie in the name any time soon. And there's something disturbing about seeing exquisitely toned young women with their most feminine physical attributes highlighted — the standard-issue uniform includes a lace garter, and the helmets have clear facemasks so the audience can see the women's faces — participating in what is otherwise exclusively male behavior. But most of the players, while acknowledging that the concept is exploitative — "a man's sick dream," one player called it — insist that the game is a display of female empowerment. Sort of like burlesque. Or the way roller derby started as an excuse for men to watch women tussle in flapping skirts but now, for many, symbolizes a weird brand of feminism. ||||| "Mr. Mortaza has a no non-sense [sic] approach and is extremely passionate about his league and is well respected amongst LFL players. If the LFL is such a horrible experience for its players which you certainly gave an impression of, let me ask you, why do so many return? Why are their [sic] players that have played since 2004? Why are the players that you featured coming back after apparently being placed on probation?"

 Lingerie Football League executives, being the true arbiters of class and taste that they are, have put two of the best players in the league on probation for -- of all things -- having too much on during a recent photo shoot.Mariam Mortaza, sister of the league founder, recently informed both players involved in aphoto shoot that they are now on probation.This is a league where "accidental nudity" clauses are written into every contract and the players are often covered in baby oil before team photo shoots. So what, exactly, did these women do to upset league executives?They were photographed wearing shoulder pads. No, really.It was during a cover shoot for a recent New Times feature story on the Miami Caliente . Miami Caliente quarterback Anonka Dixon was featured on the cover of the Miami New Times . Tina Caccavale, Dixon's favorite receiver, was featured in New Times Broward-Palm Beach During games, the women wear shoulder pads, elbow pads, kneepads, and helmets. But when the women of the LFL are photographed, the league generally has them wear only the satin bra and underwear. For the photos accompanying our story, which details the lives of a few lingerie football players as well as the history of the league, we encouraged the women to wear their shoulder pads to look like the fierce athletes they are.An email I received from Stephon McMillen, media director for the LFL, explains that the players are in trouble because they were photographed wearing shoulder pads and a Nike wristband "without authorization."The photo shoot was arranged with the league beforehand. During the week of the LFL playoffs, I spoke with several league officials about the story and the photo shoot, including McMillen, league founder and President Mitch Mortaza, and another league public relations representative. They were all cooperative.It seems the league wasn't pleased with the article, though. In the email from McMillen, I was informed that I "personally have been banned from being credentialed to cover any LFL or Miami Caliente events and/or games."According to McMillen,is now banned because we wrote about Mortaza's appearance on the reality showten years ago and because: "You failed to focus on any of Mr. Mortaza's success' [sic] such as launching a women's tackle football league in a tough economical [sic] environment and its growth in 2010." He added:Dixon had better stats than any other player in the league during the inaugural season, and she accounted for more than 80 percent of Miami's touchdowns. Caccavale led the league in both receptions and interceptions. So apparently the team is willing to punish their firepower if they do something as diabolical as stand for a photograph while they wear shoulder pads. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Players in the Lingerie Football League wear pads on the field, but apparently not in photo shoots—and now two of the best players are on probation for doing exactly that. An LFL rep says Miami Caliente quarterback Anonka Dixon and receiver Tina Caccavale are in trouble for wearing shoulder pads and a Nike wristband on a cover shoot without authorization, but the real problem might be league founder Mitch Mortaza’s unhappiness with the original article. After all, “This is a league where ‘accidental nudity’ clauses are written into every contract and the players are often covered in baby oil before team photo shoots,” writes Michael J. Mooney, who wrote the piece that accompanied the offending cover for the Broward-Palm Beach New Times (and says the league was cooperative) and has since been “banned” from covering future LFL events. The issue? Mooney wrote about Mortaza’s appearance on reality show Blind Date, but “failed to focus on any of Mr. Mortaza’s success,” the rep says.


News article:

 John Harris, left, editor in chief of Politico, and Jim VandeHei, Politico executive editor, speak to advertisers in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 19, 2007. (Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)

 Over the past few months and years, the hard-working staff here at Spoiler Alerts has tried to make a few useful suggestions for improving the quality of punditry during this campaign season. For example:

 Don’t use Donald Trump as a vehicle for your particular hobbyhorse — you’ll just get tarnished. Don’t call for a military leader on horseback to rescue the country — the ones interested in the job are probably the last ones who should be president. Don’t use Silicon Valley buzzwords to describe anything with respect to politics or policy — it means those words have been played out. Don’t assume Americans care too much about foreign policy or national security. They don’t. Don’t call for a third-party candidate to enter the race because: (a) that candidate won’t win, and (b) even if the candidate wins, the new president still needs to cope with a Congress that will remain a product of the two-party system.

 To be fair, I never actually wrote that last point up, mostly because I thought it was so obvious that it did not need to be said out loud.

 I bring this up because Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei’s Wall Street Journal op-ed manages to ignore all of these warnings. Praising the plain language of Donald Trump? Check. References to disruption? Check. Calls for an “Innovation Party?” Check. VandeHei also leans hard on the “Normal America vs. D.C. bubble” trope, which will be a topic for another column.

 Today, however, Spoiler Alerts would like to focus on VandeHei’s yearning for a military leader to set things right:

 Exploit the fear factor. The candidate should be from the military or immediately announce someone with modern-warfare expertise or experience as running mate. People are scared. Terrorism is today’s World War and Americans want a theory for dealing with it. President Obama has established an intriguing precedent of using drone technology and intelligence to assassinate terrorists before they strike. A third-party candidate could build on death-by-drones by outlying the type of modern weapons, troops and war powers needed to keep America safe. And make plain when he or she will use said power. Do it with very muscular language — there is no market for nuance in the terror debate.

 There are many, many things wrong with that paragraph. But ignore the “scare Americans and use force at will” rhetoric for a few paragraphs. Do you know who would fit VandeHei’s bill perfectly? Retired four-star admiral William McRaven. Former Navy SEAL. Former JSOC commander. Current chancellor of the University of Texas system. Architect of the Osama bin Laden raid.

 Even better, it seems as though McRaven is ready to enter the political fray. Except that, as my Washington Post colleague Craig Whitlock notes, McRaven’s latest political intervention is … somewhat problematic:

 [McRaven] made clear that he was angry at the Senate for its treatment of Rear Adm. Brian L. Losey, the commander in charge of the Navy’s elite SEAL teams and other commando units. Losey, who formerly served under McRaven, was denied promotion last month and is being forced to retire after several senators from both parties pressured the Navy to hold him accountable for retaliating against multiple whistleblowers. … McRaven’s description of Losey as an innocent victim is at odds with the findings of the Defense Department’s inspector general, which concluded that he had repeatedly violated whistleblower-protection laws. … Had he stopped there, McRaven’s comments probably would not have attracted much public attention. Instead, he went on to slam lawmakers and question whether a fundamental underpinning of the American system of government — civilian control of the military — was frayed or at risk. “The greater concern for America is the continued attack on leadership in the military,” he wrote. “During my past several years in uniform, I watched in disbelief how lawmakers treated the chairman, the service chiefs, the combatant commanders and other senior officers during Congressional testimony. These officers were men of incredible integrity, and yet some lawmakers showed no respect for their decades of service.”

 So the poster boy for VandeHei’s new leadership is … a recently retired admiral who challenges civilian control of the military. I would be uncomfortable with this person in charge of determining the proper allocation of war powers between the different branches of government. By exploiting the fear factor.

 Enough with the op-eds that search for magical solutions to existing problems. Can we see some op-eds that address how to restore trust in Congress? Because that is the underlying problem that enables McRaven or VandeHei to go on these rants. ||||| I have spent the past two decades in the Washington, D.C., bubble—the heart of Establishment America—covering politics and building a company, Politico, focused solely on politics. But I’ve also spent a lot of time in my hometown of Oshkosh, Wis., and my adopted hometown of Lincoln, Maine, two blue-collar towns in the heart of Normal America.

 Here are my two big takeaways: Normal America is right that Establishment America has grown fat, lazy, conventional and deserving of radical disruption. And the best, perhaps only way... ||||| Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Elle

 In Tuesday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal, Jim VandeHei, the former CEO of Politico who left to start a still-mysterious new venture, has written one of the more clueless and despicable op-eds I have read from a current or former journalist. That it manages to be at once both sinister and utterly banal is its signal achievement.

 Isaac Chotiner Isaac Chotiner is a Slate staff writer.

 VandeHei’s piece is ostensibly a common man’s plea for a responsible third party—one that would depart from the potential third-party paths laid out by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. In this and in this alone, it differs little from the Beltway pundits’ quadrennial exercise in hyperventilation over the prospect of a third-party candidacy. But VandeHei also puts forth some random and unfocused ideas that unite only around a bizarre combination of demagogy and Silicon Valley–driven innovation. Call it #Authoritarianism.

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 VandeHei begins by laying out his credentials. He assures us that he actually spends lots of time in blue-collar “Normal America.” Naturally, the places he mentions as being “normal”—Lincoln, Maine, and Oshkosh, Wisconsin—are small and more than 90 percent white. From this experience, VandeHei declares that “Normal America is right”: Washington “has grown fat, lazy, conventional and deserving of radical disruption.” These sentences, with their lazy assumptions about Washington mingling with the TED Talkese, achieve a sort of majesty in their bathos.

 VandeHei then explains the problem with Sanders and Trump; one is a socialist, and the other is too vulgar, as if Trump’s language were the most offensive thing about him. VandeHei adds: “But if someone turned the critique, passion and disdain shared by the two movements into a new one, they could change the system in meaningful ways. Only an outside force can knock Washington out of its governing rut—and the presidency is the only place with the power to do it.” The rest of the piece offers a “template” for doing so.

 And it’s here that the column starts rotating between the vapid and the creepy. The former comes in large doses, as VandeHei calls for “a true outsider” who will help “mandate that lawmakers … get outside of the D.C. bubble by holding months-long sessions in different sections of Normal America.” But amid this sort of dreary nonsense, VandeHei lets the mask drop here and there. “And exploit cable TV’s addiction to whatever is hot and new,” he writes. This is gross enough coming from someone in the media, but here is the next section, which is much worse, in full:

 Exploit the fear factor. The candidate should be from the military or immediately announce someone with modern-warfare expertise or experience as running mate. People are scared. Terrorism is today’s World War and Americans want a theory for dealing with it. President Obama has established an intriguing precedent of using drone technology and intelligence to assassinate terrorists before they strike. A third-party candidate could build on death-by-drones by outlying the type of modern weapons, troops and war powers needed to keep America safe. And make plain when he or she will use said power. Do it with very muscular language—there is no market for nuance in the terror debate.

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 For a politician to call for the exploitation of fear is one thing. For someone in the media to call for it is another. For a media personality to call for it in the midst of a campaign that has seen unprecedented levels of bigotry and xenophobia is the ultimate monument to the Politico view of politics as a mindless exercise in signaling and brand management. (The bit about the ticket having military experience is a particularly nice touch.)

 Perhaps fearing that he had reached his quota of fascistophilic appeals, VandeHei returns to banality, offering up such beauties as “Use the Internet revolution for the greater good.” He then adds, “Also, call on Silicon Valley technologist [sic] to do tours of service to bring data solutions and efficiencies to our aging governmental systems.” Terrific.

 You can tell where this is headed, can’t you? “Why not recruit Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg or Sheryl Sandberg to head a third-party movement?” VandeHei writes. “Maybe we can convince Michael Bloomberg to help fund the movement with the billions he planned to spend on his own campaign—and then recruit him to run Treasury and advise the president.” So essentially the only way to fix our broken country that has been screwed over by elites is to give more authority to three of the most powerful people in the country. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– One of the co-founders of Politico makes the case that the success of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders shows that America is ready for a third-party movement. Those two have raised a "terrific middle finger" to the establishment, but neither presents a coherent governing strategy, writes Jim VandeHei in the Wall Street Journal. He wants a new party to combine the best of their movements, and even floats a name for it: the Innovation Party. VandeHei suggests someone like Mark Zuckerberg or Sheryl Sandberg could lead it, while Michael Bloomberg could provide financial backing and then perhaps run the Treasury. "Right now, millions of young people are turned on by a 74-old-year socialist scolding Wall Street" and "millions of others by a reality-TV star with a 1950s view of women," writes VandeHei. His ideal candidate is instead someone from outside the political system who can talk to Americans in "unvarnished" language. He or she should also be from the military or select a running mate who is, because "terrorism is today's World War." Click for his full column, which is meeting with some heated criticism. Some samples: "It takes a uniquely special mind to come up with an op-ed that is simultaneously so pointless and so perverse," writes Isaac Chotiner at Slate. He takes particular exception to VandeHei's suggestion that a candidate "exploit the fear" of Americans. "Anyone who believes we are a meritocracy should read Jim VandeHei, who somehow rose to the top of journalism world," tweets Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress. At the Washington Post, Daniel Drezner provides a critique "of an op-ed gone horribly, horribly wrong," from VandeHei's use of "Silicon Valley buzzwords" to his call for a military leader to save us all.


Write a summary based on this article:

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 The Senate on Tuesday voted to advance President Obama’s trade agenda, approving a measure to end debate on fast-track authority.

 The 60-37 motion sets up a vote on final passage on Wednesday. If the Senate approves fast-track or trade promotion authority (TPA), it would then be sent to Obama’s desk to become law.

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 Fast-track authority would allow Obama to send trade deals to Congress for up-or-down votes. The White House wants the authority to conclude negotiations on a sweeping trans-Pacific trade deal.

 Thirteen Democrats backed fast-track in Tuesday’s vote, handing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump steps up courtship of Dems Senate defense bill at standstill over amendment fight Overnight Health Care: Sanders enjoys big moment with single-payer bill | Five things to know about Sanders's plan | Trump applauds senators' latest ObamaCare repeal effort MORE (R-Ky.) a major legislative victory. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) voted against the procedural motion.

 The Democrats cast "yes" votes even though the trade package did not include a workers assistance program for people displaced by increased trade. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program was a part of the last fast-track package approved by the Senate in May, but became a key part of opposition to the package among Democrats in the House.

 To move fast-track forward, the White House and GOP leaders in both chambers decided to break TAA away from fast-track and to try to approve both in separate votes.

 After the Senate votes Wednesday on final passage for fast-track, it will take a procedural vote on a package that includes TAA and trade preferences for African countries known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

 McConnell has promised both bills will reach Obama’s desk by the end of the week.

 “If we all keep working together and trusting each other, then by the end of the week the President will have TPA, TAA and AGOA and Preferences on his desk,” he said on the floor.

 The House has already passed fast-track but it must still vote on the package including TAA, which faces opposition from conservatives.

 Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reiterated on Tuesday his pledge to vote again on TAA as soon as it clears the upper chamber.

 “The House will consider TAA once it passes the Senate as part of a new trade preferences bill. And we are ready to go to conference on the customs bill. Our goal is to get TPA and TAA to the president's desk this week and deliver this win for the American people,” he said in a statement.

 The Senate vote to end a filibuster against fast-track appeared in doubt until the final moment as a group of pro-trade Democrats balked at McConnell’s decision to split it off from TAA, a move made necessary to circumvent opposition in the House.

 Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Chris Coons (Del.), Ben Cardin (Md.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Patty Murray (Wash.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) refused to say publicly how they would vote.

 McConnell’s margin for error shrank further when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is running for president, announced he would vote to block the bill, declaring in a Breitbart.com op-ed that it had “become enmeshed in corrupt Washington backroom dealmaking.”

 Other Republican White House hopefuls, including Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, oppose fast-track.

 Sen. Ron Wyden Ronald (Ron) Lee WydenIt is time to make domestic terrorism a federal crime McConnell: Blue slips shouldn't 'blackball' circuit court nominees 21st Century Fox backs bill to stop online sex trafficking MORE (Ore.), the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee, held talks with other pro-trade Democrats late into the evening Monday to address their concerns.

 He delivered an impassioned speech in favor of the bill shortly before the vote, arguing that it would allow the United States to keep pace with China in the competition for Asian markets.

 “This is our chance to set a new course. This is our chance to put in place higher standards in global trade on matters like labor rights and environmental protection, shine some real sunlight on trade agreements and ensure that our country writes the rules of the road,” he said.

 Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who co-wrote the trade bill with Wyden, argued the vast majority of global economic growth will take place outside of the United States over the next decade.

 “If our workers, farmers, ranchers and service providers are going to be able to compete in these growing markets, we must have open access to these markets and fair trade rules to boot,” he said on the floor.

 Opponents led by Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) warned fast-track would cost thousands of American jobs and allow multi-national companies to evade U.S. law.

 Brown reproached his colleagues for voting to give Obama fast-track authority while having little idea of the shape of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade accord that will receive expedited consideration in Congress as a result.

 “We’ve gotten the worst of both worlds because we’re voting on TPA and we haven’t been able to see what’s in TPP,” Brown said before the vote.

 The AFL-CIO waged a fierce lobbying campaign against fast-track for months.

 “It will do nothing to prevent repeating the mistakes of failed trade policies that have contributed to stagnating wages, increasing inequality and the closure of more than 60,000 factories since 2000,” the union wrote in a letter dated Monday.

 Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other business leaders applauded the development.

 “Today’s vote is an important step towards revitalizing our economy, creating more good American jobs, and reasserting our country’s global economic leadership,” Donohue said in a statement.

 Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) missed the vote. McConnell said Corker would have voted "yes" if he had been present, while Brown noted that Lee and Menendez would have voted "no." ||||| Getty Senate salvages Obama trade agenda More than a dozen Democrats side with the GOP to give the president fast-track authority.

 With no votes to spare, the Senate salvaged President Barack Obama’s trade agenda on Tuesday, putting a measure to give him enhanced powers to strike free trade deals on track to be signed into law by the end of the week.

 But the lead-up to the decisive vote exposed serious friction between the two parties over the chamber’s next big problem: the imminent shutdown of a government financial institution that conservatives despise, the Export-Import Bank.

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 The trade bill advanced 60-37, with the minimum votes needed to break a Democratic-led filibuster against the so-called Trade Promotion Authority. Thirteen Democrats sided with GOP leaders on the vote, and five Republicans, including presidential contenders Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the legislation.

 But discord between pro-trade Democrats and GOP leaders was on vivid display on the Senate floor leading up to the vote. Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) could be seen having an animated talk with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) as the Republican pressed for her support and she sought a vote to renew the Export-Import Bank charter, which lapses next week. Heitkamp mentioned “Ex-Im” several times as she weighed whether to become one of the decisive votes for the president’s push for new trade deals with European and Pacific Rim countries.

 “John, I will tell you this,” Heitkamp told Cornyn, referring to the bank. “It’ll pass. It’ll pass overwhelmingly.”

 But GOP leaders didn’t offer any assurances to prevent the bank’s charter from expiring at the end of the month. Ex-Im provides credit and loan guarantees to American exporters. Cornyn said that he and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) remain committed to a vote on Ex-Im in July, after the bank’s authority has already lapsed.

 “I think our chances of not having the Ex-Im charter expire are gone,” Heitkamp said. “This is typical of the United States Congress to not only not do things timely, but completely late and disrupt the lives of thousands of American workers and thousands of American businesses. It is a sad day that we’re gonna walk out of here without renewing the Ex-Im charter.”

 Heitkamp was among several Democrats who wavered on the trade vote until the final moment. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) withheld his vote before finally voting no. When Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) swept into the chamber to deliver the 60th vote to break the filibuster, Republican leaders were elated to see him. Had he not shown, Republican leaders were prepared to hold the vote open to allow GOP Sen. Bob Corker to fly back from Tennessee to finish the job.

 As the Nevadan strolled into the Senate chamber shortly after 11:30 a.m., Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) smiled at Heller and yelled: “Mr. 60!”

 Democrats ultimately decided to trust McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to follow through on a joint pledge to shepherd into law both TPA — which gives Obama “fast-track” trade authority — and a measure to help laid-off workers known as Trade Adjustment Assistance. TPA will allow Obama to complete the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, but Democrats have long insisted that it be accompanied by TAA, which provides aid and job training for workers who lose their jobs to trade.

 Despite the opposition of most of the party, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) did not lean on his caucus to reject the trade bill as he had at one point in May.

 “I still hate the whole program,” Reid said after the vote. “I’ve never voted for a trade bill; I never even considered voting for this one. I’m not happy with it.”

 Boehner and McConnell issued a flurry of promises that they will usher TAA through their respective chambers; a vote in the Senate is expected on Thursday. For many Democrats, that was enough.

 “I have been assured that the House and the Senate will take up TAA and the enforcement legislation,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who was concerned as late as Monday that the workers aid bill would not pass. “I appreciate the speaker saying he’s going to take it up this week and Sen. McConnell filing cloture on it.”

 Still, the reluctance to move forward was evident even among those who had announced on Monday that they would vote to advance TPA.

 “What made me feel comfortable? I don’t think comfort has anything to do with it,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). “It’s the right thing for my state.”

 The Senate passed a TPA/TAA package in May. McConnell and Boehner unlinked the two bills after the package could not pass the House, while promising to pass each separately in order to assuage Democrats who’ve insisted on the worker aid.

 “This place has become pretty polarized over the years, and there’s not been a lot of trust,” Cornyn told reporters. “We needed to reassure our Democrat colleagues … that takes a little bit of trust. But I think it will reap benefits far beyond just this particular piece of legislation.”

 Getting to 60 votes, though, took more than just trust and public promises. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who helped write the trade legislation with Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), spent Monday evening working the phones to keep as many pro-trade Democrats as he could on board. With the newly announced opposition of Cruz, leaders could lose only two pro-trade Democrats.

 Wyden said he spoke with House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Monday to press GOP leaders to include the wishes of pro-trade Democrats in Senate and House-passed Customs enforcement legislation when the House and Senate iron out their differences. Meanwhile on the floor, McConnell buttonholed Cardin, who appeared to be waiting until the 60th vote was cast to register his opposition but held out until Heller arrived.

 Immediately before the vote, Cardin said he’d received “a lot of interest” from the White House and trade critics who had wooed him in recent days. He said his biggest concern was over the sequencing of the bills — he wanted the worker aid package and other outstanding trade bills all tied together with the fast-track proposal.

 “For reasons I don’t understand, they are bringing up TPA first,” Cardin said. “And that’s created a great deal of heartache for me.”

 Indeed, Cardin’s position demonstrated how difficult the vote was for many Democrats, who found themselves under intense pressure from unions and progressives. Senate Democrats supportive of the fast-track trade legislation huddled Monday night for a strategy session, but most remained mum about how they would vote.

 With the legislation hanging in the balance, anti-trade labor and liberal groups stepped up their last-minute whipping efforts, with AFL-CIO Director of Government Affairs William Samuel writing senators to vote “no” or risk “leaving U.S. workers in the lurch.” And Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), one of the most vocal opponents of the fast-track bill, railed against TPA moments before the vote, accusing Congress of turning its back on a “moral” obligation to assist the working class.

 “How shameful,” Brown said. “We’re making this decision knowing that people will lose their jobs because of our action.”

 But Republicans also had to deal with Cruz’s last-minute denunciation of TPA, even though he supported it last month with TAA attached. In an op-ed for Breitbart News, Cruz accused GOP leaders of cutting a deal with Democrats to keep Ex-Im alive.

 “No comment,” Hatch said when asked about Cruz’s flip. “I’ve learned a long time ago, when people run for president, you really can expect some very bizarre things.”

 Manu Raju contributed to this report. ||||| WASHINGTON — President Obama’s ambitious trade push is back on track, after several near-death moments, in large measure because top Republicans stood by him.

 The Senate on Tuesday narrowly voted to end debate on legislation granting Mr. Obama enhanced negotiating powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord, virtually assuring final passage Wednesday of Mr. Obama’s top legislative priority in his final years in office.

 The procedural vote of 60 to 37 just reached the minimum needed, but final Senate passage will require only 51 votes. The House approved trade promotion authority last week.

 With congressional support for “fast track” authority, the president can press for final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a legacy-defining accord linking 40 percent of the world’s economy — from Canada and Chile to Japan and Australia — in a web of rules governing Pacific commerce. His administration can also bear down on a second agreement with Europe — known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership — knowing that lawmakers will be able to vote for or against those agreements but will not be able to amend or filibuster them.

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 The Atlantic agreement is not expected to be completed until the next administration is in office, but the trade negotiating powers would stretch for six years — well into the next presidency. Together those two accords would put much of the globe under the same trade rules, not only lowering tariffs and other import barriers but also creating new standards for Internet access, intellectual property and investor protections.

 “This is a very important day for our country,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, whose procedural maneuvering was largely responsible for the outcome. “America is back in the trade business.”

 Most Democrats — along with labor unions, environmental groups and liberal activists — disagreed, saying that such trade agreements had resulted in lost manufacturing jobs and lower wages for American workers.

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 “It is a great day for the big money interests, not a great day for working families,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

 But 13 Democrats sided with Republicans to end the debate and get to a final vote on trade promotion authority.

 Tuesday’s vote was the second time the Senate had blocked a filibuster of fast-track authority, but this time the bill was shorn of a separate measure to offer enhanced retraining and educational assistance to workers displaced by international trade accords. That measure also faces a crucial vote on Wednesday.

 Passage of a stand-alone trade promotion bill will put pressure on House Democrats, who just over a week ago brought down the worker aid provision, known as trade adjustment assistance, when it was linked to the fast-track legislation, in a strategic move they hoped would defeat the entire trade package.

 But Republican leaders — with support from the White House — found a parliamentary way to corner the Democratic opponents, by separating the two pieces of the bill. By Wednesday evening, legislation will most likely be on the president’s desk, giving him the power to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He can sign it whether or not the House passes worker dislocation assistance when it is scheduled to come to a vote late Thursday.

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 Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said House Democrats should get on board.

 “The previous explanation that we heard from some Democrats who voted against trade adjustment assistance — something that Democrats have steadfastly supported for decades — is that they were doing that in an effort to slow down the advancement of trade promotion authority legislation,” he said. “That will no longer be a factor to consider.”

 The tortuous path of the trade legislation over the last six months created the unusual alliance between Mr. Obama and Republican leaders, who otherwise have worked to thwart him on domestic and foreign policies.

 “Occasionally, even the leader of the Democratic Party, the president of the United States, gets things right,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican.

 In the end, Mr. McConnell all but secured the top remaining legislative priority of a president he once vowed to turn out after one term.

 The Senate is set on Wednesday to give final approval to trade promotion authority, then vote to end debate on a separate bill that attaches worker dislocation assistance to a broadly popular bill extending a trade agreement with several African countries.

 To attract more votes, Senate leaders added another provision speeding up action against foreign competitors who are found to be “dumping” — selling steel and other products in the United States at artificially low prices in an effort to put domestic manufacturers out of business.

 Senators would vote on that package on Thursday, and if it is approved, as expected, it would go to the House the same day.

 This time, if Democrats vote down trade adjustment assistance, they will be effectively killing a worker education and retraining program created during the Kennedy administration and that party members have nurtured ever since, but will still most likely watch Mr. Obama sign the fast-track bill into law.

 “I don’t think any Democrats voted against T.A.A. last time because they opposed T.A.A.,” said Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House’s No. 2 Democrat. “I will concede there will be a different context” around the next vote.

 At the same time, House and Senate negotiators will begin hashing out differences over a separate bill enhancing measures to police trade agreements.

 Opponents had hoped that trade promotion authority without worker assistance would run into trouble in the Senate. And some Democrats tried to stoke fears that Congress could give the president the power to complete major trade deals without assistance to affected workers.

 “How shameful is that?” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, who led the opposition to trade promotion authority. “We’re making this decision knowing people will lose their jobs because of our actions. Yet we are not going to pass this assistance.”

 In the end, though, Democratic senators who had already voted once for trade promotion authority understood they were not going to escape the criticism, especially from the unions. They wanted to be done with it.

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 “Senate Democrats had already taken a lot of hits in getting to this point,” said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee and a co-author of the trade promotion bill.

 Only one senator, Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, changed his vote from last month. In April, Mr. Cruz wrote an article with Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, extolling the trade promotion bill for giving Congress more power over future trade accords.

 Under the trade promotion bill, such accords could not be considered by Congress for four months after completion, and for two of those months, the agreements would have to be made accessible to the public. The bill adds dozens of negotiating objectives requested by lawmakers, who still could vote down any deal struck.

 Since then, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of Mr. Cruz’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, announced his opposition to the trade promotion bill, and some conservatives voiced opposition to any bill enhancing Mr. Obama’s authority.

 On Tuesday, on the conservative website Breitbart.com, Mr. Cruz denounced the bill he once supported. |||||

– President Obama's trade agenda lives to fight another day. The Senate this morning handed him the 60 votes he needed, voting 60-37 to end debate on his request for fast-track negotiating authority. It'll vote on final passage for fast-track tomorrow, which the New York Times sees as "virtually ensured" as final passage needs just 51 votes. As earlier reported, 14 Democratic senators backed fast track in a late May vote, and 13 did so today. The timeline, per the Hill: After the fast-track vote, the Senate will vote on a package that includes Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)—a measure that would provide job training and other help to people who lose their jobs because of the trade deal. Democrats have insisted TAA be paired with the fast track; some on the other side of the aisle oppose it. The House will then need to vote on it, and both Mitch McConnell and John Boehner have pledged to make TAA law. As Politico puts it, today's vote "came as Democrats wavered on whether to trust" them to do so.


Article:
The ominous silence around the Trump administration's national security advisor, retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn, deepened Sunday as a senior White House official in a televised interview declined to say if the president still has confidence in him.

 "That's the question that I think you should ask the president, the question you should ask Reince [Priebus], the chief of staff," Stephen Miller, the White House senior policy advisor, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked if Trump still has confidence in Flynn.

 "So the White House did not give you anything to say," asked the show's host, Chuck Todd.

 "They did not give me anything to say," Miller responded.

 Miller's silence on Flynn was significant because the White House had booked him on several of the major Sunday television interview programs as the administration's spokesperson this weekend.

 White House officials appear to have deliberately chosen Miller, whose portfolio does not include foreign policy, in part to avoid having to give a definitive answer about Flynn.

 Flynn's future with the administration is at issue because of indications that he may have misled his colleagues, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the weeks before Trump's inauguration. That would normally be a severe problem for someone in Flynn’s position, but Trump may not want to appear to be dropping an aide under pressure from the media and Democratic critics.

 The FBI has been examining Flynn’s contacts with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, according to multiple news reports. Agents are looking at whether Flynn tried to undermine the Obama administration’s move to toughen sanctions against Moscow after concluding that Russia had meddled in the U.S. election.

 Flynn had publicly denied discussing sanctions with Kislyak. But on Thursday, a Washington Post account , citing nine current or former U.S. officials, flatly contradicted those denials. The article quoted a representative for Flynn as backing away from his previous statements, saying that though Flynn “had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up.”

 Since the Post published its report, the White House has passed up several opportunities to publicly back up Flynn. Trump, asked about the report on Friday, said he was unaware of it.

 Shortly after Miller's appearances on "Meet the Press" and ABC's "This Week," Trump tweeted his approval of Miller's statements, again without mentioning Flynn. ||||| "First reason, it doesn't really make us safer. It doesn't really focus on the areas where we really need to tighten up," Schumer said. | AP Photo Schumer: Trump should throw travel ban 'in the trash'

 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a recommendation Sunday: President Donald Trump should toss any travel-ban executive order "in the trash."

 The comment, made by the top Senate Democrat in an interview on "Face the Nation" with CBS' John Dickerson, came in response to a question about the Trump administration looking to introduce a new executive order similar to a travel ban for seven majority-Muslim countries blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

 Story Continued Below

 Earlier, during interviews on multiple Sunday shows, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller suggested that the White House was looking into putting a travel plan in place through a new executive order or alternatives.

 "I think he ought to throw it in the trash," Schumer said. "I think this executive order is so bad and so poisoned and its genesis is so bad and terrible that he ought to just throw it in the trash can."

 Schumer gave two reasons.

 "First reason, it doesn't really make us safer. It doesn't really focus on the areas where we really need to tighten up," Schumer said. The second reason, the New York Democrat continued, "is something called the visa waiver program."

 "It's very easy to come to America from countries that we've always regarded as friendly. There are, I think, 27 of them," Schumer continued. "But these days there are would-be terrorists who have infiltrated places like Belgium and France, and they could come into this country much more easily than someone who's a refugee from the seven countries the president mentioned. That needs real tightening up."

 Schumer went on to say the Trump executive order "is just un-American and unconstitutional."

 "A religious ban just goes against the American grain. We believe in immigrants in this country, and we don't believe in a religious test," Schumer said. "And finally, it hurts us economically. When immigrants don't come to this country, it hurts our job creation, our job growth. Silicon Valley is very worried that a lot of their jobs are going to have to go to Vancouver or Canada, where Canada has a much more forward looking immigration policy." ||||| FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands in front of his airplane as he speaks during a rally in Bentonville, Ark. No matter what issue Trump... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands in front of his airplane as he speaks during a rally in Bentonville, Ark. No matter what issue Trump is addressing, he seems either to know somebody with a relevant personal experience or he’s got a firsthand... (Associated Press)

 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):

 11:05 a.m.

 A top White House aide says it's not up to him to say whether President Donald Trump retains confidence in national security adviser Michael Flynn.

 Policy director Stephen Miller says the White House didn't give him anything specific to say about Flynn during Miller's appearances on the Sunday news shows. Miller calls it "an important matter" and "a sensitive matter" best answered by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence or chief of staff Reince Priebus.

 At issue is whether Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions in calls with Russia's ambassador while President Barack Obama was still in office. The conversations may have broken U.S. law aimed at barring private citizens from conducting diplomacy.

 A Washington Post report last week contradicted Flynn's previous denials, as well as those made by Vice President Mike Pence in a televised interview.

 ___

 9:35 a.m.

 President Donald Trump is praising the actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers for the recent "enforcement surge" that officials say is targeting immigrants who are in the country illegally and have criminal records.

 Trump tweets that "the crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!"

 Advocacy groups contend the government has rounded large numbers of people as part of stepped-up enforcement. The agency calls the effort no different from enforcement actions carried out in the past.

 Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the emphasis is on deporting those he calls "criminal aliens" and who "pose a threat to public safety."

 Miller says "we're going to focus on public safety and saving American lives and we will not apologize."

 ___

 9:20 a.m.

 President Donald Trump's chief policy adviser says the White House is exploring "all of our options" after a federal appeals court handed the administration a legal setback on Trump's executive order on immigration.

 Stephen Miller tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that the White House could pursue "additional executive actions" — as Trump suggested on Friday — as well as judicial appeals.

 Miller says the goal is to pursue "every single possible action to keep our country safe from terrorism."

 He's also criticizing judges for taking "power for themselves that belong squarely in the hands" of the president. |||||Summary:

– The White House wasn't exactly resounding on Sunday in its defense of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. "That's the question that I think you should ask the president, the question you should ask Reince [Priebus], the chief of staff," senior policy adviser Stephen Miller told Meet the Press on Sunday, per the Los Angeles Times, when asked if the White House still had confidence in Flynn. "So the White House did not give you anything to say," asked Chuck Todd. "They did not give me anything to say," Miller confirmed, which the Times notes is ominous given that he was the only White House rep made available to the Sunday talk shows. Miller calls it "an important matter" and "a sensitive matter," reports the AP. At issue is whether Flynn discussed US sanctions in calls with Russia's ambassador while President Obama was still in office. The conversations may have broken US law aimed at barring private citizens from conducting diplomacy. A Washington Post report last week contradicted Flynn's previous denials. Elsewhere on the Sunday dial: Miller says that Immigration and Customs Enforcement's emphasis is on deporting those he calls "criminal aliens" and who "pose a threat to public safety." Miller says "we're going to focus on public safety and saving American lives and we will not apologize." President Trump tweeted that "Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!" Miller says the White House is exploring "all of our options" after a federal appeals court handed the administration a legal setback on Trump's executive order on immigration. Chuck Schumer had succinct commentary on the travel ban, per Politico: "I think he ought to throw it in the trash," Schumer said. "I think this executive order is so bad and so poisoned and its genesis is so bad and terrible that he ought to just throw it in the trash can."


Here is a news article: To help personalize content, tailor and measure ads, and provide a safer experience, we use cookies. By clicking or navigating the site, you agree to allow our collection of information on and off Facebook through cookies. Learn more, including about available controls: Cookies Policy ||||| The herded became the herders Monday when a woman fleeing police through a pasture was chased down by more than a dozen cows, leading her straight to officers and arrest, according to the Sanford Police Department.

 A Seminole County Sheriffï¿½s Office helicopter team captured video of the cows bucking trends and defying traditional roles to become the heroes in this tale of justice, not just mere namesakes.

 The video shows Jennifer Anne Kaufman running through the field being chased by the cows, who worked together to corral the suspect.

 Authorities said Kaufman, 46, was riding in a stolen Subaru SUV being pursued by officers when the vehicle crashed near the pasture after officers attempted to disable it with stop sticks. Kaufman and another occupant, Jamie Michael Young, fled into the pasture. A third occupant, Erin Thomas, 38, stayed with the vehicle. Young, 46, was chased down by a K9 unit, but Kaufman made it deeper.

 Then, video shows, police got an animal assist.

 "Actually, a large group of cows is following her for a good visual. It looks like they may attack her," the helicopter team can be heard saying. "Sheï¿½s pretty far into the field now. If you see the large group of cows, theyï¿½re literally following her and chasing her."

 The herd of cattle chased Kaufman right to a fence, where authorities were waiting on the other side.

 Police said the Subaru was stolen out of Brevard County. A search of the vehicle yielded more than a gram of cocaine, a crack pipe, syringes and a metal spoon.

 Kaufman was charged with petit theft, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, trespassing, resisting arrest and violation of probation. She is currently being held in Seminole County Jail.

 This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.

 Daniel Figueroa IV can be reached at [email protected] Follow @danuscripts |||||
A summary of this is?

– It's one of the strangest and most spectacular lines ever uttered during a police chase: "If you see the large group of cows, they're literally following her and chasing her." You'll need to watch the video from Florida's Seminole County Sheriff's Office to appreciate it, but a small herd of cattle did indeed help police catch a suspect fleeing on foot through a pasture, reports TampaBay.com. Police say the woman had been in a stolen SUV being pursued by officers when the vehicle crashed near the pasture. One man who bolted from the SUV was quickly captured, but the woman made it further. "Actually, a large group of cows is following her for a good visual," says an officer in a helicopter. "It looks like they may attack her." The cows, more than a dozen in all, chased the woman to a fence, where she was promptly arrested. Jennifer Anne Kaufman, 46, faces charges of petit theft, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, trespassing, resisting arrest, and violation of probation.