Ex-army chief hoping to be Israel’s next premier

ROSH HAAYIN, Israel (AP) — As former army chief of staff Benny Gantz campaigns to be Israel’s next leader, he is relying less on policy specifics than on the archetypal image of a military man who can rise above the political fray and defend a country that feels perpetually under siege.

With piercing blue eyes and the reserved manner of a lifelong soldier, Gantz has vowed to unify the country and restore national institutions after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decade-long rule, which has deepened Israel’s religious and political divides and been roiled by corruption allegations.

Gantz failed to unseat Netanyahu in April’s elections, but will have another shot in Tuesday’s unprecedented do-over, which was prompted by Netanyahu’s inability to form a government.

In contrast to Netanyahu, whose political career spans three decades, the 60-year-old Gantz is a newcomer who only burst onto the scene over the last year. The towering former general heads the Blue and White, a centrist coalition that includes the popular politician Yair Lapid as well as other former senior military officers.

While Netanyahu’s campaign has been marked by dramatic announcements on everything from alleged Iranian nuclear sites to promises to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, Gantz has offered a low-key alternative, betting that voters are hungry for change. He may also hope to tap into nostalgia for past generals-turned-statesmen, like Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon.

Gantz slammed the prime minister’s announcement about an alleged Iranian nuclear weapons site, saying “Netanyahu’s use of sensitive security information for the purposes of his campaign attests to bad judgment.”

“Even in his last days as prime minister, Netanyahu is only looking out for Netanyahu,” he added.

When Netanyahu called for activists to be allowed to film polling stations in Arab districts — alleging fraud without providing any evidence — Gantz charged him with laying the groundwork for rejecting the election results. When Netanyahu announced his intention to annex the heart of the West Bank if re-elected, Gantz dismissed it as a political stunt.

Gantz has promised to take a much harsher stance toward Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, accusing Netanyahu of appeasing Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the coastal territory. He has drawn on his time as army chief, when he oversaw the 2014 Gaza war. Before April’s elections, his campaign boasted about the number of militants that were killed, saying parts of Gaza were sent back to the “stone age,” but he has been more muted this time around.

He has also hinted at reviving the peace process with the Palestinians, but he has provided few details, apparently wary of alienating Israel’s increasingly nationalist voters.

Oded Balilty, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer for The Associated Press, was recently granted exclusive access to photograph Gantz at his home in Rosh Haayin, in central Israel, and his party headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Iran dismisses US allegation it was behind Saudi oil attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran denied on Sunday it was involved in Yemen rebel drone attacks the previous day that hit the world’s biggest oil processing facility and an oil field in Saudi Arabia, just hours after America’s top diplomat alleged that Tehran was behind the “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”

The attacks Saturday claimed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels resulted in “the temporary suspension of production operations” at the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field, Riyadh said.

That led to the interruption of an estimated 5.7 million barrels in crude supplies, authorities said while pledging the kingdom’s stockpiles would make up the difference. The amount Saudi Arabia is cutting back is equivalent to over 5% of the world’s daily production.

While markets remained closed Sunday, the attack could shock world energy prices. They also increased overall tensions in the region amid an escalating crisis between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

Late Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly blamed Iran for the attack on Twitter, without offering evidence to support his claim.

“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply,” Pompeo wrote. “There is no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”

The U.S., Western nations, their Gulf Arab allies and U.N. experts say Iran supplies the Houthis with weapons and drones — a charge that Tehran denies.

U.S. officials previously alleged at least one recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia came from Iraq, where Iran backs Shiite militias. Those militias in recent weeks have been targeted themselves by mysterious airstrikes, with at least one believed to have been carried out by Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Sunday dismissed Pompeo’s remarks as “blind and futile comments.”

“The Americans adopted the ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, which, due to its failure, is leaning towards ‘maximum lies’,” Mousavi said in a statement.

Separately, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s office issued a statement on Sunday denying the drone attack came from there.

Iraq “abides by its constitutions that prevents the use of its lands to launch aggressions against neighboring countries,” the statement said.

First word of Saturday’s assault came in online videos of giant fires at the Abqaiq facility, some 330 kilometers (205 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Machine-gun fire could be heard in several clips alongside the day’s first Muslim call to prayers, suggesting security forces tried to bring down the drones just before dawn. In daylight, Saudi state television aired a segment with its local correspondent near a police checkpoint, a thick plume of smoke visible behind him.

President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to offer his support for the kingdom’s defense, the White House said. The crown prince assured Trump that Saudi Arabia is “willing and able to confront and deal with this terrorist aggression,” according to a news release from the Saudi Embassy in Washington.

Saudi Aramco describes its Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq as “the largest crude oil stabilization plant in the world.”

The facility processes sour crude oil into sweet crude, then transports it onto transshipment points on the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea or to refineries for local production. Estimates suggest it can process up to 7 million barrels of crude oil a day. By comparison, Saudi Arabia produced 9.65 million barrels of crude oil a day in July.

The Khurais oil field is believed to produce over 1 million barrels of crude oil a day. It has estimated reserves of over 20 billion barrels of oil, according to Aramco.

There was no immediate impact on global oil prices as markets were closed for the weekend. Benchmark Brent crude had been trading at just above $60 a barrel.

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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

NY Times sparks furor with tweet describing alleged Kavanaugh behavior as 'harmless fun'

The New York Times, under its “New York Times Opinion” Twitter banner, issued an apology late Saturday, saying it had deleted an “offensive” Twitter message promoting a Times article that makes allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“We deleted a previous tweet regarding this article,” the Times Opinion message said. “It was offensive, and we apologize.”
Previously, the Times posted and then deleted a tweet without the word "apology," but saying that the original tweet had been deleted because it was "poorly phrased."
The original Times tweet graphically described an obscene act that Kavanaugh is accused of having done during his college years. The tweet then said the act “may seem like harmless fun.”
Regardless of whether the claim against Kavanaugh is true or not, critics on social media were simply furious that the Times would describe the alleged behavior as “harmless fun.”

'Profound lapse in judgment'

“This is…. Such a profound lapse in judgment and common sense. Sexual assault isn’t harmless fun,” one Twitter user wrote. “What the hell is going on at the NYT?”
But others also argued that the allegations against Kavanaugh in the article weren’t true.

'What are they thinking?'

“What are they thinking at the New York Times?,” Fox News contributor Byron York of the Washington Examiner wrote. “1) It’s a discredited allegation. 2) If it happened, such things are ‘harmless fun’?”

'Smearing a distinguished jurist'

“You may think that smearing a distinguished jurist based on the testimony of a woman who said last year she wasn’t even certain about her story is harmless fun…” wrote theater critic Kyle Smith.
The new Times story gives the account of a male Yale classmate of Kavanaugh named Max Stier, who alleges that Kavanaugh, at the urging of some friends, performed an obscene act while mistreating a woman at a party.
The Times reported Saturday that Stier told the FBI about the alleged incident during Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation process but the FBI did not investigate further.
Stier’s story appears to align with allegations that Kavanaugh accuser Deborah Ramirez made last year in an article in The New Yorker magazine. But that magazine noted at the time that Ramiriez “was at first hesitant to speak publicly, partly because her memories contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident.”
The magazine later noted that Ramirez agreed to speak only after “six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney.”
During his confirmation process, Kavanagh denied numerous allegations about his personal conduct.
Earlier this year, an attorney for Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford said her client was motivated to testify against Kavanaugh in part to attach an “asterisk” next to his name in the event of Supreme Court rulings on abortion.
The Senate ultimately approved President Trump’s nomination of Kavanaugh in a 50-48 vote last October.

Conservative Cartoons

Skirmishes break out in Hong Kong mall amid counter rallies

HONG KONG (AP) — Skirmishes broke out Saturday between supporters of the ongoing protests for democratic reforms in Hong Kong and supporters of the central government at a shopping mall in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

Hundreds of pro-Beijing demonstrators sang the Chinese national anthem, waved red flags and chanted slogans at Amoy Plaza in the densely packed Kowloon district. Opposing protesters quickly gathered there, sparking tensions as the two camps heckled each other.

The situation turned chaotic with groups of people trading blows and some using umbrellas to hit their opponents. Police later moved in to defuse the situation, with several people detained.

The clashes amid the mid-autumn festival holiday came after several nights of peaceful rallies that featured mass singing at shopping malls by supporters of the months-long pro-democracy protests.

Thousands of people also carried lanterns with pro-democracy messages in public areas and formed illuminated human chains on two of the city’s peaks on Friday night to mark the major Chinese festival.

Protesters have refused to yield despite the government’s promise to withdraw an extradition bill that triggered the protests. They have widened their demands to include direct elections for their leaders and police accountability.

Many saw the extradition bill, which would have allowed some Hong Kong suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial, as an example of Hong Kong’s autonomy eroding since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Shops shuttered at Amoy Plaza after the brawls. The atmosphere remained tense as pro-democracy protesters slammed police, some who were seen hitting detainees with batons to subdue them. Local media showed minor scuffles continuing outside the mall as people left.

In the northwestern suburb of Tin Shui Wai, several hundred people marched on the street, carrying pro-democracy posters and waving American flags, in defiance of a police ban on a rally in the area. Riot police intercepted them and prevented them from marching to a park.

Some 200 high school students also staged a sit-in Friday at a downtown public square. Many students have formed human chains outside their schools as classes resumed two weeks ago after the summer break.

“Many students feel angry and unhappy. Today’s gathering is a platform for us to vent our frustrations,” said Lia Ng, 14.

More than 1,300 people have been arrested since the protests began in early June. Clashes have become more violent in recent weeks, with riot police firing tear gas as protesters vandalized subway stations, set fires and blocked traffic.

The unrest has further battered Hong Kong’s economy, which was already reeling from the U.S.-China trade war. It is also seen as an embarrassment to China’s ruling Communist Party ahead of Oct. 1 National Day celebrations.

At a netizens news conference earlier Saturday, activists warned that violence could escalate if the government continues to turn a deaf ear to citizens’ demands. They wore face masks to shield their identity for fear of reprisals from the government.

One of the activists said it was “natural behavior that people escalate their ways” if peaceful means failed to elicit any response.

Police have banned a major rally planned in central Hong Kong on Sunday, but protesters have vowed to turn up anyway. Some others are also planning to march to the British Consulate.

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Associated Press videojournalists Raf Wober and Phoebe Lai contributed to this report.

DOJ opposes House panel's request for more Mueller probe materials as it pursues impeachment

The Justice Department told a judge Friday that the House Judiciary Committee shouldn't be granted access to unreleased material from the former special counsel's Russia investigation as it weighs whether to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
The committee had filed a petition in federal court for lawmakers to obtain the grand jury material to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment against Trump for his knowledge of any potential "criminal acts" by him or his associates related to conspiring with Russia.
The department argued lawmakers have "come nowhere close to demonstrating a particularized need" for the information.

"What may come of this investigation — if anything — remains unknown and unpredictable," the court filing read.

"What may come of this investigation — if anything — remains unknown and unpredictable."
— Justice Department court filing

A redacted version of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 448-page report was released to the public in April. A less-redacted version, where only grand jury information was blacked out, was then given to certain lawmakers, including the committee's chairman and ranking member.
The committee asserted its need of the full, unredacted version of Mueller's report as well as transcripts of the grand jury testimony, and filed a lawsuit under Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., in July. The Justice Department argued the blacked-out information in the report comprised a "tiny percentage of the document," and that the committee hadn't provided a sufficient explanation as to how the material would help their investigation of Trump.
The DOJ also argued an impeachment proceeding carried out in Congress wouldn't be considered a "judicial proceeding" under law, in which case the information could have been disclosed.
The department went on to argue that several investigations stemming from Mueller's probe remained open, thus there is a "continuing need for secrecy" about grand jury proceedings.
It's not clear what new information the committee is seeking in the grand jury transcripts. Many witnesses connected to the Trump administration appeared for voluntary questioning before Mueller's team rather than the grand jury.
The House Judiciary Committee approved ground rules for impeachment hearings Thursday, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi maintained her cautious approach.
"If we have to go there, we'll go there," she said. "But we can't go there until we have all the facts."
Nadler promised an "aggressive" fall schedule for impeachment investigations, starting with a public session next week with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

California lawmakers splashed with 'what appeared to be blood' during anti-vaxxing protest at Statehouse

A protester was taken into custody at the California Statehouse in Sacramento on Friday evening after she allegedly threw a feminine hygiene device containing "what appeared to be blood" onto the floor of the state Senate from a public viewing area, splashing the liquid onto lawmakers working below.
The Senate chamber was evacuated and lawmakers finished their work in a committee room on the final day of the legislative session.
The woman, who was not identified, was detained on charges including assault, vandalism and disrupting "the orderly conduct of official business" at the Statehouse, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.

In this photo provided by state Senator Steven Glazer, red dots are splattered on papers on Glazer's Senate desk, after a woman threw a container with red liquid from the public gallery of the Senate chambers during a legislative session, in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (Senator Steven Glazer via AP)

The disruption occurred as a group of protesters — many holding signs promoting “Medical Freedom” -- were permitted into the Senate chambers to overlook state Senate proceedings from the upstairs balcony. They had been demonstrating against a recently signed state measure intended to crack down on fraudulent medical exemptions for vaccinations.
Around 5:15 p.m., a woman in the group leaned over the railing and hurled the unidentified red liquid onto the unsuspecting lawmakers. Someone reportedly called out: “That’s for the dead babies.”
The Senate called a quick recess and law enforcement evacuated the chambers. A video posted to social media shows a woman, who walked out of the gallery into the hallway, saying, “My menstrual blood is all over the Senate floor… a representation of the blood of the dead babies,” before she is then handcuffed.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, posted on Twitter after the ordeal.
“A few minutes ago, the anti-vaxxer stalkers – who’ve engaged in a harassment campaign all week – dropped a red substance onto the Senate floor from the elevated public gallery, dousing several of my colleagues,” Wiener wrote. “These anti-vaxxers are engaging in criminal behavior. They’ve now repeatedly assaulted senators and are engaging in harassing and intimidating behavior every single day, as we try to do the people’s work. They’re a cancer on the body politic and are attacking democracy.”
The incident comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed controversial legislation into law this week that places restrictions on medical vaccine exemptions for children. State Sen. Richard Pan, a Democrat representing Sacramento, authored the bill. He was shoved by a protester last week outside the Capitol.
“This incident was incited by the violent rhetoric perpetuated by leaders of the antivaxx movement,” Pan said in a statement to FOX 40 Sacramento. “As their rhetoric escalates, their incidents of violence does as well. This is an attack on the democratic process and an assault on all Californians and it must be met with strong condemnation by everyone.”

A California Highway Patrol Officer photographs a desk on the Senate floor after a red liquid was thrown from the Senate Gallery during the Senate session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (Associated Press)

Senate Bill 276 and SB 714 intend to increase oversight on California’s vaccine medical exemption system, according to the Sacramento Bee. Doctors in the state will be required to submit a form to the state Department of Public Health every time they issue a medical exemption. Public health officials will be alerted when doctors issue more than five exemptions a year and review each exemption case to evaluate if fraud is being committed. The system will also flag schools that fall below a 95 percent vaccination rate.
Supporters argue the new legislation would protect children who are too sick or young to be vaccinated from being exposed to preventable diseases while at school, according to the Bee. Those in opposition to the new law say vaccines are not universally safe and that the measure would infringe on the patient-doctor relationship.

State Senator Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, right, leaves the Senate Chambers after a red substance was thrown from the Senate Gallery during the Senate session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Protesters camped outside the governor’s office this week as others in opposition to the legislation crowded hallways in Sacramento’s Capitol building and attempted to disrupt hearings and floor sessions, the Los Angeles Times reported. The group responsible for organizing the rally outside the Capitol denounced the woman’s behavior Friday.
“We strongly denounce this, it goes far beyond crossing a line,” Jonathan Lockwood, executive director of Conscience Coalition, told the Sacramento Bee.

Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins said in a statement: “California’s legislative process, as well as our doors, should remain open to all who wish to observe or speak out on a variety of issues, but we cannot allow anyone to endanger others. The behavior that occurred in the Senate Chamber is unacceptable and has been dealt with by Capitol law enforcement. We will continue to do the people’s important business.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Feinstein to host fundraiser for Biden, in another apparent snub of fellow Californian Kamala Harris

BFFs in D.C.? Apparently not U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California.
According to reports, Feinstein, the senior senator from the Golden State, will throw a fundraiser next month for Democratic 2020 presidential frontrunner Joe Biden -- and not for Harris, another White House contender whose poll numbers suggest she could probably use some high-profile help.
Feinstein and husband Richard Blum will co-host the Biden event Oct. 3 in San Francisco, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by CNBC. Feinstein first gave her backing to Biden in January, months before the former vice president made his campaign official in April.
“My candidate would be Joe Biden,” Feinstein told CNBC back then. “I watched him as vice president. I’ve seen him operate. I’ve seen him perform and I think he brings a level of experience and seniority, which I think is really important.”
The early evening reception will be the first that Feinstein hosts for Biden in the 2020 election, CNBC reported. Her husband has already participated in several fundraising events for Biden, who campaigned for Feinstein in 2018, when she was re-elected by a landslide.
Feinstein has repeatedly faced questions about why she prefers Biden -- who was her Senate colleague for nearly two decades -- over Harris, her home state’s junior senator.
Harris and Biden famously butted heads during Democratic presidential debate earlier this year when Harris challenged Biden’s stance decades ago on the issue of desegregation school busing when he was a U.S. senator from Delaware.
“She’s brand-new here,” Feinstein told the Los Angeles Times about Harris in January when asked if she would support a Harris run for the White House. “It takes a little bit of time to get to know somebody.”
She also told the Washington Examiner in May when Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee he made her the “first woman” to serve on the panel.
“I love Kamala, I appreciate her,” Feinstein said, “but that’s what I’m going to do. I feel very loyal to him."
Ticket prices begin at $1,000 and cap out at $2,800 per person for the October event. Several other hosts will join Feinstein and Blum on the stage, including Denise Bauer, a former ambassador to Belgium, the emailed invitation said. Feinstein and Blum are not listed as hosts for a fundraising lunch to be held in nearby Palo Alto, Calif., earlier that day.
Harris, who previously served as California's attorney general -- and was district attorney of San Francisco, where Feinstein was once the mayor -- was elected to the Senate in 2016. In 2004, Feinstein said she would not have endorsed Harris for San Francisco district attorney if she had known Harris wouldn’t seek the death penalty for a gang member who killed a police officer, the Washington Examiner reported.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.