Psychiatrists tell Congress Donald Trump is 'a clear and present danger' to the world - Independent

Psychiatrists tell Congress Donald Trump is 'a clear and present danger' to the world

'It no longer takes a psychiatrist to recognise the alarming patterns of impulsive, reckless, and narcissistic behaviour,' group claims

A group of psychiatrists has written to Congress to warn Donald Trump poses a "clear and present danger" to the world.

Among them is Dr Bandy Lee, of Yale University, who is also reportedly consulting with Democratic members of Congress on setting up an expert panel to give advice on the President's mental health.

She is concerned by Mr Trump's "dangerousness", Dr Lee told USA Today.

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The group's letter, sent to members of both parties, said: "It no longer takes a psychiatrist to recognise the alarming patterns of impulsive, reckless, and narcissistic behaviour — regardless of diagnosis — that, in the person of President Trump, put the world at risk.

"We now find ourselves in a clear and present danger, especially concerning North Korea and the President’s command of the US nuclear arsenal."

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It comes after Democrats proposed creating an 11-member, cross-party Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity which would be responsible for examining the US president’s mental and physical health.

First tabled by Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, and now backed by more than two dozen members of the House, the bill would see Mr Trump or any other US president forced from the Oval Office is he or she is deemed to be mentally or physically unfit for the role.

Discussion of Mr Trump's fitness to lead has intensified in the days since his extraordinary address to supporters in Phoenix, Arizona.

The President blasted "damned dishonest" journalists and took aim at both the state's Republican senators in a rambling speech, having abandoned his teleprompters.

He also revisited his various statements in the wake of far-right violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, reading portions to prove he had condemned white supremacists and had been misrepresented by the media.

These Are the 12 Employers Who Have Laid Off the Most Workers This Year - TIME

These Are the 12 Employers Who Have Laid Off the Most Workers This Year Posted: 24 Aug 2017 11:08 AM PDT Layoffs just keep coming in the retail sector. A slew of chains and mall mainstays like Macy’s, J. Crew, and Sears have announced layoffs, bankruptcies, and store closures in the past few years, a phenomenon analysts are calling the “retail apocalypse.” The closures are so severe, in fact, that research from Credit Suisse found 20 to “25% of all U.S. malls will close by 2022.” But other industries have also been hard hit this year. According to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an outplacement firm, the energy sector has lost some 255,000 jobs in 2017. Below are the 12 companies laying off the most workers, according to data pulled from Challenger, Gray and Christmas by 24/7 Wall St. The numbers take into account worldwide job losses announced in 2017 through the end of July. 12. The State Department Layoffs: 2,300 Number of employees: 69,000 Though it’s technically not a business, the State Department, headed by former Exxon exec Rex Tillerson, will slash 9% of its workforce, according to Bloomberg, in an effort to cut its budget. The layoffs will take place over two years, and some people will receive buyouts. 11. Lowe’s Cos. Layoffs: 2,400 Number of employees: 290,000 Lowe’s cut 2,400 managers in January, and Fortune reports it will likely cut hundreds more jobs before the year is up. 10. The Hershey Company Layoffs: 2,697 Number of employees: 18,000 Hershey is cutting thousands of jobs worldwide, reducing its workforce by 15%. Fortune reports other food manufacturers like Kellogg and General Mills are also cutting jobs. 9. General Motors Layoffs: 2,700 Number of employees: 225,000 While 24/7 Wall Street’s tally accounts for 2,700 job losses in Venezuela, the car maker has announced thousands more layoffs in the states. According to CNN Money, GM announced in May that it will cut around 300 jobsin its plant in Warren, Mich., and notes that “(t)his is the fifth time that GM has eliminated a shift of work at a U.S. plant since last November, eliminating a total of about 5,000 jobs.” 8. Dollar Express Layoffs: 2,800 Number of employees: 0 Dollar Express was sold to Dollar General earlier this year, and many of its stores were shuttered. 7. Weatherford International Layoffs: 3,000 (worldwide; also cut 9,000 jobs in 2016) Number of employees: 39,500 As energy prices decline, Weatherford International, an oil-field service company, said it would cut around 3,000 jobs worldwide and close facilities in an effort to downsize and reduce its debt burden. Next year, it plans to sell its land drilling rigs business in the Middle East and North Africa, according to Fuel Fix. 6. Wet Seal Inc. Layoffs: 3,000 Number of employees: 0 (the company filed for bankruptcy in 2015) The retailer announced it would close its remaining 171 stores across 42 states in January. Wet Seal originally filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2015, but was unable to find a buyer or raise emergency capital in the ensuing time. 5. The Limited Layoffs: 4,000 Number of employees: 0 (closed all of its stores but will continue to do business online) Another victim of the retail apocalypse, the Limited closed all of its brick-and-mortars, though its online shop is “coming soon.” 4. State Farm Layoffs: 4,200 Number of employees: 70,000 The largest home and auto insurer in the country announced it would shut 11 facilities and cut some 4,200 jobs after a “$7 billion annual underwriting loss last year on auto policies,” per the Insurance Journal. 3. HHGregg Layoffs: 5,000 Number of employees: 0 HHGregg began liquidating all of its stores this year after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reports the IndyStar. 2. JC Penney Layoffs: 5,500 Number of employees: 106,000 Earlier this year, JC Penney announced it would shutter 130 to 140 stores and two distribution centers and layoff almost 6,000 workers, some of whom would be offered buyouts. The company expects the cuts to amount to $200 million in savings. 1. Macy’s Layoffs: 10,000 Number of employees: 158,000 The past few years have not been kind to this retail giant. Macy’s announced it would close 68 stores in year, affecting around 4,000 employees, as part of its effort to shutter 100 store fronts, or around 15% of its stores.

Samsung Heir Lee Jae-yong Jailed for Five Years for Corruption - TIME Business

Samsung Heir Lee Jae-yong Jailed for Five Years for Corruption Posted: 25 Aug 2017 01:13 AM PDT The billionaire heir-apparent to South Korean electronics giant Samsung has been jailed for five years as part of a whopping corruption scandal that also prompted the impeachment of the East Asian nation’s former President Park Geun-hye late last year Lee Jae-yong, 49, who effectively ran the world’s biggest cellphone maker in place of his ailing father, stood accused of bribery and embezzlement relating to payoffs to a confidante of Park who lobbied on the $250 billion company’s behalf. Lee was accused of giving $36 million to non-profits run by Choi Soon-sil, a family friend of Park, in return for political favors including helping to get a controversial merger approved than cemented his family’s control over the company at the expense of smaller investors. In defense, Lee claimed he was naively unsure of the inner workings of his own company, which he was forced to helm after his father, Lee Kun-hee, slipped into a coma following a heart attack in 2014. The younger Lee rejected the prosecution’s suggestion that he was in fact a master manipulator. “In retrospect I had a lot of shortcomings and didn’t take care of the things that needed to be taken care of, and that’s all my fault,” he told the court earlier this month. “It was my responsibility. I have no excuses.” The case has gripped South Korean society, which saw it as encapsulating the inordinate and venal sway the nation’s biggest family-controlled conglomerates — known as chaebol — hold over government and the economy. Samsung alone accounts for some 20% of national GDP. “[The severity of the sentence] is a little surprising given the way that the courts have previously handled chaebol officials with kid cloves, especially those from prominent families,” Professor Sean O’Malley, a political scientist at Dongseo University in Busan, tells TIME. “Politicians here often think because the family is so important to the economic structure of South Korea they should be treated more leniently.” South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who replaced Park in snap elections May 9 following the confirmation of her impeachment, has vowed to rein in the power of the chaebol. Although most candidates for South Korea’s top job make this promise, including the ill-fated Park, the Lee ruling is the surest sign yet that South Korea’s courts have taken note of the public mood. “I’m not sure the government of Moon Jae-in actually had much of a hand in this,” adds O’Malley. “This seems to be the court system simply following the constitution and administering the law.” Lee’s lawyer Song Wu-cheol told reporters after the ruling that an appeal will be launched shortly, though its almost certain that he will have to do so from detention, where he’s already lived since February. “We are confident the ruling will be overturned,” Song said. Lee’s conviction raises questions over the future of Samsung, which was already reeling from the public relations disaster of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The firm, which made $19 billion of profits last year, saw its share price tumble 1% after Lee’s jailing.