In August 2017, shortly after John F. Kelly became White House chief of staff, he convened crucial meetings on Afghanistan at President Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

Top officials from the Pentagon and the CIA, the director of national intelligence, diplomats and lawmakers huddled with Trump as Kelly and others urged him not to give up in Afghanistan.

“When I first took over, he was inclined to want to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Kelly recounted during an exclusive two-hour interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“He was frustrated. It was a huge decision to make ... and frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons — palace intrigue and the rest of it — when I got there.”

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-john-kelly-exit-interview-20181230-story.html

In August 2017, shortly after John F. Kelly became White House chief of staff, he convened crucial meetings on Afghanistan at President Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

Top officials from the Pentagon and the CIA, the director of national intelligence, diplomats and lawmakers huddled with Trump as Kelly and others urged him not to give up in Afghanistan.

“When I first took over, he was inclined to want to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Kelly recounted during an exclusive two-hour interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“He was frustrated. It was a huge decision to make ... and frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons — palace intrigue and the rest of it — when I got there.”

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-john-kelly-exit-interview-20181230-story.html

A Boca Raton cop who was fired last spring over racist banter, offensive jokes, use of the N-word and lying while under oath has gotten his job back.

It is Jeremy Codling’s “last chance to salvage his employment,” according to a disciplinary agreement that demoted him from sergeant to officer, downgraded his pay accordingly and required him to write a letter of apology to the black officer who initiated the complaint that led to Codling’s termination.

Nine days after Codling was fired, investigators found pornographic images on his department-issued laptop. They also discovered a succession of pornographic websites that someone had viewed while logged on as Codling, records show.

The 40-year-old first joined the Boca Raton Police Department on May 23, 2005.

He lost his job March 5 after an internal investigation found that he was guilty of conduct unbecoming a police officer, harassment by making inappropriate and offensive comments and being untruthful while being questioned under oath about his behavior, records show.

...

“I want you to know that I am sorry for offending you with anything I may have said or done; It was never my intent to upset you,” Codling wrote. “Hopefully we can both move forward and have a good working relationship at the Boca Raton Police Department.”

...

When Codling was fired, he earned $47.88 an hour. Under the terms of his disciplinary agreement, his pay was cut to $45.05, documents show.

When Codling returns to the force, he will be required to attend sensitivity training.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-fp-ne-fired-boca-cop-last-chance-agreement-20181227-story.html#

Americans are quitting their jobs at elevated rates, thanks to a tight labor market with historically low unemployment. Among them are public educators, who are leaving the field at the highest rate since 2001.

According to the Labor Department, educators quit at an average rate of 83 per 10,000 a month for the first 10 months of 2018. This is still lower than the average rate for American workers overall, which totals 231 per 10,000 workers, but is the highest rate for educators since data collection began 17 years ago.

By contrast, the lowest number of public educators quitting was in 2009 when 48 educators per 10,000 left their jobs voluntarily.

Since 2015, school districts reported having trouble finding enough qualified teachers to fill open positions. This, according to nonpartisan education-policy research group Learning Policy Institute, has lead states to open up temporary teaching jobs to people with no official training.

The increased rate of public educator departures is likely to exacerbate that trend, the Wall Street Journal reported.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/12/29/teachers-are-quitting-their-jobs-highest-rate-since/06hsVQgN1IQWxhaJz2OigK/story.html

It was the best of times, the worst of times and the stupidest of times. Twenty-eighteen was an exhausting, eventful year.

On the one hand, it was a year of progress: the #MeToo movement grew globally, catalyzing not just conversation but policy change. Record numbers of women ran for, and won, office in the US. Bill Cosby was convicted in the first big celebrity criminal trial of the #MeToo era. Ireland repealed its abortion ban.

From pop culture to politics, there were a lot of firsts. Sandra Oh became the first Asian actress to be nominated for an Emmy. Beyoncé became the first black woman to headline Coachella. Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim woman elected to Congress. Canadian physicist Donna Strickland became the first woman in 55 years to win the Nobel prize in physics.

But progress isn’t linear; 2018 also had a deeply anti-feminist thread. The row over Serena Williams’s catsuit proved you can be a sporting superstar and still have your clothing policed by the patriarchy. We saw the rise of male supremacist groups. Several US states tightened access to abortion, with Iowa passing one of the strictest abortion laws in the industrialized world. Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right misogynist, was elected president of Brazil. Donald Trump remained misogynist-in-chief of America.

A lot happened, and we’re here to recap the highlights and lowlights for you. From Bill Cosby’s conviction to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, here are 10 big moments from the year in patriarchy.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/29/year-in-patriarchy-brett-kavanaugh-serena-williams-metoo?CMP=twt_gu