AP NEWS

AP Photo/Joel Auerbach

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — A former student opened fire at a Florida high school Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and sending scores of students fleeing into the streets in the nation’s deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Frantic parents rushed to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to find SWAT team members and ambulances surrounding the campus as classes prepared to dismiss for the day. Live footage showed emergency workers who appeared to be treating the wounded on sidewalks.

“It is a horrific situation,” said Robert Runcie, superintendent of the school district in Parkland, about an hour’s drive north of Miami. “It is a horrible day for us.”

The 19-year-old suspect was taken into custody without a fight about an hour after he left the scene, authorities said.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said the suspect, who was previously expelled for disciplinary reasons, had at least one rifle and multiple magazines.

“It’s catastrophic. There really are no words,” Israel said on Twitter.

Most of the fatalities were inside the building, though some victims were found fatally shot outside, the sheriff said.

The gunman was identified as Nicolas Cruz by a U.S. official briefed on the investigation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

In a cul-de-sac near the school, Michael Nembhard was sitting in his garage when he saw a young man in a burgundy shirt walking down the street. In an instant, a police cruiser pulled up and officers jumped out with guns drawn.

“All I heard was ‘Get on the ground! Get on the ground!” Nembhard said. He said he could not see the suspect’s face, but that the man got on the ground without incident.

The day started normally at the school, which had a morning fire drill, and students were in class around 2:30 p.m. when another alarm sounded.

Noah Parness, a 17-year-old junior, said he and the other students calmly went outside to their fire-drill areas when he suddenly heard popping sounds.

“We saw a bunch of teachers running down the stairway, and then everybody shifted and broke into a sprint,” Parness said. “I hopped a fence.”

Beth Feingold said her daughter, Brittani, sent a text at 2:32 p.m. that said, “We’re on code red. I’m fine,” but sent another text shortly afterward saying, “Mom, I’m so scared.”

Brittani later was able to escape the school, which is one of the largest in the state, with about 3,000 students.

Inside the school, students heard loud bangs as the shooter fired. Many of them hid under desks or in closets and barricaded doors.

Television footage showed those students who fled leaving in a single-file line with their hands over their heads as officers urged them to evacuate quickly. Parents hurried to the scene.

Caesar Figueroa said when he got to the school to check on his 16-year-old daughter, he saw police officers drawing machine guns as they approached the campus.

“My wife called me that there was an active shooter, and the school was on lockdown. I got on the road and saw helicopters. … It was crazy and my daughter wasn’t answering her phone.” She finally texted him that she was inside a closet with friends.

Len Murray’s 17-year-old son, a junior at the school, sent his parents a chilling text: “Mom and Dad, there have been shots fired on campus at school. There are police sirens outside. I’m in the auditorium and the doors are locked.”

A few minutes later, he texted again: “I’m fine.”

Murray said he raced to the school only to be stopped by authorities under a highway overpass within view of the school buildings. He said he told his son to save his battery and stop texting. The boy’s mother told him to turn off his ringer.

Authorities told parents to gather at a nearby hotel to get information.

“I’m scared for the other parents here. You can see the concern in everybody’s faces. Everybody is asking, ‘Have you heard from your child yet?'” Murray said.

Murray said he’s had just one thought running through his mind since he got his son’s text: “All I keep thinking about is when I dropped him off this morning. I usually say, ‘I love you,’ and I didn’t this morning. He’s 17, he’s at that age, and I didn’t say it this morning, and I’m just kicking myself right now over and over and over. Say it early and often, I’m telling you.”

—

Associated Press writers Freida Frisaro in Parkland, Jennifer N. Kay in Miami and Mike Balsamo in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Gunman kills at least 17 people at Florida high school
Gunman kills at least 17 people at Florida high school
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Source: AP HEADLINES

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police on Tuesday recommended that Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted in a pair of corruption cases, media reported, in an embarrassing blow to the embattled prime minister that is likely to fuel calls for him to step down.

The recommendations marked a dramatic ending to a months-long investigation into allegations that Netanyahu accepted tens of thousands of dollars in lavish gifts from a Hollywood mogul and offered to give preferential treatment to a newspaper publisher in exchange for favorable coverage. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The recommendations now go to Attorney General Avihai Mendelblit, who will review the material before deciding whether to file charges. Netanyahu can remain in office during that process, which could drag on for months.

But with a cloud hanging over his head, he could soon find himself facing calls to step aside. During similar circumstances a decade ago, Netanyahu, as opposition leader, urged then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign during a police investigation, saying a leader “sunk up to his neck in interrogations” could not govern properly.

For months, police have been investigating two cases.

In one probe, called File 1000, Netanyahu reportedly received over $100,000 in gifts including champagne and expensive cigars from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan, Australian billionaire James Packer and other wealthy supporters.

The other is over secret talks with the publisher of Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot. In recordings obtained by police, Netanyahu allegedly requested positive coverage in exchange for reining in a free pro-Netanyahu daily.

Channels 10 and 2 TV and the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz newspapers reported police recommended indictments in both cases. The attorney general will now review their conclusions and decide whether to file charges.

Police were expected to make a formal announcement later Tuesday, and Netanyahu was expected to issue a response.

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Reports: Police recommend indictments of Netanyahu
Reports: Police recommend indictments of Netanyahu
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Source: AP HEADLINES

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest from the Super Bowl (all times local):

6:35 p.m.

Turns out Tom Brady’s not quite as good on the other end of a pass, and Philadelphia’s lead is growing.

Brady botched an attempted over-the-shoulder catch on a throw from receiver Danny Amendola on a trick play. The Patriots went for it on fourth-and-5 after that play, and Brady’s throw to Rob Gronkowski was knocked away by Philadelphia’s Jalen Mills.

Six plays later, LeGarrette Blount scored on a 21-yard run. The 2-point conversion pass attempt by Nick Foles fell incomplete, leaving the Eagles’ lead at 15-3.

Earlier in New England’s drive, Brandin Cooks stayed motionless on the field for about a minute after a hard blindside hit to the head from Malcolm Jenkins at the end of a 23-yard catch. It was announced that Cooks wouldn’t return.

—

6:08 p.m.

Nick Foles isn’t having any trouble moving the Philadelphia offense against the defending champion New England Patriots.

Foles threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Alshon Jeffery in the back of the end zone to give the Eagles a 9-3 lead in the first quarter.

Jake Elliott missed his fifth PAT kick of the season, going wide right.

Foles was 8 of 11 for 102 yards on the first two Philadelphia possessions.

The Patriots matched the Eagles’ field goal on the opening drive. It was the first time in eight Super Bowls with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick that New England scored in the first quarter.

—

6 p.m.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have finally scored points in the first quarter of a Super Bowl.

The Patriots answered an opening field goal by the Philadelphia Eagles with Stephen Gostkowski’s 26-yarder for a 3-3 tie on New England’s first possession.

It’s the first time in eight Super Bowl appearances that the Patriots have scored in the first quarter with Brady and coach Bill Belichick. The key plays were Brady’s completions of 28 yards to Chris Hogan and 15 yards to running back James White.

Both teams drove 67 yards to their first points.

—

5:45 p.m.

A Metro Transit spokesman says 17 people were taken away after they blocked a light-rail line carrying Super Bowl ticketholders to the stadium.

Howie Padilla says no one was hurt in the protest, which blocked trains for about two hours ahead of Sunday’s kickoff. Metro Transit had buses standing by to get ticketholders to the stadium in time.

The activists said they were protesting police brutality, as well as the light-rail trains being taken over by Super Bowl spectators rather than being available to ordinary citizens.

Padilla says Metro Transit doesn’t expect the 17 activists to face charges. He says Metro Transit respects people’s right to free speech and demonstration.

—

5:44 p.m.

The Philadelphia Eagles have settled for Jake Elliott’s 25-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead over the New England Patriots on the opening drive of the Super Bowl.

The Eagles had a first down at the 5 after Corey Clement’s 16-yard gain on a catch and run. But a penalty and two incomplete passes forced Philadelphia to settle for the field goal.

The Patriots will take over looking for their first points in the first quarter in eight Super Bowl appearances with quarterback Tom Brady.

Quarterback Nick Foles had completions of 17 yards to Alshon Jeffery and 15 yards to Torrey Smith the play after Smith had a drop on second down.

—

5:27 p.m.

The New England Patriots have won the opening coin toss for the Super Bowl and have deferred to the second half.

The Philadelphia Eagles will start the game with the ball and hope to be the first team to score on the opening possession of the Super Bowl since Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for Chicago against Indianapolis in the 2007 game.

—

5:25 p.m.

No players from New England and Philadelphia were kneeling or sitting during the national anthem before the Super Bowl.

Nearly all the Patriots stood in line with their right hands over their hearts during Pink’s singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.

—

5 p.m.

Police in Minneapolis have removed protesters who locked themselves across a light-rail line near U.S. Bank Stadium, temporarily halting trains carrying fans to the Super Bowl.

Live footage from the scene Sunday showed police working to unlock or cut locks the protesters had used at the stop near the University of Minnesota’s West Bank station. That’s about a half-mile from the stadium.

The footage showed protesters in zip ties waiting to board a bus to be carried from the scene.

Protesters blocked the line shortly after 2 p.m., saying they were protesting police brutality as well as the light-rail line being turned over to Super Bowl fans for the day.

Metro Transit was busing fans the rest of the way to the game.

—

4:45 p.m.

Carson Wentz is throwing passes in warm-ups for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The injured quarterback was walking gingerly and not stepping into the throws as he worked alongside starter Nick Foles.

Wentz tore a ligament in his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. Foles led playoff wins against Atlanta and Minnesota.

Foles is trying to join Bob Griese, Doug Williams and Jeff Hostetler as backups to win Super Bowls after starting no more than five games during the regular season.

The Eagles are playing the New England Patriots, who are trying to win their sixth Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady.

—

4:29 p.m.

President Donald Trump is expressing appreciation for U.S. service members, who he says make occasions like Super Bowl Sunday possible.

Trump said that, while many service members can’t be home to enjoy the American tradition with family and friends, “they are always in our thoughts and prayers.” He said they’re owed the “greatest respect for defending our liberty and our American way of life” and their sacrifice is “stitched into each star and every stripe of our Star-Spangled Banner.”

Trump also said: “We hold them in our hearts and thank them for our freedom as we proudly stand for the National Anthem.”

The president has been critical of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest unfair police treatment of minorities, calling it disrespectful to service members.

– Darlene Superville reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida

—

4:20 p.m.

Winning the NFL MVP award might not be a great omen for Tom Brady.

The last eight winners of the AP MVP award to reach the Super Bowl have lost the game, including Brady in the 2007 season against the New York Giants.

The other MVPs to lose the big game since Kurt Warner did the regular season-Super Bowl MVP double in the 1999 season for the Rams are: Warner (2001), Rich Gannon (2002), Shaun Alexander (2005), Peyton Manning (2009 and 2013), Cam Newton (2015) and Matt Ryan (2016).

Brady would rather join Warner, Steve Young (1994), Emmitt Smith (1993), Joe Montana (1989), Terry Bradshaw (1978) and Bart Starr (1966) as the players to win the regular season and Super Bowl MVPs in the same season.

– Josh Dubow

—

3:55 p.m.

Conspiracy theorists had a field day when New England was penalized just once in the AFC championship game against Jacksonville.

But there hasn’t been a huge discrepancy in playoff penalties in Patriots games during Bill Belichick’s time as coach. The Patriots have been penalized an average of 4.7 times per game in the playoffs since 2001 for 37.5 yards, only slightly lower than the opponents’ 5.1 penalties for 41.9 yards.

New England has thrived when it avoids penalties in the playoffs, winning 15 of 17 games when called for fewer penalties than the opposition. That compares to 3-1 when the total penalties are even and 9-6 when the Patriots have more penalties.

The Patriots are going for their sixth Super Bowl title against Philadelphia.

– Josh Dubow

—

3:40 p.m.

A small group of activists protesting police brutality have shut down a light-rail line carrying fans to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis.

About 30 activists walked onto the city’s Green Line at the Stadium Village stop shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, stopping trains in both directions.

The line runs from downtown St. Paul to the heart of Minneapolis, and is a main way some fans are getting to the game between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

Chinyere Tutashinda, a spokeswoman for the activists, says some chained themselves along the track.

Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla says the agency has contingency plans to get riders the rest of the way to U.S. Bank Stadium. He says he’s confident they’ll be there for kickoff.

—

3 p.m. CT

The coldest Super Bowl Sunday won’t be felt inside cozy U.S. Bank Stadium.

The overnight temperature in Minneapolis reached minus-6 degrees and was up to 2 degrees around four hours before kickoff between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.

The coldest previous range was the Detroit Super Bowl in 1982, with a low of 5 degrees and a high of 16 when it was played at the Silverdome. There was a chance for the Minneapolis high to reach 5 on Sunday.

When the Super Bowl was in Minnesota at the Metrodome in 1992, the outside temperature at kickoff was 26 degrees. That’s the average high here for Feb. 4.

The coldest outdoor game in Super Bowl history was in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium in 1972, when the kickoff temperature was 39 degrees.

—

For more AP NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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The Latest: Brady can't make catch, Eagles expand lead
The Latest: Brady can't make catch, Eagles expand lead
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Source: AP HEADLINES

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sequel to President Donald Trump’s first year in office is opening with the lead player hamstrung by a government shutdown and hunkering down amid investigations, crises and political unease.

After 365 days in the Oval Office, Trump has found that his drive to deliver quickly on campaign promises has yielded to the sobering reality of governing – and the prospect of an electoral rebuke in November. Administration aides, outside allies and Republicans on Capitol Hill see the Trump White House continuing to face many of the same challenges it wrestled with last year, with fresh plot twists to boot.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election keeps moving ever closer to the Oval Office. The government shutdown highlights the legislative challenges that persist even with Republicans controlling the White House and both the House and Senate, and makes clear the administration’s need to more carefully target its political capital on specific agenda items. And the fall elections are shaping up as a referendum on Trump’s tenure.

“In the second year, you no longer are one-dimensional,” said Ari Fleischer, press secretary when George W. Bush was president. “There’s an inevitable pivot that every administration makes, and that is to recognize that it’s no longer about future events and promises, it’s now about defending and promoting last year’s accomplishments.”

No administration comes into office fully ready for the task of leading the government, and Trump’s team has taken disruption to a new extreme. Republicans outside the White House are now hoping the Trump administration will be more politically savvy. But the 71-year old president has proved set in his ways, trusting his instincts over the advice of his aides, and there is no reason to expect that won’t continue.

Yet Trump has been changed by the experiences of the past year, according to aides and outside advisers, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal dynamics. The president has grown more fearful of leaks. His inner circle of friends is smaller, most recently with the banishment of former chief strategist Steve Bannon. This smaller group of informal advisers has seen Trump favor those who tell him what he likes to hear, according to several people who talk to him regularly. And that, combined with chief of staff John Kelly’s determination not to manage the president, is furthering the Trump’s impulsive streak.

What comes next?

Personnel changes are afoot to streamline the West Wing political and legislative affairs teams in preparation for the November elections, and Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are preparing aggressive campaign and fundraising schedules.

Despite a booming economy, Trump’s approval rating is at historic lows for a first-year president, weighed down by partisan controversy and his own divisive actions and statements. The fall contests represent a make-or-break moment for Trump and could influence his pursuit of a second term, an effort that will begin in earnest next year.

GOP lawmakers frame the importance of keeping control of the House and Senate in self-serving terms for Trump: Democratic control would grant subpoena power to the president’s fiercest critics.

Wary of potentially losing the Senate, the White House plans to continue its aggressive push to appoint conservative judges before Congress breaks for campaign season.

For all the legislative ambition of the first year, Trump’s second stands to be a more muted affair.

Immigration, the sticking point in the current shutdown, stands as the most promising option after the president provoked a crisis by setting up the March 5 expiration of protections for roughly 700,000 young immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children. He’s hoping to use it as leverage to pass his hard-line immigration priorities.

Before the State of the Union address Jan. 30, the White House has been preparing much-delayed policy proposals on infrastructure and welfare, but little progress is anticipated as lawmakers have begun turning their focus to their own re-elections.

White House officials said Trump is looking forward to spending much of the year promoting his achievements on judicial nominations, deregulation and passage of the tax overhaul.

“If year one is about tallying campaign promises,” said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley, “in year two, we can talk about results.”

Administration officials pointed to Trump’s speech Thursday in Pennsylvania, where he highlighted the benefits of his tax plan, as an example of his efforts to sell his first year to the public.

Overseas, many of the same challenges remain. The nuclear threat from North Korea occupies an ever-growing focus inside the West Wing. And while the Islamic State group’s foothold in Iraq and Syria has been diminished, Trump is facing new questions about the role of U.S. troops in the region.

—

Follow Miller on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@ZekeJMiller.

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Sequel to Trump's first year opens with crises, unease
Sequel to Trump's first year opens with crises, unease
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Source: AP HEADLINES

AP Photo/Uncredited

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As Iranians take to the streets in the biggest demonstrations in nearly a decade, residents of the increasingly tense capital say they sympathize with the protesters’ economic grievances and anger at official corruption.

The Associated Press spoke to Iranians in Tehran on Tuesday, the sixth day of protests that have seen at least 21 people killed and hundreds arrested across the country. The protests, which have erupted in several cities, are the largest since those that followed the disputed 2009 presidential election.

Residents cast nervous looks at the growing street presence of police and Basij, a volunteer force that played a key role in the government crackdown that ended the demonstrations nine years ago. But many residents said the country’s soaring unemployment and rising prices had driven people to the point of desperation.

“If authorities do not fight protesters, then they will have peaceful protests,” said Rahim Guravand, a 34-year-old construction worker.

“I’ve been out of work for months. Who is accountable for this? The government should stop spending money on unnecessary things in Syria, Iraq and other places and allocate it for creating jobs here,” he said, referring to Iran’s support for the Syrian government and regional militant groups.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who was re-elected last year, has expressed sympathy for peaceful protesters worried about how to make ends meet amid high unemployment and 10-percent inflation.

But his support appears to be slipping as many Iranians fail to see any gains from his 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some international sanctions. Iran has made billion-dollar airplane orders and resumed selling its crude oil on the international market, but the benefits have yet to trickle down.

“I voted for Rouhani, but I see his hands are tied and he cannot fulfill his promises,” said Parisa Masoudi, a 23-year-old student at Tehran’s Azad University. “The government should open the political sphere if it intends to keep the people’s support.”

Nasrollah Mohammadi, a mechanic near Tehran’s Enghelab Square, the site of many past protests, said he supports the demonstrators’ demands.

“They are right. Corruption is high and opportunities are given to their own friends,” Mohammadi said, referring to government officials. “I have two sons, 27 and 30, at home without jobs years after graduation.”

In 2009 the protests were largely centered in Tehran, led by middle and upper class supporters of reformist candidates who lost to the hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in an election best by allegations of fraud.

The latest protests began in Mashhad, the country’s second largest city, and have flared across the provinces, with no clear leadership or political platform beyond anger at the government. Tehran has also seen protests, but the most violent clashes have been elsewhere.

Not everyone in Tehran supports the latest demonstrations. Farnaz Asadi, a 31-year-old who sells goods via the popular messaging app Telegram, expressed anger at the government’s decision to shut down the service after protesters used it to organize rallies and share photos and video. The app is used by an estimated 40 million people a day in Iran – half the country’s population.

“It is not fair. Some protesters went into the streets, but why I should pay the price?” she asked. “The government shut down Telegram and my store was shut down too.”

Another university student, 21-year-old Reza Nezami, described the Telegram shutdown as another promise broken by the government. “Rouhani had said his administration would not restrict social networks,” he said.

For others, the protests represent just another hardship.

“I am not happy. Some protesters broke windows and damaged public property,” said Abbas Ostadi, a 45-year-old electrician. “They burned my friend’s taxi. Who is going to compensate him? How will he take home some bread for his family?”

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On the streets of Tehran, Iranians feel protesters' pain
On the streets of Tehran, Iranians feel protesters' pain
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Source: AP HEADLINES

AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman removed a prominent prince who headed the National Guard, replaced the economy minister and announced the creation of a new anti-corruption committee.

The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel also reported late Saturday that 11 princes and dozens of former ministers were detained in a new anti-corruption probe headed by the kingdom’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was named to oversee the new committee.

Al-Arabiya reported that the committee is looking into devastating and deadly floods that overwhelmed parts of the city of Jiddah in 2009 and is investigating the Saudi government’s response to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus that has killed several hundred people in the past few years.

Meanwhile, the kingdom’s top council of clerics issued a statement saying it is an Islamic duty to fight corruption- essentially giving religious backing to the high-level arrests being reported.

The government said the anti-corruption committee has the right to issue arrest warrants, impose travel restrictions and freeze bank accounts. It can also trace funds, prevent the transfer of funds or the liquidation of assets and take other precautionary measures until cases are referred to the judiciary.

The royal order said the committee was established “due to the propensity of some people for abuse, putting their personal interest above public interest, and stealing public funds.”

Saudi nationals have long complained of rampant corruption in government and of public funds being squandered or misused by people in power.

The 32-year-old crown prince has been seeking to attract greater international investments and improve the country’s reputation as a place to do business. It’s part of a larger effort to diversify the economy away from dependence on oil revenue.

The king ousted one of the country’s highest-level royals from power, removing Prince Miteb bin Abdullah as head of the National Guard. He was replaced by Prince Khalid bin Ayyaf al-Muqrin, who had held a senior post with the guard.

Prince Miteb’s father was the late King Abdullah, who also had led the National Guard and had transformed it into a powerful and prestigious force tasked with protecting the ruling Al Saud family, as well as important holy sites in Mecca and Medina, and oil and gas sites.

Prince Miteb was once considered a contender for the throne. His ouster as head of the National Guard essentially sidelines one of the most formidable rivals to the current crown prince, who has amassed enormous power in less than three years since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne.

It comes just three months after Prince Mohammed bin Nayef was ousted from the line of succession and from his post as interior minister, overseeing internal security.

With the two princes now sidelined, control of the kingdom’s security apparatus is now largely centralized under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also defense minister.

The monarch also replaced Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Fakeih with his deputy, Mohammad al-Tuwaijri.

Admiral Abdullah Al-Sultan was also sacked as commander of Saudi Naval Forces and replaced by Admiral Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghifaili.

—

Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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Senior Saudi royal ousted, princes reportedly arrested
Senior Saudi royal ousted, princes reportedly arrested
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AP Photo/Cliff Owen

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, Republican Rep. Mary Bono endured the increasingly suggestive comments from a fellow lawmaker in the House. But when the congressman approached her on the House floor and told her he’d been thinking about her in the shower, she’d had enough.

She confronted the man, who she said still serves in Congress, telling him his comments were demeaning and wrong. And he backed off.

Bono, who served 15 years before being defeated in 2012, is not alone.

As reports flow almost daily of harassment or worse by men in entertainment, business and the media, one current and three former female lawmakers tell The Associated Press that they, too, have been harassed or subjected to hostile sexual comments – by fellow members of Congress.

The incidents occurred years or even decades ago, usually when the women were young newcomers to Congress. They range from isolated comments at one hearing, to repeated unwanted come-ons, to lewd remarks and even groping on the House floor. Coming amid an intensifying national focus on sexual harassment and gender hostility in the workplace, the revelations underscore that no woman is immune, even at the highest reaches of government.

“This is about power,” said former California Sen. Barbara Boxer, after describing an incident at a hearing in the 1980s where a male colleague made a sexually suggestive comment. The colleague, using the traditional congressional parlance, said he wanted to “associate” himself with her remarks – adding afterward that he also wanted to “associate with the gentle lady.”

Boxer said the comment was met with general laughter and an approving second from the committee chairman. She said she later asked that it be removed from the record.

“That was an example of the way I think we were thought of, a lot of us. … It’s hostile and embarrasses, and therefore could take away a person’s power,” she said.

Boxer and the other female lawmakers spoke on the record to tell their stories in the wake of revelations about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s serial attacks on women, as well as disclosures from current and former Capitol Hill staffers about harassment by lawmakers and aides. Those accounts, published in The Washington Post and elsewhere, revealed that Congress has few training or reporting requirements in place to deal with sexual harassment.

Largely untold before now is that some female lawmakers themselves say they have been harassed by male colleagues. While rare, the accounts raise troubling questions about the boys’ club environment in Congress where male lawmakers can feel empowered to target not only staffers but even their own peers.

The lawmakers declined to identify the perpetrators by name, but at least two of the men continue to serve in the House. None of the female lawmakers interviewed reported what happened, and some noted it was not clear where they would lodge such a complaint. At least three of the four told friends or aides about the incidents, which in some cases were witnessed by other lawmakers.

“When I was a very new member of Congress in my early 30s, there was a more senior member who outright propositioned me, who was married, and despite trying to laugh it off and brush it aside it, would repeat. And I would avoid that member,” said Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif. She added that she would warn other new female members about the lawmaker in question, but she declined to identify him, while saying he remains in Congress.

“I just don’t think it would be helpful” to call the lawmaker out by name, Sanchez said. “The problem is, as a member there’s no HR department you can go to, there’s nobody you can turn to. Ultimately they’re employed by their constituents.”

Sanchez also said that a different male colleague repeatedly ogled her, and at one point touched her inappropriately on the House floor, while trying to make it appear accidental. She declined to identify the lawmaker but said he was no longer in Congress.

Bono said she ultimately confronted her colleague on the House floor after he’d made repeated harassing comments.

Bono, who arrived in the House at age 36 to replace her husband Sonny Bono after he died in a skiing accident, said it seemed like the lawmaker didn’t know how to talk to a woman as an equal. “Instead of being ‘how’s the weather, how’s your career, how’s your bill,’ it was ‘I thought about you while I was in the shower.’ So it was a matter of saying to him ‘That’s not cool, that’s just not cool.'”

Bono declined to identify the lawmaker, saying the behavior stopped after she finally challenged him. He still serves in Congress, she said.

“It is a man’s world, it’s still a man’s world,” Bono said. “Not being a flirt and not being a bitch. That was my rule, to try to walk that fine line.”

Former Rep. Hilda Solis, now a Los Angeles County supervisor, recalls repeated unwanted harassing overtures from one lawmaker, though she declined to name him or go into detail.

“I don’t think I’m the only one. What I tried to do was ignore it, turn away, walk away. Obviously it’s offensive. Are you supposed to be flattered? No, we’re adults. Not appropriate,” said Solis, who left Congress in 2009 to join the Obama administration as labor secretary.

“It’s humiliating, even though they may have thought they were being cute. No, it’s not. It’s not appropriate. I’m your colleague, but he doesn’t see me that way, and that’s a problem,” Solis said.

The experiences occurred against the backdrop of broader gender inequities in Congress, where women remain a distinct minority, making up only about 20 percent of members in the House and Senate. That’s up from fewer than 10 percent in the quarter-century since politics’ Year of the Woman in 1992. That election season, large numbers of women sought office following hearings by the then-all-male Senate Judiciary Committee over Anita Hill’s testimony about alleged sexual harassment by Clarence Thomas, who was subsequently confirmed to the Supreme Court, albeit by a narrow margin.

The increase in numbers and the prominence of a few individual women, such as House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, has not resulted in parity in all measures, nor eliminated the potential for male members to demean or even harass their female counterparts. Nonetheless, a few former female lawmakers contacted by The AP expressed surprise and even disbelief at the notion that lawmakers themselves could be victims of harassment.

Rep. Jackie Speier of California has recently gone public with an account of being sexually assaulted by a male chief of staff while she was a congressional staffer. She has criticized the vague rules in place on the issue and is preparing legislation to mandate sexual harassment training for congressional offices, among other changes. In a video posted to Twitter last week, she called Congress “a breeding ground for a hostile work environment” and encouraged others to come forward.

Yet when it comes to lawmakers themselves, Speier said: “I think the women in Congress are big girls. The equalizer that exists in Congress that doesn’t exist in other settings is that we all get paid the same amount and we all have a vote, the same vote. So if you have members that are demeaning you it’s because you’re letting them.”

Former Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California flatly argued that harassment can’t take place between members of Congress. “Female members and male members are equals, they don’t sexually harass each other,” Tauscher said.

In fact, the law specifies that harassment can occur between equals, said Jennifer Drobac, a professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, who teaches a course in sexual harassment law.

“Formally, two members of Congress may have the same status. That doesn’t change the fact that sexual harassment can occur between peers,” Drobac said, noting that numerous other factors can come into play, including the difference in age and length of service between the members, and the mere fact that men have more power in society than women.

Indeed the harassment or hostile incidents experienced by current and former lawmakers occurred when they were young newcomers to Congress, with less seniority than the men who targeted them. Yet the fact that some dispute whether harassment could even occur between members of Congress underscores the complexity of the issue and the fraught questions surrounding it.

Bono said she found power in confronting her harasser, and that after she did so it never happened again. She emphasized that she understood her experience was different than those of young staffers who may face harassment from someone they rely on for a job, and that she was fortunate because as an equal elected by her constituents, she would not fear retaliation.

But Bono strongly disputed any suggestion that she or any other female lawmaker could not be harassed by their peers.

“My career didn’t suffer, I didn’t suffer,” Bono said. “But it did happen.”

—=

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter @ericawerner and Juliet Linderman @julietlinderman

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Female lawmakers allege harassment by colleagues in House
Female lawmakers allege harassment by colleagues in House
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Source: AP HEADLINES

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

NEW YORK (AP) — The Uzbek immigrant accused of mowing down people along a bike path near the World Trade Center left a handwritten note referring to the Islamic State group and had been radicalized in the U.S., New York’s governor said Wednesday.

Investigators, meanwhile, were at the hospital bedside of 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, working to extract information about the truck attack Tuesday afternoon that left eight people dead and 11 seriously injured, a law enforcement official said.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Saipov was lucid after surgery for wounds suffered when he was shot by police.

Authorities found a note inside the rented Home Depot pickup truck.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the suspect was a “depraved coward” who tried to create terror. He gave no details on the note except to say it referred to the Islamic State.

“He was associated with ISIS and he was radicalized domestically,” he said on CNN. “It’s not the first time. It’s a global phenomenon now.”

In a number of recent extremist attacks around the world, the assailants were found to have been inspired but not actually directed by the Islamic State, and in some cases never even made contact with the group.

In Tuesday’s attack, Saipov hurtled down the bike path, running down cyclists and pedestrians, then crashed into a school bus, authorities said. He was shot in the abdomen after he jumped out of the vehicle brandishing air guns and yelling “God is great!” in Arabic, they said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called it “a cowardly act of terror.”

A roughly two-mile stretch of highway in lower Manhattan was shut down for the investigation. Authorities also converged on a New Jersey apartment building and a van in a parking lot at a New Jersey Home Depot.

Police and the FBI urged members of the public to come forward with any photos or video that could help.

In the past few years, the Islamic State has been exhorting followers to use vehicles or other close-at-hand means of killing people in their home countries. England, France and Germany have seen deadly vehicle attacks in the past year or so.

President Donald Trump railed against the Islamic State on Twitter and declared “Enough!” and “NOT IN THE U.S.A.!”

On Wednesday, the president took a swipe at the Senate’s top Democrat, saying Saipov came to the U.S. under a visa lottery program – “a Chuck Schumer beauty.” He urged tougher immigration measures based on merit.

Schumer, who represents New York, said in a statement that he has always believed that immigration “is good for America.”

The victims reflected a city that is a melting pot and a magnet for visitors: One of the dead was from Belgium. Five were from Argentina and were celebrating the 30th anniversary of a school graduation. The injured included students and staffers on the school bus.

New Yorkers woke to a heavy police presence Wednesday outside the World Trade Center and at other locations around the city.

Runners and cyclists who use the popular bike path for their pre-dawn exercise were diverted away from the crime scene by officers stationed at barricades just north of where the rampage began.

Dave Hartie, 57, who works in finance, said he rides his bike along the path every morning.

“It’s great to be in the city and have that kind of peace,” he said. As for the attack, he said, “It’s the messed-up world we live in these days. Part of me is surprised it doesn’t happen more often.”

Law enforcement officials who were not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity said the slight, bearded attacker is from heavily Muslim Uzbekistan and came to the U.S. legally in 2010. He has a Florida driver’s license but may have been staying in New Jersey, they said.

Records show Saipov was a commercial truck driver who formed a pair of businesses in Ohio. He had also driven for Uber.

—

Associated Press writers Sadie Gurman in Washington; Jake Pearson, Tom Hays, Adam Geller, Jennifer Peltz, Karen Matthews, Kiley Armstrong and Tom McElroy in New York; Shawn Marsh in Trenton, New Jersey; Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles; Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Michael R. Sisak in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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NY gov says truck attack suspect was radicalized in US
NY gov says truck attack suspect was radicalized in US
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AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump spent five days in Asia largely keeping the Alabama Senate scandal at bay. He won’t be so lucky on U.S. soil.

The president returned to Washington on Tuesday night and walked straight into a party panic over the sexual misconduct accusations dogging GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore. Having pushed publicly and privately for Moore to get out of the race, Republicans believe their last best shot is Trump, who they hope can persuade his fellow political rebel to fall in line.

Trump has given little indication of whether he’s interested in playing the role of party heavy. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has echoed other Republican leaders, saying last Friday that Moore should step aside if the allegations are true. But as other Republicans began to call for Moore to quit the race, Trump was notably silent in public. On Tuesday, he didn’t address the issue when he spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington, nor did he respond to shouted questions about Moore as he entered the White House that night.

For Trump and Republicans, there are no good options. If Moore wins, they can either spend an already harrowing midterm election cycle defending their new colleague, or overturn the will of Alabama voters by casting him out of the Senate. If Moore loses and the seat flips to Democratic control, the party loses a critical vote in its razor-thin Senate majority, with issues like tax reform and immigration set to be considered in the coming months.

“I have to get back into the country to see what’s happening,” Trump told reporters over the weekend as he flew from Danang, Vietnam to Hanoi during his five-nation tour of Asia.

But behind the scenes, he was vexed by the issue. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump had been involved in dealing with the Moore situation “in great detail” during the trip. McConnell said he and Trump discussed the question on Friday, with chief of staff John Kelly and Vice President Mike Pence weighing in on subsequent days.

Trump’s 12-day trip, the longest of his presidency, was quickly overshadowed at home by the shocking accusations of sexual assault on minors by Moore, who was embraced publicly by the White House last month after winning the state’s GOP primary.

The shocking revelations dominated cable news for days, as Moore denied the allegations and pledged to stay in the race.

Even Chinese President Xi Jinping was drawn in. “Who is Roy Moore?” Xi asked Trump privately after they delivered joint statements to reporters, in a moment described by two White House officials not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.

GOP officials cautioned that the actions of Washington Republicans, including the president, were unlikely to affect Moore’s decision-making – and that any moves against him could backfire in an anti-establishment political environment.

The president backed Moore’s unsuccessful rival, Sen. Luther Strange, in the Republican primary. Moore has the backing of Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon. And Bannon’s conservative news site, Breitbart, has led the charge in trying to discredit the allegations against Moore, as it tries to boost the nationalistic candidate.

One person familiar with the president’s thinking said Trump has been slow to call for Moore to exit the race in part because he risked embarrassment if, as expected, Moore defied him.

On Tuesday, the Republican National Committee halted its efforts on Moore’s behalf, following similar action by the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Friday. Three Republicans familiar with the RNC’s decision, but not authorized to discuss it publicly, said Trump signed off on the move to cut Moore loose.

Moore was already a pariah among national Republicans even before the recent allegations of inappropriate contact with minors. A twice-removed state judge, Moore’s anti-gay and anti-Muslim rhetoric have long repelled the GOP mainstream.

McConnell has openly floated the possibility of having Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose move from the Senate to the Cabinet necessitated the special election, run for his old seat as a write-in candidate.

A source close to Sessions says he has told friends he is not interested in returning to the Senate.

—

Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

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Trump returns, faces Alabama Senate scandal
Trump returns, faces Alabama Senate scandal
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s gubernatorial election stands as a test for the anti-Donald Trump resistance, and whether it can energize voters and donors for the less glamorous races featuring traditional Democratic politicians.

The Nov. 7 contest pits Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a physician, Army veteran and former state senator, against Ed Gillespie, onetime aide to President George W. Bush and former head of the Republican Party. The current governor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, is term-limited.

The stakes in Virginia are immense: Though Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the state by five percentage points in 2016, Republicans typically are more likely to turn out in off-year statewide elections. Northam has led in most polls, but the race is close. A loss would be devastating after Democrats failed to capture any GOP-held seats in contested special congressional elections earlier this year that galvanized anti-Trump activists.

The next Virginia governor also will have a major say in the state’s next congressional redistricting. A Republican wave in statehouse elections around the country in 2010 – just prior to the last redistricting – has helped the GOP maintain a firm grip on the House.

Former President Barack Obama highlighted the importance of the Virginia race last week at his first large political rally since leaving office, urging Democrats not to get “a little sleepy” in the off-year election.

“I think that it’s great that you hashtag and meme,” the former president told a crowd in Richmond, “but I need you to vote.”

Northam bested former Rep. Tom Perriello, a populist favorite of the resistance who was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, in the Democratic primary. Sanders’ political operation, Our Revolution, recently endorsed six Democrats running for the state House of Delegates, but did not endorse Northam. Diane May, a spokeswoman for the group, said it can only endorse candidates recommended by local members and none in Virginia recommended Northam.

Some activists say it’s obvious that the liberal wing of the party isn’t as engaged in the governor’s race.

“We absolutely want to see them win, but that’s the difference between inspiring and driving a Democratic base to get out there for you and someone who you just want to win,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of the group Democracy For America. “If he doesn’t win, this will be why.”

Fundraising underscores some ambivalence.

Northam has raised $8 million more than Gillespie through September. He had $5.7 million cash on hand at the end of last month compared with Gillespie’s $2.5 million.

But Northam’s fundraising advantage is due largely to his in-state fundraising efforts, not to out-of-state activists pouring money in. Northam and Gillespie have each raised about $2.5 million from out-of-state contributors, not including Washington-based donors like the Democratic Governors Association and its GOP equivalent, according to nonprofit money tracker the Virginia Public Access Project.

And Northam hasn’t reported any donations from Democratic super donors like billionaires George Soros and Donald Sussman who largely funded his primary opponent’s campaign.

Still, others in the resistance say they’re working hard in the governor’s race and see no lack of enthusiasm. The prominent anti-Trump group Indivisible has sent three paid staffers to Virginia and recently asked its chapters across the country to organize phone banks to help Northam and Democrats in the Virginia state legislative races.

“We have folks who are clamoring to make the calls from across the country,” said Isaac Bloom, the group’s organizing director.

Northam spokesman David Turner said the campaign just came off a record-breaking voter canvassing last weekend and “there’s a lot of enthusiasm and excitement on the ground in Virginia.” He said Obama’s visit has helped highlight to out-of-state activists the importance of this race, particularly when it comes to redistricting.

Act Blue, which channels small-dollar donations to Democratic candidates, says that more than triple the number of people have donated to Virginia races this year as did in all of 2013. Democrats have gained six state legislative seats in special elections in Oklahoma, Florida and New Hampshire even as they lost the more headline-drawing congressional elections.

“We’re just seeing people plain engaged,” Act Blue Executive Director Erin Hill said.

The group Flippable has targeted five House of Delegate races in the state and expects to net as many donations as it did for Democrat Jon Ossoff in the Georgia special congressional election he lost earlier this year. Co-founder Catherine Vaughan said Democrats need to re-learn the importance of state elections after losing more than 1,000 state legislative seats and several governor’s races during the Obama years.

“Democrats kind of dropped the ball there,” Vaughan said, adding she worries that in the rush to win back the House in 2018, activists could lose sight of the importance of state-level wins again.

Michael Casentini, 41, a small business owner in Los Angeles, was devastated by Trump’s election and desperate for ways to fight back. In May, he wrote a $215 check to Ossoff as that race became a rallying cry for the anti-Trump resistance.

Casentini obsessively follows the news, so he knows there’s a tight race for Virginia governor next month. But he didn’t know the name of the Democratic candidate.

“People are tired, people are exhausted,” Casentini said in an interview.

But after talking about the Virginia race with a reporter, he said he realized he should make a donation to Northam. “That’s another one we liberals need to jump on,” Casentini said.

—-

Riccardi reported from Denver.

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Virginia race tests energy of anti-Trump resistance
Virginia race tests energy of anti-Trump resistance
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