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DACA injunction: What a federal judge’s ruling means for ‘dreamers’

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A federal judge’s decision to block the Trump administration’s plans to phase out protections for undocumented “dreamers” brought sharp backlash Wednesday from the White House, which called the injunction “outrageous.”

The order issued late Tuesday by U.S. District Judge William Alsup says safeguards against deportation must remain in place for the nearly 690,000people in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while a legal challenge to ending the program proceeds.

It remained unclear Wednesday when the DACA recipients, who were brought to this country illegally as children and are known as “dreamers,” could resume applying for renewals of their work permits as a result of the California ruling, which Alsup said should apply nationwide. Advocates said it would depend on the Department of Homeland Security, which runs the program.

The Trump administration has vowed to challenge Alsup’s ruling.

“They can’t go back and renew today,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. “We expect there to be a lot of confusion in communities about what that means.”

DACA recipients and their advocates said the decision added new urgency to negotiations between Congress and the White House on what to do about the dreamers, who are pushing for a path to citizenship. Trump has said any accomodations must be paired with increased border security, including a border wall.

“We can’t keep relying on lawsuits and different presidents to come in and upend our lives,” said Bruna Bouhid, a spokeswoman for United We Dream who came to the United States from Brazil at age 7 and has a work permit through the program.

“I don’t want to go through this anymore. It’s too hard. . . . You don’t know what your future looks like.”

[This high school athlete had a plan. Then DACA was rescinded.]

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Alsup’s ruling “outrageous” and insisted that Congress must decide the fate of the DACA program.

“An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process,” Sanders said. “President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration.”

On Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) tweeted that a solution to DACA must be part of any federal budget deal, an effort to stoke negotiations in coming days.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois), third from left, and other demonstrators protest outside of the U.S. Capitol in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), programs, during a recent rally on Capitol Hil. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

“Let me be VERY clear: this ruling last night in no way diminishes the urgency of resolving the DACA issue,” Schumer said. “On this, we agree with @WhiteHouse, who says the ruling doesn’t do anything to reduce Congress’ obligation.”

Leaders of both parties said that the ruling is unlikely to upend ongoing talks.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a lead GOP broker on immigration policy, said it was a “bizarre idea that something President Obama created can’t be uncreated by President Trump.”

“My sense, though, is it doesn’t change the need for us to act, and so we’re going forward,” Cornyn said. “We’re plowing ahead.”

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who joined Cornyn at the White House Tuesday for a highly unusual, televised meeting with Trump, said he remains hopeful that a deal will be struck in the coming days. He recalled that during the meeting, Trump asked lawmakers, “Is there anybody here not for taking care of the DACA recipients?”

“Not one of them said they were against that,” Hoyer said. “Everyone agreed yes, we need to take care of DACA-protected individuals, we need to take care of them now.”

[It’s Trump vs. Trump again: Judge cites tweets in blocking DACA phaseout]

Alsup did not rule on the merits of the case, but he said that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claims that the decision was “arbitrary and capricious” and would suffer irreparable harm — immigrants could lose their jobs, and companies and universities could lose valuable students and workers — if the Trump administration ended DACA before the legal dispute is resolved.

“Plaintiffs have clearly demonstrated that they are likely to suffer serious irreparable harm absent an injunction,” Alsup wrote. “Before DACA, Individual Plaintiffs, brought to America as children, faced a tough set of life and career choices turning on the comparative probabilities of being deported versus remaining here. DACA gave them a more tolerable set of choices, including joining the mainstream workforce.”

Massachusetts, New York, Washington and other states are seeking a similar preliminary injunction in federal court in Brooklyn, part of a separate lawsuit on behalf of DACA recipients.

President Barack Obama thrilled immigrants in 2012 by granting work permits and deportation reprieves to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Republicans accused him of illegally sidestepping Congress, however, and Trump vowed throughout his campaign to swiftly end the program. Texas and other states threatened to sue the administration if they did not take steps to end the program by Sept. 5.

Once in office, Trump wavered for months, openly expressing sympathy for the dreamers, who have received broad public support in part because they did not knowingly break the law when their parents brought or sent them to this country.

[Trump offers to ‘take all the heat’ on immigration, but appears to contradict himself]

Many have lived in the United States most of their lives and are college graduates. Some were high school valedictorians. They work in a wide range of industries, including tech companies, the health-care field andpublic schools. Many own houses and are the parents of U.S.-born children, who are American citizens.

On Sept. 5, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the administration would terminate the program starting in March, when an estimated 1,000 DACA recipients a day would start to lose their status.

Alsup ruled that while the lawsuit is pending, anyone who had DACA status as of Sept. 5 can renew it.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra brought the San Francisco lawsuit, joined by the attorneys general for Maine, Maryland and Minnesota, as well as the University of California, DACA recipients and others. California is home to the largest group of DACA recipients — about 200,000 people.

Alsup’s ruling is “an affirmation of the principle that no one is above the law,” Becerra said in a telephone interview. “We said it from the very beginning: Donald Trump and this administration did not follow the rules in trying to abandon the DACA program.”

Justice Department spokesman Devin O’Malley said the ruling does not change the department’s position that DACA “was an unlawful circumvention of Congress. . . . The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend this position, and looks forward to vindicating its position in further litigation.”

Alsup said his ruling does not apply to dreamers who are in high school and had hoped to apply for DACA protections for the first time this year.

Hincapié, of the National Immigration Law Center, said she expects a tough court battle over DACA, similar to the back-and-forth over Trump’s travel ban and other issues. She called the California ruling “a temporary victory.”

“This is yet another federal court saying to the Trump administration that they have overstepped,” she said.

Brian Murphy, Ed O’Keefe and Erica Werner contributed to this report.

Read more:

Deported, divided: How a mom’s return to El Salvador tore her family in two

‘We will lose practically everything’: Salvadorans devastated by TPS decision

North Korea agrees to send athletes to Winter Olympics, South says

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SEOUL — North Korea’s representatives assured the South Korean government Tuesday that the country’s “cutting-edge” nuclear weapons are aimed only at the United States, not at its neighbors, as they struck a deal to send athletes to next month’s Winter Olympics and to reopen a military hotline.

The sobering words underscored how, despite the rare agreement with the South, Pyongyang continues to assert its right to fend off the United States with nuclear arms.

Nevertheless, South Korea achieved its immediate goal of bringing North Korean athletes to compete in what Seoul has dubbed the “peace games.” South Korean officials portrayed this agreement as a first step in a significant improvement in bilateral relations. The question, analysts said, is whether the North will pursue this opening with any sincerity.

South Korea signaled that it was willing to suspend some of its direct sanctions on North Korea to facilitate a Northern delegation’s travel to the Olympics, which will open Feb. 9 in the South’s PyeongChang region.

Seoul will have to move carefully to avoid alienating the Trump administration, which has been leading a campaign of “maximum pressure” to force North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korean delegation leader Ri Son Kwon, center, is greeted by South Korean officials after crossing the border to attend a meeting in the Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday. (AP)

But in Washington, the State Department applauded the talks Tuesday and said South Korea has assured the United States that North Korea’s participation in the Olympics will not violate any U.N. sanctions.

The day-long talks at the Panmunjom truce village on the border between the two Koreas led to the unusual scene of a delegation of smiling North Korean men in black suits walking across the concrete curb that divides North from South — the same line that a North Korean soldier crossed at the end of last year, as other Northern soldiers shot at him.

After the talks, Ri Son Kwon, the North’s previously gregarious chief representative, chastised the South Korean media for reporting that the discussions had included denuclearization as a subject. That was not on the table, he said.

“All our cutting-edge weapons, including our hydrogen bomb and intercontinental ballistic missiles, are not targeting our Korean brothers, China or Russia but the United States,” Ri said, according to pool reports from inside the room.

“If we begin talking about these issues, then today’s good results might be reduced to nothing,” he warned.

[Can these two North Korean ice skaters help bring about a diplomatic thaw?]

Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korea’s unification minister and its chief delegate to the talks, said that despite the quibbles, Tuesday’s discussions were positive and could pave the way for progress on the nuclear issue. “The most important spirit of the inter-Korean talks is mutual respect,” he said.

The talks, the first in more than two years, have the backing of both Korean leaders. In his New Year’s address, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wished his “compatriots of the same blood” success for the Games.

“The talks are important because they are a positive indicator for bilateral relations,” said Alison Evans, a Korea expert at IHS Markit, a consulting firm.

The governments in Beijing and Tokyo both welcomed the agreement as a positive step.

Steve Goldstein, the under secretary for public diplomacy at the State Department, said the United States played no role in the talks beyond a phone call between President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sat in on. He said no topics were ruled off limits, and the United States did not seek to have South Korea discourage North Korea from participating even though the administration has sought through sanctions to have the government further isolated.

“If the Olympics provide an opening for conversations to occur, that’s better for the people of South Korea and also the people of North Korea,” he said. “We want to see their athletes participate and be part of the communitiy of nations.”

Washington will send a delegation representing the administration, but Goldstein said there are “no plans” for them to have any direct contact with the North Koreans attending.

Christopher Green, senior adviser for the Korean Peninsula at the International Crisis Group, said the question now is, what is North Korea’s long-term strategy?

“If they want to drive a wedge into the alliance between the United States and South Korea, this could just be their opening gambit,” he said.

At the talks, the two sides agreed to “actively cooperate” for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The North will send athletes, cheering and performing-arts squads, press and a “high-level delegation” to the Games, according to their joint statement.

North Korea is hardly a Winter Olympics powerhouse, having won only two medals in its history — a silver in 1964 and a bronze in 1992, both for speedskating.

But International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach hailed Tuesday’s agreement as “a great step forward in the Olympic spirit.”

The IOC has been supporting the North Korean athletes with training, equipment and travel costs, and will now work out which North Korean athletes can compete. Although two North Korean figure skaters qualified for the Olympics, they did not register in time. They and others are likely to be included as “wild card” entries.

South Korea’s government, led by progressive President Moon Jae-in, has been eager to secure North Korea’s participation in the “peace Games” next month and to find a way back to engaging with Pyongyang.

[ Korea talks set, with low expectations and lots of wariness ]

The Olympics have provided that opportunity, and Seoul has shown a willingness to move mountains to accommodate the North — even persuading the United States to postpone annual military exercises, which usually take place from early March, until after the Games finish on March 18.

The South Korean government was ready to “take steps in relation to sanctions against North Korea” to facilitate the visit, Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told reporters. However, this would be done in consultation with the United Nations sanctions committee and the United States, he said.

The mention of a “high-level delegation” and sanctions relief fueled speculation that North Korea might send Choe Ryong Hae, one of Kim’s closest aides, to the Olympics.

Choe made a surprise visit to South Korea in 2015 to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games, but he was blacklisted by South Korea in 2016 after the North’s fifth nuclear test.

South Korea has also slapped sanctions on Air Koryo, North Korea’s state airline, but the restoration of a military hotline suggested that the Northern delegation would travel overland rather than by air to attend the Games.

The two Koreas agreed to hold military-level meetings to “ease the current military tension and to resolve issues” and to hold further talks “to improve inter-Korean relations.”

A military hotline on the western end of the border, cut in 2016 after the nuclear test, will resume operations Wednesday morning. This is a key step to reducing the chance of an accidental escalation if there is a military incident on the border, analysts said.

Yoonjung Seo in Seoul and Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more

Trump agrees to delay military exercise with South Korea until after Winter Olympics

Trump’s tweets rattle the globe, but aides say North Korea policy is carefully calibrated

North and South Korea reopen cross-border hotline, paving the way for formal talks

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Arpaio is a bad candidate with a bad message at a bad time

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The last time Joe Arpaio ran for office, he was trounced.

This was 2016, when Arpaio was looking to be reelected as sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., after having served in that position for six four-year terms. During that tenure, he gained national fame for what might charitably be described as his tough stance on immigration. Less charitably, his efforts have been described as abusive and racist. After he was subject to a variety of investigations and lawsuits, voters in the county apparently reached their fill of Arpaio and sent him packing.

This is not the last time he was in the news, of course. After being ordered to curtail his department’s racial-profiling practices and refusing to do so, Arpaio was convicted of contempt of court. That conviction led to a pardon from longtime ally President Trump in August, setting the stage for an unexpected announcement from Arpaio on Tuesday: He’s going to run for Senate.

People run for the U.S. Senate for a lot of reasons. It keeps them in the news, if they’re into that sort of thing, which Arpaio is. It allows them to raise money, which, in turn, allows them to tour the state on someone else’s dime. It also can lead them to serving in the Senate.

Those are listed in the descending order of what Arpaio is likely to get out of his bid.

After all, Arpaio didn’t just lose in 2016, he got walloped. He lost to Democrat Paul Penzone by nearly 13 points in a county that Trump carried by about three points and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won by more than 15 in 2012. In other words, Arpaio did 18 points worse than Trump and 28 points worse than McCain.

In fact, he got a lower percentage of the vote than Hillary Clinton, despite being a 24-year incumbent — and even got fewer actual votes.

Why does that matter in a statewide race? Because Maricopa is home to about 60 percent of the state’s population and, in the presidential and Senate races in 2016, made up about 60 percent of the vote total. If people in Maricopa County are skeptical of Arpaio, that’s an awfully tough starting point.

Sure, you might think, but 2018 is an off year, which historically favors Republicans. That’s generally true (though FiveThirtyEight’s Harry Enten has some new context for that argument). But in the more Democrat-friendly confines of 2016, he still underperformed other Republicans by a wide margin.

What’s more, 2018 is not shaping up to be a particularly Republican-friendly year. Literally every poll conducted over the past year shows Democrats with an advantage on the generic congressional ballot, extending into the double-digits in recent months. Democrats are poised to see significant gains in the House at this point, and it seems unlikely that Democratic voters would stay home if given the opportunity to again weigh in on the controversial Arpaio.

Especially given how he has managed to become even more closely aligned with Trump after the pardon. One key reason for Democratic enthusiasm is that Trump is so unpopular — even in Arizona. In August, a poll found that his performance in office was approved of by only 42 percent of Arizonans, including a relatively weak 74 percent of Republicans. More than half of the state disapproved, and there’s little reason to think that his numbers have improved.

Arpaio is explicitly tying himself to Trump, telling the Washington Examiner that “I’m a big supporter of President Trump.” At this point, he’s the second Trump supporter to declare his candidacy for the Republican nomination; the first, Kelli Ward, received a thumbs up from Trump on Twitter when she announced her plans to challenge Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has since announced that he would not seek a second term.

To win election to the Senate, Arpaio first needs to win the primary, and splitting the Trump base doesn’t seem like the best strategy to accomplish that.

So this is the plan, then. Run as a Trump supporter in a state where the president is unpopular at a moment when that unpopularity is emboldening members of the other party and do so despite having been crushed during an election in the state’s most populous county only two years ago.

Not likely to take Arpaio to Washington. But likely to take Arpaio where he most immediately wants to go: into the public eye. On that front, he can already declare victory.

Louisiana teacher handcuffed, arrested for bringing up brass salary at school board meeting

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A Louisiana teacher who spoke out against a superintendent’s new contract was handcuffed and arrested during a school board meeting in an incident caught on video.

During a school board meeting on Monday, Deyshia Hargrave brought up the issue of teacher salary and a raise that was included in a new contract for the superintendent, according members of the Vermilion Parish School Board. Hargrave is an English language arts teacher at Rene A. Rost Middle School in Kaplan, Louisiana, according to the school’s website.

Board members told NBC News that the meeting was called to vote on whether to approve a new contract for superintendent Jermone Puyau. The final version of the contract that was approved included a $30,000 raise for Puyau, Board President Anthony Fontana said.

Video of the incident was first posted by local station KATC and a 12-minute version was also uploaded to YouTube.

“I have a serious issue with a superintendent or any person in a position of leadership getting any type of raise, I feel like it’s a slap in the face for the teachers, the cafeteria workers or any other support staff we have,” Hargrave is seen saying in the video posted to YouTube.

Hargrave later raises her hand and when called on again asks a question about the issue of teacher salaries and pay raises.

Image: Deyshia Hargrave


Image: Deyshia Hargrave

A member of the school board interrupts her, saying that her question was not related to the evening’s agenda.

Several in the crowd can then be heard saying “yes, it is,” in support of Hargrave.

The board member said what was on the agenda was the superintendent’s new contract and members of the audience answer back, “with a raise.”

Hargrave continues to ask her question when a city marshal approaches her and tells her she needs to leave.

“You need to leave, or I’m going to remove you,” the unidentified marshal says on the video.

Hargrave grabs her purse and leaves as some protest that Superintendent Jerome Puyau had been addressing the teacher even as she she was being forced to leave.

Suddenly, Hargrave can be heard yelling. The video then shows the woman on the floor in the hallway, where she is being handcuffed behind the back by the marshal. The marshal asks the teacher to “stop resisting” and escorts her from the building.

Outside the building, the marshal tells her she is being arrested for refusing to leave and resisting arrest.

Fontana, the board president, told NBC News that Hargrave had violated meeting policies, by taking up extra time and asking questions during a public comment section.

“She got away from what I believe was the germane issue,” he said.

Fontana, who voted in favor of the final contract, said the board employs a city marshal to provide security during meetings.

“His job is to make sure that we have orderly board meetings, he knows what our policy is and he knows how to handle it,” he said. Fontana said it would have been the marshal’s duty to escort her out of the meeting but not arrest her unless she had committed a crime. While he did not witness everything that led to Hargrave’s attest, he “absolutely” stood by the marshal, he said.

Board member Laura LeBeouf, who voted against the contract, said she was “very appalled” by the incident.

“I personally apologize for the Vermilion Parish School Board,” she said, adding, “This is a sad day for Vermilion Parish.”

“I don’t think it needed to come to the extreme that it came to,” she said.

LeBeouf added that Hargrave is “a great teacher, a great individual.”

Requests for comment from Hargrave and Puyau were not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.

Hargrave was booked into the Abbeville City Jail on Monday evening for the charges of resisting an officer and remaining on premises after being forbidden there, arrest records show.

Hargrave bonded out of jail, The Associated Press reported. A teacher’s union lawyer is investigating the incident, according to the AP

Trump Plants Seeds Of Rural Revival With Friendly Farm Audience

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President Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Monday, before departing for Nashville, Tenn., for a Farm Bureau convention.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images


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President Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Monday, before departing for Nashville, Tenn., for a Farm Bureau convention.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump is expected to thank America’s farmers for their political support on Monday and to unveil a plan designed to help revive fortunes in struggling rural areas. At the same time, the president is pursuing trade and immigration policies that could be harmful to farmers’ bottom lines.

According to the president’s prepared remarks to the American Farm Bureau Federation in Nashville, Tenn., Trump will take note of farmers’ role in the economy and social fabric of the country.

“We are fighting for our farmers, for our country, and for our great American flag,” Trump is expected to say. “In every decision we make, we are honoring America’s proud farming legacy.”

It’s a friendly audience. Exit polls in 2016 found Trump had broader support among rural voters than in cities and suburbs. The GOP share of the vote in rural areas was 9 percent higher that year than in 2008 — a margin that helped propel Trump to his electoral college victory.

“Farmers are the president’s people,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in an interview with Morning Edition on Monday. “These are the people that elected the president. The president knows that. These are the people the president cares about. And he wants them to enjoy the American Dream just like all the people in the cities.”

Farm income has suffered in recent years from sagging commodity prices. Net farm income in 2017 was up modestly from the previous year, but still only about half what it was in 2013.

“While other sectors of the American economy have largely recovered from the Great Recession, rural America has lagged in almost every indicator,” according to the president’s new task force report.

Microsoft Courts Rural America, And Politicians, With High-Speed Internet

The White House insists that can be turned around.

“I think what we often see communicated about rural America is that there are these isolated pockets of despair that are beyond hope or recovery,” said Ray Starling, a special assistant to the president for agriculture. “That’s not what we believe.”

The task force makes a number of recommendations, beginning with improved broadband service. According to the FCC, 39 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed Internet service, compared to just 4 percent of people in cities.

“What many people don’t understand in urban areas,” Perdue said, “is that when you have rural areas with no connectivity, that’s a sociological impact as well.”

USDA Opens Door For States To Impose New Rules On Food Stamps

Private companies often find it unprofitable to extend costly broadband service to lightly populated parts of the country. The federal government hopes to encourage that investment by streamlining the permit process and allowing antennas to be mounted on government towers. Similar suggestions were made during the Obama administration.

The task force also makes recommendations to improve rural health services including treatment for opioid addiction, provide a reliable rural workforce and promote economic development.

Trump is expected to tout the $1.5 trillion tax cut he signed in December, which doubles the size of estates that can be passed on to heirs tax-free.

Trump Celebrates Legislative Win After Congress Passes $1.5 Trillion Tax Cut Bill

“From now on, most family farms and small businesses will be spared the punishment of the deeply unfair estate tax, known as the ‘death tax,’ so you can keep your farms in the family,” Trump is expected to say. Even with the earlier exemption of $5.5 million, fewer than 100 farms were affected by the estate tax each year.

Trump will also highlighted his efforts to curtail regulation.

“As we put money back in the pockets of all Americans, including our farmers and ranchers, we are also putting an end to the regulatory assault on your way of life,” he will say.

With some exceptions, farmers have generally applauded the administration’s moves to curb regulation. But they worry about the crackdown on illegal immigration, since many farmworkers are undocumented. And farmers are deeply at odds with the administration’s trade policies.

'They're Scared': Immigration Fears Exacerbate Migrant Farmworker Shortage

The Farm Bureau was counting on a big Asia-Pacific trade deal to boost exports to Japan and other markets. But Trump withdrew from that agreement in one of his first acts as president. He’s also threatened to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Perdue reportedly helped persuade the president not to cancel NAFTA back in April by showing Trump a map of states that would be hardest hit. Many of those were states that Trump had carried.

Perdue suggests Trump’s threat to end NAFTA is simply a negotiating tactic.

The USDA Rolled Back Protections For Small Farmers. Now The Farmers Are Suing

“The president has a New York style of negotiating that believes unless you’re willing to walk away from a deal you’re not going to get the best deal,” he said. “I’ve got confidence he will at the end of the day have a great deal for American farmers and the American economy.”

Google faces a lawsuit over discriminating against white men and conservatives

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(Loic Venance — AFP PHOTO/Getty Images)

James Damore, the former Google engineer who was fired after distributing a memo questioning the company’s diversity policies, filed a class action lawsuit on Monday claiming racial discrimination by the technology giant.

The suit, filed in Santa Clara, Calif., alleged discrimination by Google against men, people of the “Caucasian race,” and people with perceived conservative political views.  The suit alleges that Google employees who expressed views deviating from the majority at Google on politics or on employment practices including “diversity hiring policies, bias sensitivity, and social justice” were “singled out, mistreated, and systematically punished and terminated from Google,” in violation of their legal rights.

Damore’s fellow plaintiff in the class action is another Google employee, a former software engineer named David Gudeman.

Google fired Damore after he wrote a 10-page memo  titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber: How bias clouds our thinking about diversity and inclusion.” Though initially circulated internally in July, it reached a wide audience in August when Motherboard published the memo, saying the “anti-diversity memo” had gone “internally viral” at the Mountain View-based technology company. The memo said that “genetic differences” may explain “why we don’t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership.”

The company, which called the memo “offensive” and “harmful,” soon fired Damore, further elevating him as a victim of what his supporters called an overreaching “political correctness” and ideology rigidity within the tech industry. Damore, who also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, appeared to embrace his rising political visibility, posing in a t-shirt with the word “Goolag” written in a multi-colored style  that mimicked Google’s familiar logo.

Google did not immediately return a request for comment.

3 injured in ‘routine’ Trump Tower fire, New York officials say

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Three people were injured in a small electrical fire at Trump Tower, where smoke billowed from the rooftop early Monday as emergency crews worked to extinguish the flames.

The Secret Service first spotted the fire and alerted building managers, who called 911 shortly before sunrise, according to New York fire officials. Within about an hour, fire crews had extinguished what an FDNY spokesman called a “quick, easy and routine” blaze on the roof of the luxury building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

There were no evacuations, the authorities said, but two civilians and a firefighter sustained minor injuries. President Trump, who has a penthouse condominium at Trump Tower, was in Washington on Monday, according to his public schedule.

“The fire wasn’t in the building, it was on top of the building,” the fire department said on Twitter. “We had flames coming out of the vents, no smoke condition or fire was on the inside.”

Fire officials said they received an emergency call just before 7 a.m. About 75 minutes later, the fire department tweeted an alert, saying the fire, which was located inside a cooling tower, was “under control.”

Fire marshals are investigating the cause.

“There was a small electrical fire in a cooling tower on the roof of Trump Tower,” the Trump Organization said in an emailed statement to The Washington Post. “The FDNY were here within minutes and did an exceptional job. Everything is under control and no evacuations were made.”

Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons and the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, made a similar statement about it on Twitter.

The Manhattan high-rise bears the name of President Trump, who maintains an apartment there even though he lives at the White House.

Trump Tower was also the setting for the developer-turned-president’s reality TV show, “The Apprentice,” and the headquarters of his presidential campaign.

The fire department spokesman said he could not confirm whether any other members of the Trump family were in the building at the time. A spokeswoman for the first family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This post has been updated.

More reading:

Trump Tower: The home of a reality show, a campaign and now a transition

Fire breaks out on Hillary and Bill Clinton’s property in Chappaqua, N.Y.

A man scooped something from the ground in Stockholm. It exploded in his hand.

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Commuters at the T-Centralen subway station in Stockholm. (Pontus Lundahl/AP)

It sounds like an urban legend: A 60-year-old man bent to pick something up outside a subway station in Stockholm.

It exploded, blowing up his hand and killing him.

But Swedish police say that’s exactly what happened Sunday morning outside the Varby Gard subway station in Huddinge, a suburb to the city’s south.

Witnesses say the man leaned over to pick something up from the ground. When it exploded, he was rushed to the hospital, where he died.

A woman in her mid-40s was injured in the blast. Police say she suffered minor wounds to the face and legs.

Police can’t say for sure what the device was or why it exploded. Rescue official Lars-Ake Stevelind told the Swedish broadcaster SVT that “someone has used some type of explosive material” for the object. The Aftonbladet and Expressen tabloids claimed that it was a hand grenade, but police spokesman Sven-Erik Olsson dismissed that as speculation, according to the Associated Press.

Police say that they don’t believe terrorism is to blame or that the victims were targeted. For now, the station is cordoned off, as officials sweep the area for any other possible explosives. They are also carefully reviewing security camera footage.

This is just the latest mysterious explosion in Sweden.

In October, bombs were detonated across the country. Explosions went off in at least two apartment buildings in Malmo. A firebomb was tossed into a bar in Angelholm, injuring at least one person. A powerful blast ripped the entrance off a police station. The doorway was laced with dynamite so powerful that it blew a chunk of rubble more than 250 feet away, into the living room of someone’s home. Police attributed the attack to “criminal circles.”

Bomb scares and threats are becoming more common, too. In the United States, right-wing outlets such as Infowars and Breitbart have cited the explosions as evidence that President Trump is right in concluding that more open immigration policies mean more crime. But local outlets say there’s another explanation.

According to the Local, “Explosives are often used by organized crime rings in Sweden, especially in the south where settling of scores and intimidation are frequent among drug traffickers. Police and judges are also regularly targeted.”

Israel lists 20 groups to be denied entry over boycott calls

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Israel on Sunday identified 20 activist groups from around the world whose members will be banned from entering the country over their calls to boycott the Jewish state, stepping up its fight against a movement it views as a serious threat.

Israel last year enacted a law that would ban any activist who “knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel.”

The list made public Sunday follows up on that legislation and could impact thousands of people if it is enforced.

“The boycott organizations must know that the state of Israel will act against them,” Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said in a statement. “The creation of this list is another step in our struggle against the incitement and lies of the boycott organizations.”

The list is part of Israel’s efforts against a grassroots movement known as BDS, which calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel over its policies toward the Palestinians. The movement has urged businesses, artists and universities to sever ties with Israel and it includes thousands of volunteers around the world.

Supporters of the movement say the tactics are a nonviolent way to promote the Palestinian cause. Israel says the campaign goes beyond fighting its occupation of territory Palestinians claim for their state and often masks a more far-reaching aim to delegitimize or destroy the Jewish state.

Erdan’s office said the list would be provided to Israel’s immigration authority, but it wasn’t clear how the ban would be enforced, including for Israeli citizens who might be members of the groups. A spokesman for Erdan did not respond to requests for clarification.

The listed groups, from the United States, France, South Africa and beyond, count thousands of people as members. They were chosen because they are the main ones who “operate consistently and continuously” against Israel, according to Erdan’s office.

American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group on the list, said it would continue to work for “peace and justice.”

“We answered the call for divestment from apartheid South Africa and we have done the same with the call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions from Palestinians who have faced decades of human rights violations,” said Kerri Kennedy, an AFSC official responsible for international programs.

The U.S.-based Jewish Voice for Peace, which says it has more than 13,000 members, was also blacklisted.

“Israel’s decision to specifically ban JVP is disconcerting but not surprising, given the further erosion of democratic norms and rising anxiety about the power of BDS as a tool to demand freedom,” Jewish Voice for Peace wrote on Facebook in response to the decision.

In the years since its formation, the BDS movement has persuaded several church organizations to divest themselves of Israel-related investments and has garnered support on U.S. college campuses. Most recently, pop singer Lorde joined a number of other performers who have canceled performances in Israel amid pressure from BDS activists.

Even so, a slew of other musicians have defied boycott calls and performed. Israel has also enjoyed new economic partnerships and diplomatic ties despite calls for boycotts and it has become a top destination for international sporting and cultural events.

Iranian oil tanker burns, 32 missing after collision off China’s coast

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BEIJING (Reuters) – A tanker carrying Iranian oil and run by the country’s top oil shipping firm was ablaze and spewing cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese freight ship, leaving the tanker’s 32 crew members missing, the Chinese government said.

Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the Sanchi tanker, engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship, Mohammad Rastad, head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation, told Iranian television. (Graphic: Map showing ship collision location – tmsnrt.rs/2CBgqai)

The Sanchi, run by the country’s top oil shipping operator, collided with the CF Crystal about 160 nautical miles off the coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta on Saturday evening, the Chinese Ministry of Transportation said in a statement.

The Panama-registered tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate, an ultra light crude. That is equivalent to just under 1 million barrels, worth about $60 million, based on global crude oil prices.

“Sanchi is floating and burning as of now,” the Chinese ministry said. “There is an oil slick and we are pushing forward with rescue efforts.”

It had sent four rescue ships and three cleaning boats to the site by 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Sunday, the ministry added.

Chinese state media CCTV showed pictures of the tanker ablaze and billowing plumes of thick dark smoke.

South Korea also dispatched a ship and helicopter to help. A Korean Coast Guard official confirmed the fire was still raging at 1 p.m. (0500 GMT).

The tanker’s 32 crew members are all Iranian nationals except for two Bangladeshi nationals, the Chinese transport ministry said.

“There is a wide perimeter of flames around the vessel because of the spillage and search and rescue efforts are being carried out with difficulty,” Iran’s Rastad said.

“Unfortunately, up to this moment, there is no news of the crew,” he said.

CF Crystal’s 21 crew members, all Chinese nationals, were rescued and the ship suffered “non-critical” damage, China’s transport ministry said.

Shipping experts said the incident could potentially disrupt shipping in and around Shanghai, one of the world’s largest and busiest ports.

It was not immediately clear how much environmental damage had been caused or the volume of oil spilled into the sea.

The last major oil tanker disaster was the sinking of the Prestige off Spain in November 2002, which was carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and caused one of Europe’s worst environmental catastrophes.

About 63,000 tonnes of its cargo leaked into the Atlantic, damaging beaches in France, Spain and Portugal and forcing the closure of Spain’s richest fishing grounds.

That was almost twice the size of the Exxon Valdez spill, which ravaged Alaska’s coast in 1989.

MAJOR MARITIME INCIDENT

The incident also marked the first major maritime incident involving an Iranian tanker since the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in January 2016.

There was a collision involving an NITC-operated supertanker in the Singapore Strait in August 2016, but there was no loss of life or pollution.

The Chinese government gave no details of the size of the spill. The Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that the cause of the incident was under investigation.

Reuters ship tracking data shows Sanchi was built in 2008 and was managed by the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC). Its registered owner is Bright Shipping Ltd.

It was due to arrive at Daesan in South Korea from Kharg Island in Iran on Sunday, according to Reuters ship tracking.

The Sanchi tanker, leased by Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co Ltd, had “valid foreign insurance”, Iranian oil ministry spokesman Kasra Nouri told Iran’s state television.

Hanwha Total was not immediately available for comment.

Norwegian ship insurer Skuld confirmed it was the lead hull insurer for the tanker and the protection and indemnity (PI) insurer for CF Crystal.

“We are working very closely with the relevant authorities to establish the facts surrounding the collision,” it said in a statement.

Sanchi collided with CF Crystal, registered in Hong Kong, which was carrying 64,000 tonnes of grain from the United States to China’s southern province of Guangdong, the Chinese government said.

CF Crystal, which was built in 2011, was due to arrive in China on Jan. 10, according to Reuters ship tracking data.

Reporting by Meng Meng and Josephine Mason in BEIJING and Jonathan Saul in LONDON; Additional reporting from Yuna Park and Jane Chung in SEOUL and Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Himani Sarkar/ Clarence Fernandez/Elaine Hardcastle