Afghan capital locked down for large minority Hazara rally
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Tens of thousands of Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazaras marched on Monday through downtown Kabul, demanding the government reroute a planned power line through their poverty-stricken province so they can get more access to electricity. The massive protest reflected widespread dismay with the administration of President Ashraf Ghani.
Concerns that the protest could turn violent prompted the police to block off roads leading into the city’s central commercial district. Stacked shipping containers prevented the marchers from reaching the presidential palace. A November rally by Hazaras protesting the beheadings of members of their minority by militants had turned violent.
Most of Kabul’s shops were shuttered as armed police fanned out and authorities restricted the protest organizers to a specific route that would bypass the palace.
The rally passed without major incidents but the protest underscored the political crisis facing Afghanistan as Ghani becomes increasingly isolated amid a stalled economy, rising unemployment, and an escalating Taliban insurgency, now in its 15th year.
Trump’s questioning of the value of data worries Republicans
ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump says he plans to win the White House largely on the strength of his personality, not by leaning heavily on complex voter data operations that have become a behind-the-scenes staple in modern presidential campaigns.
Shortly after Trump explained his approach in an Associated Press interview — data is “overrated,” he said — one of the presumptive Republican nominee’s top advisers tried to clarify the remarks. Rick Wiley told AP the Trump campaign will indeed tap the Republican Party’s massive cache of voter information.
The national Republican Party has spent massive sums of money to develop the database since President Barack Obama’s election set a new standard for using data in national campaigns, from deciding where to send a candidate and how to spend advertising dollars to making sure supporters cast a ballot.
The back-and-forth in the Trump camp leaves Republicans and Democrats alike wondering just how committed the candidate actually is to what has become accepted wisdom among political professionals. Some Republicans worry that Trump risks ceding potential advantages to likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton if he’s not willing to invest the money required to keep updating the data, and then use it effectively.
“It’s a big risk,” said Chris Wilson, who ran an expansive data operation for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump’s stiffest competition in the Republican primaries. Jeremy Bird, who worked for President Barack Obama’s data-rich campaign, said: “Flying blind is nuts.”
Granting Medal of Valor, Obama says US must listen to police
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama called on the nation Monday to support and listen to its law enforcement officers as he bestowed the Medal of Valor on 13 officers who risked their lives to save others.
In a ceremony in the East Room, Obama draped the purple-and-gold ribbons around the necks of officers who intervened in shooting rampages, hostage situations and an armed robbery. He pledged to keep working toward a bipartisan overhaul to make the criminal justice system fairer, smarter and more effective so that officers are well-equipped to enforce the country’s laws.
“We can show our respect by listening to you, learning from you, giving you the resources that you need to do your jobs,” Obama said. “Our country needs that right now.”
Three Santa Monica, California, officers — Jason Salas, Robert Sparks and Capt. Raymond Bottenfield — were honored for their response to a 2013 rampage on a community college campus that left five people dead. Confronting 23-year-old gunman John Zawahri in the campus library, the officers shot and killed him when he pointed his assault weapon at them.
Obama also honored Gregory Stevens of suburban Dallas, who exchanged gunfire with two armed men outside an exhibit hall holding a provocative contest for caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Both gunmen were killed, heading off what investigators suspected was a planned mass shooting.
Nintendo eyeing filmmaking for growth after Mariners sale
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co. is eyeing the movie business for growth.
Company spokesman Makoto Wakae said Monday details are undecided but the work might be a theater release or a DVD.
Nintendo, which makes the Wii U home console and Nintendo 3DS hand-held machine, has licensed its game characters in the past, such as with its Pokemon movies, but it is now thinking about make its own film content.
It won’t become a full-fledged film studio, but filmmaking is an area it has chosen for future investment of proceeds from selling its stake in the major league Seattle Mariners, planned for later this year, according to Kyoto-based Nintendo.
The Japanese daily newspaper Asahi reported Monday that Nintendo’s work might be 3-D animation. It said Nintendo is in talks with various film companies on a possible partnership.
Wakae said an announcement will be made, but even the details of the Mariners sale have not yet been announced.
Nintendo has seen its growth stagnate in recent eyes amid competition from smartphones and other devices, and films could revive interest in its franchise, which also includes The Legend of Zelda.
Dad, son wanted in Utah kidnapping hid in Wyoming wilderness
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A five-day manhunt for a father and son accused of tying up a woman and her four teenage daughters in a Utah basement ended this weekend near a makeshift campsite at the base of rugged Wyoming mountains.
The pair had holed up in sleeping bags for the last day or two in a forest where temperatures dip into the 20s at night and nearby peaks are still snowy, authorities said. They had about a day’s worth of food and water.
In a bizarre twist after days on the run, the father surrendered because he said he grew concerned about the behavior of his armed son and helped police track the 22-year-old to their remote hideout.
Flint Wayne Harrison, 51, and Dereck James “DJ” Harrison were expected at an extradition hearing Monday in Wyoming. They were charged with 16 counts each in Utah, including kidnapping and drug possession.
Police say the case emerged from paranoia. The Harrisons had been using methamphetamine heavily when they lured the woman and her daughters to a home and beat them with a baseball bat, police said.
