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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2017)
Page 10 The Skanner June 21, 2017 News Dem Loss in Georgia Special Election Underscores Challenges WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans just got a big argument for sticking with President Donald Trump and pushing forward with dismantling “Obamacare.” And Democrats are look- ing almost incapable of translating the energy of their core supporters into actual election wins. Tuesday night’s outcome in a Geor- gia special House race was a triumph for the GOP, and the most recent, and devastating, illustration of the Demo- crats’ problems, from a weak bench and recruiting problems to divisions about what the party stands for. Instead of a win or even a razor-thin loss by Democrat Jon Ossoff that many had expected, Republican Karen Han- del ended up winning by a relatively comfortable 5 percentage point mar- gin in the wealthy suburban Atlanta district previously held by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. That followed another recent Dem- ocratic disappointment in Montana, where the Republican candidate won even after last-minute assault charges, and an earlier loss for the Democrats in Kansas. Indeed the best news Democrats got Tuesday night was that a different special House race, in South Carolina, ended up closer than the Georgia con- test even though it had drawn little national attention. Republican Ralph Norman beat Democrat Archie Parnell by around 3 percentage points in South Carolina, closer than expected and a warning sign to the GOP not to take any seat for granted. Uber CEO Kalanick Resigns Under Investor Pressure DETROIT (AP) — Travis Kalanick, the combative and troubled CEO of ride-hailing giant Uber, has resigned under pressure from investors at a piv- otal time for the company. Uber’s board confirmed the move early Wednesday, saying in a statement that Kalanick is taking time to heal from the death of his mother in a boat- ing accident “while giving the company room to fully embrace this new chapter AP PHOTO/PAUL SAKUMA, FILE World News Briefs In this July 10, 2012, file photo, Uber CEO and co- founder Travis Kalanick arrives at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Kalanick said in a statement to The New York Times on Tuesday that he has accepted a request from investors to step aside. Kalanick says the move will allow the ride-sharing company to go back to building itself rather than become distracted by another fight. in Uber’s history.” He will remain on the Uber Technologies Inc. board. The move comes as Uber, the world’s largest ride-hailing company, was having trouble morphing from a free-wheeling startup into a mature company that can stanch losses and post consistent profits. After eight years of phenomenal growth by upending the taxi business, Uber had reached a point where the culture that created the company had become an albatross that threatened to kill it. In a statement, the 40-year-old co-founder said his resignation would help Uber go back to building “rather than be distracted with another fight,” an apparent reference to efforts on the board to oust him. It was unclear who would replace Ka- lanick. Brussels Attacker Moroccan, Shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ BRUSSELS (AP) — The quick shooting of an attacker who tried to detonate a nail bomb and shouted “Allahu akbar” at a Brussels train station averted fa- talities, officials said Wednesday, as Belgium increased security measures around the country. The attacker was a 36-year-old Mo- roccan national not known to authori- ties for being involved in terror activ- ities, federal magistrate Eric Van der Sypt told reporters. He declined to say if the man had a criminal record. The man charged soldiers at Brussels Central Station on Tuesday after his suitcase, containing nails and gas can- isters, failed to fully explode, Van der Sypt said. It was a lucky escape for sev- eral travelers nearby. The man then shouted “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before the soldiers shot him dead, the magistrate said. Nobody else was injured. “It was clear he wanted to cause much more damage than what happened,” Van der Sypt said. “The bag exploded twice but it could have been a lot worse.” Saudi King Upends Royal succession, Names Son as 1st Heir RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Wednesday appointed his 31-year-old son Moham- med bin Salman as crown prince, plac- ing him first-in-line to the throne and removing the country’s counterter- rorism czar and a figure well-known to Washington from the line of succes- sion. The monarch stripped Prince Mo- hammed bin Nayef from his title as crown prince and from his power- ful position as the country’s interior minister overseeing security. The an- nouncements were made in a series of royal decrees carried on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The all-but-certain takeover of the throne by Mohammed bin Salman awards near absolute powers to a prince who has ruled out dialogue with rival Iran, has moved to isolate neigh- boring Qatar for its support of Islamist groups and who has led a war in Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians.
