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Continue reading Recharge Wrap-up: BMW chooses SUV for i5? Toyota finally embraces li-ion
Recharge Wrap-up: BMW chooses SUV for i5? Toyota finally embraces li-ion originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Green,Mercedes-Benz,Fuel Efficiency,Technology,Diesel,Hybrid
Continue reading Mercedes unveils four new engines, two have inline-six layouts
Mercedes unveils four new engines, two have inline-six layouts originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsIn his most circulated, notorious speech to date, the effervescent Lance Guidry — then an interim head coach — told his Western Kentucky team before the 2012 Little Caesar’s Bowl that departed coach Willie Taggart’s mission was to “build a bully.”
“We are that bully,” Guidry yells to the team in the locker room before its 24-21 loss to Central Michigan. “We’re standing on top of that damn hill. We are that badass dude.”
Four years and two jobs later, the McNeese head coach has neglected to deviate from Taggart’s mentality five days ahead of the Cowboys’ meeting with No. 1 Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas.
The Bearkats average 89.4 penalty yards per game. They’ve been penalized 64 times through eight games — the most in the Southland Conference at an even eight per game.
The trend, on paper, is unbecoming of the nation’s consensus No. 1 team.
“Teams that are physical are usually the most penalized,” Guidry said Monday at his weekly press luncheon. “You go back and look in time, the Chicago Bears and all them, they were probably the most penalized football team because they imposed their will and they were going to try to make you cowards. And that’s what they’re going to try to do.”
That physicality and intimidation, Guidry said, often leads to dead-ball fouls. He expects trash talking “from the moment we get out there,” taunting penalties and maybe some late hits — posing a predicament to the first-year head coach.
Guidry expects his team to never cower. He’s even chided it this season for not matching an opponent’s physicality, primarily after a 30-22 loss to UL-Lafayette.
But how will he mitigate that tenacity while warning against engaging in dead-ball acts — especially in a game where the underdog Cowboys have little margin for tomfoolery or error.
“I’m going to turn them loose,” Guidry said bluntly. “If (Sam Houston State)’s going to be a bully we’re going to be a bully. Definitely not going to put a chain on them and say ‘Hey, watch it now.’ I don’t have to worry about our guys. When they taunt us, our kids are going to react. And I can tell them all I want, but when you get out on the field, you have to do it the right way. You can’t hit late, you can’t do those things, you can’t be cheap, but I don’t expect our guys to back down.”
Such liveliness, Guidry said, is imperative if an upset will take place.
“We’re not going to win this game unless we have a lot of emotion,” Guidry said. “ If we go in there with a tight butt, we’re going to play that way. That’s the bottom line. We’re going to have to play loose.”
Though devoid of any other anatomical analysis, Guidry maintained a similar tone and plan for the duration of his 24-minute meeting with reporters.
Already with a week of game plan down and another still to go, Guidry heaped praise on the Bearkats offense — that 600 yards-per-game machine guided by quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe. It is a scheme and he is a player no opponent has been able to slow.
“They’re playing better than they have and we haven’t played the best of our abilities,” Guidry said. “Right now, if you’re a betting man, you have to bet on Sam (Houston) … And that’s OK. That’s all right with us. We don’t have to be better than Sam (Houston) 365 days out of the year, just one day. One day, for about three hours, we have to be better than them.”
Filed under: Green,Fisker,United States,Electric,Hybrid
Continue reading Henrik Fisker teases more images of Emotion luxury electric vehicle
Henrik Fisker teases more images of Emotion luxury electric vehicle originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Design/Style,Spy Photos,Toyota,Sedan,Performance
Continue reading 2018 Toyota Camry gets sporty cues, sleeker styling
2018 Toyota Camry gets sporty cues, sleeker styling originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsBOISE, Idaho -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved commercial planting of two types of potatoes that are genetically engineered to resist the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine.
The approval announced Friday covers Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co.'s Ranger Russet and Atlantic varieties of the company's second generation of Innate potatoes.
The company says the potatoes will also have reduced bruising and black spots, enhanced storage capacity, and a reduced amount of a chemical created when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures that's a potential carcinogen.
"We obviously are very proud of these," said company spokesman Doug Cole.
The potatoes next must clear a voluntary review process through the Food and Drug Administration as well as get the OK from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The company says it expects those approvals in January with the potatoes entering the market next spring.
The two varieties join a third variety with the same traits called the Russet Burbank that has already attained approval from the Agriculture Department and FDA, with EPA approval also expected in January.
The company said the potatoes contain only potato genes, and that the resistance to late blight, the disease that caused the Irish potato famine, comes from an Argentinian variety of potato that naturally produced a defense.
Late blight continues to be a major problem for potato growers around the world, especially in wetter regions. Company officials say the new types of potatoes will bring 24-hour protections to farmers' fields and reduce the use of pesticide spray up to 45 percent.
The reduction in bruising, Cole said, could reduce waste and increase by 15 percent the top-quality potatoes coming out of fields, which sell for more than bruised potatoes.
Cole said the new varieties of potatoes can be kept in cold storage longer. Conventional potatoes can turn a dark color when cooked after they were kept cold for too long. The enhanced cold storage could have significant ramifications for the potato chip industry by reducing trucking costs, Cole said.
The company's second generation of Innate potatoes follows the first generation that has been selling to consumers for more than a year. Those potatoes, marketed under the White Russet label, have reduced bruising and reduced potential carcinogens when cooked, but not resistance to late blight or enhanced cold storage.
Cole said about 40 million pounds of the first generation potatoes have been sold to consumers in more than 35 states. He said that's about 1 percent of all potato sales. Of the 40 million pounds, he said about two-thirds went to produce sections of stores.
There is no evidence that genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs, are unsafe to eat, but for some people, altering the genetic code of foods presents an ethical issue. McDonald's has rejected using Simplot's first generation of Innate potatoes for its French fries.
The food industry has also faced pressure from retailers as consumer awareness of genetically modified foods has increased. Retailer Whole Foods has said it plans to label GMO products in all its U.S. and Canadian stores by 2018. A company spokeswoman declined to comment over the phone on Monday, and the company didn't immediately respond to an emailed question from The Associated Press about whether it would consider selling the potatoes in its stores.
Simplot has been fighting back with a public relations campaign this year and two female athletes.
Kristin Armstrong, a Boise resident and three-time Olympic gold medalist in cycling, touts the nutritional values of the White Russet potatoes.
To demonstrate resistance to bruising, mixed martial artist and former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm recently used her skills on a hanging bag of White Russets. The company said the potatoes survived and proved hard to bruise.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- The ex-wife of a Georgia man charged with murder after their toddler son died in a hot SUV shed tears for her boy on the witness stand Monday while testifying that her former husband would not have left him to die on purpose.
Leanna Taylor told a jury she tried to be strong for Justin Ross Harris after learning on June 18, 2014, that their only child was dead after Harris left the boy in his car's back seat all day after driving to work.
"I knew he was never going to forgive himself," Taylor testified, adding that she knew Harris didn't leave their son intentionally.
Her testimony as a defense witness for Harris, 35, contradicts the case prosecutors have spent weeks trying to build: that Harris meant to kill his 22-month-old son, Cooper. Prosecutors say Harris, who is charged with felony murder, wanted to escape the responsibilities of family life as he spent his time seeking sexual relationships both online and in person with women outside his marriage.
Taylor, who divorced Harris earlier this year and went back to using her maiden name, acknowledged they had problems in their marriage dealing with sex. He had told her years earlier he frequently watched pornography and they sought counseling. She also had caught him sending text messages to other women, but testified she did not know he was meeting some of them for sex.
"If I had, I would have divorced him then," she said.
But Taylor also testified Harris was an equal and enthusiastic partner when it came to parenthood. He helped change Cooper's diapers, prepared his meals and would bathe the child. In the mornings, she said, Cooper and his father would sit together in bed watching cartoons.
"He wanted to be the one to push him on a swing. He wanted to be the one to slide down the slide with him," Taylor said of her ex-husband. "He wanted to enjoy every second he could with him."
Prosecutors were expected to cross-examine Taylor later Monday afternoon.
On the witness stand, Taylor recalled her son as a cheerful boy who loved to play with toy cars and trucks and often waved and smiled at strangers. When Harris' defense attorney, Maddox Kilgore, handed her a photograph of Cooper napping in daycare, she broke down in tears.
Seated at the defense table, rarely looking up at his former wife, Harris at times cried during her testimony.
By the summer of 2014, Harris was trying to plan for the three of them to take a family cruise with his brother's family, Taylor said. They also had begun talking with a real estate agent about buying a home in metro Atlanta, where Harris worked as a web developer for Home Depot after they moved from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 2012. Taylor said her husband wanted to make sure they lived in a good school district.
That all came to halt the day Taylor showed up to pick Cooper up from daycare and learned he was never dropped off that day. Earlier that day, Harris sent her a text message asking: "When you getting my buddy?"
She said she rushed to her husband's nearby office.
"The only thing that made sense to me, based on what I knew that day, was Ross must have left him in the car," Taylor said. "It was the only thing that clicked in my mind as even a remote possibility. If he was never checked in, he must have been forgotten."
Cobb County police detectives soon arrived and confirmed her fears.
Despite the horrific news, Taylor said, she didn't cry until hours later when she went home, crawled into her dead son's bed and wept. Her husband was being held in jail on charges.
"I did not know you could react the way I reacted," Taylor said. "It was like someone else took over my body for me while I was outside of my mind just trying to make sense of what had happened."
Filed under: Aftermarket,Videos,Ferrari,Toyota,Coupe,Performance,Specialty
Continue reading A Ferrari-swapped Toyota GT86 sounds menacing
A Ferrari-swapped Toyota GT86 sounds menacing originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 15:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsWICHITA, Kan. -- A man accused of plotting to bomb a western Kansas apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live told The Associated Press on Monday that federal prosecutors waited until 10 minutes before his detention hearing to share their evidence with his defense attorney.
Patrick Stein called the AP from jail in response to a letter seeking comment. Stein declined to talk about the charges against him until he talked with his attorney, but he derided the Oct. 21 proceeding as "a half trial/detention hearing," laughing about it and calling it "ridiculous."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mattivi presented during that hearing a thick packet of text messages, photographs and other material, reading some of the text exchanges in the courtroom.
"We didn't have any of that information that he laid out until 10 minutes before we went before the judge," Stein told the AP. "That is how they are playing the game."
Jim Cross, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said in an email that prosecutors "worked to compile information as quickly as possible. It was provided to the defendants' attorneys as soon as it was available."
Prosecutors allege that Stein, 47, Gavin Wright, 51, and Curtis Allen, 49, planned to attack the apartment complex, which contained a mosque in one of the units, the day after the November election. All three men have pleaded not guilty.
Stein said that while he would like to give his side of the story he needs to discuss with his attorney whether doing so would hinder his defense.
"I can't afford that ?€” not when my life is on the line," he said.
Stein was the only one of the three defendants who tried to get released pending trial, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Gwynne Birzer denied his request following a detention hearing in which she told him that he posed a "grave danger" to the community.
Mattivi read during that hearing Stein's text messages with an undercover FBI agent in which Stein, using the screen name Orkin Man, referred to Somali immigrants as "cockroaches" and expressed his belief that the government is run by a terrorist organization.
Prosecutors contend Stein was the leader of a militia group called The Crusaders, though his attorney, Ed Robinson, denied during the hearing that his client even knows of such a group.
Robinson provided a glimpse into the unfolding defense strategy when he told the magistrate judge that the three men accused were only preparing to defend themselves in the event of "massive social upheaval" as they accumulated firearms and ammunition.
Stein said he was "hanging in there" but expressed concern about his family.
"They don't deserve anything of what they have been getting," he said.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from an Alabama death row inmate who claimed that evidence withheld by prosecutors entitled him to a new court hearing.
The justices did not comment in turning away the appeal from Bill Kuenzel, convicted of killing a convenience store clerk in the east Alabama city of Sylacauga in 1987.
The state attorney general's office could now ask the Alabama Supreme Court to set an execution date for Kuenzel, 54.
A prosecutor did not immediately return a message seeking comment. A spokesman for Kuenzel's legal team, Eric Berman, said attorneys were "obviously disappointed" since Kuenzel's claims have never had a full review because of a filing deadline that was supposedly missed in the 1990s.
State courts had earlier refused Kuenzel's pleas for a new hearing.
Kuenzel's case had gotten a boost from former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, who argued in court papers that Kuenzel is "very likely actually innocent."
Kuenzel's lawyers said that the evidence would have raised doubts about the truthfulness of plea deal testimony from a roommate who said Kuenzel committed the killing.
Kuenzel was convicted of murdering convenience store clerk Linda Jean Offord, a mother of three who was shot to death while working a night shift. Kuenzel's roommate, who had blood on his pants after the murder, testified that Kuenzel committed the crime.
Kuenzel lawyer's said they found out in 2010 that a teenage witness— who testified she saw Kuenzel at the convenience store — initially told a grand jury that she wasn't certain it was Kuenzel she saw. Defense lawyers said they've also learned that the roommate had a shotgun of the same gauge used to kill Offord and also initially told police that he had been at the convenience store with another friend, not Kuenzel.
The Alabama attorney general's office has argued that the teenage witness only had slight variations in her certainty that Kuenzel was at the store, and there was other testimony and evidence that backed up the guilty verdict. Prosecutors wrote in a brief that Kuenzel had tried to fabricate an alibi for the day of the murder, and that he and his roommate made notes in a notebook that suggested they were trying to coordinate their stories to police.
The case is Kuenzel v. Alabama, 16-213.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Local elections boards in North Carolina are illegally removing thousands of voters from the rolls, and a disproportionate number of them are black, the NAACP said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday.
Voters are being removed because of challenges filed by individuals, which the NAACP says is illegal under federal law less than 90 days before an election. However, state officials say it's legal under state law.
Early voting already has begun in this critical swing state, where officials and the courts have tussled over voting hours and other issues of poll access.
"This is our Selma, and we will not back down and allow this suppression to continue," said the Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP. He said the challenges represent an example of voter suppression against African-Americans.
The group's lawsuit zeroes in on Cumberland, Moore and Beaufort counties, where thousands of voters' names have been challenged. In most cases, mail sent to an address is returned as undeliverable, which county boards can accept as evidence that the voter no longer lives there.
The lawsuit says the state law, and the removals, are in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. It also asks to restore the names of voters who already have been removed.
Among those challenged in Beaufort County was a 100-year-old black woman, Grace Bell Hardison, who uses a post office box for mail. She learned about the challenge from a list in the local newspaper, said her nephew, Greg Satterthwaite. Her options were to go to a hearing — and she only leaves her home once a month — or sign a form, get it notarized and have someone attend the hearing for her.
"Her first reaction was 'I can't vote. I can't vote,'" he said. "She was really upset."
Said Hardison, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit: "I'm still going to vote. I always vote. When it comes time to vote, I always vote. And I'm going to vote when it comes time."
The man who filed that and many other challenges in the county, Shane Hubers, said he abandoned it after learning of Hardison's situation. He said he told county election officials he'll do the same if people have an explanation: "I've not raised a fuss. I'm not vindictive."
The people filing challenges in Cumberland and Moore counties say they're volunteers with the Voter Integrity Project. The group's director, Jay Delancy, says he wants to reduce the potential for voter fraud.
Individuals have challenged 4,500 voters in Beaufort, Cumberland and Moore counties in August and September — with more than 3,900 of those in Cumberland County, the director of the State Board of Elections, Kim Westbrook Strach, said in a letter to the NAACP.
However, it's not clear how many of those people have had their registrations struck from the rolls. Elections officials and the challengers say few people attend the hearings over their challenges; many have moved and haven't updated their registration, while others have died.
"We know that most if not all of those people are honest people who are on the rolls and don't know it," Delancy said.
The NAACP says the challenges have disproportionately affected black voters. The NAACP says the challenges have disproportionately affected black voters, who comprise 53 percent of registered voters in Belhaven, where all the Beaufort County challenges were filed, and more than 65 percent of challenges.
Cumberland County's election director said similar figures there would not be made available. The elections director in Monroe County said she was compiling those figures this week.
People can register to vote and vote on the same day during early voting, which continues through Nov. 5. However, if someone removed from the rolls tries to vote on Election Day, they cast a provisional ballot that the county board of elections must then decide whether to count.
Kellie Hopkins, director of the Beaufort County Board of Elections, said she was concerned someone who moved to a different address within the county may not be able to cast a regular ballot on Election Day.
In Moore County, elections board director Glenda Clendenin said she was determined that such ballots be counted: "If I don't have any evidence that they've left the county, I will recommend to my board that the ballot be counted."
Filed under: Transportation Alternatives,Technology
Continue reading Uber and Lyft aren't immune to racial discrimination by drivers
Uber and Lyft aren't immune to racial discrimination by drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Aftermarket,Government/Legal,Ownership,United States,Technology
Continue reading US Copyright Office officially allows owners to work on their own car
US Copyright Office officially allows owners to work on their own car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Motorsports,SEMA Show,Chevrolet,Coupe,Racing
Continue reading Chevy reveals a pair of Camaros at SEMA that only care about quarter mile times
Chevy reveals a pair of Camaros at SEMA that only care about quarter mile times originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Celebrities,Etc.
We interviewed Jeremy Clarkson and James May about Top Gear, The Grand Tour, Tesla, and autonomous cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsWASHINGTON -- A wearable skin patch may help children who are allergic to peanuts by delivering small doses of peanut protein, according to a new study that calls for the therapy to be further explored.
The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that nearly half of those treated with the Viaskin Peanut patch for one year were able to consumer at least 10 times more peanut protein than they were able to prior to treatment.
The biggest benefit came for those from 4 years old to 11 years old. Participants older than 12 didn't see as much of an effect, the study found.
The therapy works by training the immune system to tolerate small amounts of peanuts, said Dr. Daniel Rotrosen, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, which is funding the ongoing clinical trial.
"Other recent advances have relied on an oral route that appears difficult for approximately 10 to 15 percent of children and adults to tolerate," Rotrosen said.
While the trial found the immunotherapy treatment to be "potentially effective," it cautioned that the study is limited. Further investigation is needed to find out if "the modest clinical changes noted will be enhanced after a longer duration of therapy," the study said.
Those long-term results should be available in the future because the trial is continuing.
The Viaskin Peanut patch hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Filed under: Videos,Car Buying,Car Dealers,Used Car Buying,Stars Selling Cars
Continue reading Action star Danny Trejo tries his hand at selling cars | Stars Selling Cars
Action star Danny Trejo tries his hand at selling cars | Stars Selling Cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsLOS ANGELES -- New research suggests oil drilling decades ago may have triggered earthquakes in the Los Angeles region, including the 1933 quake that killed more than 100 people.
If confirmed, it would be the first time oil operations have been linked to a deadly quake in the United States.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey combed through historical records and identified several quakes in the 1920s and 1930s that were potentially caused by industry activities, including the 1933 magnitude 6.4 jolt that struck the port city of Long Beach.
Until now, "we pretty much assumed that earthquakes in the LA area are natural and that induced earthquakes are either not happening or not significant," said USGS seismologist Sue Hough, who led the study.
Drilling techniques have changed through the decades so the findings don't necessarily point to a current risk. A separate study last year by a team at USGS and California Institute of Technology found no significant evidence of human-caused quakes in the LA region after 1935.
Man-made quakes have been in the spotlight after a sharp uptick in seismic activity in Oklahoma and Texas. Studies have linked the spike to the practice of injecting leftover wastewater into the ground after drilling for oil and gas using newer technologies such as hydraulic fracturing. The induced quakes have rattled nerves and caused property damage, but no deaths.
Southern California's oil boom was sparked in 1892 when oil was discovered near what would become the site of Dodger Stadium, north of downtown LA. After tapping the wells dry, drillers headed to points south, including Santa Fe Springs, Inglewood, Torrance and Long Beach.
In the study, Hough and colleague Morgan Page pieced together a list of quakes between 1915 and the early 1930s, and reviewed oil permits and drilling operations during that time period. They found 13 cases of shaking that may have been caused by oil production ramping up.
The Long Beach quake hit not long after operators began drilling wells at different angles, the researchers said. Some 115 people died and many schools collapsed, spurring new laws requiring stricter building standards for new schools and retrofitting of old ones.
The findings appear in Tuesday's edition of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.
"They have certainly raised the possibility that these earthquakes could have been induced, but it's difficult with the lack of observations to definitively say these were induced earthquakes," said Bill Barnhart, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Iowa who had no role in the research.
Deadly quakes triggered by oil and gas drilling are rare. In 1984, a magnitude 7 quake in Uzbekistan linked to gas extraction killed one person and injured 100.
Oil recovery techniques have changed through the years. In the early 20th century, oil was sucked out of the ground and that sometimes caused the ground to sink. Beginning in the 1940s, operators would flood water into reservoirs to drive out oil.
Earlier this year, Cliff Frohlich, a senior research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, found that human-caused quakes from oil and gas operations in Texas have been happening since 1925, much earlier than previously thought. In recent years, the increased shaking in Texas has been linked to the injection of wastewater deep underground.
The possible connection between past LA quakes and oil activity sounds "plausible" and should be investigated further, said Frohlich, who was not part of the latest study.
WILTON MANORS, Fla. -- Newly emboldened, Donald Trump is campaigning in traditionally Democratic states after the recent discovery of more emails that may be relevant to the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton's private system.
Clinton enters the final full week of the presidential race on defense once again.
Clinton, who was to campaign Monday across Ohio, vowed over the weekend that she would not be "knocked off course" in the election's final days by the discovery of new emails in an unrelated sexting investigation. It is unclear what is contained in the emails or if any of them were sent or received by Clinton herself.
"I'm not stopping now, we're just getting warmed up," Clinton declared during a packed rally with gay and lesbian supporters in battleground Florida Sunday. "We're not going to be distracted, no matter what our opponents throw at us."
Trump, who had been trailing Clinton nationally and across key battleground states, campaigned with new vigor over the weekend as he seized on the news in an effort to boost his struggling candidacy. Trump heads to Michigan for a pair of rallies Monday — a state that last voted for the Republican nominee for president in 1988.
"The polls have come out and they have been amazing, even before the big blow-up on Friday," Trump told a crowd of thousands packed into an airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico — another traditionally Democratic state that Trump said on Sunday night be believes he can win.
"Traditionally, you understand, Republicans aren't quite there, right?" Trump told the crowd. "But this is a Republican who is there and we're going to win this thing."
Clinton's advisers and fellow Democrats, furious over the vague letter sent by FBI Director James Comey to Congress Friday, have been pressuring him to release more details about the emails, including whether Comey had even reviewed them himself. The emails were found on a computer that appears to belong to disgraced former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Huma Abedin, one of Clinton's closest advisers.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who's been featured in an ad for Clinton's campaign, described Comey's actions as "deeply troubling" and a violation of "longstanding Justice Department policies and tradition," in an article published in the Washington Post on Monday.
A law enforcement official confirmed late Sunday that investigators had obtained a search warrant to begin the review of Abedin's emails on Weiner's computer. The official has knowledge of the investigation, but was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The official said investigators would move expeditiously but would not say when the review might be complete.
Tim Kaine, Clinton's running mate, said Comey owed it to the public to be more forthcoming about the emails under review by the FBI with the days ticking down to the Nov. 8 election. Calling Comey's announcement "extremely puzzling," Kaine said that if Comey "hasn't seen the emails, I mean they need to make that completely plain."
Comey's actions Friday have roiled the White House race, energizing Trump as polls had shown him sliding and unnerved Democrats already worried about the presidency and down-ballot congressional races.
In a letter to Congress on Friday, Comey said the FBI had recently come upon new emails while pursuing an unrelated case and was reviewing whether they were classified.
Federal authorities in New York and North Carolina are investigating online communications between Weiner and a 15-year-old girl.
A law enforcement official said Sunday that FBI investigators in the Weiner sexting probe knew for weeks about the existence of the emails that might be relevant to the Clinton email investigation. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Comey said he was briefed Thursday about that development and told Congress on Friday that investigators had found the emails. A second law enforcement official also said the FBI was aware for a period of time about the emails before Comey was briefed, but the second official wasn't more specific.
Trump has praised Comey for his decision, declaring that he believes justice will finally be served.
Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said Comey was in "an impossible spot" when he acknowledged the FBI was looking into the messages. "Had he sat on the information, one can argue that he also would be interfering in the election," by failing to disclose the review, Conway said.
The controversy over Clinton's email practices while she served as secretary of state has dogged her for more than a year.
Meanwhile, the campaigns continued their early voting push, with Democrats claiming an edge in Nevada and Colorado. New reports from the weekend found that more than 20 million voters had already cast ballots.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Even before FBI Director James Comey jolted the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton and her advisers were on edge.
Never mind that preference polls had Clinton ahead of Republican Donald Trump nationally and in nearly every battleground state. Or that Democrats in Washington were starting to actively prepare for a Clinton presidency, speculating about top Cabinet nominees and next year's White House agenda.
"The polls are going to tighten," Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri warned as she talked with the campaign's traveling press corps on Friday. After swatting away a rumor about post-election planning — this one about Vice President Joe Biden being considered to lead the State Department — Palmieri predicted, "Next week you guys are going to come to us and say, 'the polls are tightening and you were focused on the transition.'"
"No," she added. "We are not."
Palmieri had barely made it back to the front of the campaign plane when news broke that the FBI had told Congress it had found new emails that may be related to Clinton's use of a private server while secretary of state. Speculation about a Clinton White House was quickly replaced by questions about whether a winnable race might slip from her grasp.
Clinton's team is now plunging into the final full week of campaigning before Election Day on two parallel tracks. The campaign has launched a vigorous, coordinated effort to press the FBI to release more details about the inquiry, hoping more information distances Clinton from the new discoveries. They're also wielding Comey's controversial decision to disclose the developments in the election's final days as a way to shake off Democratic complacency and give supporters a new reason to vote.
Trump, too, sees the FBI's actions as an opportunity to gain much-needed traction and revive questions about Clinton's trustworthiness. At a rally Sunday in Las Vegas, Trump said Clinton "has nobody but herself to blame for her mounting legal problems."
While Comey's actions have undoubtedly put more pressure on the Clinton campaign, they've also put the candidate in a position where she's at ease and often at her best: back against the wall, railing against what she sees as an unfair or even a partisan attempt to take her down.
"There is something to be said about Hillary Clinton as a fighter," said Mo Elleithee, who worked on Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Noting how Clinton's performance improved substantially after she slipped behind in the Democratic primary eight years ago, Elleithee said that when faced with a challenge, Clinton tends to "kick it into a different gear and she starts humming."
Of course, Clinton lost that primary. And another moral victory isn't what she's after this time around.
With that in mind, Clinton hit the campaign trail over the weekend with gusto, blitzing across Florida, the biggest prize in the presidential race and a must-win state for Trump.
During an organizing event in Daytona Beach, she lashed out at Comey's "unprecedented" and "deeply troubling" actions. Speaking to energized gay and lesbian supporters at a Fort Lauderdale nightclub, she vowed she wouldn't be "knocked off course" by distractions late in the campaign.
"I'm not stopping now," Clinton declared as the crowd roared. "We're just getting warmed up."
Clinton's advisers were stunned by Comey's actions — both by the timing of his letter to Congress and the paucity of information the FBI has made public about the new material.
The investigation appears to center on a laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former congressman and estranged husband of Clinton confidante Huma Abedin. It's unclear whether the material on the device was from Clinton, nor is it known if the emails in question are new or duplicates of the thousands the former secretary of state and her aides have already turned over.
Democrats have robustly rallied around Clinton, including black and Hispanic lawmakers. During a Congressional Black Caucus news conference on Saturday, Rep. Gregory Meeks suggested Comey might be trying to impact the election results.
"Don't hide in silence," Meeks said. "Don't be the one that's trying to sway an election 10 days beforehand. The American people deserve and we want to know in its entirety what the emails are and what you are investigating."
If there's a silver lining for Clinton in the FBI's actions, it's that her campaign now has a way to convince Democrats who might have considered skipping voting that their nominee needs their support.
Before Comey's letter to Congress, Clinton's campaign had watched with mixed feelings as her standing in poll after poll improved and Trump faltered amid a string of sexual assault accusations.
"In the last week, I think the Clinton campaign was worried it was going to become too easy and that people would feel that," Elleithee said. "Now there's a reason for all of our supporters to believe it's going to be hard."
Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing,RAM,Truck
Continue reading Current Ram 1500 sticking around into 2019
Current Ram 1500 sticking around into 2019 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsNEWARK, N.J. -- The attorney for a former staffer to Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Monday called the star witness against her in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing case "the Bernie Madoff of New Jersey politics."
Michael Critchley used the term in closing arguments to describe David Wildstein, the former bridge authority official who pleaded guilty in the case. He testified that Bridget Kelly and another defendant, Bill Baroni, schemed to punish a Democratic mayor who didn't endorse Christie.
Critchley said Wildstein concocted the scheme to try to impress Christie.
The jury heard closing arguments from the prosecution and from the lawyer representing Baroni, another former Christie ally, on Friday. The prosecution will get a chance to present a rebuttal summation later Monday before jurors begin deliberations.
In his closing argument, Baroni's attorney also assailed Wildstein, a former political blogger and high school classmate of Christie's. He said Wildstein, who worked for Baroni at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was Christie's hatchet man at the agency and is a serial fabricator on whom the prosecution based the majority of its case.
Wildstein, who pleaded guilty last year, testified earlier in the trial that both defendants actively participated in the scheme to retaliate against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, whose endorsement was sought unsuccessfully by Christie's office in 2013.
Kelly wrote the infamous "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" email the month before the September 2013 lane closures. She testified she deleted that email and others because she was scared others in Christie's administration who knew of the lane closures weren't being forthcoming.
Kelly also testified she told Christie about the lane closures a month before they happened, something Christie has denied. Critchley told jurors Monday the government didn't call Christie to say that under oath. Christie has denied any knowledge of the plot before or while it was happening, and he has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
A federal prosecutor told jurors Friday that Kelly and Baroni were so eager to aid Christie's rising political career in 2013 that they concocted a plan to create gridlock at the country's busiest bridge, connecting Fort Lee and New York City, to punish a mayor who didn't go along for the ride. Baroni was a former state senator whom Christie appointed to be deputy executive director of the Port Authority, which operates the bridge.
They face charges including conspiracy, fraud and deprivation of civil rights. The most serious, wire fraud conspiracy, carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Kelly and Baroni both testified they believed Wildstein when he told them the realignment of access lanes to the bridge on four days in September 2013 was part of a traffic study
The scandal unfolded at a time when Christie was on the brink of a runaway re-election victory and was considered a top Republican presidential contender. He wasn't charged, but the story dogged him through a failed presidential bid.
Christie has said he wasn't aware of the lane closures or their possible political motivation until weeks or months later. But testimony during the trial by Wildstein, Kelly and Baroni contradicted his account.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes began his closing argument Friday by showing jurors a video screen with Kelly's email.
Kelly testified she sent the email after finding out Sokolich had decided not to endorse Christie, but she said the email was meant to give Wildstein the go-ahead to proceed with the traffic study.
Cortes said the plan was conceived by Wildstein, but he wouldn't have been able to pull it off without Baroni and Kelly.
Filed under: Motorsports,SEMA Show,Ford,Truck,Off-Road
Continue reading 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor preps for Baja return
2017 Ford F-150 Raptor preps for Baja return originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Spy Photos,Mercedes-Benz,Hatchback,Performance
Continue reading The Mercedes-AMG A45 dresses up as an even hotter hatch for Halloween
The Mercedes-AMG A45 dresses up as an even hotter hatch for Halloween originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Open Road
Continue reading When seasons change, check your tire pressure
When seasons change, check your tire pressure originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsLEEDEY, Okla. -- A massive, weeklong manhunt for a suspect in a string of violent crimes, including the killing of two relatives, the shooting of three law enforcement officers and multiple carjackings, has ended in a police chase and shootout that left the man dead in western Oklahoma.
Authorities believe Michael Dale Vance Jr. posted two Facebook Live videos Oct. 24 documenting his run from police, although he had been silent since then. An Oklahoma state trooper shot and killed Vance late Sunday near Leedey, 130 miles northwest of Oklahoma City and 45 miles north of where he was last seen a week earlier.
Earlier Sunday, Vance shot and wounded a Dewey County officer and fled in a car, according to Dave Turk, spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in Washington, D.C., which participated in the manhunt.
Officers pursued Vance for about half an hour when he was approached by an Oklahoma state trooper.
"There was an exchange of gunfire between the state trooper and the subject, and the subject was killed," Turk said.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Chief Ricky Adams described the shootout as "pretty dramatic."
"We pinned him down," Adams told The Oklahoman newspaper. "He's dead ... It was an extremely good job of police work by every agency involved."
Adams said the authorities were tipped off to Vance's whereabouts by a farmer who spotted a vehicle in his field that matched the description of the car the fugitive was thought to be driving.
Highway Patrol spokesman Capt. Paul Timmons tells Oklahoma City television station KWTV that authorities believe Vance had been camping in the area, but that he fled and was eventually shot dead by state troopers.
"From what I've been told, the vehicle was partially concealed by tumbleweeds and other brush in the area," Timmons said, adding that authorities found clothing and evidence of a campfire at the scene near Hammon.
Vance was wanted on multiple charges, including two counts of first-degree murder. The hunt began after he shot and wounded two police officers on Oct. 23 in Wellston, 35 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, authorities said.
Vance, 38, was suspected of shooting a woman and stealing her vehicle at a mobile home park near Wellston, then driving about 8 miles to his relatives' mobile home in Luther and killing them.
Ronald Everett Wilkson, 55, had been shot and had stab wounds to his neck "consistent with an attempt to sever his head," an arrest affidavit said. Valerie Kay Wilkson, 54, had similar neck wounds along with defensive wounds on her arms, the affidavit stated.
Just days later, Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel indicated to the AP that authorities were at a loss as to where Vance might be, saying he "could be anywhere from California to Mexico to Florida."
Whetsel has described the deaths of the Wilksons as a "rage killing" and said Vance had likely developed a list of potential targets connected to a pending sexual assault case filed against him. Vance had been scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 7 to face felony child sex abuse charges after a 15-year-old girl accused him of sexual assault.
Layla Kaub was on a mission Sunday at T.S. Cooley Elementary’s annual Scholastic Book Fair.
The first-grader was searching for the next cookbook to add to her already 30-book collection.
“I really like making food and I like making new things, and one time I made up my own recipe,” Kaub said. “And I really like science, too, and sort-of cooking is like science.”
Kaub’s grandmother, Faye LeJeune, said last year the pair bought five cookbooks at the fair.
But Kaub said she could still use some more, as she scanned the pages of “The Usborne Children’s Book of Baking” before stopping to read a jelly-roll cake recipe.
“She’s only 7 and she makes her own salad dressing,” LeJeune proudly said. “I never would have thought to melt peppermint but she melted the peppermint and mixed it in.”
That wasn’t the only reason Kaub wanted to go to school on the weekend, though.
“She also thought it would be a big deal to get to see the school when it was not in session to see if it might be more fun,” LeJeune said.
Was it?
“Sort-of,” Kaub grinned.
Monica Russell, who has helped host the book fair for the past five years said the annual event is the primary fundraiser for the school’s library. This year’s fair, though, also had a special purpose.
During the fair, patrons could buy books and gift certificates to donate to Tanglewood Elementary School in Baton Rouge, Russell said.
The school, made up of about 800 first- and second-graders, lost about 90 percent of its library books during recent flooding.
“This is something the school felt like we could do to help them,” Russell said. “We practice the ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ and this is one way of showing that helping others is a win-win.”
Volunteer cashier Angela Lee said nine gift certificates and three books were sold within the first 20 minutes of the fair’s opening.
“Definitely our hearts go out to them, we wanted to do more but this is something we could contribute. I know they’re needing books because everything was destroyed,” said PTO president Michelle Williams. “We want to raise awareness and also give back.”
Filed under: Motorsports,Ferrari,McLaren,Mercedes-Benz,Renault,North America,Racing
Continue reading Rosberg survives the Mexican mess | 2016 Mexican Grand Prix recap
Rosberg survives the Mexican mess | 2016 Mexican Grand Prix recap originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2016 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism
You might have heard: Google launched its Accelerated Mobile Pages project earlier this year, and it will soon bring the same technology to mobile ads
But did you know: Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages isn’t bringing in revenue in the way publishers had hoped because of ad limitations (Wall Street Journal)
Google is trying to speed up the mobile web with its Accelerated Mobile Pages project, but some publishers are worried about the effect AMP is having on their ad revenue, Jack Marshall reports. Google has been including more AMP pages in its mobile results, directing more users to AMP and fewer users to publishers’ full mobile sites. But that’s a problem for some publishers, Marshall writes: AMP pages aren’t bringing in ad revenue at the same rate as a regular mobile website, and sometimes even bring in half as much revenue as a regular mobile page. That’s happening mostly because of limitations from Google on the types of ads that are allowed on AMP pages and limitations on the type of ad tech integrated with AMP right now.
+ Noted: Facebook launches an election tool with information on national, state and local races (Facebook Newsroom); NPR names Neal Carruth as its first general manager of podcasting (Poynter); Print newspaper advertising is falling in the U.S., but digital advertising is slow to pick up the slack, forcing newspaper companies to cut costs even further (New York Times); Dean Baquet says U.S. cable networks have played a “ridiculous” role in the election by blurring the line between entertainment and news and pandering to partisan viewers (Financial Times)
New York magazine’s newest revenue stream: Shopping recommendations (Nieman Lab)
With the news that The New York Times would buy The Wirecutter, “service journalism” in the form of shopping recommendations is getting renewed attention, Laura Hazard Owen writes. But, those recommendations don’t have to be left to review sites: New York magazine is getting in on shopping recommendations with the launch of The Strategist, “a new site for helping you shop the internet” that shares a name with a section of the print magazine. Owen talks to New York magazine’s CEO Pam Wasserstein about how New York magazine is getting into affiliate revenue.
+ Liz Spayd on how The New York Times will need to navigate affiliate links: Be transparent with readers about how reviews are done and how NYT makes money off them, explain to readers why NYT thinks affiliate revenue is a good idea, and establish clear site-wide rules on affiliate links (New York Times)
Turkey closed 15 media outlets this weekend under state-of-emergency decrees (Europe Online Magazine)
With two decrees issued Saturday under a state of emergency, Turkey closed 15 news outlets and fired 10,000 members of security forces. Emergency laws have been in effect in Turkey since the failed coup in in July and give the government “sweeping powers,” which have largely been used to target Turkey’s Kurdish minority. Most of the news organizations closed this weekend were Kurdish organizations. Beyond closing media outlets, the decrees prevent lawyers being able to meet privately with their clients and restructure how university officials are appointed to bring more control to the government.
The AT&T and Time Warner deal is all about advertising, but it likely won’t lead to tons of targeted TV ads (Digiday)
AT&T and Time Warner executives said last week that the potential deal could help marketers by opening up the floodgates for targeted TV ads. That’s hypothetically possible, Ross Benes writes, but it’s more likely that an AT&T/Time Warner deal would lead to more targeted TV ads, but it still won’t be ubiquitous. Plus, broadcast TV ads largely haven’t changed because there’s been no incentive for no change yet: “TV is one of the few areas of advertising where sellers have leverage,” explains Eric Franchi, co-founder of ad tech company Undertone. “The product works, premium space is in high demand, so CPMs are at a premium and high volumes continue to be sold on an upfront or scattered basis with no targeting.”
A group of five executives at Facebook regularly make editorial judgment calls (Reuters)
Facebook has come under criticism for how it handled the removal of an iconic Vietnam war photo, which the company later backtracked on and allowed to be published. While Facebook insists that it is a technology company, Reuters’ Kristina Cooke, Dan Levine and Dustin Volz report that a group of five executives at Facebook routinely make editorial judgment decisions, particularly in high-profile controversies such as the Vietnam war photo. Besides making editorial judgments, Reuters reports that those executives “weigh in on content policy changes meant to reflect shifting social context and political sensitivities around the world.” Facebook says those five executives are not the only ones involved in such decisions, but declined to say who else was involved in those content decisions.
+ How to the problem of fix fake news on Facebook: “Facebook insists that it doesn’t make editorial decisions with News Feed: It places the user first. If users say fakery is a problem, the company will act” (Poynter)
There’s a lot of free news online from public media outlets, but research shows it doesn’t discourage readers from paying for other news (Nieman Lab)
“I don’t think I would pay for it just because there’s so much availability of news on the internet for free that I feel like, if I have to pay for something somewhere, I’ll just look for it free somewhere else,” said a college student interviewed in API’s study of the Millennial generation last year. But a new report from the Reuters Institute found that “people who consume free news from public media aren’t any less likely to express a willingness to pay for news than those who don’t.” Some caveats to the study: It’s still only a small percentage of the people who pay for online news, and there’s also lots of free news online that doesn’t come from public media outlets.
The post Need to Know: Oct. 31, 2016 appeared first on American Press Institute.
A Lake Charles bicyclist was killed in a two-vehicle accident Friday morning, authorities said.
Lake Charles police spokesman Cpl. Larry Moss said officers were dispatched to the intersection of Kirkman and Alamo streets at about 11:43 a.m. Friday in reference to a two-vehicle crash and an injured pedestrian.
Moss said a 2013 Chevrolet Impala was traveling north on Kirkman when the driver, later identified as Jaylin Jack, failed to stop for a red traffic signal.
Moss said that as Jack entered the intersection, his vehicle struck a 2009 Hyundai Accent traveling westbound on Alamo.
Moss said as the result of the impact, Jack’s vehicle rotated after the collision and struck Shawn Allison as he was bicycling past.
Allison was airlifted to a medical facility in Lafayette, where he later succumbed to his injuries, Moss said.
Jack was arrested for DWI and Failure to Yield. He has been released on bond. Pending the result of the Toxicology report, these charges could be upgraded.
Moss said the investigation is still ongoing by Sgt. S. Kingsley and Officer R. Grantham.
Twenty-two minutes after McNeese dispatched a hapless, one-win Abilene Christian, its coach offered refreshing honesty.
His two hands clenching each side of the dais, Lance Guidry fielded four questions about that 33-14 win — a no-nonsense victory that was devoid of any discernible excitement.
A fifth came, asking how the upcoming week would differ from the eight that preceded it.
“Been planning since last week,” the McNeese coach said of his team’s impending showdown with No. 1 Sam Houston State. “I just started watching (Sam Houston State film) last week after I watched the Abilene Christian film and I saw what they did and I just started working in advance on Sam (Houston) and just looking at some things we needed to do and seeing if I could find any tendencies they’ve been doing.”
Football coaches tend to follow an unwritten script. No one game is more important than the other, they’ll all say, and all 11 opponents — regardless of talent level or record — receives the same devout planning as the other.
Guidry scoffs at such social norms. He was forthright Saturday that most of the preparation for Abilene Christian, a 1-7 team that McNeese made 1-8, was ceded to defensive coordinator Tommy Restivo.
Guidry watched the Wildcats briefly — they did play Sam Houston State to a 48-21 loss two weeks ago — before turning his eyes solely to the electrifying Bearkats.
He rewound the videotape in search of inclinations for a team that averages 54 points and 592 yards per game. The Bearkats play in more four-wide receiver sets than last season, he notes. Those receivers do not, under any circumstances, drop the football.
The quarterback, of course, is Jeremiah Briscoe, whom the Cowboys surprisingly saw in their playoff loss last season.
“I’m not going to say we weren’t ready for (Briscoe), but there were two different types of quarterbacks with two different offenses,” Guidry said. “Well now this is his offense and it’s a lot different than what it was … They’re good. They’re really good.”
Game planning is a tedious exercise, one that can sometimes feel rushed or unthorough with a 48-hour timeframe — Sunday morning through Monday night — to ensure it is ready for Tuesday’s first practice.
Guidry took no such chances with the team’s season-defining game. A victory against the No. 1 team in the country and a win against Lamar two weeks later makes a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth a real possibility for a McNeese bunch that was under .500 two weeks ago.
“Definitely glad we took care of business tonight and our mind is moving to Sam Houston,” cornerback Khalil Thomas said. “We have to have a great week of practice, lock in and prepare like we need to. We know it’s going to be a good game.”
Thomas was on the team last season, when Sam Houston spoiled the Cowboys’ undefeated dream season.
Roles reverse this season. Guidry, who helped to resurrect McNeese as a player in the early ‘90s before assisting in reviving dormant Miami (Ohio) and Western Kentucky programs, enjoys being in such a position.