If Donald Trump is looking in his rearview mirror, he will see Carly Fiorina gaining on him.
The former Hewlett Packard CEO has had several good weeks, and our political experts now have her in third place in the GOP 2016 power rankings. In the second week of our rankings, our panel has Fiorina moving up from sixth place to third, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio drops from third to the sixth-place spot she vacated.
What has changed since last week?
“More awareness of stronger candidates like Carly Fiorina,” said talk-show host and former presidential candidate Herman Cain. “She’s moved up and rightly so.”
Deb Lucia, a Kansas Tea Party activist, agreed. “Biggest winner this week is Fiorina,” she said. “The CNN debate controversy put her in the spotlight and many people took a look at her for the first time and liked what they saw.”
While the rest of our field largely held their positions this week, the next couple of weeks are likely to have a significant impact on the standings. For example, Emory University professor Andra Gillespie said, “Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if Mike Huckabee can generate any additional support in the polls as a result of the earned media he is getting for supporting Kim Davis in Kentucky.” Davis is the Kentucky county clerk who went to jail rather than issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Huckabee stood beside her as she walked out of jail Tuesday.
And the second GOP debate is Sept. 16, which could seal the fate of some of the lower-tier candidates. “Is there a rank lower than 17?” asks former Democratic congressman Dan Maffei. He notes that Jeb Bush is benefiting from the fact that none of the other candidates with political experience has managed to generate a lot of enthusiasm.
Of course, Trump remains No. 1 in our poll by a wide margin, with 22 first-place votes. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson continues to do well with five first-place votes, Jeb Bush got two, and one voter chose Rubio as the strongest candidate this week.
Also, cooler heads warn against getting excited just yet. “After months of campaigning and media coverage, this race is just beginning,” said Nathan Gonzales of the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report. “There is a long time between now and February, when people start making real choices.”

WEEK 2 RANKINGS

1. DONALD TRUMP (LAST WEEK: 1)

2. BEN CARSON (2)

3. CARLY FIORINA (6)

4. JEB BUSH (4)

5. TED CRUZ (5)

6. MARCO RUBIO (3)

7. JOHN KASICH (8)

8. SCOTT WALKER (7)

9. MIKE HUCKABEE (9)

10. RAND PAUL (10)

11. CHRIS CHRISTIE (11)

12. BOBBY JINDAL (13)

13. RICK SANTORUM (12)

14. RICK PERRY (14)

15. LINDSEY GRAHAM (15)

16. GEORGE PATAKI (16)

17. JIM GILMORE (17)

Participants in USA TODAY’s GOP Power Rankings:
Kristen Soltis Anderson, Republican pollster and author of The Selfie Vote
Henry Barbour, Republican strategist, Mississippi
Paul Brathwaite, principal, Podesta Group
Dianne Bystrom, director, Center for Women and Politics, Iowa State University
Herman Cain, talk show host and former GOP presidential candidate
Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and CNN Commentator, The Dewey Square Group
Frank Donatelli, former RNC deputy chairman and Reagan advisor
Sara Fagen, partner, DDC Advocacy
Peter Fenn, Democratic political strategist, Fenn Communications
Denise Feriozzi, deputy executive director, EMILY’s List
Karen Floyd, CEO, The Palladian Group and former South Carolina GOP chair
Aaron Ghitelman, communications manager, HeadCount
Andra Gillespie, polling analyst and political science professor, Emory University
Nathan L. Gonzales, editor, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report
Lilly J. Goren, political science and global studies professor, Carroll University
Doug Gross, Iowa attorney and previous Republican gubernatorial nominee
O. Kay Henderson, news director, Radio Iowa
Ken Khachigian, senior partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Carl Leubsdorf, Washington columnist, The Dallas Morning News
Deb Lucia, Topeka 912 – the Capital City Tea Party
Matt Mackowiak, Republican consultant and president, Potomac Strategy Group, LLC
Dan Maffei, former Democratic congressman, New York
Phil Musser, chairman, IMGE digital media agency
Margie Omero, Democratic pollster, Purple Insights
Jon Ralston, host, “Ralston Live” on PBS affiliates in Nevada
Craig Robinson, founder and editor, TheIowaRepublican.com
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D., Sr. VP of digital strategy, turner4D
Dante Scala, political science professor, University of New Hampshire
Adam Sharp, head of news, government and elections, Twitter
Alex Smith, national chairman, College Republicans
Todd Spangler, Washington correspondent, Detroit Free Press
Kathy Sullivan, DNC committeewoman and former Democratic Party chair, New Hampshire

USA TODAY GOP Power Rankings, Week 2: Fiorina on fire

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الخميس، 10 سبتمبر 2015

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(NEWSER) – When scientists first tried in 1997 to date the famous Shigir Idol wooden sculpture —originally found in a Siberian peat bog in 1890—radiocarbon dating suggested the art was so old the findings were widely disputed. Now, armed with better tech, scientists turned to one of the world's most advanced accelerated mass spectrometry labs in Germany to put the issue to rest, and are announcing that Shigir Idol is indeed ancient—in fact, at 11,000 years of age it's actually 1,500 years older than first thought, reports the Siberian Times. Not only is it the oldest known wooden sculpture, but it's more than twice as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza, three times as old as the ancient city of Babylon, and five times as old as the ruins of Al Khazneh in the ancient city of Petra, reports the Huffington Post.
Microbes that eat away at organic matter don't like bogs, reports Atlas Obscura, which makes them particularly good at preservation. Thus the 9-foot Shigir Idol (which stood 17 feet tall before parts were pilfered during 20th century political turmoil) was preserved "as if in a time capsule" 11 millennia after it was cut from a 157-year-old larch tree. The resulting wooden figure is covered with "encrypted" shapes whose message remains "an utter mystery to modern man," one Russian academic has said. "We study the Idol with a feeling of awe. This is a masterpiece, carrying gigantic emotional value and force, a unique sculpture; there is nothing else in the world like this." He added that the creators "lived in total harmony with the world, had advanced intellectual development, and a complicated spiritual world."

World's oldest wooden statue twice as old as pyramids

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 20-year-old Clay County man has been arrested on federal charges surrounding a bomb plot targeting upcoming 9/11 memorial ceremonies in Kansas City, Mo., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Joshua Ryne Goldberg, 20, of Orange Park, is charged with distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, according to a criminal complaint.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Reached at home, Goldberg's father told WTLV-TV, Jacksonville, he was "shocked" by the allegations against his son.
Between July and September, Goldberg had been in contact online with an individual, who was actually an informant. Goldberg had allegedly provided the individual with details on how to fashion a pressure cooker bomb and fill it with nails, metal and other shrapnel dipped in rat poison.
According to the complaint, Goldberg directed the individual to carry out a bombing at a memorial in Kansas City commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Goldberg surfaced on the FBI's radar after he took credit for inspiring the May 3 attack in Garland, Texas, on the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest. That's where two gunmen — later identified as Elton Simpson and Nadir Hamid Soofi — wearing body armor and carrying rifles opened fire on a police officer and security officer before they were shot and killed by police.
Ahead of that attack, Goldberg's Twitter account — Australi Witness — posted tweets calling for an attack on the art show, posting a map of the Curtis Culwell Center where the show was staged and urging anyone nearby to attack "with your weapons, bombs and knives," the complaint said.
The day of the attack, Twitter user @AusWitness 3 tweeted, "I'M BACK KUFFAR! DIE IN YOUR RAGE!" On the morning of the attack, Simpson's account — Shariah is Light — retweeted that message.
The FBI in July told an informant to contact the social media user calling himself "Australi Witness" and "AusWitness," who had posted messages on pro-Islamic State websites, purporting to be a Lebanese refugee living in Australia. The user turned out to be Goldberg, who was living with his parents at their home on Pine Road in Orange Park, the complaint said.
In a conversation Aug. 17, Goldberg told the informant, "Hopefully there will be some jihad on the anniversary of 9/11." Days later, when the source volunteered to take part in an attack, Goldberg allegedly provided him with detailed plans to manufacture explosives, specifically pipe bombs and a pressure cooker bomb.
The instructions, the FBI reports, were "accurate."
On Aug. 20, Goldberg elaborated. "Have you decided what kind of attack you want to carry out on 9/11, akhi? I was thinking a bombing. ... We could make pipe bombs and detonate them at a large public event... It needs to be big," he's quoted as saying in the indictment.
Later, Goldberg lobbied instead for his informant to manufacture a bomb out of a pressure cooker, akin to the device used in the Boston Marathon bombing, the complaint said. He allegedly suggested his contact fill the device with shrapnel and poison to inflict maximum damage, saying his contact should use "shards of metal and nails. ... Broken glass would probably work too. Just put as much sharp stuff as you can in there."

Fla. man indicted in alleged 9/11 memorial bomb plot

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الأربعاء، 9 سبتمبر 2015

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Vice President Joe Biden, known for his candid moments, talked with Stephen Colbert Thursday about his grief over his son’s death and how that has affected his decision to enter the 2016 presidential race, according to Bloomberg Politics.
Biden has been mourning his son, Beau, since his death of brain cancer in May. While Thursday’s interview started off lighthearted, the chatter soon turned to Beau, when Colbert gave the vice president his condolences.
They discussed Beau and Biden’s Roman Catholic faith. At one point, the vice president notes:
I would feel like I’d let Beau down if I didn’t just get up.
His grief has affected any possibility that he may run for president. He’s still breaking down over Beau’s death; he described one moment when he was greeting soldiers at a rope line.
It was going great, and a guy in the back yells, ‘Beau Biden, Bronze Star, I served with him in Iraq,’ and all of a sudden I lost it — I shouldn’t be saying this — and you can’t do that.
Biden went on to tell Colbert that a person could only run if they were at 110%. “I’d be lying if I said I knew I was there,” he said. “I’m being completely honest…Sometimes it overwhelms you.”
It echoes what the vice president said a week ago: That he would only run if he and his family had the “emotional energy” to do so.
Still, some members of the audience weren’t deterred, calling out that he should get into the race.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he replied with a laugh.
Colbert’s interview with Biden airs Thursday night on CBS.

Report: Biden gets emotional on 'Late Show'

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A frantic manhunt is underway for a suspected Islamic State jihadi hiding in Calais and plotting to sneak into Britain to launch a terrorist attack.
French police have been scouring the port for the alleged fanatic, who left the Middle East at the end of last month and travelled overland to Europe.
But he has evaded officers, possibly by hiding among the 3,500 migrants living in the ‘Jungle’ camp on the outskirts of the town. 




The man has been classified as being a type-S criminal, one who is considered a potential threat to the state.
The police dossier includes a photo, a description, details of his alleged crimes and instructions to officers about his potential risk to others, the paper said.
Officers have been ordered to place the unnamed man under arrest and to proceed with caution.
There has long been concern that IS jihadists might attempt to smuggle themselves into Britain through Calais to launch atrocities.
Up to 40 French detectives from an elite unit have previously been reported to be based at Coquelles close to Calais to monitor migrants – preventing infiltration by jihadis and fighting people-smuggler gangs who stow migrants away on ferries and trains to the UK.
The officers are part of the Brigade Mobile de Recherche, which liaises with intelligence agencies.
Authorities have previously insisted that they are successfully stopping suspected terrorists. 
Speaking in May, a spokesman for the Calais local government said: ‘There is full and complete vigilance in Calais with regard to threat by jihadists or other criminal networks with potential involvement in people smuggling.’
As well as the migrants in the Jungle camp, there are 120 women and children in sheltered accommodation at a former children’s summer camp nearby.
An estimated 1,500 more migrants, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, are living on wasteland close to the motorways leading to the ferry port. 
As well as attempting to smuggle themselves in on lorries, many make repeated attempts to break into the Eurostar station at the French end of the Eurotunnel.
At one point in the summer, stowaways on trucks were being caught at the rate of 90 an hour.

Syrian ISIS Suspect 'Is Sleeping Rough In Calais Refugee Camps In The Hope Of Sneaking Into The UK To Wage Terror'

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الثلاثاء، 8 سبتمبر 2015

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Republicans say fight over Iran nuke deal ain't over yet
President Obama scored a big win Thursday as Senate Democrats blocked a resolution to reject the Iran nuclear deal. The House and Senate has a week to vote for a resolution of disapproval, or the agreement will take effect. What is the deal anyway? It means the U.S. and five other world powers will lift sanctions on Iran. In return, Iran says it won't develop nuclear weapons, at least for a decade. Republicans, particularly those running for president in 2016, had strong words of opposition: "It's going to be holy hell," said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
A cave of wonders. And deep inside, a new human species. Meet Homo naledi.
Tantalizing fossils were discovered in the dark reaches of a cave called Rising Star inSouth Africa. They're being billed as the newest branch on the human evolutionary tree. What the scientists found. Naledi is a strange mishmash of parts. It had hands and feet much like those of other members of the biological group called Homo, which includes, Homo sapiens (i.e., us). Its brain, though, was only about as big as an orange. Who the scientists were. It took a team including six female scientists, chosen for their small size and research expertise, to retrieve the fossils. One slot leading to the fossil chamber is just over 7 inches wide. Why "naledi"? It's the word for "star" in the African language Sotho. How old are the bones, really? The fossils' age is unknown, but they could be more than 2.5 million years old. Or they could be relatively recent — in the grand scheme of things. Homo sapiens emerged in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago, so the bones are at least that old. More on the naledi fossils from National Geographic.

NYPD says ex-tennis player was thrown to the ground in case of mistaken identity
The latest face in the use of excessive force may be a familiar one. American ex-tennis player James Blake was standing in front of his hotel this week when he was tackled to the ground and cuffed by a plainclothes NYPD officer. New York Police CommissionerBill Bratton said it was a case of mistaken identity, and Blake "looks like the twin brother" of the suspect. Though Bratton defended the officer, he said he'd like to apologize to Blake in person. Tennis stars have come out in force in support of Blake, including Andy Roddick who tweeted: "James is the most honest and straightforward guy I know. It's ridiculous what happened." Blake, for his part, said: "I do think most cops are doing a great job keeping us safe, but when you police with reckless abandon, you need to be held accountable."

The Short List: Obama Scores On Iran Deal; Meet Homo Naledi; NYPD Claims Case Of Mistaken Identity

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A newly published  Rolling Stone article shows GOP front-runner Donald Trump mocking fellow candidate Carly Fiorina’s looks when he sees her on TV.
When the anchor throws to Carly Fiorina for her reaction to Trump’s momentum, Trump’s expression sours in schoolboy disgust as the camera bores in on Fiorina. ‘Look at that face!’ he cries. ‘Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!’
The story, which went live Wednesday and is the cover story of Rolling Stone‘s next issue, goes on to note that the businessman “can’t seem to quit while he’s ahead,” leading to the “ugly stews” he finds himself in with a number of people, from ex-wives to business partners. It also notes that his comments halt the laughter of his own staff.
More from Trump:
I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really folks, come on. Are we serious?
Shortly after the comments went public, Fiorina addressed them during an interview on The Kelly File. Host Megyn Kelly — another target of Trump’s words — said Trump had “choice” remarks about Fiorina and asked the former Hewlett Packard CEO to respond.
Fiorina said:
Well, I think those comments speak for themselves and all the many, many thousands of voters that are helping me climb in the polls out there. Yes, they’re very serious.
Kelly then pointed to the “face” remarks, asking Fiorina what she thought they meant. Fiorina replied:
I have no idea. Honestly, Megyn, I’m not going to spend a single cycle wondering what Donald Trump means. Maybe, just maybe, I’m getting under his skin a little bit because I am climbing in the polls.
Fiorina is indeed climbing; this week, she jumped to No. 3 in USA TODAY’s GOP power rankings.
In a Thursday morning phone-in interview on Fox & Friends, Trump defended his comments:
“Probably I did say something like that about Carly — I’m talking about persona, I’m not talking not about looks. … When I get criticized constantly about my hair, nobody does a story about ‘Oh, isn’t that terrible, they criticized Donald Trump’s hair.’ ”

Trump on Fiorina: 'Look at that face!"

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