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Tensions between China and the United States escalated Saturday as China’s Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad to issue a harsh protest against U.S. sanctions set for the purchase of Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles.

The move came hours after China canceled trade talks with the U.S. following Washington’s imposition of new tariffs on Chinese goods.

The statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website called the imposition of sanctions “a serious violation of the basic principles of international law” and a “hegemonic act.” The ministry also wrote, “Sino-Russian military cooperation is the normal cooperation of the two sovereign states, and the U.S. has no right to interfere.” The U.S. actions, it said, “have seriously damaged the relations” with China. 

China had earlier called on the U.S. to withdraw the sanctions, and speaking to reporters Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had lodged an official protest with the United States.

China’s purchase of the weapons from Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport violated a 2017 U.S. law intended to punish the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering in U.S. elections and other activities. The U.S. action set in motion a visa ban on China’s Equipment Development Department and director Li Shangfu, forbids transactions with the U.S. financial system, and blocks all property and interests in property involving the country within U.S. jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that China had planned to send Vice Premier Liu He to Washington next week for trade talks, but canceled his trip, along with that of a midlevel delegation that was to precede him.

Earlier Friday, a senior White House official had said the U.S. was optimistic about finding a way forward in trade talks with China.

The official told reporters at the White House that China “must come to the table in a meaningful way” for there to be progress on the trade dispute. 

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while there was no confirmed meeting between the United States and China, the two countries “remain in touch.”

“The president’s team is all on the same page as to what’s required from China,” according to the official.

The Trump administration has argued that tariffs on Chinese goods would force China to trade on more favorable terms with the United States. 

It has demanded that China better protect American intellectual property, including ending the practice of cybertheft. The Trump administration has also called on China to allow U.S. companies greater access to Chinese markets and to cut its U.S. trade surplus.

Earlier this week, the United States ordered duties on another $200 billion of Chinese goods to go into effect on Sept. 24. China responded by adding $60 billion of U.S. products to its import tariff list.

The United States already has imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China has retaliated on an equal amount of U.S. goods.
…

A woman who has accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has agreed to testify before a Senate panel next week, her lawyers said Saturday.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had set a Saturday afternoon deadline for Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high school party 36 years ago, to decide whether and how she would testify.

“Dr. Ford accepts the committee’s request to provide her firsthand knowledge of Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual misconduct next week,” Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, Ford’s attorneys, said in a statement. “We are hopeful that we can reach agreement on details.”

A person briefed on the discussions said late Saturday that a tentative agreement had been reached for the Judiciary Committee to hear testimony Thursday from Ford and Kavanaugh. Other terms of the public hearing are to be negotiated Sunday, the source said.

The Republican-controlled committee had delayed a vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation after Ford’s allegation emerged last week. Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.

Confirming Kavanaugh’s nomination would cement conservative control of the Supreme Court and advance a White House effort to tilt the American judiciary farther to the right.

Grassley had said earlier that the panel would vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Monday unless a deal was reached with Ford’s lawyers by a Friday night deadline. Katz had said the deadline was “aggressive and artificial.”

“Your cavalier treatment of a sexual assault survivor who has been doing her best to cooperate with the committee is completely inappropriate,” Katz added.

On Friday, President Donald Trump sought to cast doubt on Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982 when both were high school students in Maryland.

The Judiciary Committee has struggled with how to proceed with Kavanaugh’s nomination. Democrats have demanded more time for scrutiny, and Republicans want to move ahead quickly with a confirmation vote in an increasingly volatile political climate ahead of congressional elections on Nov. 6.

‘A fine man’

Trump and the White House had been careful not to malign Ford after her allegations surfaced, but Trump dropped the restraint in his tweets on Friday.

“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents,” Trump wrote. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!

“Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left wing politicians who don’t want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay.”

Earlier, Trump had said Ford should be heard, even if it meant a delay in the confirmation process.

Republicans will be forced to walk a careful line in questioning Ford’s account without alienating female voters ahead of the elections. Before the 2016 presidential election, more than a dozen women accused Trump of making unwanted advances.

The Judiciary Committee released a letter it sent to Ford’s attorneys on Friday in which it accepted some of their demands, including that Kavanaugh not be in the room when she testifies.

The panel rejected some of the other demands, including that Kavanaugh testify first, that the committee call additional witnesses that Ford requests, and that only senators be allowed to ask questions.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking at a gathering of evangelical voters in Washington, assured them Kavanaugh would be confirmed.

The Senate panel must approve Kavanaugh’s confirmation before a vote by the full Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the lifetime position would be the second of the Trump administration and solidify conservative control of the nation’s top court. 

Ford has received death threats, while Kavanaugh and his wife also have received threats.

Some information for this report came from AP.
…

A woman who has accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has agreed to testify before a Senate panel next week, her lawyers said Saturday.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had set a Saturday afternoon deadline for Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high school party 36 years ago, to decide whether and how she would testify.

“Dr. Ford accepts the committee’s request to provide her firsthand knowledge of Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual misconduct next week,” Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, Ford’s attorneys, said in a statement. “We are hopeful that we can reach agreement on details.”

A person briefed on the discussions said late Saturday that a tentative agreement had been reached for the Judiciary Committee to hear testimony Thursday from Ford and Kavanaugh. Other terms of the public hearing are to be negotiated Sunday, the source said.

The Republican-controlled committee had delayed a vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation after Ford’s allegation emerged last week. Kavanaugh has denied the allegation.

Confirming Kavanaugh’s nomination would cement conservative control of the Supreme Court and advance a White House effort to tilt the American judiciary farther to the right.

Grassley had said earlier that the panel would vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation on Monday unless a deal was reached with Ford’s lawyers by a Friday night deadline. Katz had said the deadline was “aggressive and artificial.”

“Your cavalier treatment of a sexual assault survivor who has been doing her best to cooperate with the committee is completely inappropriate,” Katz added.

On Friday, President Donald Trump sought to cast doubt on Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982 when both were high school students in Maryland.

The Judiciary Committee has struggled with how to proceed with Kavanaugh’s nomination. Democrats have demanded more time for scrutiny, and Republicans want to move ahead quickly with a confirmation vote in an increasingly volatile political climate ahead of congressional elections on Nov. 6.

‘A fine man’

Trump and the White House had been careful not to malign Ford after her allegations surfaced, but Trump dropped the restraint in his tweets on Friday.

“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents,” Trump wrote. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!

“Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man, with an impeccable reputation, who is under assault by radical left wing politicians who don’t want to know the answers, they just want to destroy and delay.”

Earlier, Trump had said Ford should be heard, even if it meant a delay in the confirmation process.

Republicans will be forced to walk a careful line in questioning Ford’s account without alienating female voters ahead of the elections. Before the 2016 presidential election, more than a dozen women accused Trump of making unwanted advances.

The Judiciary Committee released a letter it sent to Ford’s attorneys on Friday in which it accepted some of their demands, including that Kavanaugh not be in the room when she testifies.

The panel rejected some of the other demands, including that Kavanaugh testify first, that the committee call additional witnesses that Ford requests, and that only senators be allowed to ask questions.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking at a gathering of evangelical voters in Washington, assured them Kavanaugh would be confirmed.

The Senate panel must approve Kavanaugh’s confirmation before a vote by the full Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the lifetime position would be the second of the Trump administration and solidify conservative control of the nation’s top court. 

Ford has received death threats, while Kavanaugh and his wife also have received threats.

Some information for this report came from AP.
…

Gray muck is flowing into the Cape Fear River from the site of a dam breach at a Wilmington power plant Friday where an old coal ash dump had been covered over by Florence’s floodwaters.

Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said Friday the utility doesn’t believe the breach at the L.V. Sutton Power Station poses a significant threat of increased flooding to nearby communities.

The potential environmental threat was unclear.

No environmental regulators were at the scene, with officials citing unsafe conditions.

Floodwaters breached several points early Friday in the earthen dam at Sutton Lake, the plant’s 1,100-acre (445-hectare) reservoir. Lake water then flooded one of three large coal ash dumps lining the lakeshore.

Sheehan said the company can’t rule out that ash might be escaping the flooded dump and flowing through the lake into the river.

​Toxic heavy metals

The ash left over when coal is burned to generate electricity contains mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic heavy metals. Duke said Friday the inundated basin at the plant contains about 400,000 cubic yards (305,820 cubic meters) of ash.

The area received more than 30 inches (75 centimeters) of rain from former Hurricane Florence, with the Cape Fear River still rising Friday and expected to crest Sunday and remain at flood stage through early next week.

Gray material the company characterized as “coal combustion byproducts” could be seen floating in the lake and river.​

​Biggest coal ash spill of Florence

Earthjustice, an environmental advocacy group with a boat in the river, provided The Associated Press with images Friday showing wide gray slicks in the water. A team member plucked a turtle from the muck and rinsed it off.

“Any big spill like this raises concerns about the impacts on the estuary ecosystem in the lower Cape Fear River,” said Pete Harrison, a staff attorney with Earthjustice on the boat. “This is Duke’s third coal ash spill in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, and it looks like it’s the biggest yet.”

North Carolina’s top environmental regulator said the possible environmental harm isn’t yet known. No state inspectors had arrived by late Friday, though officials said they would be there as soon as conditions are considered safe for personnel to navigate the river and be onsite.

“What we don’t know at this point is if any coal ash has filtered into the Cape Fear River,” said Mike Regan, secretary for the state Department of Environmental Quality, at a news conference in Raleigh. “We plan to conduct flyovers.”

Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Trey Glenn said his staff was monitoring the situation at Sutton from the state Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of the Sutton plant. He said dozens of EPA staff were scattered throughout the region impacted by Florence, checking on toxic waste sites and oil storage facilities.

“EPA serves in a support role to the impacted states and has offered assistance to North Carolina to help them respond to the reported Sutton coal ash incident,” Glenn said. “As of this evening, North Carolina has not requested additional support.”

​No regulators on site

With no regulators at the Sutton plant, it was left to Duke employees to collect water samples that would be tested in the company’s in-house lab. Environmental groups also collected samples from the river that would be sent to a private lab.

Security personnel for Duke blocked access Friday to Sutton Lake Road, leading to a public dock on the reservoir, a popular boating and fishing site.

Duke denied a request for an Associated Press reporter to cross the barricade, saying the lake situation “continues to change” and is “not safe.”

Sutton Lake is the former cooling pond for a coal-fired plant Duke retired in 2013 and replaced with a new generating station running off natural gas. Duke said that power plant was shut down overnight and all employees safely evacuated.

Third breach, earlier scrutiny

The breach at the Wilmington site is separate from last weekend’s reported rupture at a nearby coal ash landfill, which spilled enough material to fill 180 dump trucks.

Duke’s ash waste management has faced intense scrutiny since a drainage pipe collapsed under a waste pit at an old plant in Eden in 2014, triggering a massive spill that coated miles (kilometers) of the Dan River in gray sludge. The utility later agreed to plead guilty to nine Clean Water Act violations and pay $102 million in fines and restitution for illegally discharging pollution from ash dumps at five North Carolina power plants. It plans to close all its ash dumps by 2029.

At the separate Duke plant near Goldsboro, three old coal-ash dumps capped with soil and trees were underwater Thursday after the Neuse River flooded.

Staff from the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance visited the flooded dumps at the H.F. Lee Power Plant by boat Wednesday, took photographs and collected samples of gray sludge washing into the floodwaters.

State environmental regulators visited the site Thursday, but said they were unable to make a full assessment because of high water levels. The Duke spokeswoman Sheehan said any coal ash release at the Goldsboro site appeared “minimal.”

South Carolina plant

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s state-owned utility said it expected floodwaters to enter a coal ash pond at one of its closed power plants. Santee Cooper spokeswoman Mollie Gore said the overtopping of an ash basin at the Granger plant near Conway should not be environmentally significant.

Gore said nearly all the ash has been removed from the basin and water pumped in to prevent the dike from breaking. The company had placed a 2-foot (72-centimeter) high inflatable berm around the top of a second pond that has more coal ash in it. She estimates 200,000 tons (181 million kilograms) of ash are in a corner of the pond furthest from the rising Waccamaw River.
…

Gray muck is flowing into the Cape Fear River from the site of a dam breach at a Wilmington power plant Friday where an old coal ash dump had been covered over by Florence’s floodwaters.

Duke Energy spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said Friday the utility doesn’t believe the breach at the L.V. Sutton Power Station poses a significant threat of increased flooding to nearby communities.

The potential environmental threat was unclear.

No environmental regulators were at the scene, with officials citing unsafe conditions.

Floodwaters breached several points early Friday in the earthen dam at Sutton Lake, the plant’s 1,100-acre (445-hectare) reservoir. Lake water then flooded one of three large coal ash dumps lining the lakeshore.

Sheehan said the company can’t rule out that ash might be escaping the flooded dump and flowing through the lake into the river.

​Toxic heavy metals

The ash left over when coal is burned to generate electricity contains mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic heavy metals. Duke said Friday the inundated basin at the plant contains about 400,000 cubic yards (305,820 cubic meters) of ash.

The area received more than 30 inches (75 centimeters) of rain from former Hurricane Florence, with the Cape Fear River still rising Friday and expected to crest Sunday and remain at flood stage through early next week.

Gray material the company characterized as “coal combustion byproducts” could be seen floating in the lake and river.​

​Biggest coal ash spill of Florence

Earthjustice, an environmental advocacy group with a boat in the river, provided The Associated Press with images Friday showing wide gray slicks in the water. A team member plucked a turtle from the muck and rinsed it off.

“Any big spill like this raises concerns about the impacts on the estuary ecosystem in the lower Cape Fear River,” said Pete Harrison, a staff attorney with Earthjustice on the boat. “This is Duke’s third coal ash spill in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, and it looks like it’s the biggest yet.”

North Carolina’s top environmental regulator said the possible environmental harm isn’t yet known. No state inspectors had arrived by late Friday, though officials said they would be there as soon as conditions are considered safe for personnel to navigate the river and be onsite.

“What we don’t know at this point is if any coal ash has filtered into the Cape Fear River,” said Mike Regan, secretary for the state Department of Environmental Quality, at a news conference in Raleigh. “We plan to conduct flyovers.”

Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Trey Glenn said his staff was monitoring the situation at Sutton from the state Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of the Sutton plant. He said dozens of EPA staff were scattered throughout the region impacted by Florence, checking on toxic waste sites and oil storage facilities.

“EPA serves in a support role to the impacted states and has offered assistance to North Carolina to help them respond to the reported Sutton coal ash incident,” Glenn said. “As of this evening, North Carolina has not requested additional support.”

​No regulators on site

With no regulators at the Sutton plant, it was left to Duke employees to collect water samples that would be tested in the company’s in-house lab. Environmental groups also collected samples from the river that would be sent to a private lab.

Security personnel for Duke blocked access Friday to Sutton Lake Road, leading to a public dock on the reservoir, a popular boating and fishing site.

Duke denied a request for an Associated Press reporter to cross the barricade, saying the lake situation “continues to change” and is “not safe.”

Sutton Lake is the former cooling pond for a coal-fired plant Duke retired in 2013 and replaced with a new generating station running off natural gas. Duke said that power plant was shut down overnight and all employees safely evacuated.

Third breach, earlier scrutiny

The breach at the Wilmington site is separate from last weekend’s reported rupture at a nearby coal ash landfill, which spilled enough material to fill 180 dump trucks.

Duke’s ash waste management has faced intense scrutiny since a drainage pipe collapsed under a waste pit at an old plant in Eden in 2014, triggering a massive spill that coated miles (kilometers) of the Dan River in gray sludge. The utility later agreed to plead guilty to nine Clean Water Act violations and pay $102 million in fines and restitution for illegally discharging pollution from ash dumps at five North Carolina power plants. It plans to close all its ash dumps by 2029.

At the separate Duke plant near Goldsboro, three old coal-ash dumps capped with soil and trees were underwater Thursday after the Neuse River flooded.

Staff from the environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance visited the flooded dumps at the H.F. Lee Power Plant by boat Wednesday, took photographs and collected samples of gray sludge washing into the floodwaters.

State environmental regulators visited the site Thursday, but said they were unable to make a full assessment because of high water levels. The Duke spokeswoman Sheehan said any coal ash release at the Goldsboro site appeared “minimal.”

South Carolina plant

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s state-owned utility said it expected floodwaters to enter a coal ash pond at one of its closed power plants. Santee Cooper spokeswoman Mollie Gore said the overtopping of an ash basin at the Granger plant near Conway should not be environmentally significant.

Gore said nearly all the ash has been removed from the basin and water pumped in to prevent the dike from breaking. The company had placed a 2-foot (72-centimeter) high inflatable berm around the top of a second pond that has more coal ash in it. She estimates 200,000 tons (181 million kilograms) of ash are in a corner of the pond furthest from the rising Waccamaw River.
…

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley has given the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault more time to decide if she will testify next week.

The Senate committee had given Christine Blasey Ford until 10 p.m. Friday to make a decision, but her lawyer asked for a one-day extension just minutes before the Friday deadline.

Grassley announced the extension on Twitter in a post with an apologetic tone that was addressed to Kavanaugh.

Lawyers for Ford have said she wants to testify before a Senate panel next week, but only if her safety is ensured. According to U.S. media reports, attorney Debra Katz said in an email to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Ford wishes to testify “provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.”

Katz said her client has gotten death threats, and Ford and her family have been forced from their California home.

Grassley, a Republican, has scheduled a hearing for Monday for both Ford and Kavanaugh to appear to tell their stories.

But Katz wrote that “Monday’s date is not possible and the committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.”

Katz said Ford’s “strong preference” is that “a full investigation” be completed before she testifies. She had earlier called for the FBI to look into the charges against Kavanaugh.

Trump tweets

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump questioned the integrity of Ford, posting on Twitter that “if the attack … was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed” with police.

Trump also accused “radical left wing politicians” of attacking Kavanaugh, who Ford said sexually assaulted her at a house party 36 years ago.

Late Thursday, the White House released a letter from Kavanaugh to Grassley in which he said he wants to tell his side in a Monday hearing.

“I will be there. I continue to want a hearing as soon as possible so that I can clear my name,” he wrote.

Media reports say Kavanaugh has also received what law enforcement officials say are credible death threats.

Confirmation seemed certain

Trump chose Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.

His approval by the Judiciary Committee and the Republican-majority Senate appeared to be an almost certainty until The Washington Post published its interview with Ford, who is now a California psychology professor.

She alleged a “stumbling drunk” 17-year-old Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a Maryland house party in 1982 when both were in high school. She said Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her, putting his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream, before she managed to escape.

Kavanaugh has adamantly denied the charges, saying he has never done any such thing to Ford or any other woman.

​Supporters for both sides

Women who say they have known and worked with Kavanaugh throughout his legal career say he has been respectful and fair in dealing with them. Dozens of women who support Kavanaugh held a Washington news conference Friday.

Sara Fagen, who described herself as a friend and former colleague of Kavanaugh, said she and the other women at the news conference believe the allegation is untrue.

“The reason that we know that this allegation is false is because we know Brett Kavanaugh,” Fagen said.

Women who attended Holton-Arms High School in Bethesda, Maryland, with Ford signed a letter in support of her that was personally delivered Thursday to Republican Senator and Holton-Arms alumna Shelley Moore Capito. Organizers said it was signed by more than 1,000 former students.

“We believe Dr. Blasey Ford and are grateful that she came forward to tell her story,” the letter said. “Dr. Blasey Ford’s experience is all too consistent with stories we heard and lived while attending Holton. Many of us are survivors ourselves.”

Republican lawmakers are trying to win Senate confirmation for Kavanaugh ahead of the court’s start of a new term on Oct. 1, or if not by then, ahead of the Nov. 6 nationwide congressional elections, to show Republican voters they have made good on campaign promises to place conservative judges like Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.
…

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley has given the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault more time to decide if she will testify next week.

The Senate committee had given Christine Blasey Ford until 10 p.m. Friday to make a decision, but her lawyer asked for a one-day extension just minutes before the Friday deadline.

Grassley announced the extension on Twitter in a post with an apologetic tone that was addressed to Kavanaugh.

Lawyers for Ford have said she wants to testify before a Senate panel next week, but only if her safety is ensured. According to U.S. media reports, attorney Debra Katz said in an email to the Senate Judiciary Committee that Ford wishes to testify “provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.”

Katz said her client has gotten death threats, and Ford and her family have been forced from their California home.

Grassley, a Republican, has scheduled a hearing for Monday for both Ford and Kavanaugh to appear to tell their stories.

But Katz wrote that “Monday’s date is not possible and the committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.”

Katz said Ford’s “strong preference” is that “a full investigation” be completed before she testifies. She had earlier called for the FBI to look into the charges against Kavanaugh.

Trump tweets

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump questioned the integrity of Ford, posting on Twitter that “if the attack … was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed” with police.

Trump also accused “radical left wing politicians” of attacking Kavanaugh, who Ford said sexually assaulted her at a house party 36 years ago.

Late Thursday, the White House released a letter from Kavanaugh to Grassley in which he said he wants to tell his side in a Monday hearing.

“I will be there. I continue to want a hearing as soon as possible so that I can clear my name,” he wrote.

Media reports say Kavanaugh has also received what law enforcement officials say are credible death threats.

Confirmation seemed certain

Trump chose Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.

His approval by the Judiciary Committee and the Republican-majority Senate appeared to be an almost certainty until The Washington Post published its interview with Ford, who is now a California psychology professor.

She alleged a “stumbling drunk” 17-year-old Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a Maryland house party in 1982 when both were in high school. She said Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her, putting his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream, before she managed to escape.

Kavanaugh has adamantly denied the charges, saying he has never done any such thing to Ford or any other woman.

​Supporters for both sides

Women who say they have known and worked with Kavanaugh throughout his legal career say he has been respectful and fair in dealing with them. Dozens of women who support Kavanaugh held a Washington news conference Friday.

Sara Fagen, who described herself as a friend and former colleague of Kavanaugh, said she and the other women at the news conference believe the allegation is untrue.

“The reason that we know that this allegation is false is because we know Brett Kavanaugh,” Fagen said.

Women who attended Holton-Arms High School in Bethesda, Maryland, with Ford signed a letter in support of her that was personally delivered Thursday to Republican Senator and Holton-Arms alumna Shelley Moore Capito. Organizers said it was signed by more than 1,000 former students.

“We believe Dr. Blasey Ford and are grateful that she came forward to tell her story,” the letter said. “Dr. Blasey Ford’s experience is all too consistent with stories we heard and lived while attending Holton. Many of us are survivors ourselves.”

Republican lawmakers are trying to win Senate confirmation for Kavanaugh ahead of the court’s start of a new term on Oct. 1, or if not by then, ahead of the Nov. 6 nationwide congressional elections, to show Republican voters they have made good on campaign promises to place conservative judges like Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.
…

The head of the federal disaster response agency used government vehicles without proper authorization, but will not lose his job over it, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Friday.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William “Brock” Long had been under investigation by the Homeland Security Department’s watchdog over possibly misusing government vehicles to travel to his home in Hickory, North Carolina. Word leaked of the investigation just as Hurricane Florence was poised to make landfall earlier this month.

Nielsen said in a statement Friday that there had been a longstanding practice to transport FEMA administrators in government vehicles to ensure they could remain connected during a crisis. But despite this practice, use of government vehicles for home-to-work travel was not officially authorized, and that practice was eliminated in April.

Nielsen said the report by Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General also found Long used government vehicles for nonofficial reasons.

Reimburse the government

She said they spoke about the problems and Long agreed to reimburse the government, though it wasn’t clear how much money that might be. She said she directed the department to review policy on home-to-work transportation problems, assess communication requirements at FEMA so officials can be best connected during disasters, and to review of and training regarding proper use of government vehicles.

“We had a productive conversation where we discussed my expectations regarding the agency’s use of government vehicles going forward,” Nielsen said in a statement. “The administrator acknowledged that mistakes were made, and he took personal responsibility.”

The inspector general’s report has not been made public. The House Oversight Committee is also looking into the allegations and has asked Long to turn over to the committee all documents related to the trips by Oct. 1, including whether his staff was put up in hotels paid for by taxpayer dollars.

The inspector general’s office has turned the review over to federal prosecutors to determine whether any criminal charges are warranted, according to a person familiar with the probe. It’s not uncommon for an inspector general to refer cases so federal prosecutors can determine whether charges are warranted, and it doesn’t mean he’ll be charged with a crime. The person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity.

In the days after Florence struck, Long said he was not focused on the investigation and instead was working to help the region get back on its feet after the devastation. More than 40 have died and rising floodwaters cut off roads and drowned livestock.

Corrective action

In a statement Friday, Long said he accepted full responsibility.

“The secretary and I are taking corrective action to prevent such mistakes from happening in the future,” he said. “I remain committed to the critical mission of FEMA — helping people before, during and after disasters.”

He has been head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency since June 2017, presiding over a particularly grueling hurricane season that included Irma, Harvey and Maria, plus wildfires in California. The response to Maria has been heavily criticized, and Long has said FEMA learned lessons on how to better prepare for this year’s storms.

Other Trump administration officials have lost their jobs over ethics issues related to travel, but they involved more outsized allegations. The former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, resigned in July after allegations of massive security spending, first-class flights and a sweetheart condo lease.
…

The head of the federal disaster response agency used government vehicles without proper authorization, but will not lose his job over it, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Friday.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William “Brock” Long had been under investigation by the Homeland Security Department’s watchdog over possibly misusing government vehicles to travel to his home in Hickory, North Carolina. Word leaked of the investigation just as Hurricane Florence was poised to make landfall earlier this month.

Nielsen said in a statement Friday that there had been a longstanding practice to transport FEMA administrators in government vehicles to ensure they could remain connected during a crisis. But despite this practice, use of government vehicles for home-to-work travel was not officially authorized, and that practice was eliminated in April.

Nielsen said the report by Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General also found Long used government vehicles for nonofficial reasons.

Reimburse the government

She said they spoke about the problems and Long agreed to reimburse the government, though it wasn’t clear how much money that might be. She said she directed the department to review policy on home-to-work transportation problems, assess communication requirements at FEMA so officials can be best connected during disasters, and to review of and training regarding proper use of government vehicles.

“We had a productive conversation where we discussed my expectations regarding the agency’s use of government vehicles going forward,” Nielsen said in a statement. “The administrator acknowledged that mistakes were made, and he took personal responsibility.”

The inspector general’s report has not been made public. The House Oversight Committee is also looking into the allegations and has asked Long to turn over to the committee all documents related to the trips by Oct. 1, including whether his staff was put up in hotels paid for by taxpayer dollars.

The inspector general’s office has turned the review over to federal prosecutors to determine whether any criminal charges are warranted, according to a person familiar with the probe. It’s not uncommon for an inspector general to refer cases so federal prosecutors can determine whether charges are warranted, and it doesn’t mean he’ll be charged with a crime. The person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity.

In the days after Florence struck, Long said he was not focused on the investigation and instead was working to help the region get back on its feet after the devastation. More than 40 have died and rising floodwaters cut off roads and drowned livestock.

Corrective action

In a statement Friday, Long said he accepted full responsibility.

“The secretary and I are taking corrective action to prevent such mistakes from happening in the future,” he said. “I remain committed to the critical mission of FEMA — helping people before, during and after disasters.”

He has been head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency since June 2017, presiding over a particularly grueling hurricane season that included Irma, Harvey and Maria, plus wildfires in California. The response to Maria has been heavily criticized, and Long has said FEMA learned lessons on how to better prepare for this year’s storms.

Other Trump administration officials have lost their jobs over ethics issues related to travel, but they involved more outsized allegations. The former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, resigned in July after allegations of massive security spending, first-class flights and a sweetheart condo lease.
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