August 30, 2019

Is America open to electing a woman president? Democratic voters weary of white male choices have

Is America open to electing a woman president? Democratic voters weary of white male choices have doubts

The fact that Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton is top of mind for many Democrats looking toward 2020.


DES MOINES, Iowa — Like lots of Iowa Democrats, Kelsey Bell would love to see Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the White House but worries a woman can’t get enough votes to win.

“It is hard for people my grandparents’ age to accept the idea of a female president,” said Bell, 36, an accountant from Johnston, Iowa. “My grandpa can’t even go to a female doctor. That generation is just so closed-minded.”

Warren also tops the list for her friend Sondra Schreiber, 36, a college administrator from Des Moines who’s wrestling with the same quandary as she weighs whether to throw herself into the Warren effort.

Her own grandfather is a staunch Republican who hates Donald Trump, she said. There’s only one Democrat he’s willing to support, Joe Biden, and he would never cast a vote for a woman. She wonders if that’s enough reason for her to back the former vice president, too, because like the vast majority of Democrats, finding someone who can beat Trump is the paramount consideration.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/08/29/is-america-open-to-electing-a-woman-president-democratic-voters-weary-of-white-male-choices-have-doubts/

August 30, 2019

Civil jury decides ex-officer, city of Dallas aren't liable in 2012 killing in Dixon Circle

A civil jury in a federal wrongful-death case decided Thursday that a former Dallas police officer and the city aren't liable for financial damages in the 2012 killing of an unarmed man in South Dallas.

The deadly confrontation between a white cop and a black man nearly sparked a riot in the Dixon Circle community, where Officer Brian Rowden shot and killed James Harper after a foot chase.

The civil trial began Aug. 21, and jurors delivered their verdict after deliberating for about six hours Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.

Attorneys for the city and the former officer declined to comment on the ruling. Rowden, too, said nothing as he left the downtown courthouse in a Dallas police squad car.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/08/29/civil-jury-decides-ex-officer-city-of-dallas-aren-t-liable-in-2012-killing-in-dixon-circle/

August 30, 2019

Abbott says 'mistakes were made' when his fundraising letter targeted migrants

EL PASO — In front of victims of the Aug. 3 Walmart mass shooting here, Gov. Greg Abbott opened public safety talks conceding "mistakes were made" when he sent potential donors a fundraising letter that warned Republican supporters of the dangers posed by undocumented migrants entering the Texas border from Mexico.

Abbott's comments came in response to a question Thursday at the beginning of second Texas Safety Commission meeting to seek legislative solutions in the wake of the massacre of 22 people by an alleged white supremacist. Abbott's letter, sent a day before the mass killing, generated wide condemnation by community organizers and political foes who say such language only widens the divide and inspires hate in an already polarized country.

"Mistakes were made and course correction has been made," Abbott said. "I want to emphasize the importance of making sure that rhetoric will not be used in any dangerous way and will make sure that we work collaboratively."

The shooter, who drove about 10 hours from Allen to carry out the massacre, later told police he was targeting Mexicans when he stormed the Walmart with an AK-47. Dozens of people were injured.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/08/29/abbott-says-mistakes-were-made-when-his-fundraising-letter-targeted-migrants/

For once, I am in agreement with the governor that "mistakes were made." The most easily identifiable one is that Abbott was elected governor.

August 30, 2019

Texas small business owners explain why they tolerate Trump and his tweets

AUSTIN — Several small business owners said at a Republican-sponsored forum Thursday that they adore President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation policies.

But the event’s host, a printing-company owner, said he disagrees with “some things about President Trump.” He declined to be more specific.

State GOP Chairman James Dickey, emcee and co-sponsor of the Trump reelection campaign’s “Open for Business” roundtable in north Austin, acknowledged that some recent tweets by the president have been odd.

But the business owners and Dickey shrugged off talk of Trump’s Twitter eruptions. Instead, they attributed the country’s low unemployment rate and what they described as their businesses’ surging profits as products of Trump economic policies.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/08/29/texas-small-business-owners-explain-why-they-tolerate-trump-and-his-tweets/

August 30, 2019

Jim Leavelle, detective in historic photo of Lee Harvey Oswald's shooting, dies at 99

A fraction of a second stands out from all the other notable experiences in James Robert Leavelle's long, notable life.

He was among the first sailors at Pearl Harbor to see Japanese Zeros attacking the U.S. fleet. He was a Dallas detective who solved all but two of the multitude of cases he handled. (He was pretty sure what happened in the two unsolved ones.)

But on Nov. 24, 1963, he was the cowboy-hatted man in the light-colored suit handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald as Jack Ruby fired his fatal shot on live TV. That moment became one of the most recognizable images of the 20th century.

Leavelle died Thursday, his daughter Karla Leavelle confirmed. He was 99.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/obituaries/2019/08/30/jim-leavelle-detective-in-historic-photo-of-lee-harvey-oswald-s-shooting-dies-at-99/

August 30, 2019

Feds settle with Dallas company at center of $13 million cryptocurrency scheme

A Dallas-based company and its founders have agreed to pay back more than $10 million to thousands of investors they convinced to buy into cryptocurrencies that later crashed, according to federal regulators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the preliminary settlement Thursday with Dallas-based BitQyck Inc. and founders Bruce Bise and Samuel Mendez. Without admitting guilt, Bise and Mendez consented to pay back $890,000 and $850,000, respectively, while BitQyck will return $8.4 million.

BitQyck raised more than $13 million from 2016 to earlier this year from 13,000 investors in 45 states for the digital tokens, the SEC said in a civil lawsuit that led to the settlement.

But most of the value disappeared as the Bitqy and BitqyM cryptocurrencies tanked. A state complaint said the men told investors the $0.02 cryptocurrency could soar in value to $3 per token, but the cryptocurrency is now virtually worthless.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2019/08/29/feds-settle-with-dallas-company-at-center-of-13-million-cryptocurrency-scheme/

August 30, 2019

How Beto O'Rourke would tackle China, trade deals

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke unveiled how he would end the U.S.-China trade war as well as tackle workers' rights and climate change in trade agreements.

O’Rourke, a longtime free-trade supporter, said that President Donald Trump’s tactics have failed and have been damaging for American families. O’Rourke calls on working with allies to curb China’s unfair trading practices.

What would the plan do?

The former congressman‘s plan says that on his first day in office, he would eliminate Trump’s tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The proposal acknowledges that “targeted tariffs are a tool that may sometimes be necessary, but they must not be used as a threat to drive anti-immigrant agendas or in a way that causes further pain to American businesses and workers.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/29/beto-orourke-china-trade-1695858

August 30, 2019

How Beto O'Rourke would tackle China, trade deals

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke unveiled how he would end the U.S.-China trade war as well as tackle workers' rights and climate change in trade agreements.

O’Rourke, a longtime free-trade supporter, said that President Donald Trump’s tactics have failed and have been damaging for American families. O’Rourke calls on working with allies to curb China’s unfair trading practices.

What would the plan do?

The former congressman‘s plan says that on his first day in office, he would eliminate Trump’s tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The proposal acknowledges that “targeted tariffs are a tool that may sometimes be necessary, but they must not be used as a threat to drive anti-immigrant agendas or in a way that causes further pain to American businesses and workers.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/29/beto-orourke-china-trade-1695858

August 30, 2019

Marlin police chief under criminal investigation kills himself

Marlin Police Chief Nathan Sodek, who has been under criminal investigation by the Texas Rangers, killed himself Friday at his home in Bruceville-Eddy, officials said.

While McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara and Department of Public Safety Sgt. Ryan Howard declined to confirm that Sodek took his own life, Falls County District Attorney Jody Gilliam said Friday that law enforcement authorities told her Sodek died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson was called to Sodek’s residence in the 100 block of Soules Circle and ordered an autopsy in the case.

Marlin City Manager Cedric Davis confirmed Sodek, 30, died at the Bruceville-Eddy home Friday. Davis said although he was hired in May to serve as city manager, he is grieving with the city.

Read more: https://www.wacotrib.com/news/crime/marlin-police-chief-under-criminal-investigation-kills-himself/article_1c00740c-704b-52eb-84c8-fda266698935.html

August 29, 2019

Arkansas building owners conceal 'KKK' welded on facade

FORT SMITH, Ark. — The letters "KKK" that were welded on an Arkansas building have been replaced with U.S. Marshals stars after one of the owners called it "offensive" insignia that's commonly associated with "a shameful organization."

The concealment comes after the Southwest Times Record reached out to Fort Smith Mayor George McGill earlier this year to ask about the "KKK" — letters denoting the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan.

McGill then reached out to the building owners Richard Griffin and Benny Westphal, who agreed to cover them, the newspaperreported. McGill is the city's first black mayor who took office in January.

"Those letters are offensive to several residents in Fort Smith, many of whom are good friends of ours. I've never walked in their shoes, but I certainly wouldn't want to send the wrong message to anyone," said Griffin, adding that he believes the KKK is "a shameful organization."

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2019/aug/27/arkansas-building-owners-conceal-kkk-welded-facade/792467/