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Porn actress Stormy Daniels was arrested at an Ohio strip club and is accused of letting patrons touch her in violation of a state law, her attorney said early Thursday.

While Daniels was performing at Sirens, a strip club in Columbus, some patrons touched her in a “nonsexual” way, her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told The Associated Press. 

An Ohio law known as the Community Defense Act prohibits anyone who isn’t a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer. 

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was in police custody early Thursday morning and was expected to face a misdemeanor charge, Avenatti said. 

“This was a complete set up,” he said. “It’s absurd that law enforcement resources are being spent to conduct a sting operation related to customers touching performers in a strip club in a nonsexual manner.”

A Columbus police spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the strip club declined to comment. 

Daniels has said she had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006 when he was married, which Trump has denied. She’s suing Trump and his former longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
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Porn actress Stormy Daniels was arrested at an Ohio strip club and is accused of letting patrons touch her in violation of a state law, her attorney said early Thursday.

While Daniels was performing at Sirens, a strip club in Columbus, some patrons touched her in a “nonsexual” way, her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told The Associated Press. 

An Ohio law known as the Community Defense Act prohibits anyone who isn’t a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer. 

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was in police custody early Thursday morning and was expected to face a misdemeanor charge, Avenatti said. 

“This was a complete set up,” he said. “It’s absurd that law enforcement resources are being spent to conduct a sting operation related to customers touching performers in a strip club in a nonsexual manner.”

A Columbus police spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at the strip club declined to comment. 

Daniels has said she had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006 when he was married, which Trump has denied. She’s suing Trump and his former longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and seeking to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement that she signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
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China’s protests this month over a surge in relations between its rival Taiwan and the United States may prompt eventual retaliation by nervous officials in Beijing, analysts say.

The head of the Chinese government’s Taiwan Affairs Office said July 8 China “cannot accept” growth in Taiwan-U.S. relations.

That comment was a response to the passage Saturday of two U.S. warships through the ocean strait separating Taiwan from China.

China resents U.S. support because it sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory rather than a country with rights to foreign relations. The United States strong military also adds to concerns among Communist officials as they grapple with ways to bring Taiwan under its flag.

Taipei and Washington have been exploring a closer relationship since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last year and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took power in 2016.

“After the new governments of the U.S. and Taiwan formed, after Trump and Tsai Ing-wen took office, the situation is definitely one that the Chinese do not want to see,” said Gratiana Jung, a senior political researcher with the Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute think tank in Taipei.

Testing China’s patience

On Saturday the United States sailed two warships, the USS Mustin and USS Benfold, through the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Defense in Taipei said.

The U.S. Navy has sent ships to the same 160 kilometer-wide (100 mile-wide) waterway in the past but this time Taiwan noted it publicly and pledged to “perfect its responsibilities as a regional player.”

The United States may have used this voyage to alert China to the strength of U.S.-Taiwan relations, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank.

Washington sees Taiwan as part of its “pearl chain” of allies that support U.S. aims in the Asia Pacific, said Joanna Lei, chief executive officer of the Chunghua 21st Century think tank in Taiwan. One of those aims is containing China’s expansion, experts believe. Other allies include Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Media reports from Washington say the U.S. State Department has requested that the Marines help guard a new de facto embassy compound in Taipei.

A series of decisions by Trump and actions by the U.S. Congress had already grabbed China’s attention.

Legislation signed by Trump in March encourages more senior-level U.S.-Taiwan visits despite opposition from Beijing, for example, and Washington openly opposes Chinese demands that 44 international airlines quit referring online to Taiwan as a “country.”

Last year the U.S. government announced a $1.42 billion package of advanced weaponry for Taiwan’s military.

Bristly Chinese reaction

China would see a deployment of Marines in Taiwan, even if it is just to defend U.S. property, as a “permanent upgrade” in relations, Denny Roy, senior fellow at the East-West Center, a research organization in Honolulu.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Liu Jieyi said in response to the warships that Taiwan should “recognize the true intent” of being played as a “card” by the U.S. government.

“Absolutely you don’t want anyone to help the United States play a Taiwan card, hurting the people on both sides and the interests of Taiwanese people,” Liu was quoted saying.

U.S. military support for Taiwan implies aid from Washington if China were to attack Taiwan. But passage of U.S. warships is not Taiwan’s “fault,” said Shane Lee, a political scientist at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan.

 “You cannot punish Taiwan for what the U.S. did,” Lee said. “Of course, China doesn’t want Taiwan to get closer to the U.S.”

Some believe Trump is using Taiwan to rattle China into giving concessions on trade as he proposes tariffs against Chinese goods sold in the United States.

Follow up by Beijing

China will probably follow up by doing more to make Taiwanese youth and business people see the benefits of its roughly $12 trillion economy, Jung said.

China approved a list of measures in February making it easier for Taiwanese to work and invest.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when the losing Nationalists fled to Taiwan and reestablished their government.

The two sides have been separately ruled since then, but China insists on eventual unification despite government opinion polls in Taipei showing that most Taiwanese oppose that outcome.

China may also establish a “line,” possibly through military channels, that Taiwan and the United States should avoid crossing, Lei said. That measure might resemble Beijing’s anti-secession law, she said. The 2005 law authorizes use of force against Taiwan if it declares legal independence from China.

“They will draw clear red lines, so that Taiwan understands where the boundaries might be and the U.S. understands what actions might trigger further retaliations or responses,” Lei said.

 
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China’s protests this month over a surge in relations between its rival Taiwan and the United States may prompt eventual retaliation by nervous officials in Beijing, analysts say.

The head of the Chinese government’s Taiwan Affairs Office said July 8 China “cannot accept” growth in Taiwan-U.S. relations.

That comment was a response to the passage Saturday of two U.S. warships through the ocean strait separating Taiwan from China.

China resents U.S. support because it sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory rather than a country with rights to foreign relations. The United States strong military also adds to concerns among Communist officials as they grapple with ways to bring Taiwan under its flag.

Taipei and Washington have been exploring a closer relationship since U.S. President Donald Trump took office last year and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took power in 2016.

“After the new governments of the U.S. and Taiwan formed, after Trump and Tsai Ing-wen took office, the situation is definitely one that the Chinese do not want to see,” said Gratiana Jung, a senior political researcher with the Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute think tank in Taipei.

Testing China’s patience

On Saturday the United States sailed two warships, the USS Mustin and USS Benfold, through the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Defense in Taipei said.

The U.S. Navy has sent ships to the same 160 kilometer-wide (100 mile-wide) waterway in the past but this time Taiwan noted it publicly and pledged to “perfect its responsibilities as a regional player.”

The United States may have used this voyage to alert China to the strength of U.S.-Taiwan relations, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies think tank.

Washington sees Taiwan as part of its “pearl chain” of allies that support U.S. aims in the Asia Pacific, said Joanna Lei, chief executive officer of the Chunghua 21st Century think tank in Taiwan. One of those aims is containing China’s expansion, experts believe. Other allies include Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

Media reports from Washington say the U.S. State Department has requested that the Marines help guard a new de facto embassy compound in Taipei.

A series of decisions by Trump and actions by the U.S. Congress had already grabbed China’s attention.

Legislation signed by Trump in March encourages more senior-level U.S.-Taiwan visits despite opposition from Beijing, for example, and Washington openly opposes Chinese demands that 44 international airlines quit referring online to Taiwan as a “country.”

Last year the U.S. government announced a $1.42 billion package of advanced weaponry for Taiwan’s military.

Bristly Chinese reaction

China would see a deployment of Marines in Taiwan, even if it is just to defend U.S. property, as a “permanent upgrade” in relations, Denny Roy, senior fellow at the East-West Center, a research organization in Honolulu.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Liu Jieyi said in response to the warships that Taiwan should “recognize the true intent” of being played as a “card” by the U.S. government.

“Absolutely you don’t want anyone to help the United States play a Taiwan card, hurting the people on both sides and the interests of Taiwanese people,” Liu was quoted saying.

U.S. military support for Taiwan implies aid from Washington if China were to attack Taiwan. But passage of U.S. warships is not Taiwan’s “fault,” said Shane Lee, a political scientist at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan.

 “You cannot punish Taiwan for what the U.S. did,” Lee said. “Of course, China doesn’t want Taiwan to get closer to the U.S.”

Some believe Trump is using Taiwan to rattle China into giving concessions on trade as he proposes tariffs against Chinese goods sold in the United States.

Follow up by Beijing

China will probably follow up by doing more to make Taiwanese youth and business people see the benefits of its roughly $12 trillion economy, Jung said.

China approved a list of measures in February making it easier for Taiwanese to work and invest.

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when the losing Nationalists fled to Taiwan and reestablished their government.

The two sides have been separately ruled since then, but China insists on eventual unification despite government opinion polls in Taipei showing that most Taiwanese oppose that outcome.

China may also establish a “line,” possibly through military channels, that Taiwan and the United States should avoid crossing, Lei said. That measure might resemble Beijing’s anti-secession law, she said. The 2005 law authorizes use of force against Taiwan if it declares legal independence from China.

“They will draw clear red lines, so that Taiwan understands where the boundaries might be and the U.S. understands what actions might trigger further retaliations or responses,” Lei said.

 
…

Outside Baltimore, Maryland, sheets of tinplated steel transform into colorful cans and containers for Zippo lighter fluid, Starbucks cookies, Nestle chocolates, and premium brands of peanuts and popcorn. Machines stamp, cut, print, shape and assemble multiple product lines under the watchful eyes of skilled work crews at Independent Can Company, which is fighting the Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel.

“We are the largest manufacturer of specialty tins in the United States,” ICC president and CEO Rick Huether said. “The tinplated steel that we buy is close to 50 percent of [the cost of] what we produce. It is the driver when there’s a change in our prices to the marketplace.”

The new steel tariff has been welcomed by U.S. producers of the material, but slammed by American manufacturers like ICC that rely on a global steel supply chain to stay afloat. The company says its clients will turn to foreign can makers if its prices rise too high.

“Our primary competitor would be China,”Huether said. “If we’re more than five-10 percent higher [in price] than China, our customers will shop overseas.”

The Trump administration continues to defend tariffs as stiff but appropriate medicine to save vital American industries battered by decades of predatory foreign competition.

“Steel and aluminum imports threaten to impair our national security,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said at a recent Senate hearing. “The tariff actions taken by the president are necessary to revive America’s essential steel and aluminum industries.”

Huether said ICC has bought U.S.-made steel, but that imports bridge a gap in supply for high-grade tinplated steel needed for blemish-free lithographic printing his customers demand, adding that the mere threat of tariff-induced price hikes already cost the company a $2 million order.

“We’d like to be fighting to grow our can business, but we’re fighting our supply side to just get materials to satisfy the demands we have now. So it’s a very frustrating situation,” the CEO said.

ICC is warning of possible job cuts. The company employs more than 400 workers, paying well above minimum wage with a benefits package that includes health care.

“There are craftsmen in here that have been doing this for 20, 30, 40 years,” ICC lithographer Bryon Borrell said, adding that he is thankful to hold a middle class manufacturing job. “I have been very successful, raised a family. That is all I can ask for.”

ICC has asked the Commerce Department for steel tariff exemptions. U.S. Steel Corporation filed objections, arguing it has been harmed by “unfairly traded imports” and that “the domestic industry has ample production capacity to supply ICC’s needs.”

Huether countered that he has no guarantee when domestic production will be ramped up, the price ICC will be charged for tinplated steel, or whether quality standards will be met.

“U.S. Steel says they can produce our specification in sufficient quantities. Yes they can, in a year, when they invest the money they’ve already committed to upgrading the mill,” Huether said. “We would like to buy domestic. The lead times are shorter [than buying imported steel], but right now they can’t give us the material when they promised.”

The Commerce Department has not acted on ICC’s requests, but signaled that tariff exemptions will be rare.

“Relatively few of those [exemptions] will be granted because many of them have no substance,” Secretary Ross said.

“I think we’re fighting people that are not listening to our problem, our industry’s problem,” Huether said. “This is my family’s business—my sister, my dad, my cousin, my son are in this every day, on the floor, trying to develop. We’ve brought back $4-5 million dollars worth of cans to manufacture in the United States in the last three or four years. Not many companies can say that.”

ICC just installed a state-of-the-art assembly line that will expand production, if the company has enough steel to run it, and if it is able to keep prices competitive on its containers.

Huether credited President Donald Trump for tax reform enacted last year, saying it’s a boost to companies like his, but added that tariffs are counterproductive.

“Yeah, he [Trump] is encouraging us to invest. But on the other hand he’s raising our costs to produce those goods. Who are we going to have to sell it to if we don’t hit a right price [on steel]?” he said.
…

Outside Baltimore, Maryland, sheets of tinplated steel transform into colorful cans and containers for Zippo lighter fluid, Starbucks cookies, Nestle chocolates, and premium brands of peanuts and popcorn. Machines stamp, cut, print, shape and assemble multiple product lines under the watchful eyes of skilled work crews at Independent Can Company, which is fighting the Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel.

“We are the largest manufacturer of specialty tins in the United States,” ICC president and CEO Rick Huether said. “The tinplated steel that we buy is close to 50 percent of [the cost of] what we produce. It is the driver when there’s a change in our prices to the marketplace.”

The new steel tariff has been welcomed by U.S. producers of the material, but slammed by American manufacturers like ICC that rely on a global steel supply chain to stay afloat. The company says its clients will turn to foreign can makers if its prices rise too high.

“Our primary competitor would be China,”Huether said. “If we’re more than five-10 percent higher [in price] than China, our customers will shop overseas.”

The Trump administration continues to defend tariffs as stiff but appropriate medicine to save vital American industries battered by decades of predatory foreign competition.

“Steel and aluminum imports threaten to impair our national security,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said at a recent Senate hearing. “The tariff actions taken by the president are necessary to revive America’s essential steel and aluminum industries.”

Huether said ICC has bought U.S.-made steel, but that imports bridge a gap in supply for high-grade tinplated steel needed for blemish-free lithographic printing his customers demand, adding that the mere threat of tariff-induced price hikes already cost the company a $2 million order.

“We’d like to be fighting to grow our can business, but we’re fighting our supply side to just get materials to satisfy the demands we have now. So it’s a very frustrating situation,” the CEO said.

ICC is warning of possible job cuts. The company employs more than 400 workers, paying well above minimum wage with a benefits package that includes health care.

“There are craftsmen in here that have been doing this for 20, 30, 40 years,” ICC lithographer Bryon Borrell said, adding that he is thankful to hold a middle class manufacturing job. “I have been very successful, raised a family. That is all I can ask for.”

ICC has asked the Commerce Department for steel tariff exemptions. U.S. Steel Corporation filed objections, arguing it has been harmed by “unfairly traded imports” and that “the domestic industry has ample production capacity to supply ICC’s needs.”

Huether countered that he has no guarantee when domestic production will be ramped up, the price ICC will be charged for tinplated steel, or whether quality standards will be met.

“U.S. Steel says they can produce our specification in sufficient quantities. Yes they can, in a year, when they invest the money they’ve already committed to upgrading the mill,” Huether said. “We would like to buy domestic. The lead times are shorter [than buying imported steel], but right now they can’t give us the material when they promised.”

The Commerce Department has not acted on ICC’s requests, but signaled that tariff exemptions will be rare.

“Relatively few of those [exemptions] will be granted because many of them have no substance,” Secretary Ross said.

“I think we’re fighting people that are not listening to our problem, our industry’s problem,” Huether said. “This is my family’s business—my sister, my dad, my cousin, my son are in this every day, on the floor, trying to develop. We’ve brought back $4-5 million dollars worth of cans to manufacture in the United States in the last three or four years. Not many companies can say that.”

ICC just installed a state-of-the-art assembly line that will expand production, if the company has enough steel to run it, and if it is able to keep prices competitive on its containers.

Huether credited President Donald Trump for tax reform enacted last year, saying it’s a boost to companies like his, but added that tariffs are counterproductive.

“Yeah, he [Trump] is encouraging us to invest. But on the other hand he’s raising our costs to produce those goods. Who are we going to have to sell it to if we don’t hit a right price [on steel]?” he said.
…

The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel has been welcomed by U.S. producers of the material but slammed by American manufacturers that rely on a global steel supply chain to make everything from cars to razor blades. VOA’s Michael Bowman visited a can company that is being squeezed by the new tariff and has this report, which was produced by Elizabeth Cherneff.
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The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel has been welcomed by U.S. producers of the material but slammed by American manufacturers that rely on a global steel supply chain to make everything from cars to razor blades. VOA’s Michael Bowman visited a can company that is being squeezed by the new tariff and has this report, which was produced by Elizabeth Cherneff.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned two Oregon ranchers whose five-year prison sentences sparked an armed occupation of federal property.

The White House announced Tuesday that Trump has ordered the full pardon of rancher Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr. and his son Steven Hammond.  The two were convicted in 2012 of a 2001 arson on a wildlife refuge that abuts their cattle ranch.

A White House stamen said, “The evidence at trial regarding the Hammond’s responsibility for the fire was conflicting.”

Further complicating the matter, the judge who sentenced them in 2012 gave the father, now in his 70s, three months in prison.  The son was given one year in prison, despite a federally mandated five-year minimum sentence for the charges on which they were convicted.

Upon a federal appeal, however, the Hammonds were re-sentenced and returned to prison in 2016, despite having served out their initial sentences.

In response, supporters of the Hammonds staged an occupation of the wildlife refuge from January 2, 2016, to February 11 of that year, saying the federal officials were guilty of overreach.

The occupation ended a few days after the ringleader of the movement was arrested and another man was shot dead in a confrontation with Oregon State Police.

In its statement, the White House said Dwight Hammond, 76, has served about three years in prison now, while his son has served nearly four years.  The statement also said the men have also paid $400,000 to resolve a related civil suit.

“The Hammonds are devoted family men,” the statement said, “respected contributors to their local community, and have widespread support from their neighbors, local law enforcement, and farmers and ranchers across the West.  Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond.”

President Trump had hinted before Tuesday’s pardons that he was considering the move on behalf of the Hammonds.

Since taking office, he has provided pardons for a number of high-profile figures.  They include author Dinesh D’Souza, who was convicted of illegal campaign contributions; former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for failing to enforce regulations meant to prevent racial profiling; and Alice Johnson, a grandmother serving a life sentence on drug charges.

Trump provided the pardon for Johnson after reality star Kim Kardashian visited him at the White House to plead Johnson’s case.

 
…

U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned two Oregon ranchers whose five-year prison sentences sparked an armed occupation of federal property.

The White House announced Tuesday that Trump has ordered the full pardon of rancher Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr. and his son Steven Hammond.  The two were convicted in 2012 of a 2001 arson on a wildlife refuge that abuts their cattle ranch.

A White House stamen said, “The evidence at trial regarding the Hammond’s responsibility for the fire was conflicting.”

Further complicating the matter, the judge who sentenced them in 2012 gave the father, now in his 70s, three months in prison.  The son was given one year in prison, despite a federally mandated five-year minimum sentence for the charges on which they were convicted.

Upon a federal appeal, however, the Hammonds were re-sentenced and returned to prison in 2016, despite having served out their initial sentences.

In response, supporters of the Hammonds staged an occupation of the wildlife refuge from January 2, 2016, to February 11 of that year, saying the federal officials were guilty of overreach.

The occupation ended a few days after the ringleader of the movement was arrested and another man was shot dead in a confrontation with Oregon State Police.

In its statement, the White House said Dwight Hammond, 76, has served about three years in prison now, while his son has served nearly four years.  The statement also said the men have also paid $400,000 to resolve a related civil suit.

“The Hammonds are devoted family men,” the statement said, “respected contributors to their local community, and have widespread support from their neighbors, local law enforcement, and farmers and ranchers across the West.  Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond.”

President Trump had hinted before Tuesday’s pardons that he was considering the move on behalf of the Hammonds.

Since taking office, he has provided pardons for a number of high-profile figures.  They include author Dinesh D’Souza, who was convicted of illegal campaign contributions; former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court for failing to enforce regulations meant to prevent racial profiling; and Alice Johnson, a grandmother serving a life sentence on drug charges.

Trump provided the pardon for Johnson after reality star Kim Kardashian visited him at the White House to plead Johnson’s case.

 
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