Article:

Dannemora

 A violent melee between two factions of inmates broke out in a recreation yard at Clinton Correction Facility five days before two inmates on an "honor block" used tools to cut their way out of the maximum security prison.

 The fight took place June 1 when two groups of inmates — some of whom were Muslim and others who were suspected members of the Bloods gang — began fighting, according to a person briefed on the case.

 Correction officers in two towers overlooking the yard fired canisters of chemical agents into the middle of the fight, which ended in less than a minute, the person said. An inmate suffered a broken leg. Part of the prison was locked down the next day, four days before the escape, but only the yard and two cellblocks were searched, rather than the entire prison, which houses about 3,000 inmates. Five weapons were found during the searches.

 A person close to the case said some correction officers are questioning whether a request to lock down and search the entire facility was rebuffed by Department of Corrections and Community Supervision headquarters in Albany.

 A spokesperson for DOCCS on Tuesday said no information about the operations at the prison is being released while the investigation into the escape, and the search for the escaped inmates, continues.

 The two inmates, Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, used a small electrical saw, powered by extension cords, and a sledgehammer to cut and pound their way to freedom from inside the prison not far from the Canadian border.

 A law enforcement source briefed on the case said State Police investigators are probing whether the inmates may have received the small hand-held saw and other tools from a female civilian employee who had developed a relationship with Matt. The items would have been smuggled into the prison.

 Employees at state prisons are not required to pass through metal detectors when they enter the facilities, although bags and purses are supposed to be searched. There is a size limit on the bags that employees carry into the facilities, but it is rarely enforced, according to an official with the state DOCCS.

 Matt and Sweat used the saw and hand-held blades to cut holes through metal walls in the back of their adjacent cells on an "honor block" tier. The holes they cut led to a cavernous utility bowel inside the prison where the men spliced an electrical cord into a light fixture to power the saw they then used to cut a large hole in a 24-inch steam pipe that led to a sewer outside the prison, said the source, who is not authorized to comment publicly on the case. They cut their way into the pipe because climbing through it was the only way to get past the outer prison wall, the source said.

 As a massive manhunt continues in the heavily forested areas around the prison in Dannemora, the investigation has zeroed in on a female employee who worked for several years in a prison tailor shop with Matt and Sweat. Published reports said investigators have visited the woman's home. A person close to the case said investigators are also examining whether the employee or someone else may have given Matt access to a cellphone. Correction officers briefed on the case said police believe the escapees had arranged with someone to pick them up a block from the prison, but that their alleged accomplice backed out.

 When they climbed out of a sewer hole near the prison around midnight Friday, they were on foot and the initial search focused on a tight radius in the area of the prison.

 More Information

 Prison employees, including correction officers, support staff and administrators, are prohibited from having personal relationships with inmates.

 The manhole covers are locked from the inside to prevent them from being stolen. But the person briefed on the case said the inmates apparently used a 20-pound sledgehammer to break the cover's lock. It's unclear how they obtained the sledgehammer. The men carried their tools into the bowels of the prison in a guitar case that they kept in one of their cells. Two witnesses reported seeing two men in the back yard of a house just after midnight Friday, including one who was carrying a guitar case. The men were discovered missing from their cells at 5:30 a.m. Saturday.

 Being on an honor block gave the inmates more liberties, including the ability to cook and visit other inmates' cells at times.

 The looser restrictions on the honor block tier may have been a factor in their meticulous escape plan. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who visited the prison Saturday, questioned how other inmates on the tier could not have heard the sawing, suggesting sarcastically they must be "heavy sleepers."

 Matt and Sweat, both of whom were convicted of murder, had piled clothing and other items under their bed linens to make it appear they were sleeping, state officials said.

 The FBI is assisting in the search, and a law enforcement source said authorities believe the men, with their escape plan altered, could still be within a five- or 10-mile radius of the prison. The inmates' assignment on the honor block allowed them to wear and keep regular clothing other than their prison uniforms. The person briefed on the case said the green prison uniforms were found left behind.

 blyons@timesunion.com • 518-454-5547 • @blyonswriter ||||| The only son of convicted murderer and prison escapee Richard W. Matt finds it hard to believe authorities failed to take greater precautions in making sure his father remained behind bars.

 “You know he has escaped before. He has a genius IQ. I can’t believe they let this happen,” said 23-year-old Nicholas Harris, who recalled his father bragging to him and his mother about how he had attempted to escape from a Mexican prison and ended up being shot.

 “He said he made it up to the roof of the prison and got shot in the shoulder. He pulled down his shirt and showed us the bullet wound. This guy has bullet holes on his body. He’s been shot like nine times. It’s like they can’t kill him. He showed me the scars on his forearms from another time he escaped,” Harris said Monday during an interview outside his family’s Southtowns residence, where he cares for his disabled mother.

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 Photo gallery: Where WNY’s notorious criminals are locked up

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 As a frantic, nationwide manhunt was underway Monday after Matt and convicted cop killer David P. Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in the Adirondacks, Harris said he hopes the father that he knows just well enough to be afraid of does not make his way to this end of New York State.

 Harris says the family stories about his father, who also has a daughter, are frightening.

 “My father broke into my mother’s house in Tonawanda and beat her,” Harris said. “I was an infant when it happened.”

 Police records substantiate that attack.

 Matt, according to his son, seemed doomed from the start to be on the wrong side of the law.

 “He was left as an infant in a car. Everybody is born innocent, but he was raised around crime. Then he went into foster care,” Harris said.

 A Buffalo police source said that Matt’s father was frequently arrested decades ago in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood.

 “I arrested him at different times and I can tell you the father was a piece of garbage,” the police source said.

 In the City of Tonawanda, where Matt and his older brother, Robert, ended up being raised in foster care, a resident on the block where they lived also said that Matt’s father was often in trouble with the law and that was why the boys ended up in foster care placement.

 Matt’s brother and father are deceased, Harris and acquaintances of the family said.

 As for Harris’ early recollections of his father, he says they are vague. Richard Matt was in and out of prison. But Harris says he has clear memories of meeting his father several years ago at the Niagara County Jail in Lockport.

 “He makes an impression that lingers with you,” said Harris, who is on a leave of absence from college to care for his mother. “My father has always wanted to have a relationship with me.”

 And so after Matt was brought back here in 2007 from Mexico, where he had been arrested years earlier and jailed without a trial for killing a man in a barroom fight, Harris visited his father. That’s when Matt regaled his then-teenage son with the story of his attempted Mexican jailbreak, Harris said.

 Harris also got a look at the scars on his father’s forearms from a 1986 escape at the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden.

 Showing an old snapshot of his father to a Buffalo News reporter, Harris pointed to a forearm in the photograph and said, “Look, you can see the scars.”

 Matt had scaled a correctional facility wall and a gate topped with razor wire, slicing up his arms, for what amounted to five days of freedom before he was caught in his brother’s City of Tonawanda apartment.

 During the jailhouse meeting with his father, Harris said Matt appeared “weighed down” from years of being in and out of jail. And there was no end in sight to Matt’s incarceration. A Niagara County jury in 2008 convicted him of abducting, beating, torturing, murdering and dismembering William L. Rickerson, 76, in December 1997. Matt had avoided a criminal trial at that time by fleeing to Mexico, only to be arrested there in 1998 for the fatal barroom fight.

 Harris said that although he wrote a letter to his father after their only visit, he decided that a relationship was not for him.

 “I was raised by a stepfather,” he said. “I was mature enough at that age to know I already had a father figure. I decided a relationship would not be healthy.”

 But not everything Harris knows about his biological father, four years younger than his mother, troubles him. Perhaps the only time the young, dark-haired man with an uncanny resemblance to Matt smiled was in telling how Matt romantically pursued his mother, Vee Marie Harris.

 “My mother grew up in Tonawanda and knew him from when he was a kid. He had a crush on my mother and would say to her, ‘If I were older, would you be my girl?’ ” Harris said. “He’d lower his head and kick his foot against the ground when he asked. She would tell him he was so young. But then she met him later when he was in his 20s and he was a good-looking guy. They started dating and she got pregnant with me.”

 Harris says he learned of his father’s escape from the state prison over the weekend when a large contingent of New York State Police and Homeland Security officials arrived at his family’s home in Angola.

 Matt, 49, and Sweat, 35, convicted of killing a Broome County sheriff’s deputy in 2002, were reportedly last seen in the maximum security prison, situated not far from the Canadian border, at 10:30 p.m. Friday. They were unaccounted for during a 5:30 a.m. bed check on Saturday. Authorities determined that the two inmates, who were in the honor section of the prison, had used power tools to cut through steel pipes to make their escape.

 State police, Harris said, asked him and his 53-year-old mother to contact them if they learn anything about Matt’s whereabouts.

 “I couldn’t believe it when the State Police and Homeland Security showed up. I thought I had done something wrong and they were coming for me,” Harris said of his initial shock at having so many members of law enforcement at his home.

 Throughout the weekend, Harris said, he watched television footage of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo checking the escape route his father and Sweat took inside Clinton Correctional Facility.

 “I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

 Harris said he has no idea what his father’s intentions are, but points out that his mother is ill and does not need any more heartache.

 And while he doubts his father would surrender, Harris said, “I’m hoping for the best outcome for everyone involved.”

 There is a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Matt and Sweat. And as of late Monday, State Police continued to remind the public that the two men are “very dangerous individuals” and any suspicious activity should be reported to 911 or (518) 563-3761.

 email: lmichel@buffnews.com ||||| The search for two convicted murderers who broke out of prison brought investigators Tuesday to a tiny town in upstate New York after a local resident reported seeing two men walking along a country road late Monday night.

 “A report was called in by a citizen of two suspicious men walking down a very rural road in the southern part of our town in the middle of a driving rainstorm,” Shaun Gillilland, the town supervisor in... |||||
What is a summary?

– Authorities are swarming the small upstate New York town of Willsboro to find the two convicted killers who escaped from prison last week, reports the Wall Street Journal. A motorist spotted two men walking on a "very rural" road last night, and they took off into the fields when he stopped, say police. Willsboro is about 35 miles from where Richard Matt and David Sweat busted out of the Clinton Correctional Facility. More details are filling in on the great escape, too. The leading theory is that a female employee of the prison who worked with the two men in its tailor shop smuggled in a small electrical saw and perhaps other tools such as a sledgehammer, reports the Albany Times Union. The woman also may have provided access to a cell phone after striking up a relationship with Matt. The men reportedly used the saw to cut holes in the metal walls of their cells, and the holes "led to a cavernous utility bowel inside the prison where the men spliced an electrical cord into a light fixture to power the saw they then used to cut a large hole in a 24-inch steam pipe that led to a sewer outside the prison," the Albany paper reports. The final barrier to freedom was a lock on the inside of a manhole cover, which they bashed with a sledgehammer. Authorities say the woman or someone else might have had second thoughts and scrapped a plan to pick them up Friday night. This is Matt's third escape attempt, his son tells the Buffalo News. The first was from a prison near Buffalo in 1986 (he climbed a wall and remained free for five days) and the second was in 1997 after he got captured in Mexico. “He said he made it up to the roof of the prison and got shot in the shoulder," says his son, who adds that his father has a "genius IQ."


Summarize this article:

 New Living Translation << Hebrews 12 >> New Living Translation

 God’s Discipline Proves His Love

 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

 5And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

 “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,

 and don’t give up when he corrects you.

 6For the Lord disciplines those he loves,

 and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

 7As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

 10For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

 12So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

 A Call to Listen to God

 14Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

 18You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.”

 22No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

 25Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

 28Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. 29For our God is a devouring fire. ||||| Church's 'Strip For Me' billboard draws attention Posted: Monday, March 25, 2013 10:50 PM EDT Updated: Monday, April 1, 2013 10:50 PM EDT

 The Rock Church says its unusual billboard is serving its purpose, grabbing people's attention and making patrons of a local strip club think twice about how they spend their money.

 Their sign quotes Jesus from Hebrews, saying simply, "Strip for me." The message: Instead of spending money in a strip club, spend it in a way that will better your family and yourself.

 Even more powerful is the location of the sign, which can be seen just behind The Palace Gentlemen's Club sign on 3rd Avenue West in downtown Birmingham.

 Pastor Mike McClure, Jr. expected some negativity in response to the billboard but he doesn't mind. He says his church is out to change lives of Magic City men.

 "We stratigically picked the strip club because we want the brothers who are walking in...to know God has a greater cause for your life," he said.

 McClure says the religious message is clear in the scripture on the billboard.

 "The scripture says...slows down, maybe your life is slow because of stuff you need to strip off. When you begin to strip watch how fast your life goes," he said.

 McClure wants to hold men accountable and encourage them to stay out of strip clubs and spend more time being good fathers and family members. He says the big picture is making Birmingham better.

 "It all starts with a good man in the house. I'm trying to get brothers to put that money back into your home. Go home, raise your kids. I promise you, crime will go down," McClure said.

 One resident thought the billboard was inappropriate and others thought it was acutally an ad for the club. But one woman thinks it's a creative way to get people to think.

 "Anything to make them stop and think, "Hey, my decisions aren't that great,' I think that's a good think," Caitlin Bensel said.

 Copyright 2013 WBRC. All rights reserved.

  |||||

– A billboard near a "gentlemen's club" in Birmingham screams out "strip for me" to passersby, which is notable mainly because it was put up not by the club but by a local church, reports WBRC. The pastor of Rock Church is paraphrasing a line from the Bible's book of Hebrews I, in which people are asked to strip away their sins and encumbrances to serve Jesus. The pastor says his attention-grabbing stunt has a simple purpose: He wants guys to think twice about going into the club and spend that time with their families instead.


News article:

 Up to about half of the water on our planet is older than the sun, according to a paper published on Thursday in the journal Science.

 While you next take a sip, ponder this, too: the fact that Earth’s water is so old bodes well for our hunt for wet environments — and, for life — elsewhere in the universe.

 Life on Earth owes everything to the presence of liquid water here, but, even so, scientists don’t have definitive answers for how or when the water got here — or, for that matter, when the water itself was formed.

 The new research seeks to answer that last question: Was our water made before the sun existed, brewed in the same cloud of dust from which the sun would form? Or did water come later, forming as the Earth also formed?

 As the Washington Post explains, during the sun’s birth a band of unused space dust gathered like skirt hems around it. Such material, called the protoplanetary disk, would go on to form the solar system’s planets.

 Scientists know that water accompanied the sun’s birth but wondered if it might have been destroyed in the process of the sun’s formation, leaving Earth to go it alone in stirring up its own water.

 To find out if the water from that dust cloud made it to Earth, researchers measured the ratio of deuterium, or heavy hydrogen to hydrogen. The findings show that heavy hydrogen levels on Earth are higher than they would have been in the protoplanetary disk. That means that some of our water must predate the sun, when heavy hydrogen was in abundance.

 So, if water can survive a star’s birthing process, and if other solar systems in the universe formed much like ours did, that means that water might be a common ingredient in the making of other planets far from our own.

 “By identifying the ancient heritage of Earth’s water, we can see that the way in which our solar system was formed will not be unique, and that exoplanets will form in environments with abundant water,” said Tim Harries, a professor at the University of Exeter’s Physics and Astronomy Department, in England, and an author of the paper, in a statement.

 “Consequently,” he said, “it raises the possibility that some exoplanets could house the right conditions, and water resources, for life to evolve.”

 Last spring, scientists announced that there could be up to 11 billion exoplanets — planets outside or solar system — that are at just the right distance from their stars to have liquid water, and, perhaps, life as well. ||||| Water with a high deuterium content can only form under specific conditions. The environment needs to be very cold, and there needs to be enough energy to power the reaction that binds hydrogen, deuterium and oxygen. Over the past several decades, researchers have come up with two possible — and competing — explanations of how this heavy water took up residence in our solar system. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– If you live and die by food and beverage expiration dates, you might not want to know how old some of our drinking water is. A study finds that 30% to 50% of the water found in our taps and oceans contains molecules created more than 4.5 billion years ago—making them older than our solar system and the sun, the Los Angeles Times reports. The findings from the study, published in Science, indicate that certain water molecules contain a deuterium atom instead of a hydrogen atom (making what's called "heavy water"), which could only be created under very cold, energy-replete conditions—specific conditions that didn't exist before the Earth, sun, and solar system were formed. Earth was actually "born dry," in an extremely hot environment, according to the Times. Scientists believe we eventually received water via comets or asteroids that crashed down on Earth's surface. Figuring out where the water in the comets and asteroids came from, however, is another story, though researchers think they've narrowed it down to two possibilities: that the heavy deuterium water was dispersed among bodies in the solar system during the "violent" process of our sun's birth, or that the heavy water originated from ice found in the gas cloud from which our sun and solar system were born. Either way, researchers say this could indicate that young planets all around the universe contain water: According to scientists, there are up to 11 billion planets outside our own system that could house liquid water and, possibly, life, notes Time. (The amount of water found on Mars surprised scientists around the world.)


Article:
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh declared fervently at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday the court "must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution." But that was at the end of a marathon day marked by rancorous exchanges between Democrats and Republicans, including dire Democratic fears that he would be President Donald Trump's advocate on the high court.

 The week of hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination began with a sense of inevitability that the 53-year-old appellate judge eventually will be confirmed, perhaps in time for the first day of the new term, Oct. 1, and little more than a month before congressional elections.

 However, the first of at least four days of hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee began with partisan quarreling over the nomination and persistent protests from members of the audience, followed by their arrests.

 Strong Democratic opposition to Trump's nominee reflects the political stakes for both parties in advance of the November elections, Robert Mueller's investigation of Trump's 2016 campaign and the potentially pivotal role Kavanaugh could play in moving the court to the right.

 Democrats, including several senators poised for 2020 presidential bids, tried to block the proceedings in a dispute over Kavanaugh records withheld by the White House. Republicans in turn accused the Democrats of turning the hearing into a circus.

 Trump jumped into the fray late in the day, saying on Twitter that Democrats were "looking to inflict pain and embarrassment" on Kavanaugh.

 The president's comment followed the statements of Democratic senators who warned that Trump was, in the words of Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, "selecting a justice on the Supreme Court who potentially will cast a decisive vote in his own case."

 In Kavanaugh's own statement at the end of more than seven hours of arguing, the federal appeals judge spoke repeatedly about the importance of an independent judiciary and the need to keep the court above partisan politics, common refrains among Supreme Court nominees that had added salience in the fraught political atmosphere of the moment.

 With his wife, two children and parents sitting behind him, Kavanaugh called himself a judge with a straightforward judicial philosophy.

 "A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. A judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent," he said.

 Kavanaugh also promised to be "a team player on the Team of Nine."

 The Supreme Court is often thought of as nine separate judges, rather than a team. And on the most contentious cases, the court tends to split into conservative and liberal sides. But justices often do say they seek consensus, and they like to focus on how frequently they reach unanimous decisions.

 Barring a major surprise over the next two days of questioning, the committee is expected to vote along party lines to send Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate.

 Majority Republicans can confirm Kavanaugh without any Democratic votes, though they'll have little margin for error.

 "There are battles worth fighting, regardless of the outcome," Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said in an unsparing opening statement that criticized Kavanaugh's judicial opinions and the Senate process that Democrats said had deprived them of access to records of important chunks of Kavanaugh's time as an aide to President George W. Bush.

 Democrats raised objections from the moment Chairman Chuck Grassley gaveled the committee to order. One by one, Democrats, including Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, all potential presidential contenders, demanded that Republicans delay the hearing. They railed against the unusual vetting process by Republicans that failed to include documents from three years Kavanaugh worked in the Bush administration, and 100,000 more pages withheld by the Trump White House. Some 42,000 pages were released on the evening before of the hearing.

 "We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman, with this hearing," said Harris at the top of proceedings. Grassley disagreed.

 As protesters repeatedly interrupted the session, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who is fighting for his own re-election in Texas, apologized to Kavanaugh for the spectacle he said had less to do about the judge's legal record than Trump in the White House.

 "It is about politics," said Cruz. "It is about Democratic senators re-litigating the 2016 election."

 The Republicans' slim majority in the Senate was bolstered during the hearing by the announcement from Arizona that Gov. Doug Ducey was appointing Jon Kyl, the former senator, to fill the seat held by the late Sen. John McCain. When Kyl is sworn in, Republicans will hold 51 of the 100 seats.

 Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are the only two Republicans even remotely open to voting against Kavanaugh, though neither has said she would do so. Abortion rights supporters are trying to appeal to those senators, who both favor abortion access.

 Kavanaugh sat silently and impassively for most of the day, occasionally sipping water and taking notes on senators' points. Besides his family, he was accompanied by outgoing White House Counsel Don McGahn and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

 Several dozen protesters, shouting one by one, disrupted the hearing at several points and were removed by police. "This is a mockery and a travesty of justice," shouted one woman. "Cancel Brett Kavanaugh!" Others shouted against the president or to protect abortion access. "Senators, we need to stop this," called out one.

 As patience thinned and tempers flared, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, denounced what he called the "mob rule." Struggling to speak over protesters, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said: "These people are so out of line they shouldn't be in the doggone room."

 But Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Kavanaugh the opposition being shown at the hearing reflected the concern many Americans have over Trump's "contempt of the rule of law" and the judge's own expansive views on executive power.

 "It's that president who's decided you are his man," Durbin said. "Are people nervous about this concerned about this? Of course they are."

 The panel's top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, described the hearing's "very unique circumstances."

 "Not only is the country deeply divided politically, we also find ourselves with a president who faces his own serious problems," she said referring to investigations surrounding Trump. "So it's this backdrop that this nominee comes into." ||||| CSPAN Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh

 Here are excerpts of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s prepared opening remarks for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as released by the White House.

 Also see: Day 1 of Kavanaugh nomination hearing — live video and updates.

 Over the past eight weeks, I have witnessed first-hand the Senate’s deep appreciation for the vital role of the American Judiciary.

 At the White House on the night of the announcement, the President and Mrs. Trump were very gracious to my daughters, my wife, and my parents. My family will always cherish that night.

 To me, Justice Kennedy is a mentor, a friend, and a hero. As a Member of the Court, he was a model of civility and collegiality. He fiercely defended the independence of the Judiciary. And he was a champion of liberty.

 A good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy. … I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.

 I have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, Merrick Garland.

 If confirmed to the Court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the Team of Nine. ||||| Follow Day 2 of the Kavanaugh hearing here: Trump’s Supreme Court nominee faces Senate grilling

 The confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh launched Tuesday as a bitter political brawl, with loud objections from Democratic senators, the arrests of dozens of protesters and questions even from some Republicans about how Kavanaugh would separate himself from President Trump, the man who chose him.

 But GOP senators mostly calmly defended Kavanaugh from what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) called the Shakespearean nature of the hearing — “sound and fury, signifying nothing” — confident that there were no defections from the solid Republican support Kavanaugh needs to be confirmed as the Supreme Court’s 114th justice.

 The 53-year-old judge, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, sat impassively for nearly seven hours of senators’ statements before speaking for less than 20 minutes. Senators plan to begin questioning him Wednesday morning.

 “The Supreme Court must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution,” Kavanaugh said. “The justices on the Supreme Court do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. They do not caucus in separate rooms. If confirmed to the court, I would be part of a team of nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the team of nine.”

 No such conciliation was apparent on the Senate Judiciary Committee — or from the White House.

 [The story behind the withheld documents of the Kavanaugh hearing]

 “The Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the future Justice of the Supreme Court are truly a display of how mean, angry, and despicable the other side is,” Trump tweeted. “They will say anything, and are only looking to inflict pain and embarrassment to one of the most highly renowned jurists to ever appear before Congress. So sad to see!”

 The chairman’s opening remarks were delayed for nearly an hour and a half as Democratic senators sought to cut off the hearings, raising an uproar over a last-minute document dump sent to the Judiciary Committee late Monday encompassing more than 42,000 pages from the nominee’s tenure in the George W. Bush White House.

 Democrats questioned Kavanaugh’s judicial philosophy and even his honesty. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who has said he feels he was misled by the judge at his previous confirmation hearing for the lower court, pointedly told Kavanaugh he would question him about that “when you are under oath.”

 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) referred to the Republican-appointed conservatives on the court headed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. as the “Roberts Five” and said the justices were always looking for ways to benefit the “big fundraisers and influencers of the Republican Party.”

 Cruz said his Democratic colleagues were trying to re-litigate the results of the 2016 election. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who noted that he had voted for President Barack Obama’s nominees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, was equally blunt.

 “You had a chance and you lost,” Graham told Democrats. “You can’t lose the election and want to pick judges.”

 [Hours before Kavanaugh hearings, Bush lawyer releases 42,000 pages of documents]

 Barring any major last-minute surprises, Kavanaugh appears to be on track to be confirmed by the end of the month. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said a committee vote is likely to occur Sept. 20.

 That would allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to tee up votes on the floor confirming Kavanaugh during the last week of September. The Supreme Court’s new term begins Oct. 1.

 But Tuesday’s opening session indicated that the public fight over his nomination will be intense.

 It was, Grassley said later, “a bad start.” Democratic senators repeatedly interrupted Grassley over the document issue, and by the end of the day more than 70 protesters had been arrested. Their theme: The Republicans are hiding something by withholding information.

 “This is the most incomplete, most partisan, least transparent vetting for any Supreme Court nominee I have ever seen,” said Leahy. “And I have seen more of those than any person serving in the Senate today.”

 Another focus was Trump himself, who has frequently leveled attacks against the judiciary and law enforcement.

 Two Republican senators — Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) — praised Kavanaugh personally and professionally, but raised questions about Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department and how Kavanaugh would handle cases involving presidential power.

 In a tweet Monday, Trump criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the recent indictments of two Republican members of Congress on corruption charges and for the timing, so close to the House midterm elections.

 “That is why a lot of people are concerned about this administration and why they want to ensure that our institutions hold,” Flake said. He added that “many of the questions you will get on the other side of the aisle and from me” will center on separation of powers.

 The protesters, who were predominantly women, repeatedly heckled the senators and Kavanaugh, arguing that installing Trump’s second pick to the Supreme Court would irreparably end access to abortion and dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

 Democrats have charged that documents on Kavanaugh’s career have been withheld without justification, particularly those from his tenure as a Bush staffer. Senators have reviewed nearly 200,000 pages that cannot be disclosed to the public, and the Trump administration is withholding an additional 100,000 pages from Congress, claiming that those documents are covered by presidential privilege.

 Kavanaugh, appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by Bush, served the president in the White House Counsel’s Office from 2001 to 2003 and as staff secretary from 2003 to 2006.

 Tuesday’s proceedings brought to the surface years of anger over judicial nominees. Democrats invoked the name of Merrick Garland, who was nominated by Obama in 2016 to fill the Supreme Court seat formerly held by the late justice Antonin Scalia and who was denied a hearing by Senate Republicans.

 In his remarks, Kavanaugh praised Garland, the chief judge on the appeals court on which they both serve, as “superb” — a line likely to further rile Democrats.

 Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said the Democrats’ behavior would lead them to be “held in contempt of court,” prompting a chorus of quiet boos and “Oh come on” that echoed throughout the hearing room. He later said the hearing had turned into “mob rule.”

 When it was his turn, Kavanaugh told senators that he would be “a neutral and impartial arbiter” if confirmed.

 “I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences,” Kavanaugh said. “I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.”

 Throughout his remarks, Kavanaugh noted his appreciation for the strides that women and girls have made professionally and in sports. Kavanaugh’s critics have said his elevation to the Supreme Court would be detrimental to women’s reproductive rights and health-care options, and his emphasis on the strong women in his life seemed designed to counter those concerns.

 He talked about his record as a judge of hiring female law clerks and at length about coaching his daughters’ basketball teams, listing by name each player and noting the real-world impact of Title IX.

 “I see that law’s legacy every night when I walk into my house as my daughters are getting back from lacrosse, or basketball, or hockey practice,” he said.

 In a preview of the tough questions Kavanaugh will face Wednesday, Democratic senators said they would press the judge on his views about abortion, gun control and executive power.

 Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) addressed Kavanaugh about abortion. The question, she said, is not whether he believes that the landmark Roe v. Wade decision is “settled law,” as he has told other senators, but “whether you believe it is the correct law.”

 Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said he would resurrect a controversy from Kavanaugh’s 2006 confirmation battle over whether he was involved in developing Bush-era policy on the treatment of terrorism suspects. Kavanaugh worked as a White House associate counsel at the time that Bush developed his policy, laid out in what became known as the “torture memo.”

 As a nominee for the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh testified that he was “not involved.”

 Later, Kavanaugh’s denial came into question when The Washington Post revealed that he had participated in a White House Counsel’s Office meeting in which he was asked his opinion about how Kennedy — for whom he had clerked — was likely to view the matter.

 In response, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) defended Kavanaugh and said the suggestion that the judge had “misled this committee in any way is absurd.” ||||| Things were charged enough that at one point Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) accused his Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee of degrading the hearing to “mob rule.” Cornyn was rebuffed shortly after by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who disagreed with the assessment and noted that if mob rule had indeed prevailed, ultimate blame would lie with the chairman. ||||| Tweet with a location

 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201809/3444/1155968404_5830669495001_5830646952001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Democrats create chaos at Kavanaugh hearing Chuck Schumer helped coordinate the Democrats' strategy, but Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley refused to hold a vote on adjournment.

 Democrats sought to take control of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday, mounting a failed bid to delay President Donald Trump's nominee and interrupting Republicans dozens of times as multiple activists on the left disrupted the proceedings.

 The volley of Democratic interjections began after Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) attempted to open the high-stakes four-day hearing. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) helped coordinate that strategy despite not serving on the Judiciary panel, convening a call with the committee's minority members over the weekend, according to a source familiar with the planning.

 Story Continued Below

 Grassley, attempting to speak over Democrats as they sought a vote on a motion to adjourn the hearing, acknowledged that "maybe it’s not going exactly the way that the minority would like to have it go." One after another, Democrats repeatedly interrupted Grassley in the opening minutes, breaking into their protests to allow Kavanaugh to speak before resuming their push to stop the process until they can examine more records.

 But the display of disruption, galvanizing as it was to Kavanaugh’s liberal critics, ultimately did little but delay a day of partisan jockeying that closed, more than seven hours later, with the nominee telling senators that “I do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences.”

 Grassley said at the end of the hearing that he’s preparing to schedule a committee vote on Kavanaugh for Sept. 13, paving the way for a final floor vote on confirmation before the new Supreme Court term opens next month. Democrats are expected to exercise their procedural right to delay that by a week, at a minimum.

 Senators got more than 42,000 pages of documents late Monday night on a "committee confidential" basis, a designation that prevents their public release and likely stops Democrats from citing them during the hearing. Even before that latest release, however, Democrats already had begun discussing the protest they would mount Tuesday.

 The move appeared to get under the skin of some in the GOP. After repeated interruptions from anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who were escorted from the hearing room by police, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) suggested that Democrats would be held in "contempt of court" — drawing quick pushback from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — and likened the moment to “mob rule.”

 Grassley flatly ruled out Democrats’ repeated calls for an adjournment vote, but the fireworks at the start of the hearing already had set the tone for a raucous week to come. The White House sent a tally of the number of times each Democrat had interrupted Grassley during the first hour of the hearing, for a total of 44 interjections.

 Kavanaugh is expected to ultimately be confirmed, with the Senate headed toward a return to 51-49 GOP control following the selection Tuesday of former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) — who guided Trump’s nominee through the confirmation gantlet — to replace the late Sen. John McCain. But Democratic senators are still readying an intense volley of questions for the 53-year-old appeals court judge, focusing on his stance toward an ongoing challenge to Obamacare, the future of Roe v. Wade and his already-expressed skepticism about criminal investigations of sitting presidents.

 Democrats have offered few indications that they're prepared to attempt a formal boycott of the Judiciary hearing to channel their ire over the withholding of hundreds of thousands of pages of Kavanaugh-related documents from public release.

 "We will attend the meetings. We will question assiduously. But we want to express our concerns,” the panel’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, told reporters alongside her fellow minority-party members at a gathering on the Supreme Court steps early Tuesday.

 Republicans have touted the release of more than 290,000 pages of records from Kavanaugh's time in George W. Bush's White House counsel's office, noting that the volume of public disclosure has dwarfed that for previous Supreme Court picks. But Democrats have been infuriated by the GOP’s omission of any document requests governing Kavanaugh’s time as staff secretary to then-President Bush, tension that was stoked last week when the Trump administration cited executive privilege to shield more than 100,000 pages of records, angering the minority.

 After Democrats’ interruptions cooled, Kavanaugh focused his opening statement on his family and friends as well as the support he’s provided to others as a constitutional law professor and volunteer. The judge, who also played a prominent role in drafting the Starr Report on former President Bill Clinton, described himself as “especially grateful to the dean who first hired me” at Harvard Law School — Democratic-tapped Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

 Trump’s nominee described himself as a player on the high court's “Team of Nine” and a “neutral and impartial arbiter,” if he wins confirmation in the coming weeks.

 Liberal activists mounted their own show of force against Kavanaugh throughout Tuesday, the first of four days that are expected to stretch to marathon length. Women dressed in the red-and-white garb made famous by the dystopian novel "The Handmaid's Tale" gathered outside the hearing room, demonstrating against Kavanaugh's potential to rule against abortion rights.

 Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was among several committee members in both parties acknowledging the difficulty of speaking over the demonstrators, saying that “we ought to have this loudmouth removed” after a woman cried out about protecting pre-existing conditions.

 Capitol Police charged 61 protesters with disorderly conduct, a spokeswoman said. An additional nine were charged with obstruction or "crowding."

 Kavanaugh notably name-checked Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama's pick for the Supreme Court who was stonewalled by Republican senators ahead of the 2016 election. Garland is currently a colleague of Kavanaugh's on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

 "I have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, Merrick Garland," Kavanaugh said. That gesture was bound to fall on deaf ears with Democrats who view the entire confirmation process as unnecessarily hurried to get Trump a second seat on the high court in two years.

 “When Justice [Antonin] Scalia died, Republicans refused to even meet — even a meeting in their office — with President Obama’s nominee and held the seat open for one year,” Feinstein said in her opening statement. “Now, with a Republican in the White House, they’ve changed their position.”

 While Democrats recognize their limited power to stop Kavanaugh's nomination, they're still using the confirmation process to score political points, especially given the stakes. Kavanaugh would likely bend the court significantly to the right, given that he's replacing retired justice Anthony Kennedy, who long served as a swing vote.

  ||||| The start of Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh erupted in chaos as Democrats demanded an adjournment and protesters interrupted with repeated shouts and were dragged out by police.

 As Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) began his opening statements, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) interrupted to ask that the hearing be postponed so senators could review 42,000 pages of documents about Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush White House that were dumped late Monday.

 “We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman,” Harris insisted.

 “You are out of order,” Grassley responded.

 The Democrats’ objections were greeted by applause from activists in the audience, while some rose to scream objections to Kavanaugh.

 They were removed by police, one at a time.

 “This is the first confirmation hearing for a Supreme Court justice I’ve seen [subject] to mob rule,” fumed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

 According to Capitol Police, 61 individuals were arrested inside the hearing and nine outside.

 Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) criticized Democrats who have 2020 presidential aspirations for grandstanding for the cameras.

 “They want that coveted TV clip. Frankly, I wish we could drop all that nonsense,” he said.

 In the morning, Kavanaugh introduces wife Ashley and daughters Liza and Margaret.

 But later, as the protests heated up, Kavanaugh’s daughters were escorted out, according to Fox News.

 “I’m sorry your daughters had to endure the political circus of this morning,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

 The kids returned later to hear former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Lisa Blatt, a liberal Democrat and appellate lawyer, argue for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

 Kavanaugh finally got a chance to address the committee seven hours after the hearing began.

 “A good judge must be an umpire, a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy,” he said.

 “In our independent Judiciary, the Supreme Court is the last line of defense for the separation of powers, and the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.

 “The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution … If confirmed to the court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States. I would always strive to be a team player on the Team of Nine.”

 Democrats delivered long monologues complaining about a lack of transparency and raising concerns that Kavanaugh would roll back abortion rights, gun control and shield President Trump from criminal prosecution.

 As Kavanaugh spoke, Trump took to Twitter to denounce the Democrats trying to block his nominee.

 “The Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the future Justice of the Supreme Court are truly a display of how mean, angry, and despicable the other side is. They will say anything, and are only looking to inflict pain and embarrassment to one of the most highly renowned jurists to ever appear before Congress. So sad to see!” he wrote. ||||| Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill... (Associated Press)

 Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (Associated Press)

 Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (Associated Press) Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, pause as protesters disrupt the confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, on Capitol Hill... (Associated Press)

 WASHINGTON (AP) — Spoiling for a fight, some Democratic senators weighing 2020 presidential campaigns seized upon the opening moments of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday in a show of force aimed at countering President Donald Trump.

 One by one, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey, demanded that Republicans delay Kavanaugh's hearing after a last-minute release of more than 40,000 pages of documents and the withholding of more than 100,000 more.

 The Democrats' coordinated showdown with the committee's chairman, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, served as a theatrical preview of what is expected to be a wild, unpredictable 2020 campaign against Trump, who has stoked outrage among Democratic activists and is expected to fuel an unusually large field of challengers.

 The hearing showed the degree to which the Senate could be the testing ground of resistance among Democrats who are prepared to fight the Republican president's agenda in a field without an obvious front-runner. And it harkened back to how Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democratic senators battled President George W. Bush's administration before launching presidential bids of their own in the 2008 contest.

 Grassley hadn't even introduced Kavanaugh by name when Harris interjected, objecting to the late Monday night release of Kavanaugh's documents. Harris has created a number of viral moments with her tough questioning of witnesses during her first term and quickly noted lawmakers hadn't had a chance to "review or read or analyze" the papers.

 "You're out of order. I'll proceed," Grassley responded, banging his gavel.

 Said Harris: "We cannot possibly move forward, Mr. Chairman, with this hearing."

 As Grassley tried to introduce Kavanaugh, Klobuchar called for the hearing to be postponed as the two senators attempted to talk over each other. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., jumped in, asking that the hearing be adjourned, prompting loud cheers and applause in the room.

 Kavanaugh, a veteran judge and a former aide to Bush, sat silently as the spectacle unfolded.

 Booker then appealed to Grassley's "sense of decency and integrity," pushing for more transparency in the hearing.

 "We are rushing through this process in a way that is unnecessary," Booker said.

 The three Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are considering whether to enter the presidential campaign following the November midterm elections along with other Senate Democrats not on the panel, such as Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

 Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who unsuccessfully battled Clinton for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, also is weighing another campaign.

 The field could include a number of Democratic governors, members of Congress, mayors and political newcomers along with familiar faces such as former Vice President Joe Biden, who appeared at a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh on Monday as he tests the waters.

 Trump, even with his party facing a challenging midterm election, has relished the prospect of facing off against Democrats when the presidential campaign begins in earnest next year.

 The president didn't immediately respond to the Democrats' opposition to Kavanaugh on Tuesday. But he dismissed on Twitter the possibility of another prospective candidate, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee.

 "I should only be so lucky," Trump tweeted on Monday, adding, "although the field that is currently assembling looks really good - FOR ME!"

 Republicans accused Democrats of politicizing the hearing and avoiding substance because they lack the votes to derail the nomination.

 "It is about Democratic senators trying to re-litigate the 2016 election and just as importantly, working to begin litigating the 2020 presidential election," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the 2016 nomination.

 During the hearing, the room was filled by demonstrators shouting at Kavanaugh, a reminder of the bitterness against Trump's presidency and Democrats' outrage over the treatment of Merrick Garland, Obama's Supreme Court nominee, who was denied a hearing last year by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell before Trump's election.

 Minority Democrats are unable to delay a vote on Kavanaugh, making the confirmation process more of a demonstration of the party's warnings that he could help overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a woman's constitutional right to an abortion, or undermine health care or other Democratic priorities.

 Democrats are expected to press Kavanaugh on the issues when questioning begins on Wednesday.

 ___

 On Twitter follow Ken Thomas at https://twitter.com/KThomasDC ||||| • Republicans praised Kavanaugh and expressed confidence he will be confirmed.

 Republicans used their opening statements to praise Judge Kavanaugh as highly qualified and a good man. They accused Democrats of hypocrisy and argued that his 12 years of appeals court rulings, which are public, are the best way to evaluate what kind of Supreme Court justice he would be. And, secure in the knowledge that they control the Senate and can confirmed the judge with a simple majority vote, Republicans expressed confidence that however unruly things get, the Senate will ultimately approve his appointment.

 • The hearing foreshadowed likely Democratic frustration in coming days.

 Democrats signaled in their opening statements that they intend to press Judge Kavanaugh to explain in detail what he thinks about contentious legal questions, especially whether the Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision was rightly decided — an issue that could illuminate whether he views it as settled precedent or vulnerable to overturning. But Republicans like Mr. Grassley said it would be inappropriate for him to indicate how he might rule on anything that might come before the court in the future. In his prepared opening statement, Judge Kavanaugh laid the groundwork for disclaiming that he will bring any ideological lens to interpreting ambiguous constitutional text, invoking the ideal of a judge as an “umpire — a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy.”

 The hearing is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, starting with questioning by Mr. Grassley and by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking Democrat. Each senator on the committee will have 30 minutes in the first round of questioning and 20 in a second round, which is expected to wrap up on Thursday. Judge Kavanaugh would then be excused, and the senators will question a panel of legal experts who support and oppose his confirmation.

 Can’t get enough? The rest of our dispatches from the day are below. |||||Summary:

– One word keeps showing up in coverage of the first day of Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing: "chaos." (See here, here, and here.) Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas had a stronger phrase: "mob rule," while Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois heard the "noise of democracy." Democrats were staging a unified front to try to keep the hearing from proceeding, angry about withheld documents from Kavanaugh's past, including his tenure in the George W. Bush White House. The release of more than 40,000 documents Monday night seems to have only made things worse, with Democrats arguing that it was humanly impossible to review them in time. Despite the Democrats' protests, Senate Judiciary Committee Charles Grassley says he will not stop the hearing, which is expected to last four days, reports Politico. Other developments: Arrests: Capitol Police arrested 22 protesters on disorderly conduct charges during the morning, reports the Washington Post. Handmaid's Tale: Women dressed as characters from the Handmaid's Tale were among the protesters outside the hearing room, notes the Huffington Post. See an image here. The costumes illustrate their concerns that Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court will be a setback for women's rights. Roe v. Wade: When the direct questions finally begin, Democrats are expected to press Kavanaugh on whether he'd be willing to overturn the ruling that legalized abortion, reports the New York Times. The question, said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is not whether he believes that Roe v. Wade is “settled law,” but “whether you believe it is the correct law.” The judge's views on executive power and gun control also were expected to be examined. 2 views: The interruptions and chaos are about "Democratic senators trying to re-litigate the 2016 election and just as importantly, working to begin litigating the 2020 presidential election," said Republican Ted Cruz, per the AP. But Democrat Patrick Leahy wondered, “What are we trying to hide? Why are we rushing?” Excerpts: Read excerpts of Kavanaugh's eventual opening statement here via MarketWatch. "A good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy," Kavanaugh is to say. "I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge."


– Jeb Bush was asked about his 2012 ambitions yesterday, and he replied in the starkest possible terms. “I am not running for president,” he told a reporter for WHAS11 in Kentucky. The remark seems pretty offhand, but it’s getting national attention, because of recent chatter about a Bush run. Asked why that was, he told the Wall Street Journal, “I haven’t a clue. I have not been running for a while and answer the question the same way every time.” Bush made the remark en route to give a speech about education at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Bush, who’s widely credited with turning around Florida’s education system, said reform has to be done on a state by state level, but with federal help. “This is one place where I think President Obama deserves some credit,” he added. A day earlier he held a fundraiser for Rand Paul, a critic of Obama’s education policy.

Expand this summary.

Jeb Bush:' I am not running for President'

 Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush tells WHAS11 News he is "not running for President."

 The Republican's name has been widely circulated in recent weeks as a potential contender in the 2012 race. A Jeb Bush candidacy would perpetuate the Bush political dynasty which includes the presidencies of his father and brother.

 Bush is in Louisville to speak about education reform at the National Conference of State Legislatures. His Tuesday morning appearance is to highlight Florida's success improving students' educational performance, particularly Latino students.

 Bush hosted a fundraiser on Monday in Louisville for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul, who is a critic of U.S. education policy being directed by the federal government, rather than in local communities and states. While Bush said that Florida's education success is the product of state initiative, he complimented President Barack Obama's contribution to education policy.

 Introducing Bush to the conference, NCSL President Don Balfour called Bush a "true pro" who "did not abandon reforms in tough times, but reversed a generation of decline."

 "We were in really bad shape," Bush said in his remarks to the conference, saying - at one point - the state did a better job of tracking library books than student performance.

 "All kids can learn. Period. Exclamation point," Bush said to applause.

 "If kids aren't learning, the fault is with the adults not the students," Bush continued. He said education is the key to solving social problems. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. |||||


Write an article based on this summary:

– The number of Ohio State wrestlers who've come forward to say Rep. Jim Jordan knew about abuse at the hands of their team doctor is rising, despite Jordan's adamant denials. After an initial report on three former wrestlers, NBC News interviews a fourth accuser, Shawn Dailey, who says he was groped several times by Dr. Richard Strauss in the mid-'90s, when Jordan was the team's assistant coach. "It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down," Dailey, now 43, says, adding he never approached Jordan about his own abuse but took part in locker room discussions about Strauss with Jordan. Dailey specifically backs up the account of former teammate Dunyasha Yetts, saying Jordan's reply to Yetts after Yetts complained about Strauss was: "If he tried that with me, I would kill him." Dailey notes he's a Republican, like Jordan, whom he calls a "close friend" and "good guy" whose campaign he donated to in 1994. Still, "what happened drove me out of the sport," he says. "So I was surprised to hear Jim say that he knew nothing about it. … That's kind of hurtful." Former UFC champ Mark Coleman also speaks out, telling the Wall Street Journal "there's no way unless [Jordan's] got dementia or something that he's got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State. … I have nothing but respect for this man, I love this man, but he knew as far as I'm concerned." Meanwhile, President Trump has weighed in, telling reporters Thursday that he believes Jordan "100%, no question in my mind." "Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I've met since I've been in Washington," Trump said, adding he doesn't believe the allegations against him "at all."

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

 / Updated By Corky Siemaszko

 More former Ohio State University wrestlers have come forward to contradict Rep. Jim Jordan’s claim that he had no idea the wrestling team doctor was molesting athletes.

 One of the wrestlers, Shawn Dailey, said he was groped half a dozen times by Dr. Richard Strauss in the mid-1990s, when Jordan was the assistant wrestling coach. Dailey said he was too embarrassed to report the abuse directly to Jordan at the time, but he said Jordan took part in conversations where Strauss' abuse of many other team members came up.

 "I participated with Jimmy and the other wrestlers in locker-room talk about Strauss. We all did," Dailey, 43, told NBC News, referring to Jordan. "It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr. Strauss for anything, you would have to pull your pants down.”

 Dailey spoke out two days after NBC News reported that three former wrestlers who were coached by Jordan more than two decades ago accused the GOP congressman of turning a blind eye to Strauss' alleged abuse and then lying about it. Jordan denied knowing anything about the abuse and continues to do so.

 Dailey corroborated the account of one of those wrestlers, Dunyasha Yetts, who told NBC News that Yetts had protested to Jordan and head coach Russ Hellickson after Strauss tried to pull down his wrestling shorts when Yetts went to see him for a thumb injury.

 "Dunyasha comes back and tells Jimmy, ‘Seriously, why do I have to pull down my pants for a thumb injury?’" Dailey recalled. "Jimmy said something to the extent of, ‘If he tried that with me, I would kill him.'"

 Calling Jordan “a close friend,” Dailey said he is a Republican and that he contributed to the powerful Ohio congressman’s first political campaign for state representative in 1994.

 “What happened drove me out of the sport,” said Dailey, a married father of two who works as a fundraiser for an Ohio college. “So I was surprised to hear Jim say that he knew nothing about it."

 “Jimmy’s a good guy,” Dailey added. “But to say that he had no knowledge of it, I would say that’s kind of hurtful.”

 Also Thursday, Mark Coleman, another former wrestler and a former UFC world champion, told The Wall Street Journal that Jordan was aware of the abuse and had not taken action. “There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State,” said Coleman, who said he was Jordan's roommate on several wrestling trips.

 Jordan, via spokesman Ian Fury, has denied any knowledge of the abuse. On Wednesday, Jordan, a founder of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus, who has been floated to succeed retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan, repeated the denial in an interview with Politico.

 “It’s not true,” said Jordan, who was assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994. “I never knew about any type of abuse. If I did, I would have done something about it.”

 Fury did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday after Dailey's remarks. But Jordan got a shoutout of support from President Donald Trump, who spoke to reporters Thursday on Air Force One.

 “I don’t believe them at all," Trump said of the allegations against Jordan. "I believe him. Jim Jordan is one of the most outstanding people I’ve met since I’ve been in Washington. I believe him 100 percent. No question in my mind. I believe Jim Jordan 100 percent. He’s an outstanding man.”

 Strauss died of suicide in 2005. The university opened an investigation into the abuse in April after former Ohio State wrestler Mike DiSabato came forward with allegations.

 Dr. Richard Strauss' photo from a 1978 Ohio State University employment application. Ohio State University / via AP file

 The Perkins Coie law firm, which is overseeing the probe for the university, has interviewed more than 150 former students and witnesses so far, OSU officials said. Former athletes from 14 Ohio State sports have reported abuse by Strauss, the university said.

 Dailey said he has spoken twice with investigators from Perkins Coie. Asked if they questioned him about Jordan’s actions at the time, as well as the actions of the other coaches, Daily answered, “They did.”

 “I was one of the first five or 10 people they spoke with,” Dailey said he was told by investigators. “They largely wanted to know what my experiences were, what had happened, if it had been reported.”

 Yetts and two other former Ohio State wrestlers previously told NBC News that it was common knowledge that Strauss showered regularly with the students and inappropriately touched them during appointments. Yetts, who served 18 months in prison for stealing nearly $2 million from investors, was the only wrestler who said he had directly reported the abuse to Jordan, but all three wrestlers said it would have been impossible for Jordan to be unaware of the abuse.

 Hellickson, the former coach and Jordan's mentor, said in a recent video — made by DiSabato — that he had told Strauss that he was being too "hands on” with students.

 The Perkins Coie investigators are in possession of that video, DiSabato said.

 Former Ohio State wrestler Mike DiSabato discusses abuse he says he suffered from Dr. Richard Strauss. Andrew Welsh-Huggins / AP

 Fox News reported Thursday that Jordan has received what he described as threatening emails from DiSabato, including one that landed in his inbox early on Wednesday and was “the last straw.” Jordan forwarded the emails to the U.S. Capitol Police, which is reviewing them, Fox reported. NBC News has reached out to the Capitol Police but has not confirmed the report.

 Dailey said that after he left the team in 1996, he underwent counseling to deal with what happened.

 “Over the years, I kind of beat myself up for not reporting it,” he said. “There were so many signs about what Strauss was doing and that they were ignored. It's very frustrating.”

 Dailey said he’s speaking out now because he knows it’s hard for men to publicly acknowledge sexual abuse, and he wants to be an “advocate for men and boys to come forward with these issues.”

 “You get the sense that you’re really not going to get justice,” he said. “That’s the part that bothers me the most. What happened was so widespread.” ||||| WASHINGTON—Five former wrestlers, including former UFC world champion Mark Coleman, said this week that Rep. Jim Jordan was aware of, but didn’t respond to, allegations of sexual misconduct by an Ohio State University team doctor when the lawmaker was an assistant wrestling coach there in the 1990s.

 “There’s no way unless he’s got dementia or something that he’s got no recollection of what was going on at Ohio State,” Mr. Coleman, the mixed martial arts champion, said of Mr. Jordan in an interview Wednesday. Messrs. Coleman... ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

 / Updated By Corky Siemaszko

 Rep. Jim Jordan, the powerful Republican congressman from Ohio, is being accused by former wrestlers he coached more than two decades ago at Ohio State University of failing to stop the team doctor from molesting them and other students.

 The university announced in April that it was investigating accusations that Dr. Richard Strauss, who died in 2005, abused team members when he was the team doctor from the mid-1970s to late 1990s.

 Jordan, who was assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994, has repeatedly said he knew nothing of the abuse until former students began speaking out this spring, and continued to deny it on Tuesday. His denials, however, have been met with skepticism and anger from some former members of the wrestling team.

 Three former wrestlers told NBC News that it was common knowledge that Strauss showered regularly with the students and inappropriately touched them during appointments, and said it would have been impossible for Jordan to be unaware; one wrestler said he told Jordan directly about the abuse.

 Former head coach Russ Hellickson, Jordan's mentor, said in a recent video — made by Mike DiSabato, a former wrestler — that Hellickson had told Strauss that he was being too "hands on” with students.

 DiSabato, whose allegations against Strauss prompted Ohio State to open its investigation, called Jordan a “liar.”

 “I considered Jim Jordan a friend,” DiSabato said. “But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn’t know what was going on.”

 DiSabato said he reached out to Jordan this year, before going to the university, to tell Jordan that he planned to go public with his allegations. Jordan told him to “please leave me out of it,” DiSabato said. “He asked me not to get him involved.”

 "At the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesn’t know what was going on.”

 Dunyasha Yetts, who wrestled at Ohio State in 1993 and 1994, said he and others told Jordan about Strauss.

 “I remember I had a thumb injury and went into Strauss’ office and he started pulling down my wrestling shorts,” he said. “I’m like, what the f--- are you doing? And I went out and told Russ and Jim what happened. I was not having it. They went in and talked to Strauss.”

 Yetts said he and his teammates talked to Jordan numerous times about Strauss.

 “For God’s sake, Strauss’s locker was right next to Jordan’s and Jordan even said he’d kill him if he tried anything with him,” Yetts said.

 Yetts admitted that he did time for bilking investors out of nearly $2 million. “I am not a perfect person, but ask any of the wrestlers and they will tell you everybody knew about Doc,” said Yetts, who served 18 months in prison.

 As for Jordan, Yetts said, “He’s a great guy. We would have all these great talks with him and he talked about how one day he’d be the president of the United States."

 "So it’s sad for me to hear that he’s denying knowing about Strauss," he said. "I don’t know why he would, unless it’s a cover-up. Either you’re in on it, or you’re a liar.”

 A former teammate of DiSabato’s who asked not to be identified said he never told Jordan directly that Strauss had abused him. But there is no way Jordan could have avoided the rumors “because it was all over the locker room.”

 “I love Jimmy to death,” the ex-wrestler said. “It was a head-scratcher to me why he would say he didn’t know anything. Doc used to take showers with the team even though he didn’t do any workouts, and everybody used to snicker about how you go into his office for a sore shoulder and he tells you to take your pants down.”

 When the first stories about the university investigation appeared this spring, Jordan told The Columbus Dispatch, “I had not heard about any type of abuse at all.” He also said that “no one reported any type of abuse” to him.

 After NBC News reached out to Jordan, the congressman’s spokesman repeated the denial.

 “Congressman Jordan never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State,” his spokesman, Ian Fury, said in an email to NBC News.

 Shortly after the NBC News story was published, Fury added the following statement: "He has not been contacted by investigators about the matter but will assist them in any way they ask, because if what is alleged is true, the victims deserve a full investigation and justice.”

 But Kathleen Trafford of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, the Dayton, Ohio-based law firm that was appointed as legal counsel to Ohio State, said in a statement that investigators "had previously contacted Rep. Jordan's office by email and phone to request that he participate in an interview."

 "To date, Rep. Jordan has not responded to those requests," Trafford wrote. "The investigative team is continuing its efforts to schedule an interview with Rep. Jordan."

 Jordan, a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative representatives, is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump and is frequently mentioned as a possible replacement for the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.

 Ryan, through his spokesman Doug Andres, also weighed in on the Ohio State investigation and Jordan's role.

 "These are serious allegations and issues," Andres said. "The university has rightfully initiated a full investigation into the matter. The speaker will await the findings of that inquiry."

 DiSabato forwarded to NBC News an email he sent on April 24 to Jordan and the congressman’s brother, Jeff, who runs Jeff Jordan's State Champ Camp, a nationally known wrestling camp in Ohio. DiSabato sent the email 19 days after Ohio State announced on April 5 that it was investigating Strauss and the administrators of the wrestling program at the time, including the coaches, just as other colleges have done in similar circumstances.

 DiSabato was concerned that the university would ultimately sweep his allegations under the rug, and he wanted to ensure that Jordan would back him up.

 “I ask you to give your full attention to the information attached to this email,” DiSabato wrote. “We [are] watching you. … You have the platform to cut through the double talk, placation and finger pointing.”

 Jordan and his brother did not reply to the email, DiSabato said. Jeff Jordan said in an email that he'd never attended or worked at Ohio State University.

 Rep. Jim Jordan speaks during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on June 28. Alex Wong / Getty Images

 Jim Jordan, who has made a name for himself in Congress by grilling investigators probing alleged collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russians, is among the witnesses expected to be questioned by the law firm that Ohio State hired to conduct the probe into Strauss’ misconduct, officials involved with the investigation said.

 In the video that DiSabato made about the allegations against Strauss, which DiSabato sent to Ohio State in June, Hellickson, the former head wrestling coach, said he told school administrators about Strauss and also warned the doctor to steer clear of his wrestlers.

 “I said, ‘You make the guys nervous when you shower with them,’” Hellickson said in the video. “His response was, ‘Coach, you shower with your guys all the time.’ And I said, ‘Not for an hour, Doc.’”

 DiSabato and his former teammates said Jordan and Hellickson were close, and if the head coach had qualms about Strauss he would have shared them with his No. 2.

 “Jim was Coach Russ’ right-hand man,” one former wrestler said.

 Hellickson, an Olympics silver medalist in wrestling in 1976 who has done commentary from the games for NBC Sports, did not return calls for comment.

 In response to a series of questions from NBC, Ohio State emailed a statement saying that the law firm Perkins Coie was overseeing the probe into the Strauss allegations for the university. OSU said it has also reached out “to the Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for any potential criminal investigation.”

 “To date, Perkins Coie has interviewed more than 150 former students and witnesses and is engaged in further investigative efforts,” the university said in the statement. “Ohio State has shared all additional information that has come to the attention of the university with the independent investigators whose work is ongoing.”

 It’s unclear whether former Ohio State coaches or administrators could face any penalties from the university for not protecting wrestlers from Strauss.

 “Our efforts will continue to be focused on uncovering what may have happened during this era, what university leaders at the time may have known, and whether any response at the time was appropriate,” the university’s statement said. “Once the independent investigation has been completed, we will be in a position to consider what further action might be appropriate.”

 Jordan is wrestling royalty. Born and raised in Champaign County, Ohio, he was a four-time state wrestling champion. Competing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he won NCAA titles in 1985 and 1986.

 But in the wrestling world, Jordan is best known for defeating future two-time Olympic gold medalist John Smith twice in an NCAA tournament in 1985.

 Jordan returned home to Ohio and — while working as a coach — earned a master’s degree in education at Ohio State and later a law degree from Capital University in Columbus before launching his political career in 1994 when he was elected to the Ohio General Assembly.

 A 1978 employment application information for Dr. Richard Strauss, from Ohio State University personnel files. Ohio State University via AP file

 Strauss signed on at Ohio State as an attending physician in September 1978 and served as a team physician in the athletics department from July 1981 to June 1995, according to the university’s statement. He also worked as a part-time doctor in the university’s student health department from July 1994 to August 1996.

 After resigning from the Ohio State medical staff in 1994, Strauss stayed on as an emeritus faculty member until he retired in July 1998 and moved from Columbus to Los Angeles, the university said.

 Citing Los Angeles County coroner records, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Strauss died of suicide in 2005 after struggling with pain and other health issues.

 Strauss’ relatives have not spoken publicly about the allegations since they surfaced. NBC News was not able to reach any of his relatives.

 DiSabato, who runs a Columbus-based sports and entertainment agency called the Profectus Group, said the recent conviction of former Olympics gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar prompted him and other Ohio State athletes to come forward about Strauss.

 Strauss’ primary job was to give wrestlers physicals, treat them for injuries and monitor their health, DiSabato said. He said Strauss also preyed on students who played other sports.

 “Strauss sexually assaulted male athletes in at least fifteen varsity sports during his employment at OSU from 1978 through 1998,” DiSabato wrote in a June 26 email to Kathleen M. Trafford of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, the Columbus-based law firm that represents Ohio State. “Athlete victims include members of the following programs: football, basketball, wrestling, swimming, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, gymnastics, ice hockey, soccer, baseball, tennis, track and cross country.”

 Chillingly, DiSabato added: “Based on testimony from victim athletes from each of the aforementioned varsity sports, we estimate that Strauss sexually assaulted and/or raped a minimum of 1,500/2,000 athletes at OSU from 1978 through 1998.”

 Ohio State has confirmed that investigators have received “confidential reports of sexual misconduct committed by Strauss” from former athletes in 14 sports and from former patients in Student Health Services.

 In the video, DiSabato said Strauss knew that many of the athletes were small-town kids who weren’t likely to protest if the doctor told them to disrobe, for fear of losing their scholarships. He said coaches knew that Strauss was a predator.

 “Everybody knew before you were going into the [examination] room that Doc Strauss was going to touch you,” DiSabato said. “It was like a joke before you went in there.”

 Strauss wasn’t the only Ohio State official who showered with the team, DiSabato said. After practice ended at 3:30 p.m., some university professors, administrators and others would show up in the shower stalls just as the athletes were arriving, he said.

 It was, DiSabato said, like walking through “the gauntlet of sexual deviancy.”

 Another former wrestler whose testimony appears on the video DiSabato submitted to investigators described how Strauss grabbed his penis during an examination.

 “I didn’t do a thing,” he said when asked how he responded. “Probably, because I was scared.”

 He broke down when asked why, after all these years, he was speaking out.

 “Why am I doing this now? It’s just hard,” he said. “I don’t want this to ever have to happen to anybody else, ever … at The Ohio State University or any school.” |||||


Article:
Story highlights U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes 2,493 pounds of marijuana

 Packages discovered in shipment of carrots

 (CNN) These aren't the carrots Bugs Bunny was chomping on. U.S. border officers seized more than a ton of marijuana stuffed into fake carrots tossed in with the real thing, officials said.

 Officers in Pharr, Texas, on Sunday found 2,493 pounds of suspected marijuana concealed within a commercial shipment of fresh carrots entering from Mexico.

 "Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border," Port Director Efrain Solis Jr. said in a statement.

 Seized marijuana in U.S. law enforcement trucks.

 The truck hauling the produce crossed the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge along the Texas-Mexico border near the Gulf of Mexico. The imaging inspection system flagged the vehicle for a secondary examination, where agents found the smuggled drugs, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement. ||||| Border agents in Texas intercepted a cargo shipment of marijuana concealed inside carrots Sunday, authorities said in a news release.

 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers patrolling the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge cargo facility stopped a tractor-trailer carrying what was perceived to be a shipment of fresh carrots to the U.S. from Mexico on Jan. 10, according to the release Wednesday.

 After an image scan, the agents brought out a canine unit to further examine the cargo. The second examination uncovered 2,817 carrot-shaped packages of marijuana, which agents said carries an estimated street value of $499,000.

 “Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the U.S./Mexico border,” said Port Director Efrain Solis Jr. “Our officers are always ready to meet those challenges and remain vigilant towards any type of illicit activities.”

 The agency said Homeland Security is assisting in the investigation.

 The New York Daily News reported the police stopped drug smugglers at the same bridge on Dec. 2 from bringing in more than $1 million of drugs that were disguised as both carrots and cucumbers. |||||Summary:

– Just how everyone likes their carrots: fake, stuffed with marijuana. Um, maybe not. Authorities say they seized 2,493 pounds of pot hidden inside a shipment of carrots at the Texas-Mexico border on Sunday, reports CNN. While some carrots turned out to be the real deal, nearly 3,000 carrot-shaped packages were found concealing marijuana worth about $499,000, per Fox News. "Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the US-Mexico border," said Port Director Efrain Solis Jr. Though the imaging inspection system flagged the vehicle, authorities might've had reason to suspect the veggies anyway: In November, some $2 million worth of drugs was also found in packages of carrots and cucumbers.