Los Angeles Times - 04.10.2019

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WASHINGTON — Presi-

dent Trump urged China to

investigate former Vice

President Joe Biden and his

son, potentially adding a

dramatic new risk for the

White House in an impeach-

ment inquiry focused on

Trump’s outreach to foreign

governments to help him

win reelection next year.

Unlike Trump’s then-pri-

vate appeal in July for

Ukraine to dig up dirt on his

domestic political oppo-

nents, the crux of the House

Democrats’ investigation so

far, the president publicly

solicited China’s help Thurs-

day in front of TV cameras

on the South Lawn of the

White House.

In both cases the presi-

dent smeared Biden, a lead-

ing Democratic presidential

candidate, with a stew of un-

substantiated or false alle-

gations of corruption. No ev-

idence has emerged of any

wrongdoing by the former

vice president or his son

Hunter, who had business

dealings in both Ukraine

and China.

“China should start an in-

vestigation into the Bidens,

because what happened in

China is just about as bad

as what happened with

Ukraine,” Trump declared

before heading to an event at

the Villages, a retirement

community in central Flor-

ida.

He added: “You may very

well find that there are many

other countries that they

scammed.”

Trump said Chinese offi-

cials would visit Washington

next week in an effort to re-

His public request

comes amid a House

impeachment effort

focused on his similar

appeal to Ukraine.

By Noah Bierman,

Alexa Díaz

and Sarah D. Wire

[SeeChina, A8]

Trump urges

Biden inquiry

by China too

WASHINGTON — As

President Trump tries furi-

ously to fend off impeach-

ment, he has hurled caustic

taunts and crude insults at

one figure above all — Rep.

Adam B. Schiff, the Burbank

Democrat who is spear-

heading the House inquiry.

Schiff is “shifty,” he com-

mitted “treason,” he is “lid-

dle,” a “lowlife,” not fit to

carry the secretary of State’s

“blank strap,” the president

has said. “He’s a stone-cold

liar,” the president added

Thursday.

After Democrats won

control of the House last No-

vember, Schiff became

chairman of the House Intel-

ligence Committee — and a

piercing thorn in Trump’s

side. Since then, depending

on one’s point of view, he has

helped lead Democratic ef-

forts to prosecute — or per-

secute — the president who

shatters norms on a daily ba-

sis.

Schiff says he isn’t de-

terred by what he called the

president’s “steady stream

of invective” aimed at him.

Trump’s jabs and gibes seek

to divert attention and avoid

accountability for his own

misconduct, he said.

“He would much rather

vilify an opponent than have

to explain his actions,” Schiff

said in an interview. “He

doesn’t want to talk about

his behavior; he wants to at-

tack others.”

Although he usually

[SeeSchiff, A8]

President

focuses

his fury

on Schiff

The Burbank

congressman leading

impeachment effort

emerges as Trump’s

favorite target.

By Chris Megerian,

Sarah D. Wire

and Noah Bierman

Tesla unleashed the lat-
est twist in driverless car
technology last week, rais-
ing more questions about
whether autonomous vehi-
cles are outracing public offi-
cials and safety regulators.
The Palo Alto electric car
company on Sept. 26
beamed a software feature
called Smart Summon to
Tesla owners who prepaid
for it. Using a smartphone, a
person can now command a
Tesla to turn itself on, back
out of its parking space and
drive to the smartphone
holder’s location — say, at
the curb in front of a Costco
store.
The car relies on onboard
sensors and computers to
help it move forward, back
up, steer, accelerate and de-

celerate on its own, braking

if it detects people, other ve-

hicles or stationary objects

in its path. The “driver”

must keep a finger or thumb

on the smartphone screen or

the car will stop.

Tesla recommends the

feature for parking lots, and

the technology’s range — 200

feet — limits its applications.

But in theory, a car can be

summoned anywhere — to

drive down a public street,

for instance. Sure enough,

videos quickly sprouted of

Tesla owners doing just that,

and more. Is it legal? Yes, ac-

cording to the California De-

partment of Motor Vehicles.

And even though the state

has safety requirements

that must be met before

companies can deploy driv-

erless cars, Tesla’s latest

service doesn’t need a per-

CALIFORNIAofficials say Tesla’s new Smart Sum-
mon feature isn’t autonomous because it’s controlled
by cellphone. Above, the dashboard of a Model S.

Chris WalkerChicago Tribune

Your Tesla can

now pick you up

Smart Summon is for parking lot

use. But drivers have other ideas.

By Russ Mitchell

[SeeTesla,A9]

San Francisco Dist. Atty.
George Gascon announced
his resignation Thursday, an
almost certain signal that he
is preparing to challenge
Jackie Lacey to become Los
Angeles County’s top prose-
cutor in a race that could
serve as the largest test yet
of a nationwide push to elect
progressive-minded law en-
forcement officials.
Lacey is popular with law
enforcement but has faced
growing criticism from the
left over several issues, nota-
bly her perceived reluctance
to hold law enforcement offi-
cials accountable for accusa-
tions of misconduct and ex-
cessive force.
Gascon made the an-

nouncement to a gathering

of his staff late Thursday

afternoon before submitting

a formal letter of resignation

to San Francisco Mayor

London Breed, officials said.

In a letter to his colleagues,

Gascon said he plans to

move to Los Angeles, where

he will “explore a run” for dis-

trict attorney.

“Making our communi-

ties safer and more equita-

ble remains my life’s work,

and I’m simply not ready to

slow down and put public

service behind me,” Gascon

wrote.

Two people with knowl-

edge of Gascon’s thinking

said he is likely to enter the

Los Angeles race sometime

after his final day in office in

the Bay Area. They re-

Gascon poised to run in L.A.

San Francisco’s district attorney resigns, all but certainly

setting up a progressive challenge to Jackie Lacey in 2020

By James Queally

[SeeGascon,A9]

A CHALLENGEfrom George Gascon would test

Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, who is popular with L.A. law

enforcement but has faced criticism from the left.

Justin SullivanGetty Images Los Angeles Times

REDENCAO, Brazil — It was a mo-

ment of hope in the fight to save the

world’s largest rainforest.

In 2009, Walmart, Nike and other global

companies vowed to stop buying beef and

leather from Brazilian companies op-

erating in the Amazon.

They were responding to pressure from

the environmental group Greenpeace,

which had determined that cattle ranch-

ing there had become the largest driver of

deforestation in the world, with an aver-

age of one acre of the Amazon cleared ev-

ery eight seconds for grazing.

The threat of a boycott didn’t last long,

thanks to a pledge by Brazil’s largest beef

processors — responsible for 70% of beef

production in the Amazon — to rigorously

monitor their supply chains and avoid do-

ing business with ranches linked to

post-2009 destruction of forest.

In the northern state of Para, where

most of the deforestation has occurred,

the meatpacking companies went even

further and entered into a legally binding

agreement with the state government

mandating fines and abattoir closures if

their cattle were not cleanly sourced.

But a decade later, the Amazon is in

even graver danger, with 17% of its forests

already gone and some scientists warning

that losing as little as 3% more could begin

turning it to savanna because the ecosys-

tem will produce too little rainfall to sus-

tain itself.

This year has been especially bad as

more than 70,000 fires — most set by far-

mers and ranchers to clear land — have

dramatically accelerated the pace of de-

forestation. Cattle ranching remains the

[SeeBrazil,A4]

BRAZILproduces more beef than any other nation except the United States.

Its cattle suppliers include tens of thousands of ranches in the Amazon.

Vincent BevinsFor The Times

Cattle ranching remains

top threat to the Amazon

In Brazil, even laws cannot prevent deforestation

By Jesse Hyde

Struggling to keep

his act together

President Trump is look-

ing more like a desperate

politician than the show-

man of yore amid rising

scrutiny. CALENDAR, E

MORE COVERAGE

The murky rules

of impeachment

The Constitution’s

guidelines for how Con-

gress proceeds are sur-

prisingly vague in many

regards. BACK STORY, A

Father gets

prison in

college scam

Gordon Caplan, a

high-powered lawyer,

receives a one-month

sentence after he

admitted paying

$75,000 to rig his

daughter’s ACT exam.

CALIFORNIA, B

Mass shooting

victims settle

with casino

MGM Resorts agrees

to an $800-million

deal in the Las Vegas

massacre. NATION, A

Weather: Sunny.

L.A. Basin: 80/60. B

Printed with soy inks on

partially recycled paper.

A BLUE OCTOBER

Gina FerazziLos Angeles Times

Fans get their team fired up during Thursday’s Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger

Stadium between the Dodgers and Washington Nationals. For full postseason coverage, see SPORTS, D