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us_house | Vox | https://www.vox.com/2018/6/21/17485876/house-immigration-bill-compromise-vote-ryan-meadows | The House is voting on immigration Thursday. No one seems to know what’s going on. | 2018-06-21 | us_house | House Republicans are in a state of chaos over immigration .
Lawmakers are slated to take two votes on Republican-led immigration bills on Thursday : a “ compromise ” bill between House conservatives and moderate Republicans , and a conservative bill originally introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte ( R-VA ) . Neither proposal has been designed to get any Democratic votes .
But by Wednesday afternoon , conservative Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Mark Meadow ( R-NC ) came out of a heated debate with House Speaker Paul Ryan and declared the compromise immigration bill was not “ ready for primetime. ” The Freedom Caucus controls enough votes to tank either bill .
The dispute , Meadows said , was over certain provisions — which he would not specify — that he was told would be in the bill but weren ’ t .
“ I don ’ t care anymore , ” Meadows said angrily in his final words to Ryan on the floor . “ It doesn ’ t matter anymore . ”
As House Republicans head toward a vote on immigration — one that has been underscored by an emotional national debate over the family separation border issue — it ’ s unclear if they ’ ll be able to pass anything . It ’ s even possible the vote won ’ t happen at all .
Republican lawmakers are confused about which two bills will even be getting a vote in the first place .
The “ compromise ” bill would offer legal status for young unauthorized immigrants known as DREAMers and a path to citizenship for some , based on merit ; direct billions of dollars toward a southern border wall ; make cuts to legal immigration ; and make it harder to seek asylum . The Goodlatte bill makes deeper cuts to legal immigration and doesn ’ t offer a path to citizenship for DREAMers .
But on Wednesday afternoon , Rep. Markwayne Mullin ( R-OK ) , who is a member of the Republican whip team , came out of a meeting with House Republicans and told reporters there are three possible immigration bills , two of which could get votes Thursday — a sentiment that was echoed by several other Republican lawmakers in interviews with ███ . But House leadership said there are only two .
The confusion seemed to be rooted in the fact that Goodlatte is sponsoring both bills , leading some lawmakers to believe there are two conservative proposals and a third consensus bill with moderates .
“ Believe me ... there ’ s a bunch of us in there that have got this same issue , ” Rep. Roger Williams ( R-TX ) told ███ . “ But we have got to vote on it . ”
Republicans appear to be preparing for both immigration bills to fail
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen paid House Republicans a visit Wednesday after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt family separations at the border — the direct result of the Trump administration ’ s “ zero tolerance ” policy on detaining migrants . ( ███ ’ s Dara Lind has an analysis of the executive order here . )
House Republicans were not briefed about the order in advance , but many welcomed the breathing room on the subject . But there ’ s also a sense that the administration ’ s order might dampen the urgency among Republicans to vote for a more comprehensive immigration bill .
Meanwhile , the administration hasn ’ t been particularly forceful on what it wants to see Congress do . In a meeting with the entire House Republican conference earlier this week , Trump told lawmakers he supported both the conservative proposal and the Republican consensus bill negotiated between various factions of the Republican Party . Trump met with a group of roughly 17 House Republicans again on Wednesday to gauge support — a meeting that swayed some lawmakers but not all in the room .
Members of the Freedom Caucus and other House conservatives seemed to still be finding issues with the final product .
Rep. Lou Barletta ( R-PA ) said he told the president that he would be voting against the compromise bill at the Wednesday meeting , saying it provided amnesty to DREAMers ’ parents . The current bill allows DREAMers who have become citizens to apply for green cards for their parents .
Outside conservative groups , like the Heritage Foundation think tank , have told members to vote against the compromise bill .
Ryan has said he will call up a vote on both bills regardless of their chances of passing . His message is clear : This is Republicans ’ last chance to actually vote and pass an immigration overhaul out of the House before the midterm elections .
But on Wednesday , even the prospect of a vote wasn ’ t a certainty . | 0Oab00R4OxyQV50u | 0 | US House | -0.3 | Immigration | -0.1 | Politics | -0.1 | null | null | null | null |
coronavirus | CNN Digital | https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/19/politics/donald-trump-anthony-fauci-coronavirus/index.html | Trump trashes Fauci and makes baseless coronavirus claims in campaign call | 2020-10-19 | Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Public Health, Coronavirus | CNN —A frustrated and at times foul-mouthed President Donald Trump claimed on a campaign call that people are tired of hearing about the deadly pandemic which has killed more than 215,000 Americans and trashed Dr. Anthony Fauci as a “disaster” who has been around for “500 years.”Referring to Fauci and other health officials as “idiots,” Trump declared the country ready to move on from the health disaster, even as cases are again spiking and medical experts warn the worst may be yet to come.Baselessly claiming that if Fauci was in charge more than half a million people would be dead in the United States, Trump portrayed the recommendations offered by his own administration to mitigate spread of the disease as a burdensome annoyance.“People are tired of Covid. I have the biggest rallies I’ve ever had, and we have Covid,” Trump said, phoning into a call with campaign staff from his namesake hotel in Las Vegas, where he spent two nights amid a western campaign swing. “People are saying whatever. Just leave us alone. They’re tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots.”“Fauci is a nice guy,” Trump went on. “He’s been here for 500 years.”A Trump adviser later questioned the wisdom of attacking Fauci just two weeks before the election. The adviser described the President’s comments as “not smart” because they keep the focus on the coronavirus pandemic, the one topic campaign officials would like to avoid the most.Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984 and is a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. At almost the same time Trump was fuming on the phone, Fauci was being awarded the National Academy of Medicine’s first-ever Presidential Citation for Exemplary Leadership during a virtual ceremony. Fauci said that he was “speechless” while receiving the recognition.“We have a lot of challenges ahead of us and I can’t help thinking that we’re really going through a time that’s disturbingly anti-science in certain segments of our society,” Fauci said during the virtual event.Trump openly criticized Fauci as his campaign is currently airing a television ad featuring the doctor that implies Fauci endorsed Trump’s handling of the pandemic.Fauci has disputed the ad, saying his words were taken out of context, and asked the campaign to take it down. But the ad was widely seen as an acknowledgment by the President’s campaign staff that Fauci has credibility with voters who have rejected Trump’s response.The President is trailing in polling to Democratic rival Joe Biden in part due to his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump recently returned to the campaign trail after being diagnosed with the virus himself and has shunned public health protocols for his political rallies. On the call, the President again mocked Biden’s social distancing measures.As he barnstorms electoral battlegrounds, Trump has been casting about for a closing message that resonates with voters addled by the virus and wary of his response. Attempts by his advisers to convince Trump to adopt a more serious tone about the pandemic have been halting. At a rally in Nevada on Sunday, Trump attempted to attack Biden by saying his rival would “listen to the scientists” if elected president.By contrast, Trump has stopped attending meetings of his coronavirus task force, which has waned dramatically in influence. Instead the President has relied on the counsel of Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist whose views on mask wearing and other mitigation practices are at odds with nearly every scientific opinion.The dynamic has caused tensions among the government’s health officials, including with Fauci, whose warnings about the virus Trump has bristled at for months.“Fauci is a disaster. If I listened to him, we’d have 500,000 deaths,” he said on the campaign call on Monday, before later saying it would be 700,000 or 800,000.“If there’s a reporter on, you can have it just the way I said it, I couldn’t care less,” Trump said. CNN was given access to the call by a source.Trump’s attempt to shore up his campaign staff 15 days before Election Day came amid widespread worries among Republicans that his inability to hone a final message will have dire effects not only for his own race but for control of the US Senate.Even as his anger was evident on the call, Trump sought to project optimism.“This is the single best I have ever been in any campaign,” Trump said regarding his reelection chances. “Today is the best single day that I’ve felt on either campaign.”“We are going to win,” he said “I wouldn’t have said that three weeks ago.”After stories emerged about early campaign finger-pointing ahead of a potential loss, Trump insisted he was satisfied with the work his team is doing – including his chief of staff Mark Meadows, who has been blamed internally for badly mismanaging Trump’s Covid diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization.“I love Mark Meadows. It took me two years to get him out of Congress. Mark Meadows is doing a good job. I’m not dismissing him.”CNN’s Jim Acosta contributed to this report. | 1bb7fab4c0c9e4c9 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | National Review | http://www.nationalreview.com/article/449384/donald-trump-jr-meeting-russian-lawyer-email-revelations | Don Jr.’s Disgraceful Meeting | 2017-07-11 | politics | It ’ s been a journalistic season of hype , innuendo , and sometimes flat-out error on the Russia story , but the New York Times finally hit paydirt in the last several days .
Over the weekend , the Times revealed that Donald Trump Jr. , then–campaign manager Paul Manafort , and Jared Kushner met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer at Trump Tower in Manhattan on June 9 , 2016 , two weeks after Trump Sr. had effectively clinched the Republican nomination for president . Trump Jr. responded to say that the meeting was to discuss adoption ( the Kremlin , characteristically , prohibited Americans from adopting Russian children in response to the Magnitsky Act , a 2012 sanctions law targeting Russian human-rights abusers ) . In fact , as the Times reported on Monday , Trump Jr. took the meeting hoping to obtain compromising information about the Clinton campaign , as promised by an intermediary in a lengthy e-mail exchange .
On Tuesday , to preempt another Times scoop , Trump Jr. released the correspondence himself . In an e-mail dated June 3 , 2016 , Rob Goldstone , a former tabloid reporter and Trump-family friend , suggested that a high-level Russian prosecutor and Russian real-estate magnate Aras Agalarov — with whom Donald Trump Sr. became acquainted in 2013 , when the pair collaborated on the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow — had “ offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. ” According to Goldstone , the offer was “ part of Russia and its government ’ s support for Mr. Trump. ” Donald Trump Jr. responded : “ If it ’ s what you say [ , ] I love it. ” According to the e-mails , Trump Jr. perhaps spoke on the phone with Agalarov ’ s son , Emin ( a Russian pop star ) , and then the campaign higher-ups met at Trump Tower with Natalia Veselnitskaya , identified by Goldstone in the exchange as “ a Russian government attorney. ” ( Veselnitskaya , who is Kremlin-connected , has campaigned in Europe and the United States against sanctions ; she disputes the well-documented account of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky ’ s brutal death at the hands of Russian officials . ) The whole correspondence appears to have been forwarded to Manafort and Kushner prior to the meeting .
No campaign professional would have accepted such a dodgy meeting the way Trump Jr. did , and no person with a strong sense of propriety — Russia is a hostile power run by a deeply corrupt regime — would have wanted to .
That said , the meeting doesn ’ t prove that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia , let alone “ treason. ” In the best-case scenario , Trump Jr. took the meeting to accommodate a friend of the family ( and Kushner and Manafort showed up to accommodate the son of the candidate ) ; Goldstone ’ s suggestion that he had compromising information about the Clintons was only a pretense to get Velnitskaya through the door ; everyone was as bored during the meeting as Velnitskaya has said ( in a Today interview , she said Kushner left early and Manafort looked at his phone the entire time ) ; and nothing else came of it .
In general , it ’ s hard to see why the Kremlin would have wanted to jeopardize a sensitive intelligence operation by attempting to coordinate with a poorly organized presidential campaign .
The worst case , on the other hand , is that the Trump Jr. meeting is only the beginning of damaging revelations about some sort of relationship between a Russian government determined to try to tip the scales in an American presidential election and the Trump campaign .
It would be easier to credit the Trump team ’ s denials if they didn ’ t so routinely mislead . Put aside Trump Jr. ’ s self-servingly incomplete account of the meeting with the Russian lawyer ; he has said in the past that he never at any point met with Russian nationals , that he never discussed policy matters with Russian citizens , and that he never met with any Russians as a representative of the campaign . All of those statements have proven false . Paul Manafort ’ s record of truth-telling is no better , and Jared Kushner — the only person in the meeting with a White House job — initially failed to disclose the meeting during his security-clearance application process .
If the Trump team affirmatively wanted to stoke suspicions of the worst , it wouldn ’ t be acting any differently . One meeting doesn ’ t prove collusion , but it does demonstrate the seriousness of this matter and the public interest in getting to the bottom of it — now more than ever .
There Is Now Evidence that Senior Trump Officials Attempted to Collude with Russia | REBxtSdu91rHv0Tf | 2 | Russia | -1.5 | Donald Trump Jr. | -0.3 | Politics | 0 | null | null | null | null |
nsa | CNN (Web News) | http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/08/politics/2016-elections-nsa-court-ruling/index.html | Court ruling on NSA spying splits 2016 field | 2015-05-08 | NSA, Presidential Elections, Defense And Security | Washington ( CNN ) A federal appeals court 's ruling on Thursday that the National Security Agency 's bulk collection of telephone metadata is illegal has split the 2016 presidential field , making unlikely allies of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and some of the Republican Party 's most conservative members .
Sens . Rand Paul and Ted Cruz lauded the decision as a win for Americans ' personal freedoms , and though Clinton did n't weigh in specifically on the decision , she did suggest her support with a tweet endorsing an NSA reform bill .
But the other two 2016 contenders in the Senate — Sens . Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham — expressed opposition to the move . The split in the Senate is likely to complicate the upcoming effort to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act , which authorizes such surveillance programs and expires at the end of the month .
The decision is already sparking a fierce debate within the 2016 field . Here 's a roundup of who 's offered support , who 's expressed opposition and who 's keeping mum on the controversial program .
The Florida Senator is an outspoken defense hawk and has long expressed support for the program . He said Thursday in a statement that it would be a bad move to eliminate the NSA surveillance program .
`` The solution is not to get rid of a program at a time when we know that the risk of homegrown violent extremism is the highest it 's ever been , '' Rubio said .
Paul praised the decision as `` monumental ... for all lovers of liberty '' and issued a series of laudatory tweets — and offered discounted campaign swag in honor of it .
`` To celebrate today 's ruling , we 've lowered the cost of the NSA spy blocker in our campaign store , '' Paul tweeted .
To celebrate today 's ruling we 've lowered the cost of the NSA blocker in our campaign store ! Get yours now > > > https : //t.co/BGuKygqBxA — Dr. Rand Paul ( @ RandPaul ) May 8 , 2015
In an interview with Breitbart , the senator took credit for the development , noting he filed his own lawsuit against the program more than a year ago . He also compared the program to what British troops did to patriots during the American Revolution , and said he hopes the case goes all the way to the Supreme Court .
`` I guess it 's gratifying that the courts are beginning to recognize the problem . We are anticipating and eager for this to get to the Supreme Court , '' he told Breitbart .
And he took a veiled jab at potential primary opponent Jeb Bush , tweeting `` Sadly , one GOP candidate thinks the NSA 's violation of your rights is 'very important . ' Tell him , he 's wrong . ''
Sadly , one GOP candidate thinks the NSA 's violation of your rights is `` very important . '' Tell him , he 's wrong : https : //t.co/ff2cEoeE1C — Dr. Rand Paul ( @ RandPaul ) April 25 , 2015
Bush has n't yet weighed in on the court 's decision , but has been a strident supporter of the NSA program in the past . Paul 's tweet was in fact a reference to Bush 's policy speech in April during which the former Florida governor reiterated his support for government surveillance .
He then declared that the War on Terror `` requires responsible intelligence gathering and analysis , including the NSA metadata program , which contributes to awareness of potential terrorist cells and interdiction efforts on a global scale . . . . This is a hugely important program to use these technologies to keep us safe . ''
The New Jersey governor said , in the face of the court challenge , that the NSA 's collection of telephone data `` should continue '' and called for Congress , to extend the program `` without delay . '' He also warned against rolling back any such programs `` especially during this really dangerous time . ''
`` I believe there can be appropriate oversight by Congress and people in the Justice Department who can oversee whether the law is being followed or whether the law is being violated . I 'm not one of those folks who believe we should bring our guard down , especially during this really dangerous time , '' he said Friday during a breakfast discussion in New Hampshire .
`` It can be done in a way that 's not only constitutional , but also protects national security . ''
`` I know how important a tool the PATRIOT Act is to help to prevent terrorism to intercede before a terrorist act occurs . I 'm not someone who 's going to back away at all from the Patriot Act , '' he said .
Cruz was quick to offer support for the decision , declaring in a statement that `` the court 's ruling today confirms what the American public already knew : The National Security Agency 's data collection program went too far in collecting the phone records of Americans . '' He also called for the passage of the USA FREEDOM Act , a bill that would reform the NSA and effectively end the surveillance program by giving telephone companies full control over phone records .
`` The USA FREEDOM Act ends the NSA 's unfettered data collection program once and for all , while at the same time preserving the government 's ability to obtain information to track down terrorists when it has sufficient justification and support for doing so , '' Cruz said .
The South Carolina senator has previously said he 's `` glad '' the NSA is tracking phones , and though he did n't weigh in specifically on the decision on Thursday , but did indicate to Politico he hopes it remains intact .
`` It would be pretty hard to diminish this program right now based on a court ruling that 's not binding , '' he said .
JUST WATCHED Hayden on legality of NSA surveillance Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hayden on legality of NSA surveillance 03:00
Clinton did n't comment on the decision specifically , but did endorse the USA Freedom Act .
`` Congress should move ahead now with the USA Freedom Act—a good step forward in ongoing efforts to protect our security & civil liberties , '' she tweeted .
Congress should move ahead now with the USA Freedom Act—a good step forward in ongoing efforts to protect our security & civil liberties . -H — Hillary Clinton ( @ HillaryClinton ) May 7 , 2015
Sanders , another Democratic presidential contender , tweeted that `` the NSA is out of control and operating in an unconstitutional manner . ''
In my view , the NSA is out of control and operating in an unconstitutional manner . # NSA pic.twitter.com/doviLQRT8a — Bernie Sanders ( @ SenSanders ) May 7 , 2015
He lauded the ruling in a statement that emphasized the need for balance between Americans ' security and their personal freedoms .
`` We can [ protect the country from terrorism ] without living in an Orwellian world where the government and private corporations know every telephone call that we make , every website we visit , everyplace we go , '' he said in the statement .
The Maryland governor has n't yet weighed in on the court decision , but said last month he hopes the debate over reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act creates an opportunity to `` have a conversation about whether or not we 've struck the right balance here . ''
`` I do n't think that we should sacrifice our privacy for our security . We have to find a way to protect them both . '' he said then .
Ben Carson , Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry have n't yet weighed in , though they 've been generally critical of the program in the past . Wisconsin Gov . Scott Walker and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina have n't offered clear opinions the program , and have n't yet weighed in on the decision . | 42fd186dd63048bf | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
media_industry | The Daily Caller | https://dailycaller.com/2023/05/15/george-soros-vice-media-bankruptcy/ | George Soros’ Investment Firm, Others To Buy Vice Media After Bankruptcy | 2023-05-15 | Media Industry, Technology, Business, Banking And Finance | The owner of this website (dailycaller.com) has banned the autonomous system number (ASN) your IP address is in (45102) from accessing this website. Cloudflare Ray ID: 915bccafd9d9eb22 • Your IP: Click to reveal 47.88.13.251 • Performance & security by Cloudflare | 12e4eb0c2a6c19f9 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | The Hill | https://thehill.com/homenews/house/498652-pelosi-trump-slide-further-into-the-muck | Pelosi, Trump slide further into the muck | 2020-05-20 | politics | Relations between President Trump Donald John TrumpTrump taps Brooke Rollins as acting domestic policy chief Trump takes pandemic fight to Michigan Trump to celebrate Memorial Day at Baltimore 's Fort McHenry MORE and Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiThe Hill 's Coronavirus Report : Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga says supporting small business single most important thing we should do now ; Teva 's Brendan O'Grady says U.S. should stockpile strategic reserve in drugs like Strategic Oil Reserve 15 things to know today about coronavirus Pelosi blasts Senate GOP subpoenas MORE ( D-Calif. ) are melting down just as the debate over the next phase of coronavirus relief is heating up .
While tensions between the two have been heightened for months , the relationship took an especially nasty turn Monday after the Democratic leader characterized the famously image-conscious president as “ morbidly obese ” while panning his decision to take an unproven treatment for the coronavirus .
Trump at first dismissed Pelosi ’ s comments about his weight , telling reporters Tuesday after a lunch on Capitol Hill with GOP senators , “ I don ’ t respond to her . I think she ’ s a waste of time . ”
Five minutes later , Trump resumed his personal attacks against Pelosi .
“ Pelosi is a sick woman . She ’ s got a lot of problems , a lot of mental problems , ” Trump said , railing against the Democrats ’ investigation into Russia ’ s election interference .
Pelosi , meanwhile , claimed later , “ I didn ’ t know that he would be so sensitive . ”
“ He ’ s always talking about other people ’ s ... their weight , their pounds , ” Pelosi said during an interview with MSNBC ’ s Nicolle Wallace hours later .
The sharp sniping is on one level just garden-variety politics between two party leaders , each of whom is fighting for the advantage in an election year when voter turnout will be crucial .
Yet the conflict also arises at a delicate moment in the coronavirus response , as experts call for more action to relieve an economy left shattered by the public health crisis .
“ We need to be prepared to act further , ” Jerome Powell , chairman of the Federal Reserve , told a Senate committee Tuesday .
With that in mind , Democrats are cheering Pelosi ’ s decision to confront Trump head on , viewing it as a base-energizing boon heading into negotiations over another mammoth relief bill .
“ Her timing is best-of-class , ” one Democratic aide told ███ on Tuesday .
Yet Pelosi ’ s strategy has also irritated Republicans , who were already loath to move quickly on the next phase of pandemic aid .
“ I will never refer to a president about being morbid in any shape or form if I ’ m Speaker of the House and it comes from a Democrat , as well . No , I would not as Speaker use those terms , ” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthyThe Hill 's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Mnuchin , Powell : Economy may need more boost ; Trump defends malaria drug Pelosi , Trump slide further into the muck Trump campaign launches new fundraising program with House Republicans MORE ( R-Calif. ) .
Pelosi and Trump have not been speaking to one another as they battle over how to help the country survive a pandemic that has killed more than 91,000 people in the U.S. and led to nearly 37 million people applying for unemployment assistance .
While the lack of direct contact has become routine over much of the past year — exacerbated by Pelosi ’ s decision to impeach Trump in December — the avoidance and open disdain between them is all the more striking in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century .
The parties did unite to pass four coronavirus relief bills over the past two months , with Trump largely ceding negotiations to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner MnuchinOn The Money : GOP senators heed Fed chair 's call for more relief | Rollout of new anti-redlining laws spark confusion in banking industry | Nearly half of American households have lost employment income during pandemic Rollout of new anti-redlining rules sparks confusion in banking industry OVERNIGHT ENERGY : New documents show EPA rolled back mileage standards despite staff , WH concerns | Land management bureau grants 75 royalty rate cuts for oil and gas | EPA employees allege leadership interference with science in watchdog survey MORE , who ’ s viewed by Democratic leaders as an honest broker .
But the fifth round is shaping up to be the fiercest battle yet , with the sides at odds over the size , substance , pace and necessity of another aid package .
House Democrats are pressing for another $ 3 trillion in help for states , workers , businesses and families — a package that passed through the lower chamber Friday .
Republicans have blasted the legislation as a liberal fantasy , saying it ’ s both too expensive and not targeted specifically enough toward the crisis at hand . They want to wait for the trillions of dollars already approved by Congress to go out the door before moving on to another enormous spending package .
This week wasn ’ t the first time that Pelosi has criticized Trump ’ s personal health decisions during the coronavirus pandemic .
Pelosi suggested earlier this month that Trump isn ’ t wearing a mask — in defiance of his own administration ’ s public guidelines — because of “ a vanity thing , I guess . ”
The Monday remarks were more pointed , with Pelosi telling CNN ’ s Anderson Cooper that Trump could be at higher risk of complications for taking the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine because of his septuagenarian status and “ his , shall we say , weight group — morbidly obese , they say . ”
Based on data from his medical exam released last year , Trump , 73 , narrowly qualifies as obese with a listed height of 6 feet , 3 inches and a weight of 243 pounds .
Bad blood between congressional leaders and opposing presidents is hardly a new phenomenon . Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison ( Mitch ) Mitchell McConnellOn The Money : GOP senators heed Fed chair 's call for more relief | Rollout of new anti-redlining laws spark confusion in banking industry | Nearly half of American households have lost employment income during pandemic McConnell : Beefed up unemployment benefits will not be in next coronavirus bill GOP senators : More relief needed now MORE ( R-Ky. ) famously feuded with former President Obama , seeking to block virtually every piece of legislation championed by the White House in order to deny the Democratic president any claims to victory .
Yet even Obama and McConnell would talk periodically . And despite the antipathy from conservatives in the House , Obama and then-Speaker John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerPelosi , Trump slide further into the muck The partisan divide on crisis aid Congress must continue to move online MORE ( R-Ohio ) golfed together and even met secretly at the White House to try to strike a “ grand bargain ” spending deal .
Trump and Pelosi , by contrast , rarely interact . And when they do , the meetings routinely turn into disasters .
The two haven ’ t even been in the same room together since early February at the National Prayer Breakfast . And they haven ’ t had any sort of extended conversation since an October meeting at the White House on Syria , a Pelosi spokesman confirmed Tuesday .
Their most recent conversation took place a few weeks after Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry last fall .
Pelosi walked out of the October White House meeting on Syria after Trump insulted her in front of other congressional leaders — although the two sides never even agreed upon whether he called her a “ third rate ” or “ third grade ” politician .
Five months earlier , Trump walked out of a meeting with Pelosi and other Democratic leaders on infrastructure legislation because she had hours earlier accused him of engaging in a “ cover-up . ”
They last saw each other at the National Prayer Breakfast , two days after Pelosi ripped up Trump ’ s State of the Union address and he appeared to snub her attempt at a handshake .
“ I don ’ t like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong . Nor do I like people who say ‘ I pray for you ’ when they know that ’ s not so , ” Trump said at the traditionally nonpartisan breakfast as Pelosi sat five seats away .
A month later , Trump declined to attend the annual St. Patrick ’ s Day luncheon at the Capitol — another traditionally nonpartisan event — with the White House saying that he “ will not participate in moments where [ Pelosi ] so often chooses to drive discord and disunity . ” | gETiWaSR4atHo7gz | 1 | Politics | -1.2 | Nancy Pelosi | -0.9 | Donald Trump | -0.6 | Coronavirus | 0 | null | null |
politics | The Nation | https://www.thenation.com/article/everything-trump-did-in-his-sixth-week-that-really-matters/ | Everything Trump Did in His 6th Week That Really Matters | 2017-03-03 | politics | Ready to fight back ? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week . You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support ███ ’ s journalism . You can read our Privacy Policy here . Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week .
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Trump ’ s words got a lot of attention this week , with his first major address to Congress in a joint session on Tuesday . But behind the scenes , his administration was taking a lot of action : absolving key officials of wrongdoing , slowing down or canceling regulations , and swearing in new cabinet members with controversial ties . Ad Policy
Here is everything you need to know about what the Trump administration did this past week :
Halted a probe into airline-price transparency . Last year , the Department of Transportation under President Obama began examining whether it was appropriate for some airlines to withhold fare information from third-party travel sites like Orbitz . It also proposed a rule that would require airlines to post baggage fees alongside their fares . On Friday , DOT announced that it was suspending action on both moves . Stocks in major airlines increased 2 percent .
Absolved senior adviser Kellyanne Conway of wrongdoing . Last month , the Office of Government Ethics sent a letter to the White House that said there was “ strong reason to believe ” Kellyanne Conway violated federal ethics rules by plugging Ivanka Trump ’ s clothing line during an interview with Fox News . ( “ Go buy Ivanka ’ s stuff , ” Conway said in the February 9 interview . ) The letter suggested disciplinary action . But on Wednesday the White House concluded that Conway acted “ without nefarious motive , ” and did not announce any disciplinary actions .
Swore in a commerce secretary with serious conflicts of interest . On Tuesday , Vice President Mike Pence swore in Wilbur Ross as ███ ’ s new commerce secretary . A multi-billionaire , Ross had wide-ranging stakes in a variety of industries , which he agreed to divest from . Interestingly , Ross had deep financial ties with three Russian oligarchs . He served as the vice-chair of the Bank of Cyprus , “ one of the key offshore havens for illicit Russian finance . ”
His attorney general recused himself from Russia inquiries . Jeff Sessions announced Thursday that he would not participate in any investigations , current or future , exploring ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials . Sessions claimed he planned to make that announcement on Thursday anyway , but it came less than 24 hours after it was revealed Sessions met with the Russian ambassador several times last year , including once in his office—which contradicted testimony he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation . Ready to Fight Back ? Sign Up For Take Action Now
Announced a special exemption for the Keystone XL pipeline . Trump has repeatedly promised that new oil and gas pipelines built during his administration will be made with American steel . To that end , in January he directed the Commerce Department to craft a plan to ensure that “ all new pipelines , as well as retrofitted , repaired or expanded pipelines ” inside the United States be made with American steel , “ to the maximum extent possible. ” But this week the White House announced that the Keystone XL pipeline will be exempt from the requirement . Because it ’ s already in the process of being built , apparently the project does not count as new , retrofitted , repaired , or expanded .
Ordered a review of water regulations . Trump started the work of dismantling Obama-era environmental protections this week , by signing an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency to review the Clean Water Rule , also known as the Waters of the United States rule . It ’ s a technical rule intended to clarify which types of waterways are covered by the Clean Water Act , and because of legal challenges it hasn ’ t yet been implemented . Trump ’ s order won ’ t have an immediate effect : In order to revise or scrap the rule altogether , the EPA will have to go through a lengthy rule-making process . | xCTu2Hdmr5LZfWJT | 0 | Donald Trump | -1.2 | Politics | -0.5 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
media_industry | New York Post (News) | https://nypost.com/2022/12/02/elon-musk-releases-twitters-files-on-censorship-of-post/ | Hunter Biden laptop bombshell: Twitter invented reason to censor Post’s reporting | 2022-12-05 | Media Industry, Twitter, Social Media, Elon Musk, Hunter Biden, Media Bias, Joe Biden, Censorship, 1st Amendment, Free Speech, Twitter Files | That is “f—ed.”Twitter “just freelanced” its baseless decision to censor The Post’s bombshell Hunter Biden laptop scoop in the run up to the 2020 election — with top-level workers at the social media giant agreeing that controversial decision was “f–ked,” damning insider communications released by CEO Elon Musk Friday reveal.The chaos and confusion behind closed doors at Twitter in the immediate aftermath of the October 2020 Hunter Biden expose show that a small group of top-level execs decided to label the Post’s story as “hacked material” without any evidence — behind the back of then-CEO and founder Jack Dorsey.Musk tweeted a link to the account of independent journalist Matt Taibbi shortly after 6 p.m., who shed light on Twitter’s shady censorship decision by posting what appeared to be redacted emails between Twitter employees.The decision to censor The Post’s story was made “at the highest levels of the company,” according to Taibbi, but without Dorsey’s involvement.Previous 1 of 14 Next Advertisement Grabs from “The Twitter Files.” mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter A request “from the Biden team” to Twitter Taibbi revealed Friday night. mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter AdvertisementAs Taibbi put it: The internal communications reveal “just how much was done without the knowledge of CEO Jack Dorsey, and how long it took for the situation to get ‘unf–ked’ (as one ex-employee put it) even after Dorsey jumped in.”According to Taibbi, Twitter’s former head of legal, policy, and trust Vijaya Gadde played a “key role” in the censorship decision.Damning emails and comments from former Twitter employees showed that “everyone knew” the social media giant’s suppression of The Post’s scoops about Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. “was f—ed.”The company’s shaky rationale for taking the extraordinary censorship step was that the story violated the company’s “hacked materials” policy, according to Taibbi — which was questioned by many insiders.Previous 1 of 14 Next Advertisement More grabs from “The Twitter Files.” mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter AdvertisementSeveral Twitter sources reportedly told Taibbi that they remember hearing about a “general” warning from federal law enforcement in the summer of 2022 about foreign hacking, but no evidence has been found about government involvement specifically centered on The Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s laptop.“Hacking was the excuse, but within a few hours, pretty much everyone realized that wasn’t going to hold. But no one had the guts to reverse it,” the ex-employee added.“They just freelanced it,” a former employee told Taibbi about how the decision came about.The decision left high-level executives puzzled.“I’m struggling to understand the policy basis for marking this as unsafe,” Trenton Kennedy, a communications official wrote in an apparent internal email to colleagues.To which former Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker responded that it is “reasonable” to assume materials were hacked and that “caution is warranted.”“Can we truthfully claim that this is part of the policy?” former Twitter Vice President of Global Communications Brandon Borrman asks in another missive.“Everyone knew this was f–ked,” a former worker told Taibbi about Twitter’s official stance of on the Hunter story.According to Taibbi, the social media company “took extraordinary steps to suppress” The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story, removing links to the expose shared by users and posting warnings that it may be “unsafe.”Catch up on Twitter’s censorship of The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop storyTaibbi said that Twitter even resorted to a rarely used tactic to stop the dissemination of the story – blocking the sharing of links to the story via direct message, a tool usually only used in “extreme cases,” such as to stop the distribution of child pornography.Twitter’s censorship of the story led to then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany getting locked out of her account with just weeks to go before the 2020 electionIn an email shared by Taibbi, Trump campaign staffer Mike Hahn sent an angry missive to the social media giant demanding to know when she would be unlocked.Previous 1 of 14 Next Advertisement “The Twitter Files” shows the company “just freelanced” its baseless decision to censor The Post’s bombshell Hunter Biden laptop scoop in 2020. mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement“At least pretend to care for the next 20 days,” Hahn wrote.When Twitter public policy executive Caroline Strom notified the trust and safety teams at the company about the incident, they informed her that McEnany had violated the company’s “hacked materials” policy.Previous 1 of 3 Next Advertisement Musk has insisted full disclosure was needed to determine why Twitter decided to block The Post’s bombshell report on the laptop in the weeks before the 2020 election. The decision to censor The Post’s story was made “at the highest levels of the company,” according to Taibbi, but without then-CEO Jack Dorsey’s involvement. AdvertisementMusk’s stance on The Post vs. TwitterMusk, the world’s richest man who purchased Twitter last month, has previously insisted full disclosure was needed to determine why the company decided to block the bombshell report about President Biden’s son in the weeks leading up to the 2020 election.The 51-year-old billionaire, who has vowed to turn Twitter into a bastion of free speech, had been teasing the release of the internal files for several days, arguing the “public deserves to know what really happened.”“This is a battle for the future of civilization. If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead,” he tweeted Monday after vowing the files would “soon to be published on Twitter itself.”3 Elon Musk has vowed to turn Twitter into a bastion of free speech after $44 billion takeover. APTaibbi also revealed company emails responding to a request “from the Biden team” during the run-up to the 2020 election — shortly after the company cracked down on The Post’s Hunter Biden story.Another, dated Oct. 24, 2020, said, “An additional report from DNC,” an apparent reference to the Democratic National Committee.One, dated Oct. 24, 2020, said, “More to review from the Biden team,” along with a list of tweets.In response, someone wrote back, “handled these.”Previous 1 of 17 Next Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter mtaibbi/Twitter Advertisement More grabs from “The Twitter Files.” mtaibbi/Twitter AdvertisementTaibbi also tweeted: “Both parties had access to these tools. For instance, in 2020, requests from both the Trump White House and the Biden campaign were received and honored.”But the former Rolling Stone writer said the “system wasn’t balanced” and “was based on contacts”“Because Twitter was and is overwhelmingly staffed by people of one political orientation, there were more channels, more ways to complain, open to the left (well, Democrats) than the right,” he wrote.3 Twitter took extraordinary censorship measures against The Post when it first published its expose on Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop in October 2020. vmodicaPrior to his $44 billion takeover, Musk had already made his stance clear on The Post vs. Twitter debacle, saying back in April that the platform’s decision was “obviously incredibly inappropriate.”Twitter, as well as Facebook, took extraordinary censorship measures against The Post when it first published its expose on the trove of emails discovered on Hunter’s laptop in October 2020.The platform prohibited users from sharing the article — and also locked The Post out of its Twitter account for more than two weeks because of baseless claims the report used hacked information.3 Twitter prohibited users from sharing the article detailing the trove of emails uncovered from Hunter Biden’s laptop that detailed his overseas business dealings.Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO at the time, later admitted during a congressional hearing on misinformation and social media in March last year that blocking The Post’s report was a “total mistake.”He stopped short of revealing who was responsible for the blunder.While many mainstream outlets initially ignored or sought to undermine The Post’s reporting, the New York Times and Washington Post eventually authenticated the laptop’s contents — some 18 months later. | 7bf82c7b8d7b4a22 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
middle_east | CNN (Web News) | http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/25/world/meast/gaza-israel-ceasefire/index.html | Hamas leaders in Egypt for cease-fire talks involving Israel | 2012-11-25 | middle_east | Story highlights Abbas says all Palestinian factions support the renewed statehood bid
A spokesman says the Hamas prime minister does not support the move
A restriction loosens for Palestinian fishermen under the cease-fire deal , Hamas says
Egypt helped to broker the deal , along with the United States
A high-level delegation from Gaza has arrived in Egypt `` to complete arrangements for cease-fire talks '' involving sticking points between Hamas and Israel , Hamas said in a statement Sunday .
Talks are set to resume Monday in Cairo between Israelis and Egyptians to further discuss the details of the cease-fire , which began to take hold last week , Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh 's office said .
Discussions will include topics such as opening border crossings and easing Israel 's economic blockade in Gaza , Haniyeh 's office said .
The cease-fire was brokered last week after Israel launched a series of strikes on Gaza with the stated goal of halting Israel-bound rocket attacks from militants in the Palestinian territory . The ongoing talks come as Palestinian Authority leaders plan to renew their bid for statehood before the United Nations this week .
`` All the Palestinian factions are behind us as we go tomorrow to the United Nations , '' Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday in a speech broadcast on Palestine TV .
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But the Gaza-based Hamas has long opposed the gambit that Abbas launched last year , and Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said Sunday that there was `` no truth '' to reports that Haniyeh 's office `` has blessed the move to go to the United Nations . ''
At least one Hamas member expressed support for the statehood bid over the weekend . Nasser al-Shaer , a former government minister and Hamas deputy , said he supports the U.N. bid , according to Hamas-run and Palestinian Authority-run media .
A vote on the Palestinian status is expected at the United Nations on Thursday .
Meanwhile , a restriction has been loosened for Palestinian fishermen as part of the Hamas-Israel cease-fire deal , the Hamas movement said .
The fishermen are now permitted to head out six nautical miles offshore , rather than three , according to a statement issued by Haniyeh .
The head of Egyptian intelligence , who helped spearhead the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas , informed Haniyeh of the move , the statement said .
Egypt and the United States helped forge the cease-fire as Israeli ground forces gathered near the Gaza border for a possible ground invasion . The eight-day conflict left more than 160 Palestinians dead , many of whom were civilians . | RUfQY8m3mkAXvWK8 | 0 | Middle East | -0.7 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
foreign_policy | Breitbart News | http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/08/21/trump-debuts-afghanistan-strategy-we-are-not-nation-building-again-we-are-killing-terrorists/ | Trump Debuts Afghanistan Strategy: ‘We Are Not Nation-Building Again, We Are Killing Terrorists’ | 2017-08-21 | Afghanistan, Foreign Policy | President Trump unveiled his plan for Afghanistan after seven months of deliberation Monday evening , announcing tweaks around the edges of the current strategy instead of a different approach .
He announced five “ core pillars ” to the approach : getting rid of any timelines for how long U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan ; using all elements of power , including diplomatic and economic ; getting tougher on Pakistan ; getting India to help more with economic development ; and expanding authorities for U.S. forces to fight terrorists .
What the president did not announce was how many more U.S. troops would head to Afghanistan , which he decided earlier this year to leave up to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to determine .
He did , however , say the U.S. would no longer talk about troop levels or drawdown dates , making it unclear whether troop increases would be announced . There are currently about 8,400 U.S. forces in Afghanistan , and the president has reportedly approved of a plan to send about 4,000 more .
“ We will not announce our plans for further military activities . Conditions on the ground , not arbitrary timetables , will guide our strategy from now on . America ’ s enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out . I will not say when we are going to attack , but attack we will , ” he said .
He floated the idea of a “ political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban and Afghanistan , but added , “ nobody knows if or when that will ever happen . ”
He said it was up to the people of Afghanistan to “ take ownership of their future ” and to “ achieve an everlasting peace , ” but did not say how that would happen .
“ We are not nation-building again , we are killing terrorists , ” he asserted .
Trump did not talk about how much more the new strategy would cost , but said the U.S. would ask its NATO and other allies to do more . The U.S. spends about $ 45 billion per year in Afghanistan . While he did not announce a withdrawal date , he said “ our support is not a blank check … The American people expect to see real reforms , real progress , and real results . Our patience is not unlimited . ”
The speech was a disappointment to many who had supported his calls during the campaign to end expensive foreign intervention and nation-building . He acknowledged the frustration that Americans felt after 16 years of war without an end in sight .
“ The American people are weary of war without victory . Nowhere is this more evident than Afghanistan the longest war in American history , 17 years . I share the American people ’ s frustration over a foreign policy that has spent too much time , energy , money and most importantly , lives , ” he said .
However , he said despite his “ original instinct ” to pull out , “ decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office , in other words when you are president of the United States . ”
After studying the Afghanistan in “ great detail and from every conceivable angle , ” he said he did not want to repeat the mistake of the previous administration in Iraq and pull out too early , leaving a vacuum for terrorists to fill .
“ We can not repeat in Afghanistan the mistake our leaders made in Iraq , ” he said . “ We must address reality . ”
The president said that today , 20 U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan , and cited last week ’ s terrorist attack in Spain as evidence terrorists must be defeated .
“ We will defeat them and defeat them handily , ” he said . “ In Afghanistan and Pakistan , America ’ s interests are clear . We must stop the resurgence of safe havens that allow terrorists to threaten America . ”
Trump announced the new strategy at Army Post Fort Meyer in Arlington , Virginia , surrounded by soldiers , and spoke of the unity among forces trying to achieve one mission and called for the same unity among Americans .
“ All service members are brothers and sisters , they ’ re all part of the same family . It ’ s called the American family , ” he said . “ Let us find the courage to heal our divisions within . ” | 0d4088f1cf552729 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
disaster | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-houston-idUSKCN1BA1KJ | Storm-hit Houston reels from influx of evacuees, crime outbreak | 2017-08-31 | Hurricane Harvey, Crime, Houston, Disaster, General News | HOUSTON ( ███ ) - Houston strained under the arrival of tens of thousands of people at city shelters fleeing submerged homes and flooded roads on Wednesday , while some incidents of looting and armed robberies forced a midnight curfew .
City and regional officials showed signs of tension after working nonstop for a week or more on storm preparations and response , with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner bluntly telling the U.S. Congress to quickly approve aid for victims of Tropical Storm Harvey .
The storm that came ashore on Friday near Corpus Christi was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years . It has killed at least 25 people and forced 30,000 people to flee to emergency shelters . Damage has been estimated at tens of billions of dollars .
The Houston City Council voted on Wednesday to allocate $ 20 million to storm recovery efforts , pulling the money from a rainy day fund , though that is an initial step and far more will be needed , officials said .
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state could need federal relief topping $ 125 billion , saying the region should get more than the amount Congress approved for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005 .
In Houston , police and other first responders have transitioned from rescue operations back to law enforcement , with Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg vowing to vigorously prosecute looters . At least 40 have been arrested for looting , including one person who allegedly drove a sport utility vehicle into a cash machine , Ogg ’ s office said .
The surge in evacuees has been stressing resources in the fourth-largest U.S. city . As of Wednesday morning , Texas officials said close to 49,000 homes had suffered flood damage , with more than 1,000 destroyed . Thousands of other homes were threatened by two reservoirs swollen by as much as 52 inches ( 132 cm ) of rain in some areas .
Officials ordered evacuations in several areas around levees or dams , but opted not to call for a mass evacuation , which could have led to chaos during the storm .
As Harvey began to dump rain and cause flooding , the city opened the George R. Brown Convention Center last weekend . It planned to house 5,000 people , operating with the help of American Red Cross volunteers and others . The center ’ s population quickly grew to double that capacity , as people streamed in from areas south and west of Houston .
At least one man was arrested in the convention center on Thursday after he tried to steal a cot and insulted police officers , according to video posted on social media .
Officials opened two more “ mega ” centers late Tuesday at the Toyota Center , home of the National Basketball Association ’ s Houston Rockets , and NRG Park , part of the complex that hosted the 2017 Super Bowl .
As police responded to scattered incidents of looting and armed robberies , the mayor ordered a curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. , which residents respected . There were no arrests for curfew violations on Tuesday night , police said .
There were at least 17 missing people as of Wednesday afternoon in Harris County , and a family of six , including four children , drowned inside a van in Houston during the storm , law enforcement officials said .
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said would-be looters impersonating police officers knocked on doors in at least two parts of the city telling residents to evacuate their homes .
“ There ’ s still some significant threats out there , ” Acevedo told a special session of the Houston City Council on Wednesday .
Late Tuesday , Harris County officials opened the shelter at NRG Park , which can house 10,000 , and will be staffed in part by members of the National Guard .
When a levee broke on Tuesday morning in Brazoria County south of Houston , the county ’ s chief administrator urged residents to “ get out now . ”
Mandatory evacuation orders covered Brazoria , Galveston and Fort Bend counties south and west of Houston , and officials issued calls for others to leave voluntarily .
On Wednesday afternoon , about 8,000 were at the nearly 2-million-square-foot Houston convention center , which had hosted evacuees in at least three prior storms . The population had dipped somewhat as other centers opened and some evacuees moved on .
A long-term solution for evacuees has yet to be formulated , officials said .
“ Right now we ’ re just working in 12-hour increments , ” said Tom McCasland , Houston ’ s housing and community development department director and head of the convention center shelter .
Some criticized the decision not to order a mass evacuation , but officials noted that a 2005 evacuation ahead of Hurricane Rita turned into a nightmare for many in Texas and Louisiana who became trapped in vehicles that ran out of fuel on clogged roadways .
Evacuees take shelter from Tropical Storm Harvey in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston , Texas , U.S. in this August 28 , 2017 handout photo . Texas Military Department/Handout via ███
Area churches and aid organizations donated clothing , bedding and food for evacuees . The Red Cross brought at least 1,000 volunteers to staff the convention center , and provided cots , blankets and food for 34,000 across the region , officials said .
Turner , the mayor , called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send cots , food and other supplies , as well as send staff directly into damaged communities , not just into shelters .
“ I can ’ t think of one district where there are not tremendous needs , ” said Turner . “ People are looking for results . ” | 752a83e5e626de61 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
us_house | The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/07/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-plan | Green New Deal: Ocasio-Cortez unveils bold plan to fight climate change | 2019-02-07 | Green New Deal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US House, Politics | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is releasing a broad outline of a vision for the Green New Deal , a plan to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change .
The new congresswoman ’ s blueprint , co-introduced by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey , aims to develop a carbon-neutral economy in 10 years , which would require huge strides in reducing the US ’ s reliance on oil , gas and coal . It does not set a date for ending the use of fossil fuels .
Specifically , the resolution says it is the duty of the federal government to craft a Green New Deal “ to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions ” . That includes getting all power from “ clean , renewable and zero-emission energy sources ” .
Green New Deal : what is the progressive plan , and is it technically possible ? Read more
The document also endorses universal healthcare , a jobs guarantee and free higher education – a huge shift in messaging from nearly a decade ago , when Democrats were advocating for a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases by allotting industry permits for pollution .
Sixty members of the House and nine senators are co-sponsoring the resolution , including several presidential candidates , according to a fact sheet from congressional aides that did not include a list of supporters . However , any legislation would be dead-on-arrival with Republicans in control of the Senate and the White House , and would be difficult for Democrats to implement even if they controlled government . In supporting documents staffer acknowledge the investment required would be “ massive ” .
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said a select committee on climate change , which she has announced the members of , will not be tasked with writing a specific bill and called the Green New Deal a “ suggestion ” .
“ It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive , ” Pelosi said in an interview with Politico . “ The green dream or whatever they call it , nobody knows what it is , but they ’ re for it right ? ”
Discussions on what shape the plan would take also involved major environment , justice and labor organizations , as well as the youth-run Sunrise Movement . Backers hope the six-page resolution will push Democrats vying for the White House in 2020 not just to sign on to the general idea , but to lay out specific legislative goals .
Some environmental groups , including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace , said they were encouraged by the movement on climate change but that the resolution does not do enough to confront fossil fuels . The Sierra Club , however , welcomed the document .
Ocasio-Cortez , a democratic socialist from New York who has been in Congress for just over a month , centered her campaign on climate change and a Green New Deal .
But the resolution itself focuses on the tenets of a progressive policy platform as much as it does on climate change .
It is both a framework for a cleaner-energy future and a plan for a large-scale mobilization that would rival in scale and scope the progressive New Deal policies ushered in under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression .
One of its goals is “ to promote justice and equity by stopping current , preventing future , and repairing historic oppression of indigenous peoples , communities of color , migrant communities , deindustrialized communities , depopulated rural communities , the poor , low-income workers , women , the elderly , the unhoused , people with disabilities , and youth ” .
The resolution says significant portions of the American population are suffering from declining life expectancy , exposure to pollution , and lacking access to healthy food , healthcare , housing , transportation and education . It spotlights wage stagnation , lacking socio-economic mobility , income inequality , a racial wealth divide , a gender pay gap and weakened bargaining power for workers .
The resolution text comes as Donald Trump frequently questions the science that shows humans burning fossil fuels are causing temperatures to rise and exacerbate extreme weather . He did not mention climate change in his annual address to Congress this week , despite increasing warnings from scientists .
Democrats , who hold a majority in the House , are trying to raise awareness of climate change as an impending crisis , with two committees holding hearings this week and a third to follow next week . But Republican lawmakers remain resistant to any legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions .
House Democrats hold hearings to increase pressure on climate change Read more
Republicans in dual climate change hearings called by House Democrats yesterday attacked the as-yet unwritten Green New Deal , charging that it would be far too expensive and would worsen poverty . Ocasio-Cortez and her supporters say the strategy is designed to do the opposite – to create jobs in a green economy .
Meanwhile , Trump ’ s agencies continue to roll back climate regulations enacted by the Obama administration . US carbon emissions increased last year , according to analysis by the economic firm Rhodium Group .
Ocasio-Cortez elevated the Green New Deal when she joined activists at a protest outside the then minority leader Nancy Pelosi ’ s office last year . The activists are planning to protest at Democratic debates in an effort to ensure the proposal , which was until now largely a liberal rallying cry for action on climate change , is a prominent issue for the 2020 election .
Before the text was released , several presidential candidates had already embraced the notion of a Green New Deal , including senators Kamala Harris , Elizabeth Warren , Cory Booker , and Kirsten Gillibrand . The former San Antonio mayor Julián Castro committed to the plan during his campaign announcement .
The Democratic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal , who is the co-chair of the House progressive caucus and a sponsor of the legislation , said the resolution defined the scale and scope of what must be done to combat global warming .
“ We really need an urgent and comprehensive approach , ” said Jayapal .
Such legislation has little chance of becoming law as long as Republicans control the Senate and Trump is president . But Jayapal said Democrats would continue to lay the groundwork for a Green New Deal while pushing more incremental legislation .
“ This is a moment for us to push a comprehensive view of the challenge before us , ” she said , “ and therefore to offer the solution that we need to address that challenge . ”
The world has already warmed about 1C since the industrialization in the 19th century and is barreling toward exceeding a 1.5C increase , which climate scientists say will significantly worsen the risks of extreme heat , drought , floods and poverty .
Already , the process for drafting the brief documents has outlined the fights ahead , even among progressives who want climate action .
A background summary prepared by staffers said the plan “ sets a goal to get to net-zero , rather than zero emissions , at the end of this 10-year plan because we aren ’ t sure that we will be able to fully get rid of , for example , emissions from cows or air travel before then ” .
But climate justice advocates who represent the communities seeing the worst of environmental damages and pollution already want to quickly phase out all fossil fuels . Many also oppose nuclear power that uses mined uranium but represents a huge portion of the US ’ s zero-carbon energy .
Angela Adrar , the executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance , a coalition of communities dealing with environmental problems , said her group supported the vision of the Green New Deal , even though members were concerned about what they saw as loopholes to allow some fossil fuels use . | 68e6912af5446353 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | Time Magazine | https://time.com/6590139/cori-bush-justice-department-investigation-security-spending/ | Justice Department Investigating Cori Bush for Alleged Misuse of Campaign Funds | 2024-01-30 | Politics, Justice Department, Cori Bush, Democratic Party, The Squad, Progressives, Campaign Finance | The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Democratic Rep. Cori Bush for allegedly misusing campaign money to spend on private security, the Missouri congresswoman confirmed in a statement Tuesday.Although the scope of the allegations were not immediately known, a congressional ethics inquiry had previously raised questions about her alleged use of campaign funds to hire her husband, Cortney Merritts, as her security. Federal law bars lawmakers from paying family members to work in their official offices, unless they are providing “bona fide” services to the campaign. The Office of Congressional Ethics dismissed a complaint filed against Bush last fall after concluding that her husband had performed bona fide security work and was not overpaid.According to Federal Election Commission filings, Bush paid Merritts $60,000 in 2022 and $42,500 in 2023. The couple got married in Feb. 2023.“As a rank-and-file member of Congress I am not entitled to personal protection by the House, and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services,” Bush said in a statement. “I have not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services.” She said she is “fully cooperating” with the investigation.The Justice Department declined to comment.Under federal election law, House members may use campaign funds to pay for private security for protection when not at the Capitol only if the money is used for “bona fide” security services.Bush, a former Black Lives Matter organizer whose district includes St. Louis, has played a key role in the progressive wing of the House Democratic caucus since her election in 2020, becoming a member of the group of Democratic lawmakers known as “the Squad.” Bush is currently running for re-election. | c9f985130ae7753d | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
2024_presidential_election | Townhall | https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2023/03/17/desantis-is-right-about-ukraine-n2620631 | DeSantis Is Right About Ukraine | 2023-03-17 | 2024 Presidential Election, Politics, Ron DeSantis, Republican Party, Ukraine War, Ukraine, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Aid, Russia, Donald Trump | Ron DeSantis came out against our current blank check n’ hack cliches Ukraine policy, stating the indisputable truth that Ukraine was not a vital US interest worthy of risking World War III with Russia. The next day he was proven right when a Russian SU-27 knocked a US Reaper drone into the Black Sea. Hey, feeding Russians (and Ukrainians) into a meat grinder is all fun and games until we get dragged into the abattoir too. Of course, all the right people got really mad about it – when Bill Kristol, Adam Kinzinger, David French, Max Boot and Mitt Romney are all for something, you need to be against it. Hardest hit was the GOP establishment – it was very sad because the governor refuses to be dragged along into cheerleading yet another massive foreign policy failure. And this Ukraine policy of feeding the fire in perpetuity will lead to yet another massive foreign policy failure. Massive failure is all our foreign policy elite knows. Name one of its successes since 1993. Don’t say the Abraham Accords – that was a huge success and had nothing to do with our foreign policy establishment. It was Trump outsiders who did it. The foreign policy establishment brought us Vietnam and Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. It brought us debt, blood, and humiliation. Yet, astonishingly, perpetual nimrods like Mitch McConnell John Cornyn and Lindsey Graham still defer to these utter losers. But not Ron DeSantis. And he will be vindicated by the time he wins the nomination. Same with Trump should he win the nomination, but everyone expected him to say what he is currently saying – they were hoping that the Great Not Orange Hope would side with Team Sap and he rejected them. Ron DeSantis – who served in Iraq and saw the failure firsthand – has rejected the Beltway consensus. He’s a bit ahead of most of America now, but after another year and a half of this madness he and the American people will be in synch. If he wins the nomination, he will be an anti-war Republican against a pro-war establishment Democrat. Americans are not pacifists, but they are sick of failure, and that’s what Ukraine is looking to become. Most Americans feel that Ukraine is corrupt, which it totally is – I saw it personally. They feel sympathy for the Ukrainians, as do I (I trained Ukrainian soldiers in Ukraine for the Army). And they agree with DeSantis that this territorial dispute – which it is – is not a vital American interest that overcomes other priorities and that is worth endless treasure and maybe even blood. We generally hope Ukraine wins, but this is not our fight. Nor is the war likely to spread to NATO countries where we have treaty obligations – the idea that we need to retake Crimea so the Russians don’t show up in Berlin, much less London, is ridiculous. Americans are not prepared to put up with this conflict forever, but forever wars that culminate in embassy helicopter evacuations and people falling off C-17s are what the Beltway buffoons do. Here's the ugly fact: This war needs to end in a negotiated peace, one that the Ukrainians are not going to like. The Ukrainians have held the Russians back because they are tough and because we give them enough ammo and gear to do so. But they also succeed because, so far, the Russians have sucked. Their equipment, leadership, and morale stinks. Now the front lines are relatively frozen. It’s nearly WWI-like in some areas. We are not looking at sweeping maneuver warfare but static trench fighting. This eats up men and equipment. We can feed Ukraine more ammo and gear. We cannot feed them more men, and the locals are not buying the propaganda and cheery dance Tik Toks from the front. The Ukrainians are running out of troops. Russia, however, is much bigger. It has more bodies (even though many have fled the country). And it has a history of coming back from setbacks. Napoleon got to Moscow. Then he got driven out. Hitler nearly got to Moscow. Then he got driven back to the Brandenburg Gate. The Russians will fire their ineffectual generals and replace them with solid killers. They will reconstitute their equipment and build new and better armaments. They will train up new forces. To break the stalemate, one side is going to have to generate massive combat power that can shatter the enemy lines. If you are betting that the Ukrainians will do that first, you probably double-down on a 16. Barring a peace treaty or some bizarre black swan event like a meteor flattening the Kremlin, the best case in the fall of 2024 is that the stalemate continues. The second worst case is that a Russian offensive drives the Ukrainians back. The very worst case is that a Russian offensive drives the Ukrainians back and the geniuses who brought you Baghdad and Kabul pour in American forces to try to stop the Ukrainian collapse. DeSantis has taken the smart strategic position and the smart political position. He has shown leadership, because the American people will soon come to be where he is now, and they will do so around the time when the election gets into high gear. The Ukrainians have to do what the Ukrainians have to do – I do not blame them for trying to wring dough and bombs out of Uncle Sucker. Nor am I upset that they appear to prefer to fight and die rather than enter into negotiations that will leave Russians on their territory. I get it. They are patriots supporting their country. But we normal Americans are patriots too, and our country is the United States. We expect Ukraine to pursue its national interests, but we expect America’s leadership to pursue America’s national interests. And it is in our national interest to get this war ended, even if it means Putin holds ground his forces conquered. The whiners will whine that this is a betrayal of Ukraine. It’s not. We cannot betray a country that it not our own. It is instead a rational and ruthless bit of realpolitik – we must pursue America’s interests, not Ukraine’s. Ending this war is in America’s interest. Again, I support Ukraine in both the abstract and practice – I would give them some aid. Ron DeSantis would too, just not aid that could expand the war. But it is clear that now America’s national interest is in forcing peace down both belligerent’s throats. We have lacked a coherent strategy throughout this whole debacle. All we have done is employ reactive tactics. This has led to a stalemate in Ukraine, Russia and China growing closer as allies (and uniting with other enemies like Iran), and the depletion of European war-making capacity. Time to identify our strategic objectives. Our main objective should be to degrade China and maintain American supremacy. A supporting strategy should be to integrate Russia into the West to counter China’s rise. That means we need to get this war ended and start working to bring Russia into the West. “Degrade Russia” is one thing we hear a lot. How about a strong, Western-looking Russia that can keep the Chi Coms from taking all those sweet, sweet resources just sitting there in Siberia? The greatest foreign policy failure of the last 30 years was not Iraq or Afghanistan; it was the failure to bring Russian into the fold after the USSR fell. But our foreign policy hacks are so concerned with personalities – PUTIN! PUTIN! PUTIN! – they cannot focus on the world as it is and how to get it to what it should be. Ron DeSantis gets it, and that’s why the people who have failed again and again and again are outraged at him. They were hoping they could co-opt him. Instead, when the election comes around the American people are going to be sick of this insanity and he will be right where they are – ready to move on from another endless war that only jerks like David Frum want. Follow Kurt on Twitter @KurtSchlichter. Get Inferno, the seventh book in the Kelly Turnbull People's Republic series of conservative action novels set in America after a notional national divorce, as well as his non-fiction book We’ll Be Back: The Fall and Rise of America. Conservatives Must Fight Back Against the Radical Left. Join Townhall VIP, Support Our Reporting, And Check Out Last Week's Stream of Kurtiousness, Mitch McConnell Is Really Getting Much, Much Worse, and my podcast, Unredacted. Use Promo Code SAVEAMERICA to Receive a 40% Discount on Your Membership! Stephen Miller Ends CNN Host's Career! Trump Torches Critics! Is This the End of Margaret Brennan's Career? Democrats Enraged at Trump Wins Threaten Impeachment and Revolution This Week on Capitol Hill: Trump's Last Call for Hamas Something Remarkable Happened When Trump Saved Women's Sports From Gender Ideology Javier Milei Surprises Elon Musk With A Special Gift Dems' Humiliating Moment During Fiery DOGE Hearing The Circus and the Tidal Wave: WILDCARD WEDNESDAY Title IX Is Still in Trouble Joe & Mika Rage: Liberal Media Melts Down When Trump Takes Control! WILDCARD WEDNESDAY: DOGE, Bill Belichick, and Droves of Democrats Brave, Bold, and Bada**: Stacy Washington Trump's Victories Are Causing Mass Democrat Panic Parents Want Their Rights Back Stephen Miller Rips White House Reporters for Covering Up Biden Cognitive Decline to Their Faces JD Vance Has a Message for Young Men Tax Cuts on the Line: AFP’s Akash Chougule Optimistic About GOP’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ 'Root Out This Corruption!' Katie Pavlich Questions Comer, Habba on Left Wing Scheme Budget Battles in Congress: Akash Chougule Breaks Down Trump’s Latest Move Media's Panic Attack Over DOGE Sends Liberal Elites & Dems Packing RFK Jr. Confirmed! Big Pharma in Shambles Over MAHA Agenda?! Chaos? Congressman Wesley Hunt Is Loving It. Speaker Johnson on DOGE, Israel, Reforming FBI & More | This Week on Capitol Hill Dems Plan Elon Musk Impeachment While Media Panics Over 'Constitutional Crisis' WILDCARD WEDNESDAY: Things You Should Hear About, but Aren’t Townhall.com is the leading source for conservative news and political commentary and analysis. Copyright © Townhall.com/Salem Media. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you | 9c9c068be9e066aa | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | New York Times - News | http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/us/politics/with-elections-awash-in-cash-looking-for-culprits.html | With Elections Awash in Cash, There’s Plenty of Blame to Go Around | 2012-06-23 | elections | The Citizens United decision that Democrats condemn was a clear signal that the Supreme Court takes a dim view of campaign finance restrictions . But it is not the only factor in the surge of money into politics , and its effects have been less profound than often portrayed .
It loosened the conditions under which corporations and unions can back candidates , publicly or privately . Yet organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , which since the ruling can use undisclosed donations to advocate victory or defeat of specific candidates , could previously use such donations to influence elections under the veil of “ issue advocacy . ”
The Citizens United decision was cited in a separate 2010 Supreme Court ruling , SpeechNow.org v. FEC , which made clear that individuals can pool unlimited donations in political committees that operate independently of candidates . But wealthy people like Sheldon Adelson , who recently gave $ 10 million to a super PAC backing Mr. Romney , have enjoyed the right to spend unlimited sums on their own campaign advocacy since the Supreme Court ’ s 1976 ruling in Buckley v. Valeo .
Citizens United “ is an effective rhetorical tool ” for opponents of the decision , said Robert Bauer , Mr. Obama ’ s former White House counsel . But he plays down its importance in the creation of super PACs that followed the SpeechNow.org decision .
“ People have lumped a lot of issues together under the banner of Citizens United , ” said Representative Chris Van Hollen , a Maryland Democrat who is active on campaign finance issues . Still , he argues that the 2010 decision “ changed the psychology ” of campaign finance to produce an “ anything-goes atmosphere . ”
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you 're not a robot by clicking the box . Invalid email address . Please re-enter . You must select a newsletter to subscribe to . Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times . You may opt-out at any time . You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times 's products and services . Thank you for subscribing . An error has occurred . Please try again later . View all New York Times newsletters .
But the largest sums have been raised through the regulated system that now drives the campaign schedules of Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney , as well as those of candidates for the House and Senate . Mr. Obama set the standard with the $ 745 million he raised in 2008 after opting not to participate in the post-Watergate public financing system , under which candidates received taxpayer funds in return for accepting limits on their spending .
Because he remained within that system , Mr. Obama ’ s 2008 opponent John McCain could spend only the $ 84 million allocated by the system during the general election . Mr. Obama raised $ 179 million , or more than twice that amount , for the same period , according to the Center for Responsive Politics .
The public financing system had already eroded amid reluctance of taxpayers to contribute and the increasing ability of candidates to raise large sums through the Internet and other means . But Mr. Obama ’ s success signals that Mr. McCain will probably prove to have been the last major party nominee who remained within the system .
The system “ didn ’ t have to be pushed very hard ” to collapse , said Mr. Bauer , now Mr. Obama ’ s campaign lawyer . The $ 92 million on offer for the general election this year would limit the spending plans of both candidates .
Some effects of the Supreme Court ’ s recent rulings may become apparent later . In combination , the Citizens United and SpeechNow cases permitted corporations as well as individuals to donate to super PACs . Disclosures so far indicate that , while privately held corporations have taken advantage of this , publicly traded companies have not .
“ Super PACs have not spent a nickel of Fortune 500 money because they haven ’ t gotten any , ” said Jan Baran , a Republican campaign finance lawyer .
Wary of offending shareholders , he explained , executives of those companies have “ an overwhelming sense of caution about funding this type of advertising. ” But he noted that might change by November .
In addition to blaming Citizens United for the state of campaign finance , Mr. Wertheimer blames Mr. Obama , because he has not pushed for a change to it .
“ However anyone thinks we got here , we now have a system that is going to result in the same kind of widespread , destructive government corruption ” that Watergate produced , Mr. Wertheimer said . “ The only test for a federal officeholder or candidate is what they are really prepared to do to end this corrupt campaign finance system . ” | 0dz1I1ATmsRIyguz | 0 | Elections | -0.3 | Presidential Elections | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
media_bias | Brent Bozell | http://townhall.com/columnists/brentbozell/2016/11/04/media-blackout-exposes-corrupt-media-n2241331 | OPINION: Media Blackout Exposes Corrupt Media | 2016-11-04 | media_bias | The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of Townhall.com .
While most of America was transfixed by Game 7 of the World Series , Fox News Channel was doggedly pursuing a new story : The FBI 's probe into pay-for-play schemes at the Clinton Foundation and the State Department has been far more expansive than anyone reported so far and has been going on for more than a year . FBI sources even warned there could be indictments down the road .
Then , The Wall Street Journal broke another new story online , saying , `` Secret recordings of a suspect talking about the Clinton Foundation fueled an internal battle between FBI agents who wanted to pursue the case and corruption prosecutors who viewed the statements as worthless hearsay . '' Senior officials wanted to tell FBI agents to `` stand down '' from a Clinton Foundation probe .
That 's two nuclear explosions in one night . What was the reaction from the news media ? Crickets .
The stench of corruption between the Justice Department , the State Department and the Clinton Foundation machine is noxious . Add the leftist `` news '' media collusion and it becomes overpowering . This is a cover-up .
No one at ABC , CBS or NBC was breaking from the World Series . They could n't locate the Clinton story and offer even the briefest summary the next morning . MSNBC 's Mika Brzezinski offered a serious report early on `` Morning Joe , '' but she was alone . The other `` news '' programs preferred the distraction of breathless baseball updates .
The worst moment came on ABC 's `` Good Morning America , '' where they acted like the story did not exist . Political analyst Matthew Dowd noted a scandal story might still break . `` So , anything can happen in that regard , '' he said . Sounding totally oblivious to the breaking news , co-host George Stephanopoulos replied , `` We 'll see if some big news comes out . ''
At taxpayer-funded National Public Radio , `` Morning Edition '' found anything and everything else more interesting and `` newsworthy , '' including -- we 're not kidding -- `` teen night owls '' who need later school start times and the perils of the illegal kidney trade in Pakistan .
The network blackout so far on this FBI probe is beyond the pale . Everyone knows what the media reaction would be were there a report about likely indictments related to the Trump Foundation . There would be an immediate flash mob of reporters camped in front of Trump Tower , breaking away from regularly scheduled programming and offering play-by-play commentary . Anyone denying the double standard is lying .
This is just the latest Clinton scandal scoop out of hundreds over the last 24 years that the networks have skipped or downplayed or just dismissed as toxic waste . This is why an overwhelming majority of Americans tell pollsters it 's obvious the media are undisguised Hillary boosters . Their credibility is shot with the public .
Within 18 hours , MSNBC 's Andrea Mitchell was bizarrely denying there was any story or any investigation worth noting . She said : `` She 's not under criminal investigation . In fact , it 's not an investigation . It 's just a review of the e-mails . She did not lie to the FBI , according to James Comey . There was no grounds to prosecute her . So there are no lies , there 's no criminality . ''
This is the kind of spin you expect from defense attorneys , not reporters .
It 's sinking in across America that our `` news '' media are not First Amendment heroes or watchdogs of government . Many of them are coddling deeply corrupt politicians and denying any evidence that these people have been engaged in what appears to be a criminal conspiracy to enrich themselves using the federal government .
We are looking right down the barrel of the greatest government crisis since the Civil War , with charges -- like handing over our uranium mining capacity to the Russians -- that could possibly reach the height of treason itself . | M8zuByIEkD9l1pRM | 2 | Election2016 | -0.7 | Media Bias | 0.2 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | Fox News Digital | http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/06/15/trump-rips-witch-hunt-in-response-to-reports-obstruction-probe.html | Trump rips 'WITCH HUNT' in response to reports of obstruction probe | 2017-06-15 | White House, Politics | Special counsel investigation widens President Trump took to Twitter Thursday morning to claim he's caught up in a "WITCH HUNT" led by "bad and conflicted people" following reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating him for obstruction of justice. Trump further claimed it all stems from his critics' "phony collusion" allegations. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election has expanded to include an examination of whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. “They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice,” Trump tweeted early Thursday. He later added: ‘You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history - led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA" Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency and Richard Ledgett, Rogers’ departed deputy, all agreed to participate in interviews with Mueller’s investigators as early as this week, five anonymous sources briefed on the requestes told the Post. It wasn’t immediately clear if others have been questioned by the FBI. Investigators are also reportedly looking for proof of possible financial crimes committed by Trump associates. “The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal,” Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump’s personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said Wednesday. Mueller’s office declined to comment. The investigation into obstruction of justice into Trump reportedly started days after former FBI Director James Comey’s May 9 ouster. According to the Post, a March 22 exchange among Trump, Coats, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, alone in the White House, is of potential interest to Mueller. Coats reportedly said that Trump had asked him if he could intervene with Comey to get the FBI to back off focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the Russia probe. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Subscribed You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! | f0d30faa1d85b5d2 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
media_bias | Guest Writer - Left | https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/07/media/tucker-carlson-white-supremacy-reliable-sources/index.html | Tucker Carlson wrongly tells his viewers the country's white supremacy problem 'is a hoax' | 2019-08-07 | media_bias | New York ( CNN Business ) A version of this article first appeared in the `` Reliable Sources '' newsletter . You can sign up for free right here .
Fox 's Tucker Carlson is being roundly criticized for claiming that America 's white supremacy problem `` is a hoax . ''
It 's `` just like the Russia hoax , '' he told his viewers on Tuesday night . `` It 's a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power . ''
This nonsensical claim came after several days of scrutiny of the El Paso suspect 's racist views and the forces that may have radicalized him . News outlets have pointed out that some of the anti-immigrant `` invasion '' language in the manifesto published online shortly before the attack mirrors what is frequently heard on far-right-wing talk shows and websites . And many prominent politicians have warned about the growing threat of white nationalist violence .
Carlson responded in a monologue on Tuesday night . He asserted that `` the whole thing is a lie . '' And he downplayed the threat by saying it 's `` actually not a real problem in America . The combined membership of every white supremacist organization in this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium . ''
But men like the suspect in El Paso are n't `` members '' of an `` organization . ''
Carlson 's comments sparked widespread condemnation , including from one of his own colleagues , liberal Fox News contributor Mo Elleithee . He tweeted on Wednesday morning , `` You know who else believes white supremacy is not a real problem ? White supremacists . ''
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg , knowing President Trump is a fan of Carlson 's show , tweeted that `` if Trump apes these talking points , it 'll be awful for the country and devastating for Trump 's presidency . ''
On white supremacy , facts first : An audit by the Anti-Defamation League found white supremacist murders in the US `` more than doubled in 2017 , '' with far-right extremist groups and white supremacists `` responsible for 59 % of all extremist-related fatalities in the US in 2017 . '' They were responsible for 20 % of these fatalities the year before .
And from the Charleston church massacre through the killing of a protester in Charlottesville and the shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway and most recently El Paso , far-right extremists are responsible for -- or suspected of - most of the ideological killings in America in the last 10 years , according to data from the ADL , which tracks extremist activity .
White supremacists are also looking to heavily recruit new members . White Supremacist groups posted more propaganda on college campuses for the third year in a row as they tried to get new young members on board , according to the ADL .
The exact numbers of groups , attacks , and activities are not as specifically known because of a lack of cohesiveness , transparency and data surrounding these types of groups at a federal level .
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned in July , before the El Paso attack , that domestic terrorism threats are on the rise . He said the FBI takes white supremacist hate crimes `` extremely seriously . ''
There is also a long , long history of white supremacy , dating back to the country 's founding . Carlson knows all of this , but that has n't stopped him from parroting the talking points favored by white nationalists . His punditry on `` Tucker Carlson Tonight '' frequently focuses on immigration — both legal and illegal — and he depicts immigrants as dangerous criminals . He rejects multiculturalism and relays to his audience that it is a threat to `` Western civilization . ''
`` White supremacy is the ideology that has killed more Americans than any other terroristic ideology in the history of America , '' Washington Post reporter and CNN contributor Wesley Lowery said on Sunday 's `` Reliable Sources . ''
In the wake of the El Paso massacre , it is getting newfound attention .
The Los Angeles Times has an editorial in Wednesday 's paper titled , `` As the El Paso massacre showed once again , white supremacy is the poison in our well . ''
At the same time , over on MSNBC , `` host Chris Hayes suggested there is 'no distance ' between the anti-immigration rhetoric published in the El Paso shooter 's racist manifesto and commentary uttered by Fox News opinion hosts like Tucker Carlson , Laura Ingraham , and Brian Kilmeade , '' Mediaite 's Caleb Ecarma wrote
We made a similar point on `` CNN Tonight '' on Monday , and I said there 's no evidence that the suspect watched Fox 's `` invasion '' and `` illegals '' coverage , but millions of viewers DO watch it every day ...
Oliver Darcy emails : Since the Dayton shooter 's extreme left-wing Twitter account came to light , there have been many comparisons between him and the suspected El Paso terrorist . A lot of Q 's have been asked about why news organizations are highlighting the alt-right politics of the suspected El Paso gunman , while spending relatively little time talking about the left-wing views of the Dayton killer .
But it 's not as cut and dried as some people are making it seem . There is a key difference between the two cases : The El Paso shooter left behind an online post explaining that he was committing his act of terror because of his racist politics . In the Dayton case , police say there 's no indication so far that the shooter 's politics were a factor . That is a crucial distinction . | 4bIYOaYUbQ71kHut | 0 | Tucker Carlson | -0.3 | Fox News | -0.2 | Media Watch | -0.1 | White Supremacy | -0.1 | Media Industry | 0 |
elections | Salon | http://www.salon.com/2015/10/13/hillary_clintons_wall_street_problem_shes_still_going_too_easy_on_the_banksters/ | Hillary Clinton's Wall Street problem: She?s still going too easy on the banksters | 2015-10-13 | Hillary Clinton, Wall Street, Presidential Elections, Elections | Hillary Clinton ’ s Wall Street policy proposals are all good , solid reforms and will improve the performance of the financial sector . These proposals have been carefully crafted to outlaw and punish bad behavior , correct some flaws in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law and repair damage done by reform opponents . While Clinton 's proposals mark an improvement over the current system , however , we are left to ponder what might have been . The proposals stop short of measures that would change the system and alter the trajectory of capital and investment for the benefit of the average household .
At the outset , we must praise Secretary Clinton for proposing an increase to the funding of the Securities and Exchange Commission and , particularly , the Commodity Futures Trading Commission . In Dodd-Frank , the CFTC was tasked with regulating the devilishly complex and risky $ 60 trillion per year swaps markets , and was never given anywhere close to the funding needed to carry out this task . We do not know what level Clinton envisions , but have our fingers crossed that super-regulator Gary Gensler , her campaign 's chief financial officer and a key adviser on Wall Street issues , has made sure she knows what is required .
Additionally , Secretary Clinton advocates a fee on big banks measured by risk . This is best thought of as a supplement to capital rules , also based on risk . The greater protection of this dis-incentive is commendable .
On substantive issues , her proposals go after bad behavior that make markets unfair and allow banks and others to cheat . They are designed to curb trickery and sharp dealing and they increase the likelihood that financiers who are wrongdoers or condone wrongdoing will be penalized , though the practical utility depends on details that are not yet available .
The High Frequency Trading ( HFT ) provision would put a cap on market order cancellations , a practice often used by traders who employ super computers and sophisticated software to trade at speeds that are unimaginably small . It targets tactics where HFT traders place large numbers of orders to buy or sell , leaving the impression among others in the market that prices are going to move up or down imminently . The other market participants react like a herd to position themselves for the anticipated market move . The HFT traders then cancel the orders and take advantage of the herd activity that they have incited , in essence making the herd back track through them . Secretary Clinton suggests that this makes markets less stable . It does so on the margin , but the instability primarily affects short term volatility . Her tax proposal is mostly about penalizing an unfair practice .
This should not be confused with a true financial transaction tax ( FTT ) , a measure proposed by presidential rival Bernie Sanders and many strong advocates of Wall Street reform . It would impose a small tax on all transactions , not orders that never become transactions . The FTT ( together with other market reforms ) would be an important curb on the “ quarterly capitalism ” that Secretary Clinton has properly cited as a drag on economic growth and contributor to income and wealth inequality . Quarterly capitalism is caused by short-termism of corporate management and shareholders driven by the dominance of the trading culture that fetishizes short swing share price changes . The FTT would slow down transactions and curb excessive market churning by speculators , while also raising substantial revenues . The order cancelation tax would not raise any where close to the same level of revenue since it would effectively stop the practice of tactical mass order cancelation . In addition , the HFT tactic addressed by the cancellation tax , while important , is just one element of excessive trading activity . Moreover , it is trading that happens so quickly that it is imperceptible by shareholding investors and management . It is indeed parasitic and costs the economy money , but it is not a cause of quarterly capitalism .
The plan also allows regulators to remove executives when “ egregious misconduct ” occurs on their watch . This is a very promising policy concept that deserves praise as it is filled out . But many details remain . What type of conduct is “ egregious ? ” We are left to ponder that standard means . And even when this is better known , presumably egregious misconduct would have to be proved before a dismissal occurs .
Clinton ’ s proposal also includes a reasonable and commendable provision requiring that incentive-based compensation is levied to contribute to payment of fines for bad behavior .
Two additional proposals address the issues associated with prudential regulation ( safety and soundness of banks ) and protecting the public against systemic risk and institutions that are too-big-to-fail . Secretary Clinton proposes the re-enactment of the “ swaps push out rule ” that was repealed at the end of the last congressional session as part of the infamous “ Cromnibus ” deal that avoided a government shutdown . The rule would require banks to transact certain swaps business in separate corporate subsidiaries , walled off from the parent bank . However , one reason that some Dodd-Frank supporters allowed it to be repealed was that it had been severely weakened in the negotiation of the bill during passage in 2010 . There are large areas of the swaps business that were excluded . It would be better if Secretary Clinton ’ s proposal were to return the swap push out rule to its original form as then-Sen. Blanche Lincoln first proposed it .
The proposals also close two meaningful loopholes in the Volcker Rule . Banks can simulate risky proprietary trading , in which the bet their balance sheets for short-term profits , by investing in hedge funds . The Volcker Rule limited investments in hedge funds , but allowed up to 3 percent of bank capital to be invested as a de minimis amount . That number is simply too large , and the proposal will properly correct that .
Additionally , the Volcker Rule defines “ hedge funds ” by referring to the trust law section that allows them to be organized . It turns out that hedge funds can be organized under other sections of law , a distinction without substance that was not intended . Secretary Clinton ’ s proposal would shut this legal chicanery .
However , true reform of the Volcker Rule would also close off another loophole . There is an exception for banks acting as a “ market maker , ” a business line that allows markets to function in an orderly fashion . The Volcker Rule was interpreted to allow banks to execute swaps that are one-off contracts for customers . The point is that there is no market for such swaps and their embedded risk is often very difficult to assess and can balloon to very high levels . That is just the problem that brought down AIG and triggered a bailout of $ 185 billion . The obvious and important thing to do is simply to require that “ market making ” for a swap means that there is a real and discernable market for the swap . Only if there is a market that can provide a reasonable reference for evaluating risk can regulators know what could go wrong . That is why Congress allowed the “ market making ” exception in the first place .
In short , going after bad behavior will make the markets work better and controlling bank risk makes us safer , but truly bold policy would confront the core connection between the financial sector and the continuing problems of the real economy . | 410ada7c98d73b19 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
immigration | The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/02/fatal-encounters-97-deaths-point-to-pattern-of-border-agent-violence-across-america | Fatal encounters: 97 deaths point to pattern of border agent violence across America | 2018-05-02 | Border Patrol, Violence, Immigration | For six long years the family of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez have been caught in a legal saga seeking justice for the 16-year-old who was killed by a US border patrol agent who fired 16 times from Arizona into Mexico .
Ending criminal proceedings that have dragged on since 2012 , a jury last week cleared agent Lonnie Swartz of second-degree murder and could not agree on a verdict for two lesser charges of manslaughter . The shooting has compelled judges up to the US supreme court to deliberate whether the American government can be sued in civil court for wrongful deaths on Mexican soil – placing the incident , among seven cross-border fatal shootings , at the center of scrutiny surrounding the use of force by agents in response to allegedly thrown rocks .
However , lesser known are similar shootings which have occurred inside the US . Such as that of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera , who was shot and killed “ execution-style ” , in the language of a wrongful death complaint the government paid $ 850,000 to settle . An Arizona agent responding to an alert from the National Guard in 2007 alleged Rivera threatened him with a rock .
Ten years later , the Department of Justice settled another wrongful death claim involving a rock-throwing allegation in California for $ 500,000 .
The shootings are only part of a larger litany of Customs and Border Protection agency-related violence inside the US . Encounters have proven deadly for at least 97 people – citizens and non-citizens – since 2003 , a count drawn from settlement payment data , court records , use of force logs , incident reports and news articles .
From Maine to Washington state and California to Florida , the deaths stem from all manner of CBP activity . Border agents manning land crossings and a checkpoint have used deadly force , as have agents conducting roving patrols – up to 160 miles inland from the border .
Quick guide The US border patrol force Show Hide How big is the force ? Already the largest and most funded federal law enforcement agency in its own right , the border patrol is part of the umbrella agency US Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) . CBP ’ s approximately 60,000 employees are split in four major divisions : officers who inspect imports ; an air and marine division ; agents who staff ports of entry – international airports , seaports and land crossings ; and the approximately 20,000 agents of the border patrol , who are concentrated in the south-west , but stationed nationwide . What are its powers ? The border patrol enjoys extraordinary police powers . Agents operate checkpoints where they stop motorists everyday without suspicion , and in the interior of the country up to 100 miles , they can board planes , trains and buses . There is no geographic limit to which agents can otherwise conduct stops amid roving patrols , though they are technically required to have reasonable suspicion to do so . Extending from not only land borders but also the Pacific , Atlantic , Gulf and Great Lakes coasts , the 100-mile zone encompasses two out of every three Americans , 12 states in their whole or near entirety and nine of the 10 biggest cities in the nation .
Pedestrians were run over by agents . Car chases culminated in crashes . Some have drowned , others died after they were pepper-sprayed , stunned with tasers or beaten .
But the majority of victims died from bullet wounds , including shots in the back . The bullets were fired not only by agents conducting border enforcement operations , but also those acting in a local law enforcement capacity and by agents off-duty , who ’ ve shot burglary suspects , intimate partners and friends .
Among the incidents , one agent also died following an exchange of gunfire with a family member who was found dead . Another agent was killed by friendly fire . Border agents sustained non-deadly shots in two incidents .
The picture compiled from official documents and news reports is incomplete , but indicates that at least 28 people who died were US citizens . Six children , between the ages of 12 and 16 , were among the victims whose ages were disclosed .
The federal government has paid more than $ 9m to settle a fraction of the incidents thus far . A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson did not comment on those cases but pointed to the agency ’ s National Use of Force Review Board , which has investigated 30 significant incidents since June 2015 . Each of its 17 reports made public have found the use of force to be compliant with agency policy in effect at the time . Local boards also review incidents , but only those that do not result in serious injury or death .
Here , ███ looks at eight fatal encounters with CBP agents that happened inside the United States and the larger patterns of incidents to which they relate .
A US citizen and mother of five , 32-year-old Valeria Munique Tachiquin Alvarado was shot and killed by Justin Tackett , a border patrol agent and former police officer , in a suburb of San Diego , California in the fall of 2012 . At the time of press , a wrongful death suit filed by Alvarado ’ s family was nearing judgement after four years of litigation . According to court records Alvarado attempted to drive away from an apartment where Tackett and six other plainclothes agents had begun questioning her and others without a warrant .
After Tackett climbed on and then off the hood of Alvarado ’ s car , her family ’ s suit alleges , she attempted to reverse away from the agent , who fired at Alvarado 10 times , hitting her nine .
“ A part of me was taken away and there hasn ’ t been justice , ” Alvarado ’ s mother Annabell Gomez told Guardian . “ Everyday I wish it was a dream , but I wake up and she ’ s not here . Life is not the same without her smile , ” said Gomez . “ She loved her kids and life . ”
As a sheriff ’ s deputy in neighboring Imperial county in the years prior , Tackett was suspended four times following a string of incidents that took place in the span of 19 months , involving unlawful searches , illegal detentions and reckless behavior , before he resigned upon receiving a termination notice , court documents detail .
A review of 15 CBP shootings , each targeting the drivers of moving vehicles over the course of two years , was conducted the year after Alvarado ’ s death by the Police Executive Research Forum ( PERF ) . A nonprofit overseen by a board of police chiefs , that was commissioned by CBP to study its use of force policy , PERF found that in many cases , border agents “ intentionally put themselves in the exit path of the vehicle ” , thereby “ creating justification for the use of deadly force ” , with some shots “ taken out of frustration ” .
Settled by the Department of Justice under attorney general Jeff Sessions for $ 500,000 in 2017 , the shooting of 41-year-old unarmed father of two Julian Ramirez Galindo took place near the California border in February 2014 . Agent Daniel Bassinger alleged that Galindo , who was a street musician in Tijuana , hurled a basketball-sized rock at him from above . But according to the family ’ s lawyer Scott Hughes , the medical examiner ’ s report is at odds with the agent ’ s version of events , detailing a man of slight stature who died from two downward trajectory bullet wounds .
PERF ’ s review of CBP ’ s use of force policy the year prior recommended a revision prohibiting deadly force against “ subjects throwing objects not capable of causing serious physical injury or death ” , citing that in some cases , “ agents put themselves in harm ’ s way ” instead of moving out of range . “ Too many cases do not appear to meet the test of objective reasonableness , ” the report notes , recommending corrective action be taken if agents use deadly force when alternative responses are possible .
Bassinger was back at work within six days , NBC San Diego reported . One month later , then CBP chief Michael Fisher enacted PERF ’ s recommendations . But the lawyer Hughes , a former military police officer , thinks the problem runs far deeper .
“ We can no longer tolerate shooting unarmed people in the United States , ” he told ███ . “ These officers are woefully under-trained , ” he said . “ They find themselves in situations they don ’ t know how to react in and they resort to shooting their way out . When in fact , they really don ’ t need to . ”
In May 2014 , unarmed 31-year-old Jose Luis Arambula died in a pecan grove in his native Arizona , shot behind his left ear . After bailing from a car later found to be filled with marijuana , Arambula ran from agents before one fired at him multiple times from a distance of 60-70ft , according to the local Pima county sheriff ’ s office , which investigated the shooting . That office , citing the agents ’ account that Arambula made a “ punching out ” motion towards them , found deadly force to be justified . But in the view of lawyer Jesus Romo Vejar , who filed a wrongful death suit on behalf of Arambula ’ s mother , the scenario was quite different . “ It was a bad shooting , ” he said .
The case is among a set of shootings that have been dismissed on technicalities or in favor of the defendant agents , including suits filed by the family of unarmed 18-year-old citizen Juan Mendez , who was shot in the back from a distance while running from an agent in Texas in 2010 ; unarmed 20-year-old Gerardo Lozano Rico , who was also shot in Texas in a fleeing car in 2011 ; unarmed 19-year-old citizen Carlos Lamadrid , who was shot in the back while climbing a ladder at the border fence in Arizona in 2011 .
In many cases , “ the facts are favorable ” , said the lawyer Vejar . “ But the judges are not favorably deposed . ”
In one of at least eight fatal encounters in northern border states , 30-year-old Alex Martinez , a US citizen from Washington state who had a mental illness , was shot 13 times after his Spanish-speaking father called 911 in 2011 , according to a complaint sent to the attorney general and secretary of homeland security in 2013 . Describing the border patrol ’ s arrival alongside local law enforcement officers , Martinez ’ s father told local community organizers : “ The first thing they asked was , ‘ Is he from here or is he from Mexico ? ’ ” Local law enforcement alleged that Martinez hit a sheriff ’ s deputy with a hammer , reported a Washington newspaper . But his family disputed that account , saying that Martinez held a flashlight and tripped . “ We saw it with our own eyes and without there being any need for it , ” said his father . “ They did something unjust . Something that should not be taken lightly , ” he said . “ And border patrol did it all. ” The local sheriff ’ s office found the shooting to be justified .
An agent stationed in Michigan shot and killed a person at a card game while off duty . In Minnesota , a pedestrian died after a fatal accident involving a car driven by a border agent .
On-duty border agents serving as back-up to local law enforcement have shot and killed two people in separate incidents in Maine , both involving armed men of whom one fired at agents , according to the state ’ s attorney general which found the shootings to be justified .
In Montana , agents on patrol shot Jeff Suddeth , a US citizen who they said had a stun gun . At the inquest which cleared agents of wrongdoing , Suddeth ’ s mother , who described her son as bipolar , told local media : “ He lived 36 years , and in 15 minutes they took his life . I guess that ’ s the law . ”
In an incident unrelated to immigration enforcement , 21-year-old US citizen Steven Martin was shot and killed in Yuma , Arizona in 2008 . An agent was driving by the gas station , where Martin was parked , when a friend , who was black , allegedly ran out of the store holding two cases of beer . The agent fired on Martin ’ s car , according to a wrongful death suit filed by his mother . The suit also alleged that the agent did not subsequently request medical help for Martin , who was bleeding on the scene and died four hours later , on Christmas Eve . The case settled for $ 350,000 in 2013 .
With the exception of “ regulations prescribed by the attorney general ” , border agents with reasonable grounds have the authority to make non-immigration arrests , “ for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States ” , under the Immigration and Nationality Act . No such regulations can be readily identified however , and the Department of Justice did not respond to multiple requests for comment .
Every year over Memorial Day weekend , Martin ’ s family gathers to celebrate his memory . “ My son was an amazing person who had a heart of gold , ” his mother said . “ He would give his last dollar to help someone out . He was a hard worker , spent his money on his cousins and sister and brother . He loved being around his nephew and would have loved to meet his nieces . There are still times I don ’ t know how I can go on without him . ”
Picked up by agents more than 70 miles from the border , in Orange county , California , Tomas Orzuna was denied medical care after agents beat , pepper-sprayed and then handcuffed him in a suffocating , face-down position , according to a lawsuit brought by Orzuna ’ s parents , which does not specify his age .
Force considered non-lethal has proven otherwise in a variety of circumstances . A man was pepper-sprayed at the Rio Grande river and then drowned . A man was hit with a stun gun inside a rental car and it immediately exploded . Four men were Tasered or beaten in separate incidents and then died . Agents fired explosives at a boat filled with migrants and one woman drowned .
Deaths have also occurred through alleged neglect or malice . A mother and her 16-year-old daughter drowned after agents ordered them to swim back across the Rio Grande river . Another 16-year-old was compelled to drink liquid meth by agents , after telling them it was juice , and died . An on-site paramedic at a border patrol station assessed that a man in custody was faking a seizure , a report by the San Diego medical examiner ’ s office detailed , but he had ingested a packet of drugs and died after being left alone in his cell .
Among cases which have settled , payments vary widely . Orzuna ’ s parents received $ 15,000 in 2012 . The family of Anastacio Hernandez-Rojas received a $ 1m settlement in 2017 . Beaten and Tasered five times , at a land crossing in California , Hernandez-Rojas ’ cries for help were captured on video .
In August 2017 , 18-year-old Israel Caballero , a US citizen , was among three people killed in a crash following a high-speed border patrol pursuit outside of San Diego , California . Initially stating that a license plate check linked the car to a homicide , the border patrol has since said no one in the vehicle was wanted of any crimes . The father of a one-year-old , Caballero worked as a landscaper , following a stint of competitive boxing throughout his youth . “ What happened to him was totally devastating , ” coach Juan Medina said of the former champion . “ Israel was a very respectful young man . ”
The incident is the latest among a string of fatal crashes that raise questions about CBP ’ s stated vehicle pursuit policy , which dictates that agents can commence and continue emergency driving only as long as the benefits outweigh the immediate danger posed .
In an Arizona crash resulting in a $ 350,000 wrongful death settlement , a car flipped when agents in pursuit threw a tire deflation device in the road , killing a 40-year-old mother of three . In a Texas crash , an eyewitness testified in court that a CBP vehicle bumped into the van they were pursuing . The crash left bodies and personal belongings strewn across a highway , resulting in nine fatalities . “ When it comes to human smuggling it becomes tough , ” a Texas police chief told the AP regarding pursuits . “ You do look at it in a way that these people were just trying to come here to have a better life , ” he said .
Shot by an off-duty CBP agent using his service weapon , 15-year-old Darius Smith died near a train station in a suburb of Los Angeles in May 2015 . The Los Angeles county sheriff ’ s office said it would not release video of the incident , but that the video backed up the agent ’ s account that Smith and two other teens attempted to rob him . Conflicting details swirl around a bb gun investigators say they found “ close by ” Smith ’ s body – but was not spotted by a man who held the teen ’ s hand until paramedics arrived , the Los Angeles Times reported . A football player at his high school , Smith dreamed of making it to the NFL his mother told local media . “ He always had a smile on his face , ” said a friend who now plays college football , dedicating his games in Smith ’ s honor .
Border patrol violence : US paid $ 60m to cover claims against the agency Read more
The incident is among ten off-duty shootings by CBP agents since 2005 identified by ███ .
Since early 2018 , a Texas border patrol supervisor was charged with murdering his romantic partner and her one-year-old son . A CBP officer in Miami shot and killed a man who entered her home , suspected of burglary , and a Texas agent shot a man described as a childhood friend .
Previous years have seen the federal government pay a $ 750,000 settlement to the family of Bassim Chmait , a 20-year-old Arab American ; and an agent was incarcerated after shooting 27-year-old Adam Thomas , a father of two . Both men were the neighbors of agents , while a number of other off-duty fatal shootings have involved intimate partner violence and domestic disputes . | 7aa7a69587abdd99 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
foreign_policy | Washington Examiner | https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/white-house-denies-report-us-blew-up-nord-stream | White House denies report that US blew up Nord Stream pipelines | 2023-02-08 | Foreign Policy, Nord Stream 2, Sabotage, Russia, Europe, Defense And Security, Ukraine War, Energy, NATO, Media Industry | This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world politics. He has covered the intersection between politics and emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence. James joined Newsweek in July 2022 from LBC, and previously worked for the Daily Express. He is a graduate of Oxford University. Languages: English. Twitter: @JBickertonUK. You can get in touch with James by emailing j.bickerton@newsweek.com Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Biden was heckled by several Republican politicians after claiming "some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset." In response to his remark, a number of Republican lawmakers were heard saying "no," House Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shouted "liar" and Speaker Kevin McCarthy could be seen shaking his head. "Let me give you—anybody who doubts it contact my office. I'll give you a copy of the proposal," Biden said. The president appeared to be referencing a plan released last year by Senator Rick Scott of Florida, then chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which would introduce a five-year sunset clause for all federal legislation. Thus, Medicare and Social Security would have to be regularly renewed in order to remain law. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell later insisted the plan "will not be part" of his party's legislative agenda. After Biden's address had finished former President Donald Trump gave a surprisingly rosy appraisal of his performance, saying he should get "credit for trying" and "ended up the evening far stronger than he began" on his Truth Social website. Notably, Trump, who has announced he will run again for president in 2024, has come out firmly against Medicare or Social Security funding cuts. Last month, he said in a video message: "Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security." Newsweek has compiled a list of prominent Republicans who have previously either explicitly, or implicitly, called for cuts to Medicare or Social Security payments. Speaking in October 2018, McConnell called "entitlements," a term usually deployed to describe welfare payments like Medicare and Social Security, "the real drivers of the debt," adding they need to be adjusted "to the demographics of America in the future." McConnell also described the GOP's failure on the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, as "the one disappointment of this Congress from a Republican point of view." In August, Republican Senator Ron Johnson suggested Medicare and Social Security should cease being federal entitlement programs, and instead require approval every year as "discretionary spending." "If you qualify for the entitlement, you just get it no matter what the cost," he said. "And our problem in this country is that more than 70 percent of our federal budget, of our federal spending, is all mandatory spending. It's on automatic pilot. It never, you just don't do proper oversight. You don't get in there and fix the programs going bankrupt." In response, House Majority leader Chuck Schumer said: "The junior senator from Wisconsin wants to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block." Speaking to The Washington Post, Johnson's office later denied he wanted to end Medicare or Social Security. In June, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham argued "entitlement reform" was needed to stop the U.S. from becoming like Greece, during a debate with Vermont's Bernie Sanders. Graham made a similar argument nearly a decade earlier in December 2012, when he called for "real structural reforms to save Medicare and Social Security from bankruptcy and prevent our country from becoming Greece." Speaking to two Politico journalists in 2017, Florida Senator Marco Rubio called for "structural changes" in U.S. welfare provisions. "We have to do two things," he said. "We have to generate economic growth which generates revenue while reducing spending. That will mean instituting structural changes to Social Security and Medicare for the future." Utah Senator Mike Lee claimed his goal was to "phase out Social Security" in February 2010, during a campaign stop in his state's Cache Valley. He commented: "People who advise me politically always tell me it's dangerous and I tell them, 'In that case, it's not worth my running.' That's why I'm doing this, to get rid of that. Medicare and Medicaid are of the same sort, they need to be pulled up." The senator told Newsweek in a statement in November that this is no longer his position, commenting: "This attack by my opponent is straight out of the Democrat playbook. "Throughout my first campaign and from the day I took office, I have been clear: we must honor our commitments to retirees. That has been reflected in every vote I've cast, every bill I've introduced, and every speech I've given regarding Social Security." Whilst he hasn't explicitly called for Medicare or Social Security to be axed, Senator Rick Scott chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee when it proposed all federal laws should be eliminated after five years, unless Congress votes to keep them. The proposal was made as part of the 2022 Rescue America plan, though Mitch McConnell insisted it wasn't party policy. A Washington Post editorial warned the proposal could "could mean an end to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, everything else mentioned above—and potentially more." James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world politics. He has covered the intersection between politics and emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence. James joined Newsweek in July 2022 from LBC, and previously worked for the Daily Express. He is a graduate of Oxford University. Languages: English. Twitter: @JBickertonUK. You can get in touch with James by emailing j.bickerton@newsweek.com James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world politics. He has covered the intersection between politics and emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence. James joined Newsweek in July 2022 from LBC, and previously worked for the Daily Express. He is a graduate of Oxford University. Languages: English. Twitter: @JBickertonUK. You can get in touch with James by emailing j.bickerton@newsweek.com James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is covering U.S. politics and world ... Read more Newsletters in your inbox See all Company Editions: Contact Terms of Use © 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC | 3894618d0c5dc3e5 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
us_senate | New York Times - News | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/16/us/politics/trump-republican-party.html | Trump’s Attempt to Circumvent Congress Leaves Uneasy Senate Republicans With Hard Choice | 2019-02-16 | us_senate | “ He is usurping congressional authority , ” Senator Susan Collins of Maine , a veteran member of the Appropriations Committee , said in an interview . “ If the president can reallocate for his purposes billions of dollars in federal funding that Congress has approved for specific purposes and have been signed into law , that has the potential to render the appropriations process meaningless . ”
Several other Senate Republicans publicly and privately joined Ms. Collins in describing the move as a flagrant breach of congressional jurisdiction and a dangerous precedent . Their numbers raised the clear possibility that enough Republican defectors could join with Senate Democrats to provide a majority to disapprove of the president ’ s decision should the opportunity arise .
Four Republicans might be enough to join with Senate Democrats and pass legislation rebuking the president , and leadership aides put the number of potential defectors as high as 10 . But the unrest seemed well short of the sort of partywide revolt necessary to override a veto by Mr. Trump of any legislative attempt to prevent his declaration of an emergency , leaving a legal challenge as the only recourse .
“ I would not vote for disapproval , ” said Senator Richard C. Shelby , Republican of Alabama and the Appropriations Committee chairman who led the spending negotiations . “ He ’ s got the power to defend the country , to defend the borders , to protect the people as commander in chief . I believe the courts would uphold him on this . ”
Despite reservations about many of the actions taken by Mr. Trump and the White House over the past two years , most congressional Republicans have been reluctant to put too much distance between themselves and the president given his grip on Republican voters , many of whom consider the wall a national necessity . Mr. Trump exerts a powerful hold on his party , and lawmakers are cowed by the belief that opposing him will end in their political destruction .
Still , the emergency declaration was a direct assault on the ability of lawmakers themselves to restrain the president , and it raised expectations that more could balk at what was widely viewed as a serious case of executive overreach .
“ Somebody is going to have to say enough is enough , ” said Trent Lott , the former Senate leader from Mississippi , who questioned the wisdom of the move . | X8MvBf3dViYvVze6 | 0 | Donald Trump | 0.2 | US Senate | -0.1 | Politics | 0 | null | null | null | null |
national_security | The Daily Caller | http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/21/russia-probe-may-implicate-one-of-the-biggest-names-in-law/ | Russia Probe May Implicate One Of The Biggest Names In Law | 2017-09-21 | Russia Probe, National Security, Defense And Security | One of the world ’ s largest and most prestigious law firms may have attracted the scrutiny of special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election .
Two sources with knowledge of the probe told The New York Times that the Department of Justice ( DOJ ) has asked Skadden , Arps , Slate , Meagher & Flom , colloquially known simply as “ Skadden , ” to furnish documents related to its work for deposed Ukrainian strongman Viktor Yanukovych .
The request is likely connected to Mueller ’ s ongoing investigation of Paul Manafort , the former Trump campaign chairman on whom the inquiry is intensely focused . Manafort commissioned the firm to prepare a report defending Yanukovych ’ s prosecution of his chief political antagonist , Yulia Tymoshenko , for corruption . Other lobbyists retained by the Yanukovych regime burnished the report as part of a strategy to assuage concerns about Ukraine ’ s human rights record in western capitals .
The firm ’ s lead attorney on the project was Gregory Craig , who served as White House Counsel during the Obama administration .
DOJ investigators appear to be working in tandem with Ukranian officials , who have expressed concerns that Skadden ’ s work was illegally financed by Yanukovych ’ s government .
The report was completed just weeks before Manafort ’ s daughter was retained as an associate at Skadden , according to TheNYT .
The firm refunded the Ukrainian government in June for nearly $ 600,000 , apparently returned because the regime paid up front for work which was never completed .
Mueller has aggressively pursued Manafort and his associates in recent months , issuing subpoenas compelling testimony from spokesman Jason Maloni and Melissa Laurenza , formerly Manafort ’ s personal counsel , and staging a dawn raid of Manafort ’ s home in Alexandria , Va . The special counsel ’ s staff has reportedly informed Manafort that they plan to indict him .
Based in New York City , Skadden employs some 1,700 attorneys across 22 offices . It generates more than $ 2 billion in revenue annually .
WATCH THIS FOR THE LATEST IN THE TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION SAGA : | 334f0b33cdbf4ef2 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
technology | Mashable | https://mashable.com/article/open-letter-seeks-pause-ai-experiments-future-of-life-institute | Open letter seeking pause on AI experiments signed by Steve Wozniak, Elon Musk, and more | 2023-03-29 | Technology, AI, Elon Musk, ChatGPT, Science, People And Profit, Labor, Big Tech | AI experts, technologists, and business leaders are among the 1,000 plus petitioners imploring AI labs to pause training of systems "more powerful than GPT-4." The open letter was published on Wednesday by the Future of Life Institute, a non-profit for mitigating risks of transformative technology. The list of signees include Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter CEO Elon Musk, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, Executive Director of the Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris and Yoshua Bengio, founder of AI research institute Mila. "Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources," said the letter. "Unfortunately, this level of planning and management is not happening, even though recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control." Companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google have been charging full speed ahead with their generative AI models. Fueled by ambitions to corner the AI market, new advancements and product releases are announced on an almost daily basis. But the letter says it's all happening too fast for ethical, regulatory, and safety concerns to be considered. "We must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?" The open letter is calling for a six-month pause on AI experiments that "should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable." It recommends that AI labs should use this time to collectively develop safety protocols that can be audited by third parties. If they don't pause, governments should step in and impose a moratorium. At the same time, the petition calls for policymakers to get involved with regulatory authorities dedicated to oversight and tracking of AI systems, distinguishing real from generated content, auditing and certifications for AI models, legal accountability for "AI-caused harm," public funding for AI research, and institutions "for coping with the dramatic economic and political disruptions (especially to democracy) that AI will cause." The letter isn't saying pause all AI developments full stop. It's just saying pump the brakes. Societies need a quick time-out to build the proper infrastructure so the AI revolution can be safe and beneficial to all. Let's enjoy a long AI summer," the letter concludes, "not rush unprepared into a fall." Topics Artificial Intelligence Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on Twitter at @cecily_mauran. | bc281db74ebbf00f | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
white_house | Vox | https://www.vox.com/2018/9/21/17887672/rod-rosenstein-trump-recording-25th-amendment-times | The Times’s big new Rod Rosenstein story has major implications for Mueller’s probe | 2018-09-21 | white_house | Did Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein seriously suggest to top Justice Department officials last year that someone should secretly tape President Donald Trump ?
Or did he make an obviously sarcastic comment that he never intended anyone take seriously ?
A new report from the New York Times ’ s Adam Goldman and Michael Schmidt says it was the former — and adds that Rosenstein also talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office . ( Neither ended up happening . ) The reporters ’ sources are anonymous people “ briefed either on the events themselves or on memos ” written by former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe and others .
But a separate report from the Washington Post ’ s Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky quotes an anonymous source who was in the room and disputes the account given to the Times . Per this source , Rosenstein was rebutting a suggestion by McCabe that the Justice Department open an investigation into Trump , and said something along the lines of , “ What do you want to do , Andy , wire the president ? ”
Who ’ s right ? The consequences could be enormous . It was Rosenstein who appointed Mueller as special counsel back in May 2017 , and it ’ s Rosenstein who continues to oversee Mueller ’ s Russia investigation . Well before these new stories President Trump has privately mused about firing Rosenstein ( or Sessions , or Mueller ) , so he could put someone he views as more loyal in charge of the Russia probe .
Trump has hesitated on actually following through with this . The new Times report , though , will undoubtedly infuriate the president — and could well provide him with the pretext he ’ s long sought to justify Rosenstein ’ s firing , and provoke a showdown over the future of Mueller ’ s probe . And in the moments after the Times published it , speculation about a new Saturday Night Massacre once again arose in Washington .
Rosenstein was sworn in as deputy attorney general toward the end of April 2017 . Just two weeks later , on May 8 , he and Attorney General Jeff Sessions met in the White House with President Trump to discuss the potential firing of FBI Director James Comey . Afterward , Rosenstein wrote a memo criticizing Comey ’ s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation , which the White House then released the next day to justify Comey ’ s firing .
In the new Times report , Goldman and Schmidt purport to describe Rosenstein ’ s behavior and interactions with top Justice Department officials in the week or so after the firing ( when , it should be noted , President Trump himself was behaving quite erratically — seeming to admit on television that he fired Comey over the Russia probe , and disclosing classified information to Russians in the Oval Office ) .
For their two most controversial bits , the Times team doesn ’ t seem to be quoting sources with firsthand knowledge . Instead , they attribute the report to “ several people ” who “ were briefed either on the events themselves or on memos written by FBI officials ” including McCabe .
First is Rosenstein ’ s supposed comment about recording Trump . The Times says it was made during a meeting with McCabe and “ at least four other senior Justice Department officials , ” and describes it as follows :
Mr. Rosenstein then raised the idea of wearing a recording device or “ wire , ” as he put it , to secretly tape the president when he visited the White House . One participant asked whether Mr. Rosenstein was serious , and he replied animatedly that he was . If not him , then Mr. McCabe or other F.B.I . officials interviewing with Mr. Trump for the job could perhaps wear a wire or otherwise record the president , Mr. Rosenstein offered . White House officials never checked his phone when he arrived for meetings there , Mr. Rosenstein added , implying it would be easy to secretly record Mr. Trump .
But the Times sources were not in the room , and it ’ s not even clear they ’ ve seen the memos in question . Meanwhile , both the Washington Post and Huffington Post are quoting an anonymous source who was in the room , claiming the comment was obviously sarcastic .
In the Washington Post source ’ s account , Rosenstein was rebutting a suggestion by McCabe that the Justice Department open an investigation into Trump , and said something along the lines of , “ What do you want to do , Andy , wire the president ? ”
The Huffington Post also quoted a source present at the meeting ( perhaps the same one , perhaps not ) . “ I remember this meeting and remember the wire comment , ” the person said . “ The statement was sarcastic and was never discussed with any intention of recording a conversation with the president. ” ( In any case , there ’ s no evidence it was ever carried out ) .
The Times ’ second controversial claim is that Rosenstein discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office . Section 4 of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution states that if the vice president and a majority of Cabinet secretaries decide the president is “ unable to discharge the powers and duties ” of the presidency , they can start a process that could remove him from office . It has never been invoked .
According to Goldman and Schmidt , Rosenstein brought this up in conversations with McCabe and others , and told McCabe that he might be able to persuade Sessions and then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly , who is now Trump ’ s chief of staff , to get the process rolling .
However , the Times report is unclear about when the 25th Amendment comment was purportedly made , only seeming to attribute it to something Rosenstein said to McCabe , and that McCabe then repeated to others .
“ Based on my personal dealings with the president , there is no basis to invoke the 25th Amendment , ” Rosenstein said in a statement to the Times .
From one perspective , this is a story about two things that didn ’ t happen : If the story is accurate , Rosenstein floated two remarkable possibilities during a tumultuous time 16 months ago , but neither appears to have actually come to pass .
But the near-term consequences are likely to come from the fallout from the story itself , with big implications for Rosenstein ’ s future and the future of the Mueller investigation .
Since Rosenstein first appointed Mueller in May 2017 , Washington has awaited the next showdown between President Trump and his Justice Department . The president raged privately about potentially firing Mueller as early as June 2017 , and at various points since has reportedly discussed firing Sessions or Rosenstein too .
However , Trump has shied away from actually doing so — evidently realizing that he had no defensible justification , and fearing the political backlash that would ensue .
Trump ’ s conservative allies in the House of Representatives have also harshly criticized Rosenstein for months and discussed the prospect of impeaching him with only the thinnest of pretexts . But they basically had nothing , so the effort was shelved .
Now this new story seems so perfectly designed to justify Rosenstein ’ s firing that Twitter soon brimmed with suspicion that the Times ’ s sources were trying to bring about that very outcome .
If you want to question a story without your own information , but based on your emotions , and slander a tremendous current NYT reporter in the process , that ’ s your right . https : //t.co/Fa3Pi0m4De — Maggie Haberman ( @ maggieNYT ) September 21 , 2018
In any case , Trump does now have something on Rosenstein . He may well calculate that he can portray this behavior as outrageous or insubordinate enough to justify firing the deputy attorney general at long last . And if so , the crisis over the Russia probe and the rule of law will have finally arrived . | fzObg0EG68fETWhW | 0 | White House | -0.5 | Politics | -0.5 | Rod Rosenstein | -0.1 | Donald Trump | 0 | null | null |
middle_east | Guest Writer - Right | http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/07/15/how-global-terror-network-will-get-boost-from-iran-nuclear-deal.html | OPINION: How global terror network will get a boost from Iran nuclear deal | 2015-07-15 | middle_east | While the nuclear arms accord with Iran is being hailed as a historic agreement , it should be regarded as only one piece of an increasingly complex patchwork of foreign policy challenges presented by Iran and its network of allies . As a result of this deal , Iran stands to reap a potential windfall of billions of dollars that has been held up by international sanctions designed to cripple the Iranian economy and bring Tehran to the negotiating table .
Even if most of this money is channeled to Iran ’ s domestic economy , the bounty will nevertheless help resuscitate the Iran threat network—a nefarious web of insurgent , criminal and terrorist allies—and revitalize Iranian meddling worldwide . Iranian sponsorship of terrorist organizations can not be divorced from the negotiations because the sanctions that will be lifted provide new sources of funding to reinforce the Iran threat network .
Designing and implementing a global strategy to address the Iran threat network is essential to stability in the Gulf and will require the exercise of American power to deter Iran while reassuring allies in the region and wider world .
The fact that the nuclear agreement does not address the threat network means that Iran remains a serious threat to stability in the Middle East .
Formed in the 1980s , the Iran threat network has expanded from a ragtag militia to an enterprise with global reach—and operatives who are active in dozens of countries . Over the last three decades , Iranian largesse has provided the Shiite group Hezbollah with hundreds of millions of dollars , training , weapons and modern equipment .
The network now includes proxies in Yemen and Iraq , where the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and its elite Quds Force are training sectarian militias . Also of concern are Iranian accomplices including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon ( and more recently , Syria ) . Hamas has increasingly relied on financial support from Iran since the Syrian civil war began in 2011 .
In addition to Iran ’ s growing battle with Saudi Arabia for regional hegemony , the mullahs that comprise the core leadership of Iran—and are considered the vanguard of the Islamic Revolution—have also pushed to develop a fairly sophisticated cyberwar capability . The Saudi-Iranian rivalry is playing out through the sponsorship of proxies in Yemen and Syria .
Over the past several years , Iran has devoted more resources to cyber warfare , perhaps in response to a destructive software attack—reportedly initiated by the United States and Israel—that effectively targeted Iranian nuclear-enrichment equipment . The Iranians have already penetrated American and Saudi networks and successfully seized and destroyed sensitive data .
Going forward , U.S. policy toward Iran must reflect the nuanced nature of the relationship . While the nuclear agreement is a positive step toward resolving the most serious potential threat posed by the Islamic Republic , the Iranian regime is still a major sponsor of terrorist groups opposed to the United States and its key allies throughout the Middle East , North Africa and the Persian Gulf region .
Designing and implementing a global strategy to address the Iran threat network is essential to stability in the Gulf and will require the exercise of American power to deter Iran while reassuring allies in the region and wider world . Even though the United States welcomes Iran ’ s help combating ISIS , Washington must keep pressuring Tehran to cease its support for terrorist and insurgent groups in Gaza , Lebanon and Yemen .
The United States and its allies must continue to combat the financing of terrorism by working through the Treasury Department and collaborating with private-sector entities to identify and then take action against Iranian funding of terrorist groups . The United States also should keep trying to build partner capacity in at-risk nations like Lebanon and Yemen—thus depriving Iran of the political legitimacy afforded external state sponsors of terrorism—while working to build a force in the region capable of providing at least a modicum of stability . Finally , the United States must continue to closely monitor Iranian behavior to ensure that relief from sanctions does not allow Iran the flexibility to exacerbate conflicts in already fragile nations throughout the Middle East .
After pausing to celebrate the Iran nuclear deal as a “ move in a new direction , ” the Obama administration should capitalize on it to gain the momentum needed to contain the regional and global ambitions of the Iran threat network . | SdChY3yhOFKojmyD | 2 | Middle East | -0.2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
middle_east | CNN (Web News) | https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/12/middleeast/iran-protests-ukraine-plane-uk-ambassador-intl-gbr/index.html | Thousands of Iranian protesters hit streets condemning leaders over downed plane | 2020-01-12 | middle_east | ( CNN ) Apologies from Iranian leaders over the downing of an airliner last week have done little to quell mass anti-government protests spreading across the country .
The airliner disaster came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops . That was retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani .
Amid rising tensions in the region , eight Katyusha rockets hit Iraq 's Balad Air Base , north of Baghdad , on Sunday , wounding four Iraqi air force officers , the Iraqi military said in a statement . No American or coalition forces were at the base when the rockets struck , a US military official told CNN .
In Iran , demonstrators are calling for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted .
`` Khamenei have shame . Leave the country , '' chanted protesters in the capital , Tehran , in footage posted on social media .
Khamenei has been in office for three decades , and there is no limit to his term .
Demonstrators chant during a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine airliner crash in Tehran on January 11 .
Protests have now spread to other cities , including Shiraz , Esfahan , Hamedan and Orumiyeh , Reuters reported .
US President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the demonstrators , saying his administration will `` continue to stand by you . '' Likewise , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his support for the protesters and called on European powers to increase pressure on the Iranian regime .
Iran previously denied US claims that the country had struck down the plane before admitting the mistake Saturday .
Iran 's President Hassan Rouhani said his country `` deeply regrets this disastrous mistake '' and his `` thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families . ''
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed the disaster on `` human error '' and `` US adventurism . ''
The protests came as Iran faces fresh criticism abroad for the temporary arrest Saturday of British Ambassador Rob Macaire . On Sunday , Macaire was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry .
According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency , Macaire was arrested while in the middle of a crowd of protesters in front of Tehran 's Amir Kabir University .
He was accused of instigating and directing radical and destructive demonstrations , and later released .
Thanks for the many goodwill messages . Can confirm I was n't taking part in any demonstrations ! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of # PS752 tragedy . Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British . I left after 5 mins , when some started chanting . — Rob Macaire ( @ HMATehran ) January 12 , 2020
Macaire said on Twitter that he was n't taking part in any demonstrations -- and was instead paying respect to victims of the downed Ukrainian plane .
The ambassador added that he left the area after five minutes `` when some started chanting . ''
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called Macaire 's arrest a `` flagrant violation of international law '' -- a sentiment echoed by the German and French foreign ministries .
Iranian officials said Macaire was released as soon as his identity was confirmed .
`` When police informed me a man 's arrested who claims to be UK Amb , I said IMPOSSIBLE ! only after my phone conversation w him I identified , out of big surprise , that it 's him . 15 min later he was free , '' tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi .
The downed plane 's victims included 57 Canadians , and the country 's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a press conference Saturday that , `` what Iran has admitted to is very serious . ''
`` Canada will not rest until we get the accountability , justice and closure that the families deserve . ''
Rouhani told Trudeau he was committed `` to collaborate , to give closure to the victims , de-escalate tensions in the region and continue this dialogue , '' the Canadian PM said .
Meanwhile the Ukrainian general prosecutor 's office said in a statement it was now investigating the incident as a possible case of `` willful killing and aircraft destruction . ''
The downing of the plane was being handled as a case of `` violation of traffic safety rules '' and `` operation of air transport resulting in death . '' But prosecutors said Iran 's admission changed the scope to `` liability for the willful killing of two or more people and the destruction of the aircraft , '' the statement said .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that Iran 's admission was a `` step in the right direction . ''
Iranian authorities are in possession of the two flight data recorders , also known as black boxes , which Ukrainian investigators got access to Friday .
They have yet to start examining the information , but have said it included communications between the pilot and Tehran flight control . | cgcIHmjLEBLZP8HN | 0 | Iran | -0.1 | Donald Trump | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
business | NPR Online News | http://www.npr.org/2015/01/29/382162271/and-so-we-meet-again-why-the-workday-is-so-filled-with-meetings | And So We Meet, Again: Why The Workday Is So Filled With Meetings | 2015-01-29 | business | And So We Meet , Again : Why The Workday Is So Filled With Meetings
The ouster of Bryan Stockton from his perch as CEO at Mattel this week came as the toymaker 's best-known brands like Barbie stagnate and it loses business to Web-based games .
Stockton himself said last year that Mattel lacked an innovative culture and blamed it in part on something specific : bad meetings . That 's a common and persistent corporate ailment .
Scott Ryan-Hart is a cartographer for the Ohio Department of Transportation , where a typical meeting can last more than two hours .
`` I would be needed for 15 minutes in the middle of it , '' Ryan-Hart says . `` So I have an hour before and an hour after that I 'm still kind of sequestered in this meeting and I ca n't get out of it . ''
This annoyed Ryan-Hart , until about a year ago when he took up superhero doodling during meetings , which he tweeted under the hashtag `` # Meetingfromhell . '' His boss was n't a fan .
`` I 'm usually sketching ... the person next to me is doing email , someone else is reading reports that they have to get done , '' he says .
This behavior , says Steven Rogelberg , should sound alarms to the meeting leader . Rogelberg teaches industrial/organizational psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte .
`` You 're basically getting tremendous amounts of feedback . You 're getting feedback that you 're running a really bad meeting , '' Rogelberg says .
The average American office worker spends more than nine hours of every week preparing for , or attending , project update meetings , according to the results of a survey released last week by the software firm Clarizen and Harris Poll . That 's up nearly 14 percent from the last survey four years ago .
Experts say poorly run meetings grind away at employee engagement and make companies less reactive by bogging decisions down in human red tape . Some companies , including Mattel , try to create limits around the size , duration or frequency of meetings .
But meetings often last longer than they need to , Rogelberg says , because managers do n't understand Parkinson 's Law . This is the idea , backed up by research , that tasks take as long as the time allotted . If you budget two hours , it takes two hours .
But , `` given the same agenda , '' Rogelberg says , `` they give the group half as much time ... and lo and behold , when they 're given half as much time at the onset , they finish in half as much time ! And the quality of the meeting is just as good . ''
Al Pittampalli is an author and an expert on `` meeting culture . '' He says at their best , meetings are the lifeblood of an organization .
`` They 're the place where we make the most important decisions , express the most important messages , the most important communications on the most important matters of the day , '' he says .
But as a consultant , Pittampalli sees meeting culture run amok .
He sees `` not just marathon meetings , but meetings that are done to prepare for meetings , and meetings that are done to prepare for meetings to prepare for meetings . It is a waste of time — it 's what I call a weapon of mass interruption . ''
It 's also expensive to waste employee time . So why does the practice persist ?
`` One of the biggest problems in organizations is that the meeting is a tool that is used to diffuse responsibility , '' Pittampalli says .
He says meetings alleviate the anxiety of making tough calls by delaying decisions , instead of making them .
Bad meetings also recur because , in many cases , the people leading them do n't know how to run a good one .
There 's a lack of self-awareness among meeting leaders . The vast majority self-report that they believe they 're conducting meetings well , while the vast majority of participants disagree . Yet Pittampalli says no one speaks up .
`` Nobody is willing to give feedback to their boss , '' he says .
And so the endless meetings go on , and on , and on . | j9rBvsxUDONpBZzD | 1 | Business | -0.6 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | RollingStone.com | https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jan-6-committee-withdraws-trump-subpoena-1234653848/ | Jan. 6 Committee Drops Trump Subpoena as Time Runs Out | 2022-12-29 | Politics, January 6 Committee, Donald Trump | By Charisma Madarang The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack withdrew the subpoena it issued to former President Donald Trump, as the probe wraps up and Republicans are set to take control of the chamber in January. “In light of the imminent end of our investigation, the Select Committee can no longer pursue the specific information covered by the subpoena,” Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and the chairman of the committee, stated in a letter to Trump’s attorney on Wednesday, CNN reports. “Therefore, through this letter, I hereby formally withdraw the subpoena issued to former President Trump, and notify you that he is no longer obligated to comply or produce records in response to said subpoena,” Thompson continued. In October, the committee subpoenaed Trump for documents related to the investigation including phone records from Jan. 6; communications with members of Congress from Dec. 18 to Jan. 6 pertaining to the 2020 election; and any communications with several of the figures central to the effort to overturn the election, including Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, and others. In response, the former president sued the Jan. 6 Select Committee in an attempt to block the subpoena. As the committee is set to dissolve upon the new Congress taking office on Jan. 3, lawmakers ran out of time to obtain Trump’s records. The panel also also pulled back its subpoenas for other witnesses. We want to hear it. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved. Move the toggle to the left (grey color) and click “Confirm My Choices” to indicate that you do not want us to sell or share your personal information as described above and that you want us to limit the use of your sensitive personal information to only those purposes permitted by California law. You must indicate your choice on each computer/browser you use to access our services and fill out the opt out form above for non-cookie-based data. If you clear your cookies or your browser is set to do so, you must opt out using the toggle again. | 4102e70a0afe22ce | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
healthcare | Fox News | http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/24/administration-pushes-back-obamacare-sign-up-deadline-by-day/ | Revised ObamaCare sign-up deadline Tuesday | 2013-12-24 | healthcare | While millions of Americans make a last-minute rush to stores to find one more Christmas present Tuesday , Americans in 36 states are getting one more opportunity to sign up for ObamaCare after the White House extended Monday 's deadline by 24 hours .
The deadline to sign up for insurance in order to have coverage by Jan. 1 was supposed to be Tuesday at midnight . But the administration has programmed its systems so that anyone who got in line Monday but takes until Tuesday night to enroll will still get covered by Jan 1 .
However , the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services tried to downplay the change . A spokeswoman continued to stress that the deadline is technically Monday , even while confirming it would be pushed back to Tuesday .
`` The deadline for signing up for coverage to start January 1 is today , '' spokeswoman Julie Bataille said . `` We recognize that many have chosen to make their final decisions on today 's deadline and we are committed to making sure they can do so . Anticipating high demand and the fact that consumers may be enrolling from multiple time zones , we have taken steps to make sure that those who select a plan through tomorrow will get coverage for Jan 1 . ''
CMS confirmed the change after The Washington Post first reported it . The acknowledgement came as applicants encountered site problems on Monday , with users being placed in a virtual waiting line when the system was overloaded .
But the agency compared the tweak to Election Day , when people in line when the polls close would still get to vote .
Still , the ObamaCare rollout has been marked by a series of delays , both minor and major . Another , letting those whose plans were canceled sign up for bare-bones coverage , was announced right before the holiday break .
A Republican National Committee spokesman called the latest delay an `` opaque move '' from an administration that vowed to be transparent .
In Ohio , Republican Lt. Gov . Mary Taylor called the deadline extension `` a clear sign Healthcare.gov continues to struggle . ''
`` Consumers are already confused and insurers are overwhelmed with the administration 's last-minute changes , yet there seems to be no end in sight , '' said Taylor , who heads Ohio 's insurance department , said .
The administration claimed that the site was running well Monday afternoon , saying Healthcare.gov received a record 850,000 visits , five times the number logged by the same time last Monday . Bataille said the system was handling the volume with error rates of less than 1 in 200 and response times of less than one second .
Obama said on Friday that more than 1 million Americans had enrolled for coverage since Oct. 1 . The administration 's estimates call for 3.3 million to sign up by Dec. 31 , and the target is 7 million by the end of March . After that , people who fail to buy coverage can face tax penalties .
Minnesota , one of the states running their own insurance exchanges , extended its Monday deadline to Dec. 31 amid problems with its website and extra-long hold times to reach its help center . Maryland pushed back its cutoff date to Dec. 27 . New York extended its deadline to midnight Tuesday . | 3OmwjwO6k8c58NWm | 2 | Obamacare | -0.1 | Healthcare | -0.1 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
healthcare | Axios | https://www.axios.com/2022/09/29/alzheimers-drug-costs-fda-medicare | Another prospect for an Alzheimer's drug renews cost concerns | 2022-09-29 | Healthcare, FDA, Public Health, Health Insurance, Medicare | We use cookies and similar methods to recognize visitors and remember their preferences. We may also use them to measure ad campaign effectiveness, target ads, and analyze site traffic. Depending on your location, you may opt-in or opt out of the use of these technologies. Search The prospect of an effective new Alzheimer's treatment came roaring back this week with the announcement of preliminary clinical trial data, giving millions of seniors renewed hope after a tumultuous year. Why it matters: Alzheimer's is a devastating disease, and the topline results boosted analysts' expectations for an entire class of drugs targeting the condition. But they also resurrect enormous questions about who'll cover the costs and how the U.S. will oversee what's likely a multi-billion dollar market. Driving the news: The success of Eisai and Biogen's clinical trial of lecanemab, reported Tuesday night, has instantly changed the narrative around arresting Alzheimer's progression. State of play: The lecanemab news ironically came the same day that the Biden administration announced lower Medicare premiums in 2023, a product of Aduhelm's coverage limitations. The other side: Some in the research community continue to question the focus on anti-amyloid cures and say success fighting Alzheimer's will come in combination therapies like those used for heart disease, cancer and hypertension. Between the lines: Aduhelm's approval created the possibility of a nightmare spending scenario after it was initially priced at $56,000 a year and approved for all Alzheimer's patients. What they're saying: If the FDA approves lecanemab, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will once again be in the position of determining if and how to cover it. What we're watching: Full details of the trial will be presented at a scientific conference on Nov. 29. Although the drug is currently on track to undergo accelerated approval by the FDA, the data could justify traditional approval, analysts said. The bottom line: "If what they report is all proper and true and valid ... and holds up to scrutiny, we have an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease," Karlawish said. Want more stories like this? Sign up for Axios Vitals Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Researchers have at last found a drug that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to clinical trial data presented last night. But regulators now have to weigh its relatively modest efficacy against safety risks. What we're watching: The FDA will soon decide whether to approve Eisai's experimental drug lecanemab — and if so, for the general public or only certain patient populations. Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images More than a year after one of the most controversial drug approvals in FDA history, seniors and their loved ones may be on the cusp of having a new drug on the market that slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Why it matters: Seniors desperate for relief from the debilitating disease were the real losers in the debacle over Biogen's Alzheimer's drug — which was approved through a fast-tracked process over the objection of prominent scientists. Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Leqembi, a new Alzheimer's drug developed by Eisai and Biogen, may have passed muster with the FDA last week, but experts say it's still an open question how much it will improve the quality of patients' lives. Why it matters: Patients, doctors and insurers still have to decide whether using the drug to slow the disease's progression is worth the associated hassle, cost and safety risks. These decisions will ultimately decide the overall uptake and commercial success. Copyright Axios Media, 2024 | f3878561eb51fc46 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
healthcare | CBN | http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2017/may/house-to-vote-on-health-care-repeal | Today's Obamacare Showdown: 5 Big Things You Need to Know | 2017-05-04 | Healthcare | Share This article WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives has passed a health care measure that would repeal much of Obamacare. The GOP-crafted American Health Care Act made it through on a vote of 217 to 213. It now heads to the Senate where it is expected to face fierce debate. Although the measure will likely see changes once in the Senate, as it stands now, here are five things the bill does: Many pro-life Republicans have praised the bill for blocking federal funding for Planned Parenthood. "It's about time that Planned Parenthood start looking somewhere else for revenue rather than American taxpayers, who have no interest in funding abortion. House leadership should be commended for listening to their constituents and getting a bill passed that defunds Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion vendor," said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life. Americans United for Life's Acting President and Senior Counsel Clarke Forsythe said, "American taxpayers should not be responsible for subsidizing Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry." "The House's 217-213 vote today would remove funding from Planned Parenthood for the next year and redirect that money to the full-service Federally Qualified Health Centers and community health centers across the nation that outnumber Planned Parenthood 20 to 1," he added. Other backers of the bill include some members of the House Freedom Caucus who'd opposed the first draft of American Health Care Act. "If you vote no now then you're telling your constituents, 'Oh, I only voted to repeal Obamacare when I knew it wouldn't count or if the president would veto it. I was just playing a game I never had any intention to repeal it,' and yet most everybody in our party has been on camera saying I support full repeal of Obamacare," Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, told CBN News. "Well this isn't even full repeal," he noted "You can't even vote for partial repeal when it's going to help bring premiums down? And I know there's concerns about some people's premiums going up, but we have got to bring premium downs for the majority of the American people. We have just got to -- they can't stand it anymore." Despite the victory of the measure in the House, as it heads to the Senate there are still many questions surrounding the bill. Cost is one concern. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet released an estimated cost for this version of the bill. Another area of concern is pre-existing conditions. The bill allows states to get federal waivers that would free insurers from other Obamacare coverage requirements. With waivers, insurers could charge people with preexisting conditions higher rates than their peers and raise prices for older consumers. A last-minute amendment to the measure includes $8 billion over five years to cover such conditions. That amendment helped secure enough votes to narrowly get the measure through the house. Amid the remaining questions about the measure, 20 Republicans voted against it. All voting Democrats also voted no. Share This article You are signing up to receive general newsletters from CBN. By signing up, you are consenting to our privacy policy. You can specify preference after sign-up and opt out at any time. You are signing up to receive general newsletters from CBN. By signing up, you are consenting to our privacy policy. You can specify preference after sign-up and opt out at any time. © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. By clicking “Accept All” you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.CBN Cookie Policy | c0e007c9a5835213 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | Washington Times | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/10/romneys-initiatives-miracles-or-gimmickry/ | Romney’s initiatives: Miracles or gimmickry? | 2012-06-10 | elections | Facing a budget deficit of $ 3 billion when he took over as Massachusetts governor in 2003 , Mitt Romney immediately instituted emergency spending cuts , raised fees on items such as birth certificates , gun licenses and boat registrations , and closed corporate tax breaks to solve the shortfall .
Along the way , he won support even from Democratic lawmakers who praised the governor for balancing the state ’ s books .
Others were less enthusiastic . They criticized the former Bain Capital executive ’ s “ austerity ” measures as fiscal gimmicks — one-time “ revenue grabs ” that fixed the immediate deficit but failed to address the state ’ s long-term structural problems .
A closer look at Mr. Romney ’ s record , those critics contend , shows the “ Massachusetts budget miracle ” Mr. Romney touts on the campaign trail amounted to little more than tinkering around the edges .
That is not exactly the kind of fundamental reform the federal government needs today , they say .
“ His characterization on the campaign trail that he was able to balance the budget , and close the deficit through better management and reforms , that is simply not backed up by the facts , ” said Michael J. Widmer , president of the nonpartisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation , which regularly challenged aspects of Mr. Romney ’ s spending plans . “ My overall comment about his approach , when you look at the substance of it , is that he [ closed the budget gaps ] the same way that governors forever have done it when they are facing fiscal crises , and that is to identify new sources of revenue and places to cut . ”
The national deficit is a top issue for voters this year , and all sides in Washington say the bloated federal government is ripe for a total overhaul — including the tax code and entitlement spending .
On the campaign trail , Mr. Romney tells voters to look at his record in Massachusetts , where he balanced the budget every year , as required by state law .
“ When I came in , we faced almost a $ 3 billion budget gap . There were some that said , ‘ Why don ’ t we just raise taxes , or why don ’ t we just borrow money ? ’ We actually cut spending , ” Mr. Romney said in a campaign ad during the primary . “ I balanced the budget every single year , and by the time I left we had established over $ 2 billion of a rainy-day fund . ”
Along the way , he benefited from an improving economy that pumped more revenue into Massachusetts and other states — and into the federal government . During that time , when George W. Bush was president , federal deficits dropped from $ 412 billion in 2004 to $ 160 billion in 2007 .
“ Massachusetts was floating on the national tide . Whatever good you could discern from the numbers was the result of the national economy , whatever was bad in the numbers was largely the national economy , too , ” said Fred Bayles , director of the State House Program at Boston University . “ He did not come in here and heroically turn the state around . He came in and presided over state government , but any large issues that took place was the decision of the legislature — and quite frankly , there were no exceptional actions taken by the governor or the legislature during Romney ’ s term , with the one exception , and that is the one thing he doesn ’ t want to take credit for : health care . ”
David G. Tuerck , executive director of the fiscally conservative Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University , said Mr. Romney had little to do with the uptick in state revenue , but deserves credit for maneuvering within the confines set by Democrats , who held a veto-proof majority in the legislature .
“ In effect , his high points were more what he tried to do than what he got done , ” Mr. Tuerck said .
Independent fact-checkers backed up that view . They found that lawmakers overrode more than 700 of Mr. Romney ’ s 800 budget-related vetoes .
Former state Sen. Brian Lees , who served as Senate minority leader during Mr. Romney ’ s tenure , said Gov . Romney did succeed in pressuring Democrats to swallow cuts they didn ’ t want and quell any talk of raising the state income or sales taxes .
“ He used the bully pulpit very , very effectively by going around the state , saying that , ‘ If the legislature decides to raise taxes , I ’ m going to veto it , ’ ” Mr. Lees said . “ Now Democrats did have the ability to override the veto , but really highlighting that and putting a spotlight on the legislature worked . They knew if they did it , that he ’ d be back in their home districts talking to editorial boards or giving speeches and pointing out the fact that their member voted to raise taxes . So , members were very skittish about that , and they didn ’ t . ”
Mr. Tuerck summed it up bluntly : “ If he hadn ’ t been governor , we would have gotten more tax increases . ”
Mr. Romney took office vowing to make wholesale changes to state government . He arrived at a time when states were feeling the lingering effects of the dot-com collapse , which drained revenues across the country .
Massachusetts , with its large technology sector , was hit particularly hard on the revenue side — and on the other side of the ledger , while it is a medium-sized state , it spent tax dollars like the big ones .
According to figures compiled by the National Association of State Budget Officers , its general fund spending was on par with those of Florida and Pennsylvania and greater than Ohio ’ s during Mr. Romney ’ s time in office — though Massachusetts ’ population was just one-third of Florida ’ s .
In January 2003 , Mr. Romney faced a $ 650 million deficit , or about 3 percent of the state ’ s $ 22.25 billion budget .
He scored an early legislative victory by persuading lawmakers to grant him the authority to make $ 343 million in emergency spending cuts in aid to localities , health and human services , and higher education .
Mr. Romney also got lawmakers to support a $ 2 parking fee at state parks and a host of other small fee increases including for car sales and mortgage registrations . He said didn ’ t violate his vow not to raise taxes , including when he approved an increase in the cost of registering a gun .
In 2004 , Mr. Romney again faced a deficit well in excess of $ 2 billion and introduced a spending blueprint that he called “ the most significant restructuring of state government in half a century . ”
But budget hawks and Democrats said the Romney administration vastly overstated how much cash could be saved through restructuring , reorganizing or consolidating various state agencies and departments .
Most of the Romney “ savings ” came from increased fees and one-time “ revenue grabs ” — including his brainchild of handing over state-owned land to the public employees pension fund in lieu of an annual contribution ; a proposal to refinance state debt over a longer period ; and his plan to demand $ 75 million from neighboring states in exchange for a promise that Massachusetts would not open any casinos .
Lawmakers shot down his one-time fixes and rejected his proposal to have state employees cover 25 percent of their health care premiums , up from 15 percent .
They did , however , agree to abolish the Metropolitan District Commission and transfer its functions to another department , and to consolidate Health and Human Services agencies .
“ The gimmicks were not adopted , ” the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation ’ s Mr. Widmer said . “ They did adopt his revenues , and then they had to adopt spending cuts . But they didn ’ t adopt the reforms , and it was unclear that the reforms would have produced the savings anyway . ”
“ Massachusetts has a very strong legislative system , and whenever the governor submits his budget , it is politely accepted by Democratic leadership and then they proceed to write what they want to write , ” said Mr. Bayles . “ They did whatever they wanted . ”
Lawmakers embraced Mr. Romney ’ s plans to raise revenues by closing corporate-tax “ loopholes ” and joined him in passing universal health care .
But lawmakers opposed most of his attempts to streamline government , to slash the state income tax from 5.3 percent to 5 percent and to tweak a state law that makes it nearly impossible to privatize or outsource state services .
Near the end of the one Romney term , Stephen Slivinski of the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute gave Mr. Romney a “ C ” in his rankings of the nation ’ s governors . In his evaluation , he said the governor generally limited more spending , but that Mr. Romney ’ s claim that he met his no-new-taxes vow is “ mostly a myth . ”
“ If you consider the massive costs to taxpayers that his universal health care plan will inflict … Romney ’ s tenure [ was ] clearly not a triumph of small-government activism , ” Mr. Slivinski said . | DFOOmlFU0cmmJEtx | 2 | Presidential Elections | -0.4 | Elections | -0.2 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
campaign_finance | USA TODAY | http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/12/22/parties-and-donors-support-new-law-increasing-political-contribution-limits/20659803/ | National parties, donors embrace higher campaign limits | 2014-12-22 | campaign_finance | A law allows a donor to give nearly $ 1.6 million to a political party in a two-year cycle .
WASHINGTON — The national political parties and some of their biggest donors are embracing a new law that dramatically increases contribution limits , saying it could help the parties stage a financial comeback in an era of unlimited spending by super PACs .
Some third-party groups on the left and the right of the political spectrum are n't as pleased , warning that the national parties will have more power to drown out upstart politicians challenging the establishment 's favored candidates .
They all agree on one point : More campaign money will start to slosh through federal elections — just as the 2016 presidential campaign heats up .
`` The pit of money just got more bottomless , '' Kenneth Gross , a leading Washington election lawyer , said of the new contribution limits Congress tucked into a $ 1 trillion spending bill President Obama signed into law Tuesday .
Previously , an individual could not give more than $ 32,400 to a single party committee , such as the Republican National Committee , each year . The new law allows the same donor to contribute three times that amount to each of eight party committees . As a result , an individual can give nearly $ 1.6 million to a national party and its various branches in a two-year election cycle .
The new law is the latest move to relax campaign-contribution limits . This year , the Supreme Court tossed out the cap on the total amount of money a donor can give to all federal candidates , parties and political action committees in a two-year cycle . The justices left in place the base limits on what can be given to each individual campaign .
The law Congress passed this month goes a step further than the court did , raising the base limits on donations to political parties . Lawmakers left intact a $ 2,600 cap on what an individual can give to a federal candidate for a primary or general election .
Much of the new money to political parties is earmarked for a handful of purposes — such as underwriting legal expenses and funding political conventions , which lost public funding this year under a measure pushed by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor . Even so , the extra cash frees the parties to redirect more money to politics .
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has hailed the change , noting that donations to the party are publicly disclosed . `` The new policy will increase transparency and fairness in political fundraising , '' he said .
Some of the most active figures in Republican fundraising agree .
`` This puts more firepower within the party structure . It 's more democratic , '' said Fred Malek , a veteran Republican fundraiser .
Another Republican giver , Idaho businessman Frank VanderSloot , said he is likely to redirect some of his political giving to party committees . He donated $ 300,000 to super PACs in 2012 that worked unsuccessfully to elect Republicans to the White House and Senate .
`` Putting it in the hands of the party , you might get a better bang for your buck , '' VanderSloot said .
Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon , who brought this year 's Supreme Court case that tossed out the overall cap on what individuals could give to all candidates , parties and PACs , said he 's also likely to boost his giving to the Republican Party . He called on Congress to go further and increase the limit on what federal candidates can receive directly from individual donors to $ 25,000 — nearly 10 times the current cap .
`` It 's a freedom of speech issue , '' he said . `` We should be free to spend our money in politics . ''
Some conservatives aligned with the Tea Party movement say the new influx of cash could help the Republican Party protect incumbents and establishment-aligned candidates .
The new limits `` only increase political speech for party insiders and silence the majority of Americans who are fed up with Washington , '' said Ken Cuccinelli , president of the Senate Conservatives Fund , which has challenged GOP incumbents at the ballot box .
On the left , the Progressive Change Campaign Committee 's spokeswoman Laura Friedenbach said , `` Gutting campaign-finance laws represents Democrats marching in the exact wrong direction . ''
Even as the parties gain more financial clout , those helping run super PACs say they do n't expect outside groups to retreat .
Former journalist David Brock — at the center of several liberal political organizations , including a super PAC aimed at digging up dirt on Republicans — said he 's `` not worried about the current donor base going away . They appreciate the work . They have been with us for a long time . ''
`` Even if they go ahead and give more money to the party committees , I do n't think it will be at our expense , '' he said .
Chris Lehane , a Democratic strategist and top adviser to billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer , said Steyer wo n't end his mission to make climate change a central issue in elections . Steyer put more than $ 70 million into his own super PAC to influence this year 's midterms . Most of his favored candidates lost .
Lehane said the `` big oil Goliaths '' wo n't stop spending in politics and neither can environmentalists .
`` Until there 's a change , we are , unfortunately , on a path where more and more money will find its way into the system , '' he said . | Z2Zu57UVJS7bsE0J | 1 | Campaign Finance | -0.1 | Elections | -0.1 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | New York Times - News | http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/nyregion/christie-roams-and-popularity-suffers-at-home.html?ref=politics&_r=0 | Christie Roams, and Popularity Suffers at Home | 2014-12-28 | politics | When the Chris Christie-for-president chatter first started , in 2011 , voters in his home state of New Jersey took pride in having a celebrity governor . As Nancy Reagan escorted Mr. Christie to his speech at her husband ’ s presidential library , and hedge fund billionaires , The Weekly Standard and The Wall Street Journal ’ s editorial pages urged him to run , his approval ratings jumped . Voters told pollsters the national attention made him more effective , and improved their state ’ s long-maligned image .
Four years later , with Governor Christie again considering a run for president , his constituents appear to be tiring of the whole routine .
Polls taken over the last three months reveal a list of home-state complaints : Mr. Christie ’ s favorability is at its lowest point , with more voters disapproving than approving of his job performance . New Jersey residents think he is making decisions with an eye on his national standing rather than on what is good for their state . They do not think he should run for president — they are , as the slogan goes , ready for Hillary — but most expect he will , and want him to resign if he does . Political talk in New Jersey centers less on Mr. Christie running for president and more on which one of three Democrats quietly seeking to succeed him will win — even though that election is three years away .
For his part , Mr. Christie has begun living a life that is strikingly apart from the state he governs . As chairman of the Republican Governors Association over the last year , he spent 152 days , or 42 percent of his time , outside New Jersey . He has been out of the state for 137 days , or 40 percent of the time , since his second inauguration in January . If he starts a campaign for the presidency early in 2015 , it would ensure a tenure spent more on national pursuits than on , say , Pinelands preservation or taking on public employees over pension reform — the issue that brought him all the national attention in the first place . | gFi4DfmDmY6ZY91C | 0 | Chris Christie | -0.6 | Politics | 0.3 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
state_department | Politico | http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/08/obamas-favorite-castro-121342.html?hp=t1_r#.Vc35mCxVhHw | Obama's Favorite Castro | 2015-08-13 | state_department | As far back as 1980 , Raúl Castro began to harbor doubts about Cuba ’ s long-term sustainability . By 1990 , with the loss of their Soviet patron and its $ 5 billion annual subsidy , Raúl ’ s doubts crystallized into alarm even while his brother Fidel hunkered down , resisting reform . And though Raúl took power in 2006 , it would be six years before he could finally overrule his ailing brother , who turned 89 years old on Thursday .
“ There has been a sibling tug of war between Raúl and Fidel since childhood , ” Domingo Amuchastegui , a former Cuban intelligence officer , tells me over lunch this summer at Versailles , the restaurant that serves as the mecca of Cuban life in Miami . Versailles bills itself as the “ most famous Cuban restaurant in the world , ” and Amuchastegui is no stranger to its mirrored dining room . I ’ ve learned over more than two decades of covering Cuba that Amuchastegui has uncommon insights into the Caribbean island that has bedeviled every American president since Dwight Eisenhower . Indeed , he is that rare breed of defector who somehow manages to regularly visit his homeland . As Amuchastegui carefully parses it over lunch , Raúl has long contended with “ Fidel as the No . 1 braking system . ”
For more than a half century , Raúl Castro , Fidel ’ s comrade-for-life and chief of the Cuban Armed Forces , lived and worked cheerfully in the shadow of his elder sibling . Not only was Raúl the rare politician contented to be No . 2 , he bolted from the limelight—his brother ’ s oxygen—like a vampire escaping the dawn . “ Raúl always consults with me about all the important questions , ” Fidel Castro assured an American journalist in 1964 , lest anyone doubt who was the boss . “ Of course , ” he hastened to add , “ the constant presence of one outstanding leader tends to obscure the rest . ”
And so it was . Or , at least , so it was for most of Raúl ’ s life .
The chance to override Fidel ’ s brake finally came last October—amid secret negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba—when a wobbly Venezuela slashed its daily oil subsidy to the island nation . The writing was on the wall : The island was running out of patrons . But the fates once again favored Cuba . President Barack Obama told his negotiating team he wanted a deal ( just about any deal , his critics contend ) .
For 18 months , American and Cuban officials had rendezvoused in cloak-and-dagger meetings in Toronto , Ottawa and the Vatican , pulling off what many believed was unthinkable while the Castro brothers lived—a restoration of relations between the longtime enemies . ( Almost as astonishing was that both sides , famously indiscreet , kept their year-and-a-half-long negotiations a secret . ) It was a seismic shift in geopolitics , one that awakened an astonished world that had become resigned to frozen non-relations between U.S. and Cuba .
On July 20 , the Cuban flag rose over its newly restored Embassy on 16 th Street , NW , in Washington with Secretary of State John Kerry among the 500 attendees—a ceremony that will reprise on Friday morning when the American flag will be hoisted over the newly re-christened U.S. Embassy in Havana .
The twin moments highlight the remarkable political transformation of Raúl Castro—a zealot communist ( and unrepentant Stalinist ) throughout the 1970s who has morphed into a formidable agent of change , deftly negotiating an end to the Cold War with his northern nemesis . “ I don ’ t think we have so much a new Raúl , ” says John Caufield , the U.S. ’ s top diplomat in Havana at the nation ’ s Interests Section ( now the embassy ) from 2010 to 2014 , “ as Raúl being able to be himself , not being in the shadow of Fidel . ”
And what a deal he has made with the United States , scoring the big-ticket items on his wish list : the release of the remaining Cuban Five prisoners , an avalanche of American tourists and their cash , a huge uptick in remittances and investment capital , while sliding off the U.S. ’ s state-sponsored terrorist list .
At the same time , he kiboshed most of the U.S. demands—open elections , human rights ’ guarantees , $ 7 billion in U.S. property claims , an independent media and accessible Internet . Nor will any dissidents be allowed to attend the embassy ceremony on Friday , a move widely viewed as a capitulation . ( A senior State Department official explained Wednesday , somewhat improbably , that the absence of dissidents was due to “ limited space , ” while declining to give the number of invitees .
While America can merely claim that it has finally removed Cuba as a hot potato irritant for itself , its allies and neighbors—and retrieved the hapless USAID contractor Alan Gross—Raúl Castro has rescued his island-nation from bankruptcy , collapse and isolation .
Open In New Window OPTICS Havana 's Building in Washington : How the tumultuous relationship played out at one D.C. embassy . | AP Photo
This summer has seen minor and major steps forward in the relationship : Ahead of Kerry ’ s visit to Havana this week , Samantha Power , the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , made a call on the Cuban Mission in New York City on August 3 . And rumors abound that President Barack Obama has chosen January to become the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge disembarked in 1928 .
As America grapples with its new relationship with a new Castro and a new Cuba , the kingmakers of Washington and Wall Street are keen to suss out the island ’ s reigning powers that be . One thing is headline clear : As of December 17 , 2014 , the Castro to be reckoned with was no longer Fidel . When John Kerry alights in Havana this week for his history-making visit , he will be landing in Raúl Castro ’ s Cuba .
While lacking his brother Fidel ’ s gravitas , erudition and ambition , Raúl has proven to be the more complex and less predictable of Cuba ’ s ruling siblings for 56 years—the most successful political brother act in history . He is a man of two seemingly contradictory impulses : hard-line enforcer and conciliatory pragmatist , a man who has steered Cuba into the future even as he fought fiercely , at times , to keep it in the past .
On one level , Raúl ’ s power is a logical outcome : For a half-century , he ’ s held the ultimate trump card , control of the army , the FAR ( Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios ) , which has been the single most important organ of the government and a respectable fighting force . “ In the 1970s and 1980s , the U.S. lost the war in Vietnam and the Soviet Union lost the war in Afghanistan , ” points out Jorge Dominguez , Harvard ’ s resident Cuba scholar . During the same period , however , “ the Cuban Armed Forces won the three wars , [ that ] they fought far from home in Angola and Ethiopia. ” Then there are its domestic successes—such as tourism and the farmers markets—that elevate the Army and its myriad divisions—into the most efficient and reliable pillar of Cuban life .
These days , Raúl is building an even deeper legacy , one that will likely outlast both him and his brother—ensuring that the Castro family will hold the reins of power for some years to come .
Partial to practical jokes , rum and cockfighting , Raúl Modesto Castro barely made it through school , earning the nickname— el pulguita—the flea . In 1951 , he dropped out of the University of Havana .
In the early 1950s , Raúl , tutored by Fidel , became enamored with left-wing politics . “ Fidel was always an influence on Raúl , ” their younger sister , Juanita , who—disillusioned with her brothers ’ revolution—fled to Miami in 1964 , told me at our first meeting in 2000 . “ They ’ ve always been very close . ”
Fidel often sought to give the impression that his sibling was more of a hard-liner than himself . “ Raúl was already quite left-leaning , ” he said at one point , then conceding in 2005 , “ Actually , I was the one who introduced him to Marxist-Leninist ideas . ”
In March 1953 , a 21-year-old Raúl attended a Communist Party conference in Vienna representing Cuba . Quick to make friends , it was the personable Raúl who lassoed an invaluable contact while there—KGB agent Nikolai Leonov , who would play a central role in the 35-year Cuban-Soviet alliance . Indeed , it was Raúl , not Fidel , who deeply bonded with Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev , the two passing more than one night drowning their enmity to the U.S. in pails of Russian vodka . ( Raúl also drank their Cold War Kool-Aid , reportedly telling Life magazine in July 1960 : “ My dream is to drop three atom bombs on New York ” ) . | 2ojPww4jrS3qS6cz | 0 | Cuba | 0.2 | Raul Castro | 0.2 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
federal_budget | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax/senate-poised-for-crucial-vote-related-to-tax-reform-measure-idUSKBN1CO0ET | Senate poised for crucial vote related to tax reform measure | 2017-10-20 | Tax Reform, Federal Budget, Economy And Jobs | WASHINGTON ( ███ ) - President Donald Trump ’ s drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code cleared a critical hurdle on Thursday when the Senate approved a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support .
By a 51-to-49 vote , the Republican-controlled Senate approved the budget measure , which would add up to $ 1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade in order to pay for proposed tax cuts .
“ With this budget , we ’ re on a path to deliver much-needed relief to American individuals and families who have borne the burden of an unfair tax code , ” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said after it passed .
“ Great news on the 2018 budget @ SenateMajLdr McConnell - first step toward delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for the American people ! , ” Trump tweeted early on Friday .
But Democrats are likely to oppose the Trump administration ’ s tax plan , which promises to deliver up to $ 6 trillion in tax cuts to businesses and individuals .
“ This is not a bad budget bill , it is a horrific budget bill , ” Senator Bernie Sanders , an independent who ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination , said before the vote .
“ At a time of massive income inequality , this budget provides $ 1.9 trillion in tax breaks for the top 1 percent . ”
The resolution has to be reconciled with a markedly different version passed by the House of Representatives , where Republicans say negotiations on a unified measure could take up to two weeks .
The House budget resolution calls for a revenue-neutral tax bill and would combine tax cuts in the same legislation as $ 203 billion in spending cuts to mandatory programs including food assistance for the poor .
The Senate version instructs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to save at least $ 1 billion over the next decade .
It also contains a legislative tool called reconciliation , which would enable Republicans , who control the 100-seat Senate by a 52-48 margin , to move tax legislation through the Senate on a simple majority vote . Otherwise , tax reform would need 60 votes and would likely fail .
After failing to approve Trump-backed legislation to overturn Obamacare , Senate Republicans are under intense pressure to succeed on tax reform .
Although Democratic votes will likely not be needed to pass tax legislation , Trump sought the support of six Senate Democrats at a Wednesday meeting with Finance Committee members from both parties .
The U.S. Capitol Building is seen shortly before sunset in Washington , U.S. May 17 , 2017 . ███/Zach Gibson
Five of the six Democrats , whom the White House described as open to working with Trump on taxes , are up for reelection next year in states that Trump carried in the 2016 election .
The White House contends that the Republicans ’ plan to slash the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent would create jobs and boost wages for blue-collar workers .
But Senator Ron Wyden , the top Democrat on the tax-writing Finance Committee , who attended the White House meeting , said he made clear to Trump that Democrats believed his plan would benefit the wealthy , raise taxes on some middle-class Americans and increase the federal deficit . | a8ade4e57d2b26aa | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
healthcare | National Review | http://www.nationalreview.com/article/453184/john-kasich-obamacare-defender | John Kasich Leans into the Role of Pro-Obamacare Republican | 2017-10-27 | healthcare | He fought every attempt to repeal the law ; now he wants to ‘ stabilize ’ it .
Ohio governor John Kasich , the most vocal Republican critic of Obamacare-repeal efforts this year , is pleading with Congress to pass the health-care bill proposed by Senator Lamar Alexander ( R. , Tenn. ) and Senator Patty Murray ( D. , Wash. ) .
The Alexander–Murray bill follows a template that Kasich and Colorado governor John Hickenlooper , a Democrat , began promoting in August : Obamacare ’ s mandates , regulations , and Medicaid expansion would all remain in place , and Congress would authorize spending to “ stabilize ” the exchanges .
In particular , Alexander–Murray would reimburse insurers for “ cost-sharing reductions ” Obamacare requires them to provide to certain low-income enrollees . Congress has thus far refused to appropriate money for these payments ; President Obama paid the subsidies illegally anyway , but President Trump recently halted them .
“ This should be a no-brainer . Get Alexander-Murray passed & signed , ” Kasich wrote in a Twitter update Monday after Trump endorsed — and then unendorsed — the bill . “ Then we take on the big reforms necessary to get American families the coverage they need . ”
Kasich ’ s ideas for reform amount to managing an increasingly vast federal health-care bureaucracy more efficiently . While conservative Republicans have prodded Senate moderates to enact modest free-market reforms , Kasich has attacked all of their proposals from the left .
When Alexander–Murray was introduced , Kasich ’ s band of ten pro-Obamacare governors — only two of whom , including Kasich , are Republicans — fired off a letter to House and Senate leaders imploring them to “ quickly pass legislation to stabilize our private health insurance markets and make quality health insurance more available and affordable . ”
Kasich latched on to the Congressional Budget Office ’ s estimate that Alexander–Murray would reduce federal deficits by $ 3.8 billion over ten years , posting a video statement on Twitter the day CBO ’ s report was released .
“ The Congressional Budget Office says that we can actually reduce the deficit modestly but also not have anybody removed from health care under Alexander-Murray . It is a great thing to be for : stabilize our market , save peoples ’ health care , and move on to controlling health-care costs , ” Kasich said .
“ With the positive CBO score in hand , passage of Alexander-Murray is a must , ” he wrote in the accompanying tweet .
But past Obamacare-related cost estimates have proven remarkably unreliable . Kasich projected that expanding Medicaid would cost $ 13 billion by 2020 , but it has already cost taxpayers more than $ 15 billion . Other states have seen similarly unsustainable welfare-spending increases since expanding Medicaid , and the CBO sharply underestimated Medicaid-expansion costs , too .
Kasich was less concerned about deficit spending when he was pushing the Ohio General Assembly to expand Medicaid .
“ There really is not a legitimate argument against it , ” he told newspaper reporters in 2013 . “ What it is , is , ‘ Well , you know , we ’ re ringing up the federal debt ’ – I mean , what ? You think by turning this down you ’ re gon na solve the federal debt ? ”
And listening to Kasich lobby for greater Obamacare funding now , it would be easy to forget that last year he was promising to repeal and replace Obamacare if elected president . The year before that , Kasich scoffed at CNN host Jake Tapper when Tapper questioned his embrace of Obamacare ’ s Medicaid expansion .
“ I don ’ t support Obamacare ; I want to repeal it , but I did expand Medicaid because I was able to bring Ohio money back home to treat the mentally ill , the drug-addicted , and to help the working poor get health care , ” Kasich insisted in that May 2015 interview .
Perhaps Kasich can run for president in 2020 as the pragmatic central planner who can make Obamacare work as intended .
When Kasich decided to implement Obamacare ’ s expansion of Medicaid to working-age adults with no kids and no disabilities , it was not to “ bring Ohio money back home , ” but rather to accept a blank check for new federal deficit spending . “ If a state doesn ’ t implement the ACA Medicaid expansion , the federal funds that would have been used for that state ’ s expansion are not being sent to another state , ” the Congressional Research Service clarified in a 2015 memo .
In a New York Times op-ed this July , Kasich acknowledged that states “ can not expect the federal government to continue paying 90 percent of Medicaid expansion costs given our nation ’ s historic debt , ” but since then he has continued working tirelessly to delay changes to the Medicaid expansion until after he hits his term limit in January 2019 .
Kasich tried for several years to argue that Medicaid expansion was not really part of Obamacare , even though most of the Obamacare spending increases and coverage gains in Ohio and nationwide result from the law ’ s Medicaid expansion . With Republicans in Congress seemingly unable to deliver on years of repeal promises , Kasich is leaning into the role of pro-Obamacare Republican .
If Barack Obama ’ s biggest domestic-policy achievement remains in place , perhaps Kasich can run for president in 2020 as the pragmatic central planner who can make Obamacare ’ s mandates , subsidies , penalties , and regulations work together as intended . | ix1iMToO9gF7apzo | 2 | Healthcare | 0.2 | Healthcare Reform | 0.2 | Obamacare | -0.1 | John Kasich | 0 | null | null |
sustainability | BBC News | https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64019324 | COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature | 2022-12-19 | Sustainability, Environment, United Nations, World, Nature, Science, Water And Oceans, Foreign Policy | Nations have agreed to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030 in a landmark deal aimed at safeguarding biodiversity. There will also be targets for protecting vital ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands and the rights of indigenous peoples. The agreement at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada, came early on Monday morning. The summit had been moved from China and postponed due to Covid. China, which was in charge of the meeting, brought down the gavel on the deal despite a last minute objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres hailed the deal and said: "We are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature." The main points include: "It is truly a moment that will mark history as Paris did for climate," Canada's Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault told reporters. The Paris climate deal saw nations agreeing in 2015 to keep world temperature rise below 2C. The summit in Montreal had been regarded as a "last chance" to put nature on a path to recovery. Throughout the talks there was division over the strength of ambition and how to finance the plans. One big sticking point was over how to fund conservation efforts in the parts of the globe that harbour some of the world's most outstanding biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to all the Earth's living things and the way they are connected in a complex web of life that sustains the planet. A new text of the agreement was released by China on Sunday. Delegates convened a full session of the summit early on Monday morning after hours of delays, but then agreed to the text quickly. The president of COP 15, Minister Huang Runqui, declared the deal approved despite objections from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which said it couldn't back the deal. Georgina Chandler, senior international policy advisor for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said people and nature should both be better off thanks to the deal struck in Montreal. "Now it's done, governments, companies and communities need to figure out how they'll help make these commitments a reality." Sue Lieberman of the Wildlife Conservation Society said the agreement was a compromise, and although it had several good and hard-fought elements, it could have gone further "to truly transform our relationship with nature and stop our destruction of ecosystems, habitats and species". The agreement follows days of intense negotiations. On Saturday, ministers made impassioned speeches about the need to agree on clear goals to put nature on a path to recovery by the end of the decade. The UN Development Programme said the "historic agreement" meant people around the world could hope for real progress to halt biodiversity loss. Scientists have warned that with forests and grasslands being lost at unprecedented rates and oceans under pressure from pollution, humans are pushing the Earth beyond safe limits. This includes increasing the risk of diseases, like SARs CoV-2, Ebola and HIV, spilling over from wild animals into human populations. A key sticking point has been finance. In echoes of the climate summit, COP 27, in Egypt, some countries have been calling for a new fund to be set up to help preserve biodiversity, but this was rejected by others. Follow Helen on Twitter @hbriggs. Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. | 825551fad8032035 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
trade | MarketWatch | https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-bounce-after-ugly-start-to-2nd-quarter-crude-oil-rebounds-2020-04-02 | Stocks power after Trump says Russia, Saudis will cut oil output; crude soars | 2020-04-02 | trade | Stock benchmarks on Thursday finished near the highs of the session , as investors appeared to focus on hope that a detente between some of the biggest oil producers on the planet might be achieved to substantially curb oil production and stabilize battered prices .
A tweet from President Donald Trump on the possibility of a big reduction helped to overshadow data that showed U.S. weekly jobless claims soared to a record .
However , Thursday ’ s action was marked by an opening swing lower as investors weighed bad news on the public health front and the economy .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA , -1.68 % closed up 469.93 points , or 2.2 % , at 21,413.44 , near its intraday peak at 21,477.77 , but the blue-chip benchmark touched a low for the day at 20,735.02 . Meanwhile , the S & P 500 SPX , -1.51 % ended 56.40 points , or 2.28 % , higher at 2,526.90 , while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP , -1.52 % gained 126.73 points , or 1.72 % , to close at 7,487.31 .
Oil and oil-related stocks were the main focus of the action on Thursday , briefly superseding worries about the pandemic and woeful data that highlighted the economic pain exerted by measures to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus .
Stocks surged midmorning Thursday after Trump tweeted that he had been in contact with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that he expected the Saudis and Russia to cut production by about 10 million barrels a day .
However , commodity experts raised doubts that such a reduction , which Trump at one point said could top 15 million barrels a day , was practical .
“ It ’ s physically impossible for Saudi Arabia and Russia to get 10 million barrels a day off the market—they ’ d burst their onshore storage and fill every ship in sight , ” Edward Marshall , a commodities trader at Global Risk , was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal .
The price war , which started in March , pushed crude oil to lose nearly two-thirds of its value in the first quarter , and has slammed the energy sector . The U.S. benchmark CL.1 , -7.86 % in March slumped to an 18-year low and dipped intraday below $ 20 a barrel . Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM , -2.94 % and Chevron Corp. CVX , -1.32 % were both up sharply after the announcement but remain roughly 40 % lower for the year to date .
Trump ’ s tweet also comes a day before the president is scheduled to meet with U.S. oil-company executives on Friday at the White House to discuss possible aid for the industry amid the plummeting oil prices . Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods , Chevron ’ s Chief Executive Mike Wirth , Occidental Petroleum ’ s OXY , +1.80 % Chief Executive Vicki Hollub , and Continental Resources CLR , +8.87 % Chief Executive Harold Hamm , are expected to be in attendance , according to The Wall Street Journal .
Moves for the market also come as investors confronted grim economic news . Some 6.65 million Americans filed for first-time jobless benefits , doubling the previous week ’ s record rise of 3.28 million the previous week . Previously , the record first-time claims number was below 700,000 .
In a separate report , the government also said that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $ 39.9 billion in February from $ 45.5 billion in January .
Countless businesses across the country have been forced to close or scale back hours , throwing masses of people out of work and triggering an unprecedented back-to-back surge in initial jobless claims .
In just the past two weeks alone , new claims have easily exceeded the peak number of people who collected benefits during the 2007-09 recession . At the end of the last recession , 6.6 million people drew benefits , a record at that time .
“ The economy is in bad shape and doubts are growing that the recent fiscal rescue package to help businesses might not be enough to keep people on their payroll , ” said Edward Moya of brokerage Oanda . “ It is unfortunate how bad these numbers are getting , and no one will be surprised if we see a few more terrible readings over the next few weeks . America needs the economy to reopen , but not at the cost of lives . ”
Oil soared , with the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude CLK20 , -7.86 % for May delivery rose $ 5.01 , or 24.7 % , to settle at $ 25.32 a barrel .
Government bond yields ticked down , but ended above earlier lows , with the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y , 0.596 % down by about 0.6 basis point to 0.624 % .
Gold charted another gain , with the precious metal for June delivery GCM20 , -0.05 % jumping up by $ 46.30 , or 2.9 % , to settle at $ 1,637.70 an ounce .
The dollar traded 0.3 % higher compared with a basket of currency trading partners , as gauged by the ICE U.S. Dollar index DXY , +0.15 % .
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA , +0.99 % on Thursday reported quarterly results that beat expectations but said it would hold off on issuing full-year guidance . Shares closed down 6.3 % on Thursday .
Boeing BA , +1.01 % is offering buyout and early retirement packages to employees as it works to combat the impact on its business of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 that has grounded airlines around the world and decreased demand for new planes . Shares of the Dow component finished down 5.7 % .
General Electric Co. GE , -2.46 % shares closed 2 % lower after investment bank UBS cut the conglomerate ’ s price target .
U.S. Bancorp USB , -4.53 % shares rose 2,3 % after a price-target cut from Deutsche Bank .
Shares of Shake Shack Inc. SHAK , +0.94 % added 1.1 % after the company said same-store sales fell by nearly a third in March compared with a year ago .
CarMax Inc. KMX , -3.18 % shares fell 4.1 % as the company said it had beat expectations in the quarter , before the coronavirus hit in March .
Related : American businesses are tapping their credit lines at the fastest pace ever | 5SBnk8SG0ZDOka1o | 2 | Mohammed Bin Salman | 0.5 | Saudi Arabia | 0.3 | Russia | 0.2 | Donald Trump | 0.2 | Trade | 0 |
justice_department | Politico | http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/jack-lew-learned-of-irs-probe-in-march-91576.html | Jack Lew learned of IRS probe in March | 2013-05-17 | justice_department | 'From the moment I learned about it , I was outraged , ' Lew says . Lew learned of IRS probe in March
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew learned in March that an inspector general was investigating the IRS ’ s targeting of conservative groups , but he did not know the details until last Friday .
Lew said in an interview with Bloomberg TV today that he met with the inspector general closely after assuming his post , but he was presented only with a list of ongoing investigations , not specific details of the audit on conservative groups .
“ I didn ’ t know any of the details of it until last Friday , ” Lew said .
He added that he found the program to be outrageous .
“ When I learned about it — from the moment I learned about it , I was outraged , ” he said . “ As a citizen , it is a matter of the highest priority that the IRS be beyond suspicion in terms of its integrity . ”
It was public knowledge that an investigation was ongoing when Lew was briefed . The Treasury inspector general for tax administration also sent a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa in July 2012 saying it would audit the agency .
“ The heads-up that I got was something that was a matter of public knowledge . It was posted on the IG ’ s website in the fall of 2012 , ” Lew added . “ I was not aware of any details . My deputy was not aware of any details until it became a matter of public knowledge . ”
Republicans are homing in on when the White House first knew the IRS was inappropriately singling out conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny . Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller was grilled at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Friday about whether he told the White House or the Treasury about the program .
Miller said he hadn ’ t and announced earlier this week that he plans to resign .
Lew also defended Sarah Hall Ingram , a commissioner who has been targeted by Republicans for formerly overseeing the tax exempt division before heading to her current post helping the agency implement the health care law .
Ingram , Lew said , was not involved in the targeting program .
“ Chronology matters in cases like this , ” he said . “ I ’ ve asked some questions since becoming aware of this , and my understanding is her responsibilities moved over from the tax exempt unit to implementation of the Affordable Care Act before there was any opportunity to be involved in this . ”
Ingram served as the commissioner of tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012 .
Lew said he will look to see whether there are “ systemic ” issues within the agency that caused front-line employees to first target the conservative groups .
Daniel Werfel , the Office of Management and Budget official President Barack Obama nominated to be the next acting commissioner , will report to Lew within 30 days about what the IRS has done to correct its mistakes .
“ We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior , ” Lew said .
Werfel assumes his post next Wednesday and met with Lew on Friday . | 8WiF6qYvxlNVKWgK | 0 | Justice Department | 0 | Justice | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
general_news | CNN (Web News) | http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/30/opinion/friedman-new-years-resolution-workplace/index.html?hpt=op_t1 | OPINION: A New Year's resolution for the workplace | 2014-12-30 | general_news | Story highlights Ron Friedman : What if a doctor told you your smartphone was making you stupid ?
Friedman says studies show presence of phones can cut our thinking ability in workplace
In 2015 , keep the phone away as you try to concentrate on your work , he says
Imagine that after a routine medical exam your doctor delivers some devastating news : Since your last checkup your cognitive performance has plummeted .
Your ability to connect with others has eroded . And your memory for everyday events is no longer operating as it once did .
But as it turns out , there is a cure and it wo n't cost you a penny . The treatment is simple .
All that 's required is that you put away your smartphone .
Few of us will have this conversation with our doctors . But perhaps we should . Over the last few years , scientists have begun studying the way cell phones affect the human experience . Early results are alarming .
Consider the findings of a study in this month 's issue of Social Psychology , examining how the `` mere presence '' of a cell phone -- even when it is not being used -- influences people 's performance on complex mental tasks . Within the study , participants were asked to quickly scan a row of digits and cross out consecutive numbers that add to a pre-specified total ( for example , any two numbers that total 3 ) . Before they started , half of participants were asked to put away their phones . The other half were asked to place it on their desk , ostensibly so they could answer a few survey questions about its features .
Not a single cell phone went off during the experiment . Yet compared to those whose phones were stowed out of view , participants with phones on their desk performed nearly 20 % worse .
Why would the presence of a silent cell phone inflict such a heavy toll ? One possibility is that years of cell phone usage has conditioned us to anticipate the arrival of new messages . Consequently , even when our phones sit perfectly still , simply having it in our peripheral vision tempts us to split our attention , leaving less mental firepower for doing our work .
And it 's not just our execution on problem solving that suffers . A University of Essex study found that the presence of a cell phone also interferes with our ability to form close interpersonal connections .
In one lab experiment , researchers paired volunteers who had never met and had them take turns discussing an interesting personal event that occurred in the past month . Half the conversations took place with the experimenter 's cell phone on the table . In the other half , a small spiral notebook was used in its place . Afterwards , participants in each pair evaluated their experience .
The results were striking . Participants who spoke with a cell phone in view perceived their partner as less understanding and less trustworthy . They were also more skeptical that further dialogue with their partner would yield a close friendship .
A follow-up study conducted at Virginia Tech confirmed that it 's not just people 's impressions of their partner that dip in the presence of a cell phone . It 's the actual quality of their conversations . `` In the presence of a mobile device , there is less eye contact , '' lead author Shalini Misra observed . That makes both partners more likely to miss subtle changes in one another 's expression or tone .
In addition to splitting our attention , there is strong reason to suspect that frequent smartphone use and the constant connectivity it engenders interfere with memory formation . To transfer information from short-term to long-term memory , the brain requires periods of rest . In a world where every free moment is spent refreshing email or responding to text messages , there are fewer opportunities for long-term memories to form .
There is something deeply ironic about a device designed to improve efficiency and foster connections achieving the exact opposite . In this way , smartphones are emblematic of a bigger issue with the way we use technology . Often , the tools we use to control our lives end up controlling us .
Nowhere are the perils of technology more commonly overlooked than in the workplace .
As I explain in a new book on the emerging science of workplace excellence , to perform at our best , we require distraction-free periods in which we can leverage our full , uninterrupted attention . For many of us , these conditions are surprisingly difficult to come by , in part because of the way we allow technology to interfere with our work .
Consider what happens when a new message arrives in your inbox . Unless you 've changed the default settings on your email , you are treated to a pop-up message , the sound of a bell , or a counter that signals your growing number of unread messages . Each time this happens your brain is forced to make a series of decisions ( `` Check email or keep going ? '' ... `` Respond now or later ? '' ) that drain your mental energy .
These disruptions add up . Studies indicate that even brief interruptions exponentially increase our chances of making mistakes . This is because when our attention is diverted , we use up valuable cognitive resources reorienting ourselves , leaving less mental energy for completing our work . Research also suggests that frequent decision-making causes us to tire . The resulting fatigue makes it harder for us to distinguish tasks that are truly important from those that simply feel urgent .
Unfortunately for many of us , the habits that lead to these cognitive and social deficits are extremely hard to give up . So what can we do differently if we 're looking to make a change in the coming year ?
A good place to start is to make cognitive distractions less tempting . Avoid keeping your smartphone on your desk . Banish email alerts that shatter your concentration . Schedule distraction-free periods on your calendar , during which you can fully attend to one task at a time .
Companies interested in achieving top performance would be wise to support employees in these endeavors . Like any attempt at organizational change , it is the behavior of those at the top that often yields the strongest influence .
Modeling the use of distraction-free periods and shunning smartphones during meetings can go a long way toward signaling to employees that focused work is valued , and that they need not feel tethered to their email .
In 2015 , we can expect the role of technology in the workplace to expand . And this is why it is vital that we acknowledge that not all innovations are equally effective at improving our productivity , and that sometimes , the best way of enhancing our performance is to turn off the monitor , disconnect the telephone , and simply think . | k8cTsOEw1ebZ6pvH | 0 | General News | -0.3 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-judged-winner-of-debate-holds-big-national-lead-over-sanders/2015/10/19/8d196194-7697-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html | Clinton, judged winner of debate, holds big national lead over Sanders | 2015-10-20 | Presidential Elections, Elections | clockThis article was published more than 9 years ago Aided by her performance in the first Democratic debate, Hillary Rodham Clinton has regained much of the ground she lost during a summer of controversy and holds a dominating lead nationally over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the contest for her party's presidential nomination, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. | 4ba0fcc5c0afc981 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
coronavirus | New York Times (News) | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/health/coronavirus-second-wave-infections.html | As States Rush to Reopen, Scientists Fear a Coronavirus Comeback | 2020-05-11 | Public Health, Life During Covid-19, Safety And Sanity During COVID-19, Role Of Government, Economy And Jobs, Coronavirus | Covid-19 Guidance Advertisement Supported by Officials are under pressure to restart the economy, but many states are moving too quickly, researchers say. The costs may be measured in lost lives. By Donald G. McNeil Jr. Millions of working people and small-business owners who cannot earn money while sheltering at home are facing economic ruin. So dozens of states, seeking to ease the pain, are coming out of lockdown. Most have not met even minimal criteria for doing so safely, and some are reopening even as coronavirus cases rise, inviting disaster. The much-feared “second wave” of infection may not wait until fall, many scientists say, and instead may become a storm of wavelets breaking unpredictably across the country. The reopenings will proceed nonetheless. The question now, scientists say, is whether the nation can minimize the damage by intelligently adopting new tactics. Evidence is mounting that masks — if worn in public places, by everyone — are far more effective at stopping transmission than was previously realized. Across the nation, testing remains wholly inadequate, but home-use nasal swabs and saliva tests are on the way that may provide a clearer picture of where the virus is. Advertisement Americans are lining up for antibody tests that may reveal who has some immunity, perhaps opening paths back to normal life for them. Early (but still controversial) surveys suggest that more Americans may carry antibodies than initially thought. Employers are moving to design safer workplaces. A modestly effective antiviral treatment has been found. And laboratories around the world are racing toward the grail — a vaccine — at an unprecedented pace. But while it may still be possible to blunt the impact of the reopenings, the nation is finding even this goal difficult. As the weather warms, Americans are already struggling to stay at home or remain six feet apart on crowded beaches, hiking trails and park playgrounds. Every crowd may have some silent carriers of the virus. Outside New York, California and a few other states, many Americans refuse to wear masks, and governors and mayors have waffled over whether to order them to. The dispute has even led to threats and a killing. Advertisement Fifty brands of antibody tests are available, but many are inaccurate. Many states are moving too quickly for employers and retailers to make environments safe. And the lockdowns have become entwined in partisan politics, with some libertarian extremists, gun-rights advocates and anti-vaccine activists painting them as an infringement of personal freedoms. Deaths are already far higher than the 60,000 once predicted by August. Even President Trump has begun to talk of a toll that may reach 100,000, perhaps more. Some epidemiological models predict three times that many within months — closer to the 240,000 that the White House’s coronavirus task force predicted in March before switching to a new, more optimistic model. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the task force’s chief medical adviser, has said he expects cases to spike in closed environments like nursing homes, prisons and factories. “We’re not reopening based on science,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, a former director of the C.D.C. in the Obama administration. “We’re reopening based on politics, ideology and public pressure. And I think it’s going to end badly.” Advertisement The effects of the reopenings will not be immediately apparent, and in the absence of widespread testing, it will be hard to know where the country stands in the fight against the virus. It takes two or three weeks for the newly infected who become severely ill to need hospitalization. An initial calm may encourage more Americans to drop their guard or more governors to ease restrictions. “I do worry that people will stay home enough in the states that open earliest so that we don’t immediately see the second wave, and then other states will draw the wrong lessons,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a former health commissioner of Baltimore. Gut Issues: We asked experts why Covid causes diarrhea, constipation, pain and bloating, and what to do about these conditions. Heart Problems: One recent study found that a Covid infection doubled the risk of a major cardiovascular event for up to three years afterward. People who had severe infections were especially vulnerable. Paxlovid and Long Covid: A new report suggested the drug might improve symptoms for some patients, but results were mixed. C.D.C. Vaccine Recommendations: The agency expanded its Covid vaccine recommendations, urging some people to get additional doses of the updated shots. Social distancing has proved effective at interrupting viral transmission in places where it was embraced. But now even formerly terrified New Yorkers, living at the center of the nation’s outbreak, are clearly wearying of it. Central Park, which was so quiet in late March that the birdsong was startlingly loud, is often crowded with joggers, strollers and cyclists. Avenues that were ghostly canyons now have far more cars, Mayor Bill de Blasio has complained, and steady traffic has returned to some local highways. Advertisement Viruses persist only because they can exploit human interactions: a stray cough, a plume of virions behind a jogger, a bicycle handle no one has disinfected. Nationwide, there are still about 25,000 new confirmed cases a day of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Most are probably within families, experts said, or among health workers and emergency personnel exposed on the job. But there have also been hot spots of hundreds of cases in meat and poultry plants, veterans’ hospitals and nursing homes in rural states. To keep the toll from rising, some factories making essential goods, like ventilators, have placed workstations six feet apart and made temperature checks and masks mandatory. Food plants are installing plastic barriers between workers and on cafeteria tables, requiring masks, checking symptoms at entrances and doing more cleaning. Most nursing homes no longer accept visitors. Advertisement As well intentioned as these stopgap measures may be, they are part of a headlong rush back to “normal life” that few experts condone. Many models for safely reopening the economy have been issued, including one from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia, and others from Harvard, CovidActNow and Resolve to Save Lives. Most reopening criteria, including the White House’s relatively vague guidelines, say that at a minimum a state should have 14 days of declining cases before it even considers reopening. Almost no state reopening now has met that low standard. Virtually all guidelines emphasize comprehensive testing and systematic contact tracing. Testing is a sore point. Virtually everyone but Mr. Trump says there are too few tests, but everyone disagrees about how many are needed. At a minimum, a state must do enough random testing — including among people with no symptoms — to detect a surge of cases anywhere within its borders. Otherwise, the first unmistakable sign that something is wrong will be the wail of sirens as oxygen-starved patients are taken to a local emergency room. Advertisement By then, it may be too late to stop a flood of patients over the next week that will overwhelm that hospital. In rural America — even in relatively wealthy states like Texas — financially struggling hospitals often have few ventilators, and ambulances must drive long distances. When hospitals run short on supplies or ambulances fail to promptly reach victims of pneumonia, heart attacks, strokes or car accidents, many lives may be lost, as happened in New York. New York has tested more citizens than any other state has — more than twice as many per capita as California, and more than three times as many as Texas. To spot outbreaks early, the Harvard model advocates scaling up, to 20 million tests a day nationwide. Advertisement Adm. Brett P. Giroir, the coronavirus task force’s chief of testing strategy, recently said there was “absolutely no way on earth” that goal could be reached, and that eight million tests a month, or about 270,000 a day, might be possible by June. Paul M. Romer, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at New York University, has called for daily rapid tests for every worker in contact with others — meaning 20 to 30 million tests a day. At $10 a test, he has conceded, such an undertaking would cost at least $ 1.5 billion a week, but even that is far cheaper, he argued, than the damage now being done by keeping the country locked down. For now, the lofty goal of tracing and testing the contacts of every infected person remains unthinkable. Epidemiological models in the United States and data from China suggest that each case generates about 50 contacts, so the 25,000 new daily cases in the United States generate another 1.3 million contacts to find each day. Even under ideal circumstances, a team of five tracers takes about three days to find 50 contacts. So, if the number of trained contact tracers were increased to 100,000 — from 3,000, the most recent tally — the daily case count would still have to drop below 5,000 just to stay even, assuming the tracers worked five-day weeks. Advertisement But the daily load is barely dropping below 25,000. Digitally automating the job has been proposed. But for Bluetooth and GPS apps like those used in South Korea to work in the United States and find a useful percentage of a victim’s contacts — about 80 percent, calculated Tomas Pueyo, author of an article titled “Coronavirus: How to Do Testing and Contact Tracing” — Apple and Google would have to update their smartphone operating systems with built-in tracking apps that all cellphone owners would by law have to use. Also, neither location data nor Bluetooth could be turned off. Americans are unlikely to accept that, Mr. Pueyo conceded. “We fear ‘1984,’” he wrote. “We want to avoid an A.I.-driven world where the government knows our every movement, rates us according to our behavior, and soon tells us what to think.” Making masks obligatory has strong potential to cut down transmission, according to new evidence not just from Asia, where masks have long been common, but also from the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel and other countries, according to Masks4All, an advocacy group. The single biggest mistake made in the United States and some European countries that have failed to control their epidemics “is that people aren’t wearing masks,” argued Dr. George F. Gao, the Harvard- and Oxford-trained director of China’s Center for Disease Control. Outside New York, California and a few other states, many Americans resist wearing them. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio rescinded an order to wear masks after state residents “felt affronted,” he said. Officials in Stillwater, Okla., dropped a municipal order after store clerks who asked barefaced customers to stay outside were threatened. Advertisement The issue has become mired in politics: the president won’t wear one, some protesters have compared them to Muslim face veils, and a shopper at a supermarket requiring masks wore a Ku Klux Klan hood. In the absence of detailed national reopening standards, governors are setting their own, and some allow far closer human contact than others do. It is or will soon be possible in 19 states to get your hair cut or roots dyed, for example. Many states are letting restaurants reopen with restrictions that require six feet between diners, outdoor seating only or disposable menus. By contrast, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has refused to even set a date for easing restrictions everywhere in the state, although three regions will be allowed to partially reopen on May 15. Although hospitalizations and deaths are steadily declining, he said, they are still dropping too slowly. “All of this inconvenience, all of this turmoil, for what?” he asked this month. “To keep 100,000 people out of our hospitals, that’s for what.” Advertisement When restrictions are lifted, he said, the state’s least-affected central counties will go first and each economic sector will be phased in slowly: construction and factory jobs first, and retail establishments that can deliver goods curbside. Next: banks, insurance, law firms and other professions. Then restaurants and hotels, and finally entertainment, sports and schools. One of the most difficult decisions is when to open primary schools. Doing so is crucial to getting young parents back to work, but scientists are still unsure about how much children spread the disease to their families. France is reopening its schools this week, as are some regions of Australia and much of Europe, so there may be some data soon on the question. Unlike New York State, Florida, Tennessee and Texas are reopening as their cases and deaths are spiking to new highs, which means, experts said, that it is impossible to know when or how high they will peak. If that happened, a wave of unexpected deaths could deliver some sharp political shocks, researchers predicted. “Excess fatalities may mean some serious consequences for the governors,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the disaster preparedness center at Columbia. Advertisement Frustrated Americans, eager to break out of lockdowns, often do not realize how lax this country’s strictures are compared with those imposed elsewhere. In Chinese cities, only a tiny corps of essential workers was allowed to leave home for months. There was virtually no travel between cities. People lucky enough to live in apartment complexes with internal gardens could walk there; others had to stay indoors, unable to shop even for food or medicine. Building committees pooled grocery orders and distributed them internally. No city in China was allowed to reopen until it had reached 14 days of zero new cases — a standard that no American city is expected to meet. In Italy, many residents were not allowed to go more than 200 yards from their homes without written government authorization. Police roadblocks enforcing that rule were everywhere. Advertisement If deaths in the United States surged, harsh measures like those could, in theory, be imposed. The 1918 Spanish flu provides some lessons. A new analysis of that epidemic from the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Mass., concluded that various lockdown measures had “clear success” in lowering death rates. But they ultimately failed to curb overall mortality in most cities because they were lifted prematurely. School closings and bans on public gatherings typically lasted only 36 days, the report said, and Americans usually tolerated quarantine for only 18 days. Denver, for example, closed its schools and banned public gatherings for only one month after deaths peaked. Then reopening caused a second, much higher peak of deaths. “The lesson for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in 2020 is that, to curtail overall deaths,” wrote the chief author, Robert J. Barro, such interventions “have to be maintained for substantially longer than a few weeks.” Advertisement “Most likely,” he added, “12 weeks work much better than four to six weeks.” Dr. Frieden, the former C.D.C. director, now runs Resolve to Save Lives, the public health advocacy group that has issued detailed reopening guidelines. “Every day, I look at the two models for approaching this,” he said. “The China model, which is to use the world’s most authoritarian regime and best digital tracking system to hunt down and stop every case and then wait for a vaccine. So far, it’s working.” By contrast, he said, Sweden is trying to achieve “herd immunity” by letting young, healthy people become infected at what they hope will be slow, steady rates. Primary schools are open, higher ones are closed, everyone is asked to be careful in public and older adults are asked to stay home. Israel is roughly following Sweden’s model, Dr. Frieden said, just as Asian countries are roughly following China’s. Advertisement “And then,” he added, “there’s the American approach, which is: ‘What the hell — I heard something on Fox News. Let’s try it!’” Sweden’s model does look appealing. Television news programs have shown smiling Swedes drinking in outdoor cafes, shopping for clothes, getting their hair restyled and enjoying other little pleasures that Americans have been denied for many weeks now. But Sweden is paying a high price, and Dr. Frieden rated its success as “still to be determined.” As of Sunday, its per capita death rate is 319 per million Swedes, which is higher than the figure in the United States, which is 242 deaths per million. Other Scandinavian countries, with varying degrees of lockdown, have far lower death figures: 91 per million in Denmark, 40 in Norway, 48 in Finland and 29 in Iceland. Advertisement Having 50 states and more territories do competing and uncoordinated experiments in reopening is “daring Mother Nature to kill you or someone you love,” Dr. Frieden said. “Mother Nature bats last, and she bats a thousand.” An earlier version of this article relied on outdated figures to compare testing in New York, California and Texas. At the time the article was published, New York had tested more than three times as many people as had Texas on a per capita basis, not five times as many. When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at nytnews@nytimes.com.Learn more Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a science reporter covering epidemics and diseases of the world’s poor. He joined The Times in 1976, and has reported from 60 countries. More about Donald G. McNeil Jr. Advertisement | 856fd4c9c522502e | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
us_military | Washington Times | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/6/army-chief-budgets-cuts-could-take-army-to-breakin/ | Congress on verge of doing what Taliban, al Qaeda can’t: Break U.S. Army | 2014-10-06 | us_military | The Army is calling on active and retired generals to spread the word in Congress that another spate of automatic budget cuts would cripple America ’ s largest ground force , an internal memo says .
“ A major point is that unless we get relief from sequestration , the Army will soon be unable to fully execute Defense Strategic Guidance requirements and we will be on a path to a hollow Army , ” Maj. Gen. Laura Richardson wrote in an Oct. 3 memo to the general-officer community .
Budget caps , or sequestration , are suspended under a bipartisan budget deal but could return in fiscal 2016 , beginning next Oct. 1 , unless an agreement is reached .
Perhaps no other military leader is raising the alarm more forcefully than Gen. Raymond T. Odierno , the Army chief of staff and former top commander in Iraq .
He has made several public statements recently warning that another sequestration round will come close to breaking the Army .
The active-duty soldier force peaked at 570,000 during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars . It is slated to shrink to about 450,000 , but sequestration threatens to squeeze it to 420,000 .
Gen. Odierno has asserted that the 450,000 level is the absolutely lowest the active force can go and still carry out its strategic responsibilities .
“ Caps on defense spending , ” wrote Gen. Richardson , chief of Army legislative affairs , “ are having a devastating impact on the Army , damaging readiness , cutting manpower and gutting modernization programs . ”
Her memo , a copy of which was obtained by The ███ , said Gen. Odierno “ wants to ensure that all Army [ general officers ] are familiar with the impacts of sequestration so you ’ re prepared to talk with members of Congress and their staffs during your engagements . ”
Recent deployments show a busy U.S. Army . It has sent forces to Europe to war games as a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin , deployed a headquarters element to Baghdad to advise the Iraqi Security Forces , inserted soldiers into West Africa to help stem the spread of the Ebola virus and maintained ground units in Afghanistan .
“ In the past , we maybe focused on one big fight somewhere , ” Gen. Odierno recently told a group of defense reporters , according to the Army Times . “ We believe , with the new Army operating concept , we have to be able to do multiple small-scale things simultaneously . We might have to be able to operate with smaller capability on four different continents at the same time because that ’ s the way the world is developing . ”
In an interview , Gen. Odierno told the Army Times that more budget cuts will take the Army to a “ breaking point . ”
He said he would have to further reduce purchases of weapons systems needed to modernize a war-weary force .
“ As I look at that , it ’ s end strength , it ’ s modernization , it ’ s readiness , ” he said . “ I can ’ t go any faster on end strength , so that means you have to take further reductions in readiness and modernization . ” | O2Cp2jrlhJ0ax0dM | 2 | Army | -1.6 | Budget | 0 | US Military | 0 | Defense And Security | 0 | null | null |
politics | CNN Digital | http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/14/politics/russia-us-trump-reset-pros-cons/index.html | The good, bad and ugly of warmer US-Russia relations | 2016-12-15 | Politics | Story highlights Closer US-Russia ties could revive non-proliferation projects and closer anti-terrorism cooperation But closer ties could also mean restoring Russian influence at the direct expense of the USWashington CNN —George W. Bush tried it. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton tried it. Now Donald Trump is vowing to reset relations with Russia.But could the unintended costs outweigh the benefits?The President-elect’s Russian gambit seems like a solid foreign policy goal, given that the estrangement between the rivals – owners of the world’s biggest nuclear arsenals – is deeper than at any time since the Cold War.An improvement in relations could yield gains for the United States in reviving non-proliferation projects and closer anti-terrorism cooperation.But there are big questions about whether Trump will be any more successful than his predecessors, whose initial inroads eventually foundered largely due to the behavior of President Vladimir Putin, and whether he will end up emboldening a leader that many – including key Republicans in Congress – see as a top US adversary.Trump has made no secret of his admiration for the Russian strongman, once saying he was a better leader than Obama, and on the campaign trail showed little concern about resurgent Russian influence. By nominating Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, Trump has pleased Moscow, where the ExxonMobil CEO has good relationships with senior officials including Putin.And even some Russia skeptics can see the merit in trying to improve relations.“This could be the time for us to make a move and work things out with Russia to some extent,” New York Rep. Peter King told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. “I am confident that Donald Trump will not be taken in – there is some room for negotiations with Russia here, but we should do it with a strong hand.”MORE: Trump’s most dangerous best friendWill Trump turn a blind eye?But Trump’s determination to find new areas where the two sides can work together could necessitate that Washington turn a blind eye to behavior by Putin on issues like human rights and the central rationale of his foreign policy – restoring Russian influence at the direct expense of the United States.Indeed, easing the suspicion between Moscow and Washington could come with some serious negatives.An improved relationship with Russia might require the United States to drop its opposition to the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea, and the lifting of sanctions against top Russian officials to punish the land grab from Ukraine.In Syria, the US may need to abandon its support for moderate rebels and effectively align itself with a regime accused of war crimes and behind brutal violence in Aleppo. NATO members may be further shaken by a rapprochement between the White House and the Kremlin following Trump’s campaign trail critiques of the alliance.If moves like lifting sanctions occur, the Trump administration would establish a precedent that could embolden Russia’s attempt to throw its weight around in the rest of the world.Steven Pifer, a Brookings Institution scholar and former US ambassador to Ukraine, said the effects of Russian aggression in the Eastern European country go far beyond that conflict.“Simply accepting Russian behavior that is truly egregious” would prove problematic to US efforts to halting Russian meddling around the world, according to Pifer. “If we were to recognize Crimea as Russian, that would put us in the likes of a handful of countries like North Korea, Syria and Venezuela,” he said.“Are we prepared to let the Russians get away with the actions of eastern Ukraine?” he said, adding that would concede a sphere of influence to the Russians and rattle the nerves of US allies in the Baltic region.To revive relations with Moscow, President Trump would also have to shrug his shoulders at any findings from congressional and White House-mandated investigations into allegations that Russia hacked the presidential elections. His refusal to believe assessments by US intelligence agencies that Moscow intervened in the presidential election, though, suggests that would not be a problem for the new occupant of the Oval Office.Could Trump lift Russia sanctions?Trump would not even have to consult with US allies over lifting sanctions. He could accomplish that by a pen stroke since they were mandated by Obama in a series of executive orders.The choice of Tillerson, who is on the record as opposing sanctions – which have cost ExxonMobil lucrative energy exploration contracts in Russia – is being read as another hint by Trump of a sharp shift in US policy toward Moscow and has not gone down well at the current White House.“Throughout his campaign, the President-elect indicated his intent, if elected president, to pursue warmer relations with Russia. So what better way to do that than to choose somebody who’s been awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin to be your secretary of state?” spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday.It’s possible that the geopolitical and strategic considerations that shape the US-Russia relationship will dictate the pace and breadth of Trump’s engagement, regardless of his past statements or future intentions.“I think US policy especially with respect to a big geopolitical actor like a Russia or China is more often driven by the shape of the broader world and US and Russian interests in it than it is driven by the individual proclivities of a US president or a Russian president,” said Matthew Rojansky, a Russia expert at the Wilson Center.Syria: An opportunity and a riskThe central focus of Trump’s work to improve the US relationship with Russia could come in the Middle East, where Trump has said the US needs to urgently reevaluate its strategy in fighting ISIS, particularly in Syria.“Wouldn’t it be nice if we got along with Russia?” Trump said repeatedly on the campaign trail. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of ISIS?”The US has repeatedly sought to forge agreements to both join forces with Russia in combating ISIS and to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, efforts that last broke down in October over Russia’s ongoing efforts to prop up the Syrian regime and its attacks on US-backed moderate rebels.In his first post-election interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump criticized the US’s backing of moderate rebels fighting the Syrian regime and suggested he was more interested in fighting ISIS alongside Russia than pushing for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Trump has sought to simplify the US’s role in the conflict in Syria, boiling down the campaign to destroying ISIS and making everything else secondary to that objective.Noting that the Russians have “one very simple objective, which is to help Assad,” CATO institute senior fellow Doug Bandow argued the US could benefit from paring down its objectives in Syria.“We want to get rid of Assad, stop ISIS, work with the Kurds, keep the Turks happy, only help the moderates,” Bandow, who has argued against the US deepening its military involvement in Syria, said of the current situation.He continued, “For all of Trump’s lack of sophistication – which is quite clear and is a problem – he still has some basic understanding that priorities have to be set and you can’t do everything.”But even cooperation on combating ISIS would raise serious problems for the US’s standing in the Middle East and raise a slew of questions about how that would impact the decades-long battle for influence between the two countries in the Middle East.The US has held the line on its calls for Assad to step down from power both because of the egregious human rights violations he has committed, but also with an eye toward greater US influence in the region. Ceding that point would ensure Russia can preserve a key ally in the region, strengthening its influence in the Middle East.US support for Russia’s role in Syria and in turn the Syrian government could also damage America’s standing and popular support throughout the Middle East, particularly among allies who have decried the Syrian government’s slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians.Russians have gained influence in recent years through its support of the Iranian regime, which in turn has gained a sturdy foothold in Iraq in recent years.Globally, a more accommodating US relationship with Russia could allow Moscow the space to rebuild the Cold War-era influence that the US spent decades deflating. | dd017e20c9efe0aa | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
terrorism | BBC News | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67604591 | Paris attack near Eiffel Tower leaves one dead and two injured | 2023-12-03 | Terrorism, France, Attacks, Radical Islamic Terrorism, Paris, Israel Hamas Violence, Europe, European Union, Violence | Paris attack near Eiffel Tower leaves one dead and two injured4 December 2023 Share Save Christy Cooney BBC News Share SaveWatch: Video 'shows armed police approach Paris suspect'A German man has died and two others, including a British man, have been injured in a knife and hammer attack on a street in central Paris.The attack occurred near the Eiffel Tower shortly before 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Saturday.A 26-year-old French man was later arrested, and anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation.Prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said the suspect had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS).Mr Ricard told a briefing on Sunday that the suspect Armand R, a French national born in France to Iranian parents, made the pledge in a video posted on social media.He converted to Islam aged 18, the prosecutor said, and was imprisoned in 2016 for four years after making plans to travel to Syria to join IS.Police said he was supposed to be following treatment for psychiatric problems.Mr Ricard added that the suspect had been under surveillance for suspected extremism and that three associates, including members of his family, had been detained for questioning.Earlier, it was revealed that the victim killed in Saturday night's attack was a German tourist who worked as a nurse.France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the victim was with his wife when he was attacked and fatally stabbed on Quai de Grenelle.He said the wife's life was saved by the intervention of a taxi driver and that the suspect fled across a nearby bridge spanning the River Seine.After crossing to the north side of the river he attacked two more people: a French man aged around 60 and a 66-year-old British tourist who was hit in the eye with a hammer.The suspect was then Tasered by police and arrested on suspicion of assassination - defined in French law as premeditated murder - and attempted assassination in relation to a terrorist enterprise.Video published online appeared to show the moment the suspect was apprehended by armed police not far from where the attack happened.EPA Forensics teams work at one of the scenes of the attackThe two people injured were treated by emergency services and on Sunday, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau told French media they were "in good health".Mr Darmanin said the alleged attacker was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar", Arabic for "God is greatest", and told police he was upset because "so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine".The suspect is also understood to have suggested France was complicit in the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.On Saturday, a video was posted on social media in which the suspect criticised the French government and discussed what he described as the murder of innocent Muslims, AFP news agency reports.Writing on X, formerly Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron sent his thoughts to all those affected by the "terrorist attack" and thanked the emergency services for their response."The national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office will now be responsible for shedding light on this affair so that justice can be done in the name of the French people," he said. | a74b131871169f30 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
nsa | Christian Science Monitor | http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0605/NSA-collects-Verizon-phone-records-under-secret-court-order?nav=89-csm_category-topStories | NSA collects Verizon phone records under secret court order | 2013-06-05 | nsa | The U.S. National Security Agency is collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon Communications customers , according to a secret court order obtained and published by the Guardian newspaper 's website .
The order marked `` Top Secret '' and issued by the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court directs Verizon 's Business Network Services Inc and Verizon Business Services units to hand over electronic data including all calling records on an `` ongoing , daily basis '' until the order expires on July 19 , 2013 .
Signed by Judge Roger Vinson at the request of the FBI , the order covers each phone number dialed by all customers and location and routing data , along with the duration and frequency of the calls , but not the contents of the communications .
The disclosure comes as the Obama administration is already under fire on other privacy and First Amendment issues . In particular , it is being criticized for a search of Associated Press journalists ' calling records and the emails of a Fox television reporter in leak inquiries .
Officials at the White House and the NSA declined immediate comment . Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden declined to comment .
Verizon 's biggest rival , AT & T Inc , did not provide any immediate comment when asked if the government had made a similar request for its data .
`` That 's not the society we 've built in the United States , '' said Kurt Opsahl , an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation , which is suing the NSA over surveillance inside the country . `` It 's not the society we set forth in the Constitution , and it 's not the society we should have . ''
The order expressly compels Verizon to turn over both international calling records and strictly domestic records , and it forbids disclosure of the order 's existence . It refers to mobile and landline numbers , though not explicitly to Verizon 's consumer business .
The order is the first concrete evidence that U.S. intelligence officials are continuing a broad campaign of domestic surveillance that began under President George W. Bush and caused great controversy when it was first exposed .
In 2005 , the New York Times reported that the NSA was wiretapping Americans without warrants on international calls . Los Angeles Times and USA Today later reported that the agency also had unchecked access to records on domestic calls .
In addition , a former AT & T technician , Mark Klein , said that a room accessible only with NSA clearance in the carrier 's main San Francisco hub received perfect copies of all transmissions .
Privacy lawsuits against the government are continuing , though cases filed against the phone carriers were dismissed after Congress passed a 2008 law immunizing the companies that complied with government requests . That law also allowed for broader information-seeking , though methods must be approved by the special court handling foreign intelligence matters .
The new order cites legal language from the 2001 U.S. Patriot Act , passed soon after the Sept. 11 attacks , that allows the FBI to seek an order to obtain `` any tangible thing , '' including business records , in pursuit of `` foreign intelligence information . ''
Verizon is the second biggest U.S. telephone company behind AT & T in terms of revenue . The vast majority of Verizon 's overseas operations come from its acquisition of MCI Communications , which is also covered by the order although foreign-to-foreign calls are exempted from it .
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Opsahl said it was unlikely that Verizon would be the only subject of such an order and that the other major carriers probably had similar orders against them .
It is unclear what the NSA and FBI do with the phone records they collect . If past practices have continued , though , Opsahl said , they are probably mined with sophisticated software in an attempt to figure out close connections between people the agencies consider to be terrorism suspects and their associates . | GPGEP3i8FYoCl5Dz | 1 | Verizon Phone Records | -0.1 | NSA | -0.1 | Defense And Security | 0 | null | null | null | null |
white_house | NPR Online News | http://www.npr.org/2016/12/27/507143418/trump-decries-his-foundations-closure-overstating-its-giving | Trump Decries His Foundation's Closure, Overstating Its Giving | 2016-12-27 | white_house | President-elect Donald Trump is lashing out in defense of his charitable foundation as he prepares to shutter it before taking the oath of office next month .
And in doing so , Trump incorrectly stated the charitable reach of the Donald J. Trump Foundation .
In a series of tweets Monday evening , Trump said he had given millions to the foundation he began in 1987 and that all of the money raised went to `` wonderful charities . ''
But extensive reporting over the past year has shown those claims to be overstated . According to the Washington Post 's David Fahrenthold , who has researched the foundation 's donations and expenses for several months , Trump and his companies have given about $ 6 million to the charity since its launch , according to tax records up to 2015 .
However , the president-elect has not given anything to the foundation from 2009 until 2014 ; his businesses gave to the foundation in 2015 for the first time in several years , according to the Post .
In fact , the two largest donors were professional wrestling magnates Vince and Linda McMahon , who gave $ 5 million to the foundation from 2007 until 2009 . Trump has nominated Linda McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration .
And as Fahrenthold reported during the campaign , not all of the money was solely for charitable purposes . In many cases , spending benefited Trump and his business interests . Trump used his foundation 's money to buy a 6-foot-tall portrait of himself for $ 20,000 , and had earlier bought another portrait for $ 10,000 , the Post 's reporting showed . He also used the foundation 's money to buy an autographed Tim Tebow Denver Broncos helmet for $ 12,000 .
Trump tapped his foundation to help settle lawsuits for his businesses . In one case , Palm Beach , Fla. , agreed to forgive fines for Trump 's Mar-a-Lago Club if he made a $ 100,000 donation to a veterans ' charity . In another instance , Trump settled a case involving one of his New York golf courses to make a $ 158,000 donation to a charity of the plaintiff 's choosing .
`` So if Trump is using this money basically to save his businesses , the money is n't helping people . That 's a violation of the letter and the spirit of law , '' Fahrenthold told NPR 's All Things Considered on Sunday .
Trump announced on Christmas Eve that `` to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as President I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways . ''
But Trump can not shutter the foundation just yet since it 's under investigation by the New York attorney general , according to the office 's spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick . Attorney General Eric Schneiderman ordered the foundation to stop raising money in New York in October , saying it was n't registered by law to be able to do so in the state .
And last year Trump had to pay a $ 2,500 fine to the IRS when he used $ 25,000 of the foundation 's money to donate to a group supporting Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi . At the time , she was weighing whether or not to pursue an investigation into Trump University ; ultimately , she decided not to , and this year was a vocal surrogate for Trump .
RealClearPolitics also reported in October that many of the Trump Foundation 's donations in recent years went to top conservative or policy groups that could aid Trump as he prepared for a White House run .
Throughout the campaign , Trump took sharp aim at his opponent Hillary Clinton 's own family foundation , claiming it was a pay-to-play vehicle for the Democratic nominee and her husband , former President Bill Clinton .
`` It is impossible to figure out where the Clinton Foundation ends and the State Department begins . It is now abundantly clear that the Clintons set up a business to profit from public office , '' Trump said at an August rally in Texas . `` They sold access and specific actions by and really for I guess the making of large amounts of money . '' Those claims have not been borne out by evidence .
In August , the Clintons vowed to drastically reduce the size of their foundation to avoid appearances of conflict . They denied any insinuation of pay-to-play and defended the work of the Clinton Foundation .
At the time , RNC chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement , `` If everything was above board while Hillary Clinton ran the State Department as the Clintons have said , then why change a thing ? ''
But now it 's Trump and his family who have come under fire for some of the same alleged behaviors . An AP investigation found that Trump 's son Eric `` has exaggerated the size of his foundation and the donations it receives . At the same time , the charity 's payments for services or donations to other groups repeatedly went to one of Donald Trump 's private golf clubs and to charities linked to the Trumps by corporate , family or philanthropic relationships . ''
Eric Trump announced last week he would also close his personal foundation after it was auctioning off a coffee with his sister , Ivanka , who is expected to have considerable influence in her father 's White House . The president-elect also tweeted about that last Friday , saying it was a `` ridiculous shame '' that Eric would have to stop fundraising for his foundation , which gave much of its money to St. Jude Children 's Research Hospital .
Back in October , NPR 's Joel Rose compared the Trump and Clinton foundations and found some marked differences . While the Clinton Foundation does have hundreds of employees and a large budget , it spent almost 90 cents of every dollar received on charitable causes , such as HIV and malaria prevention in Africa . It 's a public charity , meaning it mostly raises money from other people and organizations ( including a gift from the Trump Foundation in 2009 ) . And while it did accept money from foreign donors , some of whom wanted meetings when Clinton was secretary of state , `` there 's no evidence that big donors got any special favors from the State Department , '' Rose reported .
The Trump Foundation is a private foundation , originally intended to give away Trump 's own money . But , as noted earlier , he stopped making personal contributions about eight years ago .
`` The Trump Foundation has engaged in documented , flagrant acts of violation , '' said Pamela Mann , a former head of the charities bureau in the New York attorney general 's office , told Rose . `` That 's really different . '' | UdSnKqjw9EeZlmKE | 1 | Donald Trump | -0.9 | White House | -0.8 | Trump Organization | -0.8 | Politics | 0 | null | null |
politics | Guest Writer - Right | https://townhall.com/columnists/markdavis/2019/07/16/love-it-or-hate-it-theres-no-reason-not-to-understand-trumps-tweets-n2550104 | OPINION: Love It Or Hate It, There's No Reason Not To Understand Trump's Tweets | 2019-07-16 | Donald Trump, Twitter, Politics | The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of Townhall.com .
Let ’ s begin with some items that are not exactly news bulletins : President Donald Trump does not communicate conservatism in the fashion of a William F. Buckley or a Charles Krauthammer . He prefers the punches of a brawler to the scalpel of a surgeon as he takes aim at critics . This style is precisely why he won , and it may figure prominently in his re-election .
Whether against his 2016 primary opponents , the constant media condemnation since he took office , or specific attacks that arise day-by-day , he has grabbed any tool in the box , not to merely disagree with his opponents , but to slap them around , to make them think twice about doing it again . Sometimes it works , sometimes it doesn ’ t . But it will not change .
That makes it important for supposedly smart people to try to figure out what ’ s going on—not just when the president launches a pre-dawn posting raid , but when the reactions miss the mark entirely .
Anyone who has paid casual attention to Donald Trump has noticed that if he goes after someone , his content can contain a mixture of laser focus and schoolyard taunt . This is what led to “ Lyin ’ Ted , ” “ Sleepy Joe ” and “ I like people who weren ’ t captured. ” It yielded deprecating references to Marco Rubio ’ s height , Carly Fiorina ’ s face and Nancy Pelosi ’ s mental stability . This is what he does . Everyone is free to love it , hate it , tolerate it or ignore it , but after four years of Trump as candidate and president , there is no longer any excuse for mischaracterizing it .
We all know we live in a time of weaponized discourse . Everybody leaps to Defcon 1 for maximum effect in this era of cable news snippets and viral moments . Trump , in his way , has mastered the art of maximizing the effectiveness of such communication without repelling his base , because the base knows that his brawler style is just that—a style , a method , a way to make a point .
The point of the “ Go back where they came from ” Twitter salvo was to highlight the loyalties of the congresswomen currently enjoying the affectionate label “ the Squad. ” The Trump assertion is that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to fight for illegal immigrants over the larger interests of the country , with accompanying observations about Rep. Ilhan Omar ’ s focus on Somali refugees and Rep. Rashida Tlaib ’ s Palestinian roots , with trails leading from those specifics to an overall view of America that he finds annoyingly derisive .
His suggestion was not the banishment squealed about by dishonest media outlets . His offer was to apply their chosen solutions among the populations he feels they are fighting for , presumably to learn how undesirable those strategies would be in America , and then to return , presumably chastened .
This is classic Trump . “ The Squad ” knows it . The media knows it . The nervous Republicans being badgered to condemn him know it .
Yet still , we are buried in reflex cries of racism , with accompanying analysis that this time he has really hurt himself . The first is baseless , the second merely dumb .
I expect Democrats to launch the racism charge ; it ’ s all they seem to have . I suppose I should expect no better from a media culture sworn to destroy him . But as news networks hemmed over whether to say “ critics called the tweets racist ” ( which is true ) or “ the tweets were racist ” ( which is malicious mind-reading ) , there was insufficient attention to whether there was a reason to believe it .
There is none . This is a president that loves supporters of all races , and goes after critics of all races . His battles are about politics , policy and core beliefs . Those who support him could not care less about the sloppy assertion that these particular critics came from other countries ( true of only Omar ) . But amid a crowded and sometimes incoherent rush of 2020 presidential hopefuls , the left has clearly chosen to maximize this moment as further evidence that Trump is cut from the cloth of the Klan and the Third Reich .
Squad member Rep. Ayana Pressley led off a Monday news conference by calling the Trump tactic a “ distraction , ” issuing a call not to “ take the bait. ” It is hard to imagine a grander exercise in bait-swallowing than a four-woman news conference airing every grievance they could wedge into a half-hour of free TV .
During their spotlight moment , we heard Pressley refuse to acknowledge the Trump presidency , calling him merely “ the occupant of the White House. ” Rep. Omar recoiled at “ the garbage coming out of his mouth. ” Please , someone , tell me again , how he is so mean to them .
The left calls him Hitler , accuses him of rape and attacks his family . He swings back in his chosen fashion , but the outrage is reserved only for his tactics . Lather , rinse repeat . No minds are changed . Trump will not lose his base over this , and the Democrats will not realize new waves of support . The postures of both sides are baked into the casserole we will chew on until November of next year .
So since neither the president nor his detractors are likely to divert from familiar habits , all of us left to witness the spectacle should at least know what is happening , and what is not . In this moment , Trump is resorting to a maneuver he had used to great effect in battles in both the private and public sector , while his enemies default to their comfort zone as well -- tilting at the latest windmill in an attempt to finally , at long last , convince America that he is illegitimate at best , and a racist dictator at worst .
But as anyone paying attention will notice if they have eyes to see , Trump does not choose targets by race , but by the positions they take in opposition to his agenda . Those standing in his way may feel the heat of a thousand tweets , and some of them may contain factual hiccups and indelicate words . But the notion that they are born of racial animus is a concoction crafted by desperate foes . | e336cdb1bc1dc900 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
defense_and_security | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-costly-drone-mistake-bolsters-doubts-about-bidens-afghanistan-strategy/article_e98ceb51-fd26-57dc-aedc-fecc7023152b.html | Costly drone mistake bolsters doubts about Biden's Afghanistan strategy | 2021-09-23 | Middle East, US Military, Afghanistan, Drone Strikes, Pentagon, National Defense, Defense And Security | From the first weeks of the Afghanistan war to its final days, U.S. officials repeatedly championed the use of aerial surveillance technology to distinguish friend from foe, fighter from civilian, and eliminate America’s enemies with pinpoint accuracy. The technology was heralded as a way to minimize civilian casualties and reduce the risks and costs of ground deployments. In practice, though, the U.S. military got it wrong — a lot — leading to high-profile civilian deaths and handing the Taliban a potent recruitment tool.After weeks of hesitation, the Pentagon admitted Friday that it got it wrong again in the final days of the frantic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, when an Aug. 29 drone strike took out 10 civilians who had nothing whatsoever to do with terrorists. What makes the admission so embarrassing for the administration is that President Joe Biden has staked the future of America’s security strategy in Afghanistan on what he calls “over the horizon” surveillance technology to take the place of troops and human intelligence.American commanders at the time spoke with certainty about what the Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, asserted was a “righteous” strike. At the time, relatives of the 10 civilians killed insisted that their family members had been wrongfully targeted. But U.S. officials refused to budge from their version that they had annihilated an Islamic State terrorist threat.The Pentagon only admitted its mistake after various U.S. news outlets, led by The New York Times, interviewed survivors and investigated the victims’ backgrounds. News reports made clear the attack was a mistake. But the Pentagon and Biden administration, anxious to avoid even more embarrassments after a chaotic withdrawal, remained reluctant to admit any error.U.S. commanders have long tried to justify technology shortcuts as the modern way to conduct war. One early airstrike, in December 2001, took out a convoy of Afghan tribal leaders traveling to a meeting to fill a governance void left after Taliban leaders had fled. U.S. Central Command spokesman Maj. Brad Lowell at the time spoke confidently about “aerial imaging and ground intelligence” that established that the 10 to 12 cars in the convoy constituted “a legitimate military target.” The victims turned out to be civilians. A jealous rival had provided the United States with bogus intelligence in order to eliminate them so he could take control.On a few occasions, the military has admitted fault, such as in 2010, when then-Vice Adm. William McRaven traveled to a remote village to apologize for bad intelligence that sparked a U.S. attack that killed two pregnant women and three other civilian non-combatants.The Aug. 29 mistake exposes a yawning intelligence gap threatening to undermine Biden’s plan to prevent Afghanistan from serving as the launching ground for another 9/11-style attack on America. | 087d297aca4a3b2a | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
environment | Human Rights Watch | https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/29/people-disabilities-needed-fight-against-climate-change | People with Disabilities Needed in Fight Against Climate Change | 2020-05-29 | Climate Change, Science, Environment | Click to expand Image Volunteers tend to a man in a wheelchair and his partner , after they were rescued during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey in Orange , Texas , Wednesday , Aug. 30 , 2017 . © 2019 AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
People with disabilities are at increased risk of the adverse impacts of climate change – including threats to their health , food security , water , sanitation , and livelihoods – the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a recent report . The report , the result of a historic resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council last July , examines the impacts of climate change on the rights of people with disabilities and makes recommendations about states ’ human rights obligations in the context of climate action .
People with disabilities make up an estimated 15 percent of the global population . Due to discrimination , marginalization , and certain social and economic factors , people with disabilities may experience the effects of climate change differently and more intensely than others .
Take , for example , climate displacement . Climate change exacerbates extreme weather events , which is one of the factors driving increased migration in recent years . Because the ability to migrate often depends on resources and mobility , marginalized populations – such as people with disabilities – might be unable to travel and so forced to remain in degraded environments without housing , employment , support networks , or health care services .
People with disabilities also experience poverty at more than twice the rate of people without disabilities . This puts people with disabilities at heightened risk , as the world ’ s poorest people continue to experience the most severe impacts of climate change through lost income , displacement , hunger , and adverse impacts on health .
Because the effects of climate change exacerbate inequality and risk for people with disabilities , it is critical this group be included in climate action . The new report calls on states to uphold the rights of people with disabilities when developing climate policies and to secure their meaningful , informed , and effective participation during the process .
One important step is to ensure that information about climate risks , plans , and policies are made accessible to everyone – see how the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ( OHCHR ) led by example by publishing its new report in an easy-to-read format .
As the US makes progress in recognizing the critical role of people with disabilities in the climate fight , states should follow suit by including the experiences and perspectives of people with different types of disabilities when taking action to address climate change . | 27de3c22f341600a | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
china | Taipei Times | https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2024/05/24/2003818317 | President Lai vows to safeguard Taiwan | 2024-05-23 | China, Taiwan, World, Defense And Security, Asia, Foreign Policy | President Lai vows to safeguard Taiwan‘PROVOCATIVE’ DRILLS: The Ministry of National Defense had seen signs of Chinese military exercises earlier, so they were not unexpected, an official saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterPresident William Lai (賴清德) yesterday vowed to defend Taiwan’s freedom while preserving peace in the region, as Beijing began two days of drills around Taiwan as “punishment” for “separatist acts.”As of 2pm, China had dispatched 15 combat ships, 16 coast guard ships, and 42 fighter jets and early warning aircraft during the first day of its “Joint Sword-2024A” exercises around Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense told a news conference.The exercises were launched by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command soon after it made an announcement at 7:45am yesterday, said Major General Huang Wen-chi (黃文?), assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence.President William Lai, front, center, gestures as he visited a military camp in Taoyuan yesterday. Photo: Ann Wang, ReutersOf the Chinese coast guard ships, four were detected off the east coast of Taiwan, three were off the southeast coast and nine were in waters near Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, he said.Twenty-eight of the 42 aircraft entered the nation’s response zone, Huang said.“Unlike China’s previous military exercises around Taiwan, it did not give precise longitudes and latitudes in which military exercises would be held, nor did it announce no-fly zones,” he said.Source: CNAPLA aircraft and vessels did not enter the nation’s contiguous zone, which is 24 nautical miles (44km) off Taiwan proper, Huang said, adding that no live-fire exercises were detected.Major General Tung Chih-hsing (董冀星), head of the ministry’s joint combat planning department, said that Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) presided over a combat readiness guidance meeting and gave two key instructions to the military.“First, the military was asked to step up its intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance efforts, and elevate response command and control at all levels. Second, all levels of the military must handle the situation using crisis management procedures and maintain normal combat readiness tasks and reconnaissance drills,” Tung said.President William Lai, third right, is shown a FIM-92 Stinger dual mount system while inspecting a military base in Taoyuan yesterday. Photo: CNAMajor General Lou Woei-jye (樓偉傑), director of the Political Warfare Bureau’s Cultural and Psychological Warfare Section, said that the military has produced short films to counter Chinese cognitive warfare tactics, to be aired on social media and in foreign embassies.During a visit to a military base in Taoyuan, Lai said he would “stand on the front line ... to jointly defend national security.”“At this moment the international community is paying a lot of attention to democratic Taiwan,” the president said in a speech that did not directly mention the drills.An air force Mirage 2000 jet takes off from Hsinchu Air Base yesterday. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP“Faced with external challenges and threats, we will continue to defend the values of freedom and democracy, and safeguard peace and stability in the region,” he said.Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day that the ministry had earlier seen signs showing Beijing would conduct military exercises.“Our recent observations showed that the way that the Chinese military deployed around the Taiwan Strait pointed to a potential joint military exercise,” Po said, adding that all information is within the scope of the ministry’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operation.The Coast Guard Administration said that it dispatched seven ships and 16 boats to help dispel Chinese coast guard ships off the north and east coasts.Presidential Office spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui (郭雅慧) said that there is strong international consensus for maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region.“However, it is regrettable to see China unilaterally conducting provocative military exercises, as these exercises threaten not only freedom and democracy in Taiwan, but also the status quo of peace and stability in the region,” Kuo said.“The Presidential Office has held the consistent position that maintaining peace and stability is a shared responsibility and goal for both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Our national security team and all military units have a full grasp of the military situation. In the face of external challenges and threats, we will continue to protect our democracy and the public may rest assured that we are confident and capable of safeguarding our national security,” she added.China’s military said the drills would serve as “strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces.”Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) adopted language commonly used by China’s propaganda outlets.“Taiwan independence forces will be left with their heads broken and blood flowing after colliding against the great ... trend of China achieving complete unification,” Wang told reporters.Additional reporting by AFP | 882a7e2f396381f5 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
justice | Washington Examiner | https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pulmonologist-says-george-floyd-died-low-level-oxygen | Pulmonologist says George Floyd died from a 'low level of oxygen' | 2021-04-08 | Criminal Justice, George Floyd, Derek Chauvin Trial, Justice | A pulmonologist who reviewed George Floyd’s medical records said Thursday he died “from a low level of oxygen.” Dr. Martin Tobin, a physician specializing in critical care of the lungs, posited that Floyd’s prone position in the street and pressure on his neck and back led to a pulseless electrical activity arrhythmia “that caused his heart to stop.” Floyd died May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis police custody, and his death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality. “Mr. Floyd died from a low level of oxygen,” he said. “The cause of the low level of oxygen was shallow breathing,” Tobin said, “small breaths, small, tidal volumes, shallow breaths that weren’t able to carry the air through his lungs down to the essential areas of the lungs that get oxygen into the blood and get rid of the carbon dioxide.” We won't sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously. Dismiss Opt out | 2ce4920efd50e503 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
immigration | Guest Writer | https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2018/01/12/without-shithole-countries-there-would-no-you-me-america-ej-montini-column/1027605001/ | Without countries like the ones Trump trashed, there'd be no you, me or America | 2018-01-12 | immigration | Trump grew up in New York , but I guess he never got around to reading the inscription on the State of Liberty .
At one time or another , just about any place from which anyone has emigrated to America has been referred to as what Donald Trump — the sitting president of the United States — reportedly referred to as “ shithole countries . ”
During a meeting with members of Congress concerning immigration , the president got upset when there was talk of immigrants from Haiti and African countries , saying , “ Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here ? ''
More : Trump 's DACA demands do n't show his 'love ' for immigrants , or America 's
More : Keep DACA and the Dreamers . They 'll make America even greater .
Trump grew up in New York , but I guess he never got around to reading the inscription on the Statue of Liberty .
His own ancestors trace their roots to places like Germany and Scotland .
At different times in our past , there were Americans who would have referred to those places using Trump ’ s crude adjective .
Contemporary Americans with Haitian family roots include the musician and humanitarian Usher and the basketball star Blake Griffin .
As for Africa , there are too many Americans of importance of African ancestry to name them all .
Just a few might include Muhammad Ali , Clarence Thomas , Martin Luther King Jr. , Willie Mays , Maya Angelou , Jackie Robinson , Booker T. Washington , George Washington Carver and a man you may not have heard of named William H. Carney . He was the first African American awarded the Medal of Honor in the Civil War .
Pick any nation from which America has drawn immigrants and you will find offspring who go on to do great things .
All of those countries , at one time or another , would been called you-know-what countries .
Although , perhaps , not by the president of the United States .
But among the Americans with lineage to Ireland are Walt Disney , Christa McAuliffe ( the teacher-astronaut killed in 1986 Challenger disaster ) , Audie Murphy ( the most decorated soldier of World War II ) and more than 20 presidents , ranging from Andrew Jackson to Ulysses S. Grant to John F. Kennedy .
My family came from Italy , among a wave of immigrants from a country perhaps referred to in scatological terms at one time . But without those immigrants there would have been no Americans like Enrico Fermi ( the physicist and Nobel Prize recipient ) , and no Frank Sinatra , Robert De Niro , businessman Lee Iacocca or Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia .
Someone should remind the president ( not that it would do any good ) that without the world ’ s “ shithole countries , ” there would be no America .
EJ Montini is a columnist for The Arizona Republic , where this piece first appeared . Follow him on Twitter : @ ejmontini | 6yZDBDVcrh7SfV6i | 1 | White House | -0.8 | Immigration | -0.2 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-biden/joe-biden-to-kick-off-presidential-bid-with-speech-to-union-workers-idUSKCN1S50SL | Joe Biden to kick off presidential bid with speech to union workers | 2019-04-30 | Joe Biden, Election 2020, Presidential Elections, Elections | PITTSBURGH ( ███ ) - Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made clear on Monday at his first event as a presidential candidate that he stands ready to battle President Donald Trump for the support of the blue-collar workers who were key to Trump ’ s election in 2016 .
Speaking before a welcoming crowd of union workers in Pittsburgh , Biden seemed at times to look past a Democratic nominating contest that promises to be arduous and toward a direct confrontation with Trump in the November 2020 general election .
“ I make no apologies . I am a union man , ” Biden told a crowd that included members of the Teamsters , steelworkers , firefighters and teachers unions . “ The country wasn ’ t built by Wall Street bankers , CEOs and hedge fund managers , it was built by you . ”
Biden , 76 , who served two terms as vice president to former President Barack Obama , echoed other Democrats in the field who have criticized the U.S. economy for benefiting the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and working poor .
“ Everybody knows it . The middle class is hurting , ” Biden said . “ The stock market is roaring , but you don ’ t feel it . ”
Earlier in the day , Biden , who is counting on support from organized labor as a key component of his presidential bid , received an endorsement from the International Association of Firefighters , which boasts a membership of 300,000 .
That prompted a Twitter burst from Trump , who in 2016 demonstrated strong appeal to union workers dissatisfied with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton .
In a series of tweets , Trump said that while leaders of the firefighters and other unions would endorse Democrats in the 2020 race , “ the members love Trump . ”
Biden soon fired back on Twitter : “ I ’ m sick of this president badmouthing unions . ”
Pennsylvania was a critical battleground for both parties in 2016 , and Trump ’ s narrow win in the state edged him toward his surprise victory . Western Pennsylvania , a union stronghold , is filled with the kind of white , blue-collar voters who once voted Democratic but supported Trump in 2016 .
Biden said that was the reason he was kicking off his campaign in Pittsburgh , the one-time U.S. steel capital . “ Quite frankly folks , if I am going to be able to beat Donald Trump in 2020 , it ’ s going to happen here , ” he told the crowd at the union hall .
Before Biden can face off with the Republican president , he must outlast a Democratic field that features 19 other candidates , no sure thing in a party that has moved away from Biden ’ s centrism and toward a more liberal , progressive tilt .
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden addresses union workers at the Teamsters Local 249 hall during his first public event since announcing his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , U.S. April 29 , 2019 . ███/Aaron Josefczyk
Biden left Pittsburgh after the speech to begin a campaign swing through Iowa and South Carolina , key early states in the presidential nomination contest .
Union support is crucial to Biden ’ s chances , but it is by no means automatic .
“ I ’ m keeping my mind open . It ’ s very early , and there are a lot of players in the game , ” said Colleen Wooten , 54 , of Wall , Pennsylvania , who works for the United Steelworkers .
“ Everybody in the union is tired of hearing promises about bringing work back , ” she said . “ We need to start seeing action . ”
While organized labor has lost political clout with the decline of industrial jobs in the United States , it remains a key Democratic constituency , valued for its capacity to mobilize voters .
Labor unions have indicated that given the sprawling Democratic field , they have the luxury to choose candidates who tailor policies to their specific goals .
“ This may be the most pro-union group of candidates we ’ ve seen in decades , making it tougher for any one candidate to line up significant union support , ” said Steve Rosenthal , a former political director for the AFL-CIO labor federation , who is advising unions on their 2020 strategies .
At this juncture , Biden may have to worry most about U.S . Senator Bernie Sanders , who , along with Biden , sits atop the 2020 Democratic field in opinion polls .
Sanders , a progressive who consistently has railed against free-trade agreements , showed surprising strength among rank-and-file union members during his 2016 presidential primary challenge to Clinton even though she received the formal endorsement of most national unions .
Biden ’ s record as a U.S. senator and vice president could complicate his efforts to draw union voters .
As a senator from Delaware , Biden supported the North American Free Trade Agreement , which has become a sore point with unions that blame it for jobs leaving the country .
As Obama ’ s No . 2 , he was part of an administration that promulgated labor-friendly regulatory policies but also pushed through trade deals with Colombia , Panama and South Korea over the objections of several unions and many other Democrats .
A 12-nation trade deal backed by Obama and Biden , the Trans-Pacific Partnership , was opposed by labor and became an issue in the 2016 presidential race , when Trump , then the Republican presidential nominee , used it to criticize Democratic policies . As president , Trump pulled the United States out of the pact . | 7bac71641ea92e82 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
free_speech | Guest Writer - Right | https://spectator.org/dont-let-zuckerberg-kill-free-speech/ | OPINION: Don’t Let Zuckerberg Kill Free Speech | 2019-05-15 | Mark Zuckerberg, Free Speech | This week representatives from Facebook , Google , and Twitter will join with European leaders and the Prime Minister of New Zealand to launch a chilling proposal to curb free speech across the internet . Americans should be alarmed . Internet freedom is being extinguished fast in Europe . How long will it survive in the U.S. ?
Social media titans like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have more influence over our freedom than Supreme Court justices or U.S. presidents . But these internet executives are selling out core American principles for the almighty dollar . They ’ ll do whatever a host country demands . In China , Russia , and even capitalist Singapore , internet freedom is already dead , without a murmur of protest by Zuckerberg and others .
Standing alongside French president Emmanuel Macron on Friday , Zuckerberg said , “ the question of what speech should be acceptable and what is harmful needs to be defined by regulation , by thoughtful governments. ” You read that correctly — Zuckerberg ’ s endorsement of censorship . A total repudiation of America ’ s commitment to freedom of expression — the freedom that tops our Bill of Rights .
Of course , Zuckerberg was talking to Europeans . Until these foreign governments finalize their censorship regulations , Facebook is relying on leftist groups like Avaaz . In Spain , France , and Italy , Facebook is already removing accounts expressing populist views on NATO , immigration , Muslims , and other controversies .
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is calling for an internet ban on depictions of mass shootings , like her country ’ s Christchurch massacre , that could incite copycat violence . All agree that ’ s reasonable . But don ’ t be fooled . Europe ’ s censorship goes farther , squelching competing ideas and limiting the public ’ s range of political choices . Facebook is glad to oblige .
Here in the U.S. , where the Constitution prohibits government from censoring speech , Facebook is doing the dirty work , imposing its own Silicon Valley brand of political correctness . Recently Facebook banned commentators and provocateurs like Alex Jones , Louis Farrakhan , and Milo Yiannopoulos from its platform . Facebook subsequently even removed a posting by columnist Michelle Malkin for criticizing this censorship .
Is Zuckerberg ignorant of America ’ s proud history protecting the speech rights of even odious groups like the neo-Nazis in Skokie , Illinois ?
The American Civil Liberties Union condemns Facebook ’ s censorship , cautioning that “ every time Facebook makes the choice to remove content , a single company is exercising an unchecked power to silence . ”
The ACLU warns that conservatives are the targets now , but next time it could be different . James Esseks , ACLU director for the LGBT and HIV project , explains that censorship threatens “ the movements of the future that are still striving to be heard . ”
The fact is internet platforms are more than just private companies . They ’ ve become like public utilities . We are just as dependent on Facebook and Google as on the local electric company . ConEdison can ’ t deny us service because of our political views . Facebook shouldn ’ t be allowed to either .
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once explained that under our Constitution , the only acceptable remedy for evil speech is “ more speech , not enforced silence. ” Government must not limit who speaks in the public square .
Google , Facebook , Twitter , and others , though private sector companies — are the new public square .
Don ’ t count on Congress to fix the problem , while Democrats control the House . They ’ re on the side of the censors . House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler ( D-NY ) is railing that social media companies are not doing enough to “ counter ” what he calls “ vitriolic hate messages . ”
Instead , expect the courts to step in . Last fall , a conservative nonprofit called Freedom Watch sued Facebook , Google , Twitter , and Apple for suppressing “ politically conservative content. ” It is plausible judges will rule that allowing social media platforms to censor political speech destroys the freedom of the public square .
Congressional Democrats are still whining about Russian meddling on the internet . Truth is , less than .00008 ( eight one hundred thousandths ) of the total political tweets during the 2016 contest originated with Russian intelligence .
The biggest threat to a legitimate outcome in 2020 is not foreign interference . It ’ s left-leaning social media giants tilting the election by silencing viewpoints they don ’ t like . It ’ s already happening . | f5318d90eb79805f | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
violence_in_america | BBC News | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62827612 | Oath Keepers: Leaked membership list includes police and politicians | 2022-09-08 | Violence In America, Oath Keepers, January 6, Capitol Chaos | Hundreds of US public officials, police officers and soldiers are or have been involved with the far-right Oath Keepers militia, according to a report from an anti-extremism organisation. The Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism compared the names from a leak of Oath Keepers membership rolls with public records and social media. Some alleged members have denied any affiliation with the group. Oath Keepers are accused of playing a key role in last year's Capitol riots. The report raises fresh concerns about the presence of extremist ideology in law enforcement and the military. "The Oath Keepers are a virulently anti-government, violent extremist group," Anti-Defamation League (ADL) chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement on Wednesday. Last year, a whistleblower group called Distributed Denial of Secrets published more than 38,000 names on the Oath Keepers' membership list - although experts estimate that the group's current active membership is much lower. Analysis of the leaked data by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) identified 81 people across the country who currently hold public office, or are running in November's midterm elections. Researchers also found that nearly 400 current law enforcement officers and more than 1,000 former officers are connected to the group, along with more than 100 currently serving military personnel. In its report released Wednesday, the ADL included a caveat that some in the database "may have initially joined because they were sold a watered-down version of the group, and some may have disavowed the group since signing up". "That said, the range of individuals represented in the Oath Keepers leak shows the extent to which this extremist ideology has gained acceptance," the researchers wrote. Several of the people on the ADL list have said they are not current members of the Oath Keepers or were never involved in the group. Shawn Mobley, the sheriff of Otero County in Colorado, told the Associated Press that he had distanced himself from the group years ago. "Their views are far too extreme for me," Mr Mobley told the news agency. Others in the report however have more definitive ties to the group, such as Wendy Rogers, a state senator from Arizona who has publicly declared her membership. Ms Rogers, who has repeated false claims that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, is running for re-election in November. The Oath Keepers were founded in 2009 by Stewart Rhodes, a former US Army paratrooper and Yale Law School graduate. The pro-gun group was named after the oath of service that police, military and other officials take when joining. Those taking the military oath, for instance, pledge to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic". Over the past decade, members have shown up at a number of protests and armed standoffs across the country. More than a dozen members of the group were charged earlier this year in connection with the 6 January 2021 storming of the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. A former Oath Keepers spokesman told a congressional committee investigating the Capitol attack that the group has come to embrace white nationalists and other "straight-up racists". "I think we've gotten exceedingly lucky that more bloodshed did not happen because the potential has been there from the start," Jason Van Tatenhove said in July testimony before the committee. Mr Rhodes and four other Oath Keepers will go on trial later this month on charges of seditious conspiracy, a US Civil War-era charge that carries up to 20 years in prison. Five things we learned in the LA case - including the stoicism of Rocky's longtime partner and fellow artist. Eighteen states have sued the federal government over the executive order, showing the legal challenges the president will face. The SS United States prepares to become the world's largest artificial reef off the Florida coast. Government lawyers denied allegations of a quid pro quo, saying the case stops Adams from doing his job. New York's governor criticised Trump's declaration of himself as a "king" in the announcement. Copyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. | e0c74f7898177b69 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
immigration | National Review | https://www.nationalreview.com/news/former-republican-lawmakers-urge-congress-to-block-trumps-national-emergency-declaration/ | Former Republican Lawmakers Urge Congress to Block Trump’s National Emergency Declaration | 2019-02-25 | immigration | President Trump speaks during a press conference in Washington , D.C. , February 15 , 2019 . ( Carlos Barria/Reuters )
A group of former Republican lawmakers urged Congressional Republicans to block President Trump ’ s emergency declaration in an open letter released Monday .
Five former Senators and 19 House members signed the letter , which was first published by Politico , calling on Congress to support a joint resolution ending the national emergency Trump declared earlier this month .
“ We who have signed this letter are no longer Members of Congress but that oath still burns within us , ” the former lawmakers write . “ That is why we are coming together to urge those of you who are now charged with upholding the authority of the first branch of government to resist efforts to surrender those powers to a president . ”
Trump resorted to a national emergency declaration after Republicans on a specially-designated conference committee failed to secure the $ 5.7 billion he had long demanded for the construction of a border wall as part of a broader spending package .
The former lawmakers , all of whom served between 1967 and 2013 , embraced a common critique of the national emergency declaration , pointing out that the expansion of executive authority would eventually be wielded against Republicans by a Democratic administration .
“ What will you do when a president of another party uses the precedent you are establishing to impose policies to which you are unalterably opposed ? ” they ask . “ There is no way around this difficulty : what powers are ceded to a president whose policies you support may also be used by presidents whose policies you abhor . ”
The House will vote this week on a resolution to end the national emergency , which has thus far received the support of only one Republican , Representative Justin Amash of Michigan .
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white_house | NPR Online News | http://www.npr.org/2016/12/15/505775550/obama-on-russian-hacking-we-need-to-take-action-and-we-will | Obama On Russian Hacking: 'We Need To Take Action. And We Will' Listen· 10:00 | 2016-12-15 | white_house | Obama On Russian Hacking : 'We Need To Take Action . And We Will '
President Obama says the United States will respond to Russian cyberattacks that the intelligence community has concluded were part of an effort to influence the 2016 presidential election .
In an interview with NPR 's Steve Inskeep that is airing Friday on Morning Edition , Obama said , `` I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action . And we will — at a time and place of our own choosing . Some of it may be explicit and publicized ; some of it may not be . ''
Obama tells NPR `` we will '' respond to Russian hacking Listen · 0:29 0:29
U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that hackers working for Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee 's computer network , as well as the private email of John Podesta , a top adviser to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton .
Russia responded Friday morning . Dmitri S. Peskov , the Kremlin 's spokesman , said the U.S. needs to show some proof or quit talking . `` It is necessary to either stop talking about it , or finally produce some evidence , '' he told Interfax , per the New York Times . `` Otherwise , it all begins to look quite unseemly . ''
With the question of Russia 's ultimate motivation for the hack becoming increasingly divisive , Obama was careful to not endorse a CIA assessment , reported by NPR and other news outlets , that asserts that Russia 's goal was to elect Trump .
`` There are still a whole range of assessments taking place among the agencies , '' Obama told NPR , referring to an order he has given the U.S. intelligence community to conduct a full review of the cyberattacks before Inauguration Day . `` And so when I receive a final report , you know , we 'll be able to , I think , give us a comprehensive and best guess as to those motivations . But that does not in any way , I think , detract from the basic point that everyone during the election perceived accurately — that in fact what the Russian hack had done was create more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign .
`` There 's no doubt that it contributed to an atmosphere in which the only focus for weeks at a time , months at a time were Hillary 's emails , the Clinton Foundation , political gossip surrounding the DNC . ''
In fact , email had been a major focus since before Clinton formally entered the presidential race , owing to revelations first reported by the New York Times that she used a private email server during her tenure leading the State Department . Updates about the FBI 's investigation of the server dripped out at intervals throughout the entire campaign .
The State Department also released Clinton emails at semi-regular intervals throughout the campaign , as did the conservative group Judicial Watch , which obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit .
Obama did n't pin the blame for Clinton 's loss on the leaked information , saying , `` Elections can always turn out differently . You never know which factors are going to make a difference . But I have no doubt that it had some impact , just based on the coverage . ''
Obama said his goal is for a definitive White House report on the matter to be issued before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 . He was also careful to say that while the Russian hacks benefited Trump , he is not suggesting Trump 's campaign helped coordinate the attacks or played any role in them , other than to exploit them for political advantage . `` They understood what everybody else understood , which was that this was not good for Hillary Clinton 's campaign , '' the president said .
Obama acknowledged that every `` big power '' spies and collects intelligence on each other , but , he said , `` There 's a difference between that and the kind of malicious cyberattacks that steal trade secrets or engage in industrial espionage , something that we 've seen the Chinese do . And there is a difference between that and activating intelligence in a way that 's designed to influence elections . ''
Obama discussed cybersecurity with Vladimir Putin during a 90-minute meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit held in China in early September . The president characterized the meeting at the time as `` candid , blunt , businesslike . ''
While Obama is threatening to retaliate against Russia , he has only about five weeks left in the Oval Office . Trump has dismissed — in fact , mocked — intelligence assessments tying the DNC and Podesta hacks to Russia , and he campaigned on improving the U.S. relationship with the country .
In his interview with NPR , Obama appeared mystified by that stance .
`` The irony of all this , of course , is that for most of my presidency , there 's been a pretty sizable wing of the Republican Party that has consistently criticized me for not being tough enough on Russia , '' he said . `` Some of those folks during the campaign endorsed Donald Trump , despite the fact that a central tenet of his foreign policy was we should n't be so tough on Russia . And that kind of inconsistency I think makes it appear , at least , that their particular position on Russia on any given day depends on what 's politically expedient . ''
The president cited a recent Economist-YouGov poll that found Republican voters view Putin much more favorably now than they did before the 2016 presidential election .
`` This is somebody , the former head of the KGB , who is responsible for crushing democracy in Russia , muzzling the press , throwing political dissidents in jail , countering American efforts to expand freedom at every turn ; is currently making decisions that 's leading to a slaughter in Syria . And a big chunk of the Republican Party , which prided itself during the Reagan era and for decades that followed as being the bulwark against Russian influence , now suddenly is embracing him . ''
NPR reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but has not received a response . | qBQhoVMBYedasCq7 | 1 | White House | 0 | Politics | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
holidays | Washington Times | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/28/obama-thanksgiving-address-veiled-nod-immigrants/ | Obama's Thanksgiving address gives veiled nod to immigrants | 2013-11-28 | holidays | President Obama didn ’ t use the word “ immigration ” in his Thanksgiving Day address , but he made it clear he ’ s thankful for immigrants , among the nation ’ s many blessings that he enumerated .
“ We give thanks for the men and women who set sail for this land nearly four centuries ago , risking everything for the chance at a better life — and the people who were already here , our Native American brothers and sisters , for their generosity during that first Thanksgiving , ” Mr. Obama said .
Following the Pilgrims , Mr. Obama said he is giving thanks Thursday “ for the generations who followed — people of all races and religions , who arrived here from every country on Earth and worked to build something better for themselves and for us . ”
The president has been urging House Republicans all year to approve immigration reform legislation that was already passed by the Democrat-controlled Senate . In his holiday message , Mr. Obama didn ’ t make any references to political battles .
Mr. Obama said he and his family will spend the holiday at the White House “ just like many of you — sitting down with family and friends to eat some good food , tell stories , watch a little football , and most importantly , count our blessings . ”
Among those blessings , he said , are America ’ s men and women in uniform .
“ We give thanks for the freedoms they defend — the freedom to think what we want and say what we think , to worship according to our own beliefs , to choose our leaders and , yes , criticize them without punishment , ” the president said . “ People around the world are fighting and even dying for their chance at these freedoms . We stand with them in that struggle , and we give thanks for being free . ”
The president also called on Americans to remember people who need a helping hand .
“ We give thanks to everyone who ’ s doing their part to make the United States a better , more compassionate nation — who spend their Thanksgiving volunteering at a soup kitchen , or joining a service project , or bringing food and cheer to a lonely neighbor , ” he said . “ That big-hearted generosity is a central part of our American character . We believe in pitching in to solve problems even if they aren ’ t our problems . And that ’ s not a one-day-a-year belief . It ’ s part of the fabric of our nation . ”
“ No matter our differences , we ’ re all part of one American family , ” Mr. Obama said . “ We are each other ’ s keeper . We are one nation , under God . ” | nTnrU6R5XlIq2Iy1 | 2 | Holidays | 0 | General News | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
healthcare | Reuters | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-idUSKBN19B2OP | After weeks of secrecy, Senate to unveil healthcare bill | 2017-06-21 | Healthcare, Obamacare | WASHINGTON ( ███ ) - U.S. Senate Republicans plan to unveil the text of their draft healthcare bill on Thursday as senators struggle over issues such as the future of the Medicaid program for the poor and bringing down insurance costs .
Protestors gather during a demonstration against the Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act , outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington , U.S. , June 21 , 2017 . ███/Aaron P. Bernstein
Republicans in the chamber have been working for weeks behind closed doors on legislation aimed at repealing and replacing major portions of the Affordable Care Act , former Democratic President Barack Obama ’ s signature healthcare law , popularly known as Obamacare .
The effort has been plagued from the start by tensions between moderates and conservatives , which surfaced again on Tuesday . Democrats have also criticized the behind-the-scenes meetings , staging a protest on the Senate floor on Monday .
“ Republicans are writing their healthcare bill under the cover of darkness because they are ashamed of it , ” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer charged .
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal Obamacare . The 2010 law extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans through both subsidized private insurance and an expansion of Medicaid .
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved its version of repeal last month .
Trump has urged the Republican-led Senate to pass a more “ generous ” bill than that approved by the House , whose version he privately called “ mean , ” according to congressional sources .
Related Coverage Senate to release health bill at 0930 EDT Thursday : senators
An estimated 23 million people could lose their healthcare under the House plan , according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office . Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the Senate healthcare bill would be different from the House version , but he did not elaborate .
In the Senate , moderates including Senator Shelley Moore Capito have argued for a long , seven-year phase-out to the Medicaid expansion that happened under Obamacare . But Senator John Thune , a member of the Republican leadership , said on Tuesday the phase-out in the bill might just be three years .
Capito said on Tuesday she was also concerned the Senate healthcare plan might cap Medicaid spending and shift it to a lower growth rate in 2025 . “ That ’ s an issue , ” she said .
Senate conservatives also seemed wary of the emerging bill . Ted Cruz , a member of a core group of 13 Republicans who have been working on the legislation , told reporters the bill did not yet do enough to lower health insurance premiums . “ If it is going to pass , the bill is going to have to make meaningful steps to reduce premiums , ” he said .
Given the opposition of all Senate Democrats to repealing Obamacare , Republican leaders will need the support of at least 50 of the chamber ’ s 52 Republicans to ensure passage .
McConnell announced a discussion draft would be laid out on Thursday . The bill will be brought to the Senate floor once the CBO has assessed its cost and impact , “ likely next week , ” McConnell said .
Thune said the bill was not yet finalized , saying : “ We ’ re trying to get definitive determinations ” on a range of issues .
Vice President Mike Pence predicted that new healthcare legislation would be enacted this summer .
“ I want to assure you , before this summer is over ... President Donald Trump and this Congress will keep their promise to the American people , and we will repeal and replace Obamacare , ” Pence told a meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers . | 8f1c84a3c77d0db1 | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
politics | BBC News | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50350011 | Trump placing whistleblower in 'physical danger', lawyer says | politics | US President Donald Trump has called for the whistleblower who triggered the impeachment inquiry to be unmasked , ignoring a cease-and-desist warning .
On Thursday a lawyer for a whistleblower told the White House that Mr Trump 's rhetoric was placing his client and family in physical danger .
Undeterred by the letter , Mr Trump renewed his attacks on the whistleblower and lawyer on Friday .
The individual 's identity has so far been fiercely guarded by Democrats .
In August the whistleblower filed a report that eventually triggered impeachment proceeding against Mr Trump .
The report expressed concern over a phone call a month earlier in which Mr Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden , a Democratic front-runner for the 2020 US presidential election .
In Thursday 's letter , sent to White House counsel Pat Cipollone , the whistleblower 's lawyer Andrew Bakaj cites many examples of the president 's `` fixation '' on the identity of his client in his comments to the media , at rallies and on Twitter .
`` Such statements seek to intimidate my client - and they have , '' Mr Bakaj writes .
He continued : `` Should any harm befall any suspected named whistleblower or their family , the blame will rest squarely with your client . ''
But the next day , Mr Trump launched a fresh attack at the White House .
`` The whistleblower is a disgrace to our country ... and the whistleblower because of that should be revealed , '' he told reporters .
`` And his lawyer who said the worst things possible two years ago , he should be sued , and maybe for treason . ''
Mr Trump may have been referring to the whistleblower 's other lawyer , Mark Zaid , who has been under fire from the president 's allies over tweet posted in 2017 in which he vowed - among other things - to `` get rid of him [ Mr Trump ] '' .
Meanwhile , the president 's daughter , Ivanka Trump , said in an interview with the Associated Press news agency that she did not believe the whistleblower 's identity was `` particularly relevant '' .
`` The whistleblower should n't be a substantive part of the conversation , '' she said , adding that the person `` did not have firsthand information '' .
She echoed her father 's view that the impeachment investigation was about `` overturning the results of the 2016 election '' .
Democrats have said the whistleblower 's identity is immaterial . They argue that the complaint , which alleges abuse of power by Mr Trump , has been substantiated by witness testimony to the impeachment committees .
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives will next week hold televised hearings for the first time in this inquiry .
If the House eventually votes to impeach Mr Trump , the Republican-controlled Senate will hold a trial of the president .
If Mr Trump is convicted - which is widely viewed at present as unlikely - he would be removed from office .
But Senator Josh Hawley , a Republican , said on Thursday that he wanted to know the identity of the whistleblower if there was an impeachment trial .
He also said the president 's team should be able to question the anonymous official .
`` How else are we going to evaluate the content and the truthfulness of these people if we do n't know who they are ? '' Mr Hawley told Missouri radio station KFTK .
Also on Friday , transcripts of testimony from White House National Security Council ( NSC ) experts Fiona Hill and Lt Col Alexander Vindman revealed new claims about acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney .
The closed-door depositions last month showed that both officials said Mr Mulvaney had played a key role in co-ordinating a reported exchange of favours , under which Ukraine would announce an inquiry into the Bidens in exchange for the release of congressionally approved military aid .
Ms Hill , the White House 's top Russia expert , quoted her former boss on the NSC John Bolton as saying that he wanted no part of the `` drug deal '' being arranged by Mr Mulvaney and other Trump appointees .
Lt Col Vindman , the NSC 's top Ukraine expert and Army veteran told the House committees that Mr Mulvaney had `` co-ordinated '' a plan to condition a White House meeting with Mr Trump in exchange for an investigation into the Biden family .
Mr Mulvaney was ordered by Congress to testify behind closed doors on Friday , but refused , citing an `` absolute immunity '' . | b2buJpu1KpVJ5fgP | 1 | Whistleblower | -0.1 | Donald Trump | -0.1 | Politics | 0 | null | null | null | null | |
politics | Independent Institute | http://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=12804 | Memo to George Soros and Charles Koch: Fund Campus Debates | 2019-06-11 | Politics, George Soros, Charles Koch | At the invitation of Matt Denhart , president of the Coolidge Foundation , I spent an extraordinary day recently speaking to students participating in a Coolidge high school and middle school ( ! ) debate tournament in Raleigh , North Carolina . I watched some students evaluate whether the benefits of attending college exceed the costs . It was a marvelous learning experience for the participants , and led to a civil but spirited discussion of one of the issues of our day . Bob Luddy , the founder of CaptiveAire Systems , a manufacturer of kitchen ventilation systems , largely financed the event , and his North Carolina efforts led me to think that maybe two extremely wealthy entrepreneurs , George Soros and Charles Koch , could fund a large number of debates involving prominent public intellectuals at the national level , both to encourage collegiate debate but , far more importantly , to introduce more diversity of ideas and civility into discussion of those ideas on campuses . Both gentlemen have shown an interest in open discussion of the issues . The Charles Koch Foundation sponsors educational programs at many universities , and the Soros Open Society Foundations likewise promotes debates ( this author himself participated in a debate once in Mr. Soros New York apartment ) .
Suppose Soros and Koch each contributed $ 50 million to fund a new Collegiate Debate Initiative for three years . The Debate Initiatives board might consist of two members selected by George Soros , two by Charles Koch , and a chair and perhaps others selected by those four , preferably well regarded national figures not extremely partisan or ideological . The initiative would give $ 100,000 to $ 150,000 each year to to fund a series of debates on about 200 campuses ( probably about two each semester ) on issues of the day . Should the U.S. drop out of the Paris climate change accord ? Should we raise tariffs on Chinese goods ? Should we liberalize immigration to the U.S. ? Should we have free college ? Should we have a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution ? Should we ban gasoline-powered automobiles in 10 years ? For each debate , a liberal/progressive/socialist speaker would be invited , along with a conservative/libertarian one . For example , Jordan Peterson or Charles Murray might debate Paul Krugman or Thomas Piketty .
These debates would achieve multiple objectives . First , they would provide much needed intellectual diversity on many campuses where most faculty have similar ( typically progressive left ) perspectives . Second , they would demonstrate the utility of civility and orderly discussion in assessing issues of the day . Third , on many campuses , they would expose students and faculty to first-rate minds that normally would not be seen . Fourth , the value of debate as a learning tool might become greater appreciated as they become more common on campuses . Fifth , debates help demonstrate the importance of freedom of expression and the First Amendment in both learning and in strengthening representative democracy .
In addition to the campus-wide debates featuring prominent public intellectuals , some funds could be used to fund student debate efforts . Perhaps a debating league could be created between schools , where teams of debaters could compete against other teams debating a variety of issues . Ultimately , the Koch-Soros initiative could fund national debate tournaments . Collegiate debating already exists , of course , but this might expand it and make it part of more student lives .
I would envision the initiative encompassing perhaps the largest 50 schools in the U.S. by enrollment , perhaps the 50 most prominent schools as determined by reputation and perhaps another 100 schools selected randomly from a list of all accredited institutions with at least 1,000 students . One problem probably arising relates to attempts on some campuses to prohibit public campus presentations on the grounds that outsiders ( in this case Koch-Soros Initiative people ) organized them . There are different ways to overcome this : use off-campus facilities ( as the Intercollegiate Studies Institute did in dealing with Gonzaga University ) , bribe the schools with nice sized rental payments , etc . Perhaps the colleges could be allowed to choose between alternative debate topics . Perhaps local campus individuals could be involved in introducing speakers or moderating the debates . Audiences could be polled before and after the debates to ascertain their positions on the debate question , and evaluate who won the debate . If successful , hopefully , the debates could be put on a permanent , possibly even endowed basis involving financial support from a broader base of contributors . | 9297da679eac6e9a | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
general_news | BBC News | http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35130513 | A Point of View: Have yourself a very Jewish Christmas | 2015-12-23 | Holidays, General News | Being Jewish is no reason not to celebrate Christmas, says the writer Howard Jacobson - although he draws the line at putting up a tree. "What does Christmas mean to you?" was the title of an essay we were asked to write in our final year of primary school. I wrote that it meant seeing my father dressed as Santa Claus, getting stuck coming down the chimney. My teacher thought I must have made that up. "Isn't your family, er...?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. "We are, er... But my father likes dressing up." I didn't, however, want her to think we had abandoned our faith. "The reason he got stuck," I explained, "was that he was carrying a Chanukah candelabra." "That should be candelabrum, singular, assuming he was carrying only one," she said, still eyeing me suspiciously. In for a penny, in for a pound. "Actually, he was carrying three," I said. Before adding, "and the right word is menorah." Don't cheek your teacher, my parents rebuked me when I told them about this. Shows how long ago it was. Remembering our mongrel Christmases reminds me of the Tokyo department store which erected on its roof a giant Santa on a cross. Don't laugh - we can all get our wires crossed. And who's to say the store wasn't crucifying Santa as a gesture of multicultural goodwill? One shouldn't be purist about these things. Given that Christmas was grafted on to other festivals - some of them self-evidently pagan - and that Jesus was a Jew with no desire to start a new religion, the question of Christmas's authenticity is moot. Let's rejoice in the eclecticism, I say, and find in the varieties of ways people choose to mark or miss the point of Christmas the universal love that is its message. We might lose thereby some of the solemnity that once attached to a sacrificial rite, but those who want that can still find it in a place of worship. Let the fervid pursue their fervour and let the half-hearted make merry. If Jesus didn't quite say that, he said something similar. I was exaggerating only slightly to my primary school teacher. One way or another my family did acknowledge Christmas, even if, though we knew the difference well enough, we sometimes allowed it to merge with Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, which falls about the same time. Hardly surprising - scratch one ancient winter festival and you find another. We're all hoping for the return of the sun. "Chanumas", some of my friends called this melange, by way of cheerfully accepting its ecumenical character. Others sternly opted to keep Christ out of it by referring to it as Xmas. We never cared for Chanumas or Xmas. We called Christmas Christmas, took from it selectively, but drew the line at a tree. Howard Jacobson missed out on carol-singing in the snow A Christmas tree, considered superficially, is just an evergreen, and who can object to the idea of eternal greenery when there is otherwise not a leaf to be seen? But what if - I only say what if - another sort of symbolism was at work and we were meant to be reminded of that tree from which the cross was fashioned, the cross for which Jews will be forever blamed. You can see why, all things considered, we didn't want a mute, accusatory crucifix-in-waiting winking in the corner of our living room. Yes, the fairy on the top should have made it all right again, but somehow it never quite did. Those parts of Christmas that were theologically neutral, however, we embraced enthusiastically. Hence my father, who was an amateur magician, dressing up as Santa Claus in a Tommy Cooper fez, wandering in and out of our bedrooms with a wizard's wand in one hand and three menorahs (all right, one menorah) in the other. We children saw through the subterfuge - my father was distinctively built, short and square - and it was too much of a coincidence that Santa should be built the same. But we still left requests, addressed to Father Christmas, Iceland, pinned to our Christmas stockings. Santa runs out of presents by the time he gets to Manchester, we'd been warned - which was a nice way of saying that a) he hadn't made his own mind up about the rights and wrongs of giving Christmas gifts to Jewish children, and b) we were hard-up. Fair enough. Everyone we knew was hard-up. For all that, we passed this holiest of nights creeping downstairs to see if Santa needed a hand clambering out of the chimney. The Jewish festival of lights often coincides with Christmas Festival dates back to about two centuries before Christ, and celebrates the story of how the Jews re-dedicated the ruined temple in Jerusalem to God by lighting a Menorah (lamp). Only one small jar of oil was found - enough for one day - but miraculously the lamp stayed alight for eight days In the western calendar Hanukkah is celebrated in November or December (this year it was between 6 and 14 December). It is celebrated by lighting one candle on the Hanukiah (an eight-stemmed candelabrum) each day, and in some families small gifts are exchanged each day The miracle of Hannukah (JewishHistory.org), external Our requests invariably went astray. No train sets. No Meccano. No edition of Why I Am A Jew by Cecil Roth. Just the usual - a bar of Toblerone, an India rubber, a small compendium of games comprising Snakes and Ladders (and nothing else), a cardboard belt, and a tangerine with a bit of leaf sticking out of it. The last time I wrote about Christmas past my sister contested my account. Her tangerine, she insisted, came without the bit of leaf. I can't explain that omission except by reference to an imaginary Talmudic ruling which says that girls below the age of puberty should not be given anything that grows. This, though, is unlikely as we knew as little of the Talmud as we did of Christology. Maybe it was feared the leaf evoked the tree that evoked the cross. But in that case, why did my brother and I get one? Christmas tangerines with hotly debated leaves None of it added up. Why fruit at all, given that we didn't like fruit, in particular the variety you have to peel, and rarely ate it the rest of the year? But the Snakes and Ladders board made a certain sense. It was preparing us for life's disappointments. One minute you've reached the highest rung of the longest ladder, and the next you're sliding down a snake. Whether that's a Christian or a Jewish lesson, I remain grateful for it and never punch the air when a team I support goes ahead. The snake is always waiting. We didn't sit down to Christmas dinner - turkey felt a step in the direction of apostasy too far - but we listened to the Queen's message on the wireless and watched Amahl And The Night Visitors on a six-inch black-and-green television. And though we didn't sing carols, we were moved by them. My mother still loves Silent Night. I still love In The Bleak Midwinter. Queen Elizabeth gave her first Christmas message in 1957 Carols bear for me the melancholy of mixed belonging. They were sung at school assembly from the religious part of which Jewish boys were exempted. In an upstairs room a rabbi retold the story about the Jews holding out heroically against the Romans on Masada in the parched Judean desert. Pride stirred in my sandy chest, but the carols called to me of a competing heartland. The bleak midwinter of northern England where the earth stood hard as iron and the water like a stone - there I shivered, wrapped against the snow, my nose pressed to the window, on the other side of which Christian cherubim plumped up with Christmas pudding sang of giving joy to the world. It would be wrong to call this exclusion, because it was more an enrichment than a deprivation. Had I knocked they'd have let me in. This was my school, my country, and they were singing in my language. But I enjoyed the equivocation of being half in and half out - loving the songs but not singing them. Same when it came to Christmas parties. I attended and I didn't. I relished the mince pies but abhorred the paper hats. Though that was more about forced conviviality than Christmas, and also about not wanting to spoil my hair. I will, though, willingly pull a cracker, and be content even when a wooden baby Jesus in a crib falls out. Mongrelism is a virtue in a world made dangerous by the pursuit of purity. But I'm not asking for Christmas to be relativised or apologised for. There is too much apologising. When I hear of Christmas being cancelled in order not to offend people of other faiths or no faith, or when someone wishes me "Happy Holidays" or sends me "Season's Greetings" so as not to upset my sensibilities, I am seized with a most un-Christian anger. If you are sparing me, thank you, but it really isn't necessary. A history has accrued to Christmas, a literature of feeling about it, and that is every bit as much my history as anyone else's. And just because I am not religious, doesn't mean I can't peer into religious sentiment with curiosity, affection, and occasionally longing. "White Christmas" - Written by Irving Berlin (pictured), Bing Crosby's version is the bestselling single of all time "The Christmas song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire") - Written by Bob Wells and Mel Torme and recorded four times by Nat King Cole "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" - Sammy Cahn wrote the song in 1945, during a heatwave in Los Angeles "Santa Baby" - written by Joan Javits and made famous by Eartha Kitt "Winter Wonderland" - written in 1934 and recorded by more than 200 singers This is an edited transcript of A Point of View, broadcast on Friday on Radio 4 at 20:50 GMT and repeated on Sunday at 08:50 GMT. Catch up on BBC iPlayer Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox. Body returned from Gaza is not Bibas mother, Israeli military says The worrying pitfalls ahead of Starmer's US trip Ex-Army head says UK and Europe must step up over Ukraine Zizians: What we know about the vegan 'cult' linked to six deaths 'Hounded to her death' and 'Don't be fooled by Putin' Weekly quiz: What did the kayaker feel on his face when swallowed by a whale? Exposing an Indian pharma firm fuelling West Africa's opioid crisis Katya Adler: Far right looks for election breakthrough as Germany falters How safe is it to fly in bad weather? Will quantum computers disrupt critical infrastructure? Putin's secret weapon: The threat to the UK lurking on our sea beds US Politics Unspun: As Trump starts his second term, cut through the noise with Anthony Zurcher's newsletter Upcycle and recycle your way to a new home! Stacey Solomon and her crack team help families transform their homes Why do we often forget our early childhood memories? Marnie Chesterton discovers a phenomenon known as infantile amnesia Great British Menu returns for its 20th anniversary The nation's top chefs compete for the chance to cook at an incredible four-course banquet A musicals mixtape for Layton Williams Clara and Jordan go head-to-head, but whose mix will the West End sensation prefer? Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. | 56331aba3de69d8f | 1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
sexual_misconduct | Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/29/sexual-allegations-against-joe-biden-corroborators/ | The sexual allegations against Joe Biden: The corroborators | 2020-04-29 | sexual_misconduct | That ’ s what we wrote back in 2016 , when we first put together a list of the allegations of sexual misconduct against former president Bill Clinton and then-candidate Donald Trump during the presidential campaign . We later expanded the list for Trump in 2017 , eventually reaching a total of 16 women , after more allegations emerged . ( See the video below . )
As we noted , contemporaneous accounts are essential to establishing the credibility of the allegation because they reduce the chances that a person is making up a story for political purposes . In the case of sexual allegations , such accounts can help bolster the credibility of the “ she said ” side of the equation . Often , a sexual assault will happen behind closed doors . The contemporary corroborators can explain what they heard at the time and whether the story being told now is consistent with how the story was told years earlier . This does not necessarily mean the allegation is true , but it does give a journalistic organization more confidence to report on the allegation .
Now , a serious allegation of sexual misconduct has emerged against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee , former vice president Joe Biden . A number of women have said Biden made them feel uncomfortable with inappropriate displays of affection , but this claim goes further and says a sexual assault took place .
The Biden campaign has issued a statement from deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield : “ Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press . What is clear about this claim : It is untrue . This absolutely did not happen. ” On May 1 , Biden issued a statement in his own name -- the allegations “ aren ’ t true . This never happened ” -- and then repeated the denial in an interview on MSNBC ’ s “ Morning Joe : “ `` It never , never happened . ”
Allegations of sexual misconduct concerning politicians often emerge piecemeal , with different news organizations running their own investigations . The ███ ran a lengthy article on the Biden allegation on April 12 , but more details have emerged since then .
As a reader service , here are the details of the allegation and the corroborating evidence that so far has emerged , following the same format as we did with the claims concerning Trump and Clinton . We will continue to update this article as warranted .
Allegation : In 1993 , when she was a 29-year-old staff assistant in Biden ’ s Senate office , Biden pinned her against a wall , reached under her skirt and pushed his fingers inside her . When she resisted , Biden appeared annoyed and said , “ Come on , man , I heard you liked me. ” She said that after telling her supervisors in the office that she had been sexually harassed by Biden , supervisors ostracized her and she was eventually told to find another job . Several news organizations , including The Post , had interviewed Reade in 2019 , and she had said then only that he made her uncomfortable by touching her neck and shoulders . Reade says she was afraid to talk about the incident in greater detail at the time .
Lynda LaCasse , Reade ’ s neighbor in the mid-1990s . “ I remember her saying , here was this person [ Biden ] that she was working for and she idolized him , ” LaCasse told Business Insider . “ And he kind of put her up against a wall . And he put his hand up her skirt and he put his fingers inside her . She felt like she was assaulted , and she really didn ’ t feel there was anything she could do. ” LaCasse , who described herself as a strong Democrat and a Biden supporter , lived next door to Reade in 1995 and 1996 in an apartment complex in Morro Bay , Calif. She said Reade mentioned the alleged assault during a late-night chat . “ She was crying , ” she said . “ She was upset . ”
Lorraine Sanchez , who worked with Reade in the office of California state Sen. Jack O ’ Connell from 1994 to 1996 . Reade said “ she had been sexually harassed by her former boss while she was in DC , ” Sanchez told Business Insider , “ and as a result of her voicing her concerns to her supervisors , she was let go , fired. ” Sanchez did not recall if Reade mentioned Biden or whether she detailed the type of harassment that allegedly took place . “ What I do remember is reassuring her that nothing like that would ever happen to her here in our office , that she was in a safe place , free from any sexual harassment , ” Sanchez said .
Collin Moulton , Reade ’ s brother . He originally told The Post that Reade had told him in 1993 that Biden had behaved inappropriately by touching her neck and shoulders . “ A few days after that interview , Moulton sent [ a ] text saying he wanted to clarify his remarks , ” The Post reported . “ He wrote that he recalled Reade telling him in the early 1990s that Biden had cornered her and put his hands under her clothes . ”
Jeanette Altimus , Reade ’ s mother . Reade has told interviewers she confided in her mother at time of the alleged assault . Her mother died in 2016 . But Reade had recalled that her mother had called CNN ’ s “ Larry King Live ” and anonymously described trouble her daughter had had with a senator . The Intercept unearthed the 1993 video clip , in which an unnamed woman from San Luis Obispo , Calif. , told King that her daughter just left Washington , “ after working for a prominent senator , and could not get through with her problems at all , and the only thing she could have done was go to the press , and she chose not to do it out of respect for him. ” The caller did not provide further details . Reade told the Intercept the voice on the call was her mother ’ s . Her mother at the time lived in San Luis Obispo County .
Unnamed friends . Some people were quoted anonymously as supportive of Reade ’ s recollection and obviously may overlap . The ███ quoted “ a friend , a former intern for another lawmaker , ” as corroborating Reade ’ s account of their conversation . The New York Times reported that “ a friend ” said she learned of the alleged assault from Reade in 1993 and that a “ second friend ” recalled Reade “ telling her in 2008 that Mr. Biden had touched her inappropriately and that she ’ d had a traumatic experience while working in his office. ” The Associated Press also reported similar conversations with two friends of Reade ’ s .
Send us facts to check by filling out this form | Fuwxc2sXeAl8T1Ry | 0 | Facts And Fact Checking | 0 | Sexual Misconduct | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
business | The New Yorker | https://www.newyorker.com/news/current/wisconsins-foxconn-debacle-keeps-getting-worse | Wisconsin’s Foxconn Debacle Keeps Getting Worse | business | When it was signed , less than two years ago , the deal that Wisconsin struck with the electronics giant Foxconn contained all kinds of headline-grabbing numbers : the company promised a ten-billion-dollar investment in the state , a new 21.5-million-square-foot campus for manufacturing L.C.D . screens , and as many as thirteen thousand new jobs , paying an average wage of fifty-four thousand dollars a year . The manufacturing facility would be the Taiwan-based company ’ s first U.S. factory , and the prospect stirred the hopes of a region that still dreams of clawing back the middle-class factory jobs that were its pride in the middle of the twentieth century and that it lost to foreign competition long ago . As Dan Kaufman wrote for ███ last year , the deal also appeared poised to give a boost to the reëlection prospects of Scott Walker , the conservative Republican who was then Wisconsin ’ s governor , who transformed the state into a bastion of conservative , free-market politics .
But since then Wisconsinites have found out a lot more about the $ 4.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies that Foxconn was promised—money the company was being given despite the dramatic cuts that the state has made , in recent years , to education , infrastructure , and other public spending—along with the pollution waivers and special legal privileges that it was granted and the bulldozing of neighborhoods that it needed to acquire the land it wanted . Many in the state soured on the deal , and , when Election Day came , in November , Walker lost to his Democratic opponent , Tony Evers , who had strongly criticized the Foxconn deal .
Since the Foxconn deal was initially struck , it has looked worse and worse . First the company announced that it was scaling down its plan for the manufacturing facility : it would need only three thousand workers , and , because much of the production at the facility would be automated , many of the jobs would be for “ knowledge workers , ” not blue-collar workers . Then , on Wednesday , a company representative told Reuters , plainly , “ In Wisconsin we ’ re not building a factory. ” Although the company once planned to hire more than five thousand people by the end of 2020 , it now expects the number to be closer to a thousand , and most of those will be in research and design positions . The manufacturing facility that President Trump , at a groundbreaking ceremony last year , called “ the eighth wonder of the world ” seems unlikely to even qualify as the eighth wonder of southeast Wisconsin .
I spoke to Kaufman on Wednesday about the latest news . “ It ’ s not a surprise , ” he said . “ But it ’ s still shocking. ” He read to me a part of the Reuters report , in which a Foxconn official explained that , “ Rather than manufacturing LCD panels in the United States . . . it would be more profitable to make them in greater China and Japan , ship them to Mexico for final assembly , and import the finished product to the United States. ” Kaufman wondered how it was possible for this leading global company to just now reach this conclusion . “ They ’ ve never been particularly forthright , ” he said . “ To claim that it ’ s news that U.S. manufacturing costs are higher—it defies belief ; this is the model companies have been using for a long time . ”
What happens to the deal now is unclear . According to Reuters , Foxconn already missed certain hiring and investment goals , in 2018 , that made it ineligible for tax subsidies , and a source told the news wire that the company “ may be prepared to walk away from future incentives if it is unable to meet Wisconsin ’ s job creation and capital investment requirements. ” A few weeks ago , Republicans in Wisconsin ’ s state legislature passed measures to limit certain powers of the governor , in anticipation of Evers taking office . One area Republican legislators targeted was the governor ’ s control over the economic agency that helped craft the Foxconn deal and remains the company ’ s liaison with the state . Reuters reported that Foxconn ’ s C.E.O. , Terry Gou , intends to meet with Evers later this year . But certain parts of the deal are irreversible . “ They ’ ve redirected millions of dollars of highway money to support Foxconn 's project and already cleared a lot of homeowners from the area , which is one of the tragedies of this deal , ” Kaufman said . “ And who knows what will be built in the end ? There has been no transparency at all about this deal . ” | bfGUtazY7PmjRdnv | 0 | Business | -0.1 | Donald Trump | -0.1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | |
justice_department | ABC News | https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-watchdog-finds-comey-defied-authority-fbi-director/story?id=55670834 | DOJ watchdog finds James Comey defied authority as FBI director, sources say | justice_department | The Justice Department 's internal watchdog has concluded that James Comey defied authority at times during his tenure as FBI director , according to sources familiar with a draft report on the matter .
Interested in James Comey ? Add James Comey as an interest to stay up to date on the latest James Comey news , video , and analysis from ███ . Add Interest
One source told ███ that the draft report explicitly used the word `` insubordinate '' to describe Comey 's behavior . Another source agreed with that characterization but could not confirm the use of the term .
In the draft report , Inspector General Michael Horowitz also rebuked former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for her handling of the federal investigation into Hillary Clinton 's personal email server , the sources said .
On Tuesday morning , President Donald Trump complained of `` numerous delays '' in the release of Horowitz 's final report , which is expected to run several hundred pages long and be released in the coming days . The sources who spoke to ███ were willing or able to address only a portion of the draft report 's complete findings .
`` What is taking so long with the Inspector General 's Report on Crooked Hillary and Slippery James Comey , '' Trump said on Twitter . `` Hope report is not being changed and made weaker ! ''
There is no indication the president has seen – or will see – a draft of the report before its release . Horowitz , however , could revise the draft report now that current and former officials mentioned in it have offered their responses to the inspector general 's conclusions , according to the sources .
Almost from the start , the long-awaited report was expected to chastise Comey for his handling of the Clinton-related probe . But in apparently describing Comey 's defiance of authority , the draft report was criticizing a man who prided himself on his leadership style at the FBI and has since dedicated his post-government life to promoting a new generation of effective leaders .
The draft of Horowitz 's wide-ranging report specifically called out Comey for ignoring objections from the Justice Department when he disclosed in a letter to Congress just days before the 2016 presidential election that FBI agents had reopened the Clinton probe , according to sources . Clinton has said that letter doomed her campaign .
Before Comey sent the letter to Congress , at least one senior Justice Department official told the FBI that publicizing the bombshell move so close to an election would violate longstanding department policy , and it would ignore federal guidelines prohibiting the disclosure of information related to an ongoing investigation , ███ was told .
In an interview in April , ███ Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Comey : `` If Attorney General Lynch had ordered you not to send the letter , would you have sent it ? ''
`` No , '' Comey responded . `` I believe in the chain of command . ''
But in backing Trump 's ultimate decision to fire Comey last year , Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein slammed Comey 's letter to Congress and said it `` was wrong '' for Comey `` to usurp the Attorney General 's authority '' when he announced in July 2016 that the FBI would not be filing charges against Clinton or her aides .
`` It is not the function of the Director to make such an announcement , '' Rosenstein said in a letter to Trump recommending Comey be fired . `` At most , the Director should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings to federal prosecutors . ''
Horowitz 's draft report cited Comey for failing to consult with Lynch and other senior Justice Department officials before making his announcement on national TV . While saying there was no `` clear evidence '' that Clinton `` intended to violate '' the law , Comey insisted the former secretary of state was `` extremely careless '' in her `` handling of very sensitive , highly classified information . ''
`` I have not coordinated or reviewed this statement in any way with the Department of Justice or any other part of the government . They do not know what I am about to say , '' Comey said before cameras on July 5 , 2016 .
By then , Lynch had taken the unusual step of publicly declaring she would accept the FBI 's recommendations in the case , after an impromptu meeting with former president Bill Clinton sparked questions about her impartiality .
Comey has defended his decisions as director , insisting he was trying to protect the FBI from even further criticism and `` did n't see that I had a choice . ''
`` The honest answer is I screwed up a couple of things , but ... I think given what I knew at the time , these were the decisions that were best calculated to preserve the values of the institutions , '' Comey told ███ . `` I still think it was the right thing to do . ''
More than a year ago , as lawmakers increasingly voiced concern over how the FBI and Justice Department handled matters surrounding the 2016 election , the inspector general 's office announced that it had launched an investigation into an array of allegations , including an allegation `` that Department or FBI policies or procedures were not followed in connection with , or in actions leading up to or related to , the FBI Director 's public announcement on July 5 , 2016 . ''
A week before the announcement , while the investigation into Hillary Clinton was still underway , a political firestorm erupted in Washington after Lynch happened to run into Bill Clinton in Arizona and briefly met with him inside a plane sitting on a tarmac there . Days later , with questions swirling over whether Bill Clinton tried to improperly influence the investigation into his wife , Lynch haphazardly announced that she would not recuse herself from the matter but would `` fully expect to accept '' whatever recommendation the FBI made .
Comey later called it a `` tortured half-out , half-in approach . '' And after such a `` strange '' announcement , `` I decided I have to step away from her and show the American people the FBI 's work separately , '' Comey told ███ .
The inspector general 's office seemed to similarly view Lynch 's announcement as strange , with the draft report criticizing her for how she handled the impromptu tarmac meeting and its aftermath , according to sources familiar with the findings .
In April , when Comey was promoting his new book `` A Higher Loyalty , '' Lynch issued a statement saying that during the Clinton email investigation she `` trusted '' the `` non-partisan career prosecutors '' handling the case `` to assess the facts and make a recommendation -- one that I ultimately accepted because I thought the evidence and law warranted it . ''
Nevertheless , ███ has confirmed that Horowitz 's draft report went on to criticize senior FBI officials , including Comey and fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe , for their response to the late discovery of a laptop containing evidence that may have related to the Clinton investigation .
That discovery prompted the FBI 's letter to Congress announcing the reopening of the Hillary Clinton email probe . Hundreds of thousands of emails had been found on the laptop of disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner , whose wife , Huma Abedin , was a top aide to the secretary of state .
It took weeks for the FBI to start analyzing the laptop 's contents , and Horowitz 's draft report criticized senior FBI officials for how long the laptop languished inside the bureau , sources told ███ .
The Associated Press first reported that the draft report criticized senior FBI officials for their handling of the laptop .
McCabe was fired from the FBI in March , after Horowitz concluded in a separate report that McCabe `` lacked candor '' when speaking to internal investigators about his role in a disclosure to the media . The matter has since been referred to the U.S. attorney in Washington for possible prosecution , and McCabe 's legal team is now seeking a grant of immunity from lawmakers who want him to testify before a Senate panel about Horowitz 's findings .
Talking with ███ about his own firing , Comey said he decided to write a book afterward because , `` It occurred to me maybe I can be useful by offering a view to people , especially to young people , of what leadership should look like and how it should be centered on values . ''
███ was unable to ascertain information about another key part of the inspector general 's report : whether animus toward Trump may have influenced the FBI 's investigation of Hillary Clinton 's emails or the subsequent probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election .
FBI senior agent Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page exchanged hundreds of messages in the lead-up to the election , including messages calling Trump `` an idiot '' and saying the Republican Party `` needs to pull their head out of their '' rear-ends . The messages also included critiques of Hillary Clinton .
`` There are so many horrible things to tell , the public has the right to know . Transparency ! '' Trump said in his Twitter message on Tuesday .
Representatives for Comey , Lynch and McCabe declined to comment for this article . A spokesman for the inspector general 's office also declined to comment . | SPtGjFx3i63iu0Pf | 0 | Justice Department | -1.2 | Justice | -0.7 | null | null | null | null | null | null | |
foreign_policy | CNN (Web News) | http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/20/politics/benghazi-report-clinton-legacy/index.html?hpt=po_t1 | Benghazi report threatens to tarnish Clinton's legacy | 2012-12-20 | Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Benghazi | Story highlights Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to step down from her Cabinet position in January
A review oF Benghazi cited `` systemic failures '' at the State Department
If Clinton runs in 2016 , the sting of the Benghazi report will have lessened , experts say
The year 2012 was supposed to herald Hillary Clinton 's swan song , a golden departure amid speculation that she might consider another run at the presidency in 2016 .
Instead , the outgoing Secretary of State has found herself and her agency at the center of a scathing report about bloody attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi , Libya , which left four Americans dead , including Ambassador Christopher Stevens .
On Wednesday , four State Department officials , including two who oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi , were disciplined after a review of security failures there , senior State Department officials told CNN . One resigned , while three others have been placed on administrative leave and relieved of their duties , said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland .
An independent review released Tuesday cited `` systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies '' at the agency Clinton heads . The review board completed its investigation this week . Clinton received a copy of the report on Monday and said in letters to the heads of those committees that she accepted every one of its recommendations , including strengthening security , adding fire safety precautions and improving intelligence collection in high-threat areas .
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Clinton , who had been recovering from stomach flu last week and a concussion following a fainting spell , informed the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees over the weekend that , at the advice of her doctors , she would be unable to testify at upcoming hearings about the deadly events in Benghazi . In her place , deputies Thomas Nides and Bill Burns testified on Thursday .
Initially , that did not sit well with some members of Congress , especially Republicans , who have been highly critical of the Obama administration 's handling of the Libya attack .
`` I know that Secretary Clinton was unable to be able to testify tomorrow in an open setting , '' Sen. Bob Corker , R-Tennessee , told reporters Wednesday . `` I do think it 's imperative for all concerned that she testify in an open session prior to any changing of the regime . I think that that 's very important for her , I think it 's very important for our country , and I think it 's very important to really understand sort of the inner workings of the State Department itself . ''
However late Wednesday , House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen , R-Florida , indicated that Clinton will indeed testify in front of the committee sometime in mid-January .
Ros-Lehtinen issued a statement saying , `` We still do n't have information from the Obama administration on what went so tragically wrong in Benghazi that resulted in the deaths of four patriotic Americans . We have been combing through classified and unclassified documents and have tough questions about State Department threat assessments and decision-making on Benghazi . This requires a public appearance by the Secretary of State herself . Other Cabinet secretaries involved should also be held publicly accountable . ''
Lawmakers are right to demand answers of Clinton , said David Rothkopf , editor of Foreign Policy magazine .
`` Hillary Clinton must take her fair share of responsibility for the mismanagement that led to the Benghazi disaster . And I believe she has . Her response to it , the appointment of a serious review effort led by ( Ambassador Thomas ) Pickering and ( Adm. Mike ) Mullen , its swift , thorough and unflinching completion of its duties and her acceptance of all its recommendations has been a textbook case of how to handle a crisis responsibly , '' Rothkopf said .
It is a crisis that has left an indelible mark on the careers of several high profile Obama administration officials .
U.N . Ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration to become the top U.S. diplomat after drawing heavy criticism from Arizona Sen. John McCain and other Republicans over her public statements about the Benghazi attacks .
In a letter to Obama , Rice said the Senate `` confirmation process would be lengthy , disruptive , and costly — to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities . That trade off is simply not worth it to our country . ''
Clinton praised Rice as a capable leader and insisted `` she made very clear in her appearances that the information was subject to change , as more facts were gathered and analyzed by the intelligence community '' in a press conference at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe ( OSCE ) conference in Dublin earlier this month .
Eric Boswell , assistant secretary of diplomatic security , has resigned his post . Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Charlene Lamb is among the other three officials placed on administrative leave pending further action , a source told CNN .
Boswell and Lamb oversaw security for the Benghazi mission . Lamb testified before Congress about the security precautions . Documents show Lamb denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya .
But there is no reason to think Clinton 's presidential prospects are dimmed , political experts say .
Before the report came out , Clinton had enjoyed wildly popular approval ratings in nationwide polls . A Bloomberg National Poll released this month showed 70 % of Americans have a mostly or very favorable view of Clinton , with 24 % holding a mostly or very unfavorable opinion of the nation 's top diplomat . Similar polls from Politico/George Washington University , ABC News/Washington Post and the Siena College Research Institute showed consistent high marks .
`` The report certainly is n't the 'hail and farewell ' Hillary Clinton hoped for , and it is n't pretty . But two points : Clinton has been in the national public eye for 20 years , so any new piece of information is put into a much larger context . That will help her , '' said Larry Sabato , director of the University of Virginia 's Center for Politics .
Though the Benghazi attacks will likely come up should Clinton venture a presidential run , the impact will have lessened , Sabato said .
`` Think about 2012 when Benghazi was a fresh issue . How much did it help the GOP in the end ? Somewhere between nada and zilch . Only a small portion of the electorate seemed interested , and overwhelmingly , they were already voting Republican , '' Sabato said . `` I have a hard time believing that Benghazi will make much difference after the passage of four more years . ''
`` I do not believe the Benghazi case will have any impact on her presidential prospects . No one in public life for as long as she has been has an absolutely blemish-free record , and hers is vastly more distinguished and blemish-free than most , '' Rothkopf said .
`` Further , truth be told , the misfires prior to Benghazi really occurred much farther down the food chain within the State Department , '' he said . `` Suggesting errors in judgment regarding a particular post in a particular country fall within the direct purview of the Secretary of State is a gross misreading of the nature and demands of her job . '' | b1ef7d49a7918dd9 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
national_security | Vox | https://www.vox.com/2019/4/10/18300386/mueller-report-release-trump-russia-obstruction | 4 key things to look for in the Mueller report once it’s released | 2019-04-10 | national_security | The Mueller report — at least the redacted version — was publicly released Thursday morning and will immediately become the most scrutinized US government document in recent memory .
Members of Congress , administration officials , journalists , and members of the public are all poring over the redacted report ’ s several hundred pages , seeking to understand what special counsel Robert Mueller found out about Russian interference with the 2016 investigation , and whether President Donald Trump tried to obstruct justice .
As someone who has covered the Mueller investigation since it started , there are several broad questions on what it all means that I ’ ve had since Attorney General William Barr announced the probe ’ s “ principal conclusions . ”
First , on potential Trump campaign collusion with Russia , is the report ’ s takeaway that there was nothing there , or just nothing criminally prosecutable ? Second , why did Mueller punt on obstruction of justice ? Third , what did Mueller actually find on obstruction — and why do some of his team members reportedly think it ’ s “ alarming and significant ” ?
The answers to all these will do much to shape our understanding of the investigation that ’ s loomed larger over Trump ’ s presidency than any other — assuming we ’ ll get satisfying answers at all . The fourth , and perhaps most critical question is how much of the report we ’ ll be able to read , versus how much will be redacted . That could determine just how conclusive the Mueller report ’ s release will feel .
1 ) Did Mueller conclude there was no collusion — or just that he couldn ’ t bring a charge ?
The FBI began investigating whether any Trump campaign associates were involved in Russian interference with the election all the way back in July 2016 . Barr ’ s letter , though , made clear that Mueller wouldn ’ t charge any American with criminally conspiring with the Russian government for such a purpose .
So President Trump and his allies have claimed vindication . They ’ ve argued that , just as Trump long said , this proves there was “ no collusion. ” Longtime left-leaning skeptics of the Russia probe have made similar claims , claiming Mueller ’ s findings “ debunked ” the “ completely false and baseless conspiracy theories ” about a Trump-Russia conspiracy .
But some commentators have cautioned against jumping to such a conclusion based only on Mueller ’ s decision not to file charges on the matter . “ Without seeing Mueller ’ s full report , we don ’ t know whether this is a firm conclusion about lack of coordination or a frank admission of insufficient evidence , ” defense attorney Ken White wrote at the Atlantic .
Indeed , it ’ s certainly going too far to claim there was “ nothing ” going on between Trump ’ s team and Russia . Mueller has extensively documented that the Trump Organization was secretly in talks for a potentially very lucrative Moscow real estate deal during the campaign , and that Russian government officials got involved . Meanwhile , Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort handed over Trump polling data to a Russian intelligence-tied associate . Two Trump associates appear to have had some advance knowledge about Democratic emails that had been hacked by Russians . And , of course , there was the infamous meeting Don Jr. took at Trump Tower .
It ’ s entirely possible that despite all this , no actual conspiracy between Trump ’ s team and the Russian government to interfere with the election ended up happening . Mueller ’ s decision not to file charges could reflect that straightforward judgment : that he flat-out found no collusion . But it could also reflect a murkier situation , involving conflicting evidence , legal gray areas , or misconduct that doesn ’ t fit neatly into the category of “ collusion. ” The report should tell us more .
2 ) Why didn ’ t Mueller make a traditional prosecutorial recommendation on obstruction of justice ?
The second question I ’ ll be looking to the report to answer relates to a surprising bit of information in Barr ’ s letter .
After making a “ thorough factual investigation ” into whether Trump obstructed justice , Barr wrote , Mueller “ ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment , ” neither asserting Trump broke the law nor exonerating him .
Barr then stepped up to do that exonerating , saying that in his view , the evidence wasn ’ t sufficient to establish Trump committed an obstruction of justice offense . But what Barr did not explain is why Mueller decided not to come to a conclusion one way or the other here .
The attorney general ’ s letter says that Mueller evaluated “ ‘ difficult issues ’ of law and fact concerning whether the President ’ s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction , ” and laid out evidence on “ both sides of the question . ”
So some have floated the theory that Mueller may have intended to leave this topic to Congress , not Barr , to evaluate , because it ’ s the legislative branch ’ s job to decide whether the president committed an impeachable offense . There ’ s no actual evidence for this right now , but the report may shed more light on what Mueller ’ s team expected here .
3 ) What did Mueller find out about obstruction of justice — and why do some on his team think it ’ s worse for Trump than Barr let on ?
Then , of course , there ’ s the question of what exactly Mueller did find about Trump and obstruction .
Mueller team members have told associates their evidence here is “ alarming and significant , ” per the Washington Post . And some of them feel Barr ’ s letter to Congress didn ’ t properly describe “ derogatory information , ” according to CNN .
I recently wrote a longer piece summing up what we know about the obstruction case already — a lengthy pattern of apparent interference with the Russia investigation , encompassing Trump ’ s pressures on government officials , his firing of FBI Director James Comey , and his interactions with Russia probe witnesses and defendants .
Barr ’ s letter also says that “ most ” of the presidential actions Mueller analyzed in the obstruction report have “ been the subject of public reporting. ” But most is not all . And the Mueller report does include new material on this topic that ’ s not publicly known , one official told NBC News .
So I ’ ll be looking for any new information or evidence on this topic in the report that will help answer the question of why some Mueller team members seem so alarmed — and why Barr seems unperturbed .
4 ) How much will Barr redact , and will he explain each redaction ?
Finally , hanging over all the above is the question of just how much of Mueller ’ s report we ’ ll even get to see .
Barr isn ’ t releasing the full Mueller report . He ’ s releasing a version that the Justice Department has redacted , to hide four main categories of information : grand jury material , information relating to ongoing investigations , disclosures that could compromise sources and methods , and material that compromises peripheral figures ’ privacy rights .
During a congressional subcommittee hearing Tuesday , Barr testified that each redaction in the report would be accompanied by “ explanatory notes ” on the reason for the redaction ( that is , which of the four categories it falls into ) .
Barr also reiterated that there are currently no plans to assert executive privilege to redact other information in the report . And he stressed that it wasn ’ t him personally deciding what to redact , but rather Justice Department officials , Mueller team members , and intelligence officials .
Despite all this , we don ’ t yet know whether redactions will be applied in a reasonable and limited way — or whether they ’ ll be overused to hide an excessive amount of information , with pages and pages blacked out . Liberally applied black bars can be cover for a whole lot of mischief .
One encouraging sign is that Mueller ’ s team reportedly prepared summaries of their findings that they expected could be made public quickly . If these are made public as part of the full report , they could remove any further ambiguity about what Mueller and his team believe they ’ ve found ( even if the actual body of the report remains full of redactions ) .
Democrats and media outlets will likely try , through legal challenges , to see more of what ’ s under any redactions . But the sheer number of redactions will likely be key in determining whether the report ’ s release definitively provides closure to the Trump-Russia investigation — or whether it will only stoke further questions about what information is being held back .
For more on the investigations into the president , follow Andrew Prokop on Twitter and check out ███ ’ s guide to the Trump-Russia investigation . | 56bOAPSQjAaOoioO | 0 | Mueller Report | 0 | National Security | 0 | Defense And Security | 0 | null | null | null | null |
impeachment | Chicago Sun-Times | https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2019/12/11/21011376/trump-impeachment-trial-election-2020-democrats-republicans-ukraine-s-e-cupp | Impeaching Trump could happen more than once | 2019-12-11 | impeachment | As Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — I heard the country breathe an audible sigh of relief .
Anxieties over would-they or wouldn ’ t-they , the constant public opinion polling updates , hours-long hearings , cable news arguments over the prudence or peril of pursuing such a serious course of rebuke against the president , market uncertainty and hand-wringing over how this may affect 2020 — all of this can finally stop , and just in time for the holidays when we need a break , no matter which side of impeachment you are on .
Columnists In-depth political coverage , sports analysis , entertainment reviews and cultural commentary .
Impeachment — once approved by the full House — goes to the Senate for what is likely to be a formality vote , wherein the Republican majority will not decide to convict and remove Trump from office . But for all intents and purposes , the House Democrats just punctuated two years of endless speculation .
Well , I hate to be a Grinch , but this might not actually be the end of it .
Just as we ’ re wrapping up this seemingly never-ending news cycle , it ’ s not all that hard to imagine the whole thing happening again , before November of 2020 — and there are a few reasons why .
First , there ’ s a bizarre and downright naive false expectation that impeaching Trump will somehow change his behavior ; this false expectation has often justified the act of impeachment itself for Democrats .
Barry Berke , Democratic counsel for the House Judiciary Committee , warned Monday that if Trump isn ’ t impeached for this round of bad behavior , “ our imagination is the only limit to what President Trump may do next or what a future president may do next to abuse his powers . ”
But Trump doesn ’ t believe he did anything wrong and has even leaned into the very abuse of power he ’ s accused of , asking China and others to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden , and egging on Rudy Giuliani to keep at it in Ukraine .
Trump will , most likely , continue to test the fences of our democracy for weaknesses , which will inevitably include more abuses of power .
If Democrats were constitutionally obligated the first time — and I believe they were — won ’ t they be constitutionally obligated the next ? And the next ?
To wit , just last week , before this impeachment was even sewn up , Texas Rep. Al Green said Democrats would pursue impeachment several times if the Senate doesn ’ t vote to convict Trump .
“ The Constitution allows a president to be impeached more than once , ” Green told his colleagues in the House . “ If we impeach now , or at some time in the near future , for one issue that we dearly should , then we find later that the president has other issues that merit impeachment , we can impeach again . ”
Spoiler alert : They will find later that the president has “ other issues . ”
To that very point , the second reason this might not be over : We still don ’ t know everything .
My friend Paul Begala , a CNN commentator and Democratic strategist who has been through this once before with Bill Clinton , stunned fellow panelists Monday night with a prediction : “ This is not the last impeachment we will cover for Donald J. Trump . ”
Ongoing court fights around forcing the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn could reveal new information . “ This impeachment may be done by then , ” he said , “ But you know what , impeachment is not a single-shot weapon . The Constitution does not say it ’ s a one-and-done deal . ”
Finally , for all the moral posturing , impeachment is fundamentally a political act with political consequences , and it ’ s safe to assume many Democrats are hoping this will damage the president politically .
But it may not — impeachment may end up helping Trump , especially if he isn ’ t actually thrown out of office over it .
Prepare to see some very frustrated Democrats over the next few months if Trump ’ s approval numbers start ticking up in spite of this “ very strong rebuke ” by the House .
Then , don ’ t be surprised when impeaching the president is no longer the thing keeping our democracy as we know it from imploding , but removing Trump is .
Barack Obama ’ s former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal , author of “ Impeach : The Case Against Donald Trump , ” made that case , saying that leaving it up to voters next November “ makes no sense. ” “ If you don ’ t remove this president , he has said he will do it again . I think we have to worry about exactly that . That ’ s the whole point . You can ’ t just let this conduct go unpunished . ”
Ideally and conventionally , impeachment is used judiciously and to serious effect — constraining the current president and warning future presidents .
When this otherwise ignominious act has little effect on his corrupt ambitions or his reputation , Democrats could very well try to double — or even triple — down .
The bottom line ? Don ’ t get too comfortable . We could be in for a long road ahead .
S.E . Cupp is the host of “ S.E . Cupp : Unfiltered ” on CNN . | zVSuHqGRCFzKmD9O | 0 | Donald Trump | -0.2 | Impeachment | -0.1 | Articles Of Impeachment | 0 | Decision2020 | 0 | White House | 0 |
us_senate | CNN (Web News) | http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/20/politics/neil-gorsuch-what-to-watch/index.html | 5 things to watch at Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearing | 2017-03-20 | Neil Gorsuch, US Senate, Politics | Washington ( CNN ) More than one year after the death Justice Antonin Scalia , the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing for a nominee to succeed him on the Supreme Court .
Judge Neil Gorsuch will appear Monday before senators looking to pin him down on his philosophy -- and some will air grievances about why Gorsuch is even here at all . Gorsuch , for his part , will try to defend his approach without discussing specific cases or damaging his smooth nomination in any way .
The Judiciary Committee has four days of hearings scheduled . Here 's what to expect :
Supreme Court justices spend their careers safely ensconced with life tenure in the quiet chambers of the marble palace .
With the stroke of a pen and a packet of opinions the justices can dismantle a major piece of legislation and dash the dreams of those who toil away across the street in the Capitol . As such , senators have one -- and only one -- chance to grill a potential nominee , and express displeasure about past Supreme Court rulings .
Before hearing from Gorsuch , each senator on the Judiciary Committee will get 10 minutes to talk . Members on both sides will strut their constitutional stuff .
Democrats will also use the hearing to go after Trump 's early actions such as his travel ban for people from seven -- then revised to six -- majority-Muslim countries , which has been blocked by federal courts from coast to coast .
After more than three hours of listening Gorsuch will then take the oath , and finally start talking . His opening statement -- expected Monday afternoon -- will be the first glimpse of Gorsuch 's views since his `` Celebrity Apprentice '' - type unveiling on January 31 . Gorsuch , an eloquent speaker , is likely to dazzle the audience with a nod to the limited role of the court and the humble job of a judge .
Often it is the opening statement that the public most remembers . Chief Justice John Roberts spoke about calling `` balls and strikes '' while Justice Sonia Sotomayor detailed the `` human consequences '' of her decisions and the role her mother played in bringing her out of the projects .
It 's an opportunity for Gorsuch , who has spent the past few weeks on a listening tour through Congress , to assert his personality and set the tone .
In a time-honored tradition , senators will do their best to get Gorsuch to speak about hot-button issues that could come before the court like immigration , abortion and national security , and he will attempt to gracefully dodge the line of inquiry .
Look for Gorsuch to refer to something called the `` Ginsburg standard . '' The term was coined after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 's hearings . She responded more freely about issues and opinions she had already written about , but steered clear of cases that could come before the court in order to guard her impartiality .
Other justices , included Chief Justice John Roberts , referred to the `` Ginsburg standard '' in order to avoid answering questions about current cases and controversies .
Expect to hear versions of `` Every case is different '' and `` I would n't want to pre-judge without looking at all the facts . ''
Donald Trump has already changed Neil Gorsuch 's life by offering him a dream job .
But how does Gorsuch handle the fact that Trump has lambasted specific federal judges when they ruled against him ? Very carefully . The hearing will provide the first chance for Gorsuch to publicly refute Trump 's judicial attacks .
Through a spokesperson he made it clear in February that he thought such attacks were `` disheartening , '' but now he might have to answer directly .
He 'll likely find a way of condemning the comments but not the man . Whatever he says , it will be well practiced . He 'll be pressed on his views on executive power as well . Muslim ban ? Wiretapping ? Limits of regulatory state ? Although they may not get the answers they seek , Democrats are sure to launch the inquiry .
One of Gorsuch 's first acts as a Supreme Court nominee was to telephone Judge Merrick Garland , the man who was nominated by President Barack Obama for Justice Scalia 's seat .
While some Democrats will undoubtedly refer to the seat as `` stolen '' from Garland , others will be forward-looking .
Democrats have to tread carefully and gauge whether they want to save some firepower . Why ? At the end of the day , what is at stake is returning the court to the status quo from before Scalia 's death . Gorsuch , a conservative , is replacing a conservative . Some might think that it makes sense to save the big fight if Trump gets another chance to name a Supreme Court justice .
After all , if Justice Kennedy , or a liberal were to step down that could significantly change the balance of power for years to come . That fight could be a battle royale , and make the Gorsuch hearings pale in comparison . | 450fb338a85813b5 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
foreign_policy | CNN Digital | https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/09/politics/joe-biden-domestic-troubles-international-trip/index.html | Joe Biden heads overseas as his prospects darken at home | 2021-06-09 | Foreign Policy, Joe Biden, G7 | CNN —Joe Biden is heading abroad, just at the moment when his hopes for a historic legislative legacy at home seem headed for a wall.For all the talk among Democrats of Biden assembling a Rooseveltian legacy, the moment was always going to come when his vast political agenda would hit the blockade of Washington’s uncompromising political math.Recent days have chastened Democrats who dreamed of using what may be a brief two-year window of congressional power to forge the most fundamental economic and political change for a generation.Biden had a strong start to his presidency. The country is awakening, albeit with a few economic hiccups, from a pandemic that has never been closer to ending thanks to his rollout of vaccines developed during the previous administration. He’s restored decorum to the White House, and his approval ratings are above 50% consistently – a level never reached by ex-President Donald Trump.But the reality of a 50-50 Senate, the ideological tension in the Democratic coalition and a Republican Party transformed into Trump’s personality cult have brought Biden to a moment of truth.His bipartisan effort to forge an infrastructure deal with Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia finally expired on Tuesday. The setback followed Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s announcement that he would not vote to outlaw filibuster rules or to pass a huge voting rights bill. Each blow put a new hole in soaring progressive ambitions that always seemed a leap ahead of reality.Previously, Republicans – using that 60-vote filibuster supermajority rule – blocked a Democratic bid to set up a bipartisan, independent commission into the January 6 insurrection.Swelling liberal frustration, the Washington impasse is coinciding with an aggressive push by Republicans in the states and conservative judges to cement hardline right-wing orthodoxy on access to the ballot, gun rights and abortion, which is enshrining Trump values even with a Democrat in the White House.Suddenly a presidency built on an already-passed multitrillion-dollar Covid-19 relief plan and a vast federal jobs and families plan is looking a little shaky.“If the second two planks don’t make it, that would be a big disappointment for the President,” former Obama administration strategist and CNN political commentator David Axelrod said on Tuesday.Still, the overall picture is complex and not all discouraging for the White House.The Senate did pass a bipartisan bill on Tuesday equipping US industry and the tech sector to meet the challenge from China. And a push for police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s murder may be about to deliver after tortuous bipartisan talks. Negotiators hope to announce a deal next week, a source told CNN’s Manu Raju. If it pans out, the police effort may be a sign that even in a Congress as bitterly divided as this one, patience and dogged negotiating could be a template for progress.Where next for Biden and Schumer?An emerging question is how much the President and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, can salvage from an agenda that was being hailed as the most fundamental reordering of the US economy and society in decades. While there are tactics, including using the budgetary device of reconciliation, to pass bills opposed by Republicans, there are no easy routes to political wins in Congress and some issues are unsuitable for such maneuvering.The series of reversals for Democrats in Congress poses a fierce test of Biden’s powers of persuasion and the capacity for legislative improvisation that he refined over a half century in Washington. The current unpromising prospects for passing major legislation also threaten to curtail the record that Biden will take into midterm elections that are already dominating Republican tactics.Yet at the same time, the current difficulties are not all Biden’s fault and may be manageable for a President who has both portrayed himself as pragmatic fixer of the nation’s problems – like the pandemic – but has also advanced proposals that drew comparisons to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. For instance, his infrastructure bill redefined the term, packing social and child care spending into a package normally considered as limited to transportation spending.Many progressive Democrats advocate an almost limitless application of power to enact the most liberal agenda possible while they narrowly control the levers of power in the White House and Congress. But the President actually ran as a moderate in 2020 and his centrist appeal helped peel away some suburban voters who had previously backed Trump.For all the declarations by progressives of a bold new political era dawning, the left wing of the party failed to amass a majority in Congress for its lofty program. And were it not for Manchin’s ability to hold a seat in a state Trump twice won with nearly 70% of the vote, Democrats would not even control the Senate. So it is not certain that a more modest legacy would spell disaster for Biden’s presidency.While the President made no secret of his desire to rebalance the economy in favor of working Americans, the multitrillion-dollar scale of his program did surprise many observers. It’s just possible the brakes being applied by Manchin and other Democratic senators on the right of the party may spare Democrats the kind of overreach that could hurt them in the 2022 midterm elections. After all, voters last year paired a Democratic President with an evenly balanced Congress – not a combination that looked conducive to fundamental political change.‘Time to move on’The White House said on Tuesday that the President would keep in touch with Washington machinations from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean during a weeklong trip to the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland.Schumer has now moved to a two-track strategy on infrastructure – working with an expanded group of bipartisan senators, but also preparing for an effort to pass a bill on the issue with only Democratic votes.Several prominent Democrats declared that the time for working with Republicans is over and it is time for the party to forge ahead with their radical, transformational agenda alone. Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, on Tuesday began the work of packaging a $2.3 trillion American jobs plan and a $1.8 trillion American families plan in a nonbinding resolution that could be passed with a simple majority with no Republican votes. Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii said she believed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, when he said he wanted to thwart Biden’s major priorities.“I’ve been ready to move on from bipartisanship for major priorities for the Biden administration for quite a while now,” Hirono said.That’s a position shared by many progressive Democrats. But it doesn’t change the harsh facts in the Senate. There are no guarantees that there are 50 Democratic votes for big-spending liberal legislation either. Manchin has already expressed concerns. Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona shares Manchin’s views on the filibuster and is another moderate Biden will need to keep on his side.Other Democrats, like Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who has a tough reelection bid next year, could expose themselves politically by backing multitrillion-dollar liberal spending bills easily misrepresented by Republicans as a massive “socialist spending spree.”With this in mind, it is significant that both Sinema and Manchin are in a new bipartisan group of 20 senators discussing infrastructure – even though big hitters in both parties have doubts the process can work.“I think that there is a possibility here to get something meaningful done,” said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”“Is it going to be everything that I would want? No. Is it going to include some things that potentially some Republicans might be uncomfortable with? Yes.”Any deal would likely be a shadow of the original $2.2 trillion splash envisaged by Biden. The President, seeking a deal, has already come down by more than $1 trillion on the price tag. But intractable differences on paying for the bill that could have reversed parts of Trump’s tax overhaul scuppered the previous effort. The symbolism of a deal may be as important for Biden as its exact terms, however, given his brand-defining promise to Americans to try to repair splintered national unity by forcing common solutions with Republicans where possible.As always in Washington, a move toward one faction brings the risk of shattering another part of a coalition for a bill. CNN’s Lauren Fox reported that progressive Democrats warned they will not just blindly back any bipartisan infrastructure package that emerges from the new talks.“A group of four or five people don’t get to carry 50 Democratic votes on their back,” one Democratic senator said.Republican Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, who took part in Capito’s original infrastructure compromise effort, twisted the knife by saying he doubted that the new configuration in the Senate would attract the 60 votes needed for passage because it would alienate more liberal Democrats.Still, any deal that did unite 20 senators – a fifth of the chamber – would be a powerful statement and liberal Democrats would come under extraordinary pressure to cave and offer Biden a much-needed victory.If the deal ultimately fails, Biden could tell Manchin and his fellow travelers he had done everything he could for a bipartisan product and plead for their backing.A bipartisan deal on infrastructure might also give senators like Manchin and Sinema the political cover to caucus with fellow Democrats on a partisan drive to enact other aspects of Biden’s jobs and families plan, though it would still be unlikely to get them to budge on filibuster abolition, which is critical to liberal hopes of counteracting GOP restrictive voting bills in the states.Biden has the advantage of having been involved in the teeth-pulling process of passing bills in Washington for longer than anyone on either side of the negotiations that will ultimately define his presidency. That experience may leave him more sanguine than most. But just months into his presidency, his legacy is already on the line. | b380d356fb2f9fb9 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | NBC News Digital | https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/trump-faces-biggest-test-2020-georgia-primaries-watch-rcna30187 | Trump faces biggest test since 2020 in Georgia primaries | 2022-05-24 | Elections, 2022 Elections, 2022 Georgia Gubernatorial Election, 2022 Georgia Senate Election, 2022 Texas Gubernatorial Election, 2022 Texas Attorney General Election | WASHINGTON — In his biggest electoral defeat since he lost the presidency in 2020, Donald Trump went down in flames Tuesday in his crusade to punish Georgia Republicans who defied his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, as NBC News projects the former president’s candidates were crushed in GOP primaries.Gov. Brian Kemp is on track to rout Trump-backed challenger David Perdue by a stunning 50 percentage points, while Attorney General Chris Carr ran ahead of his Trump-endorsed opponent by a similar margin.Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — who earned a special place on Trump's list of targets for secretly recording a phone call in which Trump asked him to “find” him more votes — beat expectations by winning his primary outright without being forced into a runoff, according to NBC News.Republican Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a campaign rally Monday in Kennesaw, Ga. Nathan Posner / Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesTrump has devoted much of his post-presidency to seeking revenge on Republicans who did not support his lies about the election, none more so than Kemp. The former president recruited a top-tier challenger in Perdue, a former U.S. senator, appeared in TV ads for him and helped fund his campaign.But Perdue’s campaign struggled to get off the ground and differentiate him from Kemp on anything other than the 2020 election, which proved to be an issue not nearly as important to Georgia Republican primary voters as it is to Trump.Perdue, who ran a lackluster campaign that ended with a racist remark, quickly conceded the race in a phone call to Kemp — a step Trump never took after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.Kemp will face Democrat Stacey Abrams. It's a rematch of their hard-fought 2018 battle, which Kemp narrowly won, and it is expected to be one of the highest-profile governor’s races in the country.Primaries or runoffs are also being held in Alabama, Arkansas and Texas, where news of a school shooting has overshadowed the political contest.Candidates in both parties offered prayers and commiseration for those killed in Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio.In a GOP runoff in Texas, a scion of the Bush dynasty went down as NBC News projected that Attorney General Ken Paxton easily defeated Land Commissioner George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew of former President George W. Bush.The outcome shows how much luster has come off the Bush brand in today's GOP, especially since Paxton was weighed down by a slew of ethics issues, including an indictment alleging securities fraud.For Democrats, an ideologically charged congressional runoff in South Texas between moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar and progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros is too close to call, according to NBC News.Meanwhile, Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia handily defeated Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux in a member-on-member Democratic primary after redistricting forced them into the same district.In Arkansas, former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders easily secured the GOP nomination for governor to replace term-limited GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson, NBC News projects.In Alabama, Rep. Mo Brooks — who has the distinction of having been endorsed and then unendorsed by Trump — made it into a runoff for the GOP Senate nomination, even though many wrote his campaign off for dead not long ago.And Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey dispatched several rivals to win renomination, NBC News projects.Elsewhere in Georgia, unlike in North Carolina, where fellow far-right Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn lost his primary last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene secured renomination, NBC News projects.Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp with former Vice President Mike Pence at a campaign event Monday at Cobb County International Airport. Joe Raedle / Getty ImagesKemp celebrated his primary win at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, where country music played throughout the evening as supporters sipped on beer and wine.Shortly after the race was called, conservative commentator Erick Erickson, a Kemp ally, led the audience in prayer for victims of the Texas school shooting.Later, Kemp's victory speech included no mention of Trump nor any obvious allusions to the former president’s efforts to unseat him.“I want to take just a minute, and I want to thank my opponents for the spirited debate that we had throughout this campaign,” Kemp said. “And I want to also thank David Perdue for the nice phone call that he gave me just a little while ago, pledging his full support to make sure that Stacey Abrams is never our governor.”Kemp kept his focus mainly on Abrams, who he said would use the governor’s office as a springboard to a presidential run. He warned that it would be a tough general election. “We’re going to make sure Stacey’s road to Pennsylvania Avenue stops right here in the Peach State,” he said.Trump did notch one major win in Georgia win when football star Herschel Walker cruised to the Republican nomination for the Senate, NBC News projects, setting up a mammoth November battle with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.The race, which is expected to be one of the most expensive Senate races in U.S. history, is the first in which two Black candidates have gone head to head in a highly competitive Senate election.Trump hand-picked Walker and smoothed his path to the nomination. But Walker enters the general election with plenty of baggage. Some Republicans worry that he is not up to the challenge.“With Herschel Walker, everybody’s fear is that he’ll lose to Warnock,” said former Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., who voted for another candidate in the primary. "These outside groups are going to kill him. I love Herschel, but when you start debating a man that’s been in the pulpit for 40 years, that’s tough on anybody.”Warnock, who for years was the senior pastor at Martin Luther King Jr.'s church in Atlanta, won his seat last year in a special election to fill a vacancy and is now seeking a full six-year term. | cb717eb1248e3e90 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
federal_budget | Fox Online News | http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/04/09/yes-virginia-there-really-is-way-to-balance-budget/ | Yes, Virginia, there really is a way to balance the budget | 2013-04-09 | federal_budget | President Obama is set to propose his “ compromise ” budget plan on Wednesday . His budget is reported to trim the deficit by $ 1.8 trillion over the next ten years , with nearly $ 600 billion in savings coming from additional revenue and $ 1.2 trillion coming from domestic program and entitlement cuts .
To be sure , his proposal offers Republicans more entitlement reform than before – a move that many on the left are against . But the President ’ s proposal still includes $ 580 billion in new taxes on the wealthy , a position that Republicans have consistently and unwaveringly opposed since taxes went up as a result of the fiscal cliff deal in January . It follows that we are still on the same long , hard path to a grand bargain . And this week brings yet another proposal that does little to get us there .
But new survey data , collected and financed by Douglas E. Schoen , LLC and in collaboration with the Campaign to Fix the Debt , shows a path towards a deal and how one can be reached .
The American people are in a profoundly pessimistic and angry mood . The Republican Party ’ s approval ratings stand at a 20-year low , with 66 percent judging it unfavorably compared to 33 percent favorably . The Democrats are viewed in a more favorable light , but are still not in good stead ( 43 percent favorable to 53 percent unfavorable ) .
Fifty-two percent of voters believe the country is off on the wrong track , and 50 percent say the same about the economy . Close to a majority say we will not be able to balance the budget anytime soon .
Against this backdrop , Democrats and Republicans have offered up competing budget proposals—the Democrats in the Senate , the Republicans in the House—to address the nation ’ s mounting fiscal challenges .
The two budgets are roughly $ 1 trillion apart on taxes and $ 750 billion apart on military spending over the next ten years . They are fundamentally at odds on Medicare and entitlement reform as well as deficit reduction : the Republican plan would balance the budget over the next 10 years , while the Democratic plan reduces the deficit to an amount equivalent to 2.2 % of GDP by 2023 .
With such stark differences , it ’ s no surprise that the plans have had a polarizing effect—we face , yet again , a seemingly intractable budget stalemate in Washington . Neither side wants to compromise . And Americans are enthusiastic about neither plan .
Our new poll shows that Americans view the Republican plan , which makes draconian spending cuts and fundamentally alters Medicare , favorably , but only by a tepid 46-37 margin . By a broader margin ( 56-31 ) , they favor the Democratic plan , but neither plan inspired much confidence in our respondents .
When we asked whether they thought that either the Democrats or Republicans had a realistic plan to reduce the deficit , just 20 percent said that the Republicans did , while 25 percent said that the Democrats did . But 49 percent believe that neither side has a realistic plan .
So what do the American people want ? It ’ s clear . They want a bipartisan , compromise plan . By an overwhelming margin—80 percent to 8—our respondents support the new Simpson-Bowles plan , which cuts wasteful spending , reforms our outdated tax code , and makes the necessary changes to entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security in order to protect them for future generations of Americans .
In practice , this new version of Simpson-Bowles raises close to $ 1.3 trillion through tax reform including the fiscal-cliff deal . It saves $ 600 billion from health-care programs and generates $ 600 billion in new tax revenue from ending or curbing deductions and breaks . And it makes $ 1.3 trillion in cuts to discretionary spending .
The plan stood up to scrutiny . When we told respondents that it would cut their Medicare and Social Security , they still supported it , 56 percent to 24 percent . What ’ s more , when we said that cuts to Medicare and Social Security would only affect higher income retirees , including millionaires , the plan ’ s support increased , with 65 percent in favor and 20 percent opposed .
Our survey respondents showed a strong desire here for a broad-scale deal that will reduce the debt and deficit , cut spending , and reform the tax code . Indeed , there remains a solid majority willing to rein in entitlements—so long as voters believe that there will also be economic growth and job creation ( which remains their highest priority ) , along with fiscal stability .
To date , very few surveys have examined this issue in any great detail , comparing the actual details of the Democratic , Republican , and compromise plan and gauging American attitudes . Our findings offer compelling evidence that , while there is a great divide between the two parties , what the public wants is a clear , bipartisan fix to our nation ’ s fiscal situation .
Contrary to all of the doomsaying in Washington and the pervasive message that finding a solution is impossible , there is a clear path to a balanced budget , to deficit and debt reduction , and to achieving fiscal well-being . The results of our poll unequivocally show this . But the question remains whether the nation ’ s political leadership will put aside their partisan differences for a chance at the real agreement that the American people strongly support . | sGh2MXssN72L1vqW | 2 | Federal Budget | -0.1 | Economy And Jobs | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
healthcare | Townhall | http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2013/04/29/round-two-democrats-obamacare-panic-setting-in-n1581240 | Panic: Democrats Fear Another Obamacare Backlash | 2013-04-29 | healthcare | Within months of Democrats ramming through Obamacare without a single Republican vote , the American people responded , pummeling the president 's party at the polls . Republicans gained 63 seats in the House , six United States Senators , six governorships , and nearly 700 seats in state legislatures nationwide . Conservatives had their temporary political revenge , we were told , but Democrats would get the last laugh because Obamacare was sure to become more popular once Republicans ' scurrilous smears against the law were shown to be false . How 's that working out ?
Democratic senators , at a caucus meeting with White House officials , expressed concerns on Thursday about how the Obama administration was carrying out the health care law they adopted three years ago . Democrats in both houses of Congress said some members of their party were getting nervous that they could pay a political price if the rollout of the law was messy or if premiums went up significantly . President Obama ’ s new chief of staff , Denis R. McDonough , fielded questions on the issue for more than an hour at a lunch with Democratic senators . Senator Jeanne Shaheen , Democrat of New Hampshire , who is up for re-election next year , said , “ We are hearing from a lot of small businesses in New Hampshire that do not know how to comply with the law. ” In addition , Mrs. Shaheen said , “ restaurants that employ people for about 30 hours a week are trying to figure out whether it would be in their interest to reduce the hours ” of those workers , so the restaurants could avoid the law ’ s requirement to offer health coverage to full-time employees . The White House officials “ acknowledged that these are real concerns , and that we ’ ve got to do more to address them , ” Mrs. Shaheen said . Senator Tom Harkin , Democrat of Iowa and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on health care , said he was extremely upset with Mr. Obama ’ s decision to take money from public health prevention programs and use it to publicize the new law , which creates insurance marketplaces in every state .
Obamacare is impossibly complicated to comply with , is impeding hiring , and is causing businesses to lay off workers and cut back on other employees ' hours ? Why , who could have possibly seen that coming ? Oh , that 's right -- every single critic of Obamacare could . And did . Back to the grumbling Democrats :
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin , Democrat of Maryland , said he told White House officials on Thursday that he was concerned about big rate increases being sought by the largest health insurer in his state . The company , CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield , has sought increases averaging 25 percent for individual insurance policies that will be sold in the state insurance exchange , and it is seeking increases of about 15 percent for small businesses . The company said the higher premiums reflected costs of complying with the new law .
Obamacare is hiking up people 's premiums ? Why , who could have possibly ... Katie noted last week that other Hill Democrats are nervously conceding that the , ahem , `` Affordable Care Act '' does n't actually contain costs either . Shocking , I know . The Left is spooked because the law they force-fed the American people is shaping up to be a `` train wreck '' and a `` third world experience , '' to quote the law 's chief author and administrator , respectively . And now the more problematic elements of the president 's top legislative `` accomplishment '' are slated to roll out next year ; the supposedly popular bits were front-loaded for political reasons . ( And how is that going thus far ? Let 's ask a bunch of people with pre-existing conditions for their verdict ) . Obamacare remains unpopular , and Democrats are grappling with growing fears that a 2010-style backlash may befall them in 2014 , when the law they advertised as a legislative panacea is exposed as an unaffordable , unwieldy , logistical headache -- all in real time .
UPDATE - Politico describes `` Obamacare fires flaring up all over , '' and Fox 's Chris Stirewalt highlights a problematic and impending Medicaid assessment deadline the administration is poised to miss . | YzXqte3b2MREtk7J | 2 | Healthcare | -0.8 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
fbi | Reason | https://reason.com/2019/12/11/ig-michael-horowitz-testimony-fbi-carter-page-media/ | Inspector General Michael Horowitz's Testimony on FBI Failures Should Be a Wakeup Call for the Media and the GOP | 2019-12-11 | fbi | Inspector General ( IG ) Michael Horowitz testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday , making crystal clear what he wrote in his report : The FBI investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign 's possible collusion with Russia was not politically motivated , but agents involved in the probe made significant and appalling mistakes .
These mistakes should terrify all Americans . But more importantly , they should prompt serious reflection among surveillance state–supporting Republicans who placed implicit trust in the nation 's top law enforcement agency , as well as all those in the mainstream media who uncritically boosted the top men in that agency as # Resistance heroes .
The IG 's report and testimony have exposed the FBI 's wrongful surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page , which was based on false and conflicting information that somehow made its way into a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ( FISA ) warrant—and was then included three subsequent times as part of the warrant 's reauthorization . FBI agents knew that the Steele dossier was unreliable and eventually learned that Steele 's sub-sources had contradicted what was in the report , but continued with the surveillance anyway . Here 's an instructive exchange between Sen. Lindsey Graham ( R–S.C . ) and Horowitz :
Is it kind of off-the-charts bad ? Horowitz : It 's pretty bad . pic.twitter.com/t0U812VWjE — Lindsey Graham ( @ LindseyGrahamSC ) December 11 , 2019
The irony , of course , is that Graham has been a full-throated defender of FISA courts , domestic surveillance , and other policies that threaten civil liberties . He conceded this during his comments on Wednesday , saying `` I 'm a pretty hawkish guy , but if the court does n't take corrective action and do something about being manipulated and lied to , you will lose my support . ''
The Cassandra of the hour is Sen. Mike Lee ( R–Utah ) , who has been one of the only Republicans willing to sound the alarm about the potential for the FBI to violate Americans ' rights under the current legal regime . Sen. Ben Sasse ( R–Neb . ) admitted that Lee 's skepticism of the FISA courts now seems justified .
It 's a shame that it took congressional Republicans so long to realize that empowering a vast and secretive bureaucracy to spy on people could easily go disastrously wrong—and it 's telling that they have only finally conceded the point because the abuses have been directed at Trump . Moreover , despite their sudden interest in reforming FISA , `` nearly all Rs joined most Ds today to reauthorize intelligence activities without reforms to protect Americans ' rights , '' according to Rep. Justin Amash ( I–Mich. ) . I 'm glad some Republicans are apparently reconsidering their reflexive trust of the FBI , but clearly they still have a long way to go .
That 's true as well for the mainstream media , which for far too long has given undeserved credit to Trump-critical law enforcement figures like former FBI Directors James Comey and Andrew McCabe . Both have been lionized on cable news and in newspapers . They were routinely labeled brave truth-tellers who took serious personal risks to call out wrongdoing within the administration .
Many of their criticisms of the Trump administration may have been well-founded . But under Comey 's watch , the FBI made major errors . Comey and McCabe were directly involved in the decision to rely on the Steele dossier—a decision that the CIA had serious concerns about . Comey later misled the public about the extent of the FBI 's reliance on the dossier . Indeed , many in the mainstream media had previously claimed that the dossier was not the only basis for the FBI 's interest in Page , because they uncritically believed what the G-men were telling them . We now know that 's wrong—the Steele dossier was the FBI 's key piece of evidence .
Comey is still trying to spin the IG 's report as some kind of vindication . This is delusional and embarrassing . If the media learns anything from this episode , it should be that the fact that Team Trump has ostracized an insufficiently deferential public servant is not enough of a ███ to embrace him as a hero and a savior .
The IG report is a wakeup call : for Republicans who foolishly claimed the FBI 's secretive spying process was necessary and unthreatening , for anti-Trump media pundits who uncritically parroted the talking points of top officials , and for any Americans who still think it is worth trading away their liberties . If government agents were this sloppy during a politically charged investigation that they knew would put their entire apparatus under the spotlight , it 's safe to assume their normal conduct is even worse . | yn0ZsNDxhEWjx9WT | 2 | Michael Horowitz | -0.2 | FBI | 0.2 | Justice Department | -0.1 | Donald Trump | -0.1 | Surveillance | 0.1 |
elections | Washington Times | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/29/ted-cruz-battles-back-after-bruising-debate/ | Ted Cruz battles back after bruising debate | 2016-01-29 | elections | FENTON , Iowa — Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz brushed aside Friday the bad reviews of his debate performance the night before , when he weathered withering attack from rivals for shifting political stances to pander to voters or donors .
Mr. Cruz blamed the negative reviews on slanted views of the mainstream news media .
“ At the end of the day I don ’ t worry about the approval or the disapproval of the media . It is not surprising that I am not the mainstream media ’ s favorite candidate . I am working to be the candidate of the American people , ” he told reporters before a town hall meeting at North Star restaurant in this farming community .
Mr. Cruz was in the midst of barnstorming to town halls and rallies across Iowa in the past three days before the country ’ s leadoff nominating contest here Monday .
Several news outlets , including the Des Moines Register , declared Mr. Cruz the loser of the bout .
The attacks from rivals that Mr. Cruz is a shape-shifting politician directly contradicts the image he is presenting on the campaign trail of being a “ consistent conservative . ”
“ We ’ ve seen too many Republicans that live in the echo chamber of the mainstream media bubble , that live in world of political correctness , ” he said . “ My focus is on talking to the voters directly and making the case to them that I have spent my entire life fighting to defend the constitution . ”
The Texas senator took center stage in the absence of this chief rival , billionaire businessman Donald Trump , who boycotted the Fox News debate when he couldn ’ t get the network to eject anchor Megyn Kelly as a moderator .
Instead of debating , Mr. Trump held a competing event across town that raised about $ 6 million for veterans charities . His absence made Mr. Cruz the biggest target on the stage and the other candidates took full advantage of the opportunity .
Mr. Cruz insisted he didn ’ t miss a chance to knock out Mr. Trump in Iowa , where the two men are in a neck-and-neck race with both attracting a solid following of the state ’ s evangelical and conservative voters .
“ Mr . Trump chose not to attend . that was his choice . I was honored to be there , ” he said . “ I think every candidate who is running for president owes it to the men and women of Iowa to show them the respect to come in front of them and answer questions about their record and to ask for their vote . ” | b9T3BU3UrQY2fjuR | 2 | Presidential Elections | 0.2 | Ted Cruz | -0.1 | Elections | 0 | null | null | null | null |
federal_budget | Politico | http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/senate-appropriators-budget-deal-101181.html?hp=l2 | Budget splits Senate appropriators | 2013-12-15 | federal_budget | Tuesday ’ s cloture vote may be less about the budget deal than internal GOP politics . Budget splits Senate appropriators
Tuesday ’ s cloture vote on the short-term budget compromise in the Senate rests squarely on the 14 Republicans on the Appropriations Committee .
Six are up for reelection in 2014 and may find some reason to back out . But that leaves more than enough to help Democrats get to 60 votes , given the political cover already provided by fellow Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee .
All but two of the 29 Republicans on the House panel voted for the deal last Thursday , including members from seven states represented by GOP senators on Senate Appropriations . And after the three-to-one victory in the House , the Appropriations leadership has been so invested in a positive Senate result that even speculation of defeat shows how much Congress ’ s self-confidence has eroded .
Indeed , inside the Senate committee , Tuesday ’ s cloture vote may be less about the budget deal than internal Republican politics over who gets chairmanships if the GOP were to regain the Senate in the 2014 elections .
The recent decision by Sen. Thad Cochran ( R-Miss . ) to seek reelection means he could yet lay claim to the chairmanship of Appropriations at the expense of Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby , the current ranking Republican .
A Shelby spokesman said Sunday that “ it is baseless ” to suggest the potential competition with Cochran has anything to do with Shelby ’ s opposition to the budget deal . But after months of saying that he wants a top-line number from which to write 2014 bills , Shelby ’ s office said Sunday that he will vote against cloture Tuesday .
The upside-down politics from the committee standpoint is akin to the famous line from the war in Vietnam : The U.S. had to “ destroy the town to save it. ” By opposing cloture , Shelby may help himself become chairman , perhaps . But if he kills the deal , what will be left of the committee when he gets the gavel ?
For many on Appropriations , Tuesday ’ s vote is almost just that existential .
The budget agreement would negate sequestration in January and reset the Budget Control Act with more manageable caps on discretionary spending for fiscal 2014 and 2015 . This is pivotal for the committees if they are ever to be a force again in this Congress . And only with the deal can the Appropriations leadership salvage the work it ’ s already done on the dozen fiscal 2014 spending bills .
In the wake of the House vote , meetings are already under way to package the 12 together in a single omnibus package in January . But if the budget deal were to collapse , Appropriations would be pushed aside again , leaving the government under a long-term continuing resolution for the third time in four years .
“ I think we ’ ll get the votes , ” Sen. Susan Collins ( R-Maine ) told ███ . But she admits some bafflement as to why this is a close call for her fellow Republicans on Appropriations .
“ I would think appropriators would welcome the chance to have a top-line and write our bills , ” Collins said . “ We Republicans have said for years that we want to get back to normal order and a budget . Now we have a bipartisan agreement negotiated by a conservative House budget chairman . Why is this close ? ”
The contrast with House Republicans could not be more stark .
House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers ( R-Ky. ) worked last Thursday ’ s floor vote hard inside his committee , losing just Reps. Jack Kingston of George and Andy Harris of Maryland . Equally important , Republicans on House Appropriations from seven states — also represented by Republicans on the Senate committee — voted for the deal .
Those states were Alabama , Arkansas , Kansas , Kentucky , Nebraska , Mississippi and Tennessee — represented in the Senate , respectively , by Shelby , John Boozman , Jerry Moran , Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , Mike Johanns , Cochran and Lamar Alexander .
McConnell , Cochran and Alexander all face primary challenges at home in which elements of the tea party are agitating to oust them . But Shelby is not up for reelection and has enjoyed a longtime working friendship with Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski ( D-Md . ) .
“ We ’ ve got a history . We would both like a [ top-line ] number being appropriators , ” Shelby told ███ in early November . “ Barbara and I need a number to be relevant again . ”
Part of Shelby ’ s opposition now could be a courtesy to his fellow Alabaman , Jeff Sessions — the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee and candidate in 2014 — who is fiercely against the budget plan .
But the chairmanship side of the equation can ’ t be ignored . Shelby has firmly installed himself as the ranking Republican — having succeeded Cochran at the beginning of this year . But if the GOP were to win back the Senate in 2014 , Cochran would have the right under Senate GOP rules to come back as Appropriations chairman .
This would set up a potential party fight between the two powerful Southerners if Shelby wanted to stay on . Cochran ’ s more moderate record could leave him exposed within the GOP conference . And Shelby has been careful to never stray far from McConnell , who undercut Cochran badly when the Mississippian was the ranking Republican on the committee .
“ Yes , he wants a discretionary number so that the Appropriations Committee can do its work , ” a Shelby spokesman said . “ But taken in totality , this is an overall budget deal that he does not support . ” | vZAAh0JB82CUDr8i | 0 | Federal Budget | 0.5 | Budget | 0.2 | Senate | -0.1 | Economy And Jobs | 0 | null | null |
politics | NPR Online News | http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/11/14/363931135/when-legislative-leaders-fail-in-other-countries-they-lose-their-jobs | When Legislative Leaders Fail In Other Countries, They Lose Their Jobs | 2014-11-14 | politics | When Legislative Leaders Fail In Other Countries , They Lose Their Jobs
Last week , you may have heard , the Democrats took a historic drubbing in the midterm elections for Congress . They lost their majority in the Senate and saw their numbers in the House fall to their lowest point in nearly seven decades .
Yet they could hardly wait to get back to Washington and reelect the party 's leaders in both chambers — unopposed .
The 2014 election may have been mainly a referendum on the president , but two other names were mentioned almost as often in Republican ads : Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi . Republican candidates everywhere ran against those two leaders more than they ran against their actual opponents .
Yet Reid already has been swept back into his party 's top spot , and Pelosi will follow next week — and in neither case was there so much as a struggle .
To some degree , this reflects the attitude in the Democratic cloakroom that these two longtime symbols of the party have served the cause well , and are not to blame for the deluge on Election Day . To this way of thinking , ousting Reid or Pelosi would be scapegoating .
But surely there are other Democrats in both chambers who see these two names as being more useful as targets for the enemy than they are valuable as inspirational figures . They rouse the opposition far more effectively than they rally the faithful .
Yet not one member in either chamber has been willing to step forward as a challenger to either Democratic leader . And without such a challenge , the leader simply wins again — either party , either chamber , every time .
Congress has reached historic lows in approval , and despite the election results , that disapproval applies to Republicans , too .
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell , who began 2014 with the lowest home-state approval ratings of any senator seeking re-election , has just become the new majority leader in the Senate for 2015 . He is the toast of Washington .
That , in its way , is as curious as the re-election of Reid and Pelosi . If this is democracy at work , its works are strange indeed .
But then , it is not exactly democracy that is operating : It 's the internal rules of the party conferences in Congress . Those rules make it all but impossible for an incumbent leader to be dislodged .
The difficulty of mounting a challenge — and of gaining the needed commitments from colleagues in secrecy — is matched only by the risk of doing so and failing . Ask the last person who challenged a Speaker or any other party leader .
Or perhaps you do n't remember what became of Heath Schuler , former member of Congress .
And so , whatever the voters may say , the leaders march on .
There is an alternative to this that is readily available . The party caucuses could hold a vote of confidence ( often called a vote of `` no confidence '' ) in the leader by secret ballot after each congressional election . Individuals could vote to remove the leader while remaining anonymous , and the question of succession would be taken up separately as required .
Would it be pretty ? Perhaps not . But with such an arrangement you would gain at least the possibility that the party leader might yield to a fresher face with a cleaner slate . And if such a fate were more plausible than it is now , shaky leaders would be more likely to step aside voluntarily when circumstances dictated .
Alternatively , if the vote of confidence was positive , the party leader could begin anew in the next Congress knowing that he or she really had the bona fide support of his troops . That would be far better than the default endorsement that comes with winning a no-contest reelection .
There would , of course , be no guarantee a new leader would be better , but a new leader would be new . In an office of largely symbolic importance , mere newness can be a cardinal virtue .
The `` no confidence '' vote is a feature of parliamentary systems the world over , and it serves an obviously useful purpose . That purpose is not limited to the majority or the minority leader , nor would it require as devastating an election loss as the Democrats just had .
Doubtless there are those in both parties and chambers who agree such a mechanism would be useful — but the same old survival instincts and cost-benefit ratios still apply , and the math always looks pretty much the same . So we should n't expect to hear the idea of a `` no confidence '' vote being endorsed in any floor speeches next week , when Congress returns for its lame duck session . | 6AaKOUjEv8HFHEo5 | 1 | Politics | -1.1 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
us_congress | Washington Times | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/23/wrap-bill-mahers-calif-tax-revolt-iranian-shadow-w/ | From assault weapons bills shot down to Iranian shadow wars, the week that was | 2013-03-23 | us_congress | The TSA reportedly humiliated a wounded Marine and Sen. Dianne Feinstein ’ s gun control bill was shot down in the Senate .
On the international stage , president Obama visited the Middle East while a shadow war rages between Iran and Israel . The United Nations mulled ways to enforce a global consensus on gun control .
Here ’ s a recap , or wrap , on the week that was from The ███ :
Liberal HBO “ Real Time ” host Bill Maher says he may leave California , due to the state ’ s high tax rate . “ Liberals , ” he said , during a recent broadcast , ” you could actually lose me . ”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren , Massachusetts Democrat , suggested raising the minimum wage to $ 22 per hour is only logical if you look at the numbers .
The Obama administration ’ s top deportation official acknowledged on Tuesday that he could have asked Congress for flexibility to avoid having to release more than 2,000 immigrants back onto the streets ahead of the budget sequesters , but he decided the releases were a better option .
A U.S. defense contractor who works in intelligence at the military ’ s Pacific Command in Hawaii has been charged with passing classified national security information to a 27-year-old Chinese woman he was dating .
Transportation Security Administration inspectors forced a wounded Marine who lost both of his legs in an IED blast and who was in a wheelchair to remove his prosthetic legs at one point , and at another point to stand painfully on his legs while his wheelchair was examined , according to a complaint a congressman has registered with the TSA .
President Obama said getting a national “ assault weapon ” ban was one of his major policy goals of the year . He has already failed .
A January article posted on the website of Foreign Policy magazine homed in on secret U.S. frustration that Israeli agents allegedly pretended to be CIA agents in order to recruit members of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jundallah to carry out Mossad-driven missions in the secret war with Iran .
Bureaucrats from 150 nations are ramping up efforts to impose gun control through international pact . Here in the United States , the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty has become the vehicle to drive an agenda that is deeply controversial because once a treaty is ratified by the Senate , it becomes the supreme law of the land .
The man who shot up an Aurora , Colo. , movie theater during a screening of “ The Dark Knight Rises ” last summer has reportedly converted to Islam and prays up to five times a day .
The Senate on Thursday voted to repeal a sales tax on medical devices that is part of President Obama ’ s health-care law , a rare bipartisan attempt to strip away a section of the controversial reforms . | W3VE8U5av8tkTD9g | 2 | Politics | -0.2 | US Congress | -0.1 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
fbi | The Hill | https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/498593-read-susan-rices-email-discussing-michael-flynn-and-russia | Susan Rice's email discussing Michael Flynn and Russia | 2020-05-19 | fbi | The Trump administration on Tuesday declassified an email that former national security adviser ( NSA ) Susan Rice sent herself about a meeting discussing `` sensitive information related to Russia '' and her incoming successor , Michael Flynn .
The email , which Rice sent the day of President Trump Donald John TrumpTrump taps Brooke Rollins as acting domestic policy chief Trump takes pandemic fight to Michigan Trump to celebrate Memorial Day at Baltimore 's Fort McHenry MORE 's inauguration , describes a Jan. 5 , 2017 , Oval Office meeting between herself , former President Obama , former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenTrump takes pandemic fight to Michigan MSNBC political analyst Karine Jean-Pierre joins Biden campaign Poll : Older voters slip from Trump ; younger voters turn away from Biden MORE , former FBI Director James Comey James Brien ComeySenate Republicans issue first subpoena in Biden-Burisma probe Graham to release report on his probe into Russia investigation before election Susan Rice calls for Flynn-Kislyak transcripts to be released MORE and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates Sally Caroline YatesSenate Republicans issue first subpoena in Biden-Burisma probe READ : Susan Rice 's email discussing Michael Flynn and Russia McConnell embraces subpoena of Obama-era officials MORE .
`` Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador [ Sergey ] Kislyak . Comey said that could be an issue as it relates to sharing sensitive information , '' Rice wrote in the email , which was formerly classified as `` top secret . ''
`` President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC [ National Security Council ] should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn . Comey replied 'potentially , ' '' she continued . `` He added that he has no indication thus far that Flynn has passed classified information to Kislyak , but he noted that 'the level of communication is unusual . ' ''
Sen. Ron Johnson Ronald ( Ron ) Harold JohnsonGOP senator wants to release report on Biden-Burisma probe as soon as June Senate Republicans issue first subpoena in Biden-Burisma probe Tensions flare over GOP 's Obama probes MORE ( R-Wis. ) , who obtained the email through the Justice Department , emphasized the `` significance of the meeting '' described in the email to the probe by GOP lawmakers into the handling of the investigation into Russia 's election interference .
Flynn , who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to FBI agents as a consequence of former special counsel Robert Mueller Robert ( Bob ) MuellerCNN 's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition ' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting ███ 's 12:30 Report : New Hampshire fallout MORE 's investigation into Russia 's election interference , has been a key player in the GOP 's probe . The Justice Department has since made the controversial recommendation to drop the case against Flynn . | od60v6DmBRzSv5bn | 1 | James Comey | -0.5 | Michael Flynn | -0.5 | Politics | 0 | FBI | 0 | Barack Obama | 0 |
elections | CNN (Web News) | https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/01/politics/youth-voters-midterms-energy/index.html | Young voters usually sit out the midterms. There are signs 2018 could be different. | 2018-11-01 | Midterm Elections, Elections | But as Election Day draws near , a question looms : Will they vote ?
Typical midterm elections tend to draw out an older , whiter electorate and fewer single women than presidential years . But because of the deep disdain for Trump among the younger generation , this midterm cycle appears supercharged by younger voters who were stung by the outcome in 2016 , and cognizant that their generation could have made the difference for Hillary Clinton .
Strong turnout within that age group could tip some of the closer House races into the Democratic column .
There 's `` an embarrassment that comes with having not voted , or having not cared about voting in the past , '' said Jessica Cohen , a 30-year-old product manager for a software company in California .
`` ( People ) are realizing how many consequences there have been since 2016 , '' she added .
New polling this week confirms that the energy among youth voters on the ground is n't a mirage .
new poll from Harvard Institute of Politics this week found that 18-to-29-year-olds are far more likely to vote in Tuesday 's midterm election than they were in 2010 and 2014 . Forty percent of those polled said they would `` definitely vote '' in the midterms .
President Trump 's job approval rating among those under 30 was 26 % . If he runs for re-election in 2020 , 59 % of those polled said they `` will never '' vote for him .
In one striking finding , 65 % of likely voters in the 18-to-29 age group said they were more fearful than hopeful about the future . Immigration and refugees topped the list of concerns , followed by jobs , President Trump ( or leadership issues ) , and health care .
The energy among the younger generation has also resulted in a crop of candidates in their late 20s and early 30s .
One of those candidates is 31-year-old Katie Hill , the Democrat running in California 's 25th District against incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Knight . Clinton won this district in 2016 .
Hill is one of the youngest Congressional candidates running this November , along with Abby Finkenauer in Iowa 's First District , and Lauren Underwood in Illinois 's 14th District .
Every weekend morning in recent months , dozens of young voters have shown up at Hill 's campaign headquarters in Santa Clarita . The office is wedged in a strip mall between a gun armory and a vape shop , underscoring the political diversity of this partly-suburban , partly-rural district north of Los Angeles .
The line of canvassers spilling out the door is decidedly youthful : Echo Park hipsters , Berniacs sporting 2020 T-Shirts , athletic young moms pushing jogging strollers , and large contingents of USC and UCLA students who are competing over who can make the most voter contacts in California 's competitive House districts .
Hill , a first-time candidate who filmed one of her campaign commercials while free-climbing a hundred-foot rock wall in nearby Texas Canyon , blends in easily in her purple campaign T-shirt and aqua skinny jeans .
But she steps up on the staircase to rally this fresh crop of doorknockers , warning that national Republican groups are pouring last-minute money into the race because it is polling within the margin of error .
`` You can tell people when you 're knocking on those doors that this election could come down to a few hundred votes , '' Hill tells the group as they ready the lists on their clipboards . `` So their vote really will matter more in this election than probably any election that they 'll ever vote in - and that there 's no path to flipping the House and holding Donald Trump accountable or making any real progress across the country if we do n't flip this seat . ''
At Hill 's headquarters , 30-year-old Caitlin Carlson said she was relieved that people in her generation finally `` want to step up and do something . ''
`` We have been coasting a little bit . We just always kind of assumed that things would work out , '' Carlson said . `` Taking the House back is the first step to getting our country back on the rails . It just feels like we 're on this crazy train right now where logic and facts do n't matter . ''
She views Tuesday 's election as `` the first real big test for millennials to have faith that the system works . ''
Nationally , Democrats have engaged in a forceful effort this fall to convince younger voters that flipping control of the US House could serve as a check on Trump administration policies that they do n't agree with .
They have enlisted many of the potential 2020 Democratic candidates -- including Bernie Sanders , Elizabeth Warren , Cory Booker and Kamala Harris -- to deliver that message .
On Friday night in Oceanside , Sanders drew hundreds of cheering , foot-stomping young fans to a rally organized by California Young Democrats for down ballot candidates , including Mike Levin , the Democrat who is vying for the open seat of retiring Republican Congressman Darrell Issa in Orange and San Diego counties .
Levin , an environmental attorney , delivered an even more pointed message than Sanders -- telling the crowd that the 2018 midterm election will be `` won or lost '' by people between the ages of 18 and 35 .
`` In 2016 , 31 million voters in that age group , all very much eligible to vote , decided not to , '' Levin told the rally crowd gathered in a gymnasium . `` The result was Donald Trump -- and Charlottesville , and a tax cut designed to benefit the wealthiest 1 % of Americans , and Justice Neil Gorsuch , and Justice Brett Kavanaugh . '' ( Kavanaugh 's name alone drew the loudest boos of the night ) .
`` You stay home on Election Day , and Republicans stay in charge , '' Levin continued . `` Your healthcare gets taken away , your student loans become more impossible to pay off , and places like Pulse ( the nightclub in Orlando ) and Parkland are joined by many more preventable tragedies . ''
Christina Ruiz , a 31-year-old in the crowd who came to see Sanders , said she had just sent in her ballot - the first she has ever cast in a midterm election .
`` My friends are way more involved in voting now , '' said Ruiz , a single mom who tutors at MiraCosta College where the rally was being held . `` Even in the midterms . I never really remember them posting about them , and now they 're on Facebook every day talking about it . ''
When Ruiz thinks about Democrats retaking the House , she said she hopes they will advance Sanders ' agenda for universal health care and free college tuition .
`` That 's still a pipe dream , but it 's something that we 're moving towards , '' Ruiz said .
She also believes divided government could force more compromise and bring more unity to America . `` Right now there 's so much polarization going on . I feel it ; I feel it even at school .... Before people were always Democrats or Republicans or something else , but you did n't have that hatred . Now it 's like you 're afraid to talk about politics , even with people in your own family . ''
Perhaps no one has more faith in the power of the youth vote this cycle than Hill herself .
The former head of a non-profit that was focused on the region 's homeless crisis , Hill often reminds her audiences that she never expected to fill this role -- but decided she needed to step up if her perspective was going to be heard .
`` We have to turn out young people , and I believe that we can this time , '' Hill said in an interview . `` I had so many people tell me that 's a losing strategy , and I just do n't believe that 's true . This is a campaign , and this is a moment in history , when people are going to show up . ''
Correction : This story has been updated to correctly attribute quotes to Christina Ruiz . | a9fabdc975337548 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
abortion | CBN | http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2015/August/Pro-Lifers-Take-over-P-Parenthoods-PPShoutYourStory-/ | Pro-Lifers Take over Planned Parenthood's #PPShoutYourStory | 2015-08-04 | abortion | Pro-lifers have taken to social media to use Planned Parenthood 's own campaign hashtag against them .
Planned Parenthood centers and supporters across the country took to Facebook and Twitter encouraging women to share how Planned Parenthood has helped them , using the hashtag # PPShoutYourStory .
Clinics posted messages like this one , hoping for positive participation around the country :
`` As part of the ? # ? PPShoutYourStory ? campaign , people around New Mexico have been sharing their stories of how Planned Parenthood has impacted their lives . Participate in our all-out Twitter rally to shout your story about what Planned Parenthood means to you . Thursday , July 16 at 12:30 p.m. MT . Save the date ! '' posted on Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado Facebook page .
Thousands of people have joined in on the hashtag to share their stories , but not in the way the organization hoped for . A quick click on the hashtag displays countless stories of women permanently traumatized from their visits to Planned Parenthood .
`` Hey planned parenthood : I was born alive in one of your clinics , burned in my mother 's womb for 18 hrs # PPShoutYourStory '' @ giannajessen .
`` I had an abortion at 16 & regret it every day . I wish I had a 37 yo & grandkids instead of regret . # PPShoutYourStory '' @ GeorgetteForney
`` I 'm married 23 yrs two lovely kiddos and a successful new business # noChildsacrificed # PPShoutYourStory '' @ conservgal
`` Actually women do excel w/o it costing the lives of their babes-That 's my story # PPShoutYourStory # PPSellsBabyParts '' @ Kyleenwright
`` Let me disclose my shame . I have had two abortions . Two ... Twenty years ago , unmarried but in a relationship I thought would be my last , a violent morning sickness revealed to me that I was with child . The man in my life , at 24 , was a mental boy and could n't or would n't face fatherhood . And I was a coward , afraid to lose him , '' Julie Ludlum posted on her Facebook page .
`` So with grief and disgust , I went to Planned Parenthood . I was cavalierly offered a video about something but not given other options and had no individual counsel ... I swore to myself it would never happen again . Ten years later , different man , same scenario . This time , I begged him to please , please let me keep this child ... I share your disgust and frustration , but abortion number two still happened , '' she wrote .
`` That was Thomas , and I nearly followed him into death out of guilt and self loathing and a very tempting bridge over San Diego traffic . But I 'm here . My life and my horrible sins have been redeemed through the work of Jesus on the cross ... So I will continue to post information about Planned Parenthood because ? # ? PPkillsbabies ? and ? # ? PPsellsbabyparts ? ... ? # ? DefundPP ? Do n't ? # ? StandwithPP. ? ''
Ludlum did not use the hashtag in her original post , but several of her friends included it as they shared her story on Facebook .
`` Between our culture 's declarations of belief that abortion revolves around a woman 's personal choice are other women out of their depths responding by their actions a potential child was never nor ever will be a sheer choice , despite attempts to make it one . # PPShoutYourStory , '' Sean Brendon Stewart wrote . | G5EK8enNztoZj4uK | 2 | Abortion | -0.2 | Planned Parenthood | 0 | Social Media | 0 | null | null | null | null |
race_and_racism | Associated Press | https://apnews.com/7c536548b165befa04a45b75851307f2 | In 2015 audio, Bloomberg advocates targeting minorities | 2020-02-11 | race_and_racism | FILE - In this Tuesday , Feb. 4 , 2020 , file photo , Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg talks to supporters , in Detroit . Bloomberg won the votes of New Hampshire 's Dixville Notch community , hanging onto its tradition of being among the first to cast ballots in the presidential primary , early Tuesday , Feb. 11 . ( AP Photo/Carlos Osorio , File )
FILE - In this Tuesday , Feb. 4 , 2020 , file photo , Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg talks to supporters , in Detroit . Bloomberg won the votes of New Hampshire 's Dixville Notch community , hanging onto its tradition of being among the first to cast ballots in the presidential primary , early Tuesday , Feb. 11 . ( AP Photo/Carlos Osorio , File )
WASHINGTON ( AP ) — Mike Bloomberg is under fire for resurfaced comments in which he says the way to bring down murder rates is to “ put a lot of cops ” in minority neighborhoods because that ’ s where “ all the crime is . ”
The billionaire and former New York mayor made the comments at a 2015 appearance at the Aspen Institute , as part of an overall defense of his support for the controversial “ stop and frisk ” policing tactic that has been found to disproportionately affect minorities .
Bloomberg launched his Democratic presidential bid late last year with an apology for his support for the policy . On Tuesday , after the comments resurfaced , he reiterated his apology and said his 2015 remarks “ do not reflect my commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity . ”
But the audio of his Aspen speech highlights his embrace of the policy just a few years ago , and suggests he was aware of the disproportionate impact of stop-and-frisk on minorities . Bloomberg says that “ 95 percent ” of murders and murder victims are young male minorities and that “ you can just take the description , Xerox it and pass it out to all the cops. ” To combat crime , he says , “ put a lot of cops where the crime is , which means in minority neighborhoods . ”
In the audio , he acknowledges focusing police forces in minority neighborhoods means minorities are disproportionately arrested for marijuana possession , but dismisses that as a necessary consequence of the crime in those neighborhoods . And to “ get the guns out of the kids hands , ” Bloomberg says , police must “ throw ’ em against the wall and frisk ’ em . ”
“ And they say , ‘ oh , I don ’ t want that , I don ’ t wan na get caught. ’ So they don ’ t bring the gun , ” he says .
According to a report in the Aspen Times that year , Bloomberg blocked the release of video of the Aspen Institute appearance , but the Aspen Times reporter uploaded what appears to be the full audio online , and it drew renewed attention Monday after podcaster Benjamin Dixon circulated it on twitter .
In his Tuesday statement , Bloomberg notes that he “ inherited the practice of stop and frisk ” from the previous administration , and noted that by the time he left office he significantly reduced its use . He said , “ I should have done it faster and sooner . ”
But stop and frisk expanded dramatically on Bloomberg ’ s watch , reaching a peak in 2011 when over 685,000 people were stopped , according to ACLU data . While its use declined significantly after that , Bloomberg stood by the program even in the face of widespread criticism and legal challenges .
The former New York mayor has distanced himself from the policy since launching his presidential campaign as part of a broader strategy aimed at appealing to minority voters , which are a key voting bloc for Democrats . He ’ s also acknowledged his own white privilege and released policies focused on issues central to some African American communities , like black homeownership and maternal mortality rates .
Joe Biden has long held an overwhelming advantage with African Americans , pointing to their support as his firewall that would provide him with a much-needed primary win in South Carolina at the end of the month . But Biden lost in Iowa and trails in New Hampshire and as his candidacy has become imperiled , recent polling suggests he has lost some African American support .
None of his Democratic rivals has yet to truly capitalize , though both Bloomberg and Bernie Sanders have made some inroads . Both have received a number of prominent African American endorsements and have been holding campaign events specifically aimed at the black community .
Early Tuesday , Bloomberg faced sharp criticism . Symone Sanders , a top adviser to Biden ’ s campaign , called the comments “ sad and despicable , ” and said he “ will have to answer for these comments. ” President Donald Trump , who himself has supported stop-and-frisk policies , sent out a tweet with a clip of the audio declaring “ Bloomberg ’ s a racist . ”
Trump later deleted the tweet but his campaign seized upon its argument .
“ These are clearly racist comments and are unacceptable . It also shows that his apology for ‘ stop and frisk ’ was fake and was only designed to win him votes , ” said Trump campaign communications director , Tim Murtagh . “ In a Democrat primary , this kind of talk is poison . Now everyone can see what a fraud Mike Bloomberg is . ”
In an October 2018 speech to the International Association of Police Chiefs , Trump touted its use in New York under former mayor Rudy Giuliani , now his personal attorney , and urged Chicago to adopt it .
And in 2013 , he defended both the tactic and Bloomberg ’ s police commissioner , tweeting “ Stop and frisk works . Instead of criticizing @ NY_POLICE Chief Ray Kelly , New Yorkers should be thanking him for keeping NY safe . ”
Bloomberg focused the bulk of his statement about the audio on Trump , arguing the president ’ s attack “ reflects his fear over the growing strength of my campaign . ”
“ Make no mistake Mr. President : I am not afraid of you and I will not let you bully me or anyone else in America , ” Bloomberg said .
And indeed , the attacks on Bloomberg follow two tracks for the Trump campaign : they reveal a growing concern about the billionaire ’ s candidacy and an unlikely push to attract black voters .
The president and his campaign team have been warily watching Bloomberg ’ s spending spree since the former mayor ’ s late entry into the presidential race .
Trump ’ s campaign manager , Brad Parscale , had previously told staffers he would not worry about Bloomberg until he cracked double digits , which the former mayor has now exceeded in some recent national polls . Parscale told aides recently that the campaign would soon be doing more Bloomberg-centric polling , according to a campaign aide not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations .
But Trump himself has been fixated on the Democratic race even amid his impeachment trial .
Ignoring counsel from some aides , including senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner , to ignore Bloomberg and thus avoid elevating him in a Democratic field that remains unsettled , Trump has delivered frequent broadsides against the far-richer billionaire .
Annoyed by Bloomberg ’ s wealth , favorable press and easy entree into the upper realm of New York ’ s elite that long ago rejected him , Trump has repeatedly attacked the former mayor , including recent digs about his height and golf game .
The Trump campaign also believes that uncertainty in the Democratic field could lead to a chance to chip away at the other party ’ s advantage with black voters .
The campaign has made its own pitch , touting economic growth for minorities since 2016 and highlighting the president ’ s advocacy for criminal justice reform , including in a highly watched Super Bowl ad . Though Trump polls unfavorably with African Americans , the push has two goals : to win over more black voters and to discourage African Americans from turning out for Democrats on Election Day by convincing them there is little difference between the two parties ’ agendas .
Black voters turned out overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in 2016 but at a lesser rate than for Barack Obama , contributing to Trump ’ s slim margin of victory in several battleground states .
███ writer Jonathan Lemire contributed reporting from Manchester , N.H . | AeATuOvhNC5I6mT6 | 1 | Michael Bloomberg | 0.4 | Police | -0.4 | Criminal Justice | 0.2 | 2020 Election | 0 | Crime | 0 |
supreme_court | NBC News Digital | https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/sham-customer-likely-didnt-affect-supreme-court-ruling-sex-weddings-ex-rcna92366 | 'Sham' website customer likely didn't affect Supreme Court ruling on same-sex weddings, experts say | 2023-07-05 | Supreme Court, Free Speech, 1st Amendment, LGBTQ Issues | The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of an evangelical Christian web designer who refused to work on same-sex weddings didn't hinge on what now appears to have been a request from a fake customer, legal experts said Monday.In a case that wound up dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights, the focus on the potential customer first arose after web designer Lorie Smith said in a previous court filing that someone named Stewart had reached out to her in 2016 about putting together a website for his marriage to a person named Mike.That narrative was thrown into question last week after The New Republic published an article on Stewart, who denied ever having reached out to Smith. It quoted him saying he was a web designer who has been married to a woman for years.“I wouldn’t want anybody to … make me a wedding website?” the man identified only as Stewart told the magazine. “I’m married, I have a child — I’m not really sure where that came from? But somebody’s using false information in a Supreme Court filing document.”The revelation has led to complaints on social media that the case should never have made it as far as the Supreme Court, with many arguing that Smith didn't have legal standing to bring the case if there weren't any customers seeking her services.Legal experts reached by NBC News disagreed."Though I think the [Supreme Court] opinion is misguided in many ways, I do think she has standing," said Carolyn Shapiro, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She noted that Smith had sought what's known as a pre-enforcement challenge, in which she argued that her right to free speech was being chilled by a Colorado state law."She’s saying I want to do something that's definitely against the law in Colorado. I think that’s probably enough for a pre-enforcement challenge," Shapiro said.Smith sued in 2016 saying she wanted to design wedding websites but was concerned that the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act would force her to put together websites for same-sex weddings, as well. She said she wanted to post a statement on her website making clear her opposition to doing so.Jonathan Miller, an attorney and the chief program officer at the Public Rights Project, a civil rights legal group, said "pre-enforcement review is generally good" and "needed to ensure unconstitutional laws don't go into effect." He questioned its use in this case, however, because the law had been in effect for years.Miller said the presence of the apparently phony inquiry in the court record shows “there are serious questions about the facts and record in this case.” The lawyers in the case shouldn't have allowed “an unverified account to be part of the record,” Miller said.Jonathan Scruggs, the senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, the group that brought Smith’s lawsuit, said that “Lorie had no reason to think the email was a fake” and that she’d never responded to it for fear of triggering the Colorado law.“She didn’t reach out because that would violate the law itself,” Scruggs said.Smith also had an advantage in the case, Shapiro and Miller said: Then-Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, a Republican, had signed off on a generous joint statement of stipulated facts in the case that laid out numerous positions about her beliefs.“I don’t think it was good strategic litigation to sign off on all those stipulations,” Shapiro said.Writing for the conservative majority in the 6-3 ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch cited the stipulations as showing "the wedding websites Ms. Smith seeks to create qualify as pure speech protected by the First Amendment."Ed Whelan, a conservative attorney who supports the court's decision, said that what Smith was seeking was “standard First Amendment pre-enforcement relief” and that the Colorado law she was challenging made her feel she was “stuck between a rock and a hard place.”Whelan, who clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia and is now a distinguished senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a nonprofit conservative policy group, said he didn't think the “sham” client was a relevant factor in the court's decision because it isn't even mentioned in the majority opinion or the dissent. He also noted the disputed email was sent to Smith the day after her complaint was filed and reported on in the media.“This whole insinuation makes no sense at all,” Whelan said, adding that it was more likely to have been a prank on Smith than an effort on her behalf to deceive the court.Smith's attorneys had used the email to try to bolster her case in court filings but to no avail.The federal judge who initially ruled on the case, Marcia S. Krieger, brushed off the relevance of the email in her decision, saying that "it is not clear that Stewart and Mike are a same-sex couple (as such names can be used by members of both sexes)."Krieger found Smith had standing to sue regardless but ruled against her claims. Smith appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which also found she had standing but rejected her legal challenge.The appeals court found Smith and her company had "sufficiently demonstrated both an intent to provide graphic and web design services to the public in a manner that exposes them to [Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act] liability, and a credible threat that Colorado will prosecute them under that statute."In his majority opinion, Gorsuch cited the appeals court's finding on standing and wrote that "no party challenges these conclusions."He also found that Smith "had established a credible threat that, if she follows through on her plans to offer wedding website services, Colorado will invoke CADA to force her to create speech she does not believe or endorse."In a sharply worded 38-page dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the ruling "heartbreaking" and said it was part of “a backlash to the movement for liberty and equality for gender and sexual minorities” and a type of “reactionary exclusion.”One thing Sotomayor didn't mention, Whelan noted, was any concern about Smith's legal standing to bring the case in the first place."Every justice agreed," he said. | b0006f249fcdcd7f | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
terrorism | The Guardian | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/26/push-combat-us-domestic-terrorism-far-right-extremism | Fears grow that efforts to combat US domestic terrorism can hurt minorities | 2021-01-26 | Terrorism, Criminal Justice, Inequality, Race And Racism, FBI, National Security, Role Of Government, Civil Liberties | Civil rights advocates worry that moves to fight far-right extremism will be used against communities of color and leftwing activists An expanded no-fly list. New crimes put on the books. Increased use of the death penalty. These are some of the ways that politicians, pundits and law enforcement want to head off a repeat of the 6 January attack on the Capitol. But a renewed national security push aimed at addressing domestic terrorism has civil liberties groups steeling themselves, concerned that moves to combat far-right extremism will instead redound against communities of color and leftwing activists. Last summer’s racial justice protests jump-started a national conversation over the endurance of racism within America’s law enforcement and security apparatus. But despite campaigning on the need to reform those institutions, some mainstream Democrats are now taking the lead on calls to expand them. The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has called for the Capitol rioters to be placed on the no-fly list. President Joe Biden, whose campaign website pledges his administration will “work for a domestic terrorism law”, has ordered a comprehensive assessment of domestic violent extremism. The House speaker ,Nancy Pelosi, has called for a new “9/11-type commission”. And the first domestic terrorism legislation to follow the Capitol attack was introduced in the House last week by the Illinois Democrat Brad Schneider. The Democratic party, however, isn’t entirely united on the issue. Ten progressive members of Congress, led by the Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib have sent a letter to congressional leadership expressing opposition to an expansion of national security powers. “The Trump mob’s success in breaching the Capitol was not due to a lack of resources at the disposal of federal law enforcement,” the letter reads. “We firmly believe that the national security and surveillance powers of the US government are already too broad, undefined, and unaccountable to the people.” “Our history is littered with examples of initiatives sold as being necessary to fight extremism that quickly devolve into tools used for the mass violation of the human and civil rights of the American people,” the letter continues. It cites as examples the McCarthy-era House Un-American Activities Committee, the surveillance of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and the invention of a category in 2017 called “Black Identity Extremism” the FBI claimed posed a risk of domestic terrorism. More than 100 civil and human rights organizations have also joined in a statement of opposition to any new domestic terror legislation. Since 6 January, security officials have resurrected the same well-honed argument trotted out when the debate around domestic terrorism resurfaces: that the law hamstrings police from effectively fighting white nationalist violence. “There are so many limitations on law enforcement,” Bill Bratton, former commissioner of the NYPD, recently told CNBC. “We don’t have many of the tools to battle domestic terrorism that we have to battle international terrorism.” Civil rights and civil liberties experts say that argument is disingenuous, a ploy to seize power in a time of national crisis, and point to the many laws at the disposal of law enforcement in fighting domestic extremism. What they lack, they say, is the will to go after white supremacists the way they do communities of color, despite white supremacists accounting for the vast majority of criminal acts that are classifiable by law as domestic terrorism. “In the last four years, white supremacists and far-right militias have engaged in public violence, and have made public statements about their intent to do so,” said Mike German, a former FBI agent now with the Brennan Center for Justice. “So it’s a little hard for me to understand how the FBI and local law enforcement had no idea that the attack on the Capitol was being planned.” The government does have more expansive powers – powers that ballooned in the decades since 9/11 – to target Americans it claims are associated with groups designated by the state department as “Foreign Terrorism Organizations”. While the Patriot Act and other post-9/11 authorities did expand the government’s ability to investigate and prosecute domestic terrorism, it has so far avoided extending all of those authorities to domestic groups. That’s in part due to first amendment-related concerns, as the US constitution permits non-violent association with hateful groups. Advocates also point out how damaging those anti-terrorism powers have been to Muslim-American communities and the rule of law. The “terrorism” label has been used to justify the surveillance of entire communities, mass arrests and deportations, entrapment, harassment, an inflated watchlist system and, of course, the Muslim ban, one of the original sins of the Trump presidency. “An expansion of domestic terrorism won’t mean more focus on white terrorism,” said Diala Shamas, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights. “When you consider the biases that law enforcement has – with its focus on black political dissent, Muslim political dissent, Palestinian organizing – it’s not far-fetched to imagine that those are the groups that will be disproportionately represented in any so-called domestic terrorism framing.” Shamas says the concept of terrorism can’t be divorced from its legacy of politicization and abuse. “The caution I urge in using that terminology is because of this acute awareness that it ends up triggering such expansive state action.” Asad Dandia, a Brooklyn-based community organizer, has first-hand experience with the upheaval the terrorism label can wreak. When Dandia was a teenager, his charity was infiltrated by an informant working for the NYPD who spent months spying on Dandia, his family and friends, as part of the police department’s notorious, years-long surveillance program of the city’s Muslim communities. Dandia joined a lawsuit against the NYPD in 2013 that settled in 2017 after the NYPD agreed to a series of reforms. He recently reread the confession the informant posted on Facebook. “I was an informant for the NYPD, for a little while, to investigate terrorism,” it read. “I had totally forgotten that keyword was there,” Dandia says of the word terrorism. “We, my community and my friends, were given that designation. To argue for that designation for another community would implicitly mean to accept it for myself. And I refuse to accept it for myself.” Policymakers are currently considering a number of options. The bill introduced last week calls for the creation of domestic terrorism offices within the FBI and the departments of homeland security and justice, and for increased monitoring and reporting on threats and investigations. The proposal that has civil liberties most concerned is a bill first introduced in 2019 by the House intelligence chair, Adam Schiff, which would give the attorney general the authority to identify certain crimes as acts as terrorism. Given the aggressive policing and prosecutions of last summer’s racial justice protesters – in just one example, an Indigenous man now faces 10 years in prison for his Facebook posts – they say it’s easy to imagine charges against protesters inflated even more with a terrorism designation green-lit by an unsympathetic attorney general like William Barr. “In addition to further harming already marginalized communities, these charges could be used to brand as terrorists people who protest against government injustices by engaging in civil disobedience or actions that result in property damage,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a letter opposing that bill. German, the former FBI agent, recently published a report tying biased policing to the extensive infiltration of police departments by white supremacists. German charges the FBI with playing a “semantic game” in claiming the US lacks a domestic terrorism law, pointing to the dozens of statutes relating to what the law defines as domestic terrorism. The best way for police to target white supremacist violence, he says, is by rooting out racists within their ranks and enforcing laws that already exist. Shamas and German both point to the need for a broader reckoning with the reasons the government has historically turned a blind eye to far-right extremism. “In my view, the real problem with white supremacy is the proximity to the state,” says Shamas. “It’s the fact that we have representatives in Congress who are white supremacists, it’s the fact that police departments are being infiltrated by these groups. “None of that is captured when you say, ‘these are terrorists.’ The relationship with the state gets blurred.” | 69ebf814f601f9a4 | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
coronavirus | Time Magazine | https://time.com/5812569/covid-19-new-york-morgues/ | 'I Still Can't Believe What I'm Seeing.' What It’s Like to Live Across the Street From a Temporary Morgue During the Coronavirus Outbreak | coronavirus | From the living room window of her Brooklyn apartment , Alix Monteleone watched the team of workers assemble the morgue in stages over the weekend . First , they parked the refrigerated trailer along the curb , a white box about the size of a large shipping container . Then , they built a wooden ramp to allow hospital staff to wheel the bodies inside . Finally , on Monday , the workers erected a wall of panels , thin and white , to stop passersby from staring or getting too close to the dead .
After that , the gawkers mostly went away . But Monteleone , a 28-year-old event planner from Long Island , kept up her vigil from the third-floor window .
“ I spend my entire day like this , ” she says , propping her elbows onto the back of her couch and looking out toward the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center , the hospital across the street . “ I still can ’ t believe what I ’ m seeing . ”
Workers build shelves for a makeshift morgue outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn , New York , on March 30 , as seen from an apartment building across the street . Benjamin Norman for TIME
The deployment of temporary morgues across the city—known to emergency planners as Body Collection Points , or BCPs—marks a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic for New Yorkers , whose city has rapidly become the global center of the crisis . By late Monday , the state ’ s death toll had surpassed 1,200 , with more than 66,000 confirmed infections . More than 900 of the deaths were in New York City .
Until now , it had been largely possible for residents to shut out the worst of this calamity , retreat into their homes and only go out for short trips around the neighborhood , all without confronting anything more grim than empty streets and people wearing face masks .
The arrival of the morgues and makeshift hospitals—which have been installed in public spaces—has thrust the pandemic into full view as it envelops the nation ’ s largest city , making this escapism difficult . Anyone strolling through Central Park could observe a field hospital erected on the lawns to alleviate the patient load at hospitals like Wyckoff Heights . Another pop-up hospital has been set up at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan , and on Monday , the Navy ship Comfort docked in New York to take on more patients .
Marc Kozlow , 33 , and Alix Monteleone , 28 , look out their window toward Wyckoff Heights Medical Center on March 30 . In one weekend , after a temporary morgue was erected outside , they counted more than a dozen bodies . `` I want to know , '' Monteleone says , referencing the temporary morgue parked nearby . `` I want to know the body count . '' Benjamin Norman for TIME
The largest temporary morgue in New York City occupies a tent set up over the weekend outside Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan . “ We have them at public and private hospitals throughout the boroughs , ” says Aja Worthy-Davis , a spokesperson for the office of the chief medical examiner , the city agency responsible for caring for the dead . At least four had been set up as of Monday , she said : two in Brooklyn , one in Queens , and one in Manhattan . “ We expect to start utilizing the large tent in Bellevue soon . ”
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Ramon Rodriguez , the President and CEO of the Wyckoff Heights hospital , says it was not his decision to deploy the refrigerated truck , but he is thankful that the office of the medical examiner was able to provide it to his facility , whose morgue can only house nine bodies at a time . “ Over the last three weeks we have filled that morgue many times over , ” he says of the hospital ’ s usual morgue space .
The bodies in the refrigerated truck are being picked up by funeral homes for burial as quickly as possible , adds Rodriguez . Given the distress this process was likely to cause local residents , placing the truck on a public street was not an easy decision , he says . But the hospital had no other viable place to put the trailer , which is 53 feet long .
“ We want to be respectful and kind both to the people who have left this earth and those who live across the street , ” says Rodriguez . And the need for extra privacy is why the hospital put an enclosure around the wooden ramp leading to the trailer .
Under the New York City medical examiner ’ s protocols for a pandemic , the deployment of temporary morgues becomes necessary when the death toll tops 200 per day , overwhelming the capacity of hospitals to store bodies safely . New York City passed that threshold last week , triggering a new “ mobilization level ” in the city—the third level on a scale of six—according to a copy of the chief medical examiner ’ s pandemic “ surge plan ” for handling the dead , which Worthy-Davis shared with TIME .
Drafted in 2008 to prepare for a devastating flu pandemic , the plan envisions far more dramatic measures of “ mass fatality management ” if the virus continues to spread . Officials at Rikers Island , the city ’ s main jail , could put inmates to work burying some of the dead in the city-run public cemetery on Hart Island , the plan states . Under the current level of mobilization , the city must also draw up contracts with cemeteries that can accommodate temporary mass graves , which the plan describes in jarring detail : “ Ten bodies in caskets are placed lengthwise in a long narrow section in the ground . ”
Workers transport a casket-sized box near the morgue set up outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn on March 30 . Benjamin Norman for TIME
By comparison , the installation of temporary morgues would seem like a measure New Yorkers could stomach . But it has been enough to unsettle the neighbors of the Wyckoff Heights hospital . Before the refrigerated trailer arrived on Friday , Monteleone and her fiance , Marc Kozlow , had gotten used to the routines of confinement and boredom that come with social distancing . They took turns walking their dog Hank around the neighborhood . She had tried doing needlepoint to pass the time . He had started baking sourdough in the kitchen .
But by Saturday , when they saw the first bodies taken on gurneys from the hospital and carried into the trailer , their hopes for riding out the pandemic at home began to dim . “ If a nuclear reactor is exploding near you , you don ’ t stay near the hot zone , ” says Kozlow , 33 . “ You get out . ”
Although they understood from news reports that the hospital across the street was quickly filling with COVID-19 patients last week , the reality only sank in after they began to see the bodies , some of them zipped into bags , others wrapped in what appeared to be white bed sheets . They counted more than a dozen over the weekend .
Monteleone keeps insisting they stay . “ This is my home , ” she says in the living room of their one-bedroom apartment . “ The only semblance of control I have in my life right now is staying in my home . So we just need to adjust . We need to close the blinds . ”
But within a few minutes she was back at the window . “ I want to know , ” she says . “ I want to know the body count . ”
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politics | BBC News | https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48990760 | Theresa May condemns Trump's 'go back' remark to congresswomen | politics | UK Prime Minister Theresa May has criticised US President Donald Trump for calling on several Democratic congresswomen of colour to `` go back '' .
The outgoing PM called Mr Trump 's words `` completely unacceptable '' , according to her spokesperson .
Mr Trump said the women `` originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe '' .
He was referring to four congresswomen - three who were born in the US and one who came as a child refugee .
His remarks were widely condemned as racist , and as having gone beyond previous statements and actions by the president that drew allegations of racism .
Prospective Democratic presidential candidates denounced Mr Trump 's tweets as racist and divisive . Republican Party representatives largely kept quiet .
Despite the criticism , President Trump launched another Twitter tirade on Monday morning , calling on the women themselves to apologise .
The women - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley , and Ilhan Omar , who came to the US as a refugee aged 12 - all called the president racist and were backed by members of the Democratic Party .
Ms Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx in New York , approximately 12 miles away from the Queens hospital where Mr Trump was born .
Mrs May resigned as leader of the UK 's governing Conservative Party in June after being unable to get a Brexit deal through parliament . Two candidates are currently vying to replace her as prime minister .
In Sunday 's three-tweet thread , Mr Trump accused the congresswomen of `` viciously '' criticising him and the US .
The president did not explicitly name the women , but the context - and references to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - made a clear link . He said Ms Pelosi would happily organise for them to leave the country .
A week ago , Ms Pelosi clashed with the four women - sometimes nicknamed `` the squad '' - but she has since come to their defence following his tweets .
The president wrote : `` So interesting to see 'progressive ' Democrat congresswomen , who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe , the worst , most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world ( if they even have a functioning government at all ) , now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States , the greatest and most powerful nation on earth , how our government is to be run .
`` Why do n't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came . Then come back and show us how it is done .
`` These places need your help badly , you ca n't leave fast enough . I 'm sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements ! ''
There have been internal feuds among Democrats over a border funding package , with Ms Pelosi arguing in favour of the package , and the four women - all newcomers to Congress with a progressive agenda - voting against .
Last week , Ms Ocasio-Cortez accused Ms Pelosi of singling out these women of colour for criticism .
On Monday , Mr Trump lashed out again in two tweets .
`` When will the Radical Left Congresswomen apologise to our country , the people of Israel and even to the office of the President , for the foul language they have used , and the terrible things they have said . So many people are angry at them and their horrible and disgusting actions , '' he said .
`` If Democrats want to unite around the foul language and racist hatred spewed from the mouths and actions of these very unpopular and unrepresentative Congresswomen , it will be interesting to see how it plays out . I can tell you that they have made Israel feel abandoned by the US . ''
Mr Trump was referring to a prior row with Ms Omar , who has faced accusations of anti-Semitism over comments she made about Israel and pro-Israel lobbyists earlier this year .
Ms Tlaib , the other Muslim serving in Congress , has also had to defend herself from calls of anti-Semitism from Republicans after she discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on a Yahoo News Podcast in May .
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signalled his dislike of Mr Trump 's comments , saying on Monday : `` That is not how we do things in Canada . ''
`` I think Canadians and indeed people around the world know exactly what I think about those particular comments , '' he said , adding : `` A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian '' .
Ms Pelosi quoted Mr Trump 's tweets and described them as `` xenophobic '' .
`` When @ realDonaldTrump tells four American congresswomen to go back to their countries , he reaffirms his plan to 'Make America Great Again ' has always been about making America white again . Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power , '' she wrote .
Ms Tlaib , congresswoman for Michigan 's 13th district , tweeted calling for Mr Trump 's impeachment .
Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted at Mr Trump : `` On top of not accepting an America that elected us , you can not accept that we do n't fear you either . ''
Ms Omar told the president that he was `` stoking white nationalism because you are angry that people like us are serving in Congress and fighting against your hate-filled agenda '' . And Ms Pressley shared a screenshot of Mr Trump 's tweet , adding : `` THIS is what racism looks like . WE are what democracy looks like . ''
Candidates for the Democrat presidential nomination , including Elizabeth Warren , Beto O'Rourke and Bernie Sanders , condemned Mr Trump 's remarks as racist .
Senior Republicans have declined to comment , although one , Senator Lindsey Graham , advised President Trump to `` aim higher '' .
In an interview with Fox Television on Monday , he said the women were US citizens who were `` duly elected '' and said the president should take issue with their policies instead of making personal attacks .
However , he also described the women as `` a bunch of communists '' .
Mr Trump did not specifically mention a link to recent news events , but immigration at the southern border was a dominant topic in US news at the weekend . On Friday , Ms Ocasio-Cortez , Ms Tlaib and Ms Pressley testified to a House committee about conditions in a migrant detention centre they had visited . They expressed horror about alleged mistreatment happening `` under American flags '' .
Ms Ocasio-Cortez said migrants told her they had drunk water from toilets because sinks were broken .
Vice-President Mike Pence also toured a facility on Friday . He said everyone was being `` well cared for '' .
The president tweeted that children 's detention centres had had `` great reviews '' and the adult male areas were `` loaded up with a big percentage of criminals '' .
Mr Trump has been accused of racism before in connection with different incidents .
For years , he made false claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in the US - propagating the racist `` birther '' conspiracy . He has also made numerous slurs against Central American migrants , calling them criminals and rapists . In 2018 , he faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans after reports said that during a meeting at the White House he called African nations `` shitholes '' .
When white supremacists marched in Charlottesville , Virginia , resulting in the death of 32-year-old counter protester Heather Heyer , the president said there were `` good people on both sides '' .
Mr Trump and his father Fred Trump were sued by the Department of Justice in 1973 for discrimination against African Americans in their renting practices . They settled the case without admitting guilt in 1975 but were accused again by the justice department in 1978 of an `` underlying pattern of discrimination '' against black tenants .
In 2018 , President Trump told a reporter : `` I am not a racist . I 'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed '' . | cVhYvD5ROIhjU6DZ | 1 | Theresa May | -0.6 | Donald Trump | -0.3 | Politics | 0 | null | null | null | null | |
environment | Washington Times | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/29/white-house-no-choice-act-now-climate-change/ | White House: No choice but to act now on climate change | 2014-07-29 | environment | The Obama administration released a comprehensive new report Tuesday in an attempt to justify its controversial actions on climate change , and also will roll out new executive moves to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions .
The study shows the potential damages to the planet by delaying steps — such as harsh new limits on carbon emissions from power plants — to tackle global warming .
“ First of all , we know way more than enough to justify acting today . Second , delaying action will increase the costs , ” said Jason Furman , chairman of the White House ’ s Council of Economic Advisers , which produced the report . “ And third … the large-scale risks associated with climate change are an argument for acting more today as a form of insurance against the worst consequences in the future . ”
The report comes just as the Environmental Protection Agency holds meetings in cities across the country to hear feedback on its highly controversial proposal to limit carbon emissions from power plants .
The power plant rules are the single largest steps the administration has taken in its climate change fight . It also has taken action to increase auto fuel efficiency , among other things .
Moving forward , White House officials said Energy Secretary Ernest Monizon Tuesday will announce new executive actions to limit methane emissions from oil-and-natural gas drilling sites and other sources .
Taking those actions now , the administration argues , will save money and lives while preserving the planet for future generations .
For example , Mr. Furman said that with each decade that passes , the cost of dealing with climate change increases by about 40 percent . That figure includes both the price governments will pay to implement new programs , the impacts from severe weather thought to be caused by climate change , health issues and other costs , according to the study .
“ It is clear that not taking action has far greater costs in the future , ” said White House counselor John Podesta . | eRiU5qoUj0ahlrdL | 2 | White House | 0.5 | Climate Change | 0.2 | Environment | 0.1 | Climate Controls | 0 | null | null |
healthcare | Politico | http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-over-congress-turns-to-obamacare-train-wreck-98433.html?hp=l1 | Shutdown over, Congress turns to Obamacare 'train wreck' | 2013-10-17 | healthcare | The Obama administration hasn ’ t answered many questions but Democrats are anxious . Congress turns to Obamacare
With the shutdown over and a default averted , Washington has another train wreck to sift through : the Obamacare rollout .
Republican critics have plenty to investigate , starting with the $ 400 million website that doesn ’ t work and the federal contractor that built it , while asking a more fundamental question : Will it be fixed in time for people to get health coverage early next year .
The Obama administration hasn ’ t answered many questions but Democrats are anxious , worried that it may take weeks , if not months to fix the bugs — while opponents say “ I told you so . ”
Republicans got so caught up with the shutdown — triggered by their effort to stop Obamacare — that they barely focused on the messy rollout . Now they ’ re set to have a field day with hearings .
Here ’ s a look at the four key questions as a new blame game unfolds on Obamacare :
That ’ s the polite term the administration has adopted for the website woes that have made Healthcare.gov essentially unusable for most Americans .
While some people have gotten all the way through and enrolled , most have been blocked by blank screens , error messages or account log-ins that won ’ t work at some point along the way . According to the administration , millions of people have visited the site — but officials won ’ t say how many have taken the first step of creating an account , or the final step of purchasing a health plan .
Republicans will try to ferret out who is to blame as they draw attention to the massive problems . Key GOP leaders , including Rep. Darrell Issa ( R-Calif. ) , chairman of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee , Rep. Fred Upton ( R-Mich. ) , chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Sen. Lamar Alexander ( R-Tenn. ) , ranking member of the HELP Committee have fired off oversight letters to HHS and pledged to investigate .
“ HealthCare.gov is an unmitigated , $ 400 million disaster , ” said Rep. Phil Gingrey ( R-Ga. ) . ” Deadlines have been repeatedly missed . The databases that store sensitive medical and financial information aren ’ t secure . Those attempting to enroll in health care exchanges have been unable to do so due to technical ‘ glitches. ’ Worse still , these same individuals will be slapped with a penalty tax for being uninsured . If the federal government is unable to manage this website , how can they possibly manage our country ’ s health care system ? ”
Also expect finger-pointing and demands for heads to roll . Some Republicans have already called for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to step down or be fired . But the White House is standing by her .
“ The secretary does have the full confidence of the president , ” press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday .
Democrats say they want to give Sebelius and HHS time to fix the mess . “ Everything will be fine , ” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus ( D-Mont . ) , one of the key authors of the law .
( Understanding Obamacare : ███ 's guide to the Affordable Care Act )
Republicans on the Hill have started demanding information from and about the contractors who received hundreds of millions to build the site that turned out to be way buggier than the “ glitches ” and “ hiccups ” the president and his health reform team had predicted .
The Government Accountability Office estimated in a June report that the feds had already committed $ 394 million to the project .
Virginia-based CGI Federal has a $ 94 million contract to build much of the Obamacare website . Maryland-based Quality Software Systems Inc. has a $ 68 million contract to build the data hub . Several other contractors have multi-million dollar contracts for other functions within the exchange .
Upton has already asked CGI and QSSI what went wrong . Once the shutdown is over , expect Congress to demand an explanation for how the companies could give all those calm assurances that the exchange development was on track . The same goes for administration officials .
One complaint from insurers and outside technical experts is that the short development timetable , abbreviated by the tardy release of regulations spelling out precisely how the exchange should operate .
The exchange regulations were finished “ way later than should have been tolerated , ” said Gail Wilensky , a former director of Medicare and Medicaid under the first President Bush . “ CMS and friends were making spec changes very late in the game and that really complicated the process beyond what it needed to be . ”
Bob Laszewski , a health care consultant who works for insurers , said that the government ’ s own oversight report in June pointed out the missed deadlines and timetable problems .
“ The GAO was being politically correct — it didn ’ t come out and say this thing is going to crash and burn , but if you go back and read it , it ’ s pretty obvious , ” he said .
The report points out a number of delays at that point and major tasks still undone , including a significant share of the pre-launch testing , a rollout of the consumer assistance program , and the data sharing agreements among the agencies feeding the federal data hub that would spell out security protocols for all the sensitive information that the system would have to draw on to verify income , immigration status , and eligibility for subsidies .
Some testing was done with insurers in September . There were lots of errors , including problems in posting the correct plan and premium information that delayed insurers finalizing their contracts to participate in exchange until the middle of the month , two weeks before launch . Even now insurers are having problems getting accurate reports on enrollees — with only a trickle of accounts coming in , Laszewski said .
Rep. Michael Burgess ( R-Texas ) , vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee , said “ the real question is can they fix it ? ” Can they put the genie back in the bottle on this one ? I don ’ t think they can . I think the problems are too pervasive and too widespread . I think it may need going back to square one and rewriting the code . ” | wlG8FQA2K3SwP8wI | 0 | Obamacare | -0.8 | Healthcare | -0.4 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
coronavirus | Washington Examiner | https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/coronavirus-deaths-400-000-us | Coronavirus reported death toll reaches 400K, one month after 300K mark | 2021-01-20 | Coronavirus, Life During Covid-19, Safety And Sanity During COVID-19, Public Health, Coronavirus Vaccine | The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States has reached 400,000, just one month after hitting 300,000, signaling the rapid rate at which the virus spread in the colder months on the tail end of the holiday season. The U.S. reached 300,000 reported deaths on Dec. 17, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The one month it took to reach 400,000 is the fastest that coronavirus deaths have reached a 100,000 mark. After deaths were first tracked in late February, it took until late May, nearly three months, to reach 100,000. The summer months seemed to slow the spread of the virus, and it took over four months, until early October, to reach 200,000 deaths. The colder months of fall and winter, combined with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, have caused a huge surge in the number of COVID-19 deaths. We won't sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously. Dismiss Opt out | e605c9cf53fcf01a | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | Politico | http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/marco-rubio-south-carolina-219310 | Rubio surges back to electrify South Carolina | 2016-02-16 | elections | EASLEY , S.C. — Marco Rubio carried a message to South Carolina : He is “ at peace ” with his failure in New Hampshire .
He doesn ’ t mean it casually , as though he has simply come to terms with what happened Feb. 6 , when Chris Christie commanded the debate stage and turned Rubio ’ s own rhetorical brilliance into a withering caricature of a robotic , scripted young senator that sent him spiraling to a fifth-place finish .
He means it , Rubio told a supporter shaken by the knock-down of his preferred candidate , as a Christian .
“ The concept of peace in Christianity is not simply peace , like , no-war peace . It is the peace of being at peace with whatever God decides , ” Rubio told Don Pendleton , a retiree who ’ d taken the microphone and told Rubio that he was disappointed after the 2016 contender ’ s dismal showing in New Hampshire until seeing the swell of support in the room . It was a heartfelt statement that gave the senator an opening to dig deep . “ Here is what I am at peace with : Whatever happens next , God will either give me the ability to get around it or the strength to go through it . I think that is also true for our country . ”
When he finished , Rubio basked in thunderous applause from a 2,000-person , standing-room-only crowd , roughly 10 percent of the town ’ s population .
His bruises from New Hampshire have healed — and not simply because of his faith . The 44-year-old senator was indeed humbled by the humiliation he suffered before heading to South Carolina , but his chances of capturing the Republican nomination haven ’ t completely gone south . Donald Trump sits high atop the polls here , but Rubio is positioned to finish either second or third . A poll Monday night taken entirely after Saturday 's debate shows Rubio tied for second with Ted Cruz at 18 percent .
If Rubio simply finishes ahead of Jeb Bush , who is polling a distant fourth or fifth in some surveys , and emerges from this state , always critical to his chances , as the establishment ’ s comeback kid , it will be because of his campaign ’ s quick adjustment in the face of adversity — and its unwavering faith in the candidate himself .
They ignored top donors who called after New Hampshire and offered to assist with debate prep . They tuned out pundits saying that Rubio ’ s campaign was effectively over . Campaign manager Terry Sullivan and senior strategists Todd Harris and Heath Thompson huddled with Rubio and decided to recalibrate slightly by loosening the reins and allowing voters — and the news media — to see more of the candidate himself .
Suddenly , a candidate known for staring past and flat-out ignoring reporters attempting to speak with him as he greets supporters was answering every last question on his campaign plane and inviting a few journalists to lunch with him and his family . Before Rubio took the stage for Saturday night ’ s debate here in Greenville , his first foray back onto the national stage since the debacle in Manchester a week before , his campaign went ahead and booked him on all five Sunday shows the morning after — the “ full Ginsberg , ” as it ’ s known .
The quick reboot , followed by a confident debate performance Saturday night ( a CBS poll showed 32 percent of respondents thought Rubio won the night ) , has enabled Rubio to move beyond the “ Robot Rubio ” narrative before it overtook his campaign , giving voters curious after New Hampshire about which Rubio was the real one the confidence that his poor performance there had been an outlier .
“ We committed to doing all five Sunday shows the day after the debate because we had confidence he ’ d do great , ” said a top Rubio campaign adviser . “ We did less debate prep before this debate because we just felt like he was ready . The key for us coming out of New Hampshire was we ’ ve got to let Marco be Marco . ”
After a few listless days on the trail in New Hampshire after the debate , Rubio has regained his energy , confidence — and sense of humor . In describing his student loans , only paid off since he wrote his book , Rubio on Sunday delivered his standard laugh line that the autobiography is “ now available in paperback. ” Then , as he rarely did before , he broke the fourth wall and told the audience a secret about the performance mechanics of his routine .
“ The press people have heard that joke — it works , it always works , that ’ s why I keep saying it ! ” he quipped , smiling wide as if to alert the crowd that the punch line was imminent . “ If something is true and it works , you should keep saying it over and over again , right ? ”
The spontaneous mix of laughter and thunderous cheers that erupted wasn ’ t that of an audience politely humoring a candidate — it was the sound of a connection being sealed .
“ Campaigns are long and hard and people make mistakes . What we learn that is valuable is how candidates deal with mistakes . Do they turtle up , or do they charge ahead and knock down their own often self-generated negatives , ” said Bruce Haynes , a GOP strategist and Florence , S.C. , native . “ In this case , Rubio is passing his test with flying colors . He ’ s pitched Robot Rubio in the junkyard and gone with Marco Unplugged . He ’ s getting great crowds and energy . It ’ s no surprise . Voters love a comeback story and Rubio may be on the road to writing a big one in South Carolina . ”
The stakes , of course , remain high ; and Rubio 's rising poll numbers continue to make him a target . On Monday , opponents pounced after he told an audience in Rock Hill that the Gang of Eight immigration bill he co-sponsored was never meant to become law . His larger point , one he ’ s made before , was that the legislation that passed the Senate was sure to be changed if it had ever been taken up by the House ( it wasn ’ t ) . But the intense scrutiny of his statement served as a reminder that the “ let Marco be Marco ” strategy — that ad-libbing by any candidate — carries risk .
But Rubio and his campaign clearly sense not just that they have survived the emotional roller coaster of New Hampshire but that the race is coming back to them here in South Carolina , a state his team knows well — his campaign manager and super PAC director have deep ties here , and Rubio has some key evangelical leaders behind him — and its changing demographics align with his profile .
On Saturday , Justice Antonin Scalia ’ s death suddenly fused control of the Supreme Court for years to come to the result of November ’ s presidential election , and offered Rubio a prime opportunity to emphasize a central selling point : electability . “ We can not lose this election , ” said Rubio , after asserting that gun rights , states rights and the protection of life are all at stake . “ Which means we have to nominate a conservative who can win . ”
Beyond the unpredictability of the news cycle , the dynamic within the GOP nomination battle is also setting up well for Rubio here . Christie — Rubio ’ s team admits he “ got in Marco ’ s head ” — is now out of the race . Jeb Bush , who kept himself alive by finishing just ahead of Rubio in New Hampshire , is stuck in single digits in public and private polls of South Carolina GOP primary voters ; and his decision to enlist his brother , former President George W. Bush , to campaign on his behalf in Charleston on Monday evening only further crystallizes the choice for establishment Republicans as a generational one — exactly as Rubio himself frames it .
While Bush campaigns with Sen. Lindsey Graham , Rubio is stumping here with Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Trey Gowdy , both representative of an ascendant generation of young conservative leaders in a state undergoing demographic changes resulting from economic growth and an influx of transplants .
“ This isn ’ t the same state George W. Bush won in 2000 , ” said state Rep. Neal Collins , one of Rubio ’ s South Carolina campaign co-chairs . “ South Carolina is a blend now , and somebody like Rubio who can unite different groups does well . ”
The questions Rubio got in Easley reflected this shifting state : A veteran asked about improvements to the Veterans Affairs system ; a white high school student with an African-American girlfriend asked about improving race relations . The diversity and size of the crowd stirred Pendleton , who lingered in the auditorium after Rubio wrapped up and watched as he was surrounded by selfie-seeking fans just below the stage .
“ It ’ s good seeing people of different ages here , especially the young people . There ’ s so many millennials out there . I think Rubio touches them more , ” Pendleton said .
“ After the New Hampshire deal , I felt disappointed because I thought he was going to be the guy . When I came in , and I saw all the cars in the parking lot , I started tearing up . And when I got in here , I did it again . When I saw the place fill up , I just thought , this is something different now . ” | 9lQV0bAijHM2fF9f | 0 | South Carolina | 1.2 | Marco Rubio | 0.8 | Presidential Elections | 0 | Elections | 0 | null | null |
supreme_court | Slate | https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/supreme-court-rules-against-civil-forfeitures-rbg-timbs.html | The Supreme Court Just Struck a Huge, Unanimous Blow Against Policing for Profit | 2019-02-20 | supreme_court | The Supreme Court struck an extraordinary blow for criminal justice reform on Wednesday , placing real limitations on policing for profit across the country . Its unanimous decision for the first time prohibits all 50 states from imposing excessive fines , including the seizure of property , on people accused or convicted of a crime . Rarely does the court hand down a ruling of such constitutional magnitude—and seldom do all nine justices agree to restrict the power that police and prosecutors exert over individuals . The landmark decision represents a broad agreement on the Supreme Court that law enforcement ’ s legalized theft has gone too far .
Wednesday ’ s ruling in Timbs v. Indiana , authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , is sharp and concise . It revolves around a single question of extraordinary importance . The Eighth Amendment guarantees that no “ excessive fines ” may be “ imposed , ” an ancient right enshrined in the Magna Carta and enthusiastically adopted by the Framers . But the Bill of Rights originally applied only to the federal government , not the states . After the Civil War , the 14th Amendment was ratified to apply these rights to the states , which had engaged in grotesque civil rights violations to perpetuate slavery . The Supreme Court , however , slowly applied ( or “ incorporated ” ) these rights against the states one by one , not all at once . And before Timbs , it had never incorporated the Excessive Fines Clause—allowing states to exploit their residents for huge sums of cash and property .
They did so through civil asset forfeiture , a process that we would call theft in any other context . Here ’ s how it works : Prosecutors accuse an individual of a crime , then seize assets that have some tenuous connection to the alleged offense . The individual need not be convicted or even charged with an actual crime , and her assets are seized through a civil proceeding , which lacks the due process safeguards of a criminal trial . Law enforcement can seize money or property , including one ’ s home , business , or vehicle . It gets to keep the profits , creating a perverse incentive that encourages police abuses . Because the standards are so loose , people with little to no involvement in criminal activity often get caught up in civil asset forfeiture . For instance , South Carolina police tried to seize an elderly woman ’ s home because drug deals occurred on the property—even though she had no connection to the crimes and tried to stop them .
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Tyson Timbs is not quite so sympathetic , but his story illustrates the injustice of limitless forfeiture . In 2015 , Timbs was charged with selling heroin to undercover officers in Indiana . He pleaded guilty . A trial court sentenced him to a year of house arrest , five years ’ probation , and an addiction-treatment program , which helped him overcome his opioid addiction . The court also ordered Timbs to pay $ 1,203 in fines and fees . So far , so fair .
Prepare for a flood of litigation urging federal courts to determine when civil asset forfeiture crosses this constitutional line .
But then Indiana hired a private law firm to seize Timbs ’ Land Rover , which he used to transport heroin . The firm filed a civil suit to obtain the car , valued at $ 42,000—more than four times the maximum fine for his drug conviction . ( Under Indiana law , the state and its chosen firm would get to split the profits . ) Timbs fought back , alleging that the forfeiture constituted an “ excessive fine ” under the Eighth Amendment , applied to the states through the 14th Amendment . The Indiana Supreme Court disagreed , holding that SCOTUS had never incorporated that particular clause against the states .
At oral arguments in November , multiple justices seemed incredulous that Indiana even raised that argument . “ Here we are in 2018 , still litigating incorporation of the Bill of Rights , ” Justice Neil Gorsuch scoffed to Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher . “ Really ? Come on , General. ” And on Wednesday , every justice agreed that the 14th Amendment applies the guarantee against excessive fines to the states . In her majority opinion , Ginsburg traced the right back to the Magna Carta through the English Bill of Rights and the Virginia Declaration of Rights , all of which heavily influenced the U.S. Constitution . By the time the 14th Amendment was ratified , 35 of the 37 states explicitly barred excessive fines . And during debate over ratification , congressmen noted that Southern states were using punitive fines to subjugate newly freed blacks . The framers of the 14th Amendment plainly intended to incorporate the Excessive Fines Clause to rein in these “ harsh inflictions … almost reenacting slavery . ”
“ In short , ” Ginsburg wrote , surveying this evidence , “ the historical and logical case for concluding that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Excessive Fines Clause is overwhelming. ” She also swatted down Indiana ’ s fallback argument that the clause does not apply to proceedings over an individual ’ s property , holding that these forfeitures still qualify as “ fines ” that trigger constitutional scrutiny . Gorsuch and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to quibble with a doctrinal matter : They argued that the Privileges or Immunities Clause is the proper vehicle through which to incorporate the Bill of Rights—not the Due Process Clause , as is generally accepted . This cavil has no bearing on the outcome of the case .
In one sense , Ginsburg ’ s opinion is sweeping—it finally opens the federal courthouse door to victims of civil asset forfeiture , like Timbs , who believe they ’ ve been wronged . But Wednesday ’ s decision leaves some questions unanswered . The court has already ruled that when the federal government seizes money or property , the fine must not be “ grossly disproportional to the gravity of [ the ] offense. ” Presumably , this same standard now applies to the states . But when is a forfeiture grossly disproportionate ? Does Indiana ’ s seizure of Timbs ’ Land Rover meet this standard ? Ginsburg didn ’ t say , instead directing the Indiana Supreme Court to evaluate the question . Prepare for a flood of litigation urging federal courts to determine when civil asset forfeiture crosses this constitutional line .
There is , regardless , a great deal to celebrate in Timbs v. Indiana . At long last , SCOTUS has put a federal check on states ’ multimillion-dollar civil asset forfeiture schemes . People like Tyson Timbs will have a fighting chance of getting their stuff back when the states seize it for profit . The Supreme Court is unlikely to end policing for profit in one fell swoop . But on Wednesday , it sent a clear message to states like Indiana that the days of largely unregulated abusive forfeiture are over . | RXfq7yiWq4sr0DLe | 0 | Supreme Court | 2.3 | Civil Asset Forfeiture | 0.8 | null | null | null | null | null | null |
elections | The Daily Caller | https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/19/sanders-moderator-race-climate/ | Debate Moderator Redirects White Candidate: ‘Senator, With All Due Respect, This Question Is About Race’ | 2019-12-20 | 2020 Election, Presidential Elections, Democratic Party, Democratic Debates, Campaigns, Elections | The owner of this website (dailycaller.com) has banned the autonomous system number (ASN) your IP address is in (45102) from accessing this website. Cloudflare Ray ID: 91531ecdad717afd • Your IP: Click to reveal 47.254.47.213 • Performance & security by Cloudflare | d84cdc9312321ae0 | 2 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
republican_party | NPR Online News | http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/06/02/187586384/ted-cruz-the-new-voice-of-the-gop | Ted Cruz: 'The New Voice' Of The GOP? | 2013-06-02 | republican_party | On the same day this week that House Tea Party Caucus co-founder Michele Bachmann , R-Minn. , announced she wo n't seek re-election , the fortunes of another Tea Party favorite continued to soar .
Freshman GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas headlined a big fundraiser thrown by the New York Republican Party in the heart of Manhattan . More than 600 Republicans gathered to write checks to their struggling party , which has no statewide officeholders .
But it was not exactly a welcoming committee that awaited Cruz outside the Grand Hyatt hotel .
`` How many dead ? Go home , Ted ! '' chanted several dozen advocates of tougher gun laws . They waved signs scolding Cruz for his vote blocking a bipartisan measure expanding background checks for gun buyers .
`` I think it 's really ridiculous , all these people coming to New York to raise money when their voting records are really diametrically opposed to what New Yorkers want — and what the American people want — when it comes to gun safety , '' said Leah Gunn Barrett , executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence .
Others protested Cruz 's efforts to block the pathway to citizenship promised to millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally in the Senate 's bipartisan immigration bill .
Ramiro Luna , a Dallas college student originally from Mexico , said his family entered the U.S. illegally when he was a child .
`` I flew in from Texas yesterday just to come and protest against Ted Cruz , '' he said . `` We 're not afraid of him . We 're going to chase him wherever he goes and let him know that the immigrant community exists and that we have a voice . ''
But inside the fundraiser , Jim Castro-Blanco , a lawyer , said he was happy to have Cruz , the Canadian-born son of a Cuban immigrant , headlining the fundraiser .
`` He 's been a very , very articulate and powerful speaker for the Republican Party , '' Castro-Blanco said . `` As a Latino , it 's very heartening for me to see somebody out of Texas come to New York and really be the voice of the conservative Republicans in this state . ''
Not all those Republicans were happy , though , about this Tea Party hard-liner who voted against federal emergency aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy . Reps. Peter King and Michael Grimm boycotted the fundraiser .
Still , New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox , a son-in-law of Richard Nixon , was making no apologies . `` Ted Cruz is very smart , very able and he 's got political guts , '' Cox said .
Later , taking the stage in black cowboy boots , Cruz showed he could also be a crowd-pleaser . `` It is great to be with so many friends here in New York City , '' he said .
Pacing the stage like a revival preacher and speaking without notes , Cruz made no mention of guns , the Sandy aid or the immigration bill . Instead , he performed a political postmortem .
`` I 'm going to suggest the last election can be explained in two words : 47 percent , '' he said .
Those words , uttered by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney , created the wrong narrative , Cruz said . Much better , he said , was Romney 's line , `` You built that . ''
`` And yet , as good as it was , it could 've been a lot better . Because to whom was it addressed ? It was addressed to the 53 percent . It was addressed to the people who 'd already built their businesses , '' Cruz said . `` How much better would it have been if Romney had campaigned and said , 'You can build that ' ? ''
It 's what Cruz called `` opportunity conservatism '' — reaching out to low-income voters with a free-market message . And it 's one being brought , he added , by a new kind of Republican .
`` If you sit back and you list who are the brightest stars in the Republican Party , who are the most effective [ advocates ] for free-market principles , '' he said , `` you come up with names like Marco Rubio , like Mike Lee , like Rand Paul , like Pat Toomey , like Scott Walker . ''
And , someone yelled out , `` Ted Cruz ! '' Cruz just nodded and chuckled .
Michigan Republican Party leader Saul Anuzis , who attended the New York fundraiser , said Cruz appeared in Michigan two weeks earlier .
`` We ... had a huge success with Cruz there , '' he said . `` I think people are looking for the new voice of the Republican Party , and Ted Cruz is obviously offering one of those alternative voices . ''
It 's a voice being heard in more and more places , and it 's fueling speculation about a Cruz presidential bid in 2016 . Cruz has said before he would be eligible to be president — and he has n't ruled out a run . | fc1tIGZJvUJ4vsaa | 1 | Republican Party | 1 | Ted Cruz | 0.2 | Politics | 0 | null | null | null | null |
republican_party | Politico | http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/the-gop-is-dying-off-literally-118035.html#.VVoa-5NViko | The GOP Is Dying Off. Literally. | 2015-05-17 | republican_party | Daniel J. McGraw is a political writer living in Lakewood , Ohio .
It turns out that one of the Grand Old Party ’ s biggest—and least discussed—challenges going into 2016 is lying in plain sight , written right into the party ’ s own nickname . The Republican Party voter is old—and getting older , and as the adage goes , there are two certainties in life : Death and taxes . Right now , both are enemies of the GOP and they might want to worry more about the former than the latter .
There ’ s been much written about how millennials are becoming a reliable voting bloc for Democrats , but there ’ s been much less attention paid to one of the biggest get-out-the-vote challenges for the Republican Party heading into the next presidential election : Hundreds of thousands of their traditional core supporters won ’ t be able to turn out to vote at all .
Since the average Republican is significantly older than the average Democrat , far more Republicans than Democrats have died since the 2012 elections . To make matters worse , the GOP is attracting fewer first-time voters . Unless the party is able to make inroads with new voters , or discover a fountain of youth , the GOP ’ s slow demographic slide will continue election to election . Actuarial tables make that part clear , but just how much of a problem for the GOP is this ?
Since it appears that no political data geek keeps track of voters who die between elections , I took it upon myself to do some basic math . And that quick back-of-the-napkin math shows that the trend could have a real effect in certain states , and make a battleground states like Florida and Ohio even harder for the Republican Party to capture .
By combining presidential election exit polls with mortality rates per age group from the U.S. Census Bureau , I calculated that , of the 61 million who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 , about 2.75 million will be dead by the 2016 election . President Barack Obama ’ s voters , of course , will have died too—about 2.3 million of the 66 million who voted for the president won ’ t make it to 2016 either . That leaves a big gap in between , a difference of roughly 453,000 in favor of the Democrats .
Here is the methodology , using one age group as an example : According to exit polls , 5,488,091 voters aged 60 to 64 years old supported Romney in 2012 . The mortality rate for that age group is 1,047.3 deaths per 100,000 , which means that 57,475 of those voters died by the end of 2013 . Multiply that number by four , and you get 229,900 Romney voters aged 60-to-64 who will be deceased by Election Day 2016 . Doing the same calculation across the range of demographic slices pulled from exit polls and census numbers allows one to calculate the total voter deaths . It ’ s a rough calculation , to be sure , and there are perhaps ways to move the numbers a few thousand this way or that , but by and large , this methodology at least establishes the rough scale of the problem for the Republicans—a problem measured in the mid-hundreds of thousands of lost voters by November 2016 . To the best of my knowledge , no one has calculated or published better voter death data before .
“ I ’ ve never seen anyone doing any studies on how many dead people can ’ t vote , ” laughs William Frey , senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who specializes in demographic studies . “ I ’ ve seen studies on how many dead people do vote . The old Daley Administration in Chicago was very good at that . ”
Frey points out that , since Republicans are getting whiter and older , replacing the voters that leave this earth with young ones is essential for them to be competitive in presidential elections . But the key question is whether these election death rates will make any real difference . There are so many other variables that dead voters aren ’ t necessarily going to be a decisive factor .
“ The [ GOP ] does rely too much on older and white voters , and especially in rural areas , deaths from this group can be significant , ” Frey says . “ But millennials ( born 1981 to 1997 ) now are larger in numbers than baby boomers ( [ born ] 1946 to 1964 ) , and how they vote will make the big difference . And the data says that if Republicans focus on economic issues and stay away from social ones like gay marriage , they can make serious inroads with millennials . ”
But what if Republicans aren ’ t able to win over a larger share of the youth vote ? In 2012 , there were about 13 million in the 15-to-17 year-old demo who will be eligible to vote in 2016 . The previous few presidential election cycles indicate that about 45 percent of these youngsters will actually vote , meaning that there will about 6 million new voters total . Exit polling indicates that age bracket has split about 65-35 in favor of the Dems in the past two elections . If that split holds true in 2016 , Democrats will have picked up a two million vote advantage among first-time voters . These numbers combined with the voter death data puts Republicans at an almost 2.5 million voter disadvantage going into 2016 . | 9ssSw20o9DJRlxlb | 0 | Republican Party | -1.1 | Conservatives | -1.1 | Politics | -1.1 | null | null | null | null |
violence_in_america | Associated Press | https://apnews.com/2846e752d621824a9c2c75a89271c71e | 5 stabbed at Hanukkah celebration in latest attack on Jews | 2019-12-29 | New York, Hanukkah, Violence In America | Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. MONSEY, N.Y. (AP) — A knife-wielding man stormed into a rabbi’s home and stabbed five people as they celebrated Hanukkah in an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City, an ambush the governor said Sunday was an act of domestic terrorism fueled by intolerance and a “cancer” of growing hatred in America. Police tracked a fleeing suspect to Manhattan and made an arrest within two hours of the attack Saturday night in Monsey. Grafton E. Thomas had blood all over his clothing, smelled of bleach but said “almost nothing” when officers stopped him, officials said. An automated license plate reader alerted officers that the suspect’s car had crossed over the George Washington Bridge into New York City about an hour after the attack. Thomas was stopped and taken into custody about 20-30 minutes later, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said. Security camera footage the NYPD made public Sunday night showed two officers approaching Thomas’ sedan with guns drawn before the suspect placed his hands on the roof of the car and he was put in handcuffs. President Donald Trump condemned the “horrific” attack, saying in a tweet Sunday that “We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism.” One witness described the attack as a chaotic scene punctuated with panic and screams. Thomas, 37, was arraigned Sunday and pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. Bail was set at $5 million and he remains jailed. He didn’t answer questions as authorities escorted him to a waiting vehicle. Thomas’ criminal history includes an arrest for assaulting a police horse, according to an official briefed on the investigation who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A lawyer representing Thomas at the arraignment said he had no convictions. The Greenwood Lake street where Thomas lived with his mother, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Monsey, was blocked with police tape Sunday as FBI agents and police officers carried items from their home. The FBI is seeking a warrant to obtain his online accounts and were scouring digital evidence, the official said. They are also looking into his mental health history. The family’s pastor, the Rev. Wendy Paige, said Thomas has been suffering from mental illness and that his family believes that condition was the cause of the alleged stabbings — not hatred toward Jewish people. She said his family is sorry for the pain he has caused. The stabbings on the seventh night of Hanukkah left one person critically wounded, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The rabbi’s son was also injured, he said. Authorities have not provided a motive and Shea said investigators do not believe, at this point, that any other people were involved. The attack was the latest in a string of violence targeting Jews in the region, including a Dec. 10 massacre at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey. Last month in Monsey, a man was stabbed while walking to a synagogue. Cuomo said Saturday’s savagery was the 13th anti-Semitic attack in New York since Dec. 8 and endemic of “an American cancer on the body politic.” “This is violence spurred by hate, it is mass violence and I consider this an act of domestic terrorism,” Cuomo said. “Let’s call it what it is.” Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel said it was unclear why the rabbi’s house was targeted or if a specific ideology motivated the suspect. According to the official briefed on the investigation, authorities do not believe Thomas is connected to recent anti-Semitic incidents in New York City. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the FBI to investigate possible links between the Monsey stabbing spree and other recent attacks. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said it wants the FBI to create a special task force. “Enough talk, it is time for action to deter those who propagate this hatred,” Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said. The stabbings happened around 10 p.m. Saturday at the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, located next door to his Congregation Netzach Yisroel synagogue. The large house on Forshay Road remained cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape early Sunday. By evening, the tape was gone and a fully lit menorah shone from a window. “The guy came in wielding a big knife, sword, machete — I don’t know what it was,” said Josef Gluck, who hit the assailant with a coffee table during the attack. “He took it out of his holder, started swinging,” Gluck said. The dining room, he said, emptied in split seconds. While inside the home, the assailant didn’t say a word as he carried out the attack, he said. Levy Kraus, 15, said he was near the rabbi’s home when he saw a tall man enter with an object. “He had something in his hand. It looked like an umbrella. It was covered,” Kraus said. Later, he said he saw the man rushing out of the house and scream at someone, “I’ll get you.” Rabbi Motti Seligson, the media director of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, said witnesses told him that people fled the house and went to the synagogue where they locked themselves in. Rabbi Rottenberg led the service at the synagogue later, he said. Weidel said a witness saw the suspect fleeing in a car and alerted police to the license plate number. Police entered that information into a database and used plate reader technology to track the vehicle to Manhattan, where Thomas was arrested. “It was critical to the case,” Weidel said. Thomas played football for two seasons at William Paterson University in New Jersey. No one answered a telephone number listed for his address and the voicemail box was full. Monsey, near the New Jersey state line about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of New York City, is one of several Hudson Valley communities that has seen a rising population of Hasidic Jews in recent years. At a celebration in Monsey on Sunday that was planned before the shooting, several members of the community stood guard armed with assault-style rifles. They refused to give their names when approached by an AP journalist, but they said they were there to defend their community. Jewish communities in the New York City metropolitan area have been left shaken following the deadly Dec. 10 shooting rampage at a Jersey City kosher market. Six people — three people who had been inside the store, a police officer and the two killers — died in the gunbattle and standoff that New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has said was “fueled” by hatred of Jews and law enforcement. Last month, a man was stabbed while walking to a synagogue in the same town that was the site of Saturday night’s attack; he required surgery. It’s unclear whether the assailant has been arrested. And this past week in New York City itself, police have received at least six reports — eight since Dec. 13 — of attacks possibly motivated by anti-Jewish bias. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that police presence would increase in Brooklyn neighborhoods home to large Jewish populations. Additional New York City police officers were being be sent to areas of Brooklyn with high Jewish populations, along with lighting towers and additional security cameras, de Blasio said. The mayor also announced the formation of multi-ethnic, interfaith safety coalitions that would meet to strategize about disrupting potential hate crimes before they happen. He said some city schools in Brooklyn will also incorporate hate-crimes awareness into their curriculum. “The Jewish community is utterly terrified,” Evan Bernstein, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey, said in a statement. “No one should have to live like this. How many more times will it take for people in the Orthodox Jewish community to be terrorized with violence before something changes?” Sisak and Balsamo reported from New York. Ted Shaffrey in Monsey, Jessie Wardarski in Greenwood Lake, and Gary Fields and Ryan Kryska in New York contributed to this report. On Twitter, follow and send tips to Ryan Tarinelli at twitter.com/ryantarinelli, Michael Sisak at https://twitter.com/mikesisak and Michael Balsamo at twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1 Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Thank you for letting us know. This ad has already been reported. | abf0524c0809349e | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
us_house | CNN (Web News) | http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/politics/congress-amtrak-funding-crash/index.html | House committee passes bill that cuts Amtrak funding after crash | 2015-05-13 | us_house | Washington ( CNN ) A House panel approved a measure Wednesday that cuts funding for Amtrak , less than a day after a train derailment left at least seven people dead and many more injured .
The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee voted 30-21 to reduce grants to Amtrak by $ 252 million -- a drop of about 15 % from last year 's level . The cut would apply only to Amtrak 's capital spending and would n't touch funding levels for safety and operations . The measure still needs to clear the full House and Senate before it would go into effect in October .
Democrats on the panel fought unsuccessfully to boost Amtrak funding by $ 1 billion , to $ 2.4 billion . But Republicans argued that such a spending increase would need to be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget , and they admonished Democrats for pointing to the derailment in an effort to increase funding for the passenger rail service .
`` Do n't use this tragedy in that way . It was beneath you , '' Rep. Mike Simpson , R-Idaho , said to Democrats .
The derailment late Tuesday in Philadelphia is renewing focus on how the U.S. funds and maintains infrastructure . Amtrak has become a political hot button in recent years as Republicans have sought to reduce the rail service 's funding and focus it more on the popular Boston to Washington Northeast Corridor .
In March , the House approved legislation that would authorize Amtrak to pump more money into the Northeast Corridor route but that measure has yet to muscle its way through the Senate .
In a separate House transportation committee hearing on Wednesday , Democrats like Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon complained about sspending cuts , saying Republicans should be `` cognizant of the real world out there , of what happened last night , of what the capital needs of Amtrak are , and will not engage in short-sighted budget cutting . ''
Republicans also brought up the derailment , but in more general terms , saying it needs to be studied .
`` It 's critical we find out exactly what happened out there and make sure we take the appropriate response to make sure it does n't happen again , '' said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart , R-Florida .
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday on CNN 's `` New Day '' that investing more in transportation infrastructure `` is a common sense '' decision and said investing in Amtrak should not be a partisan issue .
`` There is clearly more that can be done when we 're talking about a railway infrastructure that is decades-old , '' Earnest said . `` If there 's an opportunity for us to make further investments in our infrastructure that would better safeguard the traveling public , then those are investments that we should make . ''
Vice President Joe Biden , perhaps the most famous Amtrak fan in the country , issued a statement saying that `` the victims could have been any one of our parents , children , or someone from one of our communities . Amtrak is like a second family to me as it is for so many other passengers . ''
Opposition to funding cuts is n't just coming from Democrats . Some Republicans representing districts in the Northeast Corridor are pushing back against conservatives who want to cut funding to Amtrak and privatize the rail service .
Rep. Ryan Costello , R-Pennsylvania , said Congress should boost funding for Amtrak , rather than cutting into its budget .
`` If we 're not investing in our safety for the Northeast Corridor , we 're not doing what we should be doing down here , '' he said Wednesday morning on CNN . `` We need to continue to invest in our passenger rail system ... a critical piece of the economy in the Northeast part of the country . ''
It is still unclear what caused the crash , though the derailment happened as the train rolled through a curve , which investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were inspecting Wednesday morning . The FBI is also at the scene assisting investigators , though there is nothing to suggest a terrorism connection at this point , a law enforcement official told CNN .
The state 's two senators , Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Pat Toomey , toured the crash site Wednesday .
Some of the most gruesome images from inside the train came from a former Democratic congressman , Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania , who was onboard one of the seven cars that derailed .
Murphy quickly tweeted images of injured passengers and first responders inside his overturned café car . He was not seriously injured , but his seatmate was knocked unconscious and was bleeding .
Sen. Tom Carper , a Democrat from Delaware , was also on the train but got off at a stop in his state before the train derailed in Philadelphia .
Rep. Bill Shuster , R-Pennsylvania , chair of the House transportation committee , and his Republican colleague , Jeff Denham , who chairs the railroads subcommittee , released a statement Wednesday saying they were `` saddened by the tragic accident .
U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster R-Pennsylvania , Railroads , Pipelines , and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham ( R-California ) .
`` Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Railroad Administration are on the scene , and while we do n't yet know many details , we need to know how this happened and ensure the safety of the system and the millions of Americans who rely on the Northeast Corridor , '' they said in the statement . | XFhN13JjL8nzKgMI | 0 | Amtrak | -0.5 | US House | -0.4 | Politics | 0.1 | null | null | null | null |
environment | Salon | http://www.salon.com/2014/11/19/house_republicans_just_passed_a_bill_forbidding_scientists_from_advising_the_epa_on_their_own_research/ | House Republicans just passed a bill forbidding scientists from advising the EPA on their own research | 2014-11-19 | EPA, US House, Environment | Congressional climate wars were dominated Tuesday by the U.S. Senate , which spent the day debating , and ultimately failing to pass , a bill approving the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline . While all that was happening , and largely unnoticed , the House was busy doing what it does best : attacking science .
H.R . 1422 , which passed 229-191 , would shake up the EPA 's Scientific Advisory Board , placing restrictions on those pesky scientists and creating room for experts with overt financial ties to the industries affected by EPA regulations .
The bill is being framed as a play for transparency : Rep. Michael Burgess , R-Texas , argued that the board 's current structure is problematic because it “ excludes industry experts , but not officials for environmental advocacy groups. ” The inclusion of industry experts , he said , would right this injustice .
But the White House , which threatened to veto the bill , said it would `` negatively affect the appointment of experts and would weaken the scientific independence and integrity of the SAB . ''
In what might be the most ridiculous aspect of the whole thing , the bill forbids scientific experts from participating in `` advisory activities '' that either directly or indirectly involve their own work . In case that was n't clear : experts would be forbidden from sharing their expertise in their own research -- the bizarre assumption , apparently , being that having conducted peer-reviewed studies on a topic would constitute a conflict of interest . `` In other words , '' wrote Union of Concerned Scientists director Andrew A. Rosenberg in an editorial for RollCall , `` academic scientists who know the most about a subject can ’ t weigh in , but experts paid by corporations who want to block regulations can . ''
Speaking on the House floor Tuesday , Rep. Jim McGovern , D-Mass. , summed up what was going on : “ I get it , you don ’ t like science , ” he told bill sponsor Rep. Chris Stewart , R-Utah . “ And you don ’ t like science that interferes with the interests of your corporate clients . But we need science to protect public health and the environment . ”
The House , alas , is staying the course , voting this week on two other bills aimed at impeding the EPA , including one that prevents the agency from relying on what it calls `` secret science '' in crafting its regulations -- but which in reality , opponents argue , would effectively block the EPA from adopting any new rules to protect public health . The trio , wrote Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson , D-Texas , in an editorial for the Hill , represents `` the culmination of one of the most anti-science and anti-health campaigns I ’ ve witnessed in my 22 years as a member of Congress . '' | 16aa4fcb277eec2e | 0 | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null | null |
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