Donald Trump admired as much as the pope

Donald Trump tied Pope Francis for the title of second most admired man in the world, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. Both men lost the title to Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton was voted the world's most admired woman.

The Gallup polls, which have been taken for both genders every year since 1948, asks respondents, "What woman or man that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do you admire most?"

The multi-billionaire hotelier and the leader of the Catholic Church earned 5 percent of the vote each; President Barack Obama won more than three times their respective shares, with 17 percent. Bernie Sanders ranked third in the poll, pulling 3 percent of the vote.

Bill Gates, Ben Carson, the Dalai Lama, George W. Bush and the Reverend Billy Graham earned 1 percent each.

For the 14th year in a row, Hillary Clinton won the distinction of most admired woman in the world in the survey. This was the 20th time the former first lady, senator and secretary of state has won the honor — a record for the poll. No other man or woman challenges Clinton's performance, but former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt was named the world’s most admired woman by Gallup 13 times.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai ranked second to Clinton among women this year, earning 5 percent of the vote to the Democratic frontrunner's 13 percent. Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama tied for third place with 4 percent each, followed by Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, Queen Elizabeth II, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at 2 percent each.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, one-time vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres also appeared on the list at 1 percent each.

***

I wonder who would top the least admired poll?  Probably many of the same names.

Good News

Africa Went a Year Without Any Polio

On July 24, Nigeria marked one full year without a single new case of locally acquired polio, the crippling and sometimes fatal disease. It is the last country in Africa to stop transmission of wild polio. This milestone represents a huge victory—one that some experts feared would never come. It required mapping every settlement in the north of the country, counting all the children in every house, delivering oral polio vaccine several times a year, working with hundreds of thousands of traditional leaders and community mobilizers, and operating in areas dominated by extremist groups. Nigeria’s efforts show that smart strategies can work even under the most difficult conditions.

When the global campaign to eradicate polio began in 1988, polio was endemic in 125 countries. The list is now down to just two: Afghanistan and Pakistan. We’ve come more than 99 percent of the way to eradication. I am confident we can finish the job.

[and 5 more]

-- Bill Gates

Ted Cruz (and followers) wants to carpet bomb ISIS

Ted Cruz never says anything good just once — when he finds a line or a joke that gets applause, he repeats it over and over. And one of his big crowd-pleasers at the moment is this little ditty about the Islamic State: "We will carpet-bomb them into oblivion. I don't know if sand can glow in the dark, but we're going to find out!"

Does Cruz actually want to drop nuclear weapons on places where ISIS is operating? That's what's implied by the bit about sand glowing in the dark, but he'd never cop to that. How about carpet-bombing? After all, part of the difficulty with fighting ISIS from the air is that they control cities full of civilians. The American military doesn't lack for ordnance; we could level those cities if we wanted. But doing so would mean thousands and thousands of civilian casualties, killing the very people we'd be claiming to want to save. That's not only morally abhorrent, it would be extremely likely to produce the kind of hatred towards America that helped Al Qaeda thrive, helped ISIS replace Al Qaeda, and would help the next terrorist group take ISIS's place.

In an interview Wednesday with NPR, Cruz got asked about this problem, and put his finely honed evasion skills to work. Asked by host Steve Inskeep whether he wanted to "flatten" cities where ISIS is located, Cruz said, "I think we need to use every military tool at our disposal to defeat ISIS." Inskeep pressed him: "You can flatten a city. Do you want to do that?" Cruz responded, "The problem with what President Obama is doing" is that he's too soft, noting that in World War II we didn't worry about the welfare of the German people, we just fought. "FDR carpet-bombed cities," Inskeep noted. "Is that what you want to do?" Cruz answered, "I want to carpet-bomb ISIS."

Of course, Cruz is hardly the only presidential candidate offering absurdly simplistic ideas about how to solve this problem. But one might think that the destruction we could wreak upon civilian populations in the Middle East would be a matter of particular concern given our recent history. Estimates of the civilian casualties in the Iraq War range somewhere between 165,000 and 500,000, but conservatives seem convinced that all that suffering and death had nothing to do with the rise of ISIS, and repeating it would be regrettable but not produce any blowback.

Perhaps we have trouble understanding what it's like to have a foreign army bombing or occupying your country because it's been so long. We haven't had such an army on our soil since the War of 1812, and though we were attacked at Pearl Harbor and then 60 years later on 9/11, those were events confined to a single day. So we can't seem to grasp the kind of resentment and even hatred that an extended military campaign can foster, no matter how noble the ideals of the country that sent the army carrying it out. When the Bush administration assumed we'd be "greeted as liberators" in Iraq (as Dick Cheney put it), they simply couldn't contemplate that Iraqis might not be excited to see us rain down bombs, destroy their infrastructure, and then occupy their country, even if they didn't like the dictator they were living under.

Grasping that requires empathy and a little imagination, neither of which is in good supply in the GOP these days, let alone among its presidential candidates. It's the luxury of running for office that you can make all problems sound simple, pretend that you can carpet-bomb a city and kill only the bad guys and not the people living there, and act as though strength and resolve are all you need to solve problems. The scary thing to contemplate is that someone like Ted Cruz might actually believe his campaign rhetoric, and put it into action if he became president.

-- Paul Waldman

***

Donald Trump gets along with everybody.

Trump unites America

Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk on Trump...

Most weeks, you read the two of us debating the latest issues. We have differing perspectives and differing stances. Those differences haven’t changed. Be we are jointly so alarmed at Donald Trump’s sustained position at or near the top of the primary season presidential polls that we feel compelled to join forces on this occasion and say: No. This must end.

To be sure, we have differing reasons to arrive at the same conclusion.

195 countries agree on climate change

LE BOURGET, France — With the sudden bang of a gavel Saturday night, representatives of 195 nations reached a landmark accord that will, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change.

The deal, which was met with an eruption of cheers and ovations from thousands of delegates gathered from around the world, represents a historic breakthrough on an issue that has foiled decades of international efforts to address climate change.

Traditionally, such pacts have required developed economies like the United States to take action to lower greenhouse gas emissions, but they have exempted developing countries like China and India from such obligations.

The accord, which United Nations diplomats have been working toward for nine years, changes that dynamic by requiring action in some form from every country, rich or poor.

“This is truly a historic moment,” the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said in an interview. “For the first time, we have a truly universal agreement on climate change, one of the most crucial problems on earth.”

President Obama, who regards tackling climate change as a central element of his legacy, spoke of the deal in a televised address from the White House. “This agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is fully committed to a low-carbon future,” he said. “We’ve shown that the world has both the will and the ability to take on this challenge.”

Scientists and leaders said the talks here represented the world’s last, best hope of striking a deal that would begin to avert the most devastating effects of a warming planet.

The new deal will not, on its own, solve global warming. At best, scientists who have analyzed it say, it will cut global greenhouse gas emissions by about half enough as is necessary to stave off an increase in atmospheric temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the point at which, scientific studies have concluded, the world will be locked into a future of devastating consequences, including rising sea levels, severe droughts and flooding, widespread food and water shortages and more destructive storms.

But the Paris deal could represent the moment at which, because of a shift in global economic policy, the inexorable rise in planet-warming carbon emissions that started during the Industrial Revolution began to level out and eventually decline.

At the same time, the deal could be viewed as a signal to global financial and energy markets, triggering a fundamental shift away from investment in coal, oil and gas as primary energy sources toward zero-carbon energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear power.

Trump no different than FDR

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, comparing his plan to the World War Two detainment of Japanese-Americans and others in dismissing growing outrage from around the world.

The White House called on Republicans to say they would not support Trump, currently the party's front-runner for the November 2016 election. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his comments could undermine U.S. security.

The prime ministers of France and the United Kingdom, Canada's foreign minister, the United Nations and Muslims in Asian countries all denounced the real-estate mogul's comments.

But Trump said his ideas were no worse than those of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who oversaw the internment of more than 110,000 people in U.S. government camps after Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

"What I'm doing is no different than FDR," Trump said on ABC's "Good Morning America" program.

"We have no choice but to do this," he said. "We have people that want to blow up our buildings, our cities. We have to figure out what's going on."

how do you solve a problem like The Donald?

For months, much of the Republican Party’s establishment has been uneasy about the rise of Donald J. Trump, concerned that he was overwhelming the presidential primary contest and encouraging other candidates to mimic his incendiary speech. Now, though, irritation is giving way to panic as it becomes increasingly plausible that Mr. Trump could be the party’s standard-bearer and imperil the careers of other Republicans.

Many leading Republican officials, strategists and donors now say they fear that Mr. Trump’s nomination would lead to an electoral wipeout, a sweeping defeat that could undo some of the gains Republicans have made in recent congressional, state and local elections. But in a party that lacks a true leader or anything in the way of consensus — and with the combative Mr. Trump certain to scorch anyone who takes him on — a fierce dispute has arisen about what can be done to stop his candidacy and whether anyone should even try.

Some of the highest-ranking Republicans in Congress and some of the party’s wealthiest and most generous donors have balked at trying to take down Mr. Trump because they fear a public feud with the insult-spewing media figure. Others warn that doing so might backfire at a time of soaring anger toward political insiders.

That has led to a standoff of sorts: Almost everyone in the party’s upper echelons agrees something must be done, and almost no one is willing to do it.

With his knack for offending the very constituencies Republicans have struggled with in recent elections, women and minorities, Mr. Trump could be a millstone on his party if he won the nomination. He is viewed unfavorably by 64 percent of women and 74 percent of nonwhite voters, according to a November ABC News/Washington Post poll. Such unpopularity could not only doom his candidacy in November but also threaten the party’s tenuous majority in the Senate, hand House seats to the Democrats and imperil Republicans in a handful of governor’s races.

Asked about concerns over Mr. Trump’s potential influence on other contests, his spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said, “I think the facts indicate the exact opposite is true,” and emailed a link to a consumer marketing firm’s assertion that Mr. Trump would ensure the highest general election turnout from Republicans, Democrats and independents alike.

Yet the clamor for a “Stop Trump” effort has become pervasive at the Senate’s highest levels, where members up for re-election are realizing that they can no longer dismiss as strictly theoretical the possibility of his capturing the nomination. Mr. Trump’s persistent ranking at or near the top of the polls is prompting urgent calls for an advertising assault to try to sink his campaign.

“It would be an utter, complete and total disaster,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, himself a presidential candidate who has tangled with Mr. Trump, said of his rival’s effect on lower-tier Republican candidates. “If you’re a xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot, you’re going to have a hard time being president of the United States, and you’re going to do irreparable damage to the party.”

Slowly, some members of the party’s establishment are reckoning with the idea of a Trump ticket. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has cautioned its incumbents in blunt terms not to let themselves be linked to him.

But beyond sheer intimidation, some members of Congress worry that if the party’s establishment went after Mr. Trump, it would only fuel his anti-Washington appeal.

“I think it would play into his hands and only validate him,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee. “A ‘Stop Trump’ effort wouldn’t work, and it might help him.”

the end of rooftop solar?

Hawaii’s rooftop solar industry, already struggling with a recent reduction in an incentive program,could come to a standstill next year.

Last month, with little fanfare, the state Public Utilities Commission announced it will cap new residential and commercial solar projects at 25 megawatts or about 4,500 new systems on Oahu.It’s likely the cap will be met by the middle of next year, if not sooner. Once it is met, no additional rooftop solar systems will be approved for connection to the grid.

The PUC decided to halt new rooftop solar installations to prevent damage to the grid and allow other renewable energy sources — such as wind and geothermal — to catch up with residential solar.
The cap puts in jeopardy an industry that has grown to 115 companies with 2,200 employees,according to the Solar Energy Industry Association’s count as of September.

“It will be gone in 2016,” said Chris DeBone, managing partner at Hawaii Energy Connection, who expects the cap to be met by May or June.

PUC Chairman Randy Iwase said the cap was necessary because Hawaii needs a variety of renewable energy resources to achieve its goal of 100 percent renewable electric power by 2045,and that problems with HECO’s old grid leave little space for all resources to connect.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has connected 51,000 rooftop solar systems, or 272 megawatts, to its Oahu grid. So far this year, HECO has approved more than 9,700 solar system applications, or about 58 megawatts worth of power, for Oahu.

Representatives from the solar industry said the cap leaves room for4,000 to 5,000 additional systems. The number would be lower if commercial systems are included.

Roy Skaggs, project developer at Alternate Energy Inc., said the limit will be met by summer. “It’s not long,” he said.

Drew Bradley, director of business development at REC Solar, said it would be met within months.

“From the time it was announced to the time it is fully subscribed, it is not more than three to six months, if that,” Bradley said.

Colin Yost, principal at RevoluSun, said he could see the solar industry hitting the limit as soon as March.

The 25-megawatt cap on solar was part of the PUC’s Oct. 12 order that roughly cut in half the credit rooftop solar owners get for power sent into the grid, and raised the minimum monthly bill for solar customers to $25.

The cap applies to applications for exporting systems that were submitted on or after Oct. 14.

After the cap is reached, HECO customers will still be able to add solar to their house but will not be able to send power to the grid. They will be able to take power from the grid when needed. Customers looking to install solar will either need to curtail the excess energy their systems produce or get a battery to prevent their excess solar energy from being sent to the grid.

“Once grid supply is gone or the cap has been met, then energy storage or energy management is going to be a necessity, not an option,” DeBone said.

Yost, of RevoluSun, said the order was made with bad timing because batteries are too expensive for the average person, noting there is no state tax incentive for batteries and that a 30 percent federal tax credit will sunset at the end of 2016.

Iwase said the “initial” cap will be revisited in a year and a half.

“Nothing is set in stone,” Iwase said. “We realize there has to be modernization of the grid to accommodate PVs and other things. We are hoping, anticipating that we will be prepared to face a Phase 2 decision at that time.”

Iwase said the PUC is also pushing the utility to modernize the grid. The PUC ordered HECO to improve the utility’s “Power Supply Improvement Plan” earlier this month. The plan includes a timelinefor retiring fossil fuel plants, using new technology such as energy storage and adding a diverse portfolio of low-cost renewables.

“Everything has to evolve,” Iwase said. “We have to evolve on the grid. We have to evolve on the kinds of programs and initiatives if we are going to achieve 100 percent renewable.”
Iwase said rooftop solar is not the only option, but just one component of the state’s 100 percent renewable plan.

“Is it important? Yes, it is,” he said. “So is battery storage residential, battery storage utility grade and time of use (different electric rates for different times of day).”

Iwase said he wanted to see more community solar, community wind farms, utility-scale battery storage, hydrogen fuel cells and geothermal development.

refugee terrorists?

Washington (CNN)Even before the debris from the Paris terrorist attacks was swept away, politicians began sounding the alarm that Syrian refugees could be a national security threat to the United States. The issue has dominated the U.S. political conversation during the week since gunmen and suicide bombers terrorized Paris on a Friday night.

All Republican presidential candidates called on President Barack Obama to renege on his pledge to admit 10,000 refugees fleeing Syria's brutal civil war into the U.S. and argued instead for a full stop, fearing terrorists could infiltrate their ranks.

Thirty-one governors have declared Syrian refugees unwelcome in their states and on Thursday the House passed a bill to bar refugees from Syria and Iraq from entering the U.S. Nearly 50 Democrats joined 242 Republicans to pass the bill, which the White House has threatened to veto. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate, suggested the U.S. only accept Christian refugees. Ben Carson, another candidate, likened refugees to "rabid dogs" threatening the neighborhood.

But those responses ignore one very important fact: the refugee program is quite simply the toughest way for a foreigner to legally enter the United States. There are other security gaps that would be easier for would-be terrorists to exploit.

As of now, none of the Paris attackers have been confirmed as having entered Europe as refugees.

In fact, most of the Paris attackers were European citizens born in France or Belgium. Two of them appear to have entered Europe through Greece although it doesn't appear that they came in through a refugee program.

A Syrian passport found next to one of the attackers' bodies stoked fears that the man had been a refugee. That has not yet been confirmed, although top European officials have suggested the passport was doctored, which raises its own set of questions, but does not confirm the suspected attacker was a refugee. Others have definitively been shown to be European citizens.

Perhaps more importantly, the European refugee admission system is dramatically different from the U.S. system for Syrians, in large part because the U.S. is geographically separated from Syria. The U.S. has the opportunity to do far more vetting before refugees arrive on their shores.

How does a refugee get into the U.S.?

Refugees must undergo an 18- to 24-month screening process, minimum, that the United Nations' refugee arm oversees. And that's before individual countries even begin to consider a refugee's application and conduct their own additional interviews and background checks.

The screening process generally includes multiple interviews, background checks and an extensive cross-referencing process that tests refugee's stories against others and accounts from sources on the ground in their home country.

Throughout that process, U.N. officials and local government officials in temporary host countries like Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon look to determine the legitimacy of asylum seekers' claims and ensure that they meet the criteria of a refugee, including that they are not and have not been involved in any fighting or terrorist activities.

Refugees also have their retinas scanned and have their fingerprints lifted.

Christopher Boian, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, called the process "stringent" and "long and complex."

Paris bombing

Paris (CNN) On a night when thousands of Paris residents and tourists were reveling and fans were enjoying a soccer match between France and world champion Germany, horror struck in an unprecedented manner. Terrorists -- some with AK-47s, some reportedly with bombs strapped to them -- attacked sites throughout the French capital and at the stadium where the soccer match was underway.

ISIS claims responsiblity for Paris attacks

Scores were killed in the coordinated attacks late Friday, leaving a nation in mourning and the world in shock. CNN will update this story as information comes in:

Complete coverage on the Paris attacks

rail costing more than expected (surprise!)

[10/16/15] The cost of the city’s rail project is now expected to swell to $6.57 billion as rail officials Thursday made public a new outline of the rail financial plan that incorporates additional utility work, traffic signals and finance charges that had not been included in previous cost estimates.

Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation officials also announced the projected opening date for the entire length of the 20-mile project will likely slip again, with the latest projections showing the entire project is now expected to open to the public in the last quarter of 2021.

The official rail financial plan the city submitted to the Federal Transit Administration in 2012 projected that the rail project would cost $5.26 billion and that the entire 20-mile driverless train system would open by mid-2020.

The new projections are part of a financial and scheduling update for rail that is required by the FTA, and mark the third time in a year that rail project planners have publicly amended their calculations to account for delays or project cost increases.

[5/25/15] Officials have increased their estimates for how much it will cost to operate Oahu's rail transit system once it's up and running.

Previously, in a 2012 report, they had projected an annual cost of $116.7 million to operate the rail line in 2021, about a year after the rail system fully opens.

Now, documents provided to the state's finance director revise that figure upward. In a draft report, the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation anticipates it will cost $130 million to run rail in 2021.

Anticipated higher electricity costs — and more consumption of that energy by the rail system — are partially to blame for the estimated $13 million increase for 2021, HART officials say. Inflationary costs are steeper than what had been estimated for the project's 2012 financial plan, they add.

HART leaders emphasize that the latest revisions are preliminary figures, and that they released them in draft form to help state lawmakers weigh whether to extend Oahu's rail tax during their most recent legislative session.

"We're constantly checking numbers and trying to revise them," HART Executive Director Dan Grabauskas said recently. "We were asked to give the most current information we have even though it isn't final. Some of this stuff is still just a work in progress."

HART is expected to release later this year a new financial plan for the project, including its official updated cost estimates.

The Legislature did eventually pass a five-year extension of the rail tax. The measure looks to raise an additional $1.8 billion to finish construction of the 20-mile system, and would explicitly prohibit using those dollars for future system operations.

It's not clear yet whether Gov. David Ige will sign the five-year tax extension into law.

Meanwhile, as the cost estimates increase, it remains unclear exactly how those rail operations and maintenance costs will be covered. Transit leaders have said it could be another two years or so before a detailed plan emerges.

They've said that they need to set the rail system's fares first, and then they'll know how many dollars will be needed on top of that to cover the full operational costs.

The updated operations cost figures, provided to Ige administration Finance Director Wes Machida, estimate that the system will take in $35 million in revenue in 2021, leaving the city to cover the additional $95 million or so in operations costs for that year.

[12/19/14] Facing lagging revenues and soaring costs, Oahu's rail transit system — the largest public works project ever built in Hawaii — finds itself at yet another crossroads.

The 20-mile, 21-station project is now on course to cost anywhere between $550 million and $700 million more than originally thought, rail officials revealed in their latest "project risks update" report Thursday during a Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board meeting.

They blamed the price hike on as much as $190 million in added costs from construction delays, combined with the prospect of soliciting bids for the project's remaining contracts in a booming construction market.

Meanwhile, the project is $41 million behind what officials had expected to collect so far in Oahu tax surcharge revenues. Those general excise tax dollars are supposed to fund about two-thirds of the project.

[12/31/14] Mufi's take

Obamacare horror stories

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers posted an image on her official Facebook page, slamming the Affordable Care Act on the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing it into law. She asked constituents to share their Obamacare nightmare stories and well, the response probably wasn't what she expected. Below are a small sample of the comments constituents left on her page:

My story is that I once knew 7 people who couldn't get health insurance. Now they all have it, thanks to the ACA and President Obama, and their plans are as good as the one my employer provides--and they pay less for them. Now, that's not the kind of story you want to hear. You want to hear made-up horror stories. I don't know anyone with one of those stories.

[and so on]

***

Our own Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, in the interests of dispassionate inquiry, recently posed the following scientific question about the Affordable Care Act to the Internet:

“This week marks the 5th anniversary of Obamacare being signed into law. Whether it’s turned your tax filing into a nightmare, you’re facing skyrocketing premiums, or your employer has reduced your work hours, I want to hear about it.

“Please share your story with me so that I can better understand the challenges you’re facing.”

Well, one week and nearly 10,000 shared stories later, the congresswoman probably has learned at least one thing: Never ask the Internet a slanted question. Because nothing slants back at you quite like the Internet.

From the very first comment (“My story is that I once knew 7 people who couldn’t get health insurance, and now they all have it, thanks to the ACA …) to the 9,880th (“I was recently diagnosed with Fibromuscular Dysplasia and thanks to Obamacare, I know I won’t be dropped by my insurance carrier”), McMorris Rodgers got an avalanche of stories.

All of which she ignored when she called for the total repeal of the law the next day.

***

Here’s what she told the Spokesman-Review:

McMorris Rodgers said Monday that many of the success stories seemed to be centered on reforms that both parties agreed on, rather than her concerns with the health care package.

“The stories are largely around pre-existing conditions and those that are getting health insurance up to age 26,” she said. “That’s broad, bipartisan support for those provisions.”

In other words, the coverage expansion that Obamacare has produced (and that people who responded to her are thankful for) is mainly due to the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions and for those up to 26 years old — and because those individual provisions have bipartisan support, they don’t really count as Obamacare!

Boehner resigns as speaker of the house

Washington (CNN)John Boehner, the Ohio Republican who steered his party to an overwhelming House majority in 2010, told colleagues Friday he's stepping down as Speaker and will leave Congress at the end of October.

The abrupt decision comes after he faced heavy pressure from conservatives to take a harder line on their causes, most recently over defunding Planned Parenthood as part of a package that would keep the government open.

Boehner, who has presided over the House since 2011, explained during a closed-door meeting with Republicans Friday morning that he had only planned to serve two terms as speaker but decided to hold onto his post after then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his seat during a primary last year, a Republican lawmaker in the room told CNN.

Boehner, who will speak at a 1 p.m. news conference, also told the lawmakers that Pope Francis' visit to Congress the day before was a crystallizing moment, according to the lawmaker. Boehner then read the prayer of St. Francis to the conference after announcing his decision.

The Ohio Republican's tenure as speaker has been marked by clashes with conservatives -- especially when it comes to fiscal policy. He's struggled to push through legislation to increase the debt ceiling and was facing another showdown next week to keep the government open. The speaker has often relied on Democratic votes during these moments -- a strategy that has infuriated conservatives.

Boehner said in a statement late Friday morning that he was "full of gratitude" to his colleagues and constituents and said he is "proud" of the Republican majority's accomplishments under his leadership.

But he also pointed to turmoil within his caucus as the reason for his resignation.

"It is my view, however, that prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable damage to the institution," Boehner wrote in his first comments since the announcement. "To that end, I will resign the Speakership and my seat in Congress on October 30."

Boehner said that he had planned to only serve as Speaker until the end of last year, but stayed on in the top post "to provide continuity" -- a nod to Cantor's defeat.

A Republican source close to Boehner said the announcement "was not some big orchestrated move," explaining that Boehner informed only his most senior aides Thursday night of his decision.

"After yesterday with the Pope, he decided to leave on this high note," a top Boehner aide told CNN. "Literally did not make the decision til last night."

President Barack Obama said Friday at a previously scheduled news conference alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping that he called Boehner after learning of his resignation.

He did not say what he told Boehner, but praised him as "a good man" and "a patriot" who "cares deeply" about the country who always kept his word.

"We have obviously had a lot of disagreements and politically we're at diferent ends of the spectrum," Obama said. "He has always conducted himself with courtesy and civility with me. He has kept his word when he made a commitment. He is somebody who has been gracious. Most importantly he's somebody who understands that in government and in governance you don't get 100% of what you want."

more debates

[9/17/15] The second Republican debate, a three-hour affair that veered from sophomoric insults to policy to late-night silliness, ended after 11 p.m. Wednesday, with an outsider candidate — former tech executive Carly Fiorina — challenging front-runner Donald Trump in a way few rivals have.

Trump began the debate with an unusual flurry of insults.

Asked about his own character at the debate’s outset, Trump pivoted quickly—and without a clear reason—to jab Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) “First of all, Rand Paul shouldn’t even be on this stage,” Trump said, because he was so low in the polls.

Paul responded by calling Trump sophomoric, for insulting his opponents’ appearances.

Trump then seemed to prove him right.

“I never attacked him on his looks,” Trump said of Paul. “And believe me, there’s plenty of subject matter there.”

... The candidates were then asked to give themselves a Secret Service codename. It was a strange exercise in self-image: Christie called himself “Trueheart,” and Walker called himself “Harley.” The best answers came from two candidats who had a moment to think about it: Bush joked that he’d use a battery name [Eveready] because he was so high-energy, in a jab at Trump.

Trump called himself “Humble,” which was a rare jab at himself.

[9/17/15] fact check

what? Donald Trump is in the news?

[9/30/15] Property magnate Donald Trump broke his Fox News boycott Tuesday night.

The Republican presidential front-runner appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" just one week after he said he would not be appearing on Fox shows "for the foreseeable future."

Though host Bill O'Reilly did not mention Trump's feud with the network, the host did confront Trump more generally about whether he was being "mature" on the campaign trail.

"Am I fair to say that in order for you to win the Republican nomination, that you're going to have to change your style and be a bit kinder and more mature?" O'Reilly asked. "Is that a fair question?"

Trump said he found the question fair but thought the word "mature" was inappropriate. He went on to tout his own poll numbers and argue that the 2016 contest would be about competence, not kindness.

[9/23/15] NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump says he's done appearing on Fox News shows for the "foreseeable future" because he doesn't like the network's coverage of his presidential campaign.

The billionaire businessman and leading Republican candidate tweets that Fox News has been treating him "very unfairly" and that he's stop appearing on its shows.

Trump has been feuding with the network since first GOP primary debate, when he objected to the moderators' questions.

There was a brief detente. But the feud escalated this week, with Trump tweeting and retweeting complaints about the network and hosts, including Megyn Kelly.

[8/30/15] Trump leads Hispanic poll in familiarity

[8/25/15] The head of Fox News on Tuesday called on Donald Trump to apologize after a string of posts on Twitter lambasting Fox anchor Megyn Kelly, the latest in an ongoing flap between the network and the leading Republican presidential candidate.

Kelly was one of the moderators at the network's recent Republican presidential debate, where Trump claimed she asked him unfair questions.

On Monday night, Trump took to Twitter to say Kelly, who had just returned from vacation, was "off her game" and Fox's nightly news program was better without her. He also re-tweeted posts from other Twitter users referring to Kelly as a "bimbo."

"Donald Trump's surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing," Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Donald Trump rarely apologizes, although in this case, he should. We have never been deterred by politicians or anyone else attacking us for doing our job, much less allowed ourselves to be bullied by anyone, and we're certainly not going to start now," he said.

In a statement, Trump responded that he did not think Kelly was a "quality journalist."

"Hopefully in the future I will be proven wrong and she will be able to elevate her standards to a level of professionalism that a network such as Fox deserves," Trump said.

[8/20/15] Trump says the pope "seems like a good guy"

[8/14/15] Trump "fired" from Celebrity Apprentice by NBC.  I always thought it was his show.

[7/19/15] The Donald won't apologize.

Donald Trump, the brazen Republican candidate for president, told ABC News Sunday he does not owe Arizona senator John McCain an apology for saying "he's not a war hero" and then later that "he's a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."

"No Not at all," he said in an interview with ABC News Sunday morning.

Trump made the controversial comments at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames Iowa Saturday, which drew a large amount of boos from those in attendance.

The comments renewed calls from Republicans and veterans groups for him to step down for the insensitivity he showed a POW.

“If anyone doesn’t know that John McCain is a war hero, it only proves they know nothing about war and even less about heroism," said Secretary of State John Kerry.

But in the interview, the egomaniac billionaire said he would remain in the race and touted his recent success in the polls.

Trump said his appearance at the conference drew the biggest standing ovation the place received and blamed the negative reaction on the media and other candidates who were getting "one percent or zero."

When given a chance for a mulligan in the broadcast, Trump doubled down many times with his criticism of McCain who he said has done nothing for veterans except "talk."

"I said nothing differently. I am very disappointed in John McCain because the vets are horribly treated in this country. … They're treated like third class citizens, he has done nothing for the vets," Trump said. "And I will tell you they are living in hell."

Later Trump said he will do more for veterans than John McCain has done for "many many years."

"You look at what's happening to veterans they are being decimated," he said. "I will do far more for veterans than anybody."

[7/19/15]  Donald Trump attacked the Arizona senator John McCain on Saturday, for being shot down while a navy pilot during the Vietnam war.


Trump, who has been in a war of words with the 2008 Republican nominee, jibed of McCain: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured? I like people who weren’t captured.”

His words prompted a strong response from Republican candidates for president in 2016 – more immediate and forceful, indeed, than such reactions to Trump’s recent comments on Mexico and immigration.

The former Texas governor Rick Perry said the remarks represented “a new low in American politics” and demanded that Trump “immediately withdraw from the race for president.”

McCain was held prisoner by North Vietnam for five and a half years, and repeatedly tortured. Trump received several student deferments from Vietnam while in college. After graduating, he received a medical deferment.

His jibe at McCain came in the midst of back-and-forth remarks between the two, in which McCain claimed the attendees at a recent Trump event in Arizona were “crazies”.

Trump responded by calling the Arizona senator “a dummy” because McCain graduated last in his class from the Naval Academy.

In a press conference on Saturday, Trump refused to apologize and said he had nothing to apologize for. Instead, he insisted that he was criticizing McCain for “not doing enough for our veterans”.

[7/17/15] Rick Perry vs. Trump (Trump leads Perry 18% to 1%)

[7/12/15]  Letterman comes out of retirement to deliver special Top Ten List

[7/8/15]  Donald Trump said Wednesday that he believes he will win the Latino vote, slamming Hillary Clinton for promoting what he called an immigration policy that would "let everybody come in… killers, criminals, drug dealers."

"I have a great relationship with the Mexican people. I have many people working for me - look at the job in Washington - I have many legal immigrants working with me. And many of them come from Mexico. They love me, I love them," the 2016 GOP contender said in an interview with NBC News. "And I'll tell you something, if I get the nomination, I'll win the Latino vote."

Trump said that "there's nothing to apologize for" in relation to his controversial comments about Mexico, arguing that he'll win the support of Latinos because of his record creating jobs.

"Hillary Clinton is not going to be able to create jobs, I will tell you right now," he said. "Neither is Jeb Bush going to be able to create jobs. I will create jobs and the Latinos will have jobs that they don't have right now. And I will win that vote."

 He added that Hillary Clinton's immigration policy would be to "let everybody come in… killers, criminals, drug dealers."

"Hillary's weak on immigration," he said. "I might be divisive on immigration, but she's weak on immigration, which is far worse."

"If you listen to Hillary, she is so weak on immigration, we will have a crime rate like you've never seen," he added.

Trump also labeled Clinton "the worst secretary of state in the history of our nation."

"The world blew up around us," he said of her tenure at the helm of the State Department.

[7/6/15] Trump states that his statement has been deliberately distorted by the media.

... I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me…and, just like our country, my organization is better for it.

I have great respect for Mexico and love their people and their peoples’ great spirit. The problem is, however, that their leaders are far smarter, more cunning, and better negotiators than ours. To the citizens of the United States, who I will represent far better than anyone else as President, the Mexican government is not our friend…and why should they be when the relationship is totally one sided in their favor on both illegal immigration and trade.

Univision, because 70% of their business comes from Mexico, in my opinion, is being dictated to by the Mexican Government. The last thing Mexico wants is Donald Trump as President in that I will make great trade deals for the United States and will have an impenetrable border–only legally approved people will come through easily.

Remember, Univision is the one who began this charade in the first place, and they are owned by one of Hillary Clinton’s biggest backers.

The issues I have addressed, and continue to address, are vital steps to Make America Great Again! Additionally, I would be the best jobs President that God ever created.

[6/29/15] A television company controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has cancelled a project with real estate developer and TV personality Donald Trump after his comments insulting Mexicans, Slim's spokesman said on Monday.

This is the third company to cut ties with Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the November 2016 presidential election. NBC said earlier on Monday that it would no longer air the "Miss USA" and "Miss Universe" pageants due to his comments. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision also said on Thursday it would not air the "Miss USA" pageant.

Ora TV, a production company co-founded by Slim and TV personality Larry King and funded by America Movil, cancelled a program it was working on with some of Trump's companies, Slim's spokesman and son-in-law Arturo Elias said.

"His statement was totally out of line...working with someone so closed-minded was not going to work," Elias said, adding that the comments were racist.

Telecoms magnate Slim is the world's second-richest man, with a net worth of around $71.1 billion, according to Forbes. Trump is at number 405 on the list, worth $4.1 billion.

[6/29/15] NBCUniversal, under pressure from an array of Hispanic groups, is severing its business ties to presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The Miss USA pageant, scheduled for July 12, will no longer air on the network. Nor will the Miss Universe pageant, scheduled for next January. Both pageants were, until now, jointly owned by NBC and Trump.

"At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values," the company said in a statement on Monday. "Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump."

Speaking to reporters after a campaign event in Chicago, Trump said he had enjoyed a "great" relationship with NBC but would not back down on his views about immigration. Trump told CNN correspondent Athena Jones that he may sue NBC.

Then, in a statement a few minutes later, he elaborated: "If NBC is so weak and so foolish to not understand the serious illegal immigration problem in the United States, coupled with the horrendous and unfair trade deals we are making with Mexico, then their contract violating closure of Miss Universe/Miss USA will be determined in court."

Trump also invoked NBC's suspended anchorman: "They will stand behind lying Brian Williams, but won't stand behind people that tell it like it is, as unpleasant as that may be."

The Miss USA controversy stemmed from comments Trump made during his presidential campaign announcement two weeks ago.

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best...They're sending people who have lots of problems," Trump said in the speech. "They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are good people."

These remarks caused a firestorm and widespread condemnation, particularly in the Hispanic community. Univision, the biggest Spanish-language broadcaster in the United States, decided to end a five-year contract to air Miss USA and Miss Universe after only five months.

*** [6/28/15]

Washington (CNN)  Don't expect a new season this fall: Donald Trump is giving up "The Apprentice" so that he can run for president.

The Republican real estate mogul cited the popular reality show as evidence that he "gave up hundreds of millions of dollars in deals and potential, you know, things that I do," in an interview aired Sunday with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."

"In all fairness, I don't want it to sound trivial, NBC renewed 'The Apprentice,' because we had a great season last season. And they would love me not to be doing this, I will tell you right now," Trump said.

Running for president is affecting Trump's bottom line in other ways, as well.

Univision canceled its broadcast of Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which Trump partially owns, over his controversial remarks about Mexicans in his campaign announcement speech.

Trump has said he plans to sue Univision over its move. 

the plastic bag ban

[8/23/15] Calabash

[7/7/15] A week into Oahu's plastic bag ban, some folks are wondering why so many plastic bags are still being given out at island grocery checkout stands.

Anna Sabino was so alarmed she started a petition at Change.org, demanding that city officials get tough on retailers for breaking the law. Some of the stores, she pointed out, have introduced a thicker plastic bag — and are describing them as reusable — while others are giving out compostable plastic bags.

"Please do not let any store replace plastic bags handed at checkouts by other kinds of plastic bags," the Hono­lulu woman wrote on the petition signed by more than 150 people as of Monday.

While the reality is those kinds of plastic bags are indeed legal, having been added to the ordinance by the Hono­lulu City Council as a compromise to an outright ban on plastic, environmental groups contend the companies that are using the bags are violating the spirit of the law.

"They are taking advantage of a loophole," said Stuart Coleman, Hawaii coordinator with the Surfrider Foundation, which helped lobby for the ordinance.

Acceptable bags under the law, first approved three years ago, include compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags that contain a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content, and "reusable bags," which have handles and may be made of fabric or other durable material suitable for reuse, including plastic that is at least 2.25 mils, or 0.00225 inch, thick.

The city recently surveyed Oahu businesses to see how they planned to comply with the July 1 plastic bag ban. Of those retailers who planned to keep offering bags, 44 percent indicated they would use recyclable paper bags, 25 percent planned to use compostable plastic bags and 31 percent were going to use reusable bags, which includes the thicker plastic bag.

Among the retailers offering the thicker plastic bags are Walmart, Longs, Times Supermarket, Don Quijote, City Mill and Tamura's. Some of the stores are giving the bags away, while others charge a small fee and are touting their potential for reuse.

City Mill offers both a 2.25-mil plastic bag for 10 cents and a reusable "eco-bag" for 99 cents.

Printed on the Walmart heavy-duty plastic bag are the words "Sustainable," "Recyclable" and "Usable."

The Walmart bag was ridiculed by the Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter website as being "the worst." The wording is "blatantly unacceptable and the creation of these bags misses the whole point of the law which aims to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics and protect our marine environments."

Walmart couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Kahi Pacarro, executive director of Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, said these retailers are "greenwashing" their actions to make themselves appear environmentally responsible.

"In reality the thicker bag is even worse for the environment because they will take even longer to break down," he said. "It's a slap in the face. We worked so hard to get this passed."

Pacarro said that while the compostable plastic bag is better than the thicker bag, it too is unacceptable. Such bags don't break down in water and require heat from a composting facility. The problem, he said, is that Oahu doesn't have a commercial composting facility.

"Until they get to that composting facility, they remain a risk to our wildlife," he said.

In lieu of a composting facility, the city is advising residents to put compostable bags in the gray cart with their regular ref­use. All regular ref­use on Oahu is sent to the city's HPOWER waste-to-energy facility, where it is incinerated to generate electricity.

"It's important to note that even without a separate composting system for compostable plastic bags, the plastic bag ban will significantly reduce the number of plastic bags being distributed by retailers on Oahu and reduce the number of plastic bags that are littered onto beaches and into the ocean, which is the ultimate goal," Tim Houghton, deputy director of the city Environmental Services Department, said in a statement.

[7/1/15] After three years of warnings, it's finally here.

The city's plastic bag ban becomes law Wednesday.

City Environmental Services Director Lori Kahi­kina, who enforces the ban, admits she's among those having a hard time adjusting.

She estimated she's piled up a dozen reusable bags in the trunk of her car in anticipation of July 1. But like many other folks, she sometimes forgets to take them into the supermarket or store.

"It's going to take some getting used to," Kahi­kina said. "Everyone's just going to have to try to remember to bring in their own bags."

Oahu residents joined folks in the rest of the state Wednesday as the city's plastic bag ban took effect.

The plastic bag ordinance was signed by then-Mayor Peter Carlisle in 2012 and amended last year. While retailers can no longer give customers plastic bags, the ordinance allows for a number of exceptions.

Retailers can choose to give compostable plastic bags along with recyclable paper bags that contain a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content. The reusables that customers can take to the store are also defined. They have to be made of fabric or other durable material suitable for reuse, including plastic that is at least 2.25 mils, or 0.0022 of an inch, thick.

Retailers and restaurateurs can also still use plastic bags to carry plate lunches, poke bowls and other prepared food, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, frozen food and other loose items including nuts, coffee, candy, flowers or plants, medications, newspapers, laundry and pet items.

Those retailers using compostable or paper bags will be paying 10-14 cents a bag, significantly more than the 2 cents a bag they've been paying for plastics. Some retailers have warned that they will have no choice but to pass on those costs to consumers.

Environmental groups, which have led the charge for plastic bag bans, contend the environmental factors far outweigh widespread use of plastic bags.

Some retailers have been gearing up for years. Foodland will give 5 cents credit or three Hawaiian Airlines mileage awards for every reusable bag used.

[6/22/15] Rob Parsons is amazed when he travels to Oahu and sees all the plastic bags being handed out at stores left and right.

"We're so over it," said Parsons, Maui County's environmental coordinator.

With the plastic checkout bag banned on Maui 41⁄2 years ago, the Valley Isle has seen a dramatic difference along roadways, in trees and across the landscape, according to Parsons and others.

"Those windblown plastic bags are all but gone," he said.

It's much the same story on Kauai, which outlawed plastic checkout bags the same time Maui County did, and on Hawaii island, where they were banned in 2013, according to folks on those islands.

Oahu?

Honolulu is about to become the last county in Hawaii to ban the plastic checkout bag. Starting July 1, businesses will be prohibited from giving out plastic bags and nonrecyclable paper bags to their customers at the point of sale for carrying groceries or other merchandise.

The law is being welcomed by those who see it as dealing with the impacts of plastic bags on the environment, which include litter, a growing burden on the landfill and threats to marine life.

Many merchants, on the other hand, warn that the ban will add to the cost of doing business — a cost that undoubtedly will be passed on to customers.

And then there are those who will miss the plastic "T-shirt" bag for its utility as a trash can liner, a pet cleanup bag, a lunch holder and a million other things.

First approved by the Hono­lulu City Council three years ago and signed into law by then-Mayor Peter Carlisle, the law was amended slightly last year and then signed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

Acceptable bags include compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags that contain a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content, and "reusable bags," which have handles and may be made of fabric or other durable material suitable for reuse, including plastic that is at least 2.25 mils or 0.00225 inch thick.

The law applies only to bags distributed at checkout. Plastic bags will still be OK for loose items such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, candy, or small hardware items, and for frozen foods, meat or fish, flowers or plants, medications, newspaper, laundry and pet items.

[10/1/14] So, now it's official.

Honolulu mayor Kirk Caldwell signed Bill 38 into law on Thursday, Sept. 25, which would ban retailers from distributing plastic carryout bags — including biodegradable  bags — starting July 1, 2015.

Oahu follows Maui, Kauai and the Big Island in banning plastic  bags at checkout. But California, not Hawaii, became the first state to ban plastic bags yesterday.

In the first version of the bill, biodegradable bags would have been exempted, until environmentalists pointed out they can be just as damaging in the ocean. Compostable bags that meet the standards of ASTM International are allowed.

The bag ban, though not perfect, is great news for our environment. It's going to be an adjustment for folks who take plastic bags for granted.

In our recent Big Q poll,  the majority of readers (346) said they plan to start hoarding plastic takeout bags in response to the news. I imagine some began hoarding as soon as they heard Honolulu was considering a ban.

How will you prepare for Oahu’s plastic-bag ban at stores, to be effective July 1?

• B. Start hoarding plastic bags (49%, 346 Votes)
• A. Start using recyclable bags (33%, 231 Votes)
• C. Already stopped using plastic (18%, 123 Votes) 

air pollution killing 4000 people a day in China

 Air pollution is killing an average of 4,000 people a day in China, according to researchers who cited coal-burning as the likely principal cause.

Deaths related to the main pollutant, tiny particles known as PM2.5s that can trigger heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and asthma, total 1.6 million a year, or 17 percent of China’s mortality level, according to the study by Berkeley Earth, an independent research group funded largely by educational grants. It was published Thursday in the online peer-reviewed journal PLOS One from the Public Library of Science.

“When I was last in Beijing, pollution was at the hazardous level: Every hour of exposure reduced my life expectancy by 20 minutes,” Richard Muller, scientific director of Berkeley Earth and a co-author of the paper, said in an e-mail. “It’s as if every man, woman and child smoked 1.5 cigarettes each hour.”

Chinese authorities have acknowledged the air pollution situation after heavy smog enveloped swathes of the nation including Beijing and Shanghai in recent years. They’ve adopted air quality standards, introduced monitoring stations and cleaner standards for transportation fuel while shutting coal plants and moving factories out of cities.

China gets about 64 percent of its primary energy from coal, according to National Energy Administration data. It’s closing the dirtiest plants while still planning new, cleaner ones. The country is expected to shut 60 gigawatts of plants from 2016 to 2020 though three times as many plants are scheduled to be built using newer technology, according to Sophie Lu, a Bloomberg New Energy finance analyst in Beijing.

To cut reliance on coal, the nation also wants to derive 20 percent of its energy from renewables and nuclear by 2030, almost double the current share.

Berkeley Earth is funded mainly by educational grants and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. It was started in 2010 to examine global temperatures to see if there was merit in the concerns of skeptics of climate change and has since expanded research to other areas of global warming and air pollution.

the atomic bombs, 70 years later

EDITOR'S NOTE: On two days in August 1945, U.S. planes dropped two atomic bombs — one on Hiroshima, one on Nagasaki, the only times nuclear weapons have been used. Their unprecedented destructive power incinerated buildings and people and left lifelong physical and psychological scars on survivors and on the cities themselves. "Practically all living things, human and animal, were literally seared to death," an AP story reported. A few days later, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. World War II was effectively over.

Seventy years later, the AP is making stories about the bombings and surrender available, along with photos.

WASHINGTON, AUG. 6. — An atomic bomb, hailed as the most terrible destructive force in history and as the greatest achievement of organized science, has been loosed upon Japan.

President (Harry) Truman disclosed in a White House statement at 11 a.m. Eastern War Time, today that the first use of the bomb — containing more power than 20,000 tons of TNT and producing more than 2,000 times the blast of the most powerful bomb ever dropped before — was made 16 hours earlier on Hiroshima, a Japanese army base.

The atomic bomb is the answer, President Truman said, to Japan's refusal to surrender. Secretary of War (Henry) Stimson predicted the bomb will prove a tremendous aid in shortening the Japanese war. Mr. Truman grimly warned that "even more powerful forms (of the bomb) are in development."

"If they do not now accept our terms, they may expect a rain of ruin from the air the like of which has never been seen on this earth," he said.

The War Department reported that "an impenetrable cloud of dust and smoke" cloaked Hiroshima after the bomb exploded. It was impossible to make an immediate assessment of the damage.

...

GUAM, AUG. 9 — The world's second atomic bomb, most destructive explosive invented by man, was dropped on strategically important Nagasaki on western Kyushu Island at noon today.

Crew members radioed that results were good, but Gen. Carl A. Spaatz said additional details would not be disclosed until the mission returns.

Gen. Spaatz's communique reporting the bombing did not say whether only one or more than one "mighty atom" was dropped.

The first atomic bomb destroyed more than 60 percent — 4.1 square miles — of Hiroshima, city of 343,000 population, Monday, and radio Tokyo reported "practically every living thing" there was annihilated.

Japanese perished by uncounted thousands from the searing, crushing atomic blast that smashed Hiroshima, photographic and other evidence indicated today.

The Tokyo radio, which said that "practically all living things, human and animal, were literally seared to death," reported that authorities were still unable to check the total casualties.

Following is the complete text of the Tokyo English-language broadcast as recorded by the Federal Communications Commission:

"With the gradual restoration of order following the disastrous ruin that struck the city of Hiroshima in the wake of the enemy's new-type bomb on Monday morning, the authorities are still unable to obtain a definite check-up on the extent of the casualties sustained by the civilian population.

"Medical relief agencies that were rushed from the neighboring districts were unable to distinguish, much less identify, the dead from the injured.

"The impact of the bomb was so terrific that practically all living things, human and animals, were literally seared to death by the tremendous heat and pressure engendered by the blast. All of the dead and injured were burned beyond recognition.

"With houses and buildings crushed, including the emergency medical facilities, the authorities are having their hands full in giving every available relief possible under the circumstances.


"The effect of the bomb was widespread. Those outdoors burned to death, while those indoors were killed by the indescribable pressure and heat."

...

WASHINGTON, AUG. 14 — The second world war, history's greatest flood of death and destruction, ended tonight with Japan's unconditional surrender.

Formalities still remained — the official signing of surrender terms and a proclamation of V-J Day.
But from the moment President Truman announced at 7 p.m. (EWT) that the enemy of the Pacific had agreed to Allied terms, the world put aside for a time woeful thoughts of the cost in dead and dollars and celebrated in wild frenzy. Formalities meant nothing to people freed at last of war.

To reporters crammed into his office, shoving now-useless war maps against a marble mantle, the president disclosed that:

Japan, without ever being invaded, had accepted completely and without reservation an Allied declaration of Potsdam, dictating unconditional surrender.

...

As the great news became known, hundreds of Washingtonians raced to the White House to join hundreds already massed around the grounds.

Mr. Truman, accompanied by his wife, walked out on the porch and stepped up to a hastily erected microphone. He waved and smiled. Then he spoke:

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the great day. This is the day we have been looking for since Dec. 7, 1941.

"This is the day when fascism and police government ceases in the world.

"This is the day for the democracies.

"This is the day when we can start up our real task of implementation of free government in the world.

"We are faced with the greatest task we ever have been faced with. The emergency is as great as it was on Dec. 7, 1941.

"It is going to take the help of all of us to do it. I know we are going to do it."

For millions of Americans, for hundreds of millions of Allied people, his surrender announcement signified victory, peace and the eventual return of loved ones from war. To millions who sleep beneath stark white crosses, it meant their sacrifices had not been vain.

First Republican Debate

[8/6/15]  Minutes

New York Times analysis

Donald Trump's performance

8 takeaways

the 5pm debate (replay) / the prime time debate (replay)

[8/5/15] Fox News has announced the 10 candidates that will be on stage for the first Republican presidential debate later this week, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie narrowly making the cut.

Fox News’s decision to cap the prime-time debate at 10 candidates based on five previously-unspecified national polls led to weeks of intense speculation over who would be in and who would be out.

Recent polls showed a defined tier of eight candidates that appeared to be locks for the debate.

As expected, frontrunner Donald Trump will take center stage. Since launching his bid for the White House in mid-June, Trump has rocketed to the top of the national polls, with four recent surveys showing him with a double-digit lead over the next closest contender.

Joining him on stage will be former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who have been polling in second or third place nationally, depending on the survey.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul have also been invited to the main event.

Much of the drama in weeks leading up to Tuesday’s announcement centered around who fill the final two slots in ninth place and tenth place.

Christie and Kasich did just enough to improve their standing in the polls and secure their spots on stage, giving an early boost to both of their campaigns.

For Kasich, the prospect of getting left off the stage for a debate taking place in his home-state would have been an embarrassing slight.

For those who missed the prime-time cut, Fox News is holding a one-hour forum that will air at 5 p.m. on Thursday ahead of the 9 p.m. debate.

The forum was originally scheduled to be 90 minutes and take place at 1 p.m., but Fox has moved it closer to prime-time while cutting it down to one hour.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki, and former Sen. Jim Gilmore have been invited to that event.

Kim Jung Un awarded peace prize

A daughter of Indonesia's founding president has defended honouring North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with an award for statesmanship, dismissing criticisms of his human rights record as "Western propaganda".

Rachmawati Sukarnoputri confirmed the leader would receive an award from her organisation, the Sukarno Education Foundation, in September for his "peace, justice and humanity".

The decision to award the autocrat such an accolade -- handed in the past to such freedom icons as Mahatma Gandhi and Aung San Suu Kyi -- has made headlines and triggered an outpouring of ridicule and disbelief.

But Sukarnoputri brushed aside questions of Kim's suitability for the award, saying the young leader "should be honoured for his fight against neo-colonialist imperialism".

"The allegations about human rights abuses are untrue," she told AFP.

"That's all just Western propaganda. Those Western governments like to put ugly labels on North Korea."

Her father, Indonesia's first president Sukarno, established early ties with North Korea back in the 1950s.

Jakarta has maintained open relations with Pyongyang ever since. In April President Joko Widodo hosted a delegation from the reclusive state as part of an international conference.

It is not the first time Rachmawati's foundation has handed its top prize to a member of North Korea's ruling family. In 2001 the award was posthumously given to Kim's grandfather, the state's founding father Kim Il Sung.

Rachmawati drew parallels between the younger Kim and her own father, the leader of Indonesia's independence struggle who ruled the Southeast Asian archipelago until he was overthrown in 1965.

"Sukarno was also accused of being an evil dictator who violated human rights, but this was proven otherwise over time," she said.

Rachmawati is also the younger sister of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia's fifth president, who remains one of the country's most powerful political figures.

Kim is known for his ruthlessness in dealing with even the most senior officials suspected of disloyalty, following the execution of his uncle and one-time political mentor Jang Song-Thaek in 2013.

South Korean intelligence reported in May that he had his defence minister shot to pieces with anti-aircraft fire for insubordination and dozing off during a formal military rally.

HI-5 redemption rates dropping

Spurred by falling recycling rates, the state Department of Health announced Monday it will reduce the container fee it charges to manufacturers, distributors and importers of HI-5 beverage containers by a half-cent effective Sept. 1.

The move to cut the fee to 1 cent from 1.5 cents comes after the state’s redemption rate fell below 70 percent during fiscal year 2014, triggering the fee decrease required by law.

“Despite the lower redemption rate during fiscal year 2015, Hawaii residents still managed to recycle an estimate of more than 640 million containers, helping to significantly reduce litter and conserve resources.”

Janice Okubo, department spokeswoman, said a recent decline in the number of redemption centers may have affected the redemption rate. While the number of centers peaked in 2013 at 110, there are now only 91 statewide.

“A number of certified redemption centers have not been able to renew their leases, and with less centers, the convenience of recycling may have been challenging for many people,” she said.

Hawaii’s so-called bottle bill was signed into law in 2002. Distributors began paying a container fee in October 2002, and consumers, dealers and distributors began paying the 5-cent container deposit beginning in 2005.

The redemption rate — the percentage of HI-5 containers returned versus the number sold — started at 67.6 percent and climbed to 78.7 percent by 2009. In 2013 the rate was 75 percent before dropping over the next two years to 68.4.

Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation, said returning HI-5 containers to an inconveniently located redemption center, rather than the grocery store as some states require, may be too high of a hurdle for some folks to bother.

Mikulina, who fought for the bottle bill when he led the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, said another factor in the declining recycling rate might be the diminishing value of the nickel. Maybe a larger deposit is needed, he said. In Michigan, where the deposit is 10 cents, the redemption rate is 95 percent.