Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

 President Obama's high-stakes bid to complete one of the largest free trade pacts in U.S. history--over the objections of most Democrats--moved ahead Thursday when the Senate introduced bipartisan legislation that would give his administration vast new powers to close the deal.

 The fast-track trade bill from Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) would allow the president to present a final agreement to Congress for an up-or-down vote without lawmakers being able to amend the terms. A similar bill, drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is expected to be introduced in the House in the coming weeks.

 Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said he would hold a markup and vote on the bill April 23.

 [Obama’s proposal for more trade with Asia may not go over so well in his own party]

 Obama administration officials have called fast-track authority crucial to wrapping up negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade and regulatory deal in the Asia Pacific that Obama has touted as a cornerstone of his second-term agenda.

 "My top priority in any trade negotiation is expanding opportunity for hardworking Americans," Obama said in a statement Thursday. "It’s no secret that past trade deals haven’t always lived up to their promise, and that’s why I will only sign my name to an agreement that helps ordinary Americans get ahead. At the same time, at a moment when 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, we must make sure that we, and not countries like China, are writing the rules for the global economy."

 The president has said the deal would help ensure U.S. competitiveness in the face of a rising China. But getting it across the finish line on Capitol Hill will mark a major leadership test for Obama. The deal faces fierce opposition from many Democrats, labor unions and environmental groups. They said the TPP will kill U.S. jobs and benefit large, multinational corporations.

 The AFL-CIO announced Thursday it would launch a six-figure ad buy to fight the fast-track bill in a series of digital ads targeting 16 senators and 36 House members. The campaign could expand to newspapers and television, the organization said.

 The fast-track bill, formally known as "trade promotion authority," was negotiated for months between Hatch and Wyden, with the Democrat under increasing pressure from liberal groups not to sign onto the legislation.

 [White House counts on Sen. Wyden to deliver on a trade deal]

 Presidents have over the past 40 years enjoyed fast-track powers on trade, but the powers have not been renewed since they expired in 2007 under George W. Bush. Obama and his aides have said they need the authority because other countries are unwilling to agree to final terms if they believe Congress will amend the pact afterward.

 "We must speak with one voice in our demands and provide assurance that we will deliver what we promise," Hatch said.

 Wyden fought for, and won, a number of provisions aimed at ensuring greater public transparency in the trade negotiations, as well as a key provision that would allow the Senate to turn off the fast-track authority if the Obama administration fails to live up to certain requirements during the negotiations.

 "One issue that has come up again and again is the excessive secrecy that seems to have accompanied so much of this debate," Wyden said Thursday. "American trade policy needs to be debated openly."

 The bill also includes provisions mandating that the administration pursue protections for workers and the environment and a stipulation that U.S. negotiators make human rights a priority, though that provision lacks specifics.

 Politically, the legislation places Obama squarely against a majority of House Democrats and a large bloc of Senate Democrats, many of whom believe previous trade deals hurt U.S. workers. In a sign of how difficult the fight will be, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is expected to take over as leader of his party in the Senate in 2017, said he was skeptical of the TPP because it lacks protections against currency manipulation.

 "All evidence I’ve seen is that this hurts middle-class incomes," he said at a hearing before the trade bill was introduced. "I can’t be for it."

 Later Thursday, Schumer said that support from him and many Democrats would depend on a separate currency manipulation bill that Hatch has promised to bring up, saying he would not settle for a "milquetoast" measure.

 Hatch made clear that he'll give Schumer the chance in committee, but that TPP would move on its own track. "We'll do a bill on currency manipulation, but it can't be part of this, or it's dead. So we can't kill trade just because somebody wants one aspect or another," Hatch said.

 Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the minority whip, estimated that only a quarter of Senate Democrats were in the president's camp right now. He broke down his caucus ranks this way: "A fourth, hell no; a fourth, lean yes; and a big group undecided."

 With most Senate Republicans likely to support the fast-track legislation, most corporate and union officials expect the Senate to clear the bill in May and set up a much bigger fight in the House, where the margins are incredibly narrow at the moment.

 Several dozen House Republicans either come from manufacturing districts and do not support trade deals, or are just so opposed to giving Obama any new authority that they would vote no. That means Obama would need to deliver more than 30 Democrats to win passage in the House, which insiders on both sides of the aisle say is not guaranteed.

 "This is wrong, and members of Congress will not stand for it," said Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), who has led the liberal opposition to trade deals. ||||| WASHINGTON—Lawmakers introduced fast-track trade legislation into the House and Senate Thursday that could pave the way for President Barack Obama to conclude a major agreement with 11 nations around the Pacific.

 The bill, the result of a compromise between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, is expected to escalate an already-bitter fight with some Democrats and labor unions over what could become a key part... |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– One of President Obama's biggest goals for his home stretch in office took a big step forward today with a deal struck by leading Republicans and Democrats. It's regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed pact with 11 Pacific Rim nations that the Hill notes would be the biggest trade deal since NAFTA. In this case, the usual DC politics are flipped: Most Democrats oppose the president and most Republicans support him, reports the Wall Street Journal. Despite today's progress—it was introduced as "fast-track" legislation in the House and Senate—its ultimate fate is unclear in Congress. The New York Times predicts that for Obama, it will be "one of the toughest legislative battles of his last 19 months in office." Making it fast-track legislation means that lawmakers would vote yes or no on the deal once the US and the other nations agree on terms, but they would not be able to add amendments. That greatly increases Obama's chances of getting other nations—including Japan, Vietnam, Canada, and Mexico—to sign on, because they wouldn't have to fear later changes. A sign of the challenges supporters face: The AFL-CIO says it will spend six figures on ads going after 16 senators and 36 members of the House, reports the Washington Post. The group is worried about the loss of US jobs, but Obama says the deal is necessary if America hopes to stay competitive against China.


Article:

Ava DuVernay, left, director of the film “Selma,” and David Oyelowo, the actor who plays Martin Luther King Jr., created a fascinating portrait of King without using his most famous speeches. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

 The arc of history is long, but it has finally bent toward a Martin Luther King movie.

 For the first time in the 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement, a feature film is being devoted to a pivotal chapter in the historic struggle, with King at its center. Over the years, several King movie projects have been started, stalled and stopped, either because a filmmaker got cold feet or King’s family — which controls the rights to his life story and speeches — didn’t agree to make them available. (They have since sold them to DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg producing.)

 “Selma,” a film starring British actor David Oyelowo as King, and directed by Ava DuVernay, is the first film to break that logjam. Both a sweeping epic and an intimate personal portrait, it possesses the scope and epic grandeur that befits its subject, the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., and King’s fight with president Lyndon B. Johnson to secure the Voting Rights Act. But, perhaps more crucially, it depicts King in a new way — not as a forbidding icon or flawless secular saint, but as a cannily strategic player who equalled Johnson move-for-move in a high-stakes bout of political gamesmanship.

 What’s more, “Selma,” which opened in Washington on Thursday, makes the bold move of dispensing with King’s most familiar and famous speeches: Working with an original script by Paul Webb, DuVernay carefully paraphrased King’s oratory, so that the words Oyelowo speaks in the film have King’s cadence and meaning, even when they’re not literal.

 The reason is simple: “We never even asked” for the rights to King’s speeches, said DuVernay during a recent visit to Washington. “Because we knew those rights are already gone, they’re with Spielberg, and secondly we found a way to do it where we didn’t have to ask for permission, because with those rights came a certain collaboration.”

 The result is a fascinating portrait that both eerily captures King, but also feels just a tick off from impersonation. Oyelowo doesn’t physically resemble the civil rights leader, nor does his voice possess quite the ringing timbre most people associate with one of the greatest orators of the 20th century. But the filmmakers’ decision to eschew mimicry liberates “Selma” from being mere hagiographic waxwork, or a series of speeches and set pieces, and allows it to be an authentic drama with fully realized, grounded characters. King, especially, is presented as conflicted, whether the subject is his frequent infidelities or his controversial decision, during the second of three marches from Selma, to turn back instead of moving forward.

 “I’m a conflicted, flawed, insecure, at times brilliant, at times nonplussed human being,” Oyelowo said of his characterization of King, “who is facing obstacles and trying to overcome them.” Oyelowo — who was attached to play King in “Selma” seven years ago before the project was shelved, and advocated for DuVernay to direct — believes that this version of King could only have come about with an African American director at the helm. “There was a study done around the police in a certain state in this country, and they admitted that there is an inherent fear of the black male,” Oyelowo said. “So subconsciously or consciously, to have black powerful men driving the narrative as protagonists is frightening for America. And frightening for Hollywood. Subconsciously there is an allergy to it.”

 This is why, historically, films that have dealt with the civil rights movement have so often been told through the journey of a white character, whether a white FBI agent in “Mississippi Burning” or a well-meaning college girl in “The Help,” Oyelowo suggested. Conversely, he thinks, “Selma’s” nuanced portrayal of King “gives context to who we are as human beings, and hopefully it disintegrates those fears that are out there.”

 Because “Selma” deals with such well-documented history, there will surely be quibbles with the compressions and liberties the filmmakers have taken in the name of economy (the film does a remarkable job of swiftly moving through complicated events in just over two hours). For example, Diane Nash and James Bevel, who originated the idea of marching from Selma and finally convinced King, are relegated to the background of a story in which King is by far the most prominent figure.

 Still, the fact that Bevel (played by the musician Common) and Nash (Tessa Thompson) and their fellow activists are there at all represents a small victory: The original screenplay for “Selma” was centered almost entirely in the White House, and Johnson’s struggle with King over whether to address voting rights or the War on Poverty. “It was important to have them in the script, because they weren’t, previously,” DuVernay said, “just to have them named and have them present.” DuVernay added that she insisted on including a scene when they tell King that Selma’s the right place for the upcoming demonstrations. “It’s my tip of the hat to them,” the director said.

 “This is the beauty of having Ava be the one to direct it,” Oyelowo added. “Perspective is so key — in terms of the women, in terms of the politics, in terms of who really brought about this change.” In “Selma’s” first incarnations, he said, “perspective was skewed, I’ll be brutally honest with you, in terms of what this film should be. And it was skewed in a way that has been done so many times before. . . . I’ve watched this thing morph into what it should be, and what other things haven't been and could have been, just by virtue of perspective.”

 Oyelowo and DuVernay had received the ultimate imprimatur of that perspective just a few weeks ago, when Oprah Winfrey — who has a cameo role in “Selma” and is one of the film’s producers — played host at a screening of the film in Santa Barbara, for members of King’s family and several of the real-life activists who are portrayed in the film, including Nash, Rep. John Lewis and former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young. Not only did Martin Luther King III express his approval, DuVernay added, but someone approached her in the darkened screening room while the end credits were still rolling. “Ambassador Young walked up to me in my chair, put his hands around my face and said, ‘Well done,’ ” DuVernay recalled. “ ‘You did it.’ ” ||||| The new film Selma has sparked a bitter public debate, mostly concerning the film’s representation of President Lyndon Johnson’s stance on voting rights and how much artistic license is appropriate for a biopic centering on a major historical event. Less discussed, however, is the degree to which the MLK estate’s tough stance on copyright affected the historical accuracy of the film—and has affected many other films and books before it. What is lost when a biopic cannot take full advantage of its main character’s rhetorical brilliance? And what alternatives are available for filmmakers that want to produce history, not hagiography, about MLK?

 Selma director Ava DuVernay may well have taken more license than artistically necessary in the confrontational scenes between Martin Luther King Jr. and President Johnson. But inaccuracies in other significant parts of the film were forced upon DuVernay by copyright law. The film’s numerous scenes of King delivering powerful speeches regarding civil rights all had to be paraphrased, because the MLK estate has already licensed the film rights in those speeches to DreamWorks and Warner Bros., for an MLK biopic Steven Spielberg is slated to produce.

 The litigious MLK estate, controlled now by King’s descendants, has a long history of employing copyright to restrict the use of King’s speeches. The estate appears to have two objectives: maximize revenue and control King’s image. In the 1990s, the estate sued USAToday for publishing the full text of the “I Have a Dream” speech King delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, and the newspaper quickly settled by paying for a license and attorneys’ fees. The estate then sued CBS for including footage of the speech in a segment of its documentary series The 20th Century with Mike Wallace. In its defense in court, CBS argued that the speech had entered into the public domain because King had not complied with the notice and registration requirements of the Copyright Act of 1909. The trial court agreed with CBS, but an appellate court reversed and ruled in favor of the MLK estate on narrow technical grounds. (Specifically, although the speech was delivered to a live audience of several hundred thousand people and broadcast to millions more, the appellate court treated the delivery of the speech as only a limited publication of the underlying text that did not trigger the 1909 Act’s notice and registration requirements.)

 The MLK estate also sued the producers of Eyes on the Prize, an Emmy-winning documentary series on the civil rights movement, for the use of unlicensed footage of King speeches. This litigation settled when the producers reportedly paid the estate $100,000. Because of this dispute (and similar issues with other rights-holders), the series was out of circulation from 1993 to 2006, when PBS finally renewed most of the rights and edited the remaining unlicensed footage.

 During the summer of 2013, as the nation was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the MLK estate restricted broadcasts of “I Have a Dream,” but it did not lock down the speech altogether: It authorized sales of DVDs of the speech, and it licensed AT&T to use segments of the speech in cell phone ads. Over the years, the MLK estate has also licensed King speeches to be used in ads by Alcatel, Apple, Chevrolet and Mercedes. And it received over $700,000 from the foundation erecting the MLK Memorial in Washington, D.C., for the right to use MLK’s speeches and likeness in the Memorial.

 How is it that one estate can control the use of speeches so central to American history 50 years after their delivery and 47 years after King’s tragic assassination?

 One reason is that King was a private citizen. Had King been a federal government official when he wrote his speeches, those writings would always have been in the public domain. But because King was the extraordinary national political figure who was not a federal employee, the copyrights belonged to him and passed to his estate upon his death.

 Another issue is that the term of copyright protection has grown increasingly long. The first copyright act adopted by Congress in 1790 provided a term of protection of 14 years after first publication that could be renewed for an additional 14 years, for a total of 28 years. The initial purpose of the exclusive rights granted by the copyright law was to provide authors with an economic incentive to create works for the public good. At the same time, the duration of the author’s monopoly was limited so as to enable other authors to build on the first artist’s work.

 Thanks to aggressive lobbying by publishers, the estates of authors and, more recently, the motion picture studios, Congress has repeatedly extended the copyright term. In 1831, Congress extended it to two 21-year periods after first publication for a total of 42 years; and in 1909, Congress extended the term to two 28-year periods for a total of 56 years. Then, in the 1976 Copyright Act, in an effort to harmonize U.S. law with the international law of the Berne Convention, Congress lengthened the copyright term to the life of the author plus 50 years. In 1998, Congress added 20 more years of protection, to the life of the author plus 70 years, citing the law of the European Union as an international precedent.

 The extensions have always been retroactive, applying to works already in existence. Thus, King’s speeches and other writings will not enter the public domain until at least 70 years after his death: January 1, 2039.

 In Congress’ rush to please copyright owners, it has lost sight of the balance the founders intended. A term of protection of “life plus 70” grossly exceeds the economic incentive any author needs to create a work while constraining the ability of new artists to build on the original. And term of life plus 70 is particularly unnecessary in the case of Martin Luther King; King did not need any economic incentive to write his eloquent speeches, let alone a term of life plus 70. ||||| The film Selma, a soaring biographical drama about Martin Luther King’s role in the 1965 civil-rights marches, opens nationwide this week. Critics and audiences are lavishing it with praise, but it could have been an even more meaningful film if its producers hadn’t been blocked by the King estate — represented by a for-profit company, King, Inc. — from using words from King’s speeches, including “I have a dream.”

 Selma still works because filmmaker Ava DuVernay was able to construct phrases that conveyed King’s oratory without using his actual words. King, Inc., is controlled by King’s surviving children and holds the copyright to King’s speeches. It has so aggressively enforced its legal rights as to make it almost impossible to use those speeches without paying a hefty fee. Film rights to King’s speeches have been licensed to Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks. DuVernay told the Washington Post, “We knew those rights are already gone, they’re with Spielberg.”

 She also noted that she knew there were strings attached to the rights: “With those rights came a certain collaboration.” In other words, the King estate uses its control over the copyright to control how King is depicted. It’s perhaps no surprise that no major feature film about King has been produced before now.

 Recent court cases suggest that DuVernay would have had a strong “fair use” defense for using some excerpts of King speeches. But she apparently decided it wasn’t worth the risk of litigation. As recently as 2013, that risk prevented many media outlets from using anything more than the briefest of snippets in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the “I have a dream” speech.

 The risk is real. When Clarence Jones, who was a personal attorney and speechwriter for King, was told by attorneys from King, Inc., that if he wanted to use the full speech in his book Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech That Transformed a Nation, he would have to pay $20,000.

 “If it wasn’t for me copyrighting that speech, the King children wouldn’t today own their biggest moneymaker,” Jones complained. He said his small publisher feared a lawsuit, so he as the author had to indemnify them from any costs of such a suit. He then dared King family lawyers to sue the man who helped write “I have a dream.” They chose not to.

 But there are many other occasions when the legal threats have prevailed. In 1996, the King estate sued CBS for using portions of “I have a dream.” CBS settled the suit by making a donation to the family’s King Center. The family had earlier sued USA Today for reprinting the speech’s text and won another out-of-court settlement and an apology. The band Living Colour wanted to start its 1988 iconic song “Cult of Personality” with Martin Luther King saying, “Free at last! Free at last! / Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” But guitarist Vernon Reed recalls that “we couldn’t get approval from the King foundation to use that.” They substituted a quote from Malcolm X.

 “I think Martin Luther King must be spinning in his grave,” former King lieutenant Bill Rutherford told CBS in 2002 in complaining about the restrictions on King’s words. “He attempted his entire life to communicate ideas for free. To communicate, not to sell.”

 No one is safe from the King, Inc., lawyers. Apple, Chevrolet, and Mercedes have been able to use King’s words in their commercials only after paying hefty licensing fees. A T-shirt company has been licensed to produce products that “celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy through artistic, fashion-forward designs.”

 But the group that was behind raising $100 million to build the King monument on the National Mall had to drop its name — the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation — in 2013 because King, Inc., demanded it pay a licensing fee. “At one point as the memorial was ready to be dedicated, King, Inc., had all of Dr. King’s books removed from the bookstore on the site of the memorial. The King children wanted to control the bookstore and reap all profits from the selling of merchandise,” Roland Martin, a former CNN commentator who was active in building the memorial, has complained. “All of this despite the foundation paying MLK children through King, Inc., $2.7 million to use the likeness of King and his quotes on the memorial on the National Mall.”

 Family lawyers hunt down scholars who would use King’s words. Eyes on the Prize, the PBS documentary on the civil-rights movement, was delayed until the producers made a $100,000 payment to the King family. Julian Bond, head of the NAACP, says the price of his civil-rights textbook went up by at least $10 a copy because he had to pay to include four King documents in it. “The family hasn’t done itself a lot of favors with its insistence that somehow they have to profit,” Bond said.

 Hosea Williams, who in 1968 stood with Dr. King on the motel balcony where he was shot, told the Ottawa Citizen that the profiteering has sullied the King message of humility. “It wasn’t white racists, nor was it the white government that did it; the people who killed King’s dream are those closest to him, and that’s the nightmare,” he said.

 Managers for the King estate insist they are on firm legal ground and that other prominent figures have copyrighted their works for themselves and their estates. “We cannot allow our brand to be abused,” says Isaac Newton Farris Jr., King’s nephew and an executive of the nonprofit King Center in Atlanta.

 Understood, although I never thought of MLK Jr. as a “brand” before. As copyright lawyer Jonathan Band notes: “The Selma speeches occurred 50 years ago and, under a rational intellectual property regime, should be entering the public domain. This is something for Congress to consider in 2015 as it continues to review U.S. copyright policy; rather than simply focusing on enforcement, it should also restore a balance between protecting artists and protecting free expression.”

 So even though King, Inc., is within its legal rights, one can’t help thinking that Dr. King himself would look askance at all this. He was a fundamentally modest man, who just before his death spoke of how he should be remembered: “Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize. That isn’t important. . . . I want you to be able to say that day . . . that I tried to love and serve humanity.”

 Indeed. Let us hope that the message of “I have a dream” isn’t devalued by some who have appropriated his memory into the more mercenary one of “We have a brand!”

 Martin Luther King Jr. is a national hero whose legacy belongs to the American people. Sadly, the lawyers for some members of Dr. King’s family don’t see it that way.

 — John Fund is national-affairs columnist for National Review Online. |||||
What is a summary?

– The new film Selma avoided quoting Martin Luther King's civil-rights speeches because his family owns the copyrights and has sued over them—and it's all perfectly legal, Politico reports. The MLK estate has successfully sued USA Today, CBS News, and the Emmy-winning documentary series Eyes on the Prize, keeping it out of circulation for years. The Kings also raked in $700,000 over the MLK Memorial in Washington, DC, and have licensed King's speeches for ads by Apple, Mercedes, Chevrolet, and Alcatel. "We never even asked" for the rights, Selma director Ava DuVernay tells the Washington Post. She knew DreamworksSKG owns them for a future Steven Spielberg film, and that "with those rights came a certain collaboration"—ie, estate influence over King's portrayal. Why is it legal? Because King was a private citizen, not a government official, so his speeches and writings were his and passed onto his estate. What's more, Congress has extended copyright protection to the author's life plus 70 years (matching international standards), so MLK's work will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2039. The family has mostly kept quiet about all this, USA Today reports, but one of King's sons, Dexter, has written that "people don't want us, as the heirs, the estate, to benefit ... or for my family to be in any way comfortable." Yet the estate does have limits: It initially demanded $20,000 from Clarence Jones, King's personal attorney and speechwriter, for including the "I Have a Dream" speech in a book—but Jones published anyway, and the estate backed off, the National Review reports.


Article:

Casey Curry/Invision/AP/Casey Curry/Invision/AP Simone Battle, a member of the pop group G.R.L., was found dead at her home on Friday. Frank Micelotta/Fox/PictureGroup/FRANK MICELOTTA/INVISION/AP Simone Battle performs onstage while competing on ‘The X Factor’ in 2011. Previous Next

 Enlarge

 Simone Battle, a member of the pop group G.R.L., has died in an apparent suicide.

 TMZ reports that the 25-year-old’s father was the one to discover her Friday morning, and that she was found hanging in a closet in her bedroom in her Los Angeles home. Law enforcement sources tell the site that her death appears to be a suicide.

 Battle rose to fame when she competed on the U.S. version of “The X Factor” in 2011. Even though she was eliminated during the first live show of the competition, Battle parlayed her reality TV fame into a spot in the popular all-girl group G.R.L., a rebooted version of The Pussycat Dolls.

 Her death was confirmed in a joint statement from RCA Records, Kemosabe Records, Reign Deer Entertainment and G.R.L. founder Robin Antin.

 Casey Curry/Casey Curry/Invision/AP (L-R) Paula Van Oppen, Lauren Bennett, Emmalyn Estrada, Natasha Slayton, and Simone Battle are members of the band G.R.L.

 "Simone was an exceptional young talent and human being, and we are all devastated to learn of her passing,” the statement said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones at this time."

 Cheryl Cole, who served as a judge on the first few episodes of "The X Factor," including Battle's audition episode, offered her condolences Saturday.

 "Such tragically sad news to hear of the passing of Simone Battle," she tweeted. "My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones."

 One of Battle’s longtime friends, Derek Butler, also took to Instagram to share his grief.

 “I’m still in shock and in disbelief to have confirmed the death of my childhood friend Simone Battle,” he wrote.

 “Her heart was pure gold and her star power limitless.”

 ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO. ||||| Law enforcement sources reportedly say she was found hanging and the death appears to be suicide.

 G.R.L. member Simone Battle has died at the age of 25, Billboard has confirmed.

 G.R.L. Drops 'Ugly Heart' Single: Listen

 Battle was found in her Los Angeles home on Sept. 5. A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but law enforcement sources tell TMZ she was found hanging and the death appears to be suicide.

 "Words cannot express the depth of our loss. Simone's incredible talent was only surpassed by the size of her heart," G.R.L. tweeted on Sept. 6. "We will carry her memory with us in everything we do."

 Words cannot express the depth of our loss. Simone's incredible talent was only surpassed by the size of her heart. — G.R.L. (@grl) September 6, 2014

 We will carry her memory with us in everything we do. — G.R.L. (@grl) September 6, 2014

 Battle, an X Factor alum, was one of five members of girl group G.R.L., whose debut self-titled EP was released on July 29 through Kemosabe Records/RCA Records. After getting some shine by collaborating with Pitbull on the Top 40 hit "Wild Wild Love," the act released the single "Ugly Heart," produced by Dr. Luke and Cirkut.

 G.R.L. was created by choreographer/director Robin Antin as a reboot of sorts of the Pussycat Dolls, which disbanded in 2010. The group also includes members Lauren Bennett, Emmalyn Estrada, Natasha Slayton and Paula Van Oppen.

 G.R.L.: New Girl Group's Formation Was 'Not Something That Happened Overnight'

 G.R.L.’s management company Reign Deer Entertainment, Antin, Kemosabe Records and RCA released the following statement following Battle’s death.

 “We are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the loss of Simone Battle of G.R.L. Simone was an exceptional young talent and human being, and we are all devastated to learn of her passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones at this time.”

 Battle’s last tweeted was on Sept. 2 that she was heading out to see artist Evan Mellows perform at the Bootleg in Los Angeles.

 Battle competed on The X Factor in 2011, auditioning for the judges with the Pussycat Dolls song "When I Grow Up." She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was eliminated from the show in the first week.

 Battle was also an actress, having appeared in episodes of Everybody Hates Chris and Zoey 101. She joined G.R.L. in 2013 and had released several singles of her own.

 (The Hollyood Reporter's Ryan Gajewski contributed to this article) ||||| 'X Factor' Star Simone Battle Dies at 25 ... From Apparent Suicide

 'X Factor' Star Dead -- Singer Simone Battle from 'G.R.L.' Dies at 25 ... From Apparent Suicide

 EXCLUSIVE

 -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Simone was found hanging on a rod in the closet of her bedroom around 8:30 AM on Friday.Singer, who rose to fame on the US version of... was found dead in her Los Angeles home ... and TMZ has learned it appears to be a suicide.25-year-old Battle was a singer in the girl group... which was the reboot of the Pussycat Dolls. She signed on with the group after her run on "X Factor" ... where she was a finalist, making it into the top 17.The L.A. County Cororner's Office tells us Battle's autopsy has not been completed yet ... so, nothing has been ruled out as cause of death.Simone's father told us she was found in the bedroom of her apartment in a West Hollywood neighborhood. He described her home as a guest house of a larger residence.Story developing ...In June, TMZ shot video of Simone and her 'GRL' bandmate. They were excited about their songwith |||||
What is a summary?

– Simone Battle, a singer with the group GRL, is dead at 25 of an apparent suicide, reports TMZ. Battle was found in her Los Angeles home yesterday morning, and authorities think she hanged herself. Battle first rose to national fame on the X Factor reality show in 2011. Though she got eliminated in the first live show in competition, she made an impression that helped her land a spot with GRL, a reboot of the Pussycat Dolls, reports the Daily News. "Simone was an exceptional young talent and human being, and we are all devastated to learn of her passing,” said a joint statement from RCA Records and two other music companies. As an actress, Battle appeared in episodes of Everybody Hates Chris and Zoey 101, notes Billboard.


Story highlights Trump has been consumed by negative comments about the size of the crowd at his inauguration

 Aerial photos have indicated that Obama's first inauguration attracted a larger crowd

 Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump, angered over a National Park Service retweet comparing his inaugural crowd size to Barack Obama's in 2009, called the acting director of the National Park Service on Saturday to complain, two sources with knowledge of the call told CNN.

 White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also confirmed the call took place.

 Trump called Michael T. Reynolds, acting director of the National Park Service, to express anger over the fact the National Park Service's official Twitter account retweeted a message that negatively compared the crowd sizes at the two inaugurations.

 Sanders said the call proves Trump "is so engaged, he is so involved and when he sees a problem, he takes action to fix it."

 "If he sees an issue, he is going to take action and do something to fix it," Sanders said.

 Read More ||||| A view of the crowd at the U.S. Capitol ahead of the inauguration of President Trump on Jan. 20. (Bill O’Leary /The Washington Post)

 On the morning after Donald Trump’s inauguration, acting National Park Service director Michael T. Reynolds received an extraordinary summons: The new president wanted to talk to him.

 In a Saturday phone call, Trump personally ordered Reynolds to produce additional photographs of the previous day’s crowds on the Mall, according to three individuals who have knowledge of the conversation. The president believed that the photos might prove that the media had lied in reporting that attendance had been no better than average.

 Trump also expressed anger over a retweet sent from the agency’s account, in which side-by-side photographs showed far fewer people at his swearing-in than had shown up to see Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009.

 According to one account, Reynolds had been contacted by the White House and given a phone number to call. When he dialed it, he was told to hold for the president.

 For Trump, who sees himself and his achievements in superlative terms, the inauguration’s crowd size has been a source of grievance that he appears unable to put behind him. It is a measure of his fixation on the issue that he would devote part of his first morning in office to it — and that he would take out his frustrations on an acting Park Service director.

 (The Washington Post)

 Word rapidly spread through the agency and Washington. The individuals who informed The Washington Post about the call did so on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the conversation.

 Neither Reynolds nor the Park Service would talk about it.

 “The National Park Service does not comment on internal conversations among administration officials,” agency spokesman Thomas Crosson said.

 White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the call simply demonstrated that Trump’s management style is to be “so accessible, and constantly in touch.”

 “He’s not somebody who sits around and waits. He takes action and gets things done,” Sanders said. “That’s one of the reasons that he is president today, and Hillary Clinton isn’t.”

 On Saturday, the same day Trump spoke with Reynolds, the new president used an appearance at CIA headquarters to deliver a blistering attack on the media for reporting that large swaths of the Mall were nearly empty during the event.

 “It’s a lie,” Trump said. “We caught [the media]. We caught them in a beauty.”

 1 of 109 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The scene in Washington on Inauguration Day View Photos Trump supporters and protesters gather in the capital as a new presidency begins. Caption Trump supporters and protesters gather in the capital as a new presidency begins. Jan. 20, 2017 Keilaun Wilson of Columbia, S.C., sells T-shirts to Trump supporters leaving parties. Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

 “It looked like a million, a million and a half people,” Trump said, vastly inflating what the available evidence suggested.

 [Federal agencies ordered to restrict their communications]

 Later that day, White House press secretary Sean Spicer reiterated Trump’s complaints about media coverage of the crowd in a tongue-lashing from the lectern of the briefing room.

 “These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong,” Spicer said.

 The Park Service does not release crowd estimates. Experts, however, have estimated that the 2017 turnout was no more than a third the size of Obama’s eight years earlier.

 Reynolds was taken aback by Trump’s request, but he did secure some additional aerial photographs and forwarded them to the White House through normal channels in the Interior Department, the people who notified The Post said. The photos, however, did not prove Trump’s contention that the crowd size was upward of 1 million.

 Reynolds, who had served as the Park Service’s deputy director of operations for six months before assuming the post of acting director, is a third-generation employee who has worked there for more than 30 years. As deputy director, he oversaw the Park Service’s $2.8 billion budget and more than 22,000 employees.

 In the days since Trump’s election, the Park Service has become an unlikely protagonist in a battle between the new president and some career government employees.

 The trouble began late Friday, when the agency’s official Twitter account retweeted two messages that could be perceived as critical of the new administration: the one comparing the relative crowd size for Trump’s inauguration to that of Obama’s 2009 swearing-in, and another that noted policy pages that had been removed from the White House’s website.

 That prompted an “urgent directive” to Interior employees that they “shut down Twitter platforms immediately until further notice,” which was lifted early Saturday morning. Crosson then apologized on Twitter for “mistaken RTs from our account.”

 On Tuesday, the Badlands National Park’s Twitter account became a social-media sensation when it posted four tweets in a row about rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and the threats posed by climate change.

 Those tweets were then deleted. An NPS official later explained that Badlands NPS officials learned they were posted by a former employee who still had access to the account, and decided to remove them.

 [Interior Department reactivates Twitter accounts after shutdown following inauguration]

 Spicer told reporters this week that White House officials had not dictated any agency to impose new restrictions on public communications and that some federal officials, such as those at the Park Service, were not in compliance with their own department’s policies.

 Trump, meanwhile, has continued to press the argument that the media has given a misleading account of the crowds that attended his inauguration.

 “I had a massive amount of people here,” the president told ABC News anchor David Muir in an interview Wednesday. “They were showing pictures that were very unflattering, as unflattering — from certain angles — that were taken early and lots of other things.”

 As he guided Muir through the West Wing, Trump paused at a photo on the wall, taken from behind him as he delivered his inaugural address: “Here’s a picture of the event. Here’s a picture of the crowd. Now, the audience was the biggest ever, but this crowd was massive. Look how far back it goes. This crowd was massive.”

 Brady Dennis and Lisa Rein contributed to this report. |||||

Write a summary.

– President Trump may not have had the biggest inauguration crowd in history, but he may have made a bigger fuss about media coverage of it than any of his predecessors. Sources tell the Washington Post and CNN that on Saturday morning—the first morning of his presidency—Trump contacted Michael T. Reynolds, the National Park Service's acting director, to demand more photos of the crowd on the National Mall. Reynolds, who has worked for the service for 30 years, was "taken aback" by the request, but he sent some aerial photos to Trump, according to the Post's sources. The photos did not, however, provide proof of Trump's claim that more than a million people had gathered to watch his inauguration. Reynolds and the NPS have declined to comment, but insiders say Trump also expressed anger over an NPS tweet comparing his crowd to Obama's, which apparently led to an order for all Interior Department accounts to stop tweeting. White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that Trump contacted the NPS. She said the call demonstrated the president is "so accessible, and constantly in touch." "He's not somebody who sits around and waits. He takes action and gets things done," she said. "That's one of the reasons that he is president today, and Hillary Clinton isn't." (Trump was still talking about the size of his inaugural crowd on Wednesday, when he gave his first interview as president.)


Summarize this article:

Letter of Resignation from the Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission

 Sorry, we’re full!

 Dear City Council Members and Palo Alto Residents,

 This letter serves as my official resignation from the Planning and Transportation Commission. My family has decided to move to Santa Cruz. After many years of trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here. We rent our current home with another couple for $6200 a month; if we wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7M and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes, and insurance. That’s $146,127 per year — an entire professional’s income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer.

 It’s clear that if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders, and service workers are in dire straits. We already see openings at our police department that we can’t fill and numerous teacher contracts that we can’t renew because the cost of housing is astronomical not just in Palo Alto but many miles in each direction. I have repeatedly made recommendations to the Council to expand the housing supply in Palo Alto so that together with our neighboring cities who are already adding housing, we can start to make a dent in the jobs-housing imbalance that causes housing prices throughout the Bay Area to spiral out of control. Small steps like allowing 2 floors of housing instead of 1 in mixed use developments, enforcing minimum density requirements so that developers build apartments instead of penthouses, legalizing duplexes, easing restrictions on granny units, leveraging the residential parking permit program to experiment with housing for people who don’t want or need two cars, and allowing single-use areas like the Stanford shopping center to add housing on top of shops (or offices), would go a long way in adding desperately needed housing units while maintaining the character of our neighborhoods and preserving historic structures throughout.

 Time and again, I’ve seen dozens of people come to both Commission meetings and Council meetings asking Council to make housing its top priority. The City Council received over 1000 signatures from Palo Alto residents asking for the same. In the annual Our Palo Alto survey, it is the top issue cited by residents. This Council has ignored the majority of residents and has charted a course for the next 15 years of this city’s development which substantially continues the same job-housing imbalance this community has been suffering from for some time now: more offices, a nominal amount of housing which the Council is already laying the groundwork to tax out of existence, lip service to preserving retail that simply has no reason to keep serving the average Joe when the city is only affordable to Joe Millionaires.

 Over the last 5 years I’ve seen dozens of my friends leave Palo Alto and often leave the Bay Area entirely. I’ve seen friends from other states get job offers here and then turn them down when they started to look at the price of housing. I struggle to think what Palo Alto will become and what it will represent when young families have no hope of ever putting down roots here, and meanwhile the community is engulfed with middle-aged jet-setting executives and investors who are hardly the sort to be personally volunteering for neighborhood block parties, earthquake preparedness responsibilities, or neighborhood watch. If things keep going as they are, yes, Palo Alto’s streets will look just as they did decades ago, but its inhabitants, spirit, and sense of community will be unrecognizable. A once thriving city will turn into a hollowed out museum. We should take care to remember that Palo Alto is famous the world over for its residents’ accomplishments, but none of those people would be able to live in Palo Alto were they starting out today.

 Sincerely,

 Kate Downing

 UPDATE: Thank you so much for the outpouring of interest and support. While we are leaving Palo Alto, the organization I co-founded that is working to invest in housing and transportation will continue on its work so that maybe in the future we can have a more inclusive community. If you’d like to learn more, go here.

 If you’d like to look into the belly of the beast, read the comments on our local paper: Palo Alto Online. The loudest voices in the community feel that the desire to create more affordable housing is spoiled entitlement. Until renters, younger people, and people of more modest means organize, this problem will continue throughout the Bay Area. ||||| Property Type House Condo Townhouse Multi-family Land Other Include MLS-listed homes MLS-listed homes MLS-listed foreclosures include: All listings Only non-foreclosures Only foreclosures For-sale-by-owner homes For-sale-by-owner homes Foreclosed homes Foreclosed homes Sale records Sale records

 for: Last 1 week Last 1 month Last 3 months Last 6 months Last 1 year Last 2 years Last 3 years All Schools Home Facts Baths: No min 1+ 1.25+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ Square feet: No min 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000 3,500 4,000 5,000 7,500 to No max 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000 3,500 4,000 5,000 7,500 Lot size: No min 2,000 sq ft 4,500 sq ft 6,500 sq ft 8,000 sq ft 10,890 sq ft / .25 acres 21,780 sq ft / .5 acres 1 acre 2 acres 3 acres 4 acres 5 acres 10 acres 40 acres 100 acres to No max 2,000 sq ft 4,500 sq ft 6,500 sq ft 8,000 sq ft 10,890 sq ft / .25 acres 21,780 sq ft / .5 acres 1 acre 2 acres 3 acres 4 acres 5 acres 10 acres 40 acres 100 acres Parking: No min 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ Has garage Year built: No min 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1980 1960 1940 1920 1900 to No max 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1980 1960 1940 1920 1900 Remarks: e.g. 'pool,' 'office,' or 'fireplace.' Learn more

 Listing Facts Days on Redfin: No max New listings (since yesterday) Less than 3 days Less than 7 days Less than 14 days Less than 30 days More than 7 days More than 14 days More than 30 days More than 45 days More than 60 days More than 90 days More than 180 days Status: Active listings Active + under contract/pending Only under contract/pending Price reduced: In the last day In the last 3 days In the last 7 days In the last 14 days In the last 30 days More than 30 days More than 60 days More than 120 days Any time Exclude short sales Include Only* New listings Open houses

 This weekend Any time New construction Has view Fixer-upper Waterfront *Only listings which match all the criteria will be shown. Reset Search Options ||||| For the past two years, Kate Downing has been one of Palo Alto's most passionate advocates for building more affordable housing.

 As one of the founding members of the citizens group Palo Alto Forward and a member of the city's Planning and Transportation Commission, she also has been a vehement critic of the city's recent tilt toward slow-growth policies, and its failure to address a housing shortage that many in the community and some on the City Council believe has reached a crisis level.

 Kate Downing Kate Downing

 "Time and again, I've seen dozens of people come to both Commission meetings and Council meetings asking Council to make housing its top priority," Downing wrote. "The City Council received over 1,000 signatures from Palo Alto residents asking for the same. In the annual Our Palo Alto survey, it is the top issue cited by residents.

 "This council has ignored the majority of residents and has chartered a course for the next 15 years of this city's development, which substantially continues the same job-housing imbalance this community has been suffering from for some time now: more offices, a nominal amount of housing, which the Council is already laying the groundwork to tax out of existence, lip service to preserving retail that simply has no reason to keep serving the average Joe when the city is only available to Joe Millionaires."

 In her resignation letter, Downing pointed to the city's difficulties in filling job openings in the Palo Alto Police Department and renewing contracts with the local teachers because of the "astronomical" cost of housing, not just in Palo Alto but "many miles in each direction."

 It is clear, she wrote, that "if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders, and service workers are in dire straits."

 Downing herself is facing similar challenges, despite the fact that she is a corporate attorney and her husband is a software engineer at Palantir. For several years, they have been renting a home in the Ventura neighborhood. Now, they are preparing to move to Santa Cruz.

 In her resignation letter, Downing wrote that "After many years of trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here."

 "We rent our current home with another couple for $6,200 a month; if we wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7M and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes and insurance," Downing wrote. "That's $146,127 per year -- an entire professional's income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer."

 Downing also noted that over the last five years, she'd seen dozens of her friends leave Palo Alto and, in some cases, the Bay Area. She also said that she has seen friends from other states get job offers in Palo Alto and then turn them down whey they started to look at the price of housing.

 "I struggle to think what Palo Alto will become and what it will represent when young families have no hope of ever putting down roots here, and meanwhile the community is engulfed with middle-aged jet-setting executives and investors who are hardly the sort to be personally volunteering for neighborhood block parties, earthquake preparedness responsibilities, or neighborhood watch," Downing wrote. "If things keep going as they are, yes, Palo Alto's streets will look just as they did decades ago, but its inhabitants, spirit, and sense of community will be unrecognizable.

 "A once thriving city will turn into a hollowed out museum. We should take care to remember that Palo Alto is famous the world over for its residents’ accomplishments, but none of those people would be able to live in Palo Alto were they starting out today," she wrote.

 Downing is hardly alone in urging the council to act with more urgency on promoting affordable housing. In March, more than 1,000 residents, including numerous former mayors and planning commissioners, signed a petition spearheaded by Palo Alto Forward that urged the council to do more to address this topic.

 "The cost of living in Palo Alto has skyrocketed. As a result, we are seeing long-time neighbors move because they can no longer afford the rent," the petition stated. "It is not unusual for Palo Alto workers to commute in from areas as far as Stockton, Gilroy and Tracy, putting severe strain on our roads and our climate. We are on the path to being a city composed only of long-time landowners and wealthy newcomers. This situation is the result of city policies that have discouraged new housing while encouraging more office space."

 Recent surveys also suggest that residents are growing increasingly anxious about getting priced out of Palo Alto. In the city's annual survey, the number of people who gave Palo Alto good grades for "variety of housing options” dropped from 27 percent in 2014 to 20 percent in 2015, while the percentage of people who ranked the city as a good or excellent place to retire dropped from 60 percent to 52 percent between 2014 and 2015 (in 2006, it was 68 percent).

 Local concerns about housing were also highlighted in a poll that the city commissioned last spring, when it was considering whether to proceed with a business tax to address traffic congestion. The poll showed 76 percent of the respondents listing "cost of housing" as an "extremely serious" or "very serious" problem, a higher percentage than any other issue (the drought and traffic congestion scored second and third, with 65 percent and 53 percent, respectively).

 Downing's letter comes at a particularly sensitive time for local politics. The city is about to hold its first City Council election since the slow-growth "residentialist" camp won the council majority in 2014 and four of the council's nine seats will be up for grabs.

 Several candidates jumping into the race, including current planning commission Chair Adrian Fine, Human Relations Commission Chair Greer Stone and technology executive Michelle Kraus (all of whom are renters) have vowed to make creation of more housing options a priority if elected.

 ---

 Follow the Palo Alto Weekly/Palo Alto Online on Twitter @PaloAltoWeekly and Facebook for breaking news, local events, photos, videos and more. ||||| PALO ALTO -- You're a well-paid professional. You work in tech. You've got it made.

 Not if you want to buy a house in Silicon Valley.

 On Wednesday, a planning commissioner here became the very public voice of the region's frustrations over spiraling housing costs when she published her resignation letter to the city of Palo Alto. It said that she and her husband are moving to Santa Cruz because -- even with their combined incomes as a tech lawyer and software engineer -- they can't afford to live in this upscale city.

 After five years of "trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here," Planning and Transportation Commissioner Kate Downing wrote in her public resignation letter.

 The letter makes personal what the numbers show: That rising rents and home prices of recent years have put the region beyond the reach of many, even some at the top of the heap -- including in the lucrative tech industry that fuels the rush for housing.

 The average rent in Palo Alto was $3,463 in the second quarter of 2016, according to a report last month from Novato-based RealFacts. In June, the median price of a single-family home was $1.2 million in San Mateo County and $982,500 in Santa Clara County, according to the CoreLogic real estate information service.

 Downing, 31, has a full-time job as senior corporate counsel to a tech company in Santa Clara. In an interview, she explained that her letter "is not supposed to be a sad story about me. I'm going to land on my feet. I'm extraordinarily lucky and privileged. I'm going to be fine."

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 Rather, she characterized the letter as a warning call about economic trends and failed policies that are hurting Palo Alto and the region. "It's clear," she wrote, "that if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders and service workers are in dire straits."

 Downing and her engineer husband, Steve Downing, 33, share a 2,300-square-foot, four-bedroom house in Palo Alto's Ventura neighborhood with another couple. The monthly rent is $6,200.

 "That's actually pretty cheap for here," she said in the interview. "We probably pay on the low end of what they could get for our home."

 Her letter calculated that if the couple "wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7 million, and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes and insurance. That's $146,127 per year -- an entire professional's income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer."

 The Downings based those numbers on putting 20 percent down: "If you put down less than that, you're not going to get picked," she said. "Everyone knows how competitive it is in Palo Alto, with multiple offers on every house. Some of them are putting down all cash. They're coming in with just gigantic deposits."

 Downing's letter, a colleague said, is a timely commentary on Palo Alto's changing demographics: "All of us who are in our 20s and 30 and 40s -- we're used to seeing people leave," said Elaine Uang, a co-founder with Downing of the community group Palo Alto Forward.

 "You never know when your friends are going to go because there aren't the right housing options here for them to pursue the next stage of life."

 A commissioner since November 2014, Downing said in the letter that the city has failed to move the dial on housing. Stating that her own recommendations to the City Council have gone nowhere, she outlined some of the ways in which the housing supply might be expanded in order to "make a dent in the jobs-housing imbalance that causes housing prices throughout the Bay Area to spiral out of control."

 She mentioned "small steps like allowing two floors of housing instead of one in mixed-used developments," as well as legalizing duplexes, streamlining restrictions on granny units and "enforcing minimum-density requirements" so that developers will "build apartments instead of penthouses." Housing should be allowed, she wrote, above shops and offices in single-use areas like the Stanford Shopping Center.

 "Kate does a good job summarizing the challenges we're facing as a community," said Councilman Cory Wolbach. "To say that Palo Alto has been slow to add housing is a very accurate statement.

 "There's nothing shocking here," he added, in regard to Downing's letter. "Palo Alto certainly does not encourage high-density, smaller, more reasonably priced units. It's unfortunate but true."

 Palo Alto "is not the family-oriented community it used to be," Downing said. In her estimation, it's becoming a place for "jet-setting executives and investors" who have neither the time or inclination to help out with block parties or join Neighborhood Watch.

 "Young people are not moving here anymore. It used to be a place of innovation, where people created art and sculpture in their backyards or started companies in their garages. Now, it's more for people who are CEOs and executive vice presidents."

 Contact Richard Scheinin at 408-920-5069, read his stories at www.mercurynews.com/richard-scheinin and follow him at Twitter.com/RealEstateRag. ||||| In what’s becoming a regular story in the Bay Area, many Peninsula towns’ refusal to increase housing has led to a mass exit of long-time, working-class residents. First responders, police, teachers, grocery store clerks—the list goes on.

 These small cities, rich with tech money and close-proximity desirability, have left it to San Francisco, Oakland, and only a few other areas to house the influx of new-moneyed arrivals.

 And with that, another noteworthy exodus has taken place: Palo Alto Planning and Transportation commissioner Kate Vershov Downing and her family have decided to leave the pricey town for Santa Cruz because they, like many other residents, can no longer afford the area.

 In a letter of resignation, she starts off saying:

 Dear City Council Members and Palo Alto Residents, This letter serves as my official resignation from the Planning and Transportation Commission. My family has decided to move to Santa Cruz. After many years of trying to make it work in Palo Alto, my husband and I cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family here. We rent our current home with another couple for $6200 a month; if we wanted to buy the same home and share it with children and not roommates, it would cost $2.7M and our monthly payment would be $12,177 a month in mortgage, taxes, and insurance. That’s $146,127 per year — an entire professional’s income before taxes. This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer.

 Downing goes on to note that the city council is, in part, to blame for this mess, noting that pleas from citizenry for more housing go ignored.

 I have repeatedly made recommendations to the Council to expand the housing supply in Palo Alto so that together with our neighboring cities who are already adding housing, we can start to make a dent in the jobs-housing imbalance that causes housing prices throughout the Bay Area to spiral out of control. Small steps like allowing 2 floors of housing instead of 1 in mixed use developments, enforcing minimum density requirements so that developers build apartments instead of penthouses, legalizing duplexes, easing restrictions on granny units, leveraging the residential parking permit program to experiment with housing for people who don’t want or need two cars, and allowing single-use areas like the Stanford shopping center to add housing on top of shops (or offices), would go a long way in adding desperately needed housing units while maintaining the character of our neighborhoods and preserving historic structures throughout. Time and again, I’ve seen dozens of people come to both Commission meetings and Council meetings asking Council to make housing its top priority. The City Council received over 1000 signatures from Palo Alto residents asking for the same. In the annual Our Palo Alto survey, it is the top issue cited by residents. This Council has ignored the majority of residents and has chartered a course for the next 15 years of this city’s development which substantially continues the same job-housing imbalance this community has been suffering from for some time now: more offices, a nominal amount of housing which the Council is already laying the groundwork to tax out of existence, lip service to preserving retail that simply has no reason to keep serving the average Joe when the city is only affordable to Joe Millionaires.

 Like Menlo Park, Palo Alto’s housing stock is extremely pricey. You can hardly find a home on the market right now for less than $1 million. And there’s no sign of things slowing down.

 Read the entire piece here. |||||

– Palo Alto's planning and transportation commissioner sat down and did the math: For Kate Vershov Downing and husband Steve to purchase a home similar to the 4-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot dwelling they currently rent (with another couple, at $6,200 a month), their monthly payment would be $12,177. That's $146,127 a year on mortgage, insurance, and taxes, and that's assuming they had half-a-million dollars for a down payment. "This is unaffordable even for an attorney and a software engineer," she writes; she's senior corporate counsel to a tech company and her husband works for Palantir. And so after five years of trying to make it work in Silicon Valley, the Downings, "cannot see a way to stay in Palo Alto and raise a family," Kate writes in a public resignation letter posted Tuesday announcing her move to Santa Cruz. She tells the Mercury News that her letter "is not supposed to be a sad story about me. ... I'm extraordinarily lucky and privileged." But she writes that "it's clear that if professionals like me cannot raise a family here, then all of our teachers, first responders, and service workers are in dire straits." Indeed, Curbed SF backs up its assertion that there's little on the market there for less than $1 million with a link to Redfin, which, for example, has a listing for a $729,000 house ... that's 529 square feet. In her letter, Downing—called "one of Palo Alto's most passionate advocates for building more affordable housing" by Palo Alto Online — takes the City Council to task for ignoring residents' clamor for significant change on the housing front; her letter repeats some of the recommendations she herself has made. (Palantir is having a profound effect on the city's commercial space.)


(CNN) -- Just before she and her two brothers were captured after a manhunt lasting more than a week, Lee Grace Dougherty pointed her machine pistol at a Colorado police chief, but the chief fired his .40-caliber handgun first, wounding her in the right upper thigh, according to an investigator's affidavits released Thursday.

 "I pointed the gun at the cop," Dougherty told the FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Christian L. Mohr.

 "I deserved to get shot," Dougherty, 29, told authorities, according to Mohr's affidavit. "The cop said drop the gun."

 Southeast's Daugherty siblings caught in Colorado

 When she was shot, "instantly, I let go of the gun," Dougherty told the FBI. "The pain was all through my body."

 The cop who wounded her was Walsenburg, Colorado, Police Chief James Chamberlain, according to the documents.

 Thursday's release of the investigator's affidavits -- filed in support of the siblings' arrests -- provided new details about the moments leading up to authorities' capture of the three Dougherty siblings Wednesday. The FBI and other law agencies conducted a multistate dragnet for the trio for more than a week.

 The three siblings, arrested Wednesday after a high-speed chase by police resulted in the crash of the Doughertys' vehicle on a rural Colorado highway, had their first court hearing Thursday in Pueblo, but the three waived their right to appear, according to CNN affiliates KGTV and KUSA.

 A public defender represented them in their absence, according to the CNN affiliates.

 Lee Grace Dougherty, brother Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, and half-brother Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, face numerous charges.

 The three were wanted in an armed bank robbery in Georgia and were suspects in the attempted murder of a Florida police officer. Both incidents occurred August 2.

 Bond was set Thursday at $1.25 million for each of them, according to CNN affiliate KUSA. Their next court hearing is August 15, in Pueblo.

 During a high-speed chase before their car crashed, Ryan Dougherty was behind the wheel, and Dylan Dougherty Stanley was firing an AK-47 at pursuing officers and their vehicles, Lee Grace Dougherty told authorities, according to a second affidavit filed by Mohr.

 "We weren't trying to hurt anyone; we just wanted them to get back," Lee Grace Dougherty told investigators after her arrest. "They were way back, and we could barely see them. We were getting shot at, then we wrecked."

 Mohr inserted a note in his affidavit saying that police never fired upon the Doughertys: "No shots were fired at the vehicle and she may have mistaken the sounds of the tire deflation device they ran over."

 She told investigators that she "didn't shoot at any cop in the state of Colorado," according to Mohr's affidavit.

 In the Florida incident, the Doughertys successfully eluded police after the officer's car tire was shot out from one of the many rounds fired from the Dougherty's stolen car, authorities said.

 But the Doughertys couldn't elude authorities in Colorado. Their car crashed into a highway guardrail during a chase that reached up to 120 miles per hour, the affidavits said.

 One brother stayed in the car. Another brother stumbled off through the brush to a couple of nearby businesses, only to be picked up by law enforcement officers after a citizen spotted him, authorities told CNN.

 Authorities recovered two assault rifles, a submachine gun and a handgun at the crash scene, the affidavits said.

 Colorado authorities said the trio spent Tuesday night in the San Isabel National Forest, about 10 to 12 miles west of Colorado City.

 Their fugitive run ended Wednesday morning on Interstate 25 between Colorado City and the town of Walsenburg, authorities said.

 CNN's Deanna Proeller contributed to this report. ||||| Share E-Mail News Alerts Get breaking news and daily headlines. Browse all e-mail newsletters Related To Story Pueblo County S.O. DOUGHERTY GANG

 Dougherty Sister: I Deserved To Get Shot Dougherty Gang Held On $1.25 Million Bond Each On Assault, Attempted Murder Charges POSTED: 7:16 am MDT August 11, 2011 The fugitive sister shot by police in Colorado after a nationwide manhunt told police she "deserved to get shot" because she had pointed a gun at a police officer, but that she and her two brothers "weren't trying to hurt anyone," according to a court document released Thursday. Lee Grace E. Dougherty, 29, Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, and half-brother Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, were taken into custody after a high-speed chase and shootout on Wednesday. Lee Grace E. Dougherty, 29, Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, and half-brother Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26, were taken into custody after a high-speed chase and shootout on Wednesday. They are currently being held in Pueblo County on $1.25 million bond each. They are currently being held in Pueblo County on $1.25 million bond each. An attorney for the trio, a public defender, waived their advisement hearing on Thursday, so the siblings did not appear in court via a closed-circuit camera. An attorney for the trio, a public defender, waived their advisement hearing on Thursday, so the siblings did not appear in court via a closed-circuit camera. They face charges of attempted murder of a peace officer and assault on a peace officer. The charges stem from allegations that they shot at authorities in Colorado. They are also facing charges in Florida and Georgia. They face charges of attempted murder of a peace officer and assault on a peace officer. The charges stem from allegations that they shot at authorities in Colorado. They are also facing charges in Florida and Georgia. The bond on the assault charges was set at $250,000 each. The bond on the attempted murder charges was set at $1 million each. The bond on the assault charges was set at $250,000 each. The bond on the attempted murder charges was set at $1 million each. Their next court appearance was set for Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. Their next court appearance was set for Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. Court Documents: Lee Grace Says They Weren't Trying To Hurt Anyone Lee Grace was shot in the leg by Walsenburg, Colo., Police Chief James Chamberlain after she pointed a machine gun at him, according to the affidavit. The document says she later told police, "I deserved to get shot." Lee Grace was shot in the leg by Walsenburg, Colo., Police Chief James Chamberlain after she pointed a machine gun at him, according to the affidavit. The document says she later told police, "I deserved to get shot." She told an FBI agent that the shootout -- which stretched for 20 miles along Interstate 25 -- was a defensive move. She told an FBI agent that the shootout -- which stretched for 20 miles along Interstate 25 -- was a defensive move. Pueblo Chieftain/Mike Sweeney Dylan, Lee Grace, and Ryan Dougherty awaiting a court appearance on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. "We weren't trying to hurt anyone, we just wanted to get them back. They were way back and we could barely see them. We were getting shot at ... then we wrecked," Lee Grace said, according to the arrest affidavit. "We weren't trying to hurt anyone, we just wanted to get them back. They were way back and we could barely see them. We were getting shot at ... then we wrecked," Lee Grace said, according to the arrest affidavit. However, the Colorado State Patrol said no shots were fired at the Doughertys' car and that they may have mistaken the sounds of the stop sticks deflating their tires as gunshots, according to the arrest affidavit. However, the Colorado State Patrol said no shots were fired at the Doughertys' car and that they may have mistaken the sounds of the stop sticks deflating their tires as gunshots, according to the arrest affidavit. Several AK-47 rounds were fired at the three CSP cars and one Pueblo County Sheriff's vehicle during the pursuit, said Lt. Col. Anthony Padilla of the Colorado State Patrol. Several AK-47 rounds were fired at the three CSP cars and one Pueblo County Sheriff's vehicle during the pursuit, said Lt. Col. Anthony Padilla of the Colorado State Patrol. Troopers said said during the pursuit, which at times exceeded 120 mph, they could hear gunfire and could see "a weapon being fired out of the right side of the car." Troopers said said during the pursuit, which at times exceeded 120 mph, they could hear gunfire and could see "a weapon being fired out of the right side of the car." At time, the Doughertys' vehicle even drove on the right shoulder to pass vehicles, according to the affidavit. At time, the Doughertys' vehicle even drove on the right shoulder to pass vehicles, according to the affidavit. Once the car crashed, Lee Grace scrambled out and was going over a guard rail with a machine pistol in her hand, when Chamberlain ordered her to drop her weapon, the affidavit said. Once the car crashed, Lee Grace scrambled out and was going over a guard rail with a machine pistol in her hand, when Chamberlain ordered her to drop her weapon, the affidavit said. She was seen trying to "work the action on the pistol" and pointed her weapon directly at him, the affidavit said. She was seen trying to "work the action on the pistol" and pointed her weapon directly at him, the affidavit said. That's when Chamberlain fired his .40 caliber weapon and struck her in the right upper thigh, causing her to fall to the ground. That's when Chamberlain fired his .40 caliber weapon and struck her in the right upper thigh, causing her to fall to the ground. "I let go of the gun" and the "pain was all through my body," she told the FBI. "I let go of the gun" and the "pain was all through my body," she told the FBI. Ryan ran off and Dylan stayed in the car and was arrested without incident. Ryan ran off and Dylan stayed in the car and was arrested without incident. When questioned by authorities, Lee Grace said "Well, I didn't shoot anyone." (I) didn't shoot at any cop in the state of Colorado," and that her brother Ryan was driving and "a person can't drive and shoot at the same time." When questioned by authorities, Lee Grace said "Well, I didn't shoot anyone." (I) didn't shoot at any cop in the state of Colorado," and that her brother Ryan was driving and "a person can't drive and shoot at the same time." She didn't say if that meant that Dylan was the one who fired at officers with an AK-47 assault rifle. She didn't say if that meant that Dylan was the one who fired at officers with an AK-47 assault rifle. Authorities recovered a MAC-11 machine pistol, two AK-47 assault rifles and a handgun at the crime scene, according to the affidavit. Authorities recovered a MAC-11 machine pistol, two AK-47 assault rifles and a handgun at the crime scene, according to the affidavit. The Chase The Doughertys were first spotted in Colorado on Tuesday. Investigators believe the trio may have purchased a tent at an REI sporting goods store at 1376 E. Woodmen Road in Colorado Springs around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and one of them may gone into a Walmart in Canon City that night to buy ammunition for an AK-47. The Doughertys were first spotted in Colorado on Tuesday. Investigators believe the trio may have purchased a tent at an REI sporting goods store at 1376 E. Woodmen Road in Colorado Springs around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and one of them may gone into a Walmart in Canon City that night to buy ammunition for an AK-47. On Wednesday, witnesses spotted the suspects near Colorado City and called 911, said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Heather Cobler. Sightings of the suspects' vehicle were reported at a campground on Highway 165. Troopers said that when law enforcement reached the campground, the suspects had already left. On Wednesday, witnesses spotted the suspects near Colorado City and called 911, said Colorado State Patrol Trooper Heather Cobler. Sightings of the suspects' vehicle were reported at a campground on Highway 165. Troopers said that when law enforcement reached the campground, the suspects had already left. A short time later, a Pueblo County sheriff's Deputy Robbie Newsome saw the vehicle at a gas station near exit 74 on I-25 near Colorado City. He discreetly followed them until state troopers could join in the chase. A short time later, a Pueblo County sheriff's Deputy Robbie Newsome saw the vehicle at a gas station near exit 74 on I-25 near Colorado City. He discreetly followed them until state troopers could join in the chase. Officials said the suspects fled around 9:30 a.m. when they noticed that CSP troopers trying to stop them. Officials said the suspects fled around 9:30 a.m. when they noticed that CSP troopers trying to stop them. In Walsenburg, an off-duty trooper working at a construction site heard about the chase coming his way and he deployed spiked stop strips across the interstate. In Walsenburg, an off-duty trooper working at a construction site heard about the chase coming his way and he deployed spiked stop strips across the interstate. A tire was punctured on the Doughertys' Subaru, sending it rolling and crashing into a guardrail. A tire was punctured on the Doughertys' Subaru, sending it rolling and crashing into a guardrail. Lee Grace and Dylan were taken into custody immediately, according to the arrest affidavit. Lee Grace and Dylan were taken into custody immediately, according to the arrest affidavit. Ryan ran off and was eventually detained by construction workers working at a nearby site, authorities said. Ryan ran off and was eventually detained by construction workers working at a nearby site, authorities said. Construction Workers Capture One Suspect Three witnesses told a 7NEWS crew that they were working on a construction site near the crash when they noticed a man they believed was the third suspect hiding in some bushes. Two of the men said they chased Ryan on foot for about a quarter-mile before he turned on them and brandished what appeared to be a gun. Three witnesses told a 7NEWS crew that they were working on a construction site near the crash when they noticed a man they believed was the third suspect hiding in some bushes. Two of the men said they chased Ryan on foot for about a quarter-mile before he turned on them and brandished what appeared to be a gun. The witnesses said they dropped to the ground, but soon realized Ryan was simulating a gun with his hands. The witnesses said they dropped to the ground, but soon realized Ryan was simulating a gun with his hands. "He turned around and pointed like he had a gun at us and said, 'You know, get back!'" said witness Shane Zibinski. "So that's when the two of us kind of got down. Then we actually noticed that it was just his hands." "He turned around and pointed like he had a gun at us and said, 'You know, get back!'" said witness Shane Zibinski. "So that's when the two of us kind of got down. Then we actually noticed that it was just his hands." "When we got him down in that creek bed there, we kind of got in a little scuffle with him, getting him down to the ground," said witness Dave Vucetich. "He finally gave up then. We walked him back up to the highway." "When we got him down in that creek bed there, we kind of got in a little scuffle with him, getting him down to the ground," said witness Dave Vucetich. "He finally gave up then. We walked him back up to the highway." They held the suspect until law enforcement arrived. The witnesses said Ryan had injuries to one of his shoulders. They believed he was hurt in the crash -- not from any gunshots. They held the suspect until law enforcement arrived. The witnesses said Ryan had injuries to one of his shoulders. They believed he was hurt in the crash -- not from any gunshots. Dave Dallaguardia said he had no idea he was chasing one of the Dougherty siblings and his wife later scolded him for pursuing him. He said he and his co-workers came from small, blue-collar towns. Dave Dallaguardia said he had no idea he was chasing one of the Dougherty siblings and his wife later scolded him for pursuing him. He said he and his co-workers came from small, blue-collar towns. "If you need to lend a hand, you lend a hand and help people out," Dallaguardia said. "If you need to lend a hand, you lend a hand and help people out," Dallaguardia said. Crime Spree The Dougherty siblings have been on the run since Aug. 2, when police said they fired 20 shots at a Florida police officer attempting to pull over their white Subaru Impreza for speeding. The Dougherty siblings have been on the run since Aug. 2, when police said they fired 20 shots at a Florida police officer attempting to pull over their white Subaru Impreza for speeding. "At first it was like, 'Wow, you know, they're shooting at me.' And then it turned to, 'I just want to catch them before they hurt anybody,'" Zephyrhills, Fla., police officer Kevin Widner said of the confrontation. "At first it was like, 'Wow, you know, they're shooting at me.' And then it turned to, 'I just want to catch them before they hurt anybody,'" Zephyrhills, Fla., police officer Kevin Widner said of the confrontation. Five hours later, the trio, wearing masks, robbed a bank in Valdosta, Ga., police said. One of them fired an AK-47 rifle into the ceiling as they walked through the front door. Another was armed with some type of machine gun, while the third collected the cash, police said. Five hours later, the trio, wearing masks, robbed a bank in Valdosta, Ga., police said. One of them fired an AK-47 rifle into the ceiling as they walked through the front door. Another was armed with some type of machine gun, while the third collected the cash, police said. Ryan, a convicted sex offender, has 14 previous felonies on his record and was accused of sending hundreds of explicit text messages to an 11-year-old girl he had met online. Dylan has arrests for marijuana-possession. Ryan, a convicted sex offender, has 14 previous felonies on his record and was accused of sending hundreds of explicit text messages to an 11-year-old girl he had met online. Dylan has arrests for marijuana-possession. Lee Grace worked as a stripper at a club called Cheaters and had been arrested for five felonies, including battery and hit-and-run, and six misdemeanor offenses. Lee Grace worked as a stripper at a club called Cheaters and had been arrested for five felonies, including battery and hit-and-run, and six misdemeanor offenses. On her On her profile on the photo sharing website Flickr.com , Lee Grace wrote: "I love to farm and shoot guys and wreck cars. I'm a redneck and proud of it. I like milk and German engineering and causing mayhem with my siblings." Dubbed the Dougherty Gang, the two brothers and sister were the subject of a national manhunt, listed on the FBI's Most Wanted List and defined as heavily armed and extremely dangerous. Dubbed the Dougherty Gang, the two brothers and sister were the subject of a national manhunt, listed on the FBI's Most Wanted List and defined as heavily armed and extremely dangerous. "These individuals were armed. They'd fired upon police officers in the state of Florida. We knew we were dealing with some very dangerous individuals," Padilla said. "These individuals were armed. They'd fired upon police officers in the state of Florida. We knew we were dealing with some very dangerous individuals," Padilla said. Authorities are still investigating how the trio got from Georgia to Colorado and where they were going. FBI agent Phil Niedringhaus couldn't say why they came to Colorado other than to say it was "a poor choice." Authorities are still investigating how the trio got from Georgia to Colorado and where they were going. FBI agent Phil Niedringhaus couldn't say why they came to Colorado other than to say it was "a poor choice." Pasco County, Fla., Sheriff Chris Nocco called the siblings "very, very dangerous people" and said their capture was a big relief and a sign that law enforcement has won. Pasco County, Fla., Sheriff Chris Nocco called the siblings "very, very dangerous people" and said their capture was a big relief and a sign that law enforcement has won. Trio's Mother Talks Their mother, Barbara Bell of East Palatka, Fla., spoke briefly Thursday to The Associated Press but declined to discuss their ordeal, saying she didn't think it would help them in the long run. Their mother, Barbara Bell of East Palatka, Fla., spoke briefly Thursday to The Associated Press but declined to discuss their ordeal, saying she didn't think it would help them in the long run. "Thank God they're not tried by the media," she said. "They're tried in a court of law and their story will come out at that time." "Thank God they're not tried by the media," she said. "They're tried in a court of law and their story will come out at that time." Bell hung up the phone shortly after a reporter called, saying she needed to keep the line open for concerned family members to reach her. Bell hung up the phone shortly after a reporter called, saying she needed to keep the line open for concerned family members to reach her. "I'm devastated and I'm trying to be strong for other family members," Bell said. "Throughout all of this, I think everybody just wanted it to stop. And now it's over." "I'm devastated and I'm trying to be strong for other family members," Bell said. "Throughout all of this, I think everybody just wanted it to stop. And now it's over." Which Jurisdiction Will Try Them First? FBI spokesman Dave Joly said it's not clear who would get their first shot at trying the trio. However, there was no word on extradition on Thursday. FBI spokesman Dave Joly said it's not clear who would get their first shot at trying the trio. However, there was no word on extradition on Thursday. The siblings also have no-bond warrants in Georgia and Florida. The siblings also have no-bond warrants in Georgia and Florida. "These three have a big legal mess in front of them, and at some point they'll face charges in all those jurisdictions," said Niedringhaus. "These three have a big legal mess in front of them, and at some point they'll face charges in all those jurisdictions," said Niedringhaus. Pueblo County Prosecutor Bill Thiebaut said his office is pursuing the case. Pueblo County Prosecutor Bill Thiebaut said his office is pursuing the case. "Our community needs a chance in the justice system to remedy that," he said. "Our community needs a chance in the justice system to remedy that," he said. Read about more out-of-state fugitives arrested in Read about more out-of-state fugitives arrested in Colorado over the years.

 Report a typo or inaccuracy Copyright 2011 TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The following are comments from our users. Opinions expressed are neither created nor endorsed by TheDenverChannel.com. By posting a comment you agree to accept our Terms of Use . Comments are moderated by the community. To report an offensive or otherwise inappropriate comment, click the "Flag" link that appears beneath that comment. Comments that are flagged by a set number of users will be automatically removed.

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What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– The female member of the fugitive siblings glorified as the Dougherty Gang doesn't sound too upset she caught a bullet in the thigh: "I pointed the gun at the cop," Lee Grace Dougherty told authorities, according to KMGH in Denver. "I deserved to get shot. The cop said drop the gun." The comments were revealed in court affidavits as she and brothers Ryan and Dylan made their first court appearances by video. They are each being held on $1.25 million bond and will eventually face a long list of charges from their cross-country dash. As for firing at pursuing Colorado troopers with an AK-47: "We weren't trying to hurt anyone, we just wanted them to get back," she told investigators. "They were way back, and we could barely see them. We were getting shot at, then we wrecked." An investigator inserted a note in the file saying police never fired at the car and suggesting that Dougherty confused the sound of the car running over spiked speed sticks with gunfire, notes CNN. She claimed she didn't do the shooting (at least in Colorado) and that Ryan was driving, and "a person can't drive and shoot at the same time." Which means big sis ever so tactfully pointed the finger at Dylan. (Click to read what mom thinks about the whole ordeal.)


– With prosecutors saying President Trump arranged illegal payments during the 2016 campaign, Rep. Adam Schiff adds a thought: "There's a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office, the Justice Department may indict him," he says on CBS' Face the Nation, per Slate. "That he may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time." The Democratic congressman—who's likely the next House Intelligence Committee chairman—says the next president could face a big decision: "The bigger pardon question may come down the road, as the next president has to determine whether to pardon Donald Trump." For more Sunday chatter: Meng Wanzhou: "He did not know," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says on Fox News Sunday about Trump's knowledge of the Huawei CFO's arrest, per the Hill. "Regarding the Huawei prosecution, let me just say that's a law enforcement action, primarily Department of Justice."

Expand this summary.

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) arrives for a Democratic caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center November 14, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

 Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democrat from California who is likely to be the next chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that President Trump could very well face jail time following the latest disclosure that laid out how prosecutors believe he orchestrated illegal payments during his presidential campaign. “There’s a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office, the Justice Department may indict him,” Schiff said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “That he may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time.”

 Schiff noted that while there has long been talk about Trump offering to pardon people to motivate them to keep silent, the real question may be whether the next president will pardon Trump. “We have been discussing the issue of pardons the president may offer to people or dangle in front of people,” Schiff said. “The bigger pardon question may come down the road, as the next president has to determine whether to pardon Donald Trump.”

 .@AdamSchiff on the Russia Investigation: My takeaway is there's a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office the justice department may indict him. That he may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time. pic.twitter.com/3kfwumFkh7 — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) December 9, 2018

 Schiff wasn’t the only Democrat to highlight the seriousness of the allegations that were laid out in Friday’s court filings. Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York said that if the claims that Trump directed his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to make illegal payments to women during the presidential campaign “they would be impeachable offenses.” A different matter though is whether the payments were so important that they justify taking such a strong action. “Whether they’re important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question,” Nadler, who will likely be the next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on CNN. “Certainly, they’re impeachable offenses, because, even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office.” Nadler made sure to emphasize that “you don’t necessarily launch an impeachment against the President because he committed an impeachable offense,” ||||| White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that President Trump Donald John TrumpCorsi sues Mueller for alleged leaks and illegal surveillance Comey: Trump 'certainly close' to being unindicted co-conspirator Trump pushes back on reports that Ayers was first pick for chief of staff MORE did not know of the plan to arrest a top executive of a Chinese tech firm before it happened.

 "He did not know," Kudlow said on "Fox News Sunday," when asked if Trump knew about the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer when he sat down for dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit last weekend.

 Meng Wanzhou was detained on the same day Trump reached a trade truce with Jinping, but news of her arrest did not break until Wednesday.

 It had previously been unclear if Trump knew of Meng's arrest as he discussed a trade deal with the Chinese leader last weekend.

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 National security adviser John Bolton said Thursday that he did not know if Trump knew of Meng's arrest, which threatens to reignite the trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

 A White House spokesman later told The Hill that Trump did not have advance knowledge.

 China has demanded Meng's release. She faces potential extradition to the U.S. for her suspected violation of U.S. trade sanctions on Iran.

 Kudlow added on Sunday that Trump "had no reaction" after he heard of her arrest.

 Fox's Chris Wallace pressed Kudlow, noting that reports have said the president was "livid" that Canada arrested Meng as he worked to reach a trade deal with China.

 "Regarding the Huawei prosecution, let me just say that's a law enforcement action, primarily Department of Justice," Kudlow said. "It is a very important issue because the evidence suggests, at least so far ... that Huawei did break the Iranian sanctions through different financial channels."

 "We will see how that plays out," he added. |||||