George Springer wins World Series MVP, ties record with five homers

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LOS ANGELES — Earlier in the World Series, Houston Astros center fielder George Springer talked about not letting the magnitude of playing in it become overwhelming.

“You can’t worry about the result of each at-bat,” he said. “You just have to stay in the moment.”

In the biggest game of the season, the biggest game in Astros history and certainly the biggest game of his life, Springer remained in the moment, capping his stellar week by hitting his World Series record-tying fifth home run and leading his team to a Series-clinching 5-1 victory in Game 7 on Wednesday night.

Springer was an easy choice for the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award, after hitting .379 (11-for-29) with five home runs and seven RBIs. His eight extra-base hits were the most ever in a World Series, and he is the first player to homer in four straight games within a single World Series, according to ESPN Stats Information research.

Upon receiving his MVP award, Springer spoke about how the Series victory was especially meaningful both for the franchise and the city.

“This is a dream come true and an honor,” Springer said. “But it’s about the Houston Astros tonight, our city, our fans. That patch on our chests really does mean something. We’re coming home champions.”

Springer’s record-tying homer on Wednesday came off a 3-2 fastball from Dodgers starter Yu Darvish. It gave the Astros a 5-0 lead in the second inning, knocking Darvish from the game.

“I remember swinging and hearing the sound of the bat,” Springer said of the homer. “And I knew it was a good sound.

“It’s a very surreal feeling because this is Game 7. This is what you dream of as a kid. And for that to happen is indescribable.”

Springer matched Reggie Jackson (1977) and Chase Utley (2009) for the record of five home runs in one World Series, although Jackson and Utley did it in a six-game Series. Springer, who doubled and scored in the first inning, also had 29 total bases in the World Series, breaking the record of 25 shared by Willie Stargell (1979) and Jackson. Springer also passed Stargell for the most extra-base hits in a World Series with seven, becoming the first player to have had at least one extra-base hit in six straight World Series games.

Springer’s first four home runs of the Series each tied the score or gave the Astros the lead.

Consider the clutch factor of his home runs:

Game 2: Hit a two-run homer off Brandon McCarthy in the top of the 11th to give the Astros a 7-5 lead in an eventual 7-6 victory.
Game 4: Gave the Astros a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning, when he broke up Alex Wood‘s no-hitter with a home run way out to left field off a 3-1 curveball.
Game 5: In the wild 13-12 win for the Astros, his seventh-inning homer — a 112 mph laser estimated at 448 feet — off Brandon Morrow tied the game at 8.
Game 6: Made it 1-0 in the third inning with an opposite-field shot off Rich Hill.
Game 7: With two outs in the second inning, his 438-foot two-run shot broke open a 3-0 game to give the Astros some early breathing room.

Springer’s World Series actually got off to an inauspicious start. After going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Game 1, he said teammate Carlos Beltran pulled him aside.

“He told me to go out and enjoy the moment,” Springer said of Beltran. “He’s played for 20 years, and this is his second time here. He told me to relax, be myself and enjoy it.”

Maybe it is fitting that Springer has turned into a World Series hero for the Astros. A first-round pick out of the University of Connecticut in 2011, it was Springer who appeared on the infamous Sports Illustrated cover in 2014 that declared the Astros “Your 2017 World Series champs.” The Astros were mired in a 92-loss season that year, a season that actually was a big improvement over their three previous years, when the Astros had lost 100-plus games as the front office rebuilt the team from scratch.

“When you get to spring, you know who you have. You know what you have,” Springer said. “You think you can do it, but 162 games is a lot of games, and a lot has to go right. … Getting down 3-2 to a very good New York team, a lot of things happened for us. I’m just proud to bring a championship to city that desperately needed it.”

For this entire postseason, Springer had six home runs, all from the leadoff spot, tying Lenny Dykstra’s postseason record for home runs by a leadoff hitter.

The Astros set a World Series record with 15 home runs as a team.

Springer’s Game 7 shot closed the door on a World Series to forget for Darvish. The Dodgers righty is just the second pitcher ever to fail to complete the second inning in multiple starts within the same World Series. The other is Art Ditmar, who did so for the New York Yankees in Games 1 and 5 of the 1960 World Series. Darvish induced just four swing-and-misses in his 96 total pitches thrown in the Series.

Springer wasn’t the only member of the Astros to make history on Wednesday night.

Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. became the first pitcher to hit four batters in any postseason game, plunking Yasiel Puig and Kike Hernandez once each and Justin Turner twice. According to Elias Sports Bureau, McCullers also became the first pitcher to hit four batters within the first three innings of any game, regular season or postseason, since 2000; coincidentally, it was Dodgers starter Orel Hershiser who hit four Astros in that game.

On Wednesday, McCullers was pulled one batter after hitting Turner for the second time, finishing with three strikeouts, four hit batters and no runs allowed in 2⅓ innings. He turned in the second shortest scoreless start in a World Series winner-take-all game; the shortest appearance was by Curly Ogden (one-third of an inning) of the 1924 Washington Senators.

McCullers left after striking out Cody Bellinger, who swung his way into history, as well. Bellinger’s third-inning strikeout was his 16th of the Series, tying him with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (2017 American League Division Series) for the most K’s in any single postseason series. Bellinger then claimed the record outright with his 17th strikeout after going down looking against Charlie Morton in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Bellinger, who hit the second-most home runs in the National League this season with 39, was baffled by McCullers, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in the World Series against the right-hander. Bellinger whiffed on nine of his 12 swings against McCullers in the Series, and of the 19 total pitches he saw from McCullers, 18 were curveballs.

Student charged after bragging about putting roommate’s toothbrush ‘where the sun doesn’t shine’

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Former University of Hartford student Brianna Brochu, 18. (West Hartford Police Department/AP)

A former student at the University of Hartford has been charged with criminal mischief and breach of peace after bragging online about contaminating her roommate’s belongings with bodily fluids, including rubbing dirty tampons on her backpack and putting her toothbrush “places where the sun doesn’t shine.”

Eighteen-year-old Brianna Brochu appeared in court Wednesday. A judge banned her from the campus in central Connecticut and ordered her not to have any contact with her former dormitory roommate, Chennel Rowe, pending the conclusion of the case, according to the Hartford Courant.

Authorities told the Courant that Brochu, who is white, also faces a hate-crime charge stemming from the alleged actions against her roommate, who is black.

Last month, Brochu allegedly wrote on Instagram that she finally “got rid of her roommate,” whom she referred to as “Jamaican Barbie.”

“After 1½ month of spitting in her coconut oil, putting moldy clam dip in her lotions, rubbing used tampons [on] her backpack, putting her toothbrush places where the sun doesn’t shine, and so much more, I can finally say goodbye Jamaican Barbie,” the post read, according to court records obtained by Heavy.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Brochu posted pictures, including one of a bag stained with a “reddish brown substance” that she later acknowledged was “period blood,” one of a food container filled with a milky substance and one of hair extensions with the caption, “This b—- legit bought a box of f—ing hair.”

[Three Dartmouth professors accused of sexual misconduct]

University of Hartford President Greg Woodward said in a letter Wednesday to the campus community that following the “deeply disturbing situation,” Brochu is no longer a student at the school. He said the university took immediate action once it learned about the allegations, notifying campus authorities and the West Hartford Police Department, which opened an investigation on Oct. 18.

Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Brochu was arrested Saturday after telling police that she started to lash out at Rowe after she posted videos of Brochu sleeping and teasing her for snoring, according to court documents.

She told police that she did lick Rowe’s “plate, fork and spoon,” rub a used tampon on her backpack and mix Rowe’s lotions together, but she said that everything else she bragged about online was not true, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Brochu had not yet been assigned an attorney in the case.

Rowe recounted the ordeal Monday in a Facebook Live video, saying that she had been experiencing throat pain for weeks and did not know why. She told police earlier this month that a nurse had advised her she had a “bacteria present in her throat” and Rowe suspected it was caused by “Brochu tampering with her personal items,” according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Rowe said in the Facebook video that she learned about Brochu’s social media post when she was approached by a former neighbor and two resident assistants as she was switching dorm rooms.

As a young African American woman I don’t want to become another statistic. When it comes to college incidents/crimes…

Posted by Jazzy Rowe on Monday, October 30, 2017

The university president called the incident “deeply upsetting.”

“One of our students was the alleged victim of bullying and her story was shared across social media,” Woodward said Tuesday in a letter to the campus.

“The incident has brought about accusations of racism, and I want you to know that I hear and share your anger and frustration,” he said. “Acts of racism, bias, bullying, or other abusive behaviors will not be tolerated on this campus. I pledge to do everything in my power to work with our community to address related concerns together.”

Woodward said the University of Hartford “is not exempt from issues facing our society and world” and encouraged others to come forward with concerns.

“We must strive every day to practice understanding, tolerance, inclusion, and grace,” he said. “I know that you will join me in this critical mission.”

A black Cornell student said he was beaten and called the n-word, roiling the Ivy League campus

A university president held a dinner for black students — and set the table with cotton stalks and collard greens

New York attack suspect should get death penalty, Trump says

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(CNN)The suspect in New York’s deadliest terror attack since 9/11 has been charged with federal terrorism offenses in Tuesday’s attack that left eight people dead, authorities said.

CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz, Tal Kopan, Paul Murphy, Brynn Gingras, David Shortell, Topher Gauk-Roger, Curt Devine, Hilary McGann, Elizabeth Joseph, Athena Jones, Sarah Jorgensen, Nelli Black, Kristina Sgueglia and Patricia DiCarlo contributed to this report.

South Korea will not develop or possess nuclear weapons, president says

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President Moon Jae-in told lawmakers Wednesday that South Korea would not seek to have nuclear weapons and said that Seoul would never accept its neighbor North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

“According to the joint agreement by the two Koreas on denuclearization, North Korea’s nuclear state cannot be accepted or tolerated. We will not develop or possess nuclear weapons either,” the president said in his second state of the nation address at the National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament.

Recent tests by North Korea have led to a renewed debate about nuclear weapons in South Korea. Although the country once sought its own nuclear weapons in the 1970s during the presidency of Park Chung-hee, leaders were persuaded by the United States to abandon such ambitions.

The United States stationed nuclear-armed weapons in South Korea during the Cold War until 1991, when President George H.W. Bush withdrew all tactical nuclear weapons deployed abroad, though the country remains protected from North Korean nuclear weapons under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

After North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, a number of politicians suggested that the South should reconsider its own nuclear weapons program. In the weeks after that test, a group of lawmakers from South Korea’s opposition party, the Liberty Korea Party, came to Washington to ask for the redeployment of U.S. nuclear weapons to the country.

The debate has also taken place within Moon’s own ruling party, the Democratic Party. “The redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons is an alternative worth a full review,” Defense Minister Song Young-moo said in early September, before North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

Before he was elected, President Trump also suggested he was open to the possibility of countries such as South Korea and Japan acquiring their own nuclear weapons to deal with the threat of North Korea.

However, Moon has remained adamantly against nuclear weapons in South Korea and has repeatedly said he would not consider redeployment due to the possibility of raising tensions with North Korea unnecessarily. During a recent visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to Seoul, both Mattis and Song dismissed the idea of redeploying nuclear weapons.

“When considering national interest, it’s much better not to deploy them,” Song said. Mattis said U.S. strategic assets already provide the necessary deterrence.

Despite Moon’s strong opposition to nuclear weapons, recent polls have shown that a majority of South Koreans favor them. A poll conducted by Gallup Korea in September found that 60 percent of South Koreans supported nuclear weapons for their country in theory, a number consistent with other polls conducted recently.

Speaking to the National Assembly on Wednesday, Moon said other options were preferable to military action with North Korea. “Sanctions and pressure are means to bring North Korea to the negotiating table and to make the right choice,” Moon said.

“There can never be a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula or military operations without the South Korean government’s prior consent,” the president added.

Yoonjung Seo contributed to this report.

A South Korean delegation asks Washington for nuclear weapons

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Police rescue teacher held hostage in classroom at California elementary school

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Maria Ortiz consoled her fifth-grade daughter, Crystal Godinez, outside Castle View Elementary School in Riverside, Calif. Officials said all students were accounted for as a man continued to hold a hostage inside the school. (Watchara Phomicinda/The Press-Enterprise via AP)

This story has been updated.

A SWAT team swept into a Southern California elementary school Tuesday evening to rescue a teacher who had been held hostage by a father for hours, shooting the man who had held her captive, police said.

Police in Riverside, Calif., said the man forced his way into Castle View Elementary about 11:20 a.m., hitting a man who attempted to stop him in the face. He then forced his way into the school, barricading himself inside a classroom with teacher Linda Montgomery, Officer Ryan Railsback, a spokesman for the Riverside Police Department, said during an evening news conference.

Staff immediately called police and began ushering children and other teachers from the school. SWAT officers arrived on scene to assist with the evacuation. Meanwhile, smoke was seen seeping from the classroom, but it quickly dissipated. It was unclear if the man was armed, Railsback said.

Railsback said the man, whom he declined to identify, refused repeated calls from officials to come out of the classroom. SWAT officers positioned themselves in an armored vehicle outside, and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene.

ATF Los Angeles special agents are responding to assist Riverside Police Dept. partners w/ law enforcement situation at elementary school pic.twitter.com/Li9DVkUhBY

— ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) October 31, 2017

Eventually, after hours of communication with the man — and after hearing nothing from the teacher — officers made the decision to force their way into the classroom.

“The negotiators hadn’t had any contact or heard anything from the victim herself,” Railsback said. “We of course have been fearing for the hostage’s life all day.”

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that two flash-bangs were heard at around 5:45 p.m., more than six hours after the teacher had been pulled into the classroom. At least one officer opened fire on the suspect. The suspect was taken to the hospital, but Railsback did not know the extent of his injuries.

Montgomery, the teacher, was also taken to a local hospital for evaluation, but had no obvious injuries.

“I just can’t imagine what’s she’s gone through,” Railsback said. “I’m sure she’s going to suffer some emotional trauma.”

School officials have canceled classes at Castle View Elementary for the remainder of the week while officials continue to investigate the incident and will offer counseling for affected students at Taft Elementary.

Riverside schools had already tightened security measures after a shooting an elementary school about 20 miles north of Castle View in San Bernardino, Calif., left a student and a teacher dead. Now, Riverside Superintendent David Hansen said the school system will once again reevaluate its safety protocols.

[‘He heard people yelling, ‘No, don’t!’’: Inside the murder-suicide in a San Bernardino classroom]

“This tragedy is still a situation is something we never want to go through again,” Hansen said. “It is something that we will learn from.”

Dodgers-Astros World Series: Roberts gets redemption in sticking to bullpen formula

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LOS ANGELES — After days of having so many bullpen decisions blow up in his face, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saw everything come back together in a 3-1 Game 6 victory, forcing a Game 7 for all the proverbial marbles. Consider it his redemption.

Six days ago in this very park, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Rich Hill after just four innings of work. Hill only threw 60 pitches.

It boiled down to Roberts and his staff not wanting the powerful Astros‘ offense to see Hill a third time. Roberts had a stellar bullpen to that point and he wanted to stick with the formula of using Kenta Maeda for longer-than-one-inning stints, Brandon Morrow in the highest-leverage situations before save situations, Tony Watson for about an inning (sometimes less) and Tony Cingrani as his situational lefty before Kenley Jansen shut things down.

It had been working like a charm. In Game 2, it fell apart late and the Dodgers lost.

Since then, the Dodgers bullpen has been noticeably tired and inconsistent.

Thus, the Game 2 bullpen failures after what many believed was a quick hook on Hill, the narrative was launched that Roberts needed to trust his starters more and stop overtaxing his bullpen. Many media types have been hammering home that Hill held hitters to a .158/.208/.200 line this season the third time through the order. It could be that Hill would’ve been fine, just as he had been this season, but there are caveats there. First off, if he only sees the order a third time when he’s pitching really well, that’s kind of selection bias. Secondly, he pitches in the NL West against the Giants and Padres quite often. The Astros are an offensive juggernaut, as we’ve already seen at times this series.

Still, the critiques of Roberts’ dealing with the bullpen in Game 2 and then Game 5, with everyone being so overworked, continued to sprinkle in.

Roberts himself seemed to relent and said in Monday’s press conference in Dodger Stadium that he wanted to get more length out of Hill and that he didn’t really want to stretch Jansen past three outs.

As the game started to unfold in front of him, however, Roberts just couldn’t help himself.

With runners on second and third and no outs — and having already allowed a George Springer home run — Rich Hill got two strikeouts. After the strikeout of counterpart Justin Verlander, Hill intentionally walked Springer to load the bases for Alex Bregman. This had the feel of a pivotal moment in the game.

Roberts came from the dugout and took Hill out. He got just 4 2/3 innings out of him and now turned to an exhausted bullpen. He went back to his formula. This was probably the highest-leverage moment of the game, so it was a man who was making his sixth appearance of the series: Morrow.

The fans in Dodger Stadium were angry. There were boos. I heard plenty of profanity in the reserved level, too, directed at Roberts for the move (not that it bothers me, just pointing out the atmosphere). Hill went into the dugout and cleared a table of its cups of water in anger.

It really had the feel of the Astros breaking the game wide open and Roberts having to deal with intense scrutiny after the game while the Astros celebrated their World Series title. After all, Verlander was dealing.

Morrow would get a routine grounder to end the threat. He would then get two hitters the next inning before allowing a single and yielding to Watson, who himself retired the next hitter to end the inning.

“I just felt that obviously Rich came out and threw the ball really well, and matched Verlander pitch for pitch,” Roberts said afterward. “Really was outstanding. And I just felt that at that point, get a guy on base, you’ve got second and third, and put the guy on base and punch out Verlander. For me, I just felt that that was, with Verlander on the mound, that was going to be the game. So a guy that we’ve trusted all year long in that spot, I felt that you have to use that bullet in Brandon Morrow, and I’ve believed in him all year long. And he came through in the biggest spot of the season.”

He did. That’s a point for Roberts. He’d gather a few more in this one.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Dodgers busted through for two runs. Roberts still needed nine more outs from his tired bullpen. He had starter Alex Wood available in relief, but he still stuck to his formula. After Watson, it was Maeda.

Then, once the bottom of the seventh inning ended — now with a 3-1 lead thanks to a Joc Pederson solo shot — “California Love” started to blare from the Dodger Stadium speakers.

Yes, Roberts was going to get six outs from his closer, Jansen, a situation he specifically said he wanted to avoid.

Jansen could have been a bit tired, but he was not without his stuff. When he’s really on, he averages around 94 miles per hour on his cutter. He was sitting 91-92 in Game 6. He hit mid-90s a few times.

Roberts said the thought process was that he wasn’t sure Jansen could finish. He needed him to be efficient.

Jansen delivered. He needed only eight pitches (all were strikes) to get the 1-2-3 in the eighth.

A soft Marwin Gonzalez pop to first baseman Cody Bellinger in shallow right was the first out in the ninth. Dodger Nation Public Enemy Number Two Josh Reddick (now behind Yuli Gurriel) was next. He would strike out swinging. Pinch hitter Carlos Beltran — a possible Hall of Famer looking for his first ring in possibly his last season — dug in with two outs. He would strike out as well.

Bedlam, “I Love L.A.” blasting from the center field speakers and a Game 7 was now on tap. This incredible and outrageous and stupendous series was going the distance.

Was Jansen really tired? Bah, please. He threw 19 pitches. Eighteen were strikes.

“When I used him, when I called on him in the eighth, I wasn’t certain,” Roberts said of whether Jansen could finish. “I just knew that part of the order, I just wanted him to attack those guys. And if he wasn’t as efficient in the eighth, then I would have been put in a different situation to call on to close that game out.”

Again, though, Jansen came through.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how Roberts sorts everything out for Game 7. He’ll have Wood and Clayton Kershaw available behind starter Yu Darvish. Morrow and Maeda, not to mention Jansen, have to have close to nothing left in the tank. Of course, it is Game 7 of the World Series with an offseason immediately to follow. Empty everyone’s tanks if need be.

For now, Roberts has found redemption in sticking with his formula. What didn’t work in Games 2 and 5 came through in Game 6 and now the Dodgers are one win away from their first World Series title since 1988.

Tech Executives Are Contrite About Election Meddling, but Make Few Promises on Capitol Hill

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Since then, the company has scrambled to appease lawmakers by promising to hire more than 1,000 people to manually review political ad purchases and to make public the funding behind those ads.

“The foreign interference we saw was reprehensible,” Colin Stretch, Facebook’s general counsel, told senators.

The companies also acknowledged that they were struggling to keep up with the threat of foreign interference.

“The abuse of our platform to attempt state-sponsored manipulation of elections is a new challenge for us — and one that we are determined to meet,” said Twitter’s acting general counsel, Sean Edgett.

At the heart of the companies’ problems are business models that reward viral content — which can include misinformation — and an enormous advertising business that is automated and unable to easily spot ads purchased by foreign governments.

In a sign of the shifting political winds for tech giants, Republicans, who have been more restrained in their criticism of the companies, were more skeptical on Tuesday. In one contentious exchange, Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, pressed Mr. Stretch on whether Facebook could possibly police all of its advertisers.

“I’m trying to get us down from La-La Land here,” Mr. Kennedy said. “The truth of the matter is, you have five million advertisers that change every month. Every minute. Probably every second. You don’t have the ability to know who every one of those advertisers is, do you?”

Senators Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, and Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, before the start of the hearing.

Credit
Eric Thayer for The New York Times

Mr. Stretch acknowledged that Facebook could not track all those advertisers.

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, the chairman of the crime and terrorism subcommittee that held the hearing, said the risk went beyond Russia to other American adversaries. Talking to reporters afterward, he alluded to potential regulation of political advertising online.

Continue reading the main story

“It’s Russia today; it could be Iran and North Korea tomorrow,” Mr. Graham said. “What we need to do is sit down and find ways to bring some of the controls we have on over-the-air broadcast to social media to protect the consumer.”

Facebook, Twitter and Google have not publicly opposed a bipartisan proposal to require reports on who funds political ads online, similar to rules for broadcast television. In private, their lobbyists have praised voluntary efforts to disclose political ad funding and have resisted many aspects of the bill.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, said the legislation was essential before the midterm elections in 2018.

“Our midterms are 370 days away, and we don’t have time to mess around with dialogue anymore,” Ms. Klobuchar said in an interview after the hearing. Ms. Klobuchar introduced the bill with Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.

During the hearing, some Republicans also sought to play down the Russian effort to tip the election in favor of President Trump, stressing incorrectly that the Kremlin’s agents did not favor a particular presidential candidate in last year’s election.

The witnesses at Tuesday’s hearing included Google’s information security director, Richard Salgado.

Credit
Eric Thayer for The New York Times

“Russia does not have loyalty to a political party in the United States,” said Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “Their goal is to divide us and discredit our democracy.”

That assertion was at odds with the conclusion of American intelligence agencies that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia tried to sway the election in favor of Mr. Trump, going beyond just posting disruptive content on social media. Russian operatives also hacked Democratic email accounts and released messages embarrassing to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Continue reading the main story

Mr. Graham asked Mr. Stretch of Facebook to confirm that the pattern of activity the site saw from Russia was more focused on sowing chaos in the United States than in bolstering Mr. Trump’s candidacy.

Continue reading the main story

“During the election, they were trying to create discord between Americans, most of it directed against Clinton,” Mr. Graham said, addressing Mr. Stretch. “After the election, you saw Russian-tied groups and organizations trying to undermine President Trump’s legitimacy. Is that what you saw on Facebook?”

Mr. Stretch agreed. But the question was narrowly tailored, apparently intended to distance the broader Russian interference from the backing of Mr. Trump.

Though the companies promised to work with government officials, Mr. Stretch stopped short of agreeing to some suggestions.

Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Credit
Tom Brenner/The New York Times

In one heated exchange, Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, asked him to reject political ad purchases in foreign currencies.

“How did Facebook, which prides itself on being able to process billions of data points and instantly transform them in the personal connections with its user, somehow not make the connection that electoral ads, paid for in rubles, were coming from Russia?” Mr. Franken said.

But Mr. Stretch hemmed, saying the rejection of a foreign currency to buy political ads would not solve the problem of foreign interference.

“The reason I’m hesitating on foreign currency is it’s relatively easy for bad actors to switch currencies,” Mr. Stretch said. “So it’s a signal, but not enough.”

That response failed to satisfy Mr. Franken, who interrupted with exasperation.

“My goal is for you to think through this stuff a little bit better,” Mr. Franken said, raising his voice.

Continue reading the main story

This week, the companies admitted that the abuse of their platforms was much greater than previously acknowledged. In addition to Facebook’s admission, Google said that agents who were also from the Internet Research Agency uploaded more than 1,000 videos on its YouTube platform. Twitter said the agency published more than 131,000 messages on Twitter.

On Wednesday, the top lawyers for all three companies will appear before the House and Senate intelligence committees, which are conducting their own investigations into the Russian election meddling.

Tuesday’s hearing exposed a much deeper struggle for Facebook, which is trying to tread a delicate line as a technology platform while also fighting against hate speech, violence and misinformation on its site.

“I like that they are contrite, but these issues are existential and they aren’t taking any structural changes,” said Tim Wu, a professor of law at Columbia University. “These are Band-Aids.”

Continue reading the main story

Republicans push tax bill unveiling to Thursday as negotiations continue

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Five Argentines among 8 dead in New York City terror attack

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NEW YORK — A 29-year-old man driving a rental truck plowed down people on a Manhattan bike path Tuesday in what authorities described as a terrorist attack that killed eight and injured 11 before the suspect was shot and arrested by police.

A sunny fall day along the Hudson River erupted in chaos just around the time students were getting out from nearby Stuyvesant High School, when a rented Home Depot truck turned on to the bike path along the West Side Highway.

Witnesses say the speeding truck struck unsuspecting bicyclists and pedestrians while onlookers screamed and scattered. The truck then veered left toward Chambers Street, where it collided with a small school bus, injuring two adults and two children inside, officials said.

Foreign ministries of Belgium and Argentina said five Argentines and a Belgian were among the victims. The Argentine nationals were part of a group of friends celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

According to a video from the scene, the man then jumped out of the wrecked vehicle brandishing what appeared to be handguns. Some witnesses said he shouted “Allahu akbar’’ meaning “God is great’’ in Arabic.

Law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation, identified the suspect as Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant who had been living in Tampa.

The attack could intensify the political debate over immigration and security. President Trump has argued for much tougher screening of immigrants to prevent terrorism, and opponents of those policies have sought to block his efforts in the courts. Uzbekistan was not among the countries named in any version of the president’s travel ban, which largely targeted a number of majority-Muslim countries.

[ New York vehicle attack: Everything you need to know ]

Trump responded to the attack on Twitter, saying it “looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person.’’ He tweeted a short time later: “We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough!” ISIS is an acronym for the Islamic State.

On Tuesday night Trump said he was tightening immigrant screening, tweeting: “I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!”

I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017

There was no immediate indication that the attack had been directed by the Islamic State. However, the group has called on its supporters in Western countries to launch their own attacks, using anything at hand as weapons, including vehicles.

Inside the rental truck, investigators found a handwritten note in which Saipov had declared his allegiance to the Islamic State, according to officials.

Saipov is expected to survive, meaning investigators will likely have a chance to question him about his motive for the attack, but so far, they said, he appears to have been a “lone wolf’’ suspect – someone who acted alone after being inspired, but not directly instructed, by the Islamic State.

He had been living in Paterson, New Jersey before the attack, and rented the vehicle in that state before driving it into Manhattan, officials said.

The violence was terrifyingly similar to vehicle attacks carried out in Europe, where Islamic State supporters have used cars and trucks to strike pedestrians in crowded streets, a tactic that has been employed in France, Britain, Germany, Sweden and Spain.

“This certainly bears all the hallmarks of an ISIS-inspired or al-Qaeda-inspired attack,” said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, whom the FBI briefed on the attack Tuesday evening. “We have to expect that as the capital of the caliphate has now fallen, there are going to be increasing efforts to show that they remain dangerous and lethal, and to expand the virtual caliphate.”

Antonio Valasquez, 28, said he saw the truck speed by as he left a restaurant and then heard a crash. “I didn’t really understand, you know, at first what was happening,” he said. Valasquez said he heard what appeared to be gunshots shortly after but couldn’t be sure. “I was running away.”

An officer from the 1st Precinct approached Saipov and shot him in the abdomen, police said. He has been taken to a hospital, but officials did not discuss his condition or location. The weapons he was brandishing turned out to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun, police said.

Rabbi Chaim Zaklos was picking up about half a dozen children from school to escort them to Hebrew school nearby when he encountered the scene. Police were pushing people away, and he could see abandoned bikes and what appeared to be uprooted trees nearby. “It was obvious something drastic was happening, so I just wanted to get the kids someplace safe,” said Zaklos, 35.

“This is a very painful day in our city,’’ New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said. “Based on the information we have at this moment, this was an act of terror, a particularly cowardly act of terror aimed at innocent civilians.”

Saipov moved to the United States from Uzbekistan about six years ago, said Dilnoza Abdusamatova, 24, who said Saipov stayed with her family in Cincinnati for his first two weeks in the country because their fathers were friends. Some officials said he arrived in 2010.

Abdusamatova said Saipov then moved to Florida to start a trucking company. Her family members think he got married about a year after arriving in the United States and may now have two children. Around that time, she said, he cut off contact with them.

“He stopped talking to us when he got married,” Abdusamatova said.

[ Vehicles as weapons of terror: U.S. cities on alert as attacks hit the West ]

Saipov had lived in an apartment complex, Heritage at Tampa, near the Hillsborough River. On Tuesday evening, two plainclothes investigators were seen departing the community, having interviewed several residents and others in the surrounding neighborhood. The investigators declined to answer any questions.

“Four FBI agents came and told me he used to live here,” said Venessa Jones, who said she lives in an apartment above the one Saipov rented. Neighbors at the complex said they didn’t know Saipov.

Officials said they had no information to suggest that the attacker had any accomplices or that there was a further threat to the city.

Nevertheless, they said, extra police would be posted around the city as a precaution, particularly along the route of the Halloween Parade, a long-standing tradition in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village that attracts big crowds. Officials said sand trucks, police vehicles and other equipment would be used to deter any vehicle attacks at the parade.

The investigation is being led by the FBI with the assistance of the New York Police Department.

“We have recently seen attacks like this one throughout the world,’’ said acting homeland security secretary Elaine Duke. “DHS and its law enforcement partners remain vigilant and committed to safeguarding the American people.’’

The Argentine Foreign Ministry identified the five dead Argentine nationals as Hernán Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco, Ariel Erlij and Hernán Ferruchi. It added that a sixth member of the group, Martin Ludovico Marro, sustained injuries and is being hospitalized in the Presbyterian Hospital of Manhattan. He is in stable condition, the government said, citing medical officials.

The group of friends hailed from the city of Rosario, the largest city in the central province of Santa Fe. They graduated from the Instituto Politécnico, a technical high school in Rosario, in 1987.

The Argentine government expressed its “sincere condolences” and said the General Consulate remains in contact with police authorities, hospital staff and the victim’s relatives in Argentina.

“We accompany the families in this terrible moment of deep pain, which all Argentines share,” the government statement read.

Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, tweeted that he was “deeply moved by the tragic deaths” in New York. “We are available to the families of the Argentine victims,” he added.

Rosario’s local newspaper, La Capital, described the vacation to New York as the “trip of their dreams,” and reported that they were riding bicycles in Lower Manhattan before the attack.

The local newspaper’s headline read: “A trip of camaraderie among friends from Rosario turns into tragedy.”

Barrett, Lowery, Siegel, and Schmidt reported from Washington. Philip Bump in New York, Jon Silman in Tampa, and Julie Tate, Ellen Nakashima, Jennifer Jenkins, Mark Berman in Washington contributed to this report.

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Federal judge in DC blocks part of Trump’s transgender military ban

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A federal judge in Washington blocked the Trump Administration’s proposed transgender military ban, writing in a strongly worded opinion that the policy “does not appear to be supported by any facts.”

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued the preliminary injunction Monday, finding that a group of transgender service members would have a strong chance of prevailing in their lawsuit to have the ban declared unconstitutional. The injunction remains in place until the lawsuit is resolved or a judge lifts it.

The move is another legal setback for the president, who surprised military leaders and members of Congress when he announced the proposal via a series of tweets in late July that reversed an Obama administration policy allowing transgender service members to serve openly and begin enlisting in January.

The tweets were followed by a presidential directive and a plan set to take effect in March that would have blocked military recruitment of transgender people and would have forced the dismissal of current transgender service members.

The judge’s injunction effectively reverts Trump’s policy to the one issued under Obama.

After completing Plebe Summer training in August 2015, Regan Kibby, right, hugs his younger sister Elena Kibby. Regan Kibby is a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit over the proposed transgender military ban. (Photo by Tawnia Kibby/Photo by Tawnia Kibby)

The Obama administration announced its policy after a Pentagon review found no basis to exclude transgender people from the military after it examined medical care, military readiness and other factors.

The Monday ruling was hailed by GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), who sued in August on behalf of six active-duty transgender service members who had come out to their superiors and had roughly 60 years combined in the military. It was the first of a handful of suits to challenge the ban and the first significant ruling by a judge on Trump’s policy.

“This is a complete victory for our plaintiffs and all transgender service members, who are now once again able to serve on equal terms and without the threat of being discharged,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter.

Department of Justice spokeswoman Lauren Ehrsam issued a statement, saying the department is “currently evaluating the next steps.” Department attorneys had previously asked for the suit to be dismissed.

“Plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging military service requirements is premature for many reasons, including that the Defense Department is actively reviewing such service requirements, as the President ordered, and because none of the Plaintiffs have established that they will be impacted by current policies on military service,” the statement read.

[Transgender ban frozen as Mattis moves forward with review of options]

The six service members in the lawsuit contended that their Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection were being violated — a claim bolstered by three former Obama administration service branch chiefs and a senior Pentagon official, who offered statements saying the ban would harm readiness, staffing, recruitment and morale.

How Trump is rolling back Obama’s legacy View Graphic How Trump is rolling back Obama’s legacy

Kollar-Kotelly was unsparing in her ruling, saying the hastily announced Trump policy did not pass muster on many fronts.

“There is absolutely no support for the claim that the ongoing service of transgender people would have any negative effect on the military at all. In fact, there is considerable evidence that it is the discharge and banning of such individuals that would have such effects,” Kollar-Kotelly wrote.

Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said the Trump administration would likely have to go all the way to the Supreme Court to have any chance of getting the preliminary injunction nullified.

“If they go to the D.C. Circuit, I can’t imagine they are going to overturn this,” Tobias said. “The judge was strong in her opinion. She just didn’t see any support for the policy on the facts.”

More than a dozen states filed a brief in October supporting the arguments of the service members in the case, writing that Trump was pursuing an “irrational” return to discrimination in the military.

[Service members, gay rights groups ask judge to halt transgender ban]

One aspect of the opinion that continued to be debated Monday was the barring of military funding for sex-reassignment surgery, which is part of the ban.

Kollar-Kotelly’s order found that none of the plaintiffs had shown they were likely to be affected by that funding ban, so the court was not in a position to rule on “the propriety of this directive.”

Transgender advocates, however, insisted that the ruling allowed the military to continue to pay for such surgeries. The Department of Justice declined to comment on its understanding of the ruling as it relates to the surgery issue.

There is no official tally of transgender military members, and estimates vary widely. One recent study by the Rand Corp. put the number on active duty at about 2,500, while another from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimated that there were 15,500 on active duty, in the National Guard and in the reserves. Currently, 18 other countries allow transgender troops to serve in the military,

Trump’s proposal was cheered by many religious conservatives but outraged transgender advocates and many liberals. Trump blindsided many when he announced the policy on Twitter.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump wrote in the tweets. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

Lesbian, gay and transgender advocates say the ban is part of a broader pattern of discrimination by the Trump administration. This month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed a Justice Department policy protecting transgender workers from discrimination under federal law.

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Republicans push tax bill unveiling to Thursday as negotiations continue

Five Argentines among 8 dead in New York City terror attack

Federal judge in DC blocks part of Trump’s transgender military ban

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