July 25, 2016

Sources: US Officials Warned DNC Of Hack Months Before The Party Acted

Source: CNN

(CNN)Federal investigators tried to warn the Democratic National Committee about a potential intrusion in their computer network months before the party moved to try to fix the problem, US officials briefed on the probe tell CNN.

The revelation raises questions about whether the DNC could have done more to limit the damage done by hackers suspected of working for Russian intelligence.

The DNC brought in consultants from the private security firm CrowdStrike in April. And by the time suspected Russian hackers were kicked out of the DNC network in June, the hackers had been inside for about a year.

A person briefed on the DNC's response says the warning from the FBI and other agencies wasn't specific, and that the extent of the problem wasn't clear when the initial warnings came. DNC officials hired outside help after additional indications surfaced that their systems were compromised.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/25/politics/democratic-convention-dnc-emails-russia/index.html

July 25, 2016

More Than a Million Moms At Risk of Zika, Study Finds

As many as 1.65 million women in Latin America could be infected with Zika while pregnant, meaning tens of thousands of pregnancies could be at risk, researchers said Monday.

It's the first real estimate of just how many actual pregnancies are at real risk, based on birth rates in each country and other factors.

Brazil's likely to be the worst affected, the team at the University of Notre Dame and Britain's University of Southampton found.

The team calculated the subset of women who get pregnant every year and who go on to have a baby -- many pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Their best estimate is between 1.5 million and 2 million women will get infected while pregnant during the first wave of the Zika epidemic if it lasts two to three years. They settled on 1.65 million as the most likely number.

MORE...

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/more-million-moms-risk-zika-study-finds-n616231

July 25, 2016

Boeing Sees Need for 30,850 New Pilots a Year as Travel Soars

July 25, 2016 — 10:00 AM EDT

Global airlines will need to hire 30,850 pilots a year for the next two decades to keep pace with new planes on order and surging demand for air travel, according to a forecast by Boeing Co.

Carriers will need to recruit and train about 617,000 pilots to fly the 39,620 aircraft, valued at $5.9 trillion, that the U.S. planemaker expects to be added to the global fleet through 2035. The Asia-Pacific region will account for about 40 percent of total new hires as China eclipses North American as the largest travel market.

U.S. carriers will need to accelerate recruiting to replace pilots who are retiring, comply with stricter federal limits on duty hours and staff new routes to Cuba and Latin America, said Sherry Carbary, vice president of Boeing Flight Services.

The Chicago-based company predicts a need for 112,000 new pilots in North America over the next 20 years. Boeing sees 104,000 aviators required for Europe as travel continues to grow between countries on the continent, Carbary said.

MORE...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-25/boeing-sees-need-for-30-850-new-pilots-a-year-as-travel-soars

July 25, 2016

Sanders Pleads With Supporters to Avoid Protests as Democratic Unity Threatened

Bernie Sanders supporters erupted in boos and chants almost from the moment the Democratic convention was called to order Monday, ignoring pleas from their candidate to avoid protests threatening to undo the carefully crafted display of unity that Hillary Clinton's campaign had plotted for her formal nomination.

As it became clear that the fall of the Democratic National Committee chief wouldn't be enough to quell the anger of the Vermont senator's delegates, representatives from the Clinton and Sanders campaign held an urgent meeting to come up with a plan to avoid disruptions, according to a party official.

The result was a text from Sanders, who lost the nomination to Clinton, to his delegates asking "as a personal courtesy to me not to engage in any kind of protests'' on the floor of the convention.

It had little effect. When the Reverend Dr. Cynthia Hale gave the invocation and mentioned the nomination of Clinton, the crowd erupted in a mixture of cheers and chants of "Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.'' Clinton supporters responded with "Hillary'' chants to drown them out.

MORE...

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-07-25/robby-mook-dismisses-furor-over-dnc-e-mails-as-temporary

July 25, 2016

DNC Apologizes For 'Inexcusable Remarks'; Subway Service To Arena Station Suspended

PHILADELPHIA — The Latest on the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia:

4:50 p.m.

Philadelphia’s transit agency has shut down service to the subway station that serves the arena where the Democratic convention is being held due to “security measures” as protesters marched outside.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said southbound service will end on the Broad Street line at Oregon Avenue, one stop before the final station, until further notice. The agency said there was northbound service from the convention site station.

Police were extending metal fences to the edge of the sidewalk outside of the station to keep protesters from advancing.

Protesters chanted “Nonviolent! Peaceful protest!” while trying to make their way over the fences.

4:45 p.m.

The Democratic National Committee is offering its “deep and sincere apology” to Bernie Sanders, his supporters and the entire party for what it calls “the inexcusable remarks made over email.”

more...

http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2016/07/25/The-Latest-DNC-apologizes-for-inexcusable-remarks.html

July 25, 2016

Inside The Scramble To Oust Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Aides to President Barack Obama urged him to get rid of the troublesome DNC chair last fall. He passed, figuring she was Hillary Clinton’s problem to solve.

By Glenn Thrush, Gabriel Debenedetti and Edward-Isaac Dovere
07/24/16 10:04 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton and her team aren’t thrilled that the head of the Democratic National Committee was forced out on the eve of the nominee’s coronation – but they aren’t exactly distraught to see Debbie Wasserman Schultz booted from the tent.

Several senior Democratic officials with ties to Hillary and Bill Clinton told POLITICO that campaign higher-ups have been trying to replace the oft-off-message Florida congresswoman from the start of Clinton’s campaign late last year.

John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman – and a former top adviser to Barack Obama – broached the idea of replacing Wasserman Schultz as early as last fall, only to be rebuffed by the president’s team, according to two people with direct knowledge of the conversation.

“It came down to the fact that the president didn’t want the hassle of getting rid of Debbie,” said a former top Obama adviser. “It’s been a huge problem for the Clintons, but the president just didn’t want the headache of Debbie bad-mouthing him… It was a huge pain in the ass.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/debbie-wasserman-schultz-dnc-226100#ixzz4FOkcd3tj
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July 24, 2016

DNC Chair Won't Speak At Dem Convention Following Wikileaks Fallout

Source: CNN

(CNN)The head of the Democratic National Committee will not speak at the party's convention next week, a decision reached by party officials Saturday after emails surfaced that raised questions about the committee's impartiality during the Democratic primary.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose stewardship of the DNC has been under fire through most of the presidential primary process, will not have a major speaking role in an effort "to keep the peace" in the party, a Democrat familiar with the decision said. The revelation comes following the release of nearly 20,000 emails

One email appears to show DNC staffers asking how they can reference Bernie Sanders' faith to weaken him in the eyes of Southern voters.

Another seems to depict an attorney advising the committee on how to defend Hillary Clinton against an accusation by the Sanders campaign of not living up to a joint fundraising agreement.

Wasserman Schultz is expected to gavel the convention in and out, but not speak in the wake of the controversy surrounding the leaked emails, a top Democrat said.

"She's been quarantined," another top Democrat said, following a meeting Saturday night.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/22/politics/dnc-wikileaks-emails/

July 23, 2016

Effort To Abolish Superdelegates Fails At DNC Rules Meeting

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- An effort to fully eliminate superdelegates in future elections failed at a meeting of the Democratic National Convention rules committee Saturday.

At the gathering in a Philadelphia conference room, a delegate for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders offered an amendment to get rid of superdelegates - party insiders who can vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention. The amendment was defeated, though it earned enough support to force a floor vote at the convention. More amendments on superdelegates were expected at the meeting.

Aaron Regunberg, a Sanders delegate and a Rhode Island lawmaker, argued the current system does not "reflect our core values." But Clinton supporters argued the superdelegate system brings more people into the political process and instead called for a more extensive review of the nominating process.

Sanders has been critical of superdelegates during his contentious primary fight with presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. His supporters argue that Clinton's substantial superdelegate lead may have influenced the outcome of the race, although Clinton also led Sanders with pledged delegates. Late in the race, Sanders sought to flip superdelegates with little success.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEM_2016_CONVENTION_RULES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-07-23-16-57-15

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Dems Pledge Floor Fight In Philly Over Superdelegates

A group of Democratic delegates are pledging to take a fight over election reforms all the way to the floor of the party's convention in Philadelphia next week.

The push to eliminate superdelegates — the party officials who can cast their vote for any candidate — comes as the Rules Committee is expected to meet Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.


"We're going to go in and we're going to call on the Rules Committee to do the right thing," Diane Russell, a state representative from Maine, said during a press conference ahead of the meeting. "Then we're going to take our fight to the convention floor."

Aaron Regunberg, a Rhode Island state representative and a member of the Rules Committee, said he'll offer an amendment during Saturday's meeting to eliminate superdelegates.

MORE...

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/288972-democrats-pledge-floor-fight-in-philadelphia

July 23, 2016

Pentagon Looking Into Reports Airstrike Killed Syrian Civilians

By Kristina Wong - 07/22/16 03:17 PM EDT
The U.S. military is reviewing whether civilians were killed earlier this week during a bombing in Syria that activists say may have left over 200 dead.

At question is a coalition bombing on July 19 in the Al Tokhar village near Manbij city in northern Syria. The strike was conducted in support of Syrian rebels fighting on the ground against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Airwars, a project run by journalists, researchers and analysts, alleges that somewhere between 73 and 212 civilians died in the strike, according to reports from local Syrian activists on the ground.

U.S. Central Command is looking into whether those reports are credible, said Army Col. Chris Garver, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition task force fighting ISIS.

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/288911-us-military-looking-into-whether-reports-of-syrian-civilian-casualties-are

July 23, 2016

Guest/Panel Lineups For The Sunday News Shows

State of the Union Mook makes an appearance. Donald Trump Jr., Trump's oldest son, will talk about the campaign.

Face the Nation President Barack Obama.

Meet the Press Trump makes an appearance.

This Week With George Stephanopoulos Democratic party unity: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Paul Manafort, Trump campaign. Robby Mook, Clinton campaign. Panel: Donna Brazile; Matthew Dowd; Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.); Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.).

Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace Presidential election; the upcoming Democratic National Convention: Joel Benenson, Clinton campaign. Panel: Brit Hume; Anne Gearan, the Washington Post; George Will; Amy Walter, the Cook Political Report.