February 20, 2018


News and Views


THIS KID DID SHOOT HIMSELF AND NOT OTHERS, AND USED A HANDGUN NOT A SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE, BUT IT’S STILL A GUN ON CAMPUS. I THINK WE NEED METAL DETECTORS IN EVERY SCHOOL, WITH THE SCHOOL AND GOVERNMENT SHARING THE COST.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jackson-local-schools-ohio-lockdown-after-student-shoots-himself-on-campus/
CBS NEWS February 20, 2018, 9:23 AM
Jackson Local Schools in Ohio on lockdown after student shoots himself
Last Updated Feb 20, 2018 11:12 AM EST

Photograph -- Parents gather after a student apparently shot himself after bringing a gun to Jackson Middle School in Ohio. WOIO

Parents gather after a student apparently shot himself after bringing a gun to Jackson Middle School in Ohio. WOIO

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Schools in the Jackson Local School District in Ohio's Stark County were on lockdown Tuesday after a student shot himself, CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO reports. The seventh-grader shot himself in a restroom at Jackson Memorial Middle School on Tuesday morning, according to Jackson Township police.

The boy's condition wasn't immediately known. He was transported to a hospital.

Police did not say if the shooting was intentional or an accident. Jackson Local Schools said in a Facebook post he "suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Hundreds of parents gathered outside the school as school officials worked to dismiss students.

No other students and faculty members were injured, WOIO reported.

Four elementary schools in the district were closed Tuesday as a precaution, WOIO reports, and the high school in the area was being evacuated.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID HE WILL SIGN A MEMORANDUM THAT WILL “EFFECTIVELY” BAN BUMP STOCKS. NOW THAT’S USEFUL AND GOOD FOR HUMAN SOCIETY. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/02/20/trump-takes-executive-action-ban-bump-stocks-rifles-into-automatic-weapons/354536002/?csp=chromepush
Trump takes executive action to ban bump stocks that turn rifles into automatic weapons
Gregory Korte,Nicole Gaudiano and David Jackson, USA TODAY
Published 4:11 p.m. ET Feb. 20, 2018 | Updated 4:11 p.m. ET Feb. 20, 2018

President Trump speaks on high school shootings at White House Feb. 15, 2018 (Photo: MANDEL NGAN, AFP/Getty Images)

Moments before, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration was nearing the completion of a months-long study into the issue.

"I can tell you that the president supports not having the use of bump stocks," she said. "The president does not support the use of those accessories."

Bump stocks were used in the Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people last Oct. 1.


GOT BCBS ANTHEM COVERAGE? READ THIS.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/20/587165668/anthem-says-eye-surgeons-should-monitor-cataract-anesthesia-themselves
TREATMENTS
Anthem Says Eye Surgeons Should Monitor Cataract Anesthesia Themselves
February 20, 201812:03 PM ET
MICHELLE ANDREWS

Photograph -- Royal Australian Navy Lt. Elizabeth Livingstone and Singapore Army Maj. Paul Zhao perform cataract surgery aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy during a visit to Quy Nhon, Vietnam in 2010.
If you need cataract surgery, your eye surgeon may have to do double duty as your anesthetist under a new policy by health insurer Anthem. In a clinical guideline released this month, the company says it's not medically necessary to have an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist on hand to administer and monitor sedation in most cases.

Some ophthalmologists and anesthesiologists say the policy jeopardizes patient safety, and they are calling on Anthem to rescind it.

"The presence of anesthesia personnel is one of the key ingredients in the patient safety and effectiveness of cataract surgery today," says Dr. David Glasser, an ophthalmologist in Columbia, Md., who is secretary for federal affairs at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a professional group for eye physicians and surgeons. "An ophthalmologist cannot administer conscious sedation and monitor the patient and do cataract surgery at the same time."

Anthem, which offers commercial insurance plans in 14 states, says anesthesia needs vary and so should coverage. According to a statement from the company:

"Anthem's Medical Policy and Technology Assessment Committee, a majority of whom are external physicians, reviewed the available evidence addressing the use of general anesthesia and monitored anesthesia care for cataract surgery. According to the literature reviewed, there is no one definitive approach regarding the use of anesthesia for cataract surgery and patient-specific needs should be taken into consideration as well as potential risk of harm to individuals who are sedated during surgical procedures."

Article continues after sponsorship

Medicare, the health care program for people age 65 and older, covers cataract surgery, including anesthesia services.

A cataract, typically related to aging, is caused by clumps of protein that cloud the lens of the eye and can distort vision. During a cataract operation, the surgeon makes an incision in the surface of the eye with a laser or blade and then uses a tool to break up the clouded lens, pull it out and replace it with an artificial one.

If you're putting a knife in my eye, that's not routine for me.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group

Cataract surgery is common. More than half of Americans have either had a cataract or had cataract surgery by the time they reach age 80, according to the National Eye Institute.

Surgery is typically performed on an outpatient basis and takes less than an hour. Though drowsy while sedated, patients are generally conscious during the procedure and can hear what's said to them and speak if necessary.

Eye surgeons often have an anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist present to administer intravenous drugs to help keep the patient relaxed and ensure they don't move during the operation as well as monitor their vital signs and adjust medication as necessary.

Anthem's new policy states that this type of monitored anesthesia care is medically necessary only if the patient is under 18 years old, or is unable to cooperate or communicate because of dementia or other medical conditions, can't lie flat, has known problems with anesthesia, or if a complex surgery is anticipated.

But some ophthalmologists and anesthesiologists disagree.

"I wouldn't even consider doing a cataract surgery without an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist in the room," says Dr. David Aizuss, an eye surgeon who is president-elect of the California Medical Association. "If you're working inside the eye it's a very confined space, and if the patient gets agitated and starts moving around you have to get the equipment out of the eye very quickly."

Although Anthem posted the new policy online, providers are seeking clarification from the company about the timing of its implementation in their states, physicians said.

Anthem Says No To Many Scans Done By Hospital-Owned Clinics
SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS
Anthem Says No To Many Scans Done By Hospital-Owned Clinics
Until then, some practices are taking no chances. At the Freedom Vision Surgery Center in Encino, Calif., where Aizuss practices, Anthem patients who come in for cataract surgery are asked to pay $400 out-of-pocket upfront for anesthesia services.

Professional groups representing California eye physicians and anesthesiologists have written to Anthem requesting the policy be rescinded. In addition, the California Medical Association has lodged complaints with state regulators.

This isn't the first time Anthem has come under scrutiny for changes to its clinical guidelines that some have charged help the company's bottom line at patients' expense. Last year, the company said it would no longer pay for emergency department visits it later determined were not emergencies. Then in September it said it would no longer pay for imaging tests like MRIs in many cases if patients got them at hospital-owned centers rather than independent imaging centers.

Last week, Modern Healthcare reported that the company says it was modifying its ER rule so that certain types of visits would always be paid for, including those by patients who are directed to the emergency department by their provider or have recently had surgery.

Some safety experts say they were concerned about Anthem's new policy, even for routine cataract surgeries.

"If you're putting a knife in my eye, that's not routine for me," says Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that advocates for improved safety and quality at hospitals. Noting that anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists were pioneers in the patient safety movement, she says there are better ways for Anthem to save money than shutting them out of the operating room.

"How about identifying the surgeons who have the highest complication rates, and letting patients know about them?" she suggested.

Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Michelle Andrews is on Twitter @mandrews110.
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eddie Harrison/U.S. Navy


YES, I DID RUN A STORY YESTERDAY ON A VERY SIMILAR – BUT NOT IDENTICAL -- SUBJECT; HOWEVER, THIS IS NPR, AND IT WILL BE MORE THOROUGH AND PROBABLY HAVE DIFFERENT INFORMATION IN IT. SO, HERE GOES. BESIDES, I CAN’T SAY TOO MUCH ABOUT GETTING WOMEN INTO POLITICS.

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/20/585542531/more-than-twice-as-many-women-are-running-for-congress-in-2018-compared-to-2016
POLITICS
More Than Twice As Many Women Are Running For Congress In 2018 Compared With 2016
February 20, 20185:00 AM ET
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN

Photograph -- Participants cheer a speaker during the Women's March "Power to the Polls" voter registration tour launch at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on Jan. 21. Sam Morris/Getty Images

It was Saturday afternoon, and Abigail Spanberger was in a busy hallway at the Chesterfield County Public Library in Midlothian, Va., minutes away from training a room of about 40 campaign volunteers. She seemed ready for a quick interview, but then abruptly called out to her campaign manager.

"Hey Dana, Eileen Davis is about to come through. Can you head her off at the pass so she doesn't interrupt the — "

She cut herself off and turned to me.

"That's my mother," Spanberger said, laughing.

Her mom is volunteering for her campaign?

"Evidently."

Spanberger didn't know she was coming?

"I just saw her walking. I did not know she was coming. But all her friends are in this county, so ..."

Democratic women (even those who don't have a daughter running for Congress) are amped up for 2018. It's visible in Spanberger's volunteers, about two-thirds of whom are women, and in this race's candidates as well.

Spanberger is one of four Democrats, three women, along with one man, vying for that party's nomination in this district. And that miniwave in Virginia's 7th Congressional District is a microcosm of something happening nationwide.

At latest count, 431 women were running for or were likely to run for the House nationwide — 339 Democrats and 92 Republicans. At this point in 2016, there were fewer than half that: 212. Likewise, 50 women are running for or likely to run for Senate, compared with 25 at this point in 2016. Many have not officially filed for office yet — filing deadlines have not occurred in many states. But thus far, this year is on track to break records.

GRAPHICS

What A Potentially Record-Setting Wave Of Women Candidates Looks Like

More women than ever are on track to run for Congress in 2018. Compared to the numbers of candidates who had filed or were likely to run at this point in past cycles, this wave of candidates, particularly in the House, is massive, and largely driven by Democrats.

Source: Data provided to NPR by Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics; Credit: Danielle Kurtzleben/NPR

A largely Democratic phenomenon

"We've never seen anything like this. Ever seen anything like this," said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, which recruits and trains female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights.

At this point in the 2016 cycle, she said, about 920 women had reached out to EMILY's List saying they were interested in running for office. At that time, that was a relatively high number. And it makes this year's total all the more eye-popping.

"To have over 30,000 women raise their hand, it's unprecedented," said Schriock. That figure comprises more than just 2018 candidates, however. Some of those women are interested in running in elections in future years. Others may end up working on campaigns.

Whether it's House, Senate, or governor's races, that energy is largely one-sided, according to Deborah Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

"I think it's really being driven on the Democratic side," she said. "I think the energy and the excitement and the determination, not just to run but also in terms of who's going to show up to vote, right now, that's on the side of the Democrats."

One other way Virginia's 7th District parallels national political dynamics: The man they elected last time has energized Democratic women. Republican Dave Brat, who holds the seat, made headlines in January 2017, when a video captured his remarks to a town hall about women opposing his policies.

"And now, since Obamacare and these issues have come up, the women are in my grill no matter where I go," he said, to laughter from his constituents.

That comment upset plenty of Democrats. And yet, in Helen Alli's view, Brat is exactly right.

"Women are in his grill. We need to be in his grill," said Alli, the third female Democratic candidate running in the district. The main issue on which she disagrees with Brat is health care. Brat voted for the Republicans' American Health Care Act, which would have undone key parts of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Brat told NPR that that he was simply using language that he had heard voters use against him. Regardless, the quote has fired up women in the district, according to Spanberger, another Democratic candidate in the district.

"It was a bit of a rallying call for many people, and a funny comment, a funny turn of phrase that he used," she said, "but I think it is representative of the fact that there are a lot of people — many of them women — who started this past year, in 2017, really being vocal about what was important to them."

Donald Trump, "the gift that keeps on giving"

Of course, it's not just Brat firing up women in the 7th District. They, like many women nationwide, are fired up by Donald Trump.

"At one time, when the election happened, and the Women's March, we all just by telepathy just said, 'No we gotta fix this. We're gonna fix it.' And we are," said Alli.

Trump's election and inauguration kicked off a nationwide movement among Democratic women. Women took to the streets by the millions in January 2017, bearing protest signs and wearing "pussy hats," in reference to the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump bragged about sexual assault.

And since his election, Trump has continued to dump gasoline on the already roaring fire of Democratic women's enthusiasm, according to Rutgers' Walsh.

"I've often thought that if you were an organizer out there trying to organize what is called the resistance or the women organizing the women who are thinking about running," Walsh said, "Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of motivation to stay engaged and stay involved and not lose your enthusiasm."

Everything from policies on health care and immigration to scandals like former White House staff secretary Rob Porter's resignation after allegations of domestic abuse continually combines to keep Democratic women energized, she said.


In Republican Rep. Martha McSally's ad announcing her run for Senate in Arizona, she urged other Republicans in Washington to "grow a pair of ovaries."
YouTube
"Conservatives are just not included. We're not invited"

Democrats aren't the only ones having a big year when it comes to recruitment. Republican women likewise have seen a surge in candidates, even if it isn't quite as eye-popping of a surge as Democrats' numbers. Twenty-one Republican women are running for Senate this year, along with 92 for the House, and 31 for governorships. In all those cases, that's more than in any year at this point since at least 2002, according to figures from Rutgers University.

According to Missy Shorey, executive director of Maggie's List, which promotes and trains female Republican candidates, Republican women are excluded from many conversations about gender politics in the U.S. today.

"For so many of those marches, conservatives are just not included. We're not invited," she said. "In fact, we're disinvited sometimes. That's fine, if that's the way the left wants [us] to be treated. But ignore us at your own peril."

Despite the Democratic wave, Shorey is optimistic about November. She says Republicans are seeing increased energy as well, though it's different. And Shorey thinks some voters will perceive the newly galvanized Democratic women as too angry.

"I think when you see on the left the whole concept of 'the avengers,' I would argue that the avenger is an angry offering that in many areas will be rejected," Shorey said.

On top of that, she thinks high-profile sexual misconduct allegations against men in Washington will turn voters toward female candidates as a practical matter. She talks about a conversation she had recently with one female Republican candidate.

"She said, 'I have more men coming up to me saying, "I'm going to vote for you, because I am sick of the way these men have been behaving," ' " Shorey said.

But then, the sexual misconduct allegations against the president himself, by more than a dozen women, are a major factor pushing Democratic women to run for office.

For Schriock of EMILY's List, that wave is a silver lining of Trump's election ... but, in her mind, it's cold comfort.

"It is not worth, it was not worth it. I would have taken our 920 who wanted to run [in 2016] to have a different president. I would have taken that."

Voting on party, not gender

An influx of female candidates doesn't necessarily mean more women will be inspired to vote for those candidates. In general, political scientists say, people vote based on party far more than they vote based on gender.

For Breanne Woodson, a voter from Cumberland County, Va., that's definitely the case.

"Since I've been 18, I've never voted Republican. I probably never will," Woodson said.

Woodson met Alli while the candidate was campaigning at a salon in Henrico, Va. Woodson said she wasn't sure whom she might vote for in a primary election. But in the general election, party would mean more than a candidate being a woman.

"I don't really care about their gender, as long as they're a decent person and I know they're going to do what they're supposed to do," she said.

That said, there are some voters who do care about gender to some degree. One is Zahra Lakhani, owner of the salon Alli visited. While Lakhani declined to give her political party, she said she was happy to let a candidate like Alli come and campaign at her salon.

"Only a woman can understand a woman's challenges. And being a mother, being a daughter, a sister, a wife, divorced, single mom, business owner, leader in community as well, it's not just one thing that you do," she said. "So a woman is the only one who will understand another woman and their challenges."




https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amer-othman-ohio-man-deported-us-ice-unamerican/
CBS/AP February 20, 2018, 10:38 AM
Ohio man deported after decades in U.S. calls ICE action "un-American"

AMMAN, Jordan -- Amer Othman's life turned upside down in an instant. The Ohio entrepreneur, who came to the United States 38 years ago and won praise for helping revive once-blighted downtown Youngstown, was arrested during what he thought was another check-in with immigration authorities.

He was detained for two weeks and then deported to his native Jordan.

Othman's supporters in the U.S. view such treatment as a particularly egregious example of the Trump administration's ramped-up deportation campaign that potentially targets anyone lacking the right papers, including long-time residents with American spouses and children.

Recent cases include a Missouri college lecturer and a Connecticut couple running a nail salon who won last-minute reprieves through local politicians but remain at risk of expulsion.

Amer Othman, 57, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Amman, Jordan, on Feb. 15, 2018. AP PHOTO/RAAD ADAYLEH
Supporters of the crackdown say immigration rules must be enforced, regardless of family and community ties of those targeted.

Othman's battle to remain in the United States goes back to the mid-1990s, when immigration authorities refused to renew his green card, alleging his first marriage in 1980 had been fraudulent.

Othman denies the charge, noting that his ex-wife later retracted an initial statement she said was made under duress. A deportation order was issued in 2007, but Othman didn't feel at immediate risk - until last summer - because of ongoing appeals.

Three weeks after his arrival in Jordan, the 57-year-old Othman still seems in shock.

Speaking at his sister's apartment in the capital, Amman, he said he'll fight to return to "my Youngstown."


He might sue the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, which he said locked him up needlessly, treating him like a criminal. "What ICE has done is un-American," said Othman, whose second wife Fidaa and their four adult daughters are U.S. citizens.

"The American people are completely and absolutely different from that," Othman said. Tears welled up as he described wide community support, including from Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat, and Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown. "I love the American people. I love my community," he said.

Earlier this month, one of Othman's daughters, Haneen Adi, told CBS News that Othman has spent years trying to become a U.S. citizen.

"My entire life has been lawyer after lawyer, ICE meeting after ICE meeting," Adi told CBSN's Vladimir Duthiers and Anne-Marie Green from the West Bank. "He's tried every single thing. They made it almost impossible for him. Citiizenship would be absolutely amazing. That's what he's been striving for the entire time."

Ryan was previously able to keep Othman in the country through private bills in Congress, the first submitted in 2013.


Othman's deportation marks the first time ICE acted against recommendations of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security to hold off on an expulsion while a case is being reviewed, Ryan said.

"Now, here we are with a new set of rules because of the Trump administration," he said.

Othman's lawyer, David Leopold, said the deportation was "beyond inexplicable." He accused the administration of "playing a numbers game, without any coherent strategy."

ICE did not respond to two emails requesting comment on the Othman case.

Dan Cadman, a former long-time immigration official and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for more limits on immigration, said that "the answer in an orderly society cannot be to simply suspend or eliminate deportations."

"Justice is also due to the American people, not just to Mr. Othman and his family," he said. "At some point, the reckoning comes due and the bill must be paid. What is the purpose of having laws if they are to mean nothing?"

The Department of Homeland Security launched the crackdown a year ago, scrapping the Obama administration's instructions to limit deportations to public safety threats, convicted criminals and recent border crossers. This effectively made anyone without the proper papers vulnerable.

The shift is reflected in ICE statistics on deportations, including of those who have settled in the United States, or "internal removals," and those who recently crossed the border.

Internal removals increased from 65,332, or 27 percent of the total number of deportations, to 81,603, or 36 percent of the total, in a year. Within this category, deportations of those without a criminal record nearly tripled, from 5,104 to 13,744.

Othman, a descendant of Palestinian refugees from Jerusalem who fled to Jordan in the 1948 war over Israel's creation, said he arrived in California in 1979.

He briefly attended college, married a U.S. citizen in 1980, received a green card and divorced in 1982, he said. He moved to Youngstown, where he married Fidaa in 1988. The couple moved to Brazil for three years for business.

Upon his return to the U.S., he was told he had to apply for a new green card, but was ultimately turned down. In the meantime, he opened businesses in the Youngstown area.

In 2011, he opened the Downtown Circle, a convenience store and deli. Later, he added a bar and hookah bar, and bought another building in the area.

"Amer was the first private sector business guy to really put the flag in the ground in downtown," encouraging others, said Ryan.

Othman's legal troubles erupted anew in August when ICE told him he had 30 days to leave the country. His lawyer obtained an extension, and Othman walked out of the ICE office with a Jan. 7 departure deadline and an ankle bracelet to monitor his movements, he said.

Othman said he bought a plane ticket to Amman for Jan. 7, sold his home and taught his family how to run the businesses.

In early January, he held a news conference detailing the looming deadline. Amid widespread publicity, ICE told him later that day that the deadline was off and that he should instead report to ICE two weeks later. Elated, Othman thought he had won a reprieve.

On Jan. 16, he reported to the ICE office. To his shock, he was arrested and handcuffed. Feeling betrayed, he started a hunger strike.

Leopold said his client was locked up "like an animal for the sole purpose of publicly humiliating him before deportation."

In late January, Othman was driven to Cleveland airport for a flight to Chicago.

As his Amman-bound plane took off from Chicago, Othman looked at the city below, overwhelmed by mixed emotions.

"It was very sad for me to leave and just to know I have left my family behind me, my wife, my daughters, my businesses, my friends, my Youngstown," said Othman, who has since rented a furnished apartment in Amman and has been joined by his wife, who plans to travel back and forth.

"I thought I would never be back, even though in my mind, I'm going to fight as much as possible," he said.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


WOMEN ON THE UPWARD TRACK

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/commentary-the-future-is-female-for-2018-democrats/
60 Minutes Overtime
By LYNDA TRAN CBS NEWS February 20, 2018, 6:00 AM
Commentary: The future is female for 2018 Democrats

Video -- "Told Me" — Amy McGrath for Congress Announcement Video (KY-6) by Amy McGrath for Congress on YouTube
Video – Womenn [sic] want more women to hold office –CBSN

They're medical professionals and veterans, policy analysts and moms. They're taking on titans of the Republican Party or fighting to reform the Democratic Party from within. None of them are household names. But all of them are women who are stepping into the fray in 2018 and sending a strong message: Win or lose, the future for progressives is female.

With all the talk about a potential Democratic wave in 2018, it would be far too easy to overlook the role of individual candidates working on the grassroots level. Yet the tens of thousands of women who are weighing bids or have already announced a run for office in the Trump Era tells us plenty about both the moment we're in – and what we can expect from Democrats in years to come.

Among the most exciting Democratic candidates to watch this year is an unlikely one: Amy McGrath, who is running for a Republican-held U.S. House seat in Kentucky. A former fighter pilot who was the first woman to fly an F-18 jet into combat, Lt. Col. McGrath quite literally blasted onto our screens with an inspiring announcement video recounting all the times she was told that, as a woman, she couldn't achieve her dreams.

"Told Me" — Amy McGrath for Congress Announcement Video (KY-6) by Amy McGrath for Congress on YouTube

Her message is at times anti-Mitch McConnell, at others anti-Donald Trump, and always about breaking through the noise and gridlock in Washington as an outsider who puts loyalty to country above all else. A native Kentuckian who regularly hits the campaign trail balancing one of her three children on her hip, she speaks with authenticity about issues ranging from Trump's proposed ban on transgender people serving in the military, to the need for the Affordable Care Act and the impact that rolling back the Dodd-Frank financial reforms would have on working people.

Above all, her profile as a woman who has spent her career breaking down gender stereotypes and rising above institutionalized obstacles fits this moment of female empowerment so seamlessly, it may even put her over the top in a state where Trump remains popular and in a district he carried handily.

In the heartland, anti-bullying advocate Marie Newman has been making headlines for taking on fellow Illinois Democrat Dan Lipinski, who earned the ire of progressive groups including the Human Rights Campaign, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and MoveOn.org for being the only House Democrat to vote against the Affordable Care Act and his consistent opposition to Planned Parenthood funding. Just a couple of districts away in the Chicago suburbs, registered nurse, former Obama administration official, and literal Girl Scout Lauren Underwood has also made safeguarding access to affordable care a centerpiece of her campaign.

Both Newman and Underwood are running underdog campaigns against entrenched male incumbents. And in the wake of repeated attacks on Obamacare, they believe their opponents' efforts to take health care away from millions of Americans -- including their own constituents -- will motivate women voters and become a central factor in who wins the elections this year.

Meanwhile, the Lone Star State has also drawn some new blood. Gina Ortiz-Jones, an alumna of the Obama administration, is challenging GOP Rep. Will Hurd in a major swing district along the southern border. Hurd won the last election by just 3,051 votes, or 1.3 percent, and the seat has flipped from blue to red and red to blue repeatedly over the last several cycles.

Ortiz-Jones, a gay former Air Force intelligence officer who served under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, has positioned herself as an expert on foreign policy and a standout voice on defending health care access at a time when both issues have taken center stage. Her underdog campaign has been lauded by national groups, including Emily's List and a host of LGBT advocacy organizations. And like Underwood, she was among the women featured on Time Magazine's January 29 cover as one of "The Avengers" taking on Washington.

In decidedly more Democratic friendly turf on the West Coast, Mai Khanh Tran has thrown her hat in the ring in California's 39th Congressional District, one of the many Republican-held seats that voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016. A pediatrician who was just nine years old when she came to the United States on her own at the close of the Vietnam War, Tran's personal story is a compelling encapsulation of the American Dream, just as immigration reform has returned to center of our national discourse. Given her history, Tran offers real world experience on an issue currently facing millions of American families.

Tran speaks eloquently about how her background in medicine informs her politics, and what it means to be a working mom at a time women are under more pressure than ever before to "have it all and do it all." With the recent decision by Rep. Ed Royce, one of the longest-serving Republicans on Capitol Hill, to retire from the seat he has held for 13 terms, Democrats have a very good chance of taking the district this fall.

What unites all of these women is a common story about being called to serve in response to what they're witnessing from the White House and Congress, which are actively working to disassemble the programs and policies millions of women hold dear. The fresh faces of the Democratic Party this year aren't looking to 2020; they're planning to storm the House in 2018. They're running for office just as women's voices may hold more power than they have in a generation. And if they win in November, they will play a key part in shaping policy for the next generation.

Across all of their campaigns, these women are staking out unequivocal positions on everything from health care to income inequality. At times, they are turning gender norms upside down and breaking new ground simply through the images they project to voters, which is what Maryland gubernatorial candidate Krish Vignarajah did by announcing her candidacy with her husband by her side holding their new baby.

For so many women candidates this year, 2017 was an awakening. Here's hoping that for most, 2018 is just the beginning.

Editor's note: 270 Strategies, a political consulting firm cofounded by Lynda Tran, is helping to advise the campaigns of Amy McGrath and Marie Newman. Tran is not involved in either effort.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


BERNIE SANDERS ON THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/02/20/bernie-sanders-mueller-indictment-hillary-clinton-2016/356453002/
Bernie Sanders says his 2016 team saw effects of Russian anti-Clinton campaign
Jason Noble, jnoble2@dmreg.com
Published 3:59 p.m. CT Feb. 20, 2018 | Updated 4:01 p.m. CT Feb. 20, 2018

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment detailing the Russian social media campaign to aid Donald Trump, undermine Hillary Clinton and sow distrust in American politics describes behavior that aides to Bernie Sanders witnessed firsthand in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, the senator said Tuesday.

In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Sanders described how an aide handling his social media accounts noticed an uptick in “horrific and ugly things” directed at Clinton beginning around September 2016 — long after the Democratic nomination had been decided, and while Sanders himself was traveling the country campaigning on her behalf.

“In many respects, what Mueller’s report tells us is not new to us,” Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, said. “We knew that they were trying to sow division within the American people. In my case, it was to tell Bernie supporters that Hillary Clinton is a criminal, that Hillary Clinton is crazy, that Hillary Clinton is sick — terrible, terrible ugly stuff — and to have Bernie Sanders supporters either vote for Trump or Jill Stein or not vote at all.”

2016 candidate photos: Bernie Sanders in Iowa

62 Photographs -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders pumps his fist as he speaks to supporters during the putting Families First forum at First Christian Church on Friday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. Bryon Houlgrave/The Register

Sanders, who ran for president as a Democrat in 2016, described the situation in response to a question about his impression of the indictment released Friday by Mueller, the special counsel investing [sic] Russian election meddling and possible collusion with aides to President Donald Trump.

The indictment details a raft of activities by a Russian organization known as the Internet Research Agency to inflame political divisions, spread lies about the presidential race and encourage confrontations among Americans, largely on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

On Tuesday, Sanders described one spike in anti-Clinton sentiment that he attributed to the Russian campaign. In September 2016, an aide noticed hundreds of “new names” appearing on pro-Sanders Facebook pages to denigrate Clinton and her candidacy — despite the fact Sanders himself was campaigning on her behalf during that same period.

The influx of social media trolls was alarming enough that the aide approached the Clinton campaign to inform them of the situation, Sanders said.

Among the allegations in the special counsel indictment is a finding that the Russians bought Facebook ads accusing Clinton of committing voter fraud during the Iowa caucuses. Clinton narrowly won the caucuses over Sanders, and the candidates ended up splitting the state’s delegates to the national convention.

Sanders on Tuesday said his campaign did press immediately after the caucuses for the Iowa Democratic Party to release the raw vote totals showing participants’ candidate preferences. But he never alleged or believed the Clinton campaign had committed fraud.

“There was never, ever, ever any suggestion that Hillary Clinton quote-unquote stole the election,” Sanders said. “We ended up with almost the same amount of delegates as Clinton from Iowa and we felt very good about that race.”

Sanders offered steps he said the U.S. should pursue in response to the mounting evidence of Russian interference in 2016 and the potential for further meddling in the 2018 election.

In the absence of strong action from Trump, Sanders said, Congress must outline “strong repercussions” awaiting Russia if the country attempts similar tactics in 2018.

“We should lay out those repercussions to make it clear that there will be sanctions far more severe than what has already been passed,” Sanders said. “They’ve got to know that we regard this cyberwarfare against the most important aspect of American life, our democracy, as something that is very, very serious.”

Additionally, Sanders said, the federal government should provide additional election security resources to states and hold internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter accountable if they’re again used by hostile foreign powers to disrupt elections.