Men to America — Thanks for nothing: Glenn Reynolds

While Clinton and Obama were playing the woman card, men and boys were falling behind.

(Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP)

Back during the election campaign, a Fiscal Times columnist warned that even as Hillary Clinton played the woman card, more men were being dealt out of American society:

A key indicator of American male decline is the gender ratio at U.S. colleges. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, women accounted for 43% of enrolleesin degree-granting postsecondary institutions in 1972. The other 57% were men. Forty years later, the ratio had flipped. In 2012, the latest year for which actual data were reported, women made up 57% of the college population, with men representing the remaining 43%. Further, NCES projects that the gap will widen by 2022, when women are expected to reach 61% of the college population. If that projection holds, America will have roughly 14 million female college students and only 10 million male college students.

If men are underrepresented in college, they’re overrepresented in prison, the column continued: “At the end of 2014, almost 93% of inmates in state and federal correctional facilities were male. There were over 1.4 million male prisoners compared with 113,000 female inmates.” State and local prisons are also overwhelmingly filled by men.

It’s not much better at work, with a Bloomberg columnist reporting a "war on men in the workplace.” Outside of high-end tech jobs, men have worse employment prospects and are more likely to be laid off. In fact, after the financial crisis, there was talk of a “man-cession” because men were hit so much harder than women.

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Airbus' newest, biggest version of the A350 makes its first flight

TOULOUSE, France -- Airbus flew its new A350-1000 wide-body jet for the first time on Thursday, The jet, the largest twin-jet airplane the European aerospace company has ever made, took off from Airbus’ headquarters near the French city of Toulouse. It's the largest and latest variant of the company's flagship A350 line of jetliners.

The aircraft took off from the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport at 10:42 a.m. local time (4:42 a.m. ET), flying for several hours over southern France before returning.

The A350-1000 will seat between 366 and 440 passengers, depending on the configuration airlines choose for it. Its range of 7,950 miles will enable the jet to connect cities like Boston and Shanghai or Los Angeles and Manchester, England, according to Airbus.

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It is powered by the Trent XWB engine, manufactured by Rolls-Royce. The engine is capable of out-putting 97,000 lbs of thrust.

Airbus anticipates the jet will deliver to launch customer Qatar Airways late next year, following a full year of flight testing.

The airplane is the latest installment in Airbus’ A350 program, first launched in 2006. Qatar Airways became the first carrier to take delivery of an A350 in late 2014.

The jets are manufactured with lightweight carbon-fiber composite materials instead of the more traditional aluminum, allowing for greater fuel efficiency and more flier-friendly features, such as larger windows more-comfortable cabin humidity levels.

USA TODAY

Qatar Airways is world's first airline to get the Airbus A350

FacebookIn addition to the newly added -1000 series, the A350 family also includes a smaller -900 version. The -900 seats around 325 passengers in a standard configuration and can fly 200 miles further than the larger -1000. The -900 first took to the skies in 2013, and entered commercial passenger service in early 2015 when Qatar Airways deployed the jet on its route between Doha, Qatar and Frankfurt.

The first flight of the -1000 is also the latest bid in an ongoing battle for sales in the twin-engine long-haul jet market, a segment that Boeing has dominated for decades.

The two airplane-makers have increasingly attempted to one-up one another in recent years, each trying to outdo the other with ever-larger and more-efficient airplanes.

Airbus' A350-1000 is aimed squarely at dethroning one of Boeing's most popular products, the 777-300, which has sold 809 frames to date. Airbus says the A350-1000 is 25% more fuel efficient and 30 tons lighter than the venerable Boeing jet.

“The -1000 has killed the 777-300ER,” said Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier during an interview on Thursday. “What we wanted has been achieved, without having even demonstrated it in flight,” he added, noting the performance capabilities of the -1000.

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1 killed, 9 injured in New Orleans shooting, police say

A man died and nine other people were injured in a shooting early Sunday in New 

Orleans' French Quarter, police said.

The shooting occurred before 1:30 a.m. CT on Bourbon Street, Chief Michael S. Harrison said during a news conference. Several officers were already on patrol in the French Quarter after the Bayou Classic, a football showdown between Grambling State University and Southern University. The officers who heard the shots fired ran to the scene and found two women and eight men shot.

“We do not have the information about what precipitated the shooting right now, other than shots were fired,” Harrison said.

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Mt St Helens National Monument

Tout comme le Mont Rainier, le Mont St Helens est situé dans la Chaîne des Cascades, à environ 160 km au sud de Seattle. Après 123 ans d’inactivité, le volcan du Mont St Helens est entré en éruption le 18 mai 1980.
 
Cette éruption, égale à 500 fois la bombe larguée sur Hiroshima, a littéralement transformé le paysage. Dans un rayon de 27 km, les arbres ont été couchés par le souffle de l’explosion. 26 ans plus tard, la végétation a repoussé, des arbres ont également été replantés, mais les arbres couchés restent parfaitement visibles, donnant une idée de la puissance des vents générés par l’explosion.
 
L’ascension vers le sommet du cratère du Mont St Helens démarre dans une forêt de pins Douglas. Puis, après quelques heures de marche, on arrive au bord du cratère à 2549 m d’altitude. La vue est surprenante : au premier plan, le dôme du volcan puis, au loin, les autres volcans de la Chaîne des Cascades : les Monts Rainier, Adams et Hood.
 
Le nombre de randonneurs autorisés à monter au sommet du Mont St Helens est limité à une cinquantaine par jour. L’unique possibilité d’obtenir une autorisation est de s'inscrire la veille sur le « Climber registre » chez Jack’s, un bar-épicerie situé près de Cougar, où chaque soir vers 18h a lieu le fameux tirage au sort pour connaître les participants à l'ascension.
 
Une des curiosités du Mont St Helens National Volcanic Monument est Ape Cave (la Caverne du Singe). Il s’agit d’une grotte créée il y a 1900 ans alors que le volcan était entré en activité. La lave de surface se refroidit et durcit rapidement alors que la lave liquide de l'intérieur, encore bouillonnante, continua de s'écouler. A Ape Cave, ce phénomène a créé un tube de 3600 mètres de long, le plus grand du continent américain. Il est possible de louer des torches pour découvrir ce phénomène naturel rare.
 
Le cratère du Mont Saint Helens a servi de lieu de tournage pour une scène du film de Roger Donaldson : Le Pic de Dante, sorti en 1997.
 
Site internet : http://www.fs.usda.gov/mountsthelens

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Pelosi, facing challenger, reveals new Democratic leadership picks

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House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has announced her list of nominees to serve as Democratic leaders of Congress for the next two years. Pelosi herself faces pressure to step aside for new blood, with the leadership vote just days away.

There will be several Democratic House leadership jobs up for a vote at the end of this month, including the top position, long held by Pelosi, who is about to begin her eighth term as a representative.

With days remaining until the vote, Pelosi announced a “roadmap for going forward.” Congress is set to take office on January 3.

Pleased to announce our House Democratic leadership team for the future. https://t.co/vqjNGpQp1v

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 26, 2016

Pelosi plans to nominate Congressman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He became the first Latino to head the DCCC two years ago.

“Ben Ray has always known how, and more importantly, why we fight for a Democratic Majority,” she wrote to her Democratic colleagues Friday.

A major change Pelosi has suggested is having three co-chairs instead of just one for the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, which is currently chaired by Rep. Steve Israel from New York. As Israel plans to retire, Pelosi is pushing for three replacements to him: Reps. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania.

“Each of these Members has taken active leadership roles in the DCCC and they too see the relationship between politics and policy,” she explained.

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Wisconsin receives Stein and Del La Fuente recount petitions

Jill Stein © Dominick Reuter / Reuters

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has received a vote recount petition from Green Party’s Jill Stein, now running a fundraising campaign to cover recount costs in three swing states. Reform Party USA’s Rocky de la Fuente also filed a similar petition.

TrendsUS Elections 2016

“The Commission is preparing to move forward with a statewide recount of votes for President of the United States, as requested by these candidates,” Administrator Michael Haas said in a statement.

BREAKING: We've filed in Wisconsin! #Recount2016 will begin next week. Volunteer to help: https://t.co/Bvrs0iP3lvhttps://t.co/B7tS87ggpI

— Dr. Jill Stein (@DrJillStein) 25 ноября 2016 г.

The Elections Commission has assembled an internal team to direct the recount and arranged for legal representation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Haas said.
“We plan to hold a teleconference meeting for county clerks next week and anticipate the recount will begin late in the week after the Stein campaign has paid the recount fee, which we are still calculating,” he added.
Stein is running a fundraising campaign to collect $7 million, which would cover recount costs in three swing states of  Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. The deadline to file recount petitions in Pennsylvania is Monday, while Wednesday is the last day to do so in Michigan.

.@AP_Politics .@ABC .@CBSNews .@nbc .@CNN .@foxnewspolitics .@MSNBC Since you may have missed it: https://t.co/RXbN1wgYYD

— Roque De La Fuente (@VoteRocky2016) 25 ноября 2016 г.

Stein received  31,006 votes across Wisconsin’s 72 counties. In her petition, she requested “a hand recount of all ballots in all wards in the State of Wisconsin,” alleging “evidence of voter irregularities” and “widespread breach.”
The Electoral Commission has also received a similar recount petition Reform Party USA’s Rocky de la Fuente has filed a similar recount as he received 1,514 votes.
De La Fuente wrote in his petition that “a mistake or fraud” was committed “in the counting and return of votes cast.”
The state is going to complete the recount within a federal deadline of December 13, Haas said, stressing that the process is very “detail-oriented” and that such limited time “will certainly challenge some counties.”
Stein has addressed her supporters on Facebook, asking them  or anyone they know living in the state “to consider volunteering to help in the recount process.”

BREAKING: Jill Stein raises $4.5mn for vote recount in swing states https://t.co/QgGYBq6FbN

— RT (@RT_com) 25 ноября 2016 г.

Meanwhile, donations to Stein keep rolling in; she has surpassed $5.2 million as of Friday evening. After meeting her goal of raising $4.5 million in just over 24 hours, the Green Party’s nominee raised the goal to $7 million.
"We cannot guarantee a recount will happen in any of these states we are targeting. We can only pledge we will demand recounts in those states,” she said.
In case the recounts don't happen, Stein vowed that any "surplus will also go toward election integrity efforts and to promote voting system reform.” However, she did not specify what those efforts would be.

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Clinton campaign to participate in Wis. election recount

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign said Saturday that it will participate in a recount of the votes cast in Wisconsin's election.

The news comes after Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president, initiated a recount there and pledged to pursue additional ones in Pennsylvania and Michigan. President-elect Donald Trump denounced the recount as "a scam by the Green Party for an election that has already been conceded."

"The results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused, which is exactly what Jill Stein is doing," Trump said in a statement.

Clinton campaign general counsel Marc Elias said the Clinton campaign has found no evidence of election tampering, but is joining in the recount now that Stein has initiated it.

"Because we had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology, we had not planned to exercise this option ourselves, but now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides," Elias wrote on Medium, an alternative blogging site.

Wisconsin had been considered a reliable state for Democrats, but Trump won an upset victory there. The Clinton campaign will participate in the Pennsylvania and Michigan recounts if Stein pursues them, Elias wrote. The campaign is aware that the odds of a recount reversing the vote in any state are slim, he said.

"The number of votes separating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the closest of these states — Michigan — well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount," Elias wrote. "We feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process."

He added that the campaign has "an obligation to the more than 64 million Americans who cast ballots for Hillary Clinton to participate in ongoing proceedings to ensure that an accurate vote count will be reported."

Trump said the recall effort is a way for Stein to "fill her coffers with money."

"This recount is just a way for Jill Stein, who received less than one percent of the vote overall and wasn’t even on the ballot in many states, to fill her coffers with money, most of which she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount," Trump said in a statement. "All three states were won by large numbers of voters, especially Pennsylvania, which was won by more than 70,000 votes."

Stein raised more than $5 million to pay for the recounts in the three states. She received only 1% of the votes in each of the states.

"What we're doing is standing up for an election system that we can trust," Stein said in a statement. "We deserve to have votes that we can believe in."

Unofficial vote tallies in the three battleground states show Trump won Michigan by less than 12,000 votes, Wisconsin by less than 30,000 and Pennsylvania by less than 70,000. Clinton would have to win recounts in all three states to receive enough electoral votes to win the presidency.

Under federal law, states must complete recounts within 35 days of a presidential election. This year, that deadline would be Dec. 13

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Panda cub Bei Bei recovering from ‘life-saving’ surgery

WASHINGTON — Bei Bei, the Smithsonian National Zoo’s giant panda cub, underwent emergency bowel obstruction surgery this week, zoo officials confirmed.

Veterinarians removed a “dense, lemon-sized mass of bamboo.”

The Smithsonian said in a statement that the “life-saving” surgery was performed Friday.

“I’m extremely proud and thankful for our team of keepers, veterinarians, animal care staff, volunteer medical experts and all staff who have helped facilitate the urgent response,” Director Dennis Kelly said.

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whiskey releases for winter sips and gifts

As winter approaches, many drinkers are leaving clear spirits like gin and vodka behind in favor of whiskey — Irish, Scotch, bourbon, Canadian, rye and more. Of course, you can and should be drinking whiskey all summer long (mint julep, anyone?), but shorter days and sweater weather practically beg for a warming dram of the brown stuff.

Fall and early winter are when whiskey brands release new, limited edition and special releases, ranging from the easily affordable to “only for the 1%”. As whiskey becomes more and more popular in the USA, some of these releases can prove difficult to find, as collectors will line up a day or two in advance to nab a bottle. And some new expressions a➱re released in limited runs that drive the price up into the tens of thousands of dollars.

But there is no shortage of options for whiskey drinkers throughout the colder months, as releases that run the gamut in terms of age, cask, mash bill and region can satisfy every taste and budget. Browse the gallery above for some of the most notable new releases in 2016 — they just might make for perfect holiday gifts.

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'Barney Miller' star Ron Glass dies at 71

Actor Ron Glass, best known for his work on the mid-1970s comedy Barney Miller, has died at 71.

Glass' representative confirmed to Variety and TheWrap.com but did not provide details as to when or how he passed away.

An Indiana native and University of Evansville graduate, Glass earned a supporting-actor Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Detective Ron Harris, an ambitious intellectual who yearned to be an author.

He is the second member of the Barney Miller cast to die in 2016; Abe Vigoda, who played Phil Fish, passed away in January.

USA TODAY

Appreciation: 'Barney Miller's' old soul Abe Vigoda

He also played Shepherd Derrial Book in Joss Whedon's beloved and short-lived 2002 sci-fi series Firefly and its sequel movie Serenity. 

Glass began his career with a guest role on the seminal '70s series All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Hawaii Five-0 and Maude.

Friends fans may also remember him as Ross' divorce lawyer.

His  other TV credits include Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Major Crimes, The New Odd Couple, Amen and Mr. Rhodes.

Ron Glass was one of the greatest actors to work with. His laugh was beyond infectious and his generosity was ever present. #ripronglass

— alan tudyk (@AlanTudyk) November 26, 2016

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Trump adds two names to his team while in Florida

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President-elect Donald Trump is spending Black Friday in South Florida, mulling transition issues that include a new White House counsel, a new deputy national security adviser, a prospective Commerce secretary, a public battle over the secretary of State's job, and talks with an Indiana air conditioning company that is planning to move jobs to Mexico.
Officially, Trump filled two staff slots on Friday, naming veteran Washington, D.C., campaign finance attorney Don McGahn as White House counsel and Kathleen Troia “K.T.” McFarland as deputy national security adviser.
In picking McGahn to be the presidential lawyer, Trump said in a statement that "Don has a brilliant legal mind, excellent character and a deep understanding of constitutional law. He will play a critical role in our administration, and I am grateful that he is willing to serve our country at such a high-level capacity.”
Citing Trump's pledge to crack down on government corruption, McGahn said in a statement put out by Trump's transition team that the president-elect "is a bold leader committed to draining the swamp in Washington and restoring economic prosperity and security."
One of McGahn's presumed duties: Helping Trump navigate possible conflicts between his duties as president and his business interests worldwide.
McFarland, a veteran national security analyst and Fox News commentator, will serve as deputy to National Security Adviser-designate Michael Flynn. "She has tremendous experience and innate talent that will complement the fantastic team we are assembling, which is crucial because nothing is more important than keeping our people safe," Trump said of McFarland.
An official during the Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan administrations, McFarland has in more recent years echoed Trump's and Flynn's criticisms of President Obama's foreign policy, particularly when it comes to combating terrorism. McFarland also ran unsuccessfully in 2006 for the U.S. Senate. a seat then held by future secretary of State and Trump election rival Hillary Clinton.
"So proud & honored to have KT McFarland as part of our National Security team," Flynn himself tweeted.
In her statement, McFarland said that "nobody has called foreign policy right more than President-elect Trump, and he gets no credit for it."
As for the Cabinet, Trump is expected to eventually nominate billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as secretary of Commerce, officials familiar with the transition said, a decision that reflects his campaign against existing free trade agreements. The officials would not be named because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Ross has been an opponent of free trade deals he says have shipped jobs overseas, and the private investor also co-authored an infrastructure financing plan that Trump is studying. During the campaign, Ross told CNBC that he backed Trump because "middle class and lower middle class America has not really benefited by the last 10 to 15 years of economic activity and they're sick and tired of it and they want something different."
Critics describe Ross as the "king of bankruptcy," saying his strategy has been to buy, re-structure, and sell off companies, from fading steel mills and coal mines to failed banks.
The nominee for deputy secretary of Commerce is likely to be Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, a member of a prominent family of conservative donors.
Trump is expected to make two staffing decision on Friday, but no Cabinet picks, said transition spokesman Jason Miller,
The president-elect is scheduled to resume interviews of prospective appointees on Monday, aides said. That includes a meeting with Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who has been mentioned for a homeland security post.
In other Trump Cabinet developments, former Republican primary rival Ben Carson and aides say he is considering an offer to join Trump's team. The New York businessman said earlier this week he was likely to offer Carson the post of housing and urban development.
The president-elect spent Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Palm Beach, Fla. He is expected to return to New York sometime this weekend.
Trump and aides are also overseeing a internal debate over who should be his secretary of State.

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