Trump frustrated by intelligence community’s JFK secrecy
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a showdown 25 years in the making: With the world itching to finally get a look at classified Kennedy assassination files, and the deadline for their release just hours away, intelligence officials were still angling for a way to keep their secrets. President Donald Trump, the one man able to block the release, did not appreciate their persistence. He did not intend to make this easy.
Like much else surrounding investigations of the 1963 killing of President John F. Kennedy, Thursday’s release of 2,800 records from the JFK files was anything but smooth. It came together only at the last minute, with White House lawyers still fielding late-arriving requests for additional redactions in the morning and an irritated Trump continuing to resist signing off on the request, according to an account by two White House officials. They spoke only on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.
The tale of the final hours before the congressionally mandated 25-year release deadline adds a new chapter to the story of Trump’s troubled relationship with his spy agencies. He again flashed his skepticism and unpredictability in dealing with agencies long accustomed to a level of deference. Intelligence officials, meanwhile, were again left scratching their heads about a president whose impulses they cannot predict.
And those officials had their own story tell, some rejecting the notion they were slow to act on Trump’s expectations for the documents. The CIA began work months ago to get its remaining assassination-related documents ready for release on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the process. The person, who was not authorized to publicly to discuss the process and spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the goal was to have all the agency’s documents ready to be released in full or with national security redactions before the deadline.
Since taking office, Trump has challenged the integrity of intelligence leaders, moved to exert more control over U.S. spying agencies and accused his predecessor of using government spycraft to monitor his campaign. In the JFK files matter, one White House official said, Trump wanted to make clear he wouldn’t be bullied by the agencies.
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Botulism pills, the CIA, the Mob and the JFK assassination
WASHINGTON (AP) — Botulism pills. Conspiracy theories. What the government might have known and still won’t say about Lee Harvey Oswald.
The release of thousands of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy hasn’t settled the best-known, real-life whodunit in American history. But the record offered riveting details of the way intelligence services operated at the time and are striving to keep some particulars a secret even now.
“The Kennedy records really are an emblem of the fight of secrecy against transparency,” said Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at the private National Security Archive research group in Washington. “The ‘secureaucrats’ managed to withhold key documents and keep this long saga of secrecy going.”
The 2,800 records released on Thursday night include some that had dribbled out over the years but are getting renewed attention from being in this big batch.
Some highlights:
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North Korean ‘masterminds’ evade Kim Jong Nam murder trial
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — At a trial that could send two Southeast Asian women to the gallows, Malaysian prosecutors are shining a light on several men at large they say masterminded and played crucial roles in carrying out the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong’s Un’s estranged half brother.
The lone defendants at the Shah Alam High Court — Siti Aisyah, 25, of Indonesia and Doan Thi Huong, 29, of Vietnam — say they are innocent, duped by the men into participating in February’s attack at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport, which they say they thought was a harmless prank for a TV show.
If found guilty, they face a mandatory death sentence. In Malaysia, that means they would be hanged.
But since the trial began on Oct. 2, the alleged role of the four missing suspects has come to dominate the proceedings. Both the prosecutors and the defence team say a lot more is going to be revealed in the weeks ahead about the men, who outside of court they acknowledge are believed to be North Korean citizens.
The prosecution this week also stressed that authorities reserve the right to take more formal action against the four if they can gather enough evidence.
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Conservative site with GOP ties funded Trump research
NEW YORK (AP) — A conservative website with strong ties to the Republican establishment triggered the investigation into Donald Trump’s past that ultimately produced the dossier that alleged a compromised relationship between the president and the Kremlin.
The Washington Free Beacon on Friday confirmed it originally retained the political research firm Fusion GPS to scour then-candidate Trump’s background for negative information, a common practice known as “opposition research” in politics. Leaders from the Free Beacon, which is funded largely by Republican billionaire Paul Singer, insisted none of the early material it collected appeared in the dossier released later in the year detailing explosive allegations, many uncorroborated, about Trump compiled by a former British spy.
“During the 2016 election cycle we retained Fusion GPS to provide research on multiple candidates in the Republican presidential primary, just as we retained other firms to assist in our research into Hillary Clinton,” wrote the site’s editor-in-chief, Matthew Continetti, and chairman Michael Goldfarb. They continued: “The Free Beacon had no knowledge of or connection to the Steele dossier, did not pay for the dossier, and never had contact with, knowledge of, or provided payment for any work performed by Christopher Steele.”
Earlier in the week, reports revealed that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee continued funding Fusion’s work after the original GOP source lost interest.
Trump this week called it a “disgrace” that Democrats had helped pay for research that produced the document. But the original source of the research remained a secret.
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Spain cracks down hard after Catalonia declares independence
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — In one of the most momentous days in recent Spanish history, Spain fired Catalonia’s regional government and dissolved its parliament Friday after a defiant Catalan declaration of independence that flouted the country’s constitution.
Lawmakers in the Catalan parliament voted to unilaterally declare independence, prompting the swift crackdown by the Spanish government, which also called an early election in the region.
Hours after Catalonia’s secession move, the Spanish Senate granted the government special constitutional powers to stop the wealthy region’s move toward independence.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government then called an urgent Cabinet meeting late Friday, after which Rajoy emerged to announce the emergency measures, including regional elections called for Dec. 21.
In Barcelona, Catalonia’s regional capital, Rajoy’s announcement in a televised address was greeted with jeers and whistles of disapproval from crowds who had gathered at the gates of the government palace to celebrate their parliament’s moves toward independence.
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Corker: Possible 2020 run against Trump not ruled out
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee did not rule out a run in 2020 against President Donald Trump when asked about it by reporters Friday, saying he’s focused on the next 14 months of his term and isn’t thinking that far ahead.
The noncommittal response came as Corker doubled down this week on criticism of Trump, calling him “utterly untruthful” and responsible for “the debasement of our nation.”
“You know, I don’t know what I’m doing next Sunday,” the senator responded when reporters asked about a potential presidential bid.
Corker said it was far too soon to say if he would want a strong Republican primary challenge of Trump, whether by him or someone else.
“I think that if you even begin thinking those things, everything you do becomes viewed through a different lens,” Corker said generally about presidential ambitions.
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Sharks and lost hope: 2 women rescued after 5 months at sea
HONOLULU (AP) — Their engine was crippled, their mast was damaged and things went downhill from there for two women who set out to sail the 2,700 miles from Hawaii to Tahiti.
As their 50-foot sailboat drifted helplessly in the middle of the Pacific for months, their water purifier conked out, sharks started ramming their vessel, their food ran low and their distress calls and signal flares went unanswered day after day.
Some nights they went to sleep wondering if they would live to see the sun rise.
Then their fortunes changed Tuesday: Five and a half months after Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiava embarked on a journey that might normally take about three weeks, a Taiwanese fishing vessel spotted their boat 900 miles off Japan and thousands of miles in the wrong direction from Tahiti.
The Navy sent the USS Ashland to their rescue.
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Fit or miss? Retailers offer new tools to help shoppers
NEW YORK (AP) — Stores watching Amazon take a larger share of clothing sales are trying to solve one of the most vexing issues for online shoppers: Finding items that fit properly.
The retailers are unleashing tools that use artificial intelligence to replicate the help a salesperson at a store might offer, calculate a shopper’s most likely body shape, or use 3D models for a virtual fitting room try-on. Amazon, which some analysts say would surpass Macy’s this year as the largest U.S. clothing seller, is offering some customers an Alexa-powered device that doubles as a selfie-stick machine and a stylist.
Retailers want to reduce the rate of online returns, which can be up to 40 per cent, and thus make customers happier — and more likely to be repeat shoppers. And the more interaction shoppers have with a brand, the more the technology will learn about shoppers’ preferences, says Vicky Zadeh, CEO of Rakuten Fits Me, a tech company that works with QVC and clothing startup brands.
“It’s all about confidence,” she says. “If they have the confidence to buy, they will come back to the retailer time and time again.”
The push is coming from big names like Levi’s and The Gap and startups like Rhone and Taylrd.
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New harassment claims against ‘Game Change’ journalist
LOS ANGELES (AP) — CNN reported Friday that four more women have levelled allegations of sexual harassment against journalist Mark Halperin.
The news channel said that one woman claimed Halperin masturbated in her presence after she went to his ABC News office to seek advice from him about her career at the news division, where she was a desk assistant.
CNN said a second woman alleged that the “Game Change” co-author threw her against a restaurant window and threatened to derail her career after she rebuffed his attempt to kiss her.
The woman, who told CNN she met Halperin when she was interning at the White House, said he called her shortly after the encounter and warned that she’d never be hired in media or politics.
The four women, who were not identified in the CNN report, said the encounters took place between the late 1980s and 2006, during which time Halperin worked at ABC News in influential positions including political director.
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Evan Gattis Houston’s DH as Series shifts to AL ballpark
HOUSTON (AP) — Evan Gattis is the Houston Astros’ designated hitter and bats seventh in Game 3 on Friday night as the World Series shifts to the American League ballpark.
Catcher Brian McCann drops from sixth to ninth in the batting order. Houston stays with the same eight position players for the third straight game.
Centre fielder George Springer leads off, followed by third baseman Alex Bregman, second baseman Jose Altuve, shortstop Carlos Correa, first baseman Yuli Gurriel, right fielder Josh Reddick, Gattis, left fielder Marwin Gonzalez and McCann. Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. is on the mound.
Los Angeles won the opener 3-1 and Houston rallied to win Game 2 7-6 in 11 innings.
