The San Juan Daily Star. August 28-30,

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2 8 Testy News Conference Exchange Puts Donald Trump s Quirks on Display By MICHAEL BARBARO It was Donald J. Trump at his neediest, pleading with the television anchor in front of him to acknowledge a poll that, he said, showed that Hispanics really do love him. You saw that, right? he asked. Did you see it? Wait. Did you see it? It was Donald Trump at his wiliest, declaring in one breath that he had no idea who the anchor was and, in the next, reminding the journalist, Jorge Ramos, that he was the subject of a Trump lawsuit. And it was Donald Trump at his most self-conscious, kicking Mr. Ramos out of a news conference and then, sensing that the mood in the room was turning against him, inviting Mr. Ramos back to pepper the candidate with questions. Now I like him, Mr. Trump told a press corps seemingly dazed from the whiplash. The 30-minute news conference Mr. Trump presided over in Iowa on Tuesday night was the purest distillation of the psychological quirks and emotional idiosyncrasies that have made his candidacy such an irresistible spectacle at times repellent, but often riveting. One of the lasting memories of this campaign is going to be that exchange, said David Gergen, an adviser to four presidents. America is well acquainted with Trump the Tormentor, who, armed with a bully s eye for weak spots, expertly deploys an arsenal of clever insults at his unfortunate rivals. But as the news conference wore on, viewers saw something more revealing: the profound vulnerability and the insatiable hunger for affirmation that lurk beneath Mr. Trump s better-known qualities of bombast and bravado. Most candidates for president take extraordinary pains to conceal their obsession with the news media s coverage of them, with their daily standing in polls and, heaven forbid, with their moment-by-moment treatment on Twitter. It is all beneath them, they insist. Not Mr. Trump, for whom it serves as a kind of life force. When asked on Tuesday about his caustic treatment of the Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Mr. Trump reveled in the wisdom of the Internet, which he said had declared him the winner of that particular feud. All you have to do is look, he told the reporters assembled before him at a convention center in Dubuque, Iowa. You will see who people favor in that one. Pressed on his sometimes outrageous conduct during the first Republican presidential debate, Mr. Trump ticked off, by name, the instant audience polls that had shown him outperforming his nine rivals on stage. I won in every single poll of the debate, he said. I Donald J. Trump and the Univision reporter Jorge Ramos faced off Tuesday at Mr. Trump s news conference in Dubuque, Iowa. won from Drudge. I won in Time magazine. The absence of anything resembling a conventional political filter has left political veterans stunned. There is no thought left unexpressed, no self-praise left unspoken, Mr. Gergen said with amusement and dismay. At most of Mr. Trump s public appearances, he remains firmly in control of the stage, speaking to adoring audiences from the safety of a distant lectern or inviting reporters to interview him on his home turf: a marble atrium within Trump Tower in Manhattan. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump was on less familiar terrain: standing on a spare stage in a faraway state, with a heavy blue curtain as his backdrop and dozens of skeptical political reporters arranged in front of him. In his back and forth with Mr. Ramos, a popular newsman on Univision and an outspoken detractor of Mr. Trump, he veered from scornful to solicitous, his recalibrations unfolding in real time for all to see. Sit down, Mr. Trump said scoldingly when Mr. Ramos shot up and started his interrogation. I have the right to ask a question, Mr. Ramos declared. No, you don t. You haven t been called, Mr. Trump said, adding a classic dose of Trump derision. Go back to Univision. With that, Mr. Trump pursed his lips and gazed over at his security detail, signaling for them to act. They did, removing an aggrieved Mr. Ramos. But when a reporter from MSNBC, Kasie Hunt, spoke up for Mr. Ramos, asking Mr. Trump if he would let him return to the room, the candidate began to re-evaluate his heavy-handed approach. Mr. Ramos was allowed back in. Go ahead, Jorge, he said, belying his earlier claim of not knowing Mr. Ramos. This time, when Mr. Ramos questioned him, Mr. Trump showed new and sudden patience. His sarcasm eventually receded, his voice fell an octave, and a smile came over his face. Even as Mr. Ramos interrupted, Mr. Trump offered an explanation of why, in his view, babies born to immigrants who are in the United States illegally are not necessarily citizens. It s possibly going to have to be tested in courts, he allowed. But Mr. Trump s tolerance had its limits, and when Mr. Ramos challenged him, he grasped for stature, repeatedly telling the journalists that the greatest legal scholars agreed with him on the question, and suggesting that lesser minds sided with Mr. Ramos. I know some of these television scholars agree with you, he said dryly. Despite his frustration, Mr. Trump kept engaging with Mr. Ramos, over and over, unwilling to accept the disapproval of such an influential figure. I can t deal with this, Mr. Trump said at one point. But he kept trying. Do you know how many Hispanics are working for me? he asked Mr. Ramos. O.K. They love me. They love me. Mr. Ramos seemed unmoved. But Mr. Trump declared a détente between them anyway, willing it into reality with words. You and I will talk, he told Mr. Ramos. We re going to be talking a lot over the years. Mr. Ramos, standing a few feet away, tried to interrupt with another question. Mr. Trump talked over him. We will, Mr. Trump added. O.K.

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4 Mainland 10 Rubio: Donald Trump Won t Be Republican Nominee Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says Donald Trump will not be the Republican presidential nominee because his message is not an optimistic one. Rubio has largely shied away from taking on Trump, the billionaire businessman sitting atop polls of the Republican rivals. In recent weeks, candidates such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have started to go head-to-head with Trump. Rubio s criticisms earlier this week were measured, even when asked about Trump s comment that Rubio is disloyal and disrespectful for running against Bush, who was Rubio s mentor in Florida politics. I think our nominee is going to be someone that embraces the future, that understands the opportunities before us, that s optimistic but realistic about the challenges before us, Rubio told reporters after a meetand-greet event in New Hampshire s North Country. I m running for president, I m not running against anybody, Rubio said. I ll continue to talk about my message. Speaking to a small crowd outside an auto body shop in a town of roughly 1,200, Rubio focused largely on his message of ushering in a new era of prosperity. He also drew a contrast between his message and Trump s, which centers on the slogan Make America Great Again. I understand what he s trying to say, Rubio said, but I would remind him that America is great, and you know why I know America is great? Because ask yourself this question: Who would you trade places with? Rubio said: The issue s not that America isn t great, the issue is that America has the chance to be greater. Trump s rhetoric on immigration in particular has some Republicans worried about the party s ability to attract support from Hispanic voters, pivotal in the general election. Rubio didn t answer when asked whether Trump s comments are hurting that effort. Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., greets 77- year-old Marie Kenneally during a campaign stop at the VFW, Wednesday, in Littleton, N.H. Ultimately the Republican Party will reach out to all voters based on who our nominee is, and I don t believe Donald Trump will be our nominee, he said. Father of Slain Virginia TV Reporter Urges Stricter Gun Laws By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA After the murder of two journalists on live television by a former co-worker, the father of one victim made a series of emotional appeals for laws that would prevent mentally ill people from buying guns, while the station they worked for observed a moment of silence on Thursday. I m going to do something, whatever it takes, to get gun legislation, to shame people, to shame legislators into doing something about closing loopholes and background checks, and making sure crazy people don t get guns, Andy Parker, the father of Alison Parker, said Wednesday night on Fox News. This is not the last you ve heard of me. This is something that is Alison s legacy that I want to make happen. Thursday morning, on CNN, he said, I m for the Second Amendment, but there has to be a way to force politicians who are cowards in the pockets of the N.R.A. to make sensible laws to make sure crazy people can t get guns. Citing previous massacres by people with mental illnesses, he asked, How many Alisons will it take? Appearing with Mr. Parker on Fox, Chris Hurst, Ms. Parker s boyfriend and a fellow reporter at WDBJ-TV here, spoke more indirectly, emphasizing that he had covered mental health issues, and did not want society to react to the tragedy by deciding to discriminate against everybody else who has a mental illness. Clearly, something went wrong here between him leaving our station and being able to purchase a gun and commit a premeditated act, Mr. Hurst said. Even before the shooting on Wednesday morning, he said there had been ample time beforehand where many, many other things went Kimberly McBroom, a WDBJ anchorwoman, and Leo Hirsbrunner, a meteorologist, right. They were joined by a visiting anchorman, Steve Grant, second from left, and Dr. Thomas Milam, of the Carilion Clinic, as they observed a moment of silence during the early morning newscast on Thursday. wrong. Those need to be addressed. On WDBJ on Thursday morning, Kimberly McBroom, an anchor, said, We come to you this morning with very heavy hearts, as she and her colleagues remembered Ms. Parker, 24, a reporter, and Adam Ward, 27, a cameraman. The moment of silence came at 6:45 a.m., the time a day earlier when Ms. Parker and Mr. Ward were killed by Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, a former reporter at the station, who later took his own life. During the moment of silence, the station showed photographs of the two slain journalists. Moments before, Ms. McBroom joined hands with a weather forecaster, Leo Hirsbrunner, and an anchor, Steve Grant, who was from a sister station in Missouri. Joining hands here on the desk, Ms. McBroom said, her voice faltering at times. It s the only way to do it. Ms. McBroom was also the anchor when the shootings occurred, while Ms. Parker and Mr. Ward were delivering a live report from the town of Moneta. When the report was interrupted by the sounds of gunshots and screams, and jumbled images from the camera falling to the floor, the broadcast cut back to the stunned face of Ms. McBroom, who told viewers she was not sure what had just happened. I thought maybe it was fireworks, or something that blew on his camera, or maybe someone was shooting far away, she said in an interview on Thursday. All those things were going through my mind not this. The longer we went without hearing from them, the more I worried something bad had happened to them, she added. Standing outside the station where a crowd of onlookers joined a crowd of journalists, Ms. McBroom fought back emotion as she related her affection for the pair that she described as colleagues, friends, and even family. I love them both and miss them so much. Throughout the morning, colleagues of the two journalists worked to deliver the news and the weather to their viewers, while also covering a tragedy that hit close to home. Interspersed with the local news and reports about the killing were individual tributes to Ms. Parker and Mr. Ward many told by workers on the brink of tears. Employees would get through the day, Ms. McBroom said, by leaning on one another and with the help of viewers.

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6 Mainland 12 Joe Biden Isn t Sure Family Is Ready for Run By MAGGIE HABERMAN In a conference call earlier this week, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. told Democratic National Committee members that he was uncertain if his family had the emotional fuel for another presidential campaign. The call was intended as a pitch for the nuclear containment deal with Iran, but after an hour or so of speaking at length in support of the agreement, the first question that Mr. Biden received was about whether he was prepared to join the presidential race. When speaking on the Iran deal, his voice was clear and determined, describing his staunch support of Israel but saying that he wholeheartedly believed the Iran agreement was solid. But when discussing his family, Mr. Biden sounded somber, and without naming his son Beau, who died on May 30, he spoke of a family in deep grief. Were he to run, he would have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul, he said, and right now, both are pretty well banged up. I m not trying to skirt your question, he said. That s the truth of the matter, but believe me, I ve given this a lot of thought and dealing internally with the family on how we do this. The call was not open to reporters, but the audio was made public by CNN. Mr. Biden has been weighing whether to begin a campaign in a 2016 Democratic nominating contest in which many of President Obama s advisers have aligned with Hillary Rodham Clinton. A Draft Biden movement is underway, led by a former aide to Beau Biden, and some of the vice president s advisers have been in touch with people about how to put together enough money for a campaign and for a super PAC, according to people briefed on the discussions and who were granted anonymity to speak about private conversations. Mrs. Clinton, campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday, described Mr. Biden as a friend and seemed to give him space to make up his mind. I have a great deal of admiration and affection for him, she said. And I think he has to make what is a very difficult decision for himself and his family, and he Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at the White House. should have the space and the opportunity to decide what he wants to do. I m going to be running for president regardless, and I m going to be continuing to put forth my policies. She added, I always thought this would be a competitive campaign. Cities Say Trump s Comments on Immigrants in Gangs Unfounded By JIM SALTER Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says gangs in places such as Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis and Ferguson, Missouri, are populated with rough dudes in the country illegally. But officials in those cities say there s no evidence to support him. You know a lot of the gangs that you see in Baltimore and in St. Louis and Ferguson and Chicago, do you know they re illegal immigrants? Trump asked this week in a Dubuque, Iowa, news conference. They re here illegally. And they re rough dudes. Rough people. He made similar comments about those cities on Sunday news shows. Trump has proposed deporting all people who are in the country illegally before allowing some to return. They re going to be gone so fast, if I win, that your head will spin, he said. But representatives of three of the four cities disputed Trump s claim, while in the fourth, Chicago, police say they don t track the immigration status of gang members. A message left with Trump s campaign on Wednesday was not returned. In St. Louis, officials have no evidence that immigrants, whether in the country legally or illegally, play big roles in the city s gangs, said Maggie Crane, speaking for the Democratic mayor, Francis Slay. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in Dubuque, Iowa on Tuesday Illegal immigrants are not a problem for St. Louis, Crane said. Our gangs are not made up of illegal immigrants. I have zero idea where Mr. Trump may have fabricated that idea. Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III, a Republican, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he has never seen gangs of immigrants and that s not on our law enforcement s radar. No large group of ethnically oriented gangs. Ferguson was the site of significant violence last year after 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, was fatally shot by white police officer Darren Wilson. Hundreds of people were arrested during protests and riots that followed the shooting, and after a grand jury declined to prosecute Wilson. Police in St. Louis County said none of those arrests involved anyone in the country illegally. In Baltimore, a spokesman for the Democratic mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, questioned Trump s facts. Clearly we have our problem with gangs, but we haven t seen any clear relationship that would suggest that undocumented immigrants play any kind of substantial role in our crime issues here, Howard Libit said. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the department has no data to indicate how many gang members are people living in the country illegally. Mr. Trump obviously hasn t spent enough time in Chicago, where we don t treat immigrants like secondclass residents, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, said in a statement. In fact, St. Louis and Baltimore officials emphasized efforts to attract more immigrants. Baltimore prides itself on being welcoming to immigrants, Libit said. Welcoming them to Baltimore is part of our long-term strategy to grow the city.

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8 Mainland 14 Improving Economy Shares Blame for Worst US Traffic Ever More jobs and cheaper gasoline come with a big, honking downside: U.S. roads are more clogged than ever now that the recession is in the rearview mirror. Commuters in Washington, D.C., suffer the most, losing an average of 82 hours a year to rush-hour slowdowns, a new study finds. Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York come next on the list of urban areas with the longest delays. But the pain reaches across the nation. Overall, American motorists are stuck in traffic about 5 percent more than they were in 2007, the pre-recession peak, says the report from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and INRIX Inc., which analyzes traffic data. Four out of five cities have now surpassed their 2007 congestion. Rounding out the Top 10 worst commuting cities are San Jose, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Houston and Riverside-San Bernardino. Cities with fast-growing economies and the most job growth are the most plagued by traffic. Other factors: Urban populations are increasing and lower fuel prices are making driving less expensive, so more people are taking to city roads. Congestion increased in 61 of the nation s 101 largest cities from 2012 to 2013, the data showed. The following year, nearly all cities 95 out of 101 experienced greater congestion. The findings are based on federal data about how many cars are on the roads and on traffic speed data collected by INRIX on 1.3 million miles of urban streets and highways. The growth is outpacing the nation s ability to build the roads, bridges, trains and other infrastructure to handle all these people on the move. Congress has kept federal transportation programs teetering on the edge of insolvency for nearly eight years because lawmakers have been unwilling to raise the federal gas tax and haven t found a politically palatable alternative to pay for needed improvements. Frustrated by Washington s inaction, nearly a third of states have approved measures this year that could collectively raise billions of dollars for transportation through higher fuel taxes, vehicle fees and bonds. But that s just a down payment on decades of delayed maintenance, repairs and replacements. Our growing traffic problem is too massive for any one entity to handle state and local agencies can t do it alone, said Tim Lomax, a co-author of the report. The report recommends a mix of solutions, including making existing road and transit More jobs and cheaper gasoline come with a big, honking downside: U.S. roads are more clogged than ever now that the recession is in the rearview mirror. systems more efficient, encouraging more flexible work schedules, adding capacity to high-growth travel corridors, and creating more high-density neighborhoods where homes, offices, stores and other development can be reached through walking, biking or public transit. Transportation analyst Alan Pisarski said the nation missed a tremendous opportunity to catch up on building additional transportation capacity during the recession, when construction costs plummeted. We didn t take advantage of it and now we re back in the soup again, he said. The national average time that commuters wasted stuck in traffic last year was 42 hours, about the same as in 2007 and more than twice the delay in 1982, when the transportation institute first began assessing urban mobility. But because there are so many more commuters today and far more congestion in off-peak hours, total delay across the country has increased over Overall, Americans experienced 6.9 billion hours of traffic delays in 2014 compared to 6.6 billion in 2007 and 1.8 billion in The problem has become so bad in major urban areas that drivers have to plan for more than twice as much travel time as they would normally need to account for the possibility of congestion delays caused by bad weather, collisions, construction zones and other impediments, the report said. Other findings in the report: Trucks account for about 18 percent of urban congestion, although they represent just 7 percent of urban travel. The cost of congestion to the average auto commuter was $960 in lost time and fuel in 2014, compared to an inflation-adjusted $400 in About 40 percent of delays occur in midday and overnight hours, making it more difficult to avoid delays by avoiding commuter rush hours. Severe or extreme congestion levels affected one of every four trips in 2014, up from one in nine trips in The report comes on the heels of other evidence that Americans are embracing driving more than ever. The Department of Transportation said Americans drove more than 3 trillion miles in the last 12 months, surpassing the previous record set in And the National Safety Council said preliminary data for the first six months of this year shows traffic deaths are up 14 percent, a turnaround after years of fewer fatalities. If the economy remains strong, congestion will continue to worsen, the report projects. In the next five years, the annual delay per commuter would grow from 42 to 47 hours, the total delay nationwide would grow from 6.9 billion hours to 8.3 billion hours, and the total cost of congestion would jump from $160 billion to $192 billion, researchers estimated.