WASHINGTON – Democratic senators are using the news of Paul Manafort’s criminal convictions and Michael Cohen’s guilty pleas as a reason to try to delay a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, announced Wednesday that she was cancelling her meeting with Kavanaugh because President Donald Trump “does not deserve” a meeting with his nominee after Tuesday’s news about Manafort and Cohen. She called Trump “an unindicted co-conspirator,” apparently referring to the Cohen case.

Cohen, who was Trump’s personal attorney, pleaded guilty to lying about his income to evade income taxes, lying to banks to obtain loans and making illegal contributions to benefit Trump’s campaign. Manafort, who is Trump’s former campaign chairman, was convicted of eight counts of tax and bank fraud.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also vowed Wednesday not to meet with Kavanaugh in the wake of Cohen’s guilty pleas. It is customary for Supreme Court nominees to meet with as many senators as possible before the Senate votes on whether or not to confirm them.

Hirono said Kavanaugh was selected by Trump to “protect, as we say in Hawaii, his own okole.” Okole is a Hawaiian term for a person’s rear end. 

Democratic senators have expressed concern that Kavanaugh’s views on executive power could protect Trump from being subpoenaed to testify or hand over documents to special counsel Robert Mueller as part of Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“On the issue of executive power, on which Judge Kavanaugh seems to hold an almost unbounded view: I asked him whether he believed that a sitting president must comply with a subpoena to testify or provide records,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “He would not say that the president must comply with a subpoena or provide records.”

Both Schumer and Hirono said Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, should delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, which are scheduled to begin Sept. 4.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Trump “has been implicated” in the Cohen case and that the Senate should not consider Kavanaugh’s confirmation so soon.

 

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Cleveland Browns assistant coach Bob Wylie starred on Hard Knocks on Tuesday night, questioning why athletes stretch so much and then turning it into a discussion about soldiers in World War I and II.

“Did you know, World War I and World War II, all those guys that fought in that war … they did pushups, jumping jacks, situps, climb the rope and ran. None of this fancy (expletive). And they won two World Wars,” said Wylie, the Browns’ offensive line coach. “Do you think they were worried when they were running across Normandy about (expletive) stretching?”

If you’ve seen any of the D-Day documentaries that air on the History Channel or American Heroes Channel, you’ll know the answer to that.

Later Wylie got into zoology. The hefty coach showed his players pictures of animals that would be great offensive linemen. Hogs, rhinos and gorillas (which are compared to his ex-mother in law) have tremendous centers of gravity and balance, Wylie told them. Another bonus for Wylie … you’ll also never see one of those animals stretch once!

“I’d rather watch a plant grow than stretch,” Wylie said to open his anti-stretching rant.

Later, coach Wylie pulled up in a Maserati. This ride seems severely off-brand for an offensive line coach.

“No Ferris Bueller (expletive) now with this thing, OK?” Wylie told a valet. 

If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.

We hoped this England-India Test series would be something special, and it is turning into a cracker.

After England won a thriller at Edgbaston, there was a danger India would surrender following their heavy defeat in the second Test at Lord’s.

We thought if the ball nipped around again at Trent Bridge, England would be superior. Remember, Joe Root won the toss in Nottingham and asked India to bat first.

However, India have been resurgent, beating England in their own conditions. The series is alive thanks to an excellent fightback by the visitors.

There was real hostility in India’s quick bowling and the slip catching is currently providing a stark contrast between the two sides.

India are in a different league, their cordon slick and athletic. They allow the ball to come to them as if they are saying ‘come on, let’s have that edge’.

England are dropping catches, or sometimes not even getting a hand on them. You hold your breath every time an India batsman offers a chance.

At Lord’s, the India batting was decimated, characterised by a horror shot played by Murali Vijay that resulted in him losing his off stump to James Anderson.

Before there were too many sub-continental leg-side flicks, but at Trent Bridge they collectively made an adjustment to play much straighter.

Virat Kohli has clearly been outstanding throughout the series, but batting is obviously something the rest of the team have talked about and worked on. They have realised batting the way they do at home will get them out in England. It has been an impressive improvement.

The tourists do have an issue over the fitness of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, but there is a week before the fourth Test begins for them to put that right.

They will go to Southampton full of confidence, while England, who had won their previous three Tests, have some questions to answer.

What is frustrating is they are the same questions that have lingered for some time, particularly around the batting line-up, the way they play and their habit of falling in a heap.

Like last year on this ground, when they were heavily beaten by South Africa, England’s batsmen cost them the match.

This time, they were blown away in one session and whenever that happens there is no way back.

When England were 62-4 on the fourth morning, it looked like it might happen again, only for Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to show real fight and discipline. I wrote on Tuesday about what an example they should be for their team-mates.

The manner in which Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings got out in the second innings is worrying, because they seem to keep edging behind.

Ishant Sharma is all over Cook at the moment. As an old bowler, I know the pleasure you can take from dominating a batsman. You do not let him forget it, either. You might remind him he is your bunny and ask if he’s been eating lettuce as he arrives in the middle.

I am actually surprised Cook has not worked it out by now, because Ishant really only has one trick.

He goes round the wicket to the left-handers, angling the ball in, then moving it away slightly off the seam. They are lovely deliveries, but you know what he is going to do. He does not take the ball the other way.

Cook could leave more on length. Ishant is tall and a lot of his deliveries will not actually hit the stumps. If a batsman knows that, it provides a decent starting point from which to play. In this instance, Cook should look to leave as much as possible.

At the other end, is Jennings – in his second stab at Test cricket – looking the part? I’m not sure he is.

The Lancashire man looks stiff, with a front leg that does not go anywhere. He simply plants the front foot and if the ball moves either way there is a chance he will present an edge or be lbw. There is an issue there.

He averages only 20.50 since being brought back into the side, but, now England have taken the step of recalling him, it is probably right they give him an extended run until the end of the series.

Yes, there are issues that have not gone away, but they must be absolutely sure before discarding him again.

Beyond the opening pair, Joe Root played a desperately disappointing shot in the second innings, while I really do not know what Ollie Pope was doing, trying to drive a wide one and getting caught at third slip.

Pope is young, only 20 and playing his second Test, so you have to make allowances, but that was an extraordinary shot and not one of a number four trying to save a Test. I hope he has learned his lesson.

England may have a hole at number five following the broken finger sustained by Jonny Bairstow.

Presumably they will give the gloves to Buttler and call in another batsman. I would be surprised if it is another young or inexperienced player given Pope has only just come into the side.

Moeen Ali is already in the Test squad, has five Test centuries and scored a double hundred for Worcestershire against Yorkshire on Tuesday. He would also give England an off-spinning option if needed.

Jonathan Agnew was talking to BBC Sport’s Stephan Shemilt

Hungarian authorities have stopped food distribution for rejected asylum seekers held in transit zones on the country’s border with Serbia since early August, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In a report published on Wednesday, HRW called for the Hungarian government to adhere to its legal obligations and ensure that all asylum seekers in custody are provided with sufficient and appropriate food.

“The government has stooped to a new inhumane low by refusing food to people in their custody, apparently revelling in breaching human rights law, including its obligations as a European Union member,” said Lydia Gall, Eastern EU and Balkans researcher at HRW.

“This disregard for people’s wellbeing smacks of a cynical move to force people to give up their asylum claims and leave Hungary”.

The migrants are held in the two transit centres on the border with Serbia. They are not allowed to leave during the processing of their application, unless they choose to return.

Two Afghan families and two Syrian brothers are among those who were denied food after their asylum applications were rejected under a new admissibility procedure.

While a breastfeeding woman and children in the Afghan families were provided with food, they were prohibited from sharing it with other family members, the families’ legal representatives told HRW.

The European Court of Human Rights (EUCHR) ordered Hungary on August 10 to resume food distribution for the two Afghan families and has since issued similar orders in response to three other appeals, including on behalf of the Syrian brothers.

While Hungarian authorities respected the orders so far, dozens of other rejected asylum seekers may face food deprivation, according to HRW.

Hungary’s Immigration and Asylum Office on August 20 argued that there is nothing in Hungarian law that obliges authorities to provide food to people in the “aliens policing procedure” in transit zones.

However, HRW noted that authorities have binding obligations under multiple human rights treaties and norms that prohibit inhuman treatment of those in their custody. Authorities are required to treat those under their custody with humanity which includes providing them food, water, hygiene and medical needs.

In its report, HRW called for the government to amend their legislation to ensure that everyone in a transit zone, regardless of the status of their applications, has their basic needs met.

Turning to courts for a slice of bread

On August 20, a pastor, Gabor Ivanyi, was denied access when he tried to deliver food to people in the transit zones during a national holiday known as “Festival of the New Bread”.

Currently a young woman from Afghanistan is at the receiving end of Hungary’s policy, but more similar cases are likely to emerge in the coming days, Andras Lederer of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, (HHC) a human rights watchdog, told dpa news agency.

The woman had appealed against the decision by Hungarian immigration authorities to refuse her asylum. HHC sued Hungary last week at the EUCHR on behalf of the Afghan woman.

“It’s completely outrageous and absurd that people have to turn to the courts to get a slice of bread,” Gall said. 

“EU institutions should take this latest attack on people’s rights, add it to the large file of rule of law and human rights concerns in Hungary, and send a clear message that blatantly abusing asylum seekers and flouting EU rules will have serious consequences.”

Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban took a harsh stance on refugees and migrants during the 2015-16 migration crisis.

His country was the first to stop people from entering and has passed laws aimed at discouraging migrants from attempting a transit or from seeking asylum.

HRW noted in its report that since 2015, the Orban government has “engaged in a virulent campaign” against migrants and asylum seekers, including attempts to demonise organisations that provide legal and humanitarian assistance to these groups.

One of the targets has been George Soros, the Hungarian-born philanthropist billionaire known for funding NGOs and development organisations worldwide.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Hurricane Lane, which is currently bearing down on Hawaii, is “not a well behaved storm,” according to the state’s governor David Ige.

Spinning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the hurricane has grown into a monstrous Category 5 storm, the most powerful type of hurricane with winds now reaching 160 mph. 

Tuesday evening, the National Hurricane Center called the cyclone “an impressive hurricane,” and forecast that the storm will “move dangerously close to the main Hawaiian Islands as a hurricane Thursday through Saturday.”

Hawaii’s residents should “prepare for a significant impact” from Hurricane Lane, Ige said.

National hurricane scientists emphasize that even if the center of the storm — where winds are strongest — doesn’t pass directly over the islands, the state could still face serious problems from the storm.

A storm this sprawling and powerful can bring threatening downpours and winds “well away from the center of the hurricane, and impacts could be felt on any of the islands,” the National Hurricane Center said.

It’s rare for powerful storms to veer near these well-populated tropical islands, in large part because hurricanes feed on warmer waters, and the oceans around Hawaii are often relatively cool for tropical seas. 

Yet, the National Hurricane Center notes that ocean waters along the storm’s predicted track are currently “warm enough to support a major hurricane.”

Hurricane Lane is only the sixth Category 5 hurricane ever recorded in the central Pacific, Federal Emergency Management Agency atmospheric scientist Michael Lowry tweeted. But, Lane is the closest Category 5 storm to Hawaii that scientists have ever observed, he added. 

Although any year can bring warmer waters to a marine region, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and university scientists published research last year arguing that the tropical Pacific will likely see more “extremely active” hurricane seasons as human-caused global warming boosts ocean temperatures.

As the planet continues an accelerated rate of warming due to human-caused climate change, around 95 percent of accumulated heat gets absorbed by the oceans, increasing the background levels of ocean warming and making warmer-than-normal temperatures more likely. 

“Global warming is really ocean warming,” Josh Willis, an oceanographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, recently said in an interview.

A classic hurricane killer is wind shear — winds that hit hurricanes on their sides and can tilt them or blow off their top. 

But as of Tuesday night, government forecasters didn’t expect increasing wind shear around Hawaii until Thursday evening, after some major effects are likely already felt in the state.

As the storm skims the islands, or perhaps even makes landfall, severe and potentially historic flooding is expected. 

According to the National Hurricane Center, there will certainly be battering waves on the coast and potentially “life-threatening flash flooding from heavy rainfall” as water pours down the famously mountainous Hawaiian terrain. 

The pattern of the Trump presidency has been this: jaw-dropping news, which becomes the subject of breathless analysis, which brings predictions of a fundamental shift in the body politic, which doesn’t happen and is soon supplanted by the next piece of jaw-dropping news.

This time seems different. Really.

What’s different is the developments that rattled the capital and its most famous resident Tuesday can’t be swayed by smart spin or distracted by the rage of the Twitterverse. The astounding loyalty of the president’s political base, which is likely to hold, is irrelevant.

Now Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation has won its first trial, convicting former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of financial fraud. The verdict came minutes after Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty, implicating Trump in violating campaign finance laws by paying hush money during the 2016 campaign.

More: President Donald Trump put on defense as Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen fall in court

More: Paul Manafort: What’s next for the former Trump campaign head after guilty verdict?

More: Five things to know about Michael Cohen’s guilty plea

There will be more courtroom dramas ahead.

The sense of accelerating peril around Trump rivals the most disruptive days of the scandals of his predecessors – of the turning points in the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon’s resignation, and in the Monica Lewinsky affair that led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment.

Even some of the president’s allies worry that events are spiraling in ways that are impossible to predict and that could provoke a presidential response that could be impossible to control. A decision by Trump to pardon Manafort (whom he praised on Twitter Wednesday for refusing to “break”) or to fire Mueller would create a whole new category of calamity.

Consider the implications of the defense being offered by the president and those on his side.

“This has nothing to do with Russian collusion,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying the Manafort verdict “doesn’t involve me.”

And on Capitol Hill, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Republican leadership, struck a similar note.

“Well, I haven’t been able to look at all the details, but I would note that none of this has anything to do with the Russian collusion or meddling in the election,” he said.

That’s true. The jail time that Manafort and Cohen face aren’t for crimes involving helping Moscow meddle in America’s election. But Trump now finds himself facing more traditional allegations, that he broke the law trying to cover up two extramarital affairs when they threatened to become political threats.

And the investigations into possible collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice are continuing. Some of the big decisions are expected to be made soon – by Trump on whether to voluntarily answer Mueller’s questions, and by Mueller on whether to subpoena the president if he doesn’t.

Voters’ attitudes toward Trump are sufficiently hardened that they may not budge now. His supporters typically cite the president’s combative attitude and the robust economy of his tenure as reasons to back him, not their faith in his personal behavior.

But these latest furors could nonetheless affect the midterm elections, now just 76 days away – not by changing the ballots voters cast but by determining whether they bother to cast them. Republicans who would never consider voting for a Democratic candidate may be discouraged enough by the taint of scandal to just stay home. Democratic-leaning voters who don’t usually bother to vote, especially in midterm elections, may feel energized to go the polls.

And then?

Nonpartisan analysts now rate a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives as likely, though not assured. That outcome would give Democrats the power to hold hearings, launch investigations, issue subpoenas – and impeach the president.

More: Mueller investigation: Here’s what the fates of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen will mean for the Russia probe

More: This is what Paul Manafort was found guilty of

 

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Tim Winter, Opinion contributor
Published 5:00 a.m. ET Aug. 22, 2018

Unless Netflix distances itself from controversial and inappropriate content, families would do better to choose alternative streaming services.

Shiny and powerful, Netflix is the entertainment industry’s Trojan horse — a seeming gift for families, allowing parents some control over what their kids can watch. In reality, what Netflix delivers should give parents extreme pause.

In just over 20 years, Netflix has gone from being a relatively small-scale DVD sales and rental company to an entertainment industry superpower with an estimated 125 million subscribers worldwide and the ability to attract A-list writing and acting talent while garnering top awards and industry accolades.

Unfortunately, during these years of stratospheric growth, Netflix seems to have given little thought to the family audiences that have proven to be the backbone of the company and provided the solid foundation for growth and stability that has attracted investors and enabled Netflix to make multimillion-dollar development deals.

Netflix has been happy to build their business on the backs of family audiences — throwing them the occasional bone of a reboot of an older, favorite TV series like “Gilmore Girls” or “Full House” or offering a reliable, yet oddball collection of children’s programming (that runs the gamut from “The Little Prince” to “Captain Underpants”) or even announcing a commitment to building faith and family-based shows. (Netflix hasn’t released any detail about what this will look like yet.)

But Netflix has so far been unwilling to make the kind of meaningful reforms that would make family viewing a safe and enjoyable experience for all members of the family, and has been too willing to defend potentially harmful, problematic, even pornographic, content.

Netflix distributes pornographic content

Just over a year ago, Netflix released “13 Reasons Why” — an original series based on a popular young adult novel of the same name, about a teenage girl who commits suicide, despite concerns from school counselors and suicide prevention experts about the possibility of “suicide contagion.” After it debuted, Google searches on how to commit suicide spiked by 26 percent. Nevertheless, Netflix renewed for a second and even a third season. When asked about the controversial program during the 2018 shareholder meeting, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings callously remarked, “Nobody has to watch it.”

Well, of course nobody has to watch it. But people do. Kids do. And based on news reports, some of those kids have been inspired by it to consider taking their own lives.

More: Doctor visits about suicidal thoughts rose with ’13 Reasons Why.’ Handle Season 2 with care.

‘This Is Us’: Toxic stress on TV is reality for many Americans

How ’13 Reasons Why’ gets suicide wrong: Voices

Last December, Netflix began airing an Argentinian film, “Desire”, that depicts a nine-year-old girl masturbating to the point of orgasm. In response to critics, director Diego Kaplan said, “Everything works inside the spectators’ heads, and how you think this scene was filmed will depend on your level of depravity.”

He also prefaced this remark by saying, “Because I knew this scene might cause some controversy at some point, there is ‘Making Of’ footage of the filming of the entire scene.” Why should he have anticipated that the scene might cause some controversy if the “depravity” is all in the viewer’s head?

But this is the kind of hollow defense of indefensible content Netflix is making more and more often these days.

Petitions to cancel teen-targeted “Insatiable” for fat-shaming content have fallen on deaf ears; likewise, petitions to cancel the disturbingly sexualized animated series about puberty called “Big Mouth.”

Difficult for parents to monitor child experience

A 2017 analysis by the Parents Television Council revealed that nearly 60 percent of Netflix’s original offerings were rated for mature audiences only; only 1 percent were rated for general audiences, and only 8 percent were rated PG. And although Netflix does offer some parental controls, our research found that although a child might not be able to stream adult-rated content when those controls are turned on, there was nothing to prohibit a child from browsing through an adult user’s profile, where they might see highly sexually suggestive titles and cover art, like “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” or “Nymphomaniac.”

Our research also found adult titles grouped with child-targeted content, so that titles like “Sausage Party” — with its cartoonish yet suggestive cover art — appeared next to family titles like “The B.F.G.”; “Family Guy” appeared next to “Finding Dory”; and the image of a sex toy on the cover art for “Grace and Frankie” was displayed just above the “Children and Family” menu options. We also found that it was difficult for parents to entirely eliminate categories of content they didn’t want displayed at all.

It’s important to note that Netflix recently added a way to let parents block individual titles — and that’s a good step — however, that also requires parents to know about each and every title available on the platform. With the thousands of titles available at any one time, that’s impossible.

Families have become increasingly reliant on Netflix as an alternative to traditional broadcast and cable television, but the reality is that Netflix is not trustworthy. And to date, Netflix is defiant when it comes to owning any responsibility for the potentially harmful products it delivers.

At a time when all of Hollywood is rightly consumed with #MeToo, and when the most powerful are falling left and right, how can Netflix execs simultaneously ask us to be entertained by rape-driven teen suicide? Or to laugh at the sexualization of children? To be amused by girls struggling with vicious bullying and fat-shaming? Netflix needs to adopt some old-school principles and realize that they’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. They can’t have it both ways.

Unless Netflix is willing to better serve families and distance itself from these more problematic programming choices, or until Netflix shareholders use their voices to drive change from within the company, families would do better to choose alternative streaming services. 

Tim Winter, a former NBC and MGM executive, is president of the Parents Television Council. Follow him on Twitter: @TimWinterPTC.

 

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England captain Joe Root says his side are still charge of the series against India despite their third-Test defeat.

India’s 203-run win at Trent Bridge cut England’s lead to 2-1 in the five-match series, with the fourth Test in Southampton beginning on 30 August.

“We’re in the driving seat as far as the series goes – we have to remember that,” said Root.

“I’m expecting the guys to go to Southampton and hopefully take the opportunity to wrap up the series.”

England’s defeat in Nottingham was as a result of a horrible batting collapse in their first innings, where they lost all 10 wickets in a session to be bowled out for 161.

Root added: “We have got a little bit of time to reflect on what has been a difficult week, but in England we are a very good side at bouncing back from a tough couple of days.

“One thing you can never question about this group of players is their character and the way they can respond to a difficult period.”

Batting collapses have blighted England’s Test cricket in recent years – this latest slump was the third time since 2016 that they have lost all 10 wickets in a session.

In all, they have lost their fourth wicket for less than 100 runs in half of their past 62 Test innings.

“We sat down and spoke honestly about how we’re going to get this right,” said Root. “It has happened on a couple of occasions and obviously isn’t good enough.

“For the players that we’ve got, it is well below what we are capable of doing.”

Root also gave his “100%” backing to former captain Alastair Cook, who is England’s all-time record run-scorer in Tests, but averages only 19.21 with the bat in 2018.

“He is a world-class performer,” said Root, 27. “I want the media to write him off because every time they do he comes back and scores a double hundred.

“There is no-one currently playing Test cricket with more experience than him. I’m sure he’ll be calling upon all of that to give himself the best chance in Southampton.”

Root said he expects Cook, 33, to be available for the fourth Test despite the imminent arrival of his third child.

The captain also said that England will wait on the fitness of Jonny Bairstow, who suffered a broken finger whilst keeping wicket at Trent Bridge.

“It’s early days and will have to see how that settles down,” added Root. “We have got a bit of time before the next game, so can assess it further down the line.

“If he’s able, he warrants his place in the side as a batter alone. In terms of the keeping, we are fortunate to have Jos Buttler in the side and able to take the gloves.”

If Bairstow is ruled out, England may opt to recall Moeen Ali, who made a double century against Root’s Yorkshire on Tuesday.

“It’s been a great week for Moeen, it’s a shame it was against Yorkshire,” said Root. “He’s a fine player and it’s great to see him pushing for his place.”