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Trump, Xi discuss NKorea as key nations split on strategy

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump discussed North Korea’s strongest nuclear test yet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, as the U.S. proposed crippling new sanctions and world leaders tussled over whether pressure or dialogue was the best way to rein in the rogue nation.

The White House stressed the U.S. and Chinese leaders’ joint commitment to ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. But differences were clear on how best to reach that remote goal as fears escalate over Pyongyang’s emerging capability to strike America with a nuclear-tipped missile.

China’s state news agency said Xi expressed China’s adamant position about “resolving the nuclear issue through talks.” Trump noted China’s “essential role” and pledged more communication with China “to find a solution as early as possible,” Xinhua reported.

But Trump projected an entirely different message in a phone call a day earlier with British Prime Minister Theresa May. The American leader declared “now is not the time to talk to North Korea,” according to a White House readout, released shortly before Trump’s call with Xi.

The conversations were part of a flurry of calls Trump has made to world leaders after North Korea’s test explosion this weekend of what it called a hydrogen bomb. Trump said the U.S. is considering all options to defend itself and allies.

While Washington needs backing from allies, cooperation with traditional adversaries China and Russia is more significant. The U.S. needs both to put the squeeze on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Both are economic partners of North Korea and veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

On Wednesday, the U.S. circulated a draft Security Council resolution that would ban all oil and natural gas exports to North Korea, potentially devastating its economy. The measure also would freeze all of the North’s and Kim’s foreign financial assets, and outlaw North Korean textiles exports. Countries also would be prevented from hiring and paying North Korean workers.

But Beijing and Moscow’s support for such tough action was doubtful.

“President Xi would like to do something,” Trump told reporters after a 45-minute call with the Chinese leader. “We’ll see whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what’s happening in North Korea. I believe that President Xi agrees with me 100 percent. He doesn’t want to see what’s happening there, either.”

Asked if he was considering military action against North Korea, Trump told reporters: “Certainly that’s not our first choice, but we will see what happens.”

As Trump looked to increase the pressure, Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed in the opposite direction, warning against cornering Pyongyang.

The North’s nuclear test “flagrantly violates” international law, Putin said, but he urged talks and not more sanctions.

“We should not give in to emotions and push Pyongyang into a corner,” Putin said after meeting the president of close U.S. ally, South Korea, in Russia on Wednesday. “As never before, everyone should show restraint and refrain from steps leading to escalation and tensions.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s military, diplomacy and intelligence chiefs briefed Congress on the North Korean threat and U.S. strategy to address it. Democrats accused the administration of sending confusing signals to adversaries and allies.

“The message changes from day to day and for myself, I’m not quite sure what the policy is,” Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said. He said he learned nothing from the closed-doors briefing by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that he hadn’t already read in newspapers.

“There is an unbelievable disconnect between the people in that room and their boss,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, another Democrat, said. “And that freaks the hell out of me.”

“They’re talking about a diplomacy first strategy that has been clearly rejected by their boss. And it leaves the entire world scratching their head,” Murphy added.

Trump traded threats with Pyongyang last month after it conducted two long-range missile tests. At one point, he warned of “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if North Korea continued its threats. At another, he credited Kim for a brief pause in missile tests that ended days later.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, backed Trump and said he may be employing a “good cop, bad cop” approach. Pressuring China and North Korea could force negotiations for a peaceful solution.

Otherwise, he said, “war is the next inevitable option.”

____

Associated Press writers Catherine Lucey and Darlene Superville in Washington, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Facebook says it sold political ads to Russian company during 2016 election

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Representatives of Facebook told congressional investigators Wednesday that it has discovered it sold ads during the U.S. presidential election to a shadowy Russian company seeking to target voters, according to several people familiar with the company’s findings.

Facebook officials reported that they traced the ad sales, totaling $100,000, to a Russian “troll farm” with a history of pushing pro-Kremlin propaganda, these people said.

A small portion of the ads, which began in the summer of 2015, directly named Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the people said. Most of the ads focused on pumping politically divisive issues such as gun rights and immigration fears, as well as gay rights and racial discrimination.

The acknowledgment by Facebook comes as congressional investigators and special counsel Robert Mueller are probing Russian interference in the U.S. election, including allegations that the Kremlin may have coordinated with the Trump campaign.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded in January that Russia had interfered in the U.S. election to help elect Trump, including by using paid social media trolls to spread fake news intended to influence public opinion.

Even though the ad spending from Russia is tiny relative to overall campaign costs, the report from Facebook that a Russian firm was able to target political messages is likely to fuel pointed questions from investigators about whether the Russians received guidance from people in the United States — a question some Democrats have been asking for months.

“I get the fact that the Russian intel services could figure out how to manipulate and use the bots. Whether they could know how to target states and levels of voters that the Democrats weren’t even aware really raises some questions. I think that’s a worthwhile area of inquiry,” Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said during a May airing of the podcast Pod Save America. “How did they know to go to that level of detail in those kinds of jurisdictions?”

An official familiar with Facebook’s internal investigation said the company does not have the ability to determine whether the ads it sold represented any sort of coordination.

The acknowledgment by Facebook follows months of criticism that the social media company served as a platform for the spread of false information before the November election. In a statement posted days after the election, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg promised to explore the issue but said that 99 percent of information found on Facebook is authentic and only “a very small amount” is fake or hoaxes. In December, however, the company announced that it would begin flagging articles that had been deemed false or fake, with the assistance of fact-checking organizations.

Facebook discovered the Russian connection as part of an investigation that began this spring looking at purchasers of politically-motivated ads, according to people familiar with the inquiry. It found that 3,300 ads had digital footprints that led to the Russian company.

Facebook teams then discovered 470 suspicious and likely fraudulent Facebook accounts and pages that it believes operated out of Russia, had links to the company and were involved in promoting the ads.

A Facebook official said “there is evidence that some of the accounts are linked to a troll farm in St. Petersburg, referred to as the Internet Research Agency, though we have no way to independently confirm.” The official declined to release any of the ads it traced to Russian companies or entities.

Who’s who in the government’s investigation into Russia ties View Graphic Who’s who in the government’s investigation into Russia ties

“Our data policy and federal law limit our ability to share user data and content, so we won’t be releasing any ads,” the official said. The official added that the ads “were directed at people on Facebook who had expressed interest in subjects explored on those pages, such as LGBT community, black social issues, the Second Amendment, and immigration.”

Alex Stamos, Facebook’s chief security officer, said in a statement that the company is committed to continuing to protect the integrity of its site and improve its ability to track fraudulent accounts. He said Facebook has shut down the accounts that remained active.

“We know we have to stay vigilant to keep ahead of people who try to misuse our platform,” he said.

Earlier this year, Facebook announced technology improvements to detect fake accounts and more recently announced it would no longer allow Facebook pages to advertise if they have a pattern of sharing false news stories. Over the past few months, Stamos said, the company has also taken action to block fake accounts tied to election meddling in France and Germany.

The Internet Research Agency has received attention in the past for its activity.

In 2013, hackers released internal company documents showing it employed 600 people across Russia. Ex-employees who have gone public with their experiences at the company in Internet postings and in media interviews have said their work entailed creating fake Twitter and Facebook accounts and using them to circulate pro-Kremlin propaganda. They said Internet Research Agency employees, for instance, spread derogatory information about Putin critic Boris Nemtsov in the days after his 2015 murder.

In 2015, the New York Times Magazine reported that social media accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency had launched social media campaigns in the United States, including a sophisticated hoax that spread false news of a chemical leak in Louisiana in 2014, apparently to sow chaos and fear.

In its unclassified report in January, the U.S. intelligence community concluded that the Internet Research Agency’s “likely financier” is a “close Putin ally with ties to Russian intelligence.”

In May, Time Magazine reported that U.S. intelligence officials had discovered evidence that Russian agents had purchased ads on Facebook to target specific populations with propaganda. A Facebook spokesman told the magazine that the company had no evidence of such buys.

Under federal law and Federal Election Commission regulations, both foreign nationals and foreign governments are prohibited from making contributions or spending money to influence a federal, state or local election in the United States. The ban includes independent expenditures made in connection with an election.

Those banned from such spending include foreign citizens, foreign governments, foreign political parties, foreign corporations, foreign associations and foreign partnerships, according to the FEC. (Permanent residents who hold green cards, however, are not considered foreign nationals.) Violators face civil penalties, as well as criminal prosecution if they are found to have knowingly broken the law.

Andrew Roth, Alice Crites and Matea Gold contributed to this report.

Dennis Rodman thinks Trump should let him handle Kim Jong Un

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Dennis Rodman calls President Donald Trump a friend, but he thinks he’d do a better job than his former “Celebrity Apprentice” boss in convincing Kim Jong Un he shouldn’t launch a nuclear attack against the United States.

In an interview with the British TV show “Good Morning Britain,” the former NBA star said he was just the guy to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the New York Post reported. That’s because he’s not “crazy sometimes” like Trump, and he’s established a good rapport with the North Korean despot over his five visits to that foreboding, Stalinist nation.

“For me to go over there and see [Kim] as much as I have, I basically hang out with him all the time. We laugh, we sing karaoke, we do a lot of cool things together. We ride horses, we hang out, we go skiing, we hardly ever talk politics and that’s the good thing,” said Rodman, who at 6-foot-7 is a full foot taller than the Korean dictator.

“I just want to try to straighten things out for everyone to get along together,” Rodman said.

In this June 15, 2017, file photo, former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman presents a book titled Trump The Art of the Deal to North Korea's Sports Minister Kim Il Guk Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon, File)
Dennis Rodman presents “Trump: The Art of the Deal” to North Korea’s Sports Minister Kim Il Guk in June. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon, File) 

Rodman, if you’ll recall, enjoys a strange affinity with Kim, even choosing to ignore the dictator’s brutality to the people under his rule, people who know him told the Chicago Tribune. Rodman’s most recent visit to North Korea was in June. He went on behalf of PotCoin.com, a company that peddles cryptocurrency for buying and selling marijuana, the Tribune said.

When Rodman, 56, returned to the United States, he hawked T-shifts on Twitter. The shirts showed a cartoon image of himself spinning a basketball with with one hand and flashing a peace sign with the other, sandwiched by the words “Ambassador Rodman,” the Tribune said.

Unfortunately, the wanna-be diplomat displayed a disastrous sense of timing. The night before his Twitter display, Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student held in North Korea for more than a year and released June 13 in a coma, died at home in Ohio.

Rodman, aka The Worm, later offered “prayer and love” to Warmbier’s family, but also insisted in an interview with “Good Morning America” that his visit helped secure the student’s release. The State Department told the Tribune he had nothing to do with it.

Criticism over Rodman’s June trip hasn’t diminished what friends describe as Rodman’s sincere, if naive, intentions. “He genuinely thinks he’s trying to change the world,” a friend told the Tribune.

However, Rodman’s potential to broker peace depends a lot on what Trump thinks. He said he’d love to be U.S. ambassador to North Korea but he hasn’t actually talked to Trump since their “Celebrity Apprentice” days, Heavy.com reported.

Back in 2013, Trump appeared on “Fox and Friends” and endorsed Rodman’s suggestion that former President Barack Obama and Kim have a phone call.

But when Rodman suggested that Trump take part in that dialogue, Trump called Rodman “delusional.” A year later, Trump tweeted that Rodman was “either drunk or on drugs (delusional)” when he suggested Trump should go with him to North Korea.

Now that Trump is president, he’s the one in charge, but will he turn to Rodman for advice, as he suggested Obama do?

As of now, Trump doesn’t seem to be in any kind of mood to talk with Kim and try to find common ground. Maybe Rodman should realize that by paying more attention to Trump’s recent tweets:

Trump sides with Democrats on fiscal issues, throwing Republican plans into chaos

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President Trump, a man of few allegiances who seized control of the Republican Party in a hostile takeover, suddenly aligned himself with Democrats Wednesday on a series of key fiscal issues — and even gave a lift to North Dakota’s embattled Democratic U.S. senator.

Trump confounded his own party’s leaders when he cut a deal with Democratic congressional leaders — “Chuck and Nancy,” as the president informally referred to them — on a short-term plan to fund the government and raise its borrowing limit this month.

Trump’s surprise stance upended sensitive negotiations over the debt ceiling and other crucial policy areas this fall and further imperiled his already tenuous relationships with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.).

The episode is the latest turn in Trump’s extraordinary separation from his own party, as he distances himself to deflect blame for what has been a year of gridlock and missed opportunities for Republicans on Capitol Hill. It follows a summer of presidential stewing over McConnell and Ryan, both of whom Trump views as insufficiently loyal and weak in executing his agenda, according to his advisers.

Trump made his position clear at a White House meeting with both parties’ congressional leaders, agreeing with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on plans for a bill to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling for three months.

That effectively postpones until December a divisive fight over fiscal matters, including whether to fund construction of Trump’s long-promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We had a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer,” Trump told reporters Wednesday aboard Air Force One as he traveled to North Dakota. “We agreed to a three-month extension on debt ceiling, which they consider to be sacred — very important — always we’ll agree on debt ceiling automatically because of the importance of it.”

In siding with Democrats, Trump overruled his own Treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, who was in the middle of an explanation backing a longer-term increase when the president interrupted him and disagreed, according to a person briefed on the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Trump was “in deal-cutting mode,” the person said.

[Schumer, Pelosi offer Democratic votes for Harvey aid if paired with short-term debt-limit hike]

After the gathering, McConnell said he would add provisions extending government funding and the debt limit through mid-December to legislation passed by the House on Wednesday providing $7.85 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief.

“The president agreed with Senator Schumer and Congresswoman Pelosi to do a three-month [funding extension] and a debt ceiling into December, and that’s what I will be offering, based on the president’s decision, to the bill,” McConnell told reporters. “The president can speak for himself, but his feeling was that we needed to come together to not create a picture of divisiveness at a time of genuine national crisis.”

Trump also threw tacit support behind the Democrats’ push for a “dreamers” bill that would effectively formalize an Obama-era program shielding undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation.

Trump on Tuesday began phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which GOP hard-liners regard as illegal amnesty, but suggested Wednesday that if Congress passed a dreamers bill he might sign it.

“Chuck and Nancy want to see something happen — and so do I,” Trump said.

Later in the day Wednesday, Trump brought a special guest with him to an oil refinery in Mandan, N.D., to pitch his tax-cuts plan: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat facing a tough reelection in a solidly Republican state Trump carried in 2016 by 36 percentage points. He welcomed Heitkamp into his traveling delegation, affording her the chance to appear bipartisan by appearing alongside a president popular with North Dakotans.

As Heitkamp stepped onto an outdoor catwalk at the Mandan refinery to join him on stage, Trump delivered play-by-play commentary: “Everybody’s saying, ‘What’s she doing up here?’ But I’ll tell you what: Good woman.”

Trump opened his speech by recounting his “great bipartisan meeting” at the White House. “I’m committed to working with both parties to deliver for our wonderful, wonderful citizens,” Trump said, singling out Schumer and Pelosi by name before mentioning the Republicans who were in attendance.

“Everybody was happy,” Trump said of the meeting. “Not too happy, because you can never be too happy, but they were happy enough.”

By setting up another debt ceiling vote in December — a vote in which Republicans will almost certainly need Democratic help to avoid default — Democrats keep their seat at the table in this fall’s key policy debates.

[Trump administration announces end of immigration protection program for ‘dreamers’]

Had Republicans followed through with their original plan, Democrats would have been stuck trying to extract concessions ahead of debt ceiling votes this week using an empty threat: voting against a legislative package that includes the politically sensitive Harvey aid. Democrats believe pushing the debt-limit debate into December will increase their leverage on several issues, including protection of dreamers and securing funds to help stabilize health-care markets.

Schumer and Pelosi also gained an edge by giving Democrats an aura of strategic command they have lacked since Trump’s election. Instead of McConnell claiming victory, it was Schumer who told reporters, “The nation can breathe a sigh of relief.”

The deal may also benefit Trump by allowing him to revive his threat to shut down the government over wall funding.

At the White House, Republican leaders pushed for an 18-month debt-limit hike, then floated doing a six-month extension, according to two aides briefed on the meeting. But Pelosi and Schumer dismissed the six-month proposal, and Trump then agreed to the three-month hike that Democrats put on the table.

McConnell and Ryan came out of the White House meeting in the weakest position — losing an opportunity to neutralize the debt-ceiling issue before the 2018 midterm elections and to exclude Democrats from major policy debates this fall.

The president’s decision came barely an hour after Ryan panned the idea of a short-term debt hike, accusing Democrats of “playing politics” with much-needed aid for Hurricane Harvey victims.

“I think that’s ridiculous and disgraceful that they want to play politics with the debt ceiling at this moment when we have fellow citizens in need, to respond to these hurricanes so we do not strand them,” Ryan told reporters.

Trump apparently disagreed.

“We essentially came to a deal, and I think the deal will be very good,” Trump said. “We had a very, very cordial and professional meeting.”

Not all Democrats were so thrilled with the deal. Some were upset it did not include protections for the estimated 800,000 Dreamers.

[Trump administration announces end of immigration protection program for ‘dreamers’]

“So Trump attacks our dreamers and the next day the Democrats walk in there and say, ‘Oh, let’s just have a nice time-out,’ while they’re all suffering?” said Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-Ill.). “That is what is wrong with Democrats. They don’t stand up.”

Schumer said he was not finished advocating for Dreamers. “This is not a trade-off for us,” he said. “This is a very important issue that we’re going to fight hard for until we get it done.”

The fiscal agreement would likely force Congress to vote on the debt ceiling by Dec. 15. Negotiators were still working out details late Wednesday, and it is unclear whether the Treasury Department would have flexibility to avoid default after that date. Typically, the department can use emergency steps to avoid default for several months past any debt-ceiling deadline.

The short-term extensions for the debt ceiling and government funding are also expected to further cloud the prospects for enacting major tax cuts, Trump’s top domestic priority. They effectively mean spending and budget fights will continue for months, just as the GOP was hoping to coalesce around a plan to cut taxes.

Trump tried to rally support for his tax plan in North Dakota.

“Anybody that’s going to vote against tax cuts and tax reforms — whether it’s in North Dakota or anybody else or any place else — you’ve gotta vote against them and get them out of office, because it’s so, it is so bad,” Trump said, pausing so that the crowd could cheer. “This is not a close one.”

The White House meeting took place just as the House approved the Harvey aid package, its first major order of business after the August recess.

The measure — providing $7.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $450 million for a disaster loan program for small businesses — passed 419 to 3, with 12 members not voting. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) voted no. It now moves to the Senate, where leaders plan to hold a vote by the end of the week.

[Recovering from Harvey when ‘you already live a disaster every day of your life’]

Top House Republicans barely veiled their frustration with Trump’s decision to side with Democrats on the debt ceiling. House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said he “would have not tied the knot so tight” for December, saying an extension till at least February would have been better, but he carefully avoided criticizing Trump.

“We all do it differently,” Sessions said. “I think it was an overly generous answer that he gave our friends the Democrats. But I’m not going to be critical of my president. I support my president.”

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was among those who warned that Democrats’ short-term debt-limit request could threaten GOP efforts to cut spending.

“Obviously getting a [continuing resolution] and the debt ceiling to not come due at the same time would be the most prudent fiscal decision we could make,” Meadows told reporters.

Rucker reported from Mandan, N.D. Damian Paletta, Abby Phillip, Paul Kane and Jenna Johnson in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost

Hurricane Irma, Packing 185-MPH Winds, Makes Landfall in Caribbean

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Ellis Cerda hangs storm shutters at Boutique Chrisnelia, a clothing shop, on Tuesday in San Juan, P.R.


Erika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times

This is an overview of Hurricane Irma, reported by journalists throughout the region. To see their latest dispatches from places hit by the storm, go to our live updates.

SAN JUAN, P.R. — Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded, battered the islands of the northeast Caribbean early Wednesday, leaving severe damage in its wake as it barreled toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Irma, a Category 5 storm packing winds of up to 185 miles an hour, first made landfall at 2 a.m. on Barbuda, and later in the morning passed directly over St. Martin, the National Hurricane Center reported. There were reports of flooding, major damage to buildings, and severed electricity and phone service on those islands and Saint Barthélemy and Anguilla.

The four “most durable” buildings on St. Martin were destroyed, the French interior minister, Gérard Collomb, said at a cabinet meeting in Paris, “which means that in all likelihood the more rustic buildings are probably totally or partially destroyed.”

In the afternoon, the heart of the storm passed over the British Virgin Islands, the Hurricane Center reported. At 2 p.m., the hurricane’s eye was seven miles northwest of Road Town, capital of the territory, and 20 miles northeast of St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As the hurricane continued to move west-northwest, it was projected to rake northeast Puerto Rico later in the day, with the core of the storm remaining over water north of the island.

Map

Maps: Tracking the Path of Hurricane Irma

Satellite imagery and maps of the course of the Category 5 storm, which made landfall in the Caribbean on Wednesday. Included are representations of the various paths the hurricane could take.


Devastating storm surges were expected to put parts of Turks and Caicos and the southern islands of the Bahamas 15 to 20 feet underwater on Thursday.

The storm is one of the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the center and to Bryan Norcross, a hurricane specialist at the Weather Channel. There have been, however, storms with comparable winds in the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, where warm waters can fuel particularly dangerous hurricanes.

Late Tuesday, wind gusts of around 50 miles an hour arrived in Antigua and Barbuda but picked up significant strength as the center of the storm swirled several dozen miles offshore. The authorities cut off power on those islands before midnight, forcing many residents to listen to the latest forecasts on transistor radios in the darkness.

Residents throughout the Caribbean scrambled on Tuesday to rush out of possible flood zones, stock up on water, food and gas, shutter their homes and brace for what is now, and could remain, a Category 5 hurricane. On Antigua, many residents were spending the night in nearly 40 shelters because of concerns that their homes, even when boarded up, would topple in the destructive winds.

“We have to prepare for an event that we have never experienced here,” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico said earlier on Tuesday, calling the hurricane’s arrival imminent and its potential catastrophic.

Irma threatens havoc and widespread destruction across Puerto Rico, a United States territory of 3.4 million people, the island of Hispaniola (home to the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the United States Virgin Islands, among others. Cuba is also threatened.

President Trump declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico, Florida and the United States Virgin Islands on Tuesday.

Hurricane Irma Pummels Caribbean

One of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded has already caused damage on several islands.


By CAMILLA SCHICK on September 6, 2017.


Photo by Rinsy Xieng/RCI Guadeloupe, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images.

Watch in Times Video »

With Harvey’s destruction still fresh on people’s minds, Florida hustled into action. Gov. Rick Scott activated the state National Guard to help with hurricane preparations, and he suspended highway tolls. On Monday, the governor declared a state of emergency and spoke with Mr. Trump, who offered “the full resources of the federal government,” Mr. Scott wrote on Twitter.

Most of the latest projections have Irma making landfall in Florida by Sunday, although it is unclear where exactly that might happen.

The Florida Keys, an especially vulnerable chain of islands, moved quickly to prepare for crushing winds and possible flooding. On Wednesday, schools will be closed and mandatory evacuations will begin, county officials said. The Keys’ three hospitals started evacuating patients on Tuesday.

Miami-Dade, the state’s largest county, announced that schools would close on Thursday and officials began putting emergency plans into place.

But Puerto Rico and the northern Leeward Islands are expected to be hit before that. It has been nearly a century since Puerto Rico was hit by a Category 5 storm, Mr. Norcross of the Weather Channel said.

Puerto Rican officials have warned that the island’s fragile electrical grid could be shut down for days, weeks or even months in some areas. In his news conference, Mr. Rosselló and emergency officials warned that with such powerful winds expected to thrash the island, infrastructure, houses and the phone system would inevitably be damaged.

For Puerto Rico, the hurricane could not have come at a worse time. The island is in the throes of an economic crisis and does not have money for a long rebuilding process.

“This is not going to be easy,” said Héctor Pesquera, the superintendent of public security in Puerto Rico.

Abner Gómez Cortés, the head of Puerto Rico’s emergency agency, warned that coastal zones were particular vulnerable — not so much because of rain, as with Harvey — but because of storm surges of up to 20 feet.

On Tuesday, the lines for fast-dwindling gas, food, water and hardware seemed interminable and anxiety mounted. One hardware store in San Juan had been nearly picked clean by afternoon.

“This has been like this for the last three days,” said Juan Carlos Ramirez, the store manager. “We’ve sold all of the most necessary items — flashlight, batteries, plywood.”

People standing in line said one of their biggest worries was the expected loss of electricity for long periods. “The infrastructure can’t cope with a hurricane,” Ashley Albelo, a shopper, said.

Outside a Sears, Maria Ruiz could not help but remember Hurricanes Hugo and George, which badly damaged Puerto Rico. “Destruction,” she said. “That is what we can expect based on past experiences, and it’s already a Category 5.’’

Similar fears were apparent on nearby islands. In Antigua, southeast of Puerto Rico, many businesses were closed. Supermarkets were overrun and gas stations were packed.

Shoppers stocked up on supplies at Walmart in San Juan on Tuesday.


Erika P. Rodriguez for The New York Times

Some island residents sounded stoic and battle-tested. In Guadeloupe, Coralice Line, who was attending the front desk at the Le Creole Beach Hotel Spa, said she was not particularly distressed. “We are not too worried because we are accustomed to it,” she said by phone from the hotel. “Hurricanes are part of life in the Caribbean islands.”

At the Sugar Bay Club hotel in St. Kitts and Nevis, Ophelia Gardiner, the front-desk supervisor, said that while some guests had fled the island on an American Airlines flight, others had decided to stay and ride out the storm.

“Everything is boarded up and put away and all we have to do is wait and see what happens,” Ms. Gardiner said. She laughed nervously. “I don’t know how you can prepare for a hurricane of that magnitude but we’re doing our best.”

In Miami-Dade County, which is still haunted by the ferocity and wreckage of Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, residents worried and began to prepare earlier than usual. For some, a sense of panic began to set in. Many hotels across Florida had already been booked for the weekend by hurricane-wary residents. Most stores had run out of water, flashlights and other key supplies. Gas stations ran out of fuel.

Hurricane Harvey in Texas also weighed heavily on people’s minds.

“I think because of Texas, people are freaking out,” said Yoseyn Ramos, 24, a Miami resident who said she was worried because she could not find gas anywhere.

In Brickell, a Miami neighborhood that abuts both the Atlantic and the Miami River, Lucas Mattout, 22, was dashing around Publix supermarket looking for water. “They are all sold out,” he said. “Of course, with Harvey, no one wants to take a chance.”

Every storm, though, has its rebels. Jose Fonseca, 52, a Coral Gables resident who works at the Mandarin Oriental on Brickell Key, said he had not done or bought anything to prepare for the storm.

“I think people are panicking because of the news from Texas day after day,” he said. “I will buy some water.” Then, he added, “And some beer of course.”

Correction: September 6, 2017

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misidentified the island where Hurricane Irma made landfall. It was Barbuda, not Bermuda.


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Death penalty possible for man who told 911 he thought he killed wife after taking too much cold medicine

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A North Carolina man accused of killing his wife after he told a 911 dispatcher that he thought he committed the crime after taking too much cold medicine could potentially receive the death penalty if convicted, a judge told him today.

Matthew Phelps, 28, who is charged with one count of murder for allegedly fatally stabbing his 29-year-old wife, made his first appearance in a Wake County court this afternoon, but he has not yet entered a plea. A judge told the defendant that, if convicted, he could potentially receive the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.

ABC News has reached out to Phelps’ attorney, Joseph Cheshire, for comment but did not immediately hear back.

His next court date is set for Sept. 25.

Early Friday morning, police say Phelps called 911 and told the dispatcher, “I had a dream and then I turned on the lights and she’s dead on the floor.”

“I have blood all over me and there’s a bloody knife on the bed,” Phelps said. “I think I did it.”

“I can’t believe this,” he said.

The Raleigh Police Department released the audio from the 911 call but redacted some information and altered the caller’s voice.

Phelps told 911, “I took more medicine than I should have.” He said he “took Coricidin Cough Cold,” explaining, “a lot of times I can’t sleep at night.”

The dispatcher asked if the victim was awake, and Phelps responded, “She’s not breathing. Oh my God.”

The dispatcher asked if the victim was beyond help, and Phelps replied, “I don’t know. I’m too scared to get too close to her. … I’m so scared.”

Sobbing, Phelps said, “She didn’t deserve this.”

Officers responded and found his wife, Lauren Phelps, with stab wounds. She was hospitalized and later died.

The family of Lauren Phelps, whose maiden name was Hugelmaier, said in a statement, “Lauren was all about her family.

PHOTO: An undated photo of Lauren Phelps (maiden name Hugelmaier). Courtesy Lauren Hugelmaier family
An undated photo of Lauren Phelps (maiden name Hugelmaier).

“Her four nephews were her whole world. Church was a priority for her. Lauren volunteered and loved the children and youth ministry. She enjoyed fashion and loved finding great deals at Target. Lauren loved her dog, Cooper, like he was her child. She was a very special person to everyone who knew her. The family requests privacy as they cope with this unbearable tragedy.”

According to ABC Durham station WTVD, the couple had been married since last year.

Bayer, the makers of Coricidin, said in a statement, “Bayer extends our deepest sympathies to this family.”

“Patient safety is our top priority, and we continually monitor adverse events regarding all of our products,” Bayer said, adding, “There is no evidence to suggest that Coricidin is associated with violent behavior.”

ABC News’ Doug Lantz and Carrie Stewart contributed to this report.

Boston Red Sox Used Apple Watches to Steal Signs Against Yankees

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The Red Sox responded in kind on Tuesday, filing a complaint against the Yankees, claiming that the team uses a camera from its television network, YES, exclusively to steal signs during games.

It is unclear what penalties, if any, Commissioner Rob Manfred will issue against the Red Sox and whether he will order a more expansive investigation to determine the extent of the Red Sox’ sign-stealing system. It is also unclear how he will proceed with the countercomplaint.

Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball, declined to comment on the case. Attempts to reach the Red Sox were not successful. A Yankees official declined to comment on the Red Sox’ claim regarding the YES camera.

Stealing signs is believed to be most effective when there is a runner on second base who can watch what hand signals the catcher is using to communicate with the pitcher and then relay to the batter any clues about what type of pitch may be coming. Such tactics are allowed as long as long as teams do not use any methods beyond their eyes. Binoculars and electronic devices are prohibited to communicate about signs.

In recent years, as cameras have proliferated in major-league ballparks, teams have begun using the abundance of video to help them discern opponents’ signs. Some clubs have had clubhouse attendants quickly relay information to the dugout from personnel monitoring video.

With that approach, the information has to be rushed to the dugout on foot so it can be passed to the runner on second base. The Red Sox seemed to shorten the communication chain — and more quickly get the information to their batters — by sending information electronically to people in the dugout.

The Red Sox told league investigators that team personnel scanning instant-replay video were sending the pitch signs electronically to the trainers, who were then passing the information to the players.

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As part of the inquiry, baseball investigators have interviewed the Red Sox team trainers and outfielder Chris Young, a former Yankees player. The Red Sox told league investigators that the team’s manager, John Farrell, general manager, Dave Dombrowski, and other front-office officials were not aware of the sign-stealing operation, the people said.

In the first game of the series in question, the first time the Red Sox got a runner on second was Xander Bogaerts, in the second inning. Rafael Devers promptly hit a home run, giving the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox went 5 for 8 in the first game when they had a man on second.

Their success when they had a runner on second in the other two games was mixed: 1 for 6 in the second game; and 3 for 10 in the third game.

Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray pitching in the first inning against the Red Sox on Aug. 20. The Red Sox won that game, 5-1.


Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

The video provided to the commissioner’s office by the Yankees was captured during the first two games of the series and included at least three clips. In the clips, the team’s assistant athletic trainer, Jon Jochim, is seen looking at his Apple Watch and then passing information to outfielder Brock Holt and second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was injured at the time but in uniform. In one instance, Pedroia is then seen passing the information to Young.

The Red Sox’ tactics will add to their intense rivalry with the Yankees, who closely trail them in the standings. Outside of New England, the case will be reminiscent of the Spygate controversy that erupted a decade ago when the world-beating Patriots were found to have violated N.F.L. rules by spying on opponents to gain an edge.

Mr. Manfred is in a difficult position as he decides how to discipline the team and whether to continue investigating to try to determine if the Red Sox violated rules in other games this season and whether Farrell and other team personnel knew about the scheme.

A decade ago, the N.F.L. commissioner, Roger Goodell, hastily took away a first-round draft pick and fined the Patriots and their coach, Bill Belichick, before conducting a thorough investigation. When more evidence of cheating later emerged, Goodell was accused of trying to minimize the damage and protect one of the sport’s premiere franchises. Congress eventually got involved.

In baseball, the most infamous incident involving sign stealing played out in 1951, when the New York Giants overcame a 13 and one- half game deficit in the standings over the final two months of the season to catch the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Giants went on to beat the Dodgers in a playoff for the pennant when Bobby Thomson hit a home run remembered as the “ Shot Heard Round the World.” Fifty years later, The Wall Street Journal revealed that the Giants had spies in the center-field clubhouse at the Polo Grounds who used a telescope to steal signs from the opposing catcher, which were then relayed to Giants’ players from a backup player in the bullpen.

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In 1997, teams accused the Mets of planting small cameras near home plate in Shea Stadium to spy on catchers. The Mets denied that they had used the cameras to try to steal signs, and the league did not take any action.

More recently, the Philadelphia Phillies faced sign-stealing accusations in 2011, when they were one of the best teams in baseball. Several teams logged complaints with the commissioner’s office that the team used binoculars and other unauthorized methods to steal signs. The Phillies were never sanctioned by Major League Baseball.

Some in baseball would like for Mr. Manfred to take away some of Boston’s victories, a move that would be highly unusual. Others believe that a significant fine and the docking of draft picks would be sufficient.

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Trump ‘is not my bride’: Putin wades into diplomatic row with US

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MOSCOW — In biting remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Russia’s diplomatic row with the United States on Tuesday, saying Moscow could further cut U.S. diplomatic staffing in Russia and calling U.S. searches of a Russian consulate and other diplomatic properties “boorish.”

“It is hard to conduct a dialogue with people who confuse Austria with Australia, but there is nothing we can do about this. It seems to be the level of political culture in a certain part of the U.S. establishment,” Putin said in his first public statements on the diplomatic dispute that has been deepening since Washington announced the closure of Russia’s consulate in San Francisco, as well as diplomatic properties housing trade missions in New York and Washington. 

[Here’s how the diplomatic tit-for-tat between Russia and the U.S. unfolded]

The comments came during a news conference at an economic summit in the Chinese city of Xiamen. Putin repeated boilerplate language about how he and President Trump each defended their national interests, but he laced his remarks with bitter jokes. 

Putin swatted away a question about whether he was “disappointed” with Trump, calling it “naive.”

Trump “is not my bride. I am not his bride, nor his groom. We are running our governments,” Putin told a reporter at the economic summit, which hosted leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Trump spoke glowingly of Putin while on the campaign trail and said he would usher in a period of detente between the two countries. That has largely been derailed by allegations about Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

 The United States said the closures of Russian diplomatic property would achieve “parity” in the countries’ respective diplomatic missions, a word borrowed from the Russian side, which cut the U.S. diplomatic mission by 755 employees in July. 

Yet the series of tit-for-tat expulsions and punishments seems unlikely to end there, and Russia says it is weighing options. In his remarks, Putin said he had ordered the Russian Foreign Ministry to file a lawsuit in U.S. courts over the seizure of the Russian properties in the United States. 

“Strictly speaking, the full parity does not mean 455 U.S. diplomats stationed in Moscow but minus 155 more,” Putin said. “So, we reserve the right to make a decision regarding this number of U.S. diplomats in Moscow. We will not be doing it so far.” 

[Watch: Trump says he “very thankful” Putin expelled diplomats]

Putin also blasted calls for Russia to join sanctions against North Korea shortly after the United States slapped Russia itself with broad financial sanctions.

Without directly naming the United States, he said that putting pressure on North Korea would be pointless. North Korea would “eat grass but will not stop this program unless it feels safe,” he said.

“The escalation of military hysteria will not do any good. It may lead to a planetary catastrophe and a colossal casualty rate. There is no other way to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem but peacefully and diplomatically,” Putin said. North Korea on Sunday tested what it called a hydrogen bomb that the country’s leaders say can be mounted on a missile capable of reaching the United States. 

Trump has previously said that “all options are on the table” concerning U.S. retaliation should North Korea target the United States or any of its overseas territories, including Guam.

In New York, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday urged the members of the U.N. Security Council and the five countries that have negotiated with North Korea in the past — including Russia and the United States — to come together with a united strategy to get Pyongyang to negotiate the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

“The solution must be political,” Guterres said. “The potential consequences of military action are too horrific.”

He condemned Pyongyang for defying the international community and recklessly risking the lives of its citizens.

Carol Morello contributed reporting from Washington.

 

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Catastrophic Hurricane Irma — now a Cat 5 — is on a collision course with Florida

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This story has been updated with the latest National Hurricane Center forecast and model information through 5 p.m. eastern.

Hurricane Irma is an “extremely dangerous” Category 5, barreling toward the northern Lesser Antilles and Southern Florida. It’s already the strongest hurricane ever recorded outside the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s likely to make landfall somewhere in Florida over the weekend.

If it does, the impact could be catastrophic.

The storm is life-threatening for the United States, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and the southeastern Bahamas. Hurricane warnings have been issued for the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos. A hurricane watch covers Haiti and the southeastern Bahamas.

With maximum winds of 185 mph, Irma is tied for the second strongest storm ever observed in the Atlantic.

[How to prepare for Hurricane Irma]

The hurricane is expected to remain at least a Category 4 for the next few days with minor fluctuations in intensity. It could even become slightly stronger, but has neared the theoretical limit for how strong it can get given ocean temperatures.

It cannot be overstated that Hurricane Irma is extremely dangerous and will produce the full gamut of hurricane hazards across the Caribbean and potentially in South Florida, including a devastating storm surge, destructive winds and dangerous flash flooding.

All of Florida — especially South Florida and the Keys — should be preparing for a major hurricane landfall on Sunday. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to arrive as soon as Friday.


(National Hurricane Center)

Mainland U.S. landfall threat

Computer models are in strong agreement that by Saturday, Irma will be approaching the Florida Keys — where dangerous storm conditions are likely. Then, they show a sharp northward turn by Sunday morning. The precise timing and location of the turn has huge implications for Florida.


Group of model simulations or ensemble members from the European (red) and American (blue) computer models. (StormVistaWxModels.com)

[Understanding hurricane forecasts: making sense of spaghetti, cones and categories]

It is impossible to say with certainty whether Irma will track up along the eastern side of the Florida peninsula, the western side, or straight up the peninsula. Since the weekend, models have generally shifted westward with the storm’s forecast track, which means interests along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico should also closely monitor this storm.

[Florida declares a state of emergency in response to Irma]

For a major hurricane, the exact track of the storm’s eyewall — the zone surrounding its calm center — is critical as it will determine where the most severe effects tend to concentrate. The most violent winds coincide with the eyewall, and the biggest storm surge occurs just to its right (or north).

But as Irma is such a large and powerful hurricane, very dangerous weather will also occur up to 200 miles away from the eyewall — including coastal surge, flooding rains and potentially damaging winds.

“The hurricane force winds in Irma are wider than Florida,” tweeted Bryan Norcross, hurricane specialist at the Weather Channel. “You won’t need a direct hit to get Wilma-type winds  storm surge on both coasts.”

Beyond the weekend, the scenarios really depend on which side of Florida it tracks. But for now, it’s safe to say that the southeast United States, including the Florida panhandle, Georgia and the Carolinas, should also brace for potential impacts, such as flash flooding, storm surge and strong winds.


Seven-day cumulative rainfall forecast. (NOAA/WPC)

Impact on the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the powerhouse storm was positioned 130 miles east of the island of Antigua in the northern Leewards, where it is forecast to make a direct impact early Wednesday. The storm was moving westward at 15 miles per hour and the Hurricane Center warned weather conditions would soon deteriorate.

Destructive winds as well as heavy rain (8 to 12 inches with isolated amounts of 20 inches) that can produce flash flooding and mudslides are possible in the warning areas. Along the coast, the storm surge height – or rise in water above normally  dry air  – could reach  7-11 feet – especially just north of the storm center.

Irma is likely to become the strongest hurricane on record to hit the Leeward Islands, even more intense than David, which raked across the central Leeward Islands in 1979. “David was a horrible hurricane for Leeward Islands: 56 fatalities in Dominica,” tweeted Phil Klotzbach, hurricane expert at Colorado State University.

Antigua, Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Anguilla — in particular — are right in the path of the storm.

“Really feel for the northern Leeward Islands,” tweeted National Hurricane Center forecaster Eric Blake. “A hurricane this strong there only comes around once a generation or two.”

Areas affected by the core winds near the storm’s eye face devastating wind destruction. The Hurricane Center provides this description of the damage inflicted by Category 5 winds:

A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed, with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

After passing the northern Leeward Islands, the hurricane will strike the British Virgin Islands with potentially catastrophic effects.

The U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico may remain south of the storm’s center, so less prone to Irma’s most hostile conditions. But even so, damaging winds and torrential rains are likely along with a significant storm surge at the coast.

Irma’s place in history

Irma’s peak intensity so far ranks among the strongest in recorded history, exceeding the likes of Katrina, Andrew and Camille – whose winds peaked at 175 mph.

Among the most intense storms on record, it only trails Hurricane Allen in 1980 which had winds of 190 miles per hour. It is tied for second most intense with Hurricane Wilma in 2005, Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and the 1935 Florida Keys hurricane.

If Irma makes landfall as a Category 4 or higher in the United States, joining Hurricane Harvey, it will become the first time two storms so strong struck the United States in the same season.

Tropical Storm Jose forms in eastern Atlantic

While all attention is on Hurricane Irma, Tropical Storm Jose formed in the eastern Atlantic Tuesday morning. This storm is also predicted to intensify into a hurricane over the coming days, but the latest track forecast keeps it away from land areas for the most part.


(National Hurricane Center)

Read more: 

The truth about Harvey and climate change is in the middle

Texas continues Harvey recovery efforts as Hurricane Irma looms in the Atlantic