| Two Engaged Doctors Found In Penthouse With Throats Slit: 'Why Did This Happen?' Posted: 07 May 2017 09:27 AM PDT  Police believe the suspect knew the couple.
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| Is healthcare vote the tipping point for liberals regaining control of the House? Posted: 06 May 2017 04:00 AM PDT  As House Republicans reached the vote count needed to pass an unpopular rewrite of a new healthcare law, Democrats chanted derisively. "Na na na na, na na na na," they sang, confident Republicans would soon regret their support for the bill. Seven years before that, Democrats on the other side of the aisle had cast contentious votes for a healthcare bill with steep political consequences.
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| Fire in Okefenokee wildlife refuge forces evacuations in Georgia Posted: 07 May 2017 01:13 PM PDT  A wildfire in Georgia's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has forced dozens of nearby residents to leave their homes, authorities said on Sunday, adding that the blaze might not be fully contained for months. About 130,000 acres, or about a quarter of the refuge, have already burned, said Melanie Banton, a spokeswoman for firefighters and park officials battling the West Mims Fire, which began on April 6. Most of the fire is within the refuge, which straddles Georgia's southeast border with Florida, but it is encroaching on private land.
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| Syria fighting eases as safe zones plan begins Posted: 06 May 2017 03:24 PM PDT  Fighting subsided in Syria on Saturday after a deal signed by government backers Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey to create four "de-escalation zones" began to take effect. The multi-phase plan, signed Thursday in the Kazakh capital Astana, is one of the more ambitious efforts to end Syria's six-year conflict. It provides for a ceasefire, rapid deliveries of humanitarian aid and the return of refugees after "de-escalation zones" are created across stretches of eight Syrian provinces.
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| Donald Trump former aide Carter Page refuses to provide Russia contacts to Senate Posted: 06 May 2017 07:22 AM PDT  Former Trump adviser Carter Page has declined to provide records of his communications with Russians to the Senate intelligence committee, saying that anything of note has already been recorded by former President Barack Obama's administration. Mr Page, who advised President Donald Trump on foreign policy matters during the 2016 campaign, is the subject of investigation by the FBI and congressional committees looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. In a letter sent to the Senate intelligence committee, Mr Page blasted the request for his contacts saying that the US government had already been keeping tabs on him.
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| West Virginia airport reopened after cargo plane crash Posted: 06 May 2017 03:02 PM PDT  CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A runway at a West Virginia airport reopened Saturday after a propeller plane carrying UPS cargo crashed, killing the pilot and co-pilot.
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| 85-year-old Everest record seeker died of altitude sickness Posted: 07 May 2017 04:15 AM PDT  An 85-year-old ex-Gurkha who was attempting to reclaim his title as the world's oldest person to summit Mount Everest died of altitude sickness, the expedition organiser said Sunday. Min Bahadur Sherchan died at Everest base camp on Saturday and his body was airlifted to Kathmandu. There was water build-up in his lungs because of altitude sickness," Shiv Raj Thapa of Summit Nepal Trekking told AFP after an autopsy.
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| Aaron Hernandez's Gang Affiliations Revealed Posted: 07 May 2017 05:33 AM PDT  A new death report on the NFL star said he was linked to the Bloods street gang.
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| Jordan Edwards: Texas police officer charged with murder of black 15-year-old leaving house party Posted: 06 May 2017 02:27 AM PDT  A US police officer has been charged with murder after a black teenager was shot dead in a car in Texas. Roy Oliver fired his rifle at a car full of teenagers leaving a party in Dallas, fatally wounding 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Police claimed the teenagers' car was backing up toward officers "in an aggressive manner", but later said body camera video showed the vehicle actually driving away from the officers.
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| Roses in hand, Venezuelan women protesters face security forces Posted: 06 May 2017 11:55 AM PDT  By Andreina Aponte and Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Dressed in white and chanting "Liberty!", tens of thousands of women opposed to Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro marched on Saturday, proffering roses to security forces who blocked their way. The women's marches, which took place in most major cities around the South American oil producer, were the latest in five weeks of sustained protests against Maduro whom opponents decry as a dictator who has ruined the economy. In Caracas, marchers sang the national anthem and shouted "We want elections!" They were halted at various points by lines of policewomen and National Guard troops with armored cars.
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| Iran says $55 oil price suitable, sees supply cut extension Posted: 06 May 2017 08:15 AM PDT  Iran sees $55 per barrel as a suitable price for crude oil, and believes that OPEC and non-OPEC producers are likely to extend output curbs to support prices, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Saturday. "The price range of $55 per barrel would be suitable for oil," Zanganeh said, according to the oil ministry's news website SHANA. Oil prices closed higher on Friday, rebounding from five-month lows, following positive U.S. jobs data and assurances by Saudi Arabia that Russia is ready to join OPEC in extending supply cuts to reduce a persistent glut.
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| 50,000 evacuated in Germany over unexploded WWII bombs Posted: 07 May 2017 08:48 AM PDT  German police on Sunday evacuated 50,000 people from the northern city of Hanover in one of the country's largest post-war operations to defuse World War II era bombs. Residents in a densely populated part of the city were ordered to leave their homes for the operation, planned since mid-April, to remove several recently discovered unexploded bombs.
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| Police finally track down Tennessee teacher and teen Elizabeth Thomas: Part 5 Posted: 05 May 2017 06:15 PM PDT  After living in the remote Black Bear Ranch commune, Cummins and Elizabeth Thomas were found in California.
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| Japanese luxury sleeper train trip a mere $10,000 — one way Posted: 07 May 2017 10:40 AM PDT ![Japanese luxury sleeper train trip a mere $10,000 — one way]( "Japanese luxury sleeper train trip a mere $10,000 — one way") A Japanese railway company has launched a new luxury sleeper train with sky views, bathtubs and dark wood interiors, joining the race for well-heeled tourists.
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| Wisconsin Republicans worry about crowded Senate primary Posted: 07 May 2017 09:37 AM PDT  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans are growing increasingly worried about the high number of candidates running in a primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, fearing a repeat of the crowded 2012 race that put her in office.
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| Hundreds of suspected cholera cases in Yemen: MSF Posted: 07 May 2017 11:54 AM PDT  At least 570 suspected cases of cholera have surfaced in war-torn Yemen in the past three weeks, sparking fears of a potential epidemic, Doctors Without Borders said Sunday. The Shiite Huthi rebels put the number of cases at 1,681 in 12 provinces, including in the north and west of the country, according to the Sabanews.net website which cited their health minister, Mohamed bin Hafedh. Healthcare has dramatically deteriorated in Yemen as conflict between the Iran-backed rebels and the Saudi-supported government continues to escalate, leaving hospitals destroyed and millions struggling to find access to food and clean water.
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| Warren Buffett Calls Out Trump's Obamacare Repeal Bill Posted: 06 May 2017 11:16 PM PDT  The billionaire investor said the Republican healthcare bill would provide "a huge tax cut" for the rich.
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| Jury: Man convicted of 6 killings should get death penalty Posted: 05 May 2017 06:55 PM PDT ![Jury: Man convicted of 6 killings should get death penalty]( "Jury: Man convicted of 6 killings should get death penalty") YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — A jury decided Friday that an Arizona prisoner convicted of killing six people in Yuma in 2005 should be sentenced to death.
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| 35 killed in school minibus crash in Tanzania Posted: 06 May 2017 10:48 AM PDT  By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Thirty-two schoolchildren, two teachers and a minibus driver where killed in Tanzania when their vehicle plunged into a roadside ravine in the northern tourist region of Arusha on Saturday, a senior police official said. "The accident happened when the bus was descending on a steep hill in rainy conditions," Arusha regional police commander Charles Mkumbo told Reuters by telephone. Tanzania, the second-largest economy in east Africa, has a poor road safety network, but buses remain the main form of public transport between towns.
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| Pope criticises US military for using word 'mother' to describe MOAB bomb Posted: 06 May 2017 01:28 PM PDT  The pontiff's comments — referencing the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB), the largest bomb in the American arsenal — came during a speech he gave to an audience of students, and just weeks before he is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump. The MOAB bomb was used for the first time last month to attack a series of caves with Isis insurgents in tunnels in the Achin district, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. Although that was the first time that the bomb had been used by the US military, the explosive had been in the American arsenal for over a decade.
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| What To Do When Your Internet Goes Down Posted: 06 May 2017 06:07 AM PDT  How to get back online as quickly as possible.
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| 18 frat members charged in Penn State student death Posted: 06 May 2017 03:38 AM PDT  Eighteen members of a now-shuttered Penn State University fraternity and the fraternity itself are facing charges in the death of a student who fell down a flight of steps during an alcohol-fueled pledge night.
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| U.S. environmental chief to recuse himself from court cases Posted: 06 May 2017 04:13 PM PDT  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has recused himself from several court cases that he pursued against the agency when he was Oklahoma attorney general, according to a recusal statement. Pruitt, who had sued the environmental agency more than a dozen times when he was the oil- and gas-producing state's top legal officer, had pledged during his Senate confirmation that he would step aside from ongoing cases if the agency's ethics panel required it. Environmental groups have contended that his litigation as Oklahoma attorney general may have been influenced by energy companies and industry groups that contributed to his election campaigns.
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| Swiss guards, loyal soldiers of the pope, take the oath Posted: 06 May 2017 08:05 AM PDT  Forty new Swiss Guards were sworn in at the Vatican on Saturday, the latest halberd-clutching soldiers of the pope to serve a tradition stretching back 500 years. A tourist magnet for centuries at the Vatican, the spectacularly dressed Swiss Guards swear to sacrifice themselves if necessary for the pope. The halberds -- a traditional steel axe-like weapon -- are purely for show in this age of global terrorism where the Vatican is a huge target and the pope is under round-the-clock protection.
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| Former Trump aide calls Russia probe 'comically fake' Posted: 05 May 2017 11:50 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate committee investigating Moscow's interference in last year's election has asked several of President Donald Trump's associates to turn over information about possible contacts with Russian officials or businessmen. Former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page responded on Friday, calling the congressional probe a "comically fake inquiry" but pledging to cooperate.
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| Police: 2 found dead in luxury condo, suspect in custody Posted: 06 May 2017 11:19 AM PDT ![Police: 2 found dead in luxury condo, suspect in custody]( "Police: 2 found dead in luxury condo, suspect in custody") BOSTON (AP) — Two apparent residents of a Boston luxury condominium have been found dead inside the building, and the suspect in their deaths was shot multiple times after exchanging gunfire with police officers, police said.
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| Emmanuel Macrons Wife Was Formerly His High School Teacher Posted: 06 May 2017 04:10 AM PDT  Brigitte Macron, 64, is 24 years older than the presidential candidate.
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| More troops deployed as Canada braces for worse flooding Posted: 07 May 2017 12:58 PM PDT  With heavy rains persisting and waters still rising over much of waterlogged eastern Canada, the nation's military on Sunday tripled the number of troops urgently working to evacuate thousands of residents. New evacuations were ordered in Pierrefonds, on the northwestern shore of the Island of Montreal, after three temporary dikes ruptured, quickly sending water levels higher. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre declared a state of emergency for his city, particularly four western neighborhoods.
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| Several thousand Poles protest against right-wing ruling party Posted: 06 May 2017 08:44 AM PDT  By Lidia Kelly WARSAW (Reuters) - Several thousand people demonstrated in Warsaw on Saturday against Poland's conservative, eurosceptic ruling party in an attempt by the opposition to build momentum ahead of next year's municipal elections. The crowd, variously estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000, fell short of the mass protests that took place after the Law and Justice (PiS) party won power in late 2015 and swiftly moved to implement reforms, including an overhaul of the country's top court. "We are for a democratic Poland, for a European Poland, for Poland that is proud, that seeks friends and partners, not enemies in Europe as it is today," PO leader Grzegorz Schetyna, told protesters waving Polish and European Union flags.
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| Everyone is sharing this comic about the 'backfire effect' ... but there's a huge catch Posted: 06 May 2017 08:05 AM PDT  You've probably already seen The Oatmeal comic in your social media feed several times now. Its beautiful illustrations are paired with an elegant, clever explanation about something called the "backfire effect." Basically, it describes why people double down on their beliefs when presented with contradictory information. SEE ALSO: What Facebook must do to prepare its 3,000 new moderators for the trauma they'll face The cartoon is powerful because we can all relate to that feeling of using facts to inform a heated political debate or sway someone's opinion and getting nowhere. And that's exactly the problem the comic's author, Matthew Inman, wanted to address, especially in the wake of Donald Trump's election. You're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you https://t.co/XwFjK9EOyl pic.twitter.com/QRSalVfuKK — Matthew Inman (@Oatmeal) May 2, 2017 The only problem is that political scientists aren't sure the backfire effect is a real thing, and if it does exist, it may be rare. We know what you're thinking: Why do the fact police have to ruin the best thing that happened to your social media feed all week? The cartoon is pretty, funny, smart, and even hopeful about the importance of finding common ground when we vehemently disagree. That's all great stuff, and very important. But what you should keep in mind while reading the cartoon is that the backfire effect can be hard to replicate in rigorous research. So hard, in fact, that a large-scale, peer-reviewed study presented last August at the American Political Science Association's annual conference couldn't reproduce the findings of the high-profile 2010 study that documented backfire effect. FWIW idea that backfire fx always happen = not even true in our initial study. But I've revised my priors a lot as we & others did more work — Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) March 26, 2017 Tom Wood and Ethan Porter, political scientists and assistant professors at The Ohio State University and George Washington University, respectively, and co-authors of the recent study, say they came to the subject of backfire effect as "acolytes." They found this particular explanation of human behavior so compelling that they wanted to dedicate a good portion of their research to understanding and identifying it. So they challenged 8,100 people's knowledge of abortion, gun violence, undocumented immigration, fracking pollution, and dozens of other issues that stir intense emotions. But study participants didn't demonstrate the tendency to embrace falsehoods even more after being told the truth. Technically, they did observe a backfire effect when people were questioned about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but even that finding came with caveats because of the question's complicated wording. "We were desperately looking for any evidence ... and to our dismay it's impossible to replicate," says Wood. This is important, Wood and Porter say, because if the backfire effect exists, it means something really depressing about our politics. After all, if sharing objective facts with someone leads them to believe the falsities you challenge more intensely, then what's the point? "If we believe that everybody is backfiring all the time, there's very little hope for political engagement," says Porter. Now, this doesn't mean that Inman's comic is inherently wrong. Brendan Nyhan, the political scientist who co-authored the 2010 study, has found evidence in subsequent research that people may insist on false beliefs despite being presented with new information. At the same time, Nyhan has since collaborated with Porter and Wood on research that shows fact-checking can be effective. Whether or not there is a backfire effect, the behavior Inman describes is real; political scientists know it as motivated reasoning and confirmation bias. These well-researched psychological phenomena mean that we can be prone to choosing information and data that support our worldview while diminishing or dismissing evidence that contradicts it. To be clear, that's a lot different than learning something is false and endorsing that lie or half-truth even more. Moreover, Porter and Wood's study indicates people do actually heed corrective information. Fun comic - labeled as being about the backfire effect, but really considers disconfirmation bias more generally https://t.co/UWRAjVMlYi — Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) May 3, 2017 The trouble is that even when we learn that something is false, we may be able to acknowledge those facts without changing our political position accordingly. A person's political identity, say Porter and Wood, isn't easily influenced by learning, for example, that Trump routinely spreads false information about pretty much everything, or that Hillary Clinton has told her share of half-truths. You can sum up that tension like this, says Wood: "My guy happened to tell a fib — sure no one is perfect — but I'm not going to go out and vote for the other guy." That still leaves the rest of us trying to figure out how to talk through our dueling beliefs, which is where Inman's comic shines. "The emotional core of this is about this idea of how we resist things and how do we get [people] to soften," he says. Image: matthew inman / the oatmeal Inman knows from his own experience on the internet that marshaling all the facts in the world can't, for example, convince some people that climate change is real. If the backfire effect is real, nihilism might be the most appropriate response to the prospect of influencing anyone's attitudes or beliefs with facts. But Inman rejects that approach and instead invokes our common humanity and ends with a bipartisan plea to listen. "I'm not here to take control of the wheel," he writes. "Or to tell you what to believe. I'm just here to tell you that it's okay to stop. To listen. To change." Those common sense words of wisdom are the best part of the comic, and you don't really need science to confirm that the ability to listen and change is essential to a more civil, informed politics. WATCH: This mobile solar-powered robot 3D printed an entire building in under 14 hours
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| Eric Trump said 'we have all the funding we need out of Russia', golf writer claims Posted: 07 May 2017 07:42 AM PDT  Eric Trump allegedly revealed in a 2014 interview that Russia funded the family's golf resorts "all the time". Golf writer James Dodson revealed the claims this month in an interview with a Boston radio station, explaining that he had met Donald Trump and his son three years ago when he was invited to play golf at their Trump National Charlotte course. Mr Dodson said he had asked the now-President how he had secured funding for the courses, and Mr Trump "sort of tossed off that he had access to $100 million".
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| Latest: Texas officer released on bond after turning self in Posted: 05 May 2017 08:16 PM PDT  DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer in suburban Dallas (all times local):
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| CR's Charcoal Grill Championship: Weber Kettle vs. Big Green Egg Posted: 06 May 2017 03:00 AM PDT  Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. In this corner we have the Weber Original Kettle, $80. It dots the backyards of millions of American homes, making it pr...
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| Apple May Spend Cash Pile On Buying Tesla: Report Posted: 07 May 2017 04:17 AM PDT  According to a Citibank analyst, potential companies on the iPhone maker's radar include Walt Disney and Netflix, among others.
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| Alligator bites girl in shallow lake waters at Florida park Posted: 07 May 2017 08:28 AM PDT ![Alligator bites girl in shallow lake waters at Florida park]( "Alligator bites girl in shallow lake waters at Florida park") ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An alligator bit a 10-year-old girl on the leg as she sat in shallow lake waters at a Florida park, authorities said.
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| Iowa Supreme Court blocks portion of 20-week abortion ban Posted: 06 May 2017 04:21 AM PDT ![Iowa Supreme Court blocks portion of 20-week abortion ban]( "Iowa Supreme Court blocks portion of 20-week abortion ban") The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday granted an emergency temporary injunction halting a portion of a 20-week abortion ban that was signed into law by Republican Governor Terry Branstad just hours earlier. The law, passed by Iowa's Republican-controlled House and Senate last month, bans abortions once a pregnancy reaches 20 weeks and stipulates a three-day waiting period before women can undergo any abortion. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood, a group that provides family planning services, including abortions, challenged the waiting-period part of the legislation in court as well as the requirement for an additional clinical visit women must make before an abortion.
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| Mozambique's gas boom dream under threat Posted: 07 May 2017 03:48 AM PDT  The small, palm-fringed fishing town of Palma was meant to become a symbol of Mozambique's glittering future, transformed by one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas projects. Tucked between the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean and thick tropical forests, Palma remains a sleepy village of 3,000 people, still waiting for the promised arrival of new jobs and infrastructure. The discovery of gas reserves in 2010, estimated at 180 trillion cubic feet (five trillion cubic metres) in the surrounding Rovuma Basin, was the biggest natural gas find in recent decades.
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| OnePlus 5 Rumors: Outgunning Galaxy S8 for Much Less Posted: 05 May 2017 08:02 PM PDT  The OnePlus 3T is the best unlocked phone available for less than $500. The OnePlus 5 should offer less bezel and a bigger screen than the 3T. As spotted by BGR, Chinese site PCPop reports that OnePlus will go with an expanded screen on the OnePlus 5 that all but eliminates the front bezel on the phone.
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| U.N. expert keen to probe Philippines killings, but won't debate Duterte Posted: 06 May 2017 05:49 AM PDT  A United Nations expert who irked the Philippines with a surprise visit said on Saturday she was keen to return and investigate alleged summary killings, but only if President Rodrigo Duterte drops his condition that she must hold a debate with him. Agnes Callamard, U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, has been vocal about allegations of systematic executions in the Philippines as part of Duterte's war on drugs.
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| Stepmother Allegedly Tried to Poison Her Husband's 17-Month-Old Daughter With Nail Polish Remover Posted: 06 May 2017 07:56 AM PDT  The girl was unharmed.
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| Amazon just discounted the Echo for the first time in 2017 Posted: 07 May 2017 07:30 AM PDT 
Earlier this week, we told you about a big sale Amazon is running on refurbished Echo speakers. $134.99 is a fantastic price for a certified refurbished (and warrantied) Amazon Echo, but some people prefer to stick to brand new devices. There's no problem with that, of course, and we have some great news for you. With Mother's Day right around the corner, Amazon just slashed the price of its brand new Amazon Echo speaker for the first time this year. From now through the end of the day on May 13, Amazon is chopping $30 off the price of a new Amazon Echo speaker in either black or white. That drops the price of the top-of-the-line Amazon Echo down to $149.99, which is just $20 more than the mid-range Amazon Tap. It's a killer deal, but it won't last so definitely grab one while you can. Here are some key details from the Echo product page: - Plays all your music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more using just your voice
- Fills the room with immersive, 360º omni-directional audio
- Allows hands-free convenience with voice-control
- Hears you from across the room with far-field voice recognition, even while music is playing
- Answers questions, reads the news, reports traffic and weather, reads audiobooks from Audible, gives info on local businesses, provides sports scores and schedules, and more using the Alexa Voice Service
- Controls lights, fans, switches, thermostats, garage doors, sprinklers, locks, and more with compatible connected devices from WeMo, Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, Nest, ecobee, and others
- Always getting smarter and adding new features, plus thousands of skills like Uber, Domino's, and more
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| Elon Musk And The Future Of Tesla, Apple, Model S And Model X In 4 Quotes Posted: 06 May 2017 02:00 PM PDT  Here's some of the most notable takeaways from Tesla's first-quarter earnings call.
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| Dakota Access Pipeline protest movement now focuses on the money Posted: 07 May 2017 06:45 AM PDT  It's been a tough few months for opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). First Donald Trump officially approved the $3.8 billion project. Then indigenous people were forced to clear out of the Oceti Sakowin and Sacred Stone protest camps. And with construction done, oil has now begun flowing from North Dakota to Illinois. But the opposition has not faded away. In fact, it's entering a new phase by moving from the plains of North Dakota into city councils and corporate boardrooms. And its indigenous leaders are scoring big victories. They've convinced cities to divest billions of dollars in their portfolios from Wells Fargo, which is financing about 5 percent of Dakota Access. Several major European banks have also dropped investments in the project. SEE ALSO: 9-year-old girl seeks clean air for her generation, sues Indian government over pollution The protest camps at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation "planted seeds in thousands upon thousands of people's moral sensibilities," said Jackie Fielder, a 22-year-old indigenous activist. She's now fighting to get San Francisco to divest: "I don't think [the DAPL opposition] is nearly over. It's multiplying." The DAPL divestment movement may foreshadow similar protests to come against the Keystone XL Pipeline project, which President Trump also green-lit, and other infrastructure that would increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Fielder was born and raised in Long Beach, California. But she has deep ancestral ties to the land and water Standing Rock protesters are fighting to protect. She's an enrolled member of North Dakota's Three Affiliated Tribes – and is also descended from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, a key leader in the Dakota Access opposition. Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrators outside the White House on March 10, 2017.Image: AP/REX/ShutterstockFielder traveled to the Sacred Stone camp last December. "When I left I decided I wanted to do something," she said. "It wasn't clear what that was going to be." The answer came to her in early February. That was when Seattle's City Council decided to cut its $3 billion worth of financial ties to Wells Fargo. "We are taking a bold policy step today," said Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez. It was the result of a campaign led by Matt Remle, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, along with other activists. Seattle was then followed by the cities of Davis and Santa Monica, California, which together pledged to withdraw more than $1.1 billion from Wells Fargo. Fielder was watching all this unfold in San Francisco, where she had recently graduated from Stanford University. "I was like, 'we gotta do this,'" she said. Fielder made inquiries among local indigenous groups. Were any of them running divestment campaigns? Did they have any interest in starting one? But many of the groups seemed too busy to take it on. So she decided to create her own. "With the energy and time I have as a young person," she said, "it seemed like I could actually take this up." With the blessing of older activists, Fielder contacted people across the Bay Area on social media. And in late February, several dozen activists made the case for divestment at a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting. On March 14 Fielder's "Defund DAPL" coalition won its first victory. The Board passed a resolution pledging to explore the feasibility of divesting from companies with ties to Dakota Access. It was a promising start. Fielder and her fellow activists are now pushing the city to officially drop its $1.2 billion in pipeline-related investments. One way San Francisco might do that is by forming its own municipal bank. In the meantime, other activists are pressuring city councils in Los Angeles, Raleigh, New York, Chicago, Bellingham, Albuquerque, and Portland to take action. The Dutch financial giant ING and the Norwegian pension fund KLP have sold off their investments in Dakota Access, and were followed earlier this month by the French bank BNP Paribas SA. City Council member Kshama Sawant, center, speaks in favor of Wells Fargo divestment during a committee meeting on Feb. 1, 2017.Image: AP/REX/ShutterstockA coalition of investors worth $653 billion is standing in solidarity with the Standing Rock protesters. And a social media campaign to get individuals to pull their savings from banks financing the pipeline has so far added $79 million to divestment efforts. In late April, Fielder and other indigenous activists took their case directly to Wells Fargo's annual shareholder's meeting in Florida. "I'm the product of what happens when you protect the water," she said, before being escorted out by security. Yet none of the activities has had a discernible financial impact on Dakota Access or the banks still funding the project. The company building it, Energy Transfer Partners, expects the pipeline to eventually be transporting up to 570,000 barrels of oil per day. With the Trump administration doing all it can to support the pipeline, and the courts seemingly reluctant to stand in favor of indigenous rights, Fielder acknowledges that the odds are stacked against the Dakota Access divestment movement. Yet she sees it as a way for regular people across the U.S. and the world to communicate a wider message of protest. "Divestment is a people-powered intervention in the market," Fielder said. "It's actually willing into existence a new world where we don't depend on fossil fuels." She sees this as her way of fighting back against the centuries of repression that indigenous peoples have suffered from the U.S. government. "This is not just a financial stance but also moral stance. It's hard to put a dollar price on living up to your morals." WATCH:
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