content
stringlengths 186
41.5k
| id
stringlengths 17
19
|
|---|---|
Washington ( CNN ) Chief Justice John Roberts is back in the spotlight .\nRoberts -- who shocked conservatives nearly three years ago by providing a pivotal vote to uphold Obamacare -- once again faces a judicial crossroads in a historic case .\nThe U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could decide whether gay and lesbian couples nationwide have the constitutional right to marry . The question at the core of Obergefell v. Hodges is one of the most consequential debates of the early 21st century , and one that is already helping to shape the 2016 presidential race .\nAppeals courts nationwide have moved decisively toward supporting same-sex marriage , but a split at the appellate level helped propel the issue to the nation 's highest court , led by Roberts .\nAppointed to the bench by President George W. Bush , Roberts has a solid conservative record and would seem an unlikely vote to support a constitutional right to same-sex marriage . He dissented in United States v. Windsor , a landmark case in which a narrowly divided court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act , which denied federal benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples . And he 's expressed sympathy with legal arguments that would allow same-sex marriage bans .\nYet both sides see the case as a legacy-making moment for the 60-year-old chief justice , and advocates for same-sex couples hold out hope that he will emerge as their ally . They will be scrutinizing his words and actions Tuesday for clues about how he 'll vote -- and whether he will upset some conservatives once again .\n`` If the Windsor majority votes in favor of marriage equality , the ruling will be one of the most momentous decisions of the Roberts court , '' said Judith E. Schaeffer of the Constitutional Accountability Center , which is advocating for same-sex marriage . `` Will John Roberts want to be remembered as having dissented from such a historic decision ? ''\nFor some conservatives , a vote in favor of same-sex marriage in the case would be a huge disappointment . It would be akin to the type of betrayal they felt when Justice David Souter , who was nominated to the bench by George H.W . Bush and who retired in 2009 , consistently voted with the liberals or when Justice Anthony Kennedy , a Ronald Reagan appointee , disappointed them on earlier gay rights cases as well as abortion and the death penalty . Or when Roberts infuriated conservative allies by providing the crucial fifth vote to uphold Obamacare on the grounds that the law is a constitutional use of the government 's taxing authority .\nThe hope in conservative circles is that Roberts will see his legacy as ensuring that the issue of same-sex marriage gets decided by the people , not the courts .\n`` The chief surely knows that his job is to be on the right side of the Constitution , '' said Edward Whelan , president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center . `` Blatherings about the 'wrong side of history ' are an appeal to intellectual cowardice . ''\nThose hoping that he will vote to uphold the state bans see a strong signal in the Windsor case .\nIn his majority opinion , Kennedy said the `` principal purpose '' of the Defense of Marriage Act was to `` impose inequality . ''\nRoberts disagreed . He wrote separately to say he thought Congress acted constitutionally when it passed the law in 1996 in an attempt to provide `` uniformity and stability '' at a time when every state defined marriage as between a man and a woman .\nRoberts picked up on Kennedy 's language that emphasized the states ' power to define the marital relationship and said that power will someday `` come into play on the other side of the board in future cases about the constitutionality of state marriage definitions . ''\nDavid Cruz of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law said that Roberts could use that reasoning to vote in favor of state bans in the Obergefell case .\n`` Roberts is suggesting that concerns about the powers of states will support state laws excluding same-sex couples from marriage , '' Cruz said .\nIndeed , the lower court that upheld the marriage bans in Michigan , Tennessee , Ohio and Kentucky in the Obergefell case relied heavily on the argument that states have a right to define marriage .\nAnother clue to Roberts ' thinking in the Windsor dissent is that he took particular issue with any notion that the Defense of Marriage Act was passed out of a desire to harm -- noting it had the support of majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as President Bill Clinton , who signed it into law .\n`` I would not tar the political branches with the brush of bigotry , '' Roberts wrote .\nThe comments suggest he would reject an argument in the Obergefell case that rested on the idea that same-sex marriage bans reflected animus against gay people .\nBut backers of same-sex marriage are reading some tea leaves of their own .\nSchaeffer points out that Roberts did n't join the parts of the dissents penned by Justices Antonin Scalia Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito , which clearly stated a belief that state bans on same-sex marriage do n't violate the Constitution .\n`` Roberts did n't join them in expressing those views , '' Schaeffer said .\nAt the time , Roberts simply wrote that the court `` does not have before it , and the logic of its opinion does not decide '' whether states can ban same-sex marriage .\nSchaeffer said the chief justice could have simply chosen to remain silent on an issue that was n't before the court .\n`` But I think one reasonable explanation is that Roberts was preserving a clean slate for himself on the ultimate issue of marriage equality , '' she said .\nThe Defense of Marriage Act decision overshadowed another 2013 case -- Hollingsworth v. Perry -- that could have determined whether states could ban same-sex marriage .\nThe case concerned a challenge to California 's Proposition 8 , a state constitutional amendment that barred same-sex couples from marriage . But Roberts , writing for the majority , dismissed the case , holding that the challengers did not have the legal standing to bring it to the court .\nThe ruling left in place a lower court decision that had invalidated Proposition 8 and thus paved the way for same-sex marriage in California . Roberts ' lesbian cousin , who lives in California , sat in the courtroom during arguments in the Prop 8 case .\nFew people predicted that the issue would return so quickly to the Supreme Court , but waves of lower court judges -- sometimes citing Windsor -- struck down the state bans .\nOn the first day of the term last fall , the court was presented with seven different petitions on the issue . Conventional wisdom was that the justices would garner the four necessary votes and grant one of the cases . But conventional wisdom was completely wrong .\nWithout comment , the court declined to take up any of the cases , clearing the way for thousands of additional same-sex marriages .\nThe court 's vote count in such decisions is kept a secret and may never be known . But some speculate on one possible scenario : Roberts chose not to provide the fourth vote to the conservatives who dissented in Windsor .\nThen again , even if the speculation were true , it does n't reveal much about Roberts ' thinking . There 's a big difference between voting not to take up a case , which expresses no opinions on the merits , and issuing an opinion on the merits .\nAnd even when Roberts ' actions -- such as effectively allowing same-sex marriage to proceed in California -- seem to suggest a willingness to consider such unions nationwide , his comments along the way make it much harder to gain insight into his ultimate thinking .\n`` When the institution of marriage developed historically , people did n't get around and say , 'Let 's have this institution , but let 's keep out homosexuals , ' `` Roberts said during the Proposition 8 oral arguments . `` The institution developed to serve purposes that , by their nature , did n't include homosexual couples . ''
|
allsides-corpus-100
|
Cam Newton finds himself in a no-win situation on matters of race these days , something he mentioned on Wednesday when asked about the shooting death of Charlotte-area resident Keith Lamont Scott by police .\n“ I ’ m in a position now where if I say something , it ’ s going to be critiqued , ” the Carolina Panthers quarterback said , “ and if I don ’ t say something , then I ’ m flawed . ”\nHe ’ s right — both sides can parse Newton ’ s words any way they want , and he typically is a lightning rod for criticism no matter what he says . After being open on some racial issues in the past , he has become more reserved and guarded most recently . The GQ interview that came out in August shocked many when Newton essentially said that America didn ’ t have a race problem .\nOn Wednesday , he did , however , offer his candid ( if not carefully chosen ) thoughts about what was happening in his community — a shooting death that has grabbed the national spotlight .\n“ I ’ m a firm believer of justice and a firm believer of doing the right thing , and I can ’ t repeat enough about just holding people accountable , ” Newton said . “ I ’ m an African-American . I am not happy with how justice has been kind of dealt with over the years .\n“ But we also , as black people , have to do right by ourselves . We can ’ t be hypocrites . I say that on one voice and also another voice that when you go public , or when things happen in the community , it ’ s not the fact that things are happening ; it ’ s the way they ’ re being treated after they ’ re happening . ”\nNewton cut to the core of what a lot people are wondering : Are police officers treated the same way by the justice system when it comes to bringing charges and/or convicting police offers who kill civilians , as a civilian would if he was the one holding the gun ?\nBeyond that , Newton touched on the effects of such a shooting , something that hit home for him as a father .\n“ When you get a person that ’ s doing unjust things or killing an innocent person or killing fathers , or killing people who have actual families , that ’ s real . I have a son and a daughter that I ’ m responsible for . So how would I be if one day they come home and there ’ s no more daddy ? ”\nBut before you read this as Newton judging the case before it ’ s been tried , he was sure to make note that he didn ’ t have enough information yet on the Scott shooting to say who was right and wrong . And this case , although it involves a police officer killing a black citizen , might not be like other stories promulgated in the recent news cycle in that the officer was black and that Charlotte police have claimed Scott was armed and warned multiple times to stand down , even if some witness accounts didn ’ t indicate that the victim made any threatening gestures .\nCam Newton ’ s right about one thing : Voicing opinions can be a lose-lose proposition for him . And he ’ s clearly playing for the tie today . — Darin Gantt ( @ daringantt ) September 21 , 2016\nStill , Newton isn ’ t completely sitting on the sideline on this story and is lending his voice — and his position — he says to help make a difference .\n“ I want to bring unity , and football gives me that opportunity , ” Newton said .
|
allsides-corpus-101
|
It ’ s increasingly obvious that the Democratic Party is moribund and that its members know it . In a desperate attempt to survive , they have declared war on a chimera called “ racism , ” which they insist is endemic to American culture . Left-wing Democrats call centrist members of their own caucus racist for voting their conscience . Freshman Democrats accuse the Speaker of the House of racism for requesting that they behave with decorum . All Democrats insist that all Republicans are racists while attributing all GOP election victories to racial gerrymandering , racist voters , or both . And every Republican president is racist by definition — particularly if his surname is Trump .\nMeanwhile , in order to signal that they are also on the side of the angels in this epic battle against bigotry , the “ news ” media wield their mighty pens on behalf of the noble cause . A textbook example of the assistance they offer to “ the party of Jefferson and Jackson ” can be found in a recent New Republic column titled “ Trump and His Deplorables. ” Its author , Matt Ford , begins by praising Hillary Clinton ’ s 2016 observation that “ you could put half of Trump ’ s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. ” He then goes on to tell his readers that Clinton ’ s cavalier condemnation of 30 million voters was a highly nuanced argument whose wisdom has long since been vindicated :\nTwo years into Trump ’ s presidency , “ deplorable ” seems almost kind . It ’ s clear by now that racism is an animating force of Trump ’ s presidency , yet many of Trump ’ s supporters and most of the Republican Party still back him after every bigoted slight and discriminatory policy he makes . They may not be willing to admit that they agree outright with everything he says or does , but their continued political support makes the distinction meaningless .\nThe problem with this passage isn ’ t merely that it is gratuitously defamatory and demonstrably false , but that it tends to reinforce the sense of moral superiority that defines “ progressives ” like Ford and the politicians who actually take them seriously . It creates a positive feedback loop that allows both to justify outrageous behavior that neither would consider without mutual encouragement . It permits journalists to delegitimize those who disagree with them about Trump and also permits Democratic lawmakers to take the floor in the House of Representatives and accuse the president of racism — knowing full well that doing so violates a decades-old parliamentary rule .\nThis brings us to the question that very few have bothered to ask about Trump ’ s Sunday morning tweet storm : Was it actually racist ? I didn ’ t bother to read the tweets when they first appeared . Nor was I moved to do so in response to the subsequent uproar . Everything the president says or does is instantly denounced by the Democrats and their media allies as racist , cruel , crazy , or crass . So it just sounded like another day at the office for Trump . I finally got around to reading them today and fail to see the catalogue of crimes his critics claim to see . Not that mere facts matter to the Democrats or the social justice warriors of today ’ s media , as Goldie Taylor makes clear in the Daily Beast :\nThe president is a racist … On Sunday , he claimed that newly elected progressive Democrats “ originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe ” and “ the worst , more corrupt and inept anywhere in the world. ” And he told freshmen Reps. Ayanna Pressley , Rashida Tlaib , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar — outspoken Democratic women of color who have challenged the administration ’ s inhumane immigration policies — to leave the country .\nBut he didn ’ t do anything of the sort . First , none of the tweets contain any reference to the race of any congressional representative . Not a single , solitary syllable . So , how precisely can Taylor honestly denounce them as racist ? Moreover , it is by no means clear that he is referring to all four of the congresswomen she names . He pluralizes some words for general effect just as I do with “ journalists ” in paragraph four above , but this is hardly definitive . The tweets are obviously about Ilhan Omar , a Somali immigrant who routinely gripes about the “ racism , cruelty , and injustice ” of her adopted country , and throws in the occasional anti-Semitic slur to just to keep the pot bubbling .\nIn fact , her anti-Semitic comments caused so much uproar last February that considerable pressure was put on the Democratic majority in the House to pass a resolution condemning her comments . But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi , the same Democrat representative who violated the rules of that body in order to call the president a “ racist , ” could not muster the votes to get it passed . Instead , the Democrats passed a generic resolution against hate speech that not only failed to mention Omar ’ s name , but also failed to mention anti-Semitism . As a clearly angry Rep. Liz Cheney put it , “ I voted against the Democrats ’ sham resolution — it was designed to protect anti-Semitic bigotry . ”\nThe very Democrats who covered for a brazen anti-Semitic bigot would have us believe they are outraged by the president ’ s “ racist ” tweets . None of this is about racism or bigotry . It ’ s about a dying animal called the Democratic Party , hatred for the man administering the lethal injection , and the voters who support him . As Goldie Taylor says , “ Trump Is a Racist . If You Still Support Him , So Are You. ” As it happens , the House held a vote Wednesday afternoon to impeach the president . It failed 332 to 95 . The increasingly shrill cries of racism are just the death throes of a political party that reviles the United States , President Trump , and the voters they can no longer fool .
|
allsides-corpus-102
|
When Nelson Mandela died last month , I envied South Africans who had worked alongside him for freedom : Americans haven ’ t gotten to see many of our icons of justice get that old . My immediate thought was of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , assassinated at 39 , though Bobby and John Kennedy , Malcolm X and Medgar Evers , quickly followed .\nBut the inescapable image was King . Even if the freedom struggle of the 1960s didn ’ t end up letting King grow old like Mandela , let alone lead his country as president , it was hard not to compare the two , especially since Mandela so often declared his debt to his younger American ally .\nKing and Mandela had much in common , but one thing stands out this week : As they were lionized globally , both were deradicalized , pasteurized and homogenized , made safe for mass consumption . Each was in favor of a radical redistribution of global wealth . Each crusaded against poverty and inequality and war . Both did it with an equanimity and ebullience and capacity to forgive and love their enemies that made it easy to canonize them in a secular way . White people love being given the benefit of the doubt and/or being forgiven . I speak from experience .\nBut now , as the country turns again to issues of income inequality and poverty , and economic populism is said to be having a “ moment , ” maybe it ’ s time to remember Dr. King , the radical . The one who died trying to ignite a Poor People ’ s Movement that he saw as the natural outcome of the civil rights movement . The one who tried to branch out to fight poverty and war , but at least in his lifetime – and so far in ours – did n't succeed .\nI loved pretty much everything about the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington last year , except how the right got it so wrong . It seemed to be the beginning of a movement to reclaim the real MLK , especially among liberals . King was of course celebrated hugely , but so were lefty heroes who never get enough credit , like Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph . There were stories about “ The Socialists Behind the March on Washington , ” as well as about the media ’ s and the Kennedy administration ’ s wrongheaded fears of violence .\nComing off of that gorgeous 50th anniversary celebration , though , where we remembered the triumph of King the strategist and organizer , let ’ s remember the King who tried and , by common measures , failed . Was n't feted , wasn ’ t lionized . King was always a radical , but at the end of his life , he was something of an outcast , criticized by liberals , the left and the right .\nForget about the right , for now : King crossed some Democrats and labor leaders when he turned against the Vietnam War in 1967 , after his unparalleled Riverside Church speech . He knew the war was not only wrong , but was making Johnson 's alleged `` War on Poverty '' fiscally impossible . Meanwhile a growing black power movement mocked King 's commitment to nonviolence and integration . Even some close allies in the civil rights movement blanched when he joined Marion Wright Edelman and other organizers to start a Poor People ’ s Campaign later that year – a movement of black , white , Latino , American Indian and Asian people mired in poverty , to fight the war and get the help they deserved . They were to march on Washington and set up a camp there in April 1968 , the month King was assassinated .\nHarry Belafonte tells a story in his amazing memoir , “ My Song , ” about King being challenged by his SCLC deputies on his accelerating radicalism generally , and the Poor People ’ s Campaign specifically , just a week before he died . Describing King as a “ socialist and revolutionary thinker , ” Belafonte says he clashed with close ally and future Atlanta mayor and U.N. ambassador Andrew Young , over not only the Poor People ’ s Campaign , but King ’ s thoroughgoing critique of capitalism . Belafonte quotes King telling the group , gathered at the singer/actor/activist ’ s New York apartment : “ What deeply troubles me now is that for all the steps we ’ ve taken toward integration , I ’ ve come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house . ”\nWhen Belafonte asks what that means they should do , an exhausted King tells him : “ I guess we ’ re just going to have to become firemen . ”\nAssassinated a week later , King wouldn ’ t get to lead the Poor People ’ s Campaign . But almost 50 years later , most of us who think the way he did are still firemen in a burning house , constantly fighting the fires set by radical Republicans to make life worse for the people King cared most about , never getting around to building the sturdy , welcoming , capacious , fire-resistant dwelling that lives in our political imagination . King would be proud of our accomplishments , and also a little bit sad for us . Or maybe I 'm just projecting .\nSome of King ’ s closest living allies have been trying hard to right the reverend 's record . “ There have been and continue to be efforts to ‘ neuter ’ or ‘ de-radicalize ’ the Dr. King who delivered his ' I Have a Dream ' speech in August , 1963 , ” says his longtime lawyer and speechwriter Clarence B. Jones . Though the dream speech , which Jones helped write , was itself radical , he sees King ’ s April 1967 “ Beyond Vietnam : Time to Break the Silence ” speech at Riverside Church as “ the ideological turning point for King . ”\nHarry Belafonte likewise thinks much of American political culture “ is guilty of dealing with Dr. King ’ s life and story in grievously superficial ways . What gave us all strength to do what we did was his radical thinking. ” Acknowledging that King ’ s turn against the war and toward cross-racial , anti-poverty organizing was “ controversial ” among his closest colleagues , Belafonte notes : “ It was controversial , but controversy wasn ’ t something he shunned ; controversy became the system through which disagreement and debate could be heard . He was comfortable with that . He welcomed it . That aspect of his history is never really discussed .\n`` The vested interests don ’ t want us speaking of Dr. King in radical terms , '' Belafonte continues . `` The great tragedy and irony of it all is that the public hungers for voices that are driven more by these moral concerns . ”\nI ’ ve never waded into the debates over whether King was a “ socialist , ” though Belafonte and another close ally Julian Bond say he was ( to the chagrin of Glenn Beck , who of course tried to hijack the March on Washington anniversary a few years back ) . Socialism has been such a stigmatized and divisive and practically irrelevant notion in my lifetime ( even though I worked for a socialist newspaper ! ) that I 've never needed to claim King for its roster . But whatever we call King 's point of view , stripping him of his very obvious economic radicalism distorts not only his history but all of ours .\nAnd as a younger generation shows more curiosity about political solutions that aren ’ t on the agenda , it may limit King ’ s appeal , too . A 2011 Pew poll found 49 percent of Americans 18 to 29 say they have a positive view of socialism vs. 43 percent with a negative view . Capitalism is underwater among that age group , with 46 percent positive and 47 percent negative . And here 's one of King 's most famous , resonant quotes about capitalism , from his August 1967 speech : `` Where Do We Go From Here ? '' ( I like this version , because it 's punctuated by his SCLC audience 's replies ) :\nI want to say to you as I move to my conclusion , as we talk about `` Where do we go from here ? '' that we must honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society . ( Yes ) There are forty million poor people here , and one day we must ask the question , `` Why are there forty million poor people in America ? '' And when you begin to ask that question , you are raising a question about the economic system , about a broader distribution of wealth . When you ask that question , you begin to question the capitalistic economy . ( Yes ) And I 'm simply saying that more and more , we 've got to begin to ask questions about the whole society . We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life 's marketplace . ( Yes ) But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring . ( All right ) It means that questions must be raised . And you see , my friends , when you deal with this you begin to ask the question , `` Who owns the oil ? '' ( Yes ) You begin to ask the question , `` Who owns the iron ore ? '' ( Yes ) You begin to ask the question , `` Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that 's two-thirds water ? '' ( All right ) These are words that must be said . ( All right ) Now , do n't think you have me in a bind today . I 'm not talking about communism . What I 'm talking about is far beyond communism . ( Yeah ) My inspiration did n't come from Karl Marx ( Speak ) ; my inspiration did n't come from Engels ; my inspiration did n't come from Trotsky ; my inspiration did n't come from Lenin . Yes , I read Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital a long time ago ( Well ) , and I saw that maybe Marx did n't follow Hegel enough . ( All right ) He took his dialectics , but he left out his idealism and his spiritualism . And he went over to a German philosopher by the name of Feuerbach , and took his materialism and made it into a system that he called `` dialectical materialism . '' ( Speak ) I have to reject that . What I 'm saying to you this morning is communism forgets that life is individual . ( Yes ) Capitalism forgets that life is social . ( Yes , Go ahead ) And the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism , but in a higher synthesis . ( Speak ) [ applause ] It is found in a higher synthesis ( Come on ) that combines the truths of both . ( Yes ) Now , when I say questioning the whole society , it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism , the problem of economic exploitation , and the problem of war are all tied together . ( All right ) These are the triple evils that are interrelated .\nLabels don ’ t matter , but solutions do . Rather than remembering King solely as a civil rights leader , we must reclaim him as a radical advocate of economic justice , looking to lead a multiracial movement of poor people to complete the unfinished business of the civil rights movement . As King put it plainly , “ What good does it do to be able to eat at a lunch counter if you can ’ t buy a hamburger ? ” Post-integration , too many black people couldn ’ t sit down at integrated lunch counters and buy a hamburger ; 50 years later , too many people of every race have the same problem .\nWe are ready for the radical King now . President Obama , perhaps belatedly , has declared income inequality `` the defining issue of our time . '' Even poverty seems back on the agenda . The man who may be doing the most to advance these issues right now is n't a politician or a rabble rouser ; it 's Pope Francis , who 's been hailed by everyone from Obama to Paul Ryan ( Ryan gets him wrong ) as helping us make the issue of poverty central to our politics . `` If Dr. King were alive today , he would be in Rome visiting Pope Francis holding a joint press conference to summoning the world to aid the poor eradicate poverty , '' Clarence Jones says . The president promises he 's going to the Vatican to meet the new pope , and that 's a start .\nFor now , though , all these years later , King 's allies and inheritors are still fighting fires in a burning house . It 's time to rebuild the house with room for everyone , and keep it safer from the fiery danger of injustice .
|
allsides-corpus-103
|
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has bestowed its blessing on cancel culture–the twisted phenomenon whereby universities and public libraries cancel scheduled events just because someone claims to be offended . In Nova Scotia , cancel culture has spread to personalized license plates . Justice Darlene Jamieson ruled on January 31 , 2020 , that one anonymous complaint about Lorne Grabher ’ s personalized “ GRABHER ” license plate was enough to warrant its permanent cancellation . The Court affirmed the January 2017 decision to cancel the plate which the Grabher family had used for over 25 years , because Mr. Grabher ’ s surname could be “ misinterpreted ” as a “ socially unacceptable slogan . ”\nLorne Grabher is of Austrian-German heritage . His family immigrated to Canada from Europe in 1906 . His father served in the Canadian Armed Forces , and was stationed in Cape Breton , Nova Scotia . The family ’ s history , including their name and the heritage it signifies , is important to the Grabher family . In or around 1990 the Grabher family applied for the “ GRABHER ” plate , originally a gift to Lorne ’ s father and later used by Lorne ’ s son . For 27 consecutive years , through three generations of Grabhers , the Registrar authorized the plate for use on the family ’ s motor vehicles in Nova Scotia . Each year the Registrar of Motor Vehicles renewed the plate without issue .\nAll it took to wreck this noble family tradition was one anonymous complaint to the Registrar , in October of 2016 . Without taking into account the Grabher family ’ s pride in its Austrian-German heritage , and ignoring all prior decisions to renew the plate year after year after year , Janice Harland of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles told Lorne Grabher : “ While I recognize this plate was issued as your last name , the public can not be expected to know this and can misinterpret it as a socially unacceptable slogan . ”\nFor Lorne Grabher , this case is about more than a personalized plate . It ’ s about his family ’ s name , personal dignity , and the ongoing insult by the Nova Scotia government in its censorship of the plate .\nJustice Darlene Jamieson has effectively equated Lorne Grabher ’ s surname with EATASS , FOQME , HOTCOK , BLOWJB , BRDSHT , FSTFK , FCKPIG , 8CUNT , DCHBAG , GNGBNG , FQUALL and other objectionable terms on the Banned List of words that are prohibited by the Nova Scotia Registrar of Motor Vehicles . The court was not moved by the double standard of foul language used by another government entity , the Halifax Water Board , whose bus ads included the phrases “ Powerful Sh * t ” and “ Be proud of your Dingle. ” The court also deemed irrelevant the existence of Canadian place names like “ Dildo , Newfoundland , ” “ Swastika , Ontario , ” “ Red Indian Lake , Newfoundland , ” “ Crotch Lake , Ontario , ” “ Old Squaw Islands , Nunavut , ” and “ Cape Negro ” in Nova Scotia .\nJustice Jamieson relied heavily on a report by Carrie Rentschler ( https : //www.mcgill.ca/ahcs/people-contacts/faculty/rentschler ) a McGill University professor of “ feminist media studies ” who specializes in things like “ the construction of new political subjectivities , ” “ emergent forms of social collectivity , ” and “ the shape and practice of contemporary feminisms in social media networks and hashtag publics . ”\nProfessor Rentschler argued that the “ GRABHER ” license plate supports or increases violence against women ; that exposure to cultural slogans normalizes sexual violence against women ; that Mr. Grabher ’ s plate creates an elevated risk of rape ; and that Mr. Grabher ’ s surname is a statement in support of physical violence against women . As the Professor explains in her revised report :\n“ As an expression , the meaning of ‘ Grabher ’ could be understood to signify the support , condoning and encouragement of gendered physical violence against girls and women . ‘ Grabher ’ – read as ‘ Grab her ’ - is a speech act that can potentially contribute to the harms of gendered violence against girls and women , ‘ crossing over from expressive activity to threat ’ … As an injunction , recipients of the phrase may interpret it as encouragement to grab or grope female individuals without their consent . ”\nThere was no evidence before the court that there is less crime in Nova Scotia , or in Mr. Grabher ’ s neighborhood , since the plate was revoked . There was no evidence that anyone , including the anonymous complainant , had suffered any harm as a result of the plate .\nProfessor Rentschler claimed that Mr. Grabher ’ s plate is broadly “ offensive ” to the public , but provided no examples of any specific people or studies who find it so . Professor Rentschler is not from Nova Scotia , admitting on cross-examination that she did not know the name of the big blue ship in the background on all Nova Scotia licence plates . She provided no evidence to support her claim that the plate endangers the general public . Nor did the Nova Scotia government present any evidence to support any of Professor Renstchler ’ s assertions . There was no evidence that any roadway or motorist or citizen , female or male , was ever once endangered by the plate . There was therefore no evidence that the plate represents “ language that supports gendered violence ” or that the “ plate promotes violence against women . ”\nDespite the absence of evidence to support Professor Rentschler ’ s wild claims , Justice Jamieson actually agreed with her , ruling that “ the seven letters ‘ GRABHER , ’ without added context to indicate this is a surname , could be interpreted as promoting sexualized violence against women and girls . ”\nJustice Jamieson decreed that banning Mr. Grabher ’ s plate is justified to prevent harm , to ensure a “ safe and welcoming ” environment on Nova Scotia roads , and to protect individuals in society from the effects of offensive expression . She stated : “ Clearly the provincial government can not sanction having vehicles with government-owned plates travelling the highways of this province and country bearing messages that could be considered ‘ offensive or not in good taste ’ . ”\nWhere would we be without the government to keep us safe from the scourge of peoples ’ offensive surnames ?\nWhat actual harm Mr. Grabher ’ s personalized plate had caused from 1990 to 2017 was not explained by the Court , nor could the Registrar of Motor Vehicles point to any harm . The Nova Scotia government suggested the GRABHER plate hurt tourism , but the government ’ s witness , Peter Hackett , later admitted that there was no such evidence .\nThe Registrar provided no evidence on behalf of the person who complained , why that person complained , or even whether she or he resided in Nova Scotia . The Registrar treated an ethnically German name as an English phrase , and then attached an idiosyncratic and demeaning reading to it . Mr. Grabher ’ s claim of discrimination against Canadians of Austrian-German heritage was dismissed because , according to Justice Jamieson , persons of Austrian-German heritage do not suffer from any “ pre-existing disadvantage or stereotyping in Canadian society. ” Essentially : discrimination is only wrong if you belong to the right group .\nThe court minimized the hurt and humiliation experienced by Mr. Grabher in the past three years , claiming that he is “ free ” to “ choose another personalized plate consisting of up to seven letters or numbers . As Justice Jamieson explained it : “ He is not denied access to personalized plates , but solely access to the seven-letter , personalized “ GRABHER ” plate. ” This “ freedom ” is rather worthless because no other expression on the plate would communicate the same idea as the family surname . If you can not say what you want , there is no free expression . For a court to say “ no worries , you are allowed to say other things ” misses the whole point of free expression .\nCancel culture panders to the fragile snowflakes who file anonymous complaints . Their desire , to avoid feeling offended by their own imagination about what someone else ’ s last name could mean if translated into a different language and then distorted into something it is not , must take precedence over someone else ’ s right to display his own last name with pride .\nWhen courts promote cancel culture , they harm the free society .
|
allsides-corpus-104
|
The tense situation in Ferguson , Mo. , following the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown is another test for President Obama . He has struggled at times over how to navigate long-simmering tensions between police and the African-American community .\nObama says he understands the passions and the anger that have engulfed Ferguson over the past week and a half , but he has carefully avoided taking sides . His warnings against violent confrontation have been directed equally at the protesters and the police .\n`` Ours is a nation of laws for the citizens who live under them and for the citizens who enforce them , '' he said at a news conference Monday .\nThat studied even-handedness disappoints some African-American observers . Paul Butler , who studies race and criminal justice at Georgetown Law school , wants to hear more outrage from the president about the conduct of a nearly all-white police force in a town that 's two-thirds black .\n`` With the specter of urban insurrection in an American city that looks more like Fallujah than Ferguson , this is not the time to be detached , '' he says .\nOthers , however , defended Obama 's cautious approach . Joshua Dubois , who used to head the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships , says now that the Justice Department is investigating the Ferguson shooting , it 's important that the president not appear to be putting his thumb on the scale .\n`` There are a lot of folks who want President Obama to be all sorts of things : an activist , a marcher , a poet , a race theorist . But in this case , I need him to be the president , '' Dubois says . `` I need him to make sure that this investigation is carried out in a full and fair way , and that that family and that community in Ferguson has closure in terms of the way the criminal justice system operates . ''\nA survey by the Pew Research Center finds sharp differences in the way the shooting and the police crackdown that followed are viewed by blacks and whites and Democrats and Republicans . It 's possible that a more one-sided approach from the president would simply deepen that divide . But Butler argues that 's no reason for Obama to hold back .\n`` Look , the president has his haters . And he 's always going to have his haters . I think he 's gone out of his way to try to appease them , '' Butler says . `` And that 's resulted in neglecting not just his political base , but a large sector of the American population , including African-Americans , who need his leadership on these issues . ''\nButler says he had high hopes when the first black president was elected . But Obama quickly learned the perils of speaking bluntly about race and law enforcement . Obama had been in office just six months when he was asked during a news conference about black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr . The professor had been locked out of his house and was arrested when he tried to force his way in .\n`` The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home , '' Obama said .\nThe comment was catnip for cable TV , but the president had to backtrack just two days later : `` To the extent that my choice of words did n't illuminate but rather contributed to more media frenzy , I think that was unfortunate . ''\nObama later hosted a beer summit for the professor and the policeman . Afterward , he scarcely mentioned race for the next three years .\nUntil Trayvon Martin , the black Florida teenager who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer . `` If I had a son , he 'd look like Trayvon , '' Obama said . And while he was careful not to second-guess the Florida jury that acquitted the shooter , Obama spoke in unusually personal terms about the painful suspicions that nearly every young , black man is confronted with .\n`` There are very few African-American men in this country who have n't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping at a department store , '' he said . `` That includes me . ''\nWhile Obama has generally steered clear of programs designed exclusively for African-Americans , he did launch an initiative this year focused on the challenges of young black men . He conceded this week that there 's a lot to do .\n`` In too many communities , too many young men of color are left behind and seen only as objects of fear . Through initiatives like My Brother 's Keeper , I 'm personally committed to changing both perception and reality , '' Obama said .\nObama has described the initiative as a long-term project . But observers like Lester Spence of Johns Hopkins University grow more impatient each time another young black man is killed in a place like Ferguson , Mo .\n`` I am so tired and frustrated . And I know America 's a better place than it was . But this continues to happen ? And we 've got a black guy as the president ? You 've got to be kidding me , '' Spence says .
|
allsides-corpus-105
|
NEW YORK ( ███ ) - Thousands of protesters stormed the security perimeter of Barclays Center in New York as protests spread across the United States over the killing of George Floyd , a Minneapolis black man who died after being pinned by the neck under a white police officer ’ s knee .\nAn Atlanta Police car burns as people protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd , near CNN Center in Atlanta , Georgia , U.S. May 29 , 2020 . ███/Dustin Chambers\nPolice made scores of arrests at Friday ’ s massive demonstration in Brooklyn , loading cuffed protesters onto city buses lined up on Atlantic Avenue , shutting down a major thoroughfare .\nA diverse group of protesters cheered to hip hop music and tried to argue about police brutality with police officers in riot gear , who occasionally lunged into crowds to pluck people out for arrest after bottles and other projectiles were thrown .\nThe demonstrators at a “ We can ’ t breathe ” vigil and rally in lower Manhattan were pressing for legislation outlawing the police “ chokehold ” used by a city police officer in the 2014 death of Eric Garner , who was also black .\nIn an impassioned speech , Bernice King , the youngest daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. , implored people to go home after more than 1,000 protesters marched to the state capitol from the Centennial Olympic Park , blocking traffic and an interstate highway along the way .\n“ The only way we get what we really want is through non-violence , ” Bernice King said in her father ’ s hometown . “ Let ’ s do this the non-violent way to deal with the evil of our time . ”\nKing was assassinated in 1968 , a year after race riots spread across many big cities .\nThe Atlanta demonstration turned chaotic and at times violent . Fires were burning in downtown Atlanta near the CNN Center , the network ’ s headquarters .\nAt least one police car was among several vehicles burnt . Windows were smashed at the CNN building , along with store fronts . Police pushed back the crowd , but they hurled bottles at officers .\nHundreds of protesters defied an 8 p.m. curfew to gather in the streets around a police station burnt the previous night .\n“ We are out here because we , as a generation , realize things have to change , ” said one marcher , Paul Selman , a 25-year-old black man , who had just graduated with a master ’ s degree in English from Minnesota State . “ We need peace . ”\nPeter McMahon , 26 , a resident of the area around the police station and owner of two nearby properties , said , “ This is my generation and these are the people I went to high school with , ” adding , “ This is not a surprise . I have lost good friends over this Black Lives Matter shit . ”\nHundreds in the automotive capital joined a “ March Against Police Brutality ” late in the afternoon outside the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters . Many chanted , “ No justice , no peace. ” Some carried signs that read , “ End police brutality ” and “ I won ’ t stop yelling until everyone can breathe . ”\nA 19-year-old man protesting in the city was shot dead on Friday night by a suspect who pulled up to demonstrators in a sport utility vehicle and fired gunshots into the crowd , then fled , the Detroit Free Press and other local media reported . Police could not immediately be reached for comment .\nDenver saw a second day of protests after hundreds marched peacefully through its downtown demanding justice for Floyd .\nHundreds gathered on Friday in a protest organized by the group Black Lives Matter at City Hall . The crowd spilled onto Interstate 45 ’ s entrance ramp near downtown chanting , “ I can ’ t breathe , ” and “ No justice , no peace . ”\nAfter a night of violence in which at least seven people were shot , police in the Kentucky city braced for more protests over the killing of Floyd and several others , such as Breonna Taylor , shot by police in her Louisville home in March .
|
allsides-corpus-106
|
‘ The heart and soul of the Republican Party belongs to Donald Trump , ” writes Lloyd Green . If so , the GOP has an odd way of showing affection . Green cites a lack of Republican criticism of Trump , the president ’ s continued popularity within the party , and Trump ’ s rescue of incumbent Nevada senator Dean Heller from a primary challenge . All true . But when it comes to the president ’ s priorities and the nationalist-populist style of politics he represents , Trump and the Republican Congress could not be farther apart .\nTrump won the nomination and the presidency after distinguishing himself from the party in four ways . Since Ronald Reagan , Republicans have tended to support global economic integration , immigration , democratic internationalism , and entitlement reform . And yet Trump opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership , called to renegotiate NAFTA , and wanted tariffs on China . His 2015 immigration plan championed a wall across the southern border , workplace enforcement , an end to birthright citizenship , and a tripling of border and customs agents . He repudiated the Iraq war and questioned the future of NATO . He swore that Social Security and Medicare would be off-limits . His brashness , colorfulness , insults , willingness to transgress norms , humor , novelty , and lack of political experience separated him from the GOP pack .\nThis program and its avatar won three Great Lakes states that had been missing from the Republican column for a generation . Trump also came within striking distance in Minnesota and New Hampshire . Obviously , we do not know the exact relation between Trump ’ s nationalism and populism and the roughly 78,000 votes in three states that gave him an Electoral College victory . But the unexpected shape of his upset suggests that the trademark Trump issues of immigration , trade , nonintervention , and retirement security played some role both in attracting support for him and depressing turnout for Hillary Clinton .\nYet the 16 months since the election have seen the gradual , fitful , and partial regularization of Trump into the GOP that predated and opposed him . Until recently , the president and congressional leadership were aligned : They seated a justice and lower-court judges , rolled back Obama-era regulations , failed to repeal and replace Obamacare , and passed a large tax cut . Trump ’ s foreign policy also became more conventionally Republican . He bombed Syria , turned down his criticism of NATO , maintained a troop presence in Afghanistan despite his instincts to withdraw , and increased defense spending . The signature Trump policies — including the travel ban , exit from the TPP and the Paris Climate Accord , and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem — were greeted with friendly skepticism from party elites . By the end of 2017 , one would have thought the party would change Trump more than he would change it .\nThat hasn ’ t happened . Instead , both Trump and the GOP seem to be reverting to form : Trump has pressed for changes to legal immigration , visited prototypes for the border wall , called for the death penalty for opioid dealers , and imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum as well as against China , amid anxiety and dissent and resistance from congressmen of his own party . Trump ’ s instincts and impulsiveness have driven him to re-embrace the portfolio that delivered his electoral coalition at the very moment Republicans in Congress want nothing so much as to return to their districts , publicize the tax cut , and vainly attempt to divorce their campaigns from national politics . And so we are faced with the oddity that Trump ’ s approval rating is creeping upward even as Democrats press their midterm advantage .\nTrump and the Republicans operate according to different hierarchies of values . To the degree that his behavior can be categorized by a single idea , Trump ’ s most singular policies address the question of sovereignty : Who rules ? Here , in America , the people rule , or are supposed to . Trump ’ s rhetoric defines the people as American citizens , regardless of racial or ethnic identity . The domestic objective of his presidency is to reassert popular control over judges , bureaucracies , and elected officials . The extent of sovereignty must be defined , which is why we have borders and require a wall to protect a porous one . And national sovereignty is important , too . That is why America must reestablish its privileges and ability to maneuver vis-à-vis multilateral institutions such as the United Nations , international agreements , and the World Trade Organization .\nIf I had to choose a guiding principle of congressional Republicans , it would be freedom . The freedom of the individual to live the life he chooses , the freedom of people and goods and services to move across borders , the freedom to work , spend , and invest as one sees fit , the freedom of people around the world to govern themselves .\nNow , sovereignty and freedom are not necessarily in conflict . They overlap , and they can move in tandem . They often have done so in American history . But one must also balance the other . A sovereign without regard for freedom would be unjust , and increasing social and economic freedom can lead to the loss of sovereignty . The thrust of populist politics since 2016 indicates that voters believe that the mix of sovereignty and freedom is out of whack , that national and democratic sovereignty must be upheld even if it means tighter regulation of the global economy and especially of global migration .\nA sovereign without regard for freedom would be unjust , and increasing social and economic freedom can lead to the loss of sovereignty .\nAt its most politically successful , the party of Trump pits miners , hard hats , farmers , soldiers , veterans , and public-safety officers against CEOs , bankers , lawyers , doctors , bureaucrats , professors , and educators . Yet none of Trump ’ s personal or policy decisions occasioned as much intra-party pushback , including a high-profile resignation , as the imposition of tariffs . Not only do Republicans seem largely ignorant of the fact that Donald Trump ’ s political instincts are better than their own , they also refuse to learn .\nThis divergence between Trump and the Republicans is apparent in the $ 1.3 trillion government-funding bill . If there is one thing every American knows about Donald Trump , it is that he wants to build a wall along the Mexican border . Yet Republican congressmen , most of whom adhere to pre-Trump views of immigration , secured only $ 1.6 billion for the project . Democrats are crowing . “ Democrats won explicit language restricting border construction to the same see-through fencing that was already authorized under current law , ” Nancy Pelosi said in a statement . “ The bill does not allow any increase in deportation officers or detention beds. ” Part of the responsibility for this setback goes to Trump , who seems to have been disengaged from the negotiations until the last minute . But the main reason the money isn ’ t there is the fact that congressional leadership had neither the desire nor the stomach to fight for it .\nSomething similar has happened with trade . Whatever the economic consequences of Trump ’ s protectionism — and they could be bad — it can not be denied that this is the issue on which he has been most consistent over 30 years in the public eye . Nor can the political appeal of siding with domestic manufacturers over multinational corporations be ignored by anyone who has seen Democrats rhetorically position themselves on the side of the American worker since 1992 . By dividing trades and construction-union membership against leadership in 2016 , Trump called forth the Reagan Democrats who had vanished from the scene , and convinced millions of white working-class voters to defect from the Obama coalition .\nThey can just as easily switch back , of course . When I visited the websites of the two candidates in the recent Pennsylvania special election , I was struck that it was the Democrat , rather than the Republican , who highlighted infrastructure , opioids , and protecting entitlements , three topics of keen interest to Trump voters . By neutralizing the hot-button cultural issues of guns and abortion , and highlighting Rick Saccone ’ s support for right-to-work and other pro-business measures , Conor Lamb reappropriated the economic program that Donald Trump used to win PA-18 by 20 points . He won ’ t be the last Democrat to do so .
|
allsides-corpus-107
|
The reformers say they want to move the GOP beyond its Reagan-era script . 'Reform conservatives ' take on GOP\nWith the Republican Party ’ s establishment and tea party wings busy attacking each other , and no standard-bearer emerging for the White House , a group of intellectuals calling themselves “ reform conservatives ” are maneuvering to seize the party ’ s 2016 policy agenda .\nIn the process , they ’ ve set off a lively , intensifying debate in recent weeks over whether today ’ s GOP can be reformed at all .\nThe policy wonks — led by thinkers including Peter Wehner , Yuval Levin , and Ramesh Ponnuru — are circulating their economics-focused ideas with the express goal of influencing 2016 presidential contenders , and some of those potential candidates have been cautiously receptive . Rep. Paul Ryan , for instance , tweeted that their proposals are “ good food for thought ; ” Sen. Marco Rubio ’ s spokeswoman said he believes the ideas “ can ensure that the next generation of Americans have more opportunities for success ” ; and Indiana Gov . Mike Pence told ███ that he has “ great appreciation for the efforts of reform minded conservatives . ”\nThe reformers say they want to move the GOP beyond its Reagan-era script of cutting taxes and shrinking government and toward a focus on what a more limited government can and should do , especially for the middle class . For the most part , they ’ ve shopped their ideas around informally , through private conversations and journal articles . But recently they took a more organized approach , releasing a 121-page policy manifesto called “ Room to Grow . ”\nThat move dramatically raised their profiles — and drew out the skeptics .\nConservative columnist Michael Gerson has praised the group , arguing it has “ more potential influence ” than the tea party . But liberal critics , such as columnists E.J . Dionne and Jonathan Chait , have questioned how effective the reformists can be at a time when the Republican Party has expunged many of its moderates and the base is animated by the notion that government is always a problem . Some observers , meanwhile , compare them to the New Democrats of the 1990s , a parallel the intellectuals resist .\nThe reform conservatives argue there ’ s no need to lure the GOP to the middle and no desire to further splinter it . ( They ’ re not even sure who came up with their group ’ s label , though Gerson has used the phrase , or a version of it , for at least two years . ) If anything , they say , their ideas would “ reform ” broken institutions by pushing them to the right .\n“ It is a conservative movement , and it ’ s important to understand that , ” said Wehner , a former policy adviser to ex-President George W. Bush . “ It ’ s not a fight . It ’ s not Goldwater vs. Rockefeller . ”\nThe e-book manifesto , released in May at an event sponsored by the YG Network and the American Enterprise Institute , lays out proposals from around a dozen authors on 10 wide-ranging issues , including replacing Obamacare , helping the long-term unemployed , and rewriting War on Poverty programs .\nIt avoids divisive cultural issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage , steering a careful path around anything that could offend social conservatives . But it does include this implied challenge to the tea party : “ Rather than talk about conservatism exclusively as a set of rules about what government should not be doing , we need to help Americans see the conservative vision of American life as a way to unleash the nation ’ s potential . ”\nSome critical details are still being worked out , like how to pay for some of the ideas . A chapter on tax reform , for example , talks up Utah Sen. Mike Lee ’ s proposal to give families an extra $ 2,500 tax credit per child and advertises it as a way to help parents struggling with the cost of raising kids . But an analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that Lee ’ s idea would add $ 2.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years .\nThe reform conservatives note that the ideas are mere blueprints for now . The main point , they say , is to show how conservative proposals can be turned into policies to help the middle class , not just recycled into the usual talking points about cutting taxes and slashing spending .\n“ Middle class families aren ’ t worried about their tax burden , ” said Reihan Salam , a policy adviser at the YG Network and contributing editor at National Review . “ They ’ re worried about how much it costs to own and operate a car . They ’ re worried about finding decent post-secondary [ education ] options . ”\nLevin , who edits the conservative journal National Affairs , put it more bluntly : “ The left always thinks it ’ s 1965 . The right always thinks it ’ s 1981 . The country knows it ’ s 2014 . ”
|
allsides-corpus-108
|
Controversies in Wisconsin and Georgia show how the mass removal of voters from the rolls has become a key part of the fight to win\nThe final weeks of December may have been dominated by news of Donald Trump ’ s impeachment , but another development with potentially serious implications for the 2020 election – and the future of American democracy – attracted less global attention .\nIt took place not in the halls of Congress but hundreds of miles away , in Wisconsin . This was where a conservative advocacy group convinced a circuit court judge to order the state to remove more than 230,000 people removed from the state ’ s voter rolls . Wisconsin was already considered a crucial swing state in 2020 – bearing in mind that Donald Trump won the state by fewer than 23,000 votes in 2016 . More than half of the voters at risk of being purged lived in areas that favored Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump that year , according to an analysis by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel .\nTop Trump adviser : Republicans have 'always ' relied on voter suppression Read more\nA week later , one of Trump ’ s reelection advisers was caught on tape telling a Wisconsin Republicans that the party has “ traditionally ” relied on voter suppression . “ Traditionally it ’ s always been Republicans suppressing votes in places . Let ’ s start protecting our voters . We know where they are , ” the adviser , Justin Clark , said in audio obtained by the Associated Press . “ Let ’ s start playing offense a little bit . That ’ s what you ’ re going to see in 2020 . It ’ s going to be a much bigger program , a much more aggressive program , a much better-funded program . ”\nThere was now even less doubt that the Republicans intended to rely on both encouraging , and discouraging , voters as a key part of their 2020 election strategy .\nWisconsin wasn ’ t the only state where removing voters from the rolls en-masse came under scrutiny . The same week , in Georgia , the state voted to remove more than 300,000 people from the rolls . 120,000 of those people were removed because they hadn ’ t voted since 2012 and also failed to respond to multiple notices from the state asking them to confirm their address . The removals drew national outcry in a state that has been at the epicenter of accusations of voter suppression .\nIn 2017 the then secretary of state , Brian Kemp , removed more 500,000 from voter rolls and a month before the Gubernatorial election in 2018 he held up registrations of 53,000 under the state ’ s “ exact match ” law where a misplaced hyphen or comma in a voter registration record could mean more obstacles for someone to vote . Brian Kemp stood in that election and defeated Stacy Abrams by just 55,000 votes . Abrams later called Kemp a “ remarkable architect of voter suppression ” .\nThe controversies in Wisconsin and Georgia underscore how the mass removal of voters from the rolls – often called voter purging – has moved to the center of the polarized fight over voting rights in the United States . Although there is a consensus that purging , done carefully , is a useful tool to keep voting rolls accurate and remove people who move and die , there is growing alarm over how aggressively it is being used to penalize people , essentially , for not voting .\nOverall , at least 17 million people have been removed from the voter rolls since the 2016 election , an uptick from the number of voters who were removed between 2006 and 2008 , according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice . Although it ’ s not known how many of those removals were legitimate , the increase comes even as the number of Americans who move has dropped to historic lows .\n“ Folks who benefit from having fewer people participate are constantly looking for new ways to suppress turnout , ” said Stuart Naifeh , an attorney at Demos who was involved in a high-profile voter purge case at the United States supreme court last year . Voter purges “ is one that seems to have become more popular . ”\nPurging is not new – federal law has required it for more than two decades – but there is a new awareness of how purges can remove eligible voters from the rolls and target populations that move a lot : the young , the poor and people who live in cities , all groups that tend to favor Democrats .\n“ It ’ s only bad when it ’ s done poorly . When it captures people who are still in the state or who are still eligible voters and shouldn ’ t be removed , ” said David Becker , the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research , who works with states cleaning their voter rolls .\nMyrna Pérez , director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice , pointed out that there used to be an important tool to keep voting jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination from “ bad ” purges : the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act . Until 2013 , if a state covered by the law wanted to make a change in its purge process , it would have to show the federal government that it wasn ’ t to the detriment of minority voters .\nThe oversight helped prevent both discriminatory purge practices and allowed states to catch errors in their methodology , Perez said . But it was lifted in 2013 when the supreme court gutted the Voting Rights Act . When the law was still in full effect , Pérez said , “ it had the effect of stalling and stopping intentional and accidental sloppiness . ”\nAnother legal blow came in 2018 , when the supreme court ruled in favor of a controversial way of carrying out purges .\nFolks who benefit from having fewer people participate are constantly looking for new ways to suppress turnout Stuart Naifeh\nThe case involved Larry Harmon , a software engineer in Ohio , who sued the state when he discovered in 2015 that , after sitting out several elections , he was unable to vote on a marijuana initiative because he had been purged . If someone misses a federal election in Ohio , the state sends them a postcard asking them to confirm their address . If they don ’ t respond to the postcard and fail to vote in two more consecutive elections , they are removed from the rolls . Voting rights groups call the Ohio rule the “ use it or lose it ” law .\nHarmon argued that he was being punished for not voting , which is prohibited by federal law . And critics said that linking one ’ s ability to stay on the voter rolls to one ’ s ability to vote can discriminate against people who face more obstacles getting to the polls , such as those who can ’ t get childcare or time off from work . But in a 5-4 ruling , the supreme court said the process was legal because Harmon wasn ’ t removed solely for not voting – he had also received the postcard .\nThe ruling “ opened the floodgates ” to aggressive voter purging , said Kathy Culliton-Gonzalez , a voting rights attorney .\nMailers and postcards are a controversial way of asking voters to confirm their voter registration . In 2018 , states reported sending more than 21 million address confirmation notices and only around 20 % of them were returned , according to federal data . The fact that so few people return the postcards signals that they ’ re not really a reliable way of assessing whether people have moved , voting advocates argue .\nBut voter purges are more than just a question of lapsed bureaucracy , they are now emerging as a new political battleground .\nIn Ohio , for instance , Democrats and Republicans have overseen voter purges for two decades , but recently , the practice seems to have clearly benefited Republicans . Voters in Democratic neighborhoods in the state ’ s three largest counties were struck from the rolls at nearly twice the rate as voters in Republican ones , according to a 2016 Reuters analysis . In largely African American neighborhoods in Cincinnati , over 10 % of voters were purged , compared to just 4 % in the suburbs .\nEarlier this year , Ohio purged 158,000 voters from its rolls using that process , according to an analysis by the Columbus Dispatch . The removals came even after activists in the state discovered around 40,000 errors on the list of voters set to be purged . Oklahoma , which employs a similar purge process to Ohio and Georgia , also removed more than 88,000 inactive voters from its rolls in April .\nEven so , there has been some recent successes in stopping unfair purges . Earlier this year , voting groups successfully blocked an Indiana law that would have allowed the state to cancel a voter registration if they had information the voter moved , but without giving the voter a chance to confirm that . Civil rights groups also stopped Texas from cancelling voter registrations of nearly 100,000 people it accused of being non-citizens based on faulty data .\nIn Wisconsin , election officials have declined to move ahead with the purge while an appeal is pending . The Wisconsin Democratic party has also pledged to contact voters and urge them to re-register ( the state allows people to register online , through their local clerk , or at the polls on election day . )\nDo black people vote ? The racist lie rooted in the American psyche | Rashawn Ray Read more\nAnd in Georgia , there has been another victory – of sorts . Earlier this month , Brad Raffensperger , Georgia ’ s top election official , announced he made a mistake . Days after his office scrubbed 300,000 people from its voter rolls , he revealed 22,000 of them had been incorrectly removed . The voters should have been given several more months to confirm their voter registration .\nRaffensperger said he was reactivating their voter registrations to give them more time . “ We are proactively taking additional steps to prevent any confusion come the day of the election , ” he said in a statement .\nSome crucial protections against bad voter purging also remain in place . Federal law prohibits states from systematically cleaning their rolls within 90 days of a federal election and says the systems state develop to remove people from the rolls must be “ non-discriminatory . ”\nIt is clear that next year ’ s election is already becoming an epic battle to try and preserve the voting rights of millions of voters . The lessons from the 2016 election should sound a cautionary tale .\nAs Professor Carol Anderson , author of One Person , No Vote , a history of voting suppression in the US , writing in ███ , said : “ The 21st century is littered with the bodies of black votes . In 2016 , pummeled by voter suppression in more than 30 states , the black voter turnout plummeted by seven percentage points . For the GOP , that was an effective kill rate . For America , it was a lethal assault on democracy . ”
|
allsides-corpus-109
|
There is a unique uncertainty overshadowing the political landscape these days – an anomaly that few are willing to discuss .\nAs the 2016 presidential election inches closer , social media is oddly quieter than usual when it comes to possible candidates . The millennial generation , ever so eager to share their opinion , suddenly lacks one to voice .\nAs the generation ’ s charismatic leader , President Barack Obama , prepares to leave office , one thing has quickly become evident – the political alliances of millennials are officially up for grabs .\nFor the past seven years , millennials have been passionately steadfast in their support of marriage equality . That passion coincided with the Democrat Party platform , immediately giving supporters of marriage equality a political party to support .\nMake no mistake , for the majority of millennials , social issues such as the legalization of gay marriage and ( to a lesser extent ) abortions are the strongest attachments they have with the Democrat Party . Now that gay marriage is legal in every state , many are now left apathetic towards the political landscape without any direct loyalty to the Democrat Party .\nAside from the support of gay marriage , millennials are all across the board when it comes to their views . Don ’ t believe me ? Take a look at what a recent Reason Foundation poll found among millennials :\nThey desire small government so long as budget cuts don ’ t directly impact them .\nThey loathe political parties , but give Congress higher approval ratings than any other generation .\nThey overwhelmingly supported Obama ’ s promise of universal health care , yet greatly oppose Obamacare .\n. They want the government to fix their problems , but they don ’ t want Washington to be in charge .\nConfused by those results ? So are the leaders of political parties – thus the lack of a push to actively engage the generation . Not only that , but neither party has found a candidate they believe they can successfully sell to millennials .\nSo how can one party lock down the majority of millennials ?\nIt comes down to one thing , really – start a conversation . Millennials want to be a part of something , from gay marriage to the World Cup . Surprisingly , it is the Republican Party that , when completely stripped to its bare bones , has exactly what millennials want to rally behind…\nWhile the past eight years saw a push to tax the wealthy and “ redistribute the wealth , ” it is amazing to see that the millennial generation feels otherwise . Don ’ t misconstrue that statement ; this generation will gladly rally around a movement to raise money to help those in need , but they don ’ t want to be told how and where to do so .\nDon ’ t let the media fool you - millennials desire freedom to pursue their passions , start their own companies or simply to enjoy life without Washington telling them what to do . They like their wealth , and they want to do with it as they desire .\nThey don ’ t want the government telling them how to spend their money .\nThey don ’ t want the government telling them who they can marry .\nThey don ’ t want the government telling them how they are to use their bodies .\nThey don ’ t want the government to control them , they want freedom .\nTake away the topic of gay marriage and the pro-life/pro-choice debate , and millennials desire exactly what is at the heart of the GOP – limited government .\nThe political affiliations of the millennial generation are officially up for grabs . If the Republican Party can learn how to successfully create a conversation centered around limited government , 2016 ’ s political landscape may quickly become more red than any of us could anticipate .\nTheBlaze contributor channel supports an open discourse on a range of views . The opinions expressed in this channel are solely those of each individual author .
|
allsides-corpus-110
|
Even As Trump Denounces Vote By Mail , GOP In Florida And Elsewhere Relies On It\nWith an election year pandemic , mail-in ballots may become an increasingly popular way to vote , especially in states like Florida that allow any voter to use them .\nWhile those ballots accounted for nearly 1 in 4 of all ballots cast in 2018 , President Trump this week said he was n't in favor of expanding the practice during present health crisis , even as he used one himself when he voted ( presumably for himself ) in Florida 's presidential primary last month .\nDuring the White House coronavirus briefing Tuesday , Trump said , `` I think that mail-in voting is a terrible thing '' and followed up the next day with several tweets calling on Republicans to oppose statewide mail-voting , claiming without evidence that the practice hurt GOP candidates and was susceptible to widespread fraud .\n`` At least in Florida , I think he 's being a little misguided , '' said Mac Stipanovich , a longtime Republican strategist in Florida who recently left the GOP because of Trump . Mail-in ballots have also been a key tool in other Republican-friendly states such as Arizona and Utah .\nFor more than 40 years , Stipanovich helped Republicans win campaigns and come to dominate Florida politics . `` Absentee ballots , '' he said , `` are typically Republicans ' friends in Florida . ''\nIn 2002 , Florida began allowing anyone who requests a mail ballot to receive one , a changed Stipanovich said Republican strategists and campaign managers immediately embraced them .\n`` People recognized that was a mine of gold that you could ... control . '' He says campaign strategists could , `` figure out who got the ballots , contact them [ and ] try to make sure they got their ballots in . ''\nIn Florida , a state nearly evenly divided among Republicans , Democrats and independents , elections are often decided by the narrowest of margins . In many races , both local and statewide , mail-in ballots have provided Republican candidates with the votes to win .\nFor many years , it was Republicans who pushed voting by mail , said Daniel Smith , a political science professor at the University of Florida , who has studied how mail-in voting has been used in the state .\n`` Their electorate happens to be older on average than Democrats , happens to be more affluent . It happens to have a more permanent residency in terms of less transient , less mobile population , which makes the delivery and return of absentee ballots easier , '' said Smith .\nIn recent elections , Democratic campaigns in Florida have also begun relying on mail ballots . They allow campaign staffers to know who 's received a ballot , so they can call and encourage the voters to return it .\nCampaigns also know when people have returned their ballots , enabling operatives to `` focus their attention on less reliable voters , '' said Smith , `` who may not vote in every election and need a little more cajoling to get out to the polls . ''\nThat strategy helped Donald Trump narrowly carry Florida in 2016 , Smith said . After securing the mail-in ballots , Republicans were able to concentrate on getting their occasional voters out to the polls .\nIn Florida and elsewhere , mail ballots have been involved in election fraud , but Smith and other experts say it 's rare . A bigger problem , according to Smith , is the relatively high percentage of mail ballots that are disqualified because they arrive too late , or the voter 's signature does n't match the one on file .\nIn a study he conducted after the 2016 election in Florida , Smith found the rejections disproportionately affect minority voters and young people .\nWith two elections coming up in the next several months , a statewide primary in August and the general election in November , Florida election officials are expecting a surge of requests for mail ballots .\n`` I think every county in Florida is gearing up on that , '' said Bill Cowles , the election supervisor of Orange County , Fla. , which includes Orlando . `` We 're also putting pressure on our vendors , our mail houses for doing it . ''\nWith the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic , Democrats and voting right groups have been pushing for an expansion of the use of mail-in ballots . Some Republicans , including the governors of Nebraska , New Hampshire and Ohio , have also backed major expansions of mail-in voting in response to the pandemic .\nIn Florida , a state vital to both parties ' presidential hopes this fall , elections officials have asked Florida 's Gov . Ron DeSantis for more time to mail out and count ballots but they 've also that it wo n't be possible to conduct an all-mail ballot election this year .
|
allsides-corpus-111
|
███ is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power . Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they ’ re published .\nA conservative business group founded by a prolific Republican political donor is pressuring the White House to greenlight an unproven COVID-19 treatment , saying in an online petition that the country has plants in the U.S. ready to produce a drug but can ’ t because of “ red tape , regulation , and a dysfunctional healthcare supply chain . ”\nIn recent days , Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus ’ Job Creators Network has placed Facebook ads and texted supporters to sign a petition urging President Donald Trump to “ CUT RED TAPE ” and make an anti-malarial drug called hydroxychloroquine available for treating those sickened with the virus , one such message obtained by ███ reads .\nHydroxychloroquine and another related drug , chloroquine , are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat arthritis and lupus but not for COVID-19 . ( Doctors , however , are able to prescribe approved drugs for off-label uses . )\nThe campaign follows the president ’ s own endorsement of the treatment plan . On Saturday , Trump tweeted that hydroxychloroquine when taken with a commonly used antibiotic “ have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. ” The JCN ads appeared on Facebook on Monday and its text messages went out on Tuesday . It ’ s not clear how much JCN has spent on its influence campaign .\nThere ’ s currently a shortage of hydroxychloroquine , a generic sold under the brand name Plaquenil . ███ reported this week that a nationwide run on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine is being driven in part by doctors inappropriately hoarding it by prescribing it for themselves , their families and their friends . Lupus patients are having trouble getting prescriptions filled . In Arizona , a couple who heard the president tout the drugs this week ingested chloroquine phosphate — a chemical they ’ d used to treat their koi fish — mistakenly believing it would prevent COVID-19 . The man died and his wife was hospitalized , according to NBC News .\nThere is no vaccine or cure yet for COVID-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus . One small French study this month found the cocktail tweeted by Trump reduced the viral loads of COVID-19 patients in a handful of cases . Dr. Anthony Fauci , the country ’ s top infectious disease doctor , has called that study “ anecdotal ” and told reporters last week that it “ was not done in a controlled clinical trial , so you really can ’ t make any definitive statement about it . ”\nIn its petition , JCN claims big-name drugmakers are willing to “ donate ” millions of tablets and plants are ready to produce the drug “ if they can secure the active ingredient. ” Ami Fadia , an analyst at investment bank SVB Leerink , wrote in a report published Tuesday that about 450 million doses of hydroxychloroquine were sold last year , generating about $ 140 million , but that demand has grown in recent weeks .\nRead More Doctors Are Hoarding Unproven Coronavirus Medicine by Writing Prescriptions for Themselves and Their Families Pharmacists told ███ that they are seeing unusual and fraudulent prescribing activity as doctors stockpile unproven coronavirus drugs endorsed by President Donald Trump .\n“ Overall , we don ’ t believe hydroxychloroquine will have major financial implications for generic companies , but the efforts by these companies to step-in to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic would be a good reminder for various constituents of the important role generic companies play in the healthcare system , ” Fadia wrote .\nJCN , a 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) nonprofit , says in tax filings that its purpose is to “ educate Americans on the vital role of free enterprise in creating jobs that will spur innovation and help ensure America ’ s future economic success. ” The group reported $ 13 million in contributions in 2018 , according to its most recent tax form . A related entity , the Job Creators Network Foundation , is listed as the petition ’ s sponsor with another nonprofit group , Physicians for Reform .\nNeither JCN nor Physicians for Reform have returned requests for comment . Spokespeople for the White House , Treasury Department and the White House Coronavirus Task Force did not respond to emailed questions . Marcus hasn ’ t responded to a request for comment relayed through a representative at his foundation .\nThere ’ s currently a clinical trial underway in New York to treat COVID-19 patients with the cocktail , but Gov . Andrew Cuomo has banned any other “ experimental or prophylactic use ” of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine . A small study of 30 patients published by the Journal of Zhejiang University in China found that hydroxychloroquine alone was no more effective for COVID-19 patients than traditional treatment .\nThe drugs ’ potential side effects include fatal heart problems , according to the FDA .\nThe “ coronavirus petition ” is being promoted by a coalition of groups organized by JCN called Healthcare For You , which has sought to undo the Affordable Care Act . It tells doctor members their signatures “ will go directly to President Trump , ” and it urges the president to “ protect physician autonomy and medical decision-making as we stand in harm ’ s way to care for the American public. ” It asserts there is “ clear and ever mounting ” evidence of hydroxychloroquine ’ s effectiveness against COVID-19 . ( As yet , there isn ’ t such evidence . )\nAmong the coalition ’ s members are a range of conserviative medical and business groups , such as Americans for Fair Taxation , the American Hotel and Lodging Association , Young Americans Against Socialism and the Colorado Business Roundtable .\nGet Our Top Investigations Subscribe to the Big Story newsletter .\nAs lawmakers and the administration negotiated a huge rescue package to stand up the U.S. economy , JCN ’ s president , Alfredo Ortiz , told Bloomberg News that he ’ d had three direct calls with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week about the administration ’ s plan .\nAmong the group ’ s ideas , Ortiz told Bloomberg , was to extend quarterly April tax payments by two or three months , a move that would allow businesses to defer paying some 2020 taxes as well as taxes owed in 2019 . He also said he discussed with Mnuchin a plan to streamline Small Business Administration loans .\nSpeaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday , Breitbart News co-founder and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said that “ Bernie Marcus ’ Job Creators Network has a plan of forcing cash into the system. ” He didn ’ t elaborate on it .\nJob Creators Network paid Breitbart News Network $ 1.1 million for advertising in 2018 , according to the group ’ s 990 tax form from that year , the most recent publicly available . The news outlet wrote last week that JCN had launched an ad campaign airing on Fox to advocate for its members .\nMarcus is a generous donor to Republican groups and causes . During the 2016 presidential campaign he gave $ 5 million to a pro-Trump PAC and has said he ’ ll support the president ’ s reelection campaign .\nIn the 2018 midterms , tax filings and campaign disclosure reports show , JCN gave $ 213,000 to the American Potential Fund , a political action committee that spent most of that sum on digital ads targeting then-incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida during the last month of the election . Nelson , a Democrat , was defeated by Republican Rick Scott in a tight race .\nTell Us More About Coronavirus Are you a public health worker , medical provider , elected official , patient or other COVID-19 expert ? Help make sure our journalism is responsible and focused on the right issues . This form requires JavaScript to complete . Powered by Screendoor .
|
allsides-corpus-112
|
Sen. Lindsey Graham , R-S.C. , announced that his initial plan of a pre-trial dismissal of the impeachment case against President Trump is now unlikely to happen , but he is pushing for the trial to begin and end as quickly as possible .\nThe Senate trial is set to begin Tuesday . Graham had previously floated the idea that the GOP majority could immediately vote to dismiss the case before hearing any arguments , but now he states that this does not appear to be a possibility given the lack of sufficient Republican support for such action .\n“ Yeah that ’ s dead for practical purposes , ” Graham told “ Fox News Sunday , ” explaining , “ the idea of dismissing the case early on is not going to happen ; we don ’ t have the votes for that . ”\nGraham remains confident that Republicans are still united enough to acquit Trump at the conclusion of the trial . How long the trial goes is still up in the air . Graham would neither confirm nor deny reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans on keeping the Senate in session for 12 hours a day so that House Democrats would be done presenting their arguments Wednesday .\nIn addition to presenting their arguments , House Democrats want to call witnesses such as former National Security Adviser John Bolton , who did not testify during the House ’ s impeachment inquiry due to Trump ’ s claim of executive privilege . Bolton indicated he would comply with a Senate subpoena .\nSenators Ted Cruz , R-Texas ; Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska ; and Susan Collins , R-Maine , are among a small group of Republicans who have yet to completely shut the door on new witnesses , wanting to hear arguments first . Democrats would need them and at least one more in order to be able to call witnesses , but Graham warned that if they get their wish , the GOP will look to call defense witnesses such as Hunter Biden .\n“ If we call one witness , we ’ re going to call all the witnesses , ” Graham said .\nHOUSE DEMOCRATS URGE SENATE TO 'ELIMINATE THE THREAT ' OF TRUMP , IN OPENING IMPEACHMENT TRIAL SALVO\nPersonally , Graham said he would rather look into Hunter Biden ’ s dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings outside of the context of the impeachment trial , and would rather not have any witnesses called during the trial from either side .\nWhile the trial itself will first begin on Tuesday , both sides have already filed documents presenting arguments .\nThe Democratic House impeachment managers filed a lengthy brief Saturday night arguing that Trump abused the power of the presidency by using military aid as leverage to pressure Ukraine into announcing investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter , as well as whether Democrats used Ukraine to interfere in the 2016 election .\nThey also claim that the president obstructed Congress by blocking key witnesses from testifying during the House ’ s impeachment inquiry .\nIn his answer to the impeachment articles -- also filed Saturday -- Trump and his attorneys argued that he committed no wrongdoing when it comes to his dealings with Ukraine , claiming that he did not pressure Ukrainian President Volodydmyr Zelensky into conducting investigations into political rivals , and that the military aid was released without any investigations being announced .\nAdditionally , Trump argues that the obstruction of Congress charge is meritless because his instructions for witnesses like Bolton not to testify were done under executive privilege , and House Democrats who claimed this was improper never allowed the courts to make a ruling on the matter because they either withdrew subpoenas or opted not to issue them .
|
allsides-corpus-113
|
Veteran US Republican Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is reviewing treatment options , according to his office .\nThe options may include chemotherapy and radiation , his doctors said . The 80-year-old politician is in `` good spirits '' recovering at home .\nHe thanked those who had wished him well and said he would be back soon .\nThe tumour was discovered during a surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last week .\nA Vietnam veteran , Mr McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war .\nThe six-term senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate underwent surgery at a clinic in Phoenix , in the state of Arizona , last Friday .\nTissue analysis revealed that a primary brain tumour known as glioblastoma was associated with the clot , a statement from the Mayo Clinic said .\n`` The senator 's doctors say he is recovering from his surgery 'amazingly well ' and his underlying health is excellent , '' it added .\n`` Treatment options may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation . ''\nSenior Republicans and Democrats wished him a speedy recovery , prompting Mr McCain to tweet his thanks , and a warning :\n`` I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support - unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress , I 'll be back soon , so stand-by ! ''\nJohn McCain is known in Washington as a tough , independent-minded senator - a warrior who is now facing another battle against cancer .\nHe earned his reputation the hard way , being shot down as a US Navy pilot over Vietnam where he was held as a prisoner of war for more than five years , including two in solitary confinement .\nRepeatedly beaten and tortured , Mr McCain was never again able to raise his arms above his head .\nDuring the most recent presidential election campaign , Donald Trump belittled the senator as `` not a war hero '' saying `` I like people who were n't captured '' .\nMr McCain may have annoyed many Republicans by arguing for reforms to campaign finance and immigration laws .\nHe may have irritated opponents of America 's many wars with his forceful arguments in favour of the projection of US military might .\nBut this country reveres its veterans . The attacks on John McCain 's personal sacrifice were roundly condemned then - and millions of Americans will be praying for his recovery now .\nGlioblastoma is a particularly aggressive brain tumour , and increases in frequency with age , affecting more men than women .\nMr McCain , who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services , was in `` good spirits as he continues to recover at home with his family '' , his office said .\nHis family reacted with `` shock '' to the news , his 32-year-old daughter Meghan said .\n`` It wo n't surprise you to learn that in all of this , the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father , '' she said on Twitter .\n`` So he is meeting this challenge as he has every other . Cancer may afflict him in many ways : but it will not make him surrender . Nothing ever has . ''\nPresident Donald Trump said Mr McCain had `` always been a fighter '' and , in a statement , said : `` Get well soon '' .\nMeanwhile , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Mr McCain was a `` hero to our country '' .\n`` He has never shied from a fight , and I know that he will face this challenge with the same extraordinary courage that has characterized his life , '' he said on Twitter .\nFormer President Barack Obama tweeted : `` John McCain is an American hero and one of the bravest fighters I 've ever known . Cancer does n't know what it 's up against . Give it hell , John . ''
|
allsides-corpus-114
|
Some suggest that Congress “ remove Trump from office , so that he can not abuse incumbency to subvert the electoral process , but let the American people make the judgment on whether or not he gets a second term… Removing Trump from office for the remainder of his term would disable him from abusing presidential power again and protect the integrity of the electoral process from inappropriate interference . At the same time , letting him run for a second term would permit the American electorate to decide whether Trump , despite his attempt to subvert the system , should have another chance… Decoupling removal from disqualification lowers the stakes and changes the constitutional calculus . As long as Trump can run again , Republicans can not hide behind a claim that they are [ the ] ones protecting voter choice by opposing impeachment. ” Edward B. Foley , Politico\nSome posit that “ the real crisis at the border [ is ] that asylum seekers and other immigrants who follow U.S. laws are being wrongly persecuted … “ The Trump administration ’ s policy of ‘ metering ’ asylum applications at the border — only letting in only a small number of migrants in each day — has created confusion and months-long waiting periods at ports of entry , despite the fact that denying individuals the right to apply for asylum is a violation of international human rights law . The extensive backup at ports of entry has caused desperate Central American families to cross between ports of entry instead , which has contributed to the spike in ‘ illegal ’ border crossings. ” Rebekah Entralgo , ThinkProgress\nAnd yet “ this week has provided welcome flashes of independence from at least a few Republican lawmakers… the Senate Republicans ’ rebuke of the president shows that his chronic contempt for democratic norms — and for the Constitution — has become too much to stomach for at least some in his party. ” Editorial Board , New York Times\n“ Senators from purple states stuck with Trump as colleagues with an easier path to re-election voted against him . That ’ s kind of strange … Usually it would be the vulnerable politicians who act as moderates , and those with safe seats who are comfortable with ideological extremism… Whether their political calculation is correct or not , Republican politicians have decided that the threats that matter are the ones coming from the Trumpier portions of their own party. ” Jonathan Bernstein , Bloomberg\n“ A growing number of Senate Republicans , Trump ’ s biggest check against congressional Democrats , have grown uneasy with the president ’ s executive actions both in diplomacy and in domestic politics… “ [ But ] nationally , 90 percent of Republicans approve of Trump ’ s job performance , according to a Gallup poll released Thursday . And the president made clear that votes against him were an act of betrayal… There ’ s no way to win reelection if you don ’ t first win the GOP primary , so even Republicans who could face difficult general elections lined up behind Trump rather than risk his wrath. ” Paul Kane , Washington Post\n“ The issue here isn ’ t whether there are big problems at the border . The issue is that Congress considered them and decided not to address them the way Trump wanted , so he used emergency powers to reverse that decision . That ’ s the precedent being set here , and it ’ s one Congress ignores at its peril. ” Jon Healey , Los Angeles Times\n“ Hypocrisy is a term often bandied about too easily . But it was crystallized in a single moment Thursday , when 41 Republican senators voted to surrender their legislative authority to an overreaching president … [ The Republican senators ] who voted to safeguard Trump 's power grab [ will not ] have any credibility to complain when a future Democratic president invokes emergency powers on , say , gun violence or climate change. ” Editorial Board , USA Today\nThe right is generally supportive of terminating the declaration , arguing that it was a usurpation of Congress ’ s authority over spending .\nThe right is generally supportive of terminating the declaration , arguing that it was a usurpation of Congress ’ s authority over spending .\n“ The problem with the emergency declaration is that , even if it ’ s technically legal… it is clearly pretextual and a way to do an end run around the congressional spending power . The president himself in his press conference announcing the emergency said that he didn ’ t have to do it , but that he wanted to build new fencing more quickly than he could without the declaration . ”\n“ The border certainly needs better enforcement . It could use more wall . But it 's up to Congress , not the president , to appropriate money for the wall… The Left loves to declare that conservative talk of principles is a con and a cover story for self-serving ends . Votes like this lend credence to the charge . We applaud the dozen Republicans who voted for the resolution . We hope Congress ’ next step is to pass a bipartisan bill curbing presidential emergency powers . ”\n“ The President has set terrible precedent with his emergency declaration . He negotiated with Congress , got nothing , so decided to go this route . To allow a president to exercise this power after failing in negotiations just sets a precedent for future Democrat presidents to do the same… if this President can declare an emergency for this border dispute , a future president could do the same for climate change . ”\nMany are asking , “ Where were Mr. Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when President Obama violated the separation of powers again and again to achieve his policy goals ? Senate Democrats gave Mr. Obama a blank check on recess appointments , environmental and financial regulation , ObamaCare spending without appropriations , work permits for illegal immigrants , and much more . The courts later rebuked Mr. Obama on all of them . The GOP opposition is more sincere and significant because it comes at some political cost… [ But ] Mr. Trump should be careful not to test the limits of GOP Senate loyalty . ”\n“ Politicians face a difficult decision when a president abuses his powers to achieve something their party wants to achieve . Under Obama that was [ DACA ] for illegal immigrants ; under Trump it ’ s an emergency declaration to build the wall . Democrats were pretty much silent about Obama ’ s abuses… Only four ( out of 186 voting ) [ in the House ] supported killing it via legislation , and the Democratic Senate did not even vote on the bill . By contrast , 13 out of 195 voting Republicans in the House sided against the emergency declaration , and an impressive twelve of 53 Republican senators voted that way as well . ”\nSupporters of the President argue that “ I 'm sympathetic to arguments that the National Emergencies Act is too broad and gives the executive branch too much power . That 's a reasonable debate to have… But in the meantime , do n't pretend we did n't delegate all these powers , or that it 's lawless for the executive to use laws we passed , just because you deplore him . ”\nOthers note , “ I ’ d hate to be a Democratic member of Congress trying to convince Joe Sixpack that this is a whole new ballgame . The transcript shows Trump being Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky trying to ingratiate himself with the big dog by , for instance , mentioning that he stays at Trump hotels . Trump ’ s conversation is typically scattershot , wandering all over the field , leaving a reasonable listener puzzled about what the takeaways are supposed to be… “ I think Joe Sixpack ’ s response is going to be a hearty shrug . After all that has emerged about Trump so far , his approval rating is closely tracking Obama ’ s approval at the same point in his presidency . To get Mr. Sixpack ’ s attention you are going to have to do better than this . ”
|
allsides-corpus-115
|
Democratic senators flag eight of president-elect ’ s picks and are pushing for more time for confirmation hearings\nIn a new era of Republican-led governance , there is little Democrats can do to prevent Donald Trump ’ s cabinet nominees from being confirmed . But that won ’ t stop them from trying .\nDemocratic senators are targeting eight of Trump ’ s cabinet nominees whom they view as particularly “ troublesome ” and are pushing for more time to hold hearings on each of them .\n“ We have asked for fair hearings on all of those nominees , ” the minority leader , Chuck Schumer , told reporters on Wednesday . “ There are a lot of questions about these nominees . ”\nThe nominees flagged for extra scrutiny include Steven Mnuchin , a Goldman Sachs banker turned Hollywood movie financier with no government experience , as Treasury secretary ; Rex Tillerson , who headed the biggest oil company in the world , as secretary of state , and the nominee for attorney general , Jeff Sessions , an Alabama senator who has been accused of making racially insensitive comments , which derailed his nomination to be a federal judge under Ronald Reagan .\nDemocrats have little leverage to prevent Trump ’ s nominees from being confirmed but they can significantly delay the process . Trump ’ s cabinet nominees will need 51 votes in the Senate to be confirmed and Republicans hold 52 seats .\nOn Wednesday , several Senate Democrats held private meetings with Trump nominees and later shared their initial reactions . Though all declined to say whether they would support the nominee , they signalled what the points of contention might be in the upcoming hearings .\nAfter a private meeting with Sessions on Wednesday , Dick Durbin , the second-highest ranking Senate Democrat , signalled that race and civil rights would be a key topic in his confirmation hearing next week .\n“ Certainly there are elements in his background that raise questions , ” Durbin said after their meeting , referring to allegations that Sessions was racially insensitive . “ He said several times , point blank , that this was not an issue as far as he was concerned . ”\nBeyond his past comments , Durbin said he was concerned by Sessions ’ views on voter ID laws and immigration . He also said he was dismayed that the Alabama Republican did not commit to following through on the recommendations outlined in a forthcoming report by the justice department ’ s civil rights division on the Chicago police department ’ s use of force .\nBefore the meeting ended , Durbin said he offered Sessions the book White Rage : The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson . “ I ’ m hoping he ’ ll take a look at it , ” he said .\nMeanwhile , Tillerson met members of the foreign relations committee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday , one week before he is scheduled to testify before them .\nSenator Chris Coons , a Democrat from Delaware , said he was “ generally encouraged ” by his conversation with Tillerson , although he said he wanted to hear more before deciding whether to support his nomination .\nSeveral senators , including Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona , have raised concerns about Tillerson ’ s posture towards Russia and its president , Vladimir Putin .\nCoons took issue with the confirmation schedule , saying next week seemed too soon for members to hold a hearing on Tillerson , given Republicans ’ current plans to also vote on repealing Barack Obama ’ s healthcare law .\nTo rush the confirmation process “ strikes me as trying to get too many things done at the same time ” , he said , adding that he had been up all night preparing for his meeting with Tillerson .\nThe Democrats ’ list also includes Scott Pruitt , a climate change denier and prospective head of the Environmental Protection Agency , Tom Price , a prominent opponent of the Affordable Care Act , for secretary of health and human services , Andy Puzder , a fast food executive and critic of raising the minimum wage , as labor secretary , Congressman Mick Mulvaney , a fiscal conservative , as director of the Office of Management and Budget , and Betsy DeVos , a staunch supporter of school choice , Trump ’ s education secretary nominee .\nAfter a meeting with DeVos on Wednesday , Senator Patty Murray , a Democrat from Washington , said in a statement that she continued to have “ serious concerns ” about DeVos ’ s “ long record of working to privatize and defund public education , expand taxpayer-funded private school vouchers , and block accountability for charter schools , including for-profit charter schools ” .\nConfirmation hearings are scheduled to begin for Trump ’ s cabinet picks next week , with several already slated for 11 January . But before they get under way , Democrats are demanding at least two days of hearings for each cabinet nominee and have requested that they do not overlap so that members can “ spend a lot of time studying ” for them .\n“ I would like to succeed in negotiating something where we get full and fair hearings – we ’ re not trying to be dilatory – and hear what these nominees have to say , ” Schumer said . “ There are so many issues about so many of them that to rush them through would be a disservice to the American people . ”\nIn response , Republicans are now accusing Democrats of obstructionism , an echo of the charge levied by Democrats against Republicans during the Obama years .\nThe majority leader , Mitch McConnell , of Kentucky , said he expected the Senate to be ready to confirm a number of Trump ’ s cabinet nominees shortly after Inauguration Day , on 20 January , adding that in 2009 the Senate approved seven of Barack Obama ’ s nominees .\n“ I believe all the president-elect ’ s cabinet appointments will be confirmed , ” McConnell told reporters on Wednesday , speaking before Schumer . “ I think it would be great if the Democrats would understand that , particularly with regard to the national security team , the secretary of defense , CIA , homeland security , it would make a lot of sense to have those folks in place on day one and I hope we ’ re getting to the point where that will be possible . ”\nSchumer scoffed at the notion of a precedent . “ Leader McConnell has talked about the fact that a lot of nominees were approved in President Obama ’ s first few days after he was inaugurated , but they all had their paperwork in early , their ethics reports , their 90-day plan to extricate themselves from conflicts , their FBI briefings , ” he said .\nAbsent from the list of nominees Democrats are targeting is Marine General James Mattis , Trump ’ s pick for defense secretary , who will need a congressional waiver to be confirmed .\nAfter meeting privately with Mattis on Capitol Hill on Wednesday , Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand , of New York , said she still opposed a waiver of the law that requires that defense secretaries be removed from the military for at least seven years .\n“ He has served our country admirably , ” Gillibrand told reporters after their meeting . “ He is well-regarded as an extraordinary general , and I am very grateful for that service , and I ’ m very grateful that he ’ s willing to continue his service for the president-elect . But I still believe that civilian control of our military is fundamental to the American democracy . ”\nThe Senate is also preparing for a pitched battle over Trump ’ s future choice to replace Antonin Scalia on the supreme court , which will require 60 votes .\n“ Apparently , there ’ s yet a new standard which is to not confirm a supreme court nominee at all , ” McConnell said on Wednesday , referring to a remark Schumer made the previous evening on MSNBC that Democrats would “ absolutely ” keep the vacancy open if the nominee were outside the mainstream . “ I think that ’ s something the American people simply will not tolerate . ”\n“ Let ’ s see who they nominate , ” Schumer told reporters . “ If they ’ re in the mainstream , we ’ ll give them a very careful look . If they ’ re out of the mainstream , we ’ ll oppose them tooth and nail . ”\nAsked how he would define mainstream , Schumer replied : “ You know it when you see it . ”\nSenate Republicans blocked Obama ’ s nomination of Merrick Garland to replace Scalia for more than nine months .
|
allsides-corpus-116
|
Outgoing Rep. Martha McSally has been appointed to fill former Sen. John McCain 's seat just over a month after losing the race for the state 's other Senate seat .\nInterested in Republican Party ? Add Republican Party as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Republican Party news , video , and analysis from ███ . Add Interest\nArizona Gov . Doug Ducey announced her appointment Tuesday morning , just days after Sen. Jon Kyl confirmed that he was stepping down from the role .\nIn the press release announcing her appointment , Ducey said that McSally `` is uniquely qualified to step up and fight for Arizona ’ s interests in the U.S . Senate . ''\nMcSally , a two-term congresswoman , gained national attention when she faced off against Democrat Rep. Kyrsten Sinema this fall as they both fought to take over the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jeff Flake 's decision not to run for re-election .\nSinema won the seat in a relatively close race , with Sinema winning 50 percent of the vote to McSally 's 47.6 percent . McSally conceded six days after the election .\nThat election was already a historic one , with Sinema becoming the first female to represent Arizona in the Senate . Now , the state will be one of only a few to be represented by two women .\nWith McSally 's appointment , she and Sinema will be the only serving bipartisan pair of female senators representing their state . The only other instance of that happening was in New Hampshire from 2011 to 2017 .\nThere are several other pairs of female senators who will be in the Senate come 2019 -- in California , New Hampshire , Minnesota and Nevada -- but the Arizona duo are the only ones of opposite parties .\nSix-term Republican Sen. John McCain passed away in late August , just days before the Republican primary in the race for Flake 's seat , and he had an outsize impact on the race .\nMcSally spoke movingly during her primary night victory speech about how he served as a mentor to her , both because of their military backgrounds and their love of Arizona .\n`` I am forever grateful to have had the chance to know him to learn from him and even to work with him , '' she said in her Aug. 28 speech .\nThat said , she did not receive an endorsement from the McCain family in the midterm race , even though she and Cindy McCain spoke at the same Election Eve event -- alongside Ducey and Kyl .\nIn spite of the fact that McCain held his seat for decades , it lies within the power of the governor and not McCain 's family to determine who will fill the spot until a special election can be held to formally fill it in 2020 .\nAt a news conference today , Ducey said that he was grateful that McSally and Cindy McCain `` were able to get together and visit earlier this week and clear the air . ''\nCindy McCain posted a tweet supporting the decision and calling on McSally to remember her husband 's legacy .\n`` My husband ’ s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ & USA ahead of his own self-interest . I respect @ dougducey 's decision to appoint @ RepMcSally to fill the remainder of his term . Arizonans will be pulling for her , hoping that she will follow his example of selfless leadership , '' she wrote on Twitter .\nMy husband ’ s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ & USA ahead of his own self-interest . I respect @ dougducey 's decision to appoint @ RepMcSally to fill the remainder of his term . Arizonans will be pulling for her , hoping that she will follow his example of selfless leadership — Cindy McCain ( @ cindymccain ) December 18 , 2018\nFor her part , McSally said that she looks forward to working with her recent rival Sinema -- who she accused of treason during the campaign -- while they both serve as the state 's representatives in the Senate for the next two years .\n`` I am humbled and grateful to have this opportunity to serve and be a voice for all Arizonans . I look forward to working with Senator-Elect Kyrsten Sinema and getting to work from day one , '' McSally said in Ducey 's news release announcing her appointment .\nShe echoed that sentiment at the news conference hours later , saying that she texted Sinema this morning and she plans to work with her in the Senate `` just like we did in the House . ''\n`` There 's a lot of common ground between us and I 'm ready to hit it running , '' McSally said .\nDucey noted that Sinema will be sworn in before McSally , making Sinema the senior Senator from Arizona . He said that decision was made in an effort to `` respect the will of the voters . ''\nAssuming McSally 's appointment progresses , the special election for McCain 's seat will be held in 2020 , and then would be up for it 's regularly scheduled re-election in 2022 . Should McSally continue forward , and run for re-election , she will have campaigned three times in six years , losing once .\nAnd since McCain won his sixth term in 2016 and Sinema 's seat is up for re-election in 2024 , Arizonans will have gone through five Senate elections in a decade .
|
allsides-corpus-117
|
I wo n't lie . After reading the CNN piece titled `` Senate Dems , powerless to stop Trump nominees , regret 'nuclear option ' power play , '' I experienced some deeply satisfying schadenfreude . Feel free to keep President Barack Obama , Sen. Harry Reid and those who implored Senate Democrats to blow up the filibuster a few years ago in your thoughts as President-elect Donald Trump names his Cabinet and judges . But be sure to remember how recklessness begets recklessness in Washington , D.C .\n`` I do regret that , '' Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware , a Democrat who voted to weaken the filibuster three years ago , tells CNN . `` I frankly think many of us will regret that in this Congress because it would have been a terrific speed bump , potential emergency brake , to have in our system to slow down nominees . ''\nIt always was a terrific speed bump , senator . One of the reasons we value tradition , norms and process is that we do n't know what the future holds . But , you 'll note , these Democrats do n't regret their vote for majoritarianism or power grabs . They regret that Trump ( and it would be the same for Mitt Romney or any moderate Republican , for that matter ) will now be able to operate under the rules they set for themselves .\nIt 's worth remembering that Democrats did n't used a parliamentary procedure to change the rules so that federal judicial nominees and executive-office appointments can move to confirmation votes with a simple majority for some grand ideological purpose . They did it for short-term political gains that no one will remember . Does any Democrat believe helping Obama name some left-wing populists to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( which did n't even exist until 2011 ) and the National Labor Relations Board was worth it ?\nSen. Jeff Merkley ( D-Ore. ) , another leading proponent of destroying checks and balances , charged at the time that without the nuclear option Republicans were `` going to disable '' the executive branch . `` It 's come into a realm where it 's just unacceptable because if the executive branch ca n't function , then the nation ca n't respond to the big challenges it faces , '' he explained . He seemed to be under the impression that presidents make laws—or maybe just liberal presidents .\nThe liberal punditry hammered the filibuster back then the same way it 's hammering the Electoral College today . In 2010 , Paul Krugman wrote a column in The New York Times claiming that the filibuster would destroy America .\nI do not exaggerate . He wrote : `` We 've always known that America 's reign as the world 's greatest nation would eventually end . But most of us imagined that our downfall , when it came , would be something grand and tragic . What we 're getting instead is less a tragedy than a deadly farce . ''\nThe idea that Democrats had n't been able to function was a myth . Obama , supposedly powerless to face America 's `` big challenges , '' had already passed a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus , a restructuring of the entire health care system and a tangled overhaul of financial regulation . The president also appointed two wholly liberal Supreme Court justices with no meaningful opposition .\nThe American people then said , `` That 's enough . '' For Merkley , Krugman , Coons , Reid and others , that would n't do .\nWhen Reid 's party was in the minority , he warned that weakening the Senate filibuster would `` destroy the very checks and balances our Founding Fathers put in place to prevent absolute power by any one branch of government . '' He was right . With his party 's attainment of a Senate majority , Reid 's reverence for the Founding Fathers rapidly faded , so much so that he used the nuclear option to eliminate the filibuster from some Senate debates .\nAs a practical matter , these changes will likely never be reversed . What kind of majority is going to restore the filibuster to its opponents ? What kind of majority would n't use the same process to roll back the previous Senate 's abuses ? ( And the latter makes complete sense . ) After all , the Chris Coons of the world will never be courageous enough to stand for process and stability over partisanship gain . In a Republican environment where winning itself is the ideology , it becomes even less likely .\nAlthough each party detests the filibuster when it is in power , progressives hold an enduring contempt for it because they hold an enduring contempt for federalism in general . Even today , some liberals are trying to figure out ways to work Senate procedure to put Chief Judge Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court . As if Republicans would n't then simply turn around and load the court themselves . This kind of arms race sets dangerous precedents . It 'd be nice if the nation realized it .
|
allsides-corpus-118
|
Shortly after police arrived at Botham Jean ’ s apartment that night in 2018 and attempted to revive him , they were joined by the head of the Dallas police union . By then , Guyger had been escorted away from the scene and placed in a police vehicle . As captured on body cam video , Dallas Police Association President Michael Mata asked another officer to turn off the dash cam which could record his conversation with Guyger .\n“ Why am I thanking Mike Mata ? ” activist Changa Higgins said at a protest last week . “ Because , basically , during this case , he exposed what we ’ ve been saying about his ass all along . The DPA has too much power in policing in this city . ”\nProsecutors wanted to make the point that not only was Guyger being treated differently because she was a police officer , but that Mata had asked another officer to go outside of policy—by requesting the camera be turned off—in order to give her this special treatment . Across the country , Police union officials commonly get preferred access to officers who kill . They get to hear their stories before they make formal statements . They also get to help shape those stories .\nPolice unions exert pressure on policymakers , too , opposing and obstructing transparency efforts , and thereby maintaining control of what the public knows about police violence . When California enacted a law this year requiring police departments to share misconduct records , police slow-walked requests , and then still withheld documents .\nNow , the Long Beach police union has proposed new contract language stipulating officers be informed when records pertaining to them are requested , and to be given five days to review the records before they are released . The new policy would also require that the name and organization of the person who requested misconduct records be disclosed to that officer . Legal experts fear these kinds of proposals will proliferate throughout the state , discouraging people from seeking misconduct records .\nThis is a national problem . More than 100 newsrooms across the country spent over a year in 2018 and 2019 trying to collect police misconduct records in a nationwide project coordinated by USA TODAY . “ Dozens of police agencies ignored repeated requests made under states ’ open records laws , ” they found . “ Other agencies denied requests , saying sharing the information with the public violates officers ’ privacy rights or is not in the public ’ s best interest… In state after state , USA TODAY had to employ the assistance of its lawyers to gain access to the public records. ” In the end , these reporters found at least 200,000 instances of alleged misconduct , and more than 30,000 officers who had been decertified by state oversight agencies .\nWhen police unions act in order to protect a co-worker , that can put them at odds with protecting public safety and civil rights . It has also put them at odds with those in police leadership who want to better serve the public interest . In Phoenix , when a police chief pushed back on the city ’ s disciplinary review board for routinely overturning his recommendations to discipline officers , the police unions organized a no-confidence vote in him . After the chief held a news conference criticizing the union in 2014 , the city fired him . Internal attempts at accountability can end in punishment , perhaps more often than the misconduct itself—although measuring that for certain would require access to the records police departments so often withhold .\nPolice killing cases that make it to trial , then , traverse an obstacle course which favors police : the union , the internal investigation , the secrecy . A prosecutor who routinely works with police to make criminal cases has to now make a case that compels a grand jury to indict a police officer—in proceedings themselves which are unknown until their conclusion , if at all . If a grand jury recommends an indictment—and “ if the prosecutor wants an indictment she or he is probably going to get one because they do have so much control over the grand jury , ” as law professor Andrew Leipold told The New York Times—then the prosecutor can charge the officer , and then , finally , there ’ s the trial itself .\nWith the Guyger case , it ultimately depended on the jury in her criminal trial . In the end , they weren ’ t permitted to watch the video of Guyger and her union president trying to get her to talk without being recorded . Maybe it didn ’ t matter . It could already have been clear to them that Guyger got special treatment . The members of this jury might also have been more aware of the problem than others have been—seven were black , five were non-black people of color , and four were white . In the end , they did something that should be routine : they returned a verdict holding a police officer to the same standard they might hold a civilian who shot and killed someone on sight .
|
allsides-corpus-119
|
Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and member of the USA Today board of contributors . Follow him on Twitter @ RaulAReyes . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author .\n( CNN ) As the nation was preparing for the July Fourth weekend , there was grim news from San Francisco . On Wednesday night , Kate Steinle , 31 , was fatally shot , apparently randomly , while walking with her father on a busy pier . A Mexican immigrant , who CNN reported was in the country without documentation , was arrested in her death .\nIllegally re-entering the country after being deported , as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez is said to have done , is a federal felony . He has also been accused of a horrific , violent crime . And according to immigration authorities , he has seven other felony convictions , including four for drug offenses .\nBut that does n't make him a symbol of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States . Nor is he the poster boy for out-of-control illegal immigration across our southern border ( illegal immigration from Mexico is at a 40-year low ) . He does not represent the overwhelming majority of immigrants in this country -- legal or otherwise -- who are productive members of society .\nLopez-Sanchez is simply a dangerous individual who should not have been free and among us .\nIt is a myth that increased illegal immigration leads to more crime . Research from the Immigration Policy Center shows that crime rates fell in the United States as the size of our immigrant population , including undocumented immigrants , grew from 1990 to 2010 .\nJUST WATCHED Undocumented immigrants want to enlist Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Undocumented immigrants want to enlist 02:30\nThe Washington Post just analyzed Donald Trump 's recent comments about Mexican immigrants being drug dealers and `` rapists '' and found that he was wrong about immigrants and crime . Remember , being in the country without authorization is not a crime -- it is a civil infraction .\nMost undocumented immigrants come to the United States to work and provide a better life for themselves and their families .\nConsider that several mass shootings , from Aurora to Newtown to Charleston , were committed by young white men . Does that mean that all young white men are potential mass murderers ? Of course not .\nThe same news outlets that are now trumpeting Wednesday 's murder as proof that undocumented immigrants are criminals often overlook or ignore other stories of undocumented immigrants who are genuine heroes . In 2013 , an undocumented immigrant rescued a mother and her child on Staten Island , New York , amidst the storm surge of Superstorm Sandy .\nJUST WATCHED DREAMer fights her family 's deportation Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH DREAMer fights her family 's deportation 02:50\nOne takeaway from this episode is that deporting as many undocumented immigrants as possible is not the answer to our immigration problems . Lopez-Sanchez had been deported five times , and yet he was still here in the country without authorization .\nBack in 2011 , the deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told an immigration subcommittee of Congress that it costs $ 12,500 to deport a person . Multiply this by five and that is how much taxpayer money was wasted on a criminal who remained at large to randomly take the life of an innocent young woman .\nAnother lesson here is our country does not need more immigration enforcement ; our country needs smarter and better immigration enforcement . Up to now , immigration authorities have wasted time , manpower and money chasing after people working productively in their communities as , say , gardeners and maids , while felons like Lopez-Sanchez slipped through the cracks .\nThat 's why it was good news last week that the Department of Homeland Security announced it is rethinking its deportation priorities to focus on recent arrivals and serious criminals .\nThis move is a step in the right direction , because it is time to start seriously targeting those immigrants who are a real threat to public safety . The government will be focusing its enforcement efforts on three categories of people : convicted criminals , recent border crossers and terrorism threats .\nJUST WATCHED Johnson : WH will appeal TX immigration ruling Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Johnson : WH will appeal TX immigration ruling 01:24\nTrue , Lopez-Sanchez should not have been in the country , or he should have at least been behind bars . But Immigration and Customs Enforcement erred in not seeking a warrant or court order for his arrest and he was released in accordance with city law in March .\nWhat 's more , President Barack Obama 's proposed executive action on immigration , currently tied up in a legal battle , might also have made a difference because it would have freed up resources to go after people like Lopez-Sanchez .\nThe executive action would have given deportation relief to parents of DREAMers , while allowing DHS to zero in on criminals . Instead , despite the fact that our country spends more on immigration enforcement than all other law enforcement agencies combined , our system failed Kate Steinle .\nAlthough Steinle 's death was a tragedy , it was the alleged action of one man . All undocumented immigrants do not deserve to be vilified by false association .
|
allsides-corpus-120
|
COLORADO SPRINGS — Police were trying to determine Saturday why a middle-aged gunman in hunting gear allegedly went on a wild shooting spree inside a Planned Parenthood clinic , killing three people , including a police officer .\nThe suspect , identified as Robert Lewis Dear , 57 , of Hartsel , Colo. , surrendered to officers after a five-hour ordeal Friday in which he fired randomly at people in the clinic and roamed the halls shooting through walls with an assault-style rifle .\nColorado Springs Mayor John Suthers says authorities aren ’ t ready to discuss a possible motive of the gunman who attacked a Planned Parenthood clinic there but says people can make “ inferences from where it took place , ” referring to the clinic .\nVicki Cowart , president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains , which ran the clinic , addressed a full house at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church Saturday , saying , `` Our hearts break together for what happened . All of us , our entire nation , community , was attacked . We do n't know yet why this happened . ''\nCowart said the 15 Planned Parenthood employees on duty at the time of the shootings were unharmed . She said she anticipated the clinic would be closed for `` some time , '' KKTV reports , but that the organization would learn from the attack , “ square our shoulders ” and carry on with its mission .\nAfter Cowart 's remarks , a woman in the audience stood up and objected to the vigil becoming a “ political statement ” before leaving , the Associated Press reports .\nEarlier , Rev . Nori Rost , the senior minister at the church , called the gunman a “ domestic terrorist. ” In the back of the room , someone held a sign that said : “ Women ’ s bodies are not battlefields . Neither is our town . ”\nMeanwhile , authorities have not determined yet what motivated the suspect to open fire on the facility .\n`` We do n't have any information on this individual 's mentality , or his ideas or ideology , '' said Lt. Catherine Buckley , spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Police Department .\nWhile little was known immediately about Dear 's activity in Colorado , he has a cabin in Black Mountain , N.C. , near Asheville , according to the Associated Press .\nThose who knew him in North Carolina said he avoided eye contact with neighbors and seemed to have few religious or political leanings .\n`` If you talked to him , nothing with him was very cognitive — topics all over place , '' said James Russell , who lives a few hundred feet from Dear in Black Mountain . A cross made of twigs hung Saturday on the wall of Dear 's pale yellow shack .\nRussell and others said the only companion they saw with Dear was a mangy dog , who looked to be in such bad shape they called animal control because they worried he was beating it .\nThe officer killed in Friday 's melle was identified as Garrett Swasey , 44 , a six-year veteran with the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs police force . He was one of many officers from the surrounding area who helped Colorado Springs police in the incident .\n`` The officer who gave his life today alongside the other officers put the lives of civilians in peril above his own , '' the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police said via Twitter . `` He died to save others . ''\nIn a statement Saturday , President Obama said the suspect 's `` so-called motive '' was unknown , but what is known is that people , including a police officer , died and `` more Americans and their families had fear forced upon them . ''\n`` This is not normal , '' Obama said . `` We can ’ t let it become normal . If we truly care about this — if we ’ re going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again , for God knows how many times , with a truly clean conscience — then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them . Period . Enough is enough . ''\n`` May God bless Officer Garrett Swasey and the Americans he tried to save — and may he grant the rest of us the courage to do the same thing , '' the president said .\nThe names of the two civilians killed had not yet been disclosed Saturday morning , but they were not believed to include any Planned Parenthood employees . At least nine people were injured as the suspect shot randomly from the moment he appeared in front of the building in northwest Colorado Springs .\nPolice said Saturday that items Dear brought to the scene had been secured and were no longer a threat . Police initially thought that some of the items , like an air tank , might be explosive devices .\nOzy Licano was in the two-story building ’ s parking lot when he saw someone crawling toward the clinic ’ s door around noon Friday . He tried to escape in his car when the gunman looked at him .\n“ He came out , and we looked each other in the eye , and he started aiming , and then he started shooting , ” Licano said . “ I saw two holes go right through my windshield as I was trying to quickly back up and he just kept shooting and I started bleeding . ”\nLicano sped off and took refuge at a nearby grocery store , according to the Associated Press .\n“ He was aiming for my head , ” he said of the gunman . “ It ’ s just weird to stare in the face of someone like that . And he didn ’ t win . ”\nThe gunman surrendered as officers were maneuvering a sniper in place to shoot him . Officers shouted at Dear who then agreed to surrender .\nDuring the lengthy standoff , police were able to reach numerous people trapped in the building , including some only yards away from the gunman , blocked only by office walls . Some had taken refuge in a `` safe room '' established in case of emergencies .\nThe Planned Parenthood clinic , which provides abortions and other women 's reproductive health services , has been the site of numerous protests by anti-abortion advocates over the years , but it was not known whether Friday 's shooting was ideologically motivated .\n`` We do n't yet know the full circumstances and motives behind this criminal action , and we do n't yet know if Planned Parenthood was in fact the target of this attack , '' Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said in a statement . `` We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in this country . ''\nOne anti-abortion group of about 70 people holds prayer vigils on Thursdays and Fridays , but had left this week by 10 a.m. , about an hour and a half before the shooting spree began .\nJoseph Martone Jr. , a frequent protester at the clinic , told The Gazette that he was appalled by the shooting incident . Martone , who was out of state Friday , is an adamant protester at the center and has been arrested , jailed and paid fines for his trespassing , but said he prefers prayer over violence .\n`` It 's a really sad thing , no matter what the reason , '' he told the newspaper . `` No matter how much I despise Planned Parenthood , no one deserves to go through this , and I pray for everybody involved . ''\nIt was the second shooting incident in a month in the city of around 430,000 people . On Oct. 31 , a gunman shot and killed three people near downtown Colorado Springs before he died in a shootout with police .
|
allsides-corpus-121
|
HOUSTON ( ███ ) - George Floyd , a black man whose death under the knee of a white police officer roused worldwide protests against racial injustice , was memorialized at his funeral on Tuesday as “ an ordinary brother ” transformed by fate into the “ cornerstone of a movement . ”\nDuring a four-hour service broadcast live on every major U.S. television network from a church in Floyd ’ s boyhood home of Houston , family members , clergy and politicians exhorted Americans to turn grief and outrage at his death into a moment of reckoning for the nation .\nThe funeral followed two weeks of protests ignited by graphic video footage of Floyd , 46 , handcuffed and lying face down on a Minneapolis street while an officer kneels into the back of his neck for nearly nine minutes . The video shows Floyd gasping for air as he cries out , “ Mama , ” and groans , “ Please , I can ’ t breathe , ” before falling silent and still .\nThe officer , Derek Chauvin , 44 , has since been charged with second-degree murder and three other officers with aiding and abetting Floyd ’ s May 25 death . All were dismissed from the department a day after the incident .\nFloyd ’ s dying words have become a rallying cry for hundreds of thousands of protesters around the globe who have since taken to the streets , undaunted by the coronavirus pandemic , demanding justice for Floyd and an end to mistreatment of minorities by U.S. law enforcement .\n“ I can breathe . And as long as I ’ m breathing , justice will be served , ” Floyd ’ s niece Brooklyn Williams declared in a eulogy that drew applause from mourners inside the Fountain of Praise Church . “ This is not just a murder but a hate crime . ”\nWilliams was one of several relatives and friends who addressed the service , remembering Floyd as a loving , larger-than-life personality . The memorial was punctuated by gospel music and a video montage of shared memories of the man affectionately known as “ Big Floyd . ”\nHis younger brother , Terrence Floyd , spoke about awakening in the middle of the night in recent days traumatized by the memory of seeing his older sibling calling out for their mother as he lay dying .\nHis older brother , Philonise , sobbing in grief , told mourners , “ George was my personal superman . ”\nCivil rights activist the Rev . Al Sharpton called Floyd “ an ordinary brother ” who grew up in a housing project but left behind a legacy of greatness despite rejections in jobs and sports that prevented him from achieving all that he once aspired to become .\n“ God took the rejected stone and made him the cornerstone of a movement that is going to change the whole wide world , ” Sharpton said , invoking a biblical parable from the New Testament .\nSharpton said the Floyd family would lead a march on Washington being organized for Aug. 28 to mark the 57th anniversary of the 1963 “ I Have a Dream ” speech given from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. , who was assassinated in 1968 .\nSome 2,500 people attended the funeral , after more than 6,000 people filed past Floyd ’ s open casket on Monday .\nTwo columns of uniformed Houston police officers saluted the golden casket as it was wheeled from the hearse into the church before the service . A horse-drawn carriage later bore the coffin on its last mile to the cemetery in Pearland , Texas , where Floyd was buried in a private ceremony .\nFormer Vice President Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate in the Nov. 3 election , addressed the funeral service via a video recording , lamenting that “ too many black Americans wake up knowing that they could lose their life in the course of just living their life . ”\n“ We must not turn away . We can not leave this moment thinking we can once again turn away from racism , ” he said .\nA man raises his hand in solidarity as the coffin of George Floyd , whose death in Minneapolis police custody has sparked nationwide protests against racial inequality , is seen in a horse-drawn carriage as it enters the Houston Memorial Gardens cemetery in Pearland , Texas , U.S. , June 9 , 2020 . ███/Adrees Latif\nTwo voter registration tables were set up outside the church .\nAmong those in attendance were loved ones of several other black men killed by white police or white civilians .\nThe mother of Eric Garner , the New York man who died in a police chokehold in 2014 , was present , as was the family of Ahmaud Arbery , a 25-year-old Georgia man who was shot and killed in February while jogging . Three white men were charged in his death .\nFallout from Floyd ’ s death , and reaction to a spate of arson and looting that accompanied some of the otherwise mostly peaceful protests , also plunged President Donald Trump into one of the biggest crises of his tenure .\nHundreds of protesters packed Seattle ’ s city hall late Tuesday night , chanting demands for the resignation of the mayor and the defunding the police force .\nDays after Seattle ’ s mayor and police chief promised a month-long moratorium on tear gas , the department used it again on protesters overnight Sunday , bringing severe criticism .\nA Republican , Trump repeatedly threatened to order the military onto the streets to quell protests , focusing on restoring order while saying little about the U.S. racial wounds at the root of the upheavals .\nFor Special Report : How union , Supreme Court shield Minneapolis cops -\nFor Before the court : A united front takes aim at qualified immunity :
|
allsides-corpus-122
|
On his 16th birthday on Thursday , a Saugus High School student took out a .45-caliber handgun from his backpack , authorities said , shot five boys and girls on campus , killing two of them , and then shot himself .\nThe shooting prompted a mass response from local and federal authorities as they searched for the teen , who they found within hours and was in grave condition at a hospital .\nAt 9:23 a.m. a 16-year-old girl was pronounced dead from her wounds . During a press conference just before noon , Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said a 14-year-old boy had also succumbed to his injuries .\nTwo other girls , a 14- and 15-year-old , and also a 14-year-old boy , were in hospitals , recovering .\nA sixth victim was also hospitalized for a non-shooting injury .\nTerrified Saugus High School students flee from danger to a nearby home\nAt noon , Capt . Kent Wegener said investigators were at multiple scenes , including the quad area of the school , the suspect ’ s home and two hospitals . The suspect ’ s girlfriend and mother were at the sheriff ’ s station in Santa Clarita .\nThis is an active shooter situation . The suspect described to be a male Asian , black clothing is outstanding . — SCV Sheriff ( @ SCVSHERIFF ) November 14 , 2019\nStudents are escorted off campus after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nSaugus 9th grader Hannah Scooping and her mother , Laura Scooping-Medina , outside of Saugus High School in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nA parent waits outside of Saugus high after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nPolice react after reports of an active shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nStudents are escorted off campus after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nStudents are escorted off of campus at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nSheriffs on scene at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nStudents are escorted off campus after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nSheriffs on scene at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nStudents are escorted off campus after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nA student is re-united with her parent after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nStudents are escorted off of campus at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nPolice react after reports of an active shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nParents waiting to unify with children at Central Park after school shooting at Saugus High School . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News , SCNG )\nPolice escort students after a shooting Saugus High School after a school shooting . ( Photo by Rick McClur , Contributing Photographer )\nParents wait to be reunited with their children outside Saugus High School after a school shooting . ( Photo by Rick McClur , Contributing Photographer )\nSaugus high students are led off of campus after questioning at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nLaura Schooping-Medina comforts her daughter , Saugus student Hannah Schooping , 15 , outside of the campus at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nSaugus High School students reunite with their families in Central Park after a mass shooting at their Santa Clarita High School that left two dead Thursday morning , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News/SCNG )\nScott Cheshire reunites with his 16-year-old daughter Maci in Central Park after a mass shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita High that left two dead Thursday morning , November 14 , 2019 . Maci who stepped out of her classroom ran back to her history class after hearing gun shots . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News/SCNG )\nSaugus High School students wait to reunite with their families in Central Park after a mass shooting at their Santa Clarita High School that left two dead Thursday morning , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News/SCNG )\nSaugus High School students reunite with their families in Central Park after a mass shooting at their Santa Clarita High School that left two dead Thursday morning , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News/SCNG )\nParents look for their children in Central Park after a mass shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita left two dead Thursday morning , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News/SCNG )\nSaugus High School students reunite with their families in Central Park after a mass shooting at their Santa Clarita High School that left two dead Thursday morning , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz , Pasadena Star-News/SCNG )\nA first responders line Centurion Way outside Saugus High School after a school shooting occurred Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Hans Gutknecht , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nParents wait for children to be released at Highlands Elementary near Saugus High School where a shooting occurred Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Hans Gutknecht , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nLaw enforcement at the home of the suspected shoot near Saugus High School after a school shooting occurred at the school Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Hans Gutknecht , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nStudents are escorted off of campus at Saugus High after a shooting occurred around 7:30 at Saugus high in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nA first responders at Saugus High School after a school shooting occurred Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by Hans Gutknecht , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nLaw enforcement oversees the evacuation of students from Saugus high after a shooting occurred at the School in Santa Clarita , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nA victim is removed from Saugus high after a shooting occurred at the School in Saugus , CA Thursday , November 14 , 2019 . ( Photo by David Crane , Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG )\nJust after the shooting , all schools in the William S. Hart School Union High School District were put on lockdown .\nJust arrived at Saugus High School . Anxious family members are hanging behind at the school , as students are escorted , even though they are being asked to move to a nearby church where the students will be bused to the reunification site . pic.twitter.com/LE1Jdu9dOE — Elizabeth Chou ( @ reporterliz ) November 14 , 2019\nFamilies were directed to Central Park on Bouquet Canyon to be reunited with their children , with some waiting hours until that occurred .\nThis is a developing story . Please check back for updates .
|
allsides-corpus-123
|
An airline passenger arriving at the Fort Lauderdale airport retrieved a firearm from his checked luggage and opened fire at a baggage claim Friday afternoon , killing five people and injuring eight others .\nThe gunman was taken into custody and is being interrogated by law enforcement , but authorities said Friday it was too soon to say whether the shooting was terrorism-related .\nWhile authorities have declined to release the names of either the victims killed or the gunman , Sen. Bill Nelson identified the gunman as Esteban Santiago and said the man was carrying a military ID card that authorities were still working to authenticate .\nRelatives of the gunman confirmed his identity and told reporters that the 26-year-old had recently been treated for mental health issues .\nAn aunt , Maria Luisa Ruiz , told NorthJersey.com that Mr. Santiago had appeared happy after recently becoming a father but that about a month ago he began experiencing a mental health crisis .\n“ Like a month ago , it was like he lost his mind , ” she said “ He said he saw things . ”\nShe said Mr. Santiago , who was born in Puerto Rico , had spent time in Iraq with the Army National Guard and was currently living in Anchorage , Alaska .\nThe suspected gunman ’ s brother , Bryan Santiago , told the Associated Press that his family had recently gotten a call from his brother ’ s girlfriend saying that he was getting psychological treatment in Alaska where the couple lived .\nBroward County Sheriff Scott Israel declined to comment on whether the gunman had just arrived to the airport on a flight , but Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca wrote in a post to Facebook that the gunman was a passenger on a flight that landed at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and had checked his gun in his baggage . After landing at the Florida airport , the gunman retrieved his luggage , went into a bathroom to load his firearm and subsequently began shooting people in the baggage claim area , Mr. LaMarca said .\nSheriff Israel dispelled rumors that there was a second shooting at the airport , saying the baggage claim in Terminal 2 where the gunman opened fire was the only site of gunfire .\n“ At this point , it looks like he acted alone , ” Sheriff Israel said , adding it was too early to speculate on the gunman ’ s motive for carrying out the shooting .\nHe said when deputies arrived on scene that the gunman was taken into custody “ without incident ” but declined to elaborate .\nNo flights were arriving or leaving the airport Friday afternoon and airport Director Mark Gale said it was unclear how long the airport the would remain closed .\nLaw enforcement officials said they first began receiving calls reporting gunfire in Terminal 2 of the airport at 12:55 p.m Friday .\nNews footage from the scene showed people evacuating from the airport and standing on the tarmac as first responders rushed to the scene . Throughout the afternoon , people could be seen streaming out of airport exits and at various points crouching behind emergency vehicles to take cover .\nFormer White House spokesman Ari Fleischer tweeted that he was at the airport when shots were fired and that “ everyone is running. ” He later wrote that the scene seemed calm and that “ the police aren ’ t letting anyone out of the airport . ”\nFlorida Gov . Rick Scott called the shooting “ a senseless act of evil ” and late Friday said some of those injured and hospitalized were fighting for their lives .\nPresident-elect Donald Trump tweeted Friday , after emerging from an intelligence briefing on Russian hacking , that he was also monitoring the situation .\n“ Monitoring the terrible situation in Florida . Just spoke to Governor Scott . Thoughts and prayers for all . Stay safe ! ” Mr. Trump wrote .\nThe Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement indicating that as of 2:15 p.m. , any flights inbound and within 50 miles of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport would land at the airport but that other flights might be delayed or diverted .\nAirport officials later provided an update saying the airport would be closed for an extended period of time and that no flights are currently taking off from or landing at Fort Lauderdale .
|
allsides-corpus-124
|
Views of Nation ’ s Economy Remain Positive , Sharply Divided by Partisanship\nHow we did this For this report on views of the nation ’ s economy , we surveyed 12,638 U.S. adults in January 2020 . Everyone who took part is a member of ███ ’ s American Trends Panel ( ATP ) , an online survey panel that is recruited through national , random sampling of residential addresses . This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection . The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender , race , ethnicity , partisan affiliation , education and other categories . Read more about the ATP ’ s methodology . Here are the questions used for the report , along with responses , and its methodology .\nThe public ’ s views of the nation ’ s economy remain more positive than at any point in the past two decades . In addition , more Americans say President Trump ’ s policies have made the economy better ( 44 % ) than worse ( 29 % ) , while 26 % say they have not had much effect .\nThe public ’ s ratings of economic conditions turned much more favorable shortly after Trump took office in 2017 , as a result of a surge in positive views among Republicans . These attitudes have shown little change more recently .\nToday , 57 % of Americans rate the national economy as excellent ( 16 % ) or good ( 42 % ) . This is virtually unchanged from last September , when 56 % of the public held positive views of the economy . A third of the public views economic conditions as only fair ; just 9 % say the nation ’ s economy is in poor shape .\nThe national survey by ███ , conducted Jan. 6-19 among 12,638 adults , finds that views of the economy – and the impact of Trump ’ s policies – continue to be deeply divided along partisan lines .\nCurrently , 81 % of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the economy is excellent or good . These views have changed only modestly over the past two years . But between November 2016 ( just before Trump ’ s victory in the presidential election ) and March 2017 the share of Republicans with a positive view of the economy approximately doubled , from 18 % to 37 % . And by November 2018 , they had doubled again , to 75 % .\nBy contrast , Democrats ’ assessments of economic conditions have changed only modestly since before Trump took office . Currently , 39 % of Democrats and Democratic leaners say conditions are excellent or good . In November 2016 , 46 % had a positive impression of the economy .\nOverall , the public holds more positive than negative views about the impact of Trump ’ s economic policies . While 44 % say that the president ’ s economic policies have made economic conditions better , 29 % say they have made the economy worse ; 26 % say Trump ’ s policies have not had much of an effect .\nPublic views of how Trump ’ s policies have affected the economy are more positive than they were for Obama ’ s policies at the same point in his presidency , when overall assessments of the economy were much more negative than they are currently . In February 2012 , roughly equal shares said Obama ’ s economic policies had made things better ( 33 % ) and worse ( 35 % ) ; 25 % said they had not had much effect . At that time , only 11 % of the public rated the economy as excellent or good , with overwhelming majorities of both Democrats ( 84 % ) and Republicans ( 94 % ) rating the national economy negatively .\nHowever , optimism that conditions would improve was relatively high eight years ago . Today , public outlook for the economy a year from now is mixed : Currently , 29 % of Americans say conditions will be better , 26 % worse , while 45 % say they will be about the same as now . In February 2012 , 44 % expected economic conditions to improve ; just 10 % said they would get worse , while 42 % said they would be about the same as they were then .\nOpinions about the impact of presidents ’ policies and the future course of the economy also are highly partisan . In the current survey , an overwhelming share of Republicans ( 80 % ) say Trump ’ s policies have made economic conditions better . Democrats are divided : Nearly half ( 48 % ) say Trump ’ s policies have had a negative impact , 38 % say they have not had much of an effect and 14 % say they have helped the economy .\nViews about the state of the economy a year from now are somewhat less partisan , but while nearly half of Republicans ( 46 % ) expect economic conditions in the U.S. to be better a year from now than they are today , just 15 % of Democrats say the same .\nOverall , 57 % of Americans say current economic conditions are excellent or good , but these views vary across demographic groups : older people , those with higher incomes , men and whites are particularly likely to say the economy is in good shape , while these views are less widely shared among younger people , those with lower incomes , women , blacks and Hispanics .\nThese demographic gaps are little changed over the course of the last few years . Americans ages 65 and over are the most positive in their evaluations of the economy , with 70 % saying it is in excellent or good shape . By comparison , about half of 18-29 year olds ( 47 % ) say the same . And while more than six-in-ten white people ( 64 % ) offer positive evaluations of the economy , that compares with roughly half of Hispanic people ( 49 % ) and just a third of black Americans ( 33 % ) .\nThere is a 12 percentage-point gender gap in these views : 64 % of men say the economy is doing well , compared with 52 % of women . And while 64 % of college graduates say economic conditions are excellent or good , 54 % of those without a college degree say the same .\nViews of the economy also differ starkly by income . Among those with annual family incomes of $ 100,000 or more , 72 % have positive views of the economy , with one-quarter rating it as excellent . Roughly two-thirds of those who make $ 75,000- $ 99,999 ( 65 % ) and $ 50,000- $ 74,999 ( 64 % ) rate the economy as excellent or good .\nHowever , less than half of those who make less than $ 30,000 ( 44 % ) rate the economy positively , with just 10 % saying they rate the economy today as excellent .\nAmong Republicans and Republican-leaning independents , a large majority ( 81 % ) rate the economy as excellent or good . Conservative Republicans are particularly likely to view the economy positively : 88 % do so , including 41 % who say the economy is in excellent shape . Among moderate and liberal Republicans , 72 % offer positive ratings , with 18 % saying economic conditions are excellent .\nOverall , 39 % of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents rate the economy as excellent or good , and there are only modest ideological differences in these views .\nWhile majorities of Republicans in all age groups offer positive ratings of the economy , older Republicans and Republican leaners are much more likely than younger Republicans to do so : 90 % of Republicans ages 65 and older rate the economy positively , while 68 % of those under 30 say the same .\nAmong Democrats and Democratic leaners there is only modest variation in these views by age , although Democrats 65 and older view the economy more positively than those under age 65 ( 47 % vs. 37 % ) .\nIn both parties , those with higher incomes and those with college degrees are more likely to say current economic conditions are excellent or good . And the partisan gap is similar across all educational and income levels . For instance , 89 % of Republicans with a college degree rate the economy as excellent or good , compared with 47 % of Democratic college graduates – a 42 point gap . Among those without a college degree , the gap is nearly identical ( 45 points ) .\nAcross income and partisan groups , high income Republicans are the most likely to see the economy as in excellent or good shape , while low income Democrats are least likely to say this . But partisanship is a bigger factor than income in these evaluations : In fact , Republicans with incomes of less than $ 30,000 ( 69 % ) offer significantly more positive ratings of the economy than Democrats with incomes of $ 100,000 or more ( 52 % ) .\nOpinions about the state of the nation ’ s economy are correlated with views of Trump ’ s job performance . People who have the most positive views of economic conditions – the 16 % of adults who say the economy is excellent – overwhelmingly approve of Trump . Nearly nine-in-ten ( 86 % ) approve of his performance , including 76 % who strongly approve .\nYet those who say economic conditions are good are not nearly as supportive of Trump . Half of this group approves of his job performance , with only about a third ( 36 % ) strongly approving .\nIn part , this reflects partisanship in views of both the economy and Trump . For instance , among Republicans who view the economy as good ( half of all Republicans and leaners ) , 82 % approve of Trump ’ s job performance . But among the roughly one third of Democrats who give the economy the same rating , only 11 % approve of Trump ’ s performance .\nAmong the 15 % of Republicans who rate conditions as only fair , a narrow majority ( 55 % ) approves of his job performance . Among Democrats who view the economy as only fair , just 4 % approve of the job Trump is doing .
|
allsides-corpus-125
|
Social Security is running out of money . America gives too much aid to other countries . Nothing is made in the U.S.A. anymore .\nThose are some of the reasons why working class whites feel the economy is headed in the wrong direction . Some 53 % of these folks said they are very dissatisfied with the country 's economic situation , well above the share among whites with college degrees or working class blacks and Hispanics . Another 25 % said they are somewhat dissatisfied , according to a new CNN/Kaiser Family Foundation survey .\nWhat 's more , they think their children will suffer as a result . Half feel their kids ' standard of living will be worse when they hit the same age .\nThis gloomy view , however , does n't extend to their own financial circumstances .\nNearly two-thirds of working class whites say they are satisfied with their own personal financial situation . More than three-quarters are optimistic about how things are going in their own lives . A similar share of those who are working feel their jobs are secure .\nTake Pete McGuire of Mansfield Center , Connecticut . McGuire , who runs a landscaping company with his wife , was frustrated recently when he could n't find work boots made in the United States at Cabela 's , an outdoor recreation retailer .\n`` We 're not making anything , '' McGuire said , noting that the few American products he does find are often more expensive . `` I 'd be willing to pay a little more to buy something made in the U.S.A. to keep somebody working here . ''\nThe 61-year-old ticked off why he thinks the nation is in trouble : The national debt is growing . The federal government is doing more to help other countries than struggling Americans . Veterans are being ignored .\nRelated : Working class whites blame Washington , but still want more government help\nHis four daughters will have to deal with all of this . And most of them `` are making ends meet by the skin of their teeth . '' Two are stay-at-home moms and one is a teacher 's assistant in an elementary school . The one who is doing the best financially became an accountant after graduating from the University of Connecticut .\nAs for his own financial security ? `` We 're comfortable . We are paying our bills , '' said McGuire , who recently applied for disability because of back problems that have forced him to cut back at the landscaping firm .\nMcGuire feels he was able to build a more secure life because the economy was better during most of his working years . After he graduated high school , he was always employed -- in textile factories , for the state , in a construction company and finally at his own small business , often holding second jobs on the side pumping gas or mowing lawns . His wife , who has a bachelor 's degree , works for the city of Norwich , providing job coaching for mentally handicapped kids . He has a small pension and retiree health care , thanks to his tenure with the state Department of Transportation .\nNowadays , he feels , it 's harder for blue-collar workers to make a decent living .\n`` When was the last time a factory worker got a pay raise of more than a dime or a quarter ? '' he said .\nWorking class whites were less likely to get a boost in pay than their college educated peers . The poll found some 42 % of working age people in this group said they or someone in their household had received a raise in the last year , compared to 54 % of whites with college diplomas .\nIt 's not surprising that many working class whites have a negative view of the nation 's economic direction , said Gary Burtless , a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution . Americans are often more dour if their political party is not in power . And since many working class whites lean Republican , they feel the Obama administration has made things worse . ( Some 53 % of working class white Americans CNN/KFF surveyed said they were Republicans or leaned that way , while 33 % said they were Democrats or Democratic-leaners and 11 % independents . )\nRelated : The anatomy of a white working class Trump voter\nPlus , Republican nominee Donald Trump and his onetime rivals spent the past year decrying how troubled the nation is , he said .\n`` People are more likely to the take the party line about the state of the economy than their own private economic circumstances , '' Burtless said . `` If we had a President McCain or a President Romney , they 'd say the economy is n't so bad . ''\n`` Everything Obama and his administration does is wrong , '' said Gibson , 82 , who just retired as the owner of a real estate escrow business . `` I 'm not sure Obama knows what he 's doing and he does n't listen to people . ''\nThe president 's actions have n't directly hurt Gibson 's finances , however . He worked well beyond the typical retirement age because he liked it and now plans to live off savings and investments . His daughter and grown grandson are also employed and doing fine .\nBut among his circle of friends , there 's a lot of concern over the economy , national security and America 's standing in the world .\n`` It 's a feeling that everyone is on pins and needles , '' he said , noting that the economy is only growing at a 1 % rate and many people have dropped out of the labor market because they ca n't find jobs . `` You do n't know what 's going to happen . We 're a ship without a captain right now . ''\nOthers , like Nicole King , feel the nation 's problems have been building for a while and blames both parties for not coming together to address the issues .\nKing , who watches both CNN and Fox and listens to NPR to get a variety of views , said she is concerned about the shaky state of Social Security and the mounting national debt . She also fears the next generation is not as hard working , which will further damage the economy .\n`` All those things together do n't paint a very positive picture , '' said King , 40 , who feels her job in a bank 's IT department is secure . `` The U.S. as a brand is not as strong as it once was . ''\nThe Charlotte , N.C. , resident and her husband are on a very strict budget so they can save money for retirement and their children 's college education . They buy used cars and gave their older daughter , who is 3 , a piggy bank so she will learn the value of money at an early age . And they worry that their daughters will not be as comfortable as they are because the economy is so troubled .\nPart of working class whites ' frustration with the nation 's direction stems from their feeling marginalized in society , said Arlie Hochschild , a professor emerita in sociology at the University of California , Berkeley , and author of the new book , Strangers In Their Own Land : Anger and Mourning on the American Right .\nThey think the nation views them as uneducated and racist , Hochschild said . Their pro-life views are demonized , while they feel under attack from the rise of secularism . And the tipping point is that their path upwards on the economic ladder is blocked by the decline of the middle class .\nYet , at the same time , they draw happiness from living in their own isolated enclaves with family , neighbors and fellow churchgoers nearby .\n`` People are more optimistic personally than they are about the country as a whole , '' Hochschild said .\nWhite , Working Class & Worried is a CNN partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation - an extensive survey of white , working class Americans and voters who form a backbone of the support for Donald Trump . See more tonight on Anderson Cooper 360 and see full coverage at CNN.com/WhiteWorkingClassAndWorried .\nAbout the survey : CNN partnered with The Kaiser Family Foundation to conduct an in-depth survey of the white working class in America , their politics , their perceptions of America 's changing demographics , the economy , immigration , their personal finances , their faith , among others . This group has become increasingly important to the 2016 presidential race since they have been a key support to Donald Trump 's bid for the White House . Here are the full results of the survey .
|
allsides-corpus-126
|
We all heard Patricia Arquette calling for wage equality and women ’ s rights last night on the Oscar stage , with her new Supporting Actress award in hand . Meryl Streep and J-Lo just about went nuts cheering on her feminist speech and Planned Parenthood was giddy with glee on Twitter .\nCOSIGN ALL OF THAT , @ PattyArquette : `` It is time for wage equality ... and equal rights for women in America ! '' # Oscars2015 # fyeahfeminism — Planned Parenthood ( @ PPact ) February 23 , 2015\nWith their passionate pleas for gender equality in the workplace , I wonder how these same figures and women ’ s organizations will react to this morning ’ s news that Hillary Clinton paid women on her staff only 72 cents for every dollar paid for men while working in the U.S. Senate . From the Washington Free Beacon :\nDuring those years , the median annual salary for a woman working in Clinton ’ s office was $ 15,708.38 less than the median salary for a man , according to the analysis of data compiled from official Senate expenditure reports .\nThe inequality in Clinton ’ s office is a bit ironic , considering the causes the former Secretary of State professes to promote .\n20 years ago , women made 72 cents on the dollar to men . Today it 's still just 77 cents . More work to do . # EqualPay # NoCeilings — Hillary Clinton ( @ HillaryClinton ) April 9 , 2014\nThose “ ceilings ” she speaks of seem to have been right over her and her staff ’ s own heads .\nIn June , the Free Beacon also broke the news that in the 1980s Clinton defended a man who raped an underage girl – a scandal which will be remembered as The Hillary Tapes .\nYet , groups like Planned Parenthood and EMILY ’ s List continue to honor her “ efforts ” on behalf of women . And as for those same A-list celebrities who cheered for wage equality last night , they appear to have no problem being chummy with the former First Lady .\nI wonder , after these pay gap revelations , if Clinton will now feel the wrath of these famous feminists and popular women ’ s rights groups , or if the latter will continue to air their grievances against the “ real threat ” – the suffocating patriarchy .\nThe answer is too obvious to be placed inside one of those golden envelopes .
|
allsides-corpus-127
|
U.S. stock markets rebounded Tuesday after one of their worst drops in history a day earlier , as President Trump Donald John TrumpThe Hill 's Morning Report - Trump shifts his tone on coronavirus Senators balance coronavirus action with risks to health Coronavirus adds new element to rising US-Iran tensions MORE and Congress advanced economic stimulus plans and the Federal Reserve took actions to shore up the financial system in the face of the coronavirus pandemic .\nThe Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1,049 points , or 5.2 percent percent , recovering a portion of its nearly 3,000-point drop on Monday , the third worst day in its history .\nThe index , which peaked at more than 29,500 just last month , briefly hovered below 20,000 in the morning hours , before rebounding to a 21,238 close .\nThe market jumped after the Federal Reserve announced it would expand its bond-buying efforts to include corporate bonds in an effort to help provide businesses with short-term funding .\nTraders took further solace as the Trump administration took up a plan to send stimulus checks to all Americans . On Monday , Sen. Mitt Romney Willard ( Mitt ) Mitt RomneySenators balance coronavirus action with risks to health GOP Sen. Cotton calls for monthly cash payments to Americans during coronavirus pandemic Mnuchin to pitch Senate GOP on third coronavirus package Tuesday MORE ( R-Utah ) floated the idea of sending every American $ 1,000 checks to bolster the economy .\nMeanwhile , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison ( Mitch ) Mitchell McConnellThe Hill 's Morning Report - Trump shifts his tone on coronavirus Mnuchin to pitch Senate GOP on third coronavirus package Tuesday Overnight Health Care : Trump says coronavirus crisis could last through summer | House bill hits new roadblocks | Schumer to propose 0B for third aid package | Researchers launch first vaccine trial | Dow plunges after Fed cuts rates MORE ( R-Ky. ) said the Senate would approve a $ 104 billion House-passed stimulus package , providing for free coronavirus testing and bolstering paid sick and family leave .\nTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was also at the Capitol to pitch a broader , $ 850 billion stimulus bill .\nStill , the outlook remained dour for the near-term , as social distancing and efforts to prevent further coronavirus spread shuttered businesses , canceled large events and ground much of the economy to a halt .\nAnalysts said a global recession was a near certainty , and S & P Global said the U.S. was likely already in a recession .
|
allsides-corpus-128
|
After a chilly month for job growth in December , hiring warmed up a bit in January . But not by much .\nThe U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs last month , according to the government . That 's an improvement from December , but was far weaker than hoped . Economists had been expecting an addition of 178,000 jobs .\nThey called the report `` disappointing '' and `` weak , '' but characterized broader economic growth as `` steady-as-she-goes . ''\n`` The U.S. economy is very stable , '' said Julia Coronado , chief economist , North America for BNP Paribas . `` 2014 might not be a breakout year , but it 's not a disaster either . ''\nMany economists had also been hoping that December 's weak job gains would be revised much higher , as many experts were quick to write off the December report as a fluke . The number was revised higher , but only by 1,000 jobs to 75,000 .\nLowest unemployment in 5 years , but : The unemployment rate was 6.6 % in January , as 10 million Americans were counted as unemployed . Overall , the unemployment rate has improved substantially since it peaked at 10 % in 2009 and is now at its lowest level in more than five years .\nThat said , much of the decline in unemployment has come for a discouraging reason : some Americans are dropping out of the labor force . As of January , only 63 % of Americans over age 16 participated in the labor market -- meaning they either had a job or looked for one . Although there was a slight improvement in January , participation is still hovering around its lowest level since 1978 .\nWhile some of the decline is partly due to baby boomers retiring , economists are also concerned about the long-term unemployed , who may be giving up on the job market altogether . Following the report , one of President Obama 's top economic advisers , Jason Furman called the unemployment rate still `` unacceptably high . ''\nAbout 3.6 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or more . Those who were relying on extended government benefits lost that lifeline in December .\n`` These figures provide a stark reminder that despite the progress that has been made , the after-effects of the recession still linger and are creating hardship for many families , '' Furman wrote in a White House blog post .\nThe Federal Reserve has been stressing that its stimulus policies depend on the economic data , and while it has been aiming for an unemployment rate of 6.5 % , it 's expected to distance itself from using that number as its main measure of the job market .\n`` Using the narrow , widely reported unemployment rate alone could suggest a misleadingly optimistic state of affairs , '' Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said in a prepared speech Thursday , ahead of the jobs report .\nRecently appointed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to testify before two Congressional committees next week .\nWhere are the jobs ? Surprisingly , more than half of January 's job gains came from traditional blue collar sectors . Goods-producing industries added more jobs than the services sector for the first time since 2005 .\nConstruction firms added 48,000 jobs and manufacturers added 21,000 jobs . The mining industry added 7,200 jobs .\nBut that was one of few bright spots in the report . The health care sector cut 400 jobs -- the first month of job losses since 2003 . Health care had been an industry with strong job growth throughout the recession .\nProfessional and business services added 36,000 jobs , but a large part of those jobs were through staffing agencies . About 15,000 jobs were added at restaurants and bars . Sporting goods , hobby , book and music stores cut 22,000 jobs .\nOverall , the U.S. economy lost 8.7 million jobs in the financial crisis . As of January , 7.8 million jobs have come back , but once economists also account for population growth , they expect that it will still take years to get back to a pre-recession job market .
|
allsides-corpus-129
|
The unemployment rate is now a misleading number . Yes , the rate has fallen dramatically from its peak . But much of that decline has been the result of the fall in the labor force participation rate . It has fallen from a peak of over 67 percent in 2000 to 62.8 percent in August . So there is a long-term trend downwards , which accelerated in the Great Recession .\nIf the unemployment rate falls because discouraged workers are leaving the labor force , that is nothing to cheer . And it is certainly no basis for a Fed rate hike .\nWhy the bullish sentiments of some Fed officials for a rate hike ? I increasingly believe that there are unstated reasons buttressing their hawkish stance . They are likely concerns over financial stability issues . These officials certainly understand that a long period of low interest rates must result in financial bubbles . Capital has been mispriced and , hence , misallocated .\nAdditionally , margins have been squeezed for banks and other lenders . Finally , money market mutual funds have no sustainable business model at very low rates . These funds must pay to attract money , but can earn very little on their investments .\nNegative interest rates would make these problems even worse , which surely explains the aversion of Fed officials to negative rates . The Fed has learned from the experience of countries that have taken rates into negative territory .\nIf Fed officials see a need to raise interest rates for financial stability reasons , they should make that case . Anemic economic growth and weak job growth just do not sustain the case for higher rates . For these and other reasons , I see no rate hike in September .\nNotwithstanding the weak case for a September rate hike , Yellen has put the credibility of the FOMC on the line with her talk of a rate hike . I can still see the Fed hiking rates at the December meeting as it did in 2015 . I can not foresee two hikes in 2016 . If there is an increase in rates in December , the Fed will pause again .
|
allsides-corpus-130
|
President Obama touted a provision in his Affordable Care Act on Thursday that would require health insurance providers to return money to consumers , pushing back on Republican criticism a day after the GOP-led House voted to delay key parts of the law .\nThe president ’ s signature health care overhaul -- commonly referred to as ObamaCare -- has come under fire by many Republicans who have worked to defeat , delay or gut major parts of it .\nAt the White House event Thursday , Obama highlighted more of the financial benefits tied to it -- specifically , a half billion dollars in rebates going to 9 million people under a provision of the law .\nInsurers must spend at least 80 cents of every dollar on medical care or quality improvement , or refund the difference . That 's the $ 500 million consumers are getting in rebates averaging about $ 100 . For Americans who get insurance through their work , the rebates go to their employers to be refunded or used to lower premiums .\n`` If they 're not spending your premium dollars on health care , they have to give you some money back , '' Obama said , appearing with a group of health care consumers in the East Room .\nThe president ’ s comments come a day after House lawmakers voted to delay two key components of ObamaCare , in an effort to chip away at the plan after the administration acknowledged new issues with its implementation .\nObama also noted that some states , ahead of the law 's requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance , are anticipating lower premiums because of health insurance marketplaces that are being set up under the law so consumers can comparison shop for the coverage .\nObama pushed his pitch a day after the Republican-controlled House voted for the 38th time to eliminate , cut funding or scale back the 3-year-old law since the GOP took control of the House in January 2011 .\nRepublican leaders swiftly organized the votes after the administration , in early July , said it would delay until 2015 a requirement that businesses with 50 or more workers provide insurance coverage or pay a penalty .\nThe House voted 264-161 for a measure that would do exactly that . But they also voted 251-174 for a measure that would delay the individual mandate -- the requirement on individuals to buy health insurance -- for a year as well .\nRepublicans argue that both delays are necessary . While they endorsed the delay for businesses , House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP lawmakers say it 's unfair to deny everyone else a similar reprieve .\n`` It is not fair that the president is choosing to protect big business from ObamaCare , but not hardworking American taxpayers , '' Rep. Marsha Blackburn , R-Tenn. , said on the House floor ahead of the vote .\nShe also said the delay was an admission that `` this is a train wreck , and it is not ready for prime-time . ''\nBut Democrats sharply disagreed , and accused Republicans of wasting time with yet another set of votes against the health care law . Rep. Joseph Crowley , D-N.Y. , said Republicans were n't simply trying to delay the requirements . `` It is their intention to destroy the Affordable Care Act ... to do away with it , to annihilate it entirely , '' Crowley said .\nThe votes marked the 38th time the GOP majority has tried to eliminate , defund or scale back the program since Republicans took control of the House in January 2011 . It is unlikely the Democrat-controlled Senate will advance the latest bills .
|
allsides-corpus-131
|
A top tech official for the ObamaCare exchanges said just days before the launch of the troubled health law website that people inside the White House were nervous the site would be unavailable after its launch and would be a big embarrassment , ███ has learned .\nA Sept. 25 email chain from HealthCare.gov project manager Henry Chao , obtained by ███ , suggests Obama administration officials had more fears than they let on publicly that the website would have problems before its Oct. 1 launch .\nIn the email to a number of apparent colleagues , Chao suggests the administration should design a more palatable way to tell the public that the website was not working in case it failed after the launch , saying that such a move could help prevent the media from “ just ramping up the hyperbole about hc.gov not [ being ] functional . ”\nThe email refers to a meeting the previous day , Sept. 24 , that included White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park and CMS chief Marilyn Tavenner .\n“ When Todd Park and Marilyn was ( sic ) here yesterday one of the things Todd conveyed was this fear the WH has about hc.gov being unavailable , ” wrote Chao .\nHe added of Park : “ He will come back again and ask on 9/30 because after knowing him for the past 3+ years I can tell when he will hang on to something for a long time . Todd does have a good point and I think we should have a more comprehensive answer as to how we will ensure high availability . ”\nChao also attached to the email an image of HealthCare.gov saying , “ The system is down at the moment . We ’ re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible . Please try again later . ”\nA White House official tells ███ the “ fear ” referenced in the email refers to warnings that glitches were likely during the rollout , as with any rollout of a major website .\nIn this case , the official added , the glitches they were worried about apparently had to do with high traffic , which did occur . The official said that is “ a good indication that there 's high demand for the product . ”\nThe Obama administration has repeatedly blamed the website ’ s problems on unexpectedly high traffic .\nIn the email , Chao suggested the team should come up with a more palatable way to explain problems with the website so that the media did not pounce .\n“ Can you think about a better way to convey to the public when the site is not available ? ” wrote Chao . “ I am picturing in my mind all the major print and online publications taking screenshots of what is below and just ramping up the hyperbole about hc.gov not [ being ] functional . ”\nPresident Obama told reporters at a Nov. 14 news conference he was never told directly of the problems with the website before its launch .\n“ I was not informed directly that the website would not be working as -- the way it was supposed to , ” he said .
|
allsides-corpus-132
|
WASHINGTON ( ███ ) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday he was willing to bring healthcare legislation up for a vote but was waiting for the go-ahead from President Donald Trump , who sent mixed signals last week about a bipartisan bill that would shore up insurance markets .\nSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell waits to speak to reporters following a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington , U.S. October 17 , 2017 . ███/Eric Thayer\nThe Republican president said on Oct. 12 that his administration would stop paying billions of dollars in subsidies that help insurers give discounts to low-income households under the Affordable Care Act , or Obamacare . Last week , he praised and then dismissed a bipartisan bill to reinstate the subsidies for two years , until a broader replacement to Obamacare can be negotiated .\nThat legislation , introduced by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray , has drawn support from several Republican senators .\nAsked if he would put it up for a vote this week , McConnell , the Senate majority leader , punted to Trump .\n“ What I ’ m waiting for is to hear from President Trump what kind of healthcare bill he might sign , ” McConnell said on CNN ’ s “ State of the Union . ”\n“ If there ’ s a need for some kind of interim step here to stabilize the market , we need a bill the president will actually sign , ” he said . “ I ’ m not certain yet what the president is looking for here , but I ’ ll be happy to bring a bill to the floor if I know President Trump would sign it . ”\nMcConnell said he believed Trump had not made up his mind about short-term legislation that would fall short of his promise for a full repeal and replacement of Obamacare .\nTrump promised during his presidential campaign to get rid of Obamacare , the signature healthcare law of his predecessor , Democrat Barack Obama . However , his fellow Republicans , who control Congress , have failed to do so because of deep party divisions .\nHouse of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan , the top Republican in Congress , opposes the Alexander-Murray bill . With Trump waffling , its chances appeared to dim .\nDemocrats , meanwhile , pushed McConnell to bring the bill to the floor , saying the legislation would prevent insurance premiums from rising sharply .\n“ The president holds the key to preventing premiums from going up . Now that Leader McConnell has made it clear he will put the Murray-Alexander bill on the floor as soon as the president supports it , the president should say that he does , ” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement .\nSchumer told NBC ’ s “ Meet the Press ” all 48 Democrats in the Senate back the bill .
|
allsides-corpus-133
|
Washington ( CNN ) - President Obama continues to alter his signature promise in selling the Affordable Care Act back in 2009 and 2010 .\n`` If you like your plan , you can keep your plan , '' he said back then .\nBut that simple pledge has had to change as the Affordable Care Act has been implemented and a small percentage of Americans , albeit millions of people , have received cancellation notices from their insurance companies . And for the second time in two weeks , he 's tweaked the line .\nWhen President Obama spoke Monday night to a group of supporters , he said : `` While virtually every insurer is offering new , better plans and competing for these folks ' business , I realize that can be scary for people if you just get some notice like that . ''\n`` If you had or have one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law and you really like that plan , what we said was , you could keep it if has n't changed since the law 's passed , '' added Obama .\n`` You 're grandfathered in , '' although he again noted insurance companies had the power to change it themselves .\nCNN White House Senior Correspondent Jim Acosta asked White House Spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday if the president could go back , would he `` use the same words again '' and promise Americans they could keep their plans ?\n`` Well , the president , as awesomely powerful as the office is , ca n't go back in time , '' Carney said . `` And what the president is focused on is what we are all focused on which is getting this right for the American people . ''\n`` It is on us , '' Carney later added . `` Let me be clear , I 'm not – I am embracing the responsibility that the administration and that everyone involved in the market place has , to make sure that those individuals are getting the information that they need . ''\nThe President made his comments Monday in an address to Organizing for Action , the pro-Obama group formed from the President 's 2012 re-election campaign .\nEven though some people are getting kicked off existing plans , Obama has argued they 're probably going to get a better deal .\n`` Now , insurers are offering these new options , and they do n't just want to keep their current policyholders ; they want to cover the uninsured , too , '' he told supporters .\n`` And because of the competition between insurers , and the new health care tax credits , most people will be able to buy better plans for the same price or even cheaper than what they 've gotten before . Now , some Americans with higher incomes will pay more on the front end for better insurance with better benefits and better protections that could eventually help them a lot , even if right now they 'd rather be paying less . ''\nHe made similar points at a health care event in Boston last Wednesday .\nThe new line is a far cry from the shorter , bumper sticker ready pledge he made as he sought to calm nerves that health insurance reform would not ruin plans that Americans liked and were comfortable with even though many of those plans did n't cover things like prescription drugs , hospital stays or maternity care .\nIt was n't a one off back in 2009 and 2010 and even later during his 2012 re-election campaign . New York Magazine put together a montage of the very many iterations of it .\nBut it turns out the president did n't have the power to make that pledge . As insurance companies upgrade plans to comply with new Obamacare coverage rules , they are dropping plans for potentially millions of Americans who buy their insurance on the individual health insurance market .\nInsurance companies appear to be doing this for a variety of reasons ; some are pulling all their plans from certain states where they have fewer subscribers in order to save money , others seem to be .\nBack in 2009 , as a White House correspondent for ABC , CNN 's Jake Tapper challenged the president on his promise . And even back then , there appeared to be an asterisk .\n`` Well , no , no , I mean – when I say if you have your plan and you like it and your doctor has a plan , or you have a doctor and you like your doctor that you do n't have to change plans , what I 'm saying is the government is not going to make you change plans under health reform , '' Obama replied .\nAh ... the government is not going to make you change plans . Though the government might impose a situation that would cause a change of plans . So the promise was never quite as presented . And yet the president kept presenting it that way .\nBut that caveat did n't make it into the subsequent campaign speeches that featured the line .\nThe cancellations will not affect most Americans , but they could hurt public support for the law . Just 17 % of Americans said they 'll be better off under the law , but 41 % said it wo n't have much of an effect on them , according to a CNN/ORC International poll conducted in late September , just before the HealthCare.gov website went live . At that time four in ten said they would be worse off under the law .\nThose numbers are similar to a Gallup poll conducted just over a week ago , in which 36 % of Americans said they did n't think that in the long run the Affordable Care Act would make much of a difference to their family 's health care situation . Just over a third said the health care law would make matters worse , and one in four said that Obamacare would make things better .\nRollout of the exchange websites that are supposed to allow Americans without insurance to shop from a selection of plans side-by-side has been troubled , to say the least . The website has been plagued by glitches , crashes , and is currently the subject of a Congressional investigation .\nFrustration with the law and the changes it causes in the health insurance landscape could be temporary growing pains as Americans get used to the reforms . But the frustration is likely to outlast problems with the website as Americans focus more on the cost of plans offered under Obamacare and on the choices available .\nCNN reported Monday on notes from an Obama administration `` war room '' meeting where officials expressed concern that once Americans had access to more information about the plans available , they might experience sticker shock .\nAn architect of the Affordable Care Act , MIT professor Jonathan Gruber , told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer recently that most Americans will benefit from the law as it stabilizes the insurance market , fosters competition and guarantees coverage for almost all Americans .\nMost Americans get insurance from either the government or their employer and wo n't be affected much by the law , he said .\n`` About 5 to 6 percent get it on their and some of them will pay more , the young and health and not poor will pay more to get their health insurance . It 's a lot of people , but its small relative to the people who are going to gain and very small relative to the people who are n't affected , '' added Gruber .\nBut he also ceded that there will be winners and losers as the law is implemented . Some people will pay more and be forced to change their insurance . That 's a small percentage of the country , but a large number of people .\n`` Very very few people have to pay more and not get better insurance . That 's a very small fraction , '' said Gruber . `` Most of the people who will have to pay more will get better insurance than what they had before . ''
|
allsides-corpus-134
|
Many people think of the right 's Obamacare hatred as an outgrowth of straightforward partisan and ideological truths . Movement conservatives broadly oppose the idea of taxing wealthy people to subsidize the lower and middle classes . They do n't like regulating the private sector very much either . Add in the political incentives they faced to uniformly oppose President Obama 's agenda , the zero Republican votes for the Affordable Care Act , and you 've planted seeds of lasting hostility .\nBut the hostility has become so deeply rooted that it now stands on its own , detached from the ideological and partisan antipathies that gave rise to it .\nIt has forced conservatives to blind themselves to the law 's positive , unobjectionable qualities , and police those within their ranks who dare to acknowledge them .\nTalking Points Memo 's Josh Marshall called this reactionary phenomenon Obamacare McCarthyism . It ensnared Rep. Jack Kingston , R-Ga. , who 's running for Senate in 2014 and had the temerity to suggest that Republicans should n't just idly mock the law when it stumbles . A few years ago , Sen. Mike Enzi , R-Wy0. , said he liked the concept of insurance exchanges -- which are crucial components of GOP-backed Medicare privatization proposals and other conservative reform ideas -- and now a hardline super PAC is using his words against him , as if he 'd called for the creation of a public option .\nBut on the battlefields of partisan warfare , this sort of post-principled contempt , combined with the inception of benefits , has turned the fight over Obamacare from a dispute over first principles , into a culture war , in which signaling matters more than tactical victories .\nThe repeal campaign -- once marked by earnest and sustained efforts to wipe the law off the books -- has all but burned itself out . But the law remains a potent political organizing force -- a rallying cry Republicans believe they can use to channel the right 's Obamacare obsession into voter turnout .\nAn astute friend remarked to me on Tuesday that the GOP 's position on Obamacare is coming to resemble its position on abortion in one key way : loudly , consistently , uniformly opposed , but ultimately not really driven to eliminate it . The backlash they 'd face would be brutal , but they might stand to gain by fighting it on the margins and keeping the issue alive .\nThe comparison holds at a state level too . The most effective Obamacare saboteurs have been GOP governors and legislatures who resisted the opportunity to create their own exchanges and have refused to expand Medicaid with federal dollars , as the law allows .\nMore generally , conservatives are wielding Obamacare the way they wielded culture war issues in the 1990s . The particulars are enormously different , but the political objectives are similar : pick an issue that both unites conservative voters and appeals to the discontent of moderates and use it first and foremost to fracture the Democratic coalition .\nI do n't think they 're going to fracture the Democratic coalition . But I can imagine the issue remaining an effective mobilizing tool for an otherwise agenda-less party through the end of Obama 's presidency .\nOf course , the culture wars of the '90s did n't all unfold the same way . Abortion and gun rights have proven to be more durable polarizing tools than immigration and gay rights .\nMy suspicion is that over time , as Affordable Care Act beneficiaries become friends , neighbors and family members of the law 's most ardent foes , hostilities will wane . The word `` Obamacare '' will have much less unifying power on the right when the law has 30 million beneficiaries than it does with 1 million ; and liberals will protect it from broader attacks on social insurance programs with relish , just as they use conservative Medicare and Social Security privatization proposals to their political benefit .\nBut the bitterness wo n't just disappear . We 're a long way from Southern governors clamoring for the Medicaid expansion , or building their own exchanges , let alone directing their own constituents to enroll on Healthcare.gov . And that 's a huge bummer for uninsured people in those states who hoped Obamacare would work as well for them as it 's likely to work in the rest of the country .
|
allsides-corpus-135
|
The US has announced a countrywide ban on some e-cigarette flavours amid concerns about vaping among teens .\nThe ban applies to mint and fruit flavours that are offered in cartridge-based e-cigarettes , like the popular pods sold by Juul .\nThe US will continue to allow menthol and tobacco flavours , as well as fruit flavours delivered in other ways .\nThe action has been under consideration for more than a year , with several states passing similar rules .\nSouth Korea , India , Brazil are among the dozens of countries that have announced sweeping vaping bans . Others , like China , have announced restrictions .\nHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the Trump administration wanted to continue to offer adults an alternative to traditional cigarettes , while responding to concerns about growing addiction to a new product among teens .\n`` By prioritizing enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children , our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance , '' he said .\nFifty-five people have died and more than 2,500 people have been hospitalised with injuries linked to vaping , US health regulators say .\nInvestigators have said they believe vitamin E acetate , which is sometimes added to marijuana vaping products , is playing a role .\nCiting the crisis , President Trump said in September the US would ban all e-cigarette flavours except tobacco , but the administration loosened its position after pushback from the industry .\n`` We have to protect our families . At the same time , it 's a big industry . We want to protect the industry , '' Mr Trump said this week .\nJuul , the biggest e-cigarette company in the US , had already pulled its flavoured pods from the market , but Thursday 's action forces competitors to make a similar move , within 30 days .\nAdvocates for stricter rules have said that teens will switch to menthol if other options are eliminated .\nBut officials said they would take steps against menthol and tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes if the Food and Drug Administration sees that their use among teens is rising .\nThe US also recently raised the age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 . E-cigarettes are also governed by those rules .
|
allsides-corpus-136
|
In the nine square miles that cover the 73111 ZIP Code in northeast Oklahoma City , there isn ’ t a single grocery store . The last one closed over the summer .\nThere are , however , four dollar stores in the area , where 32 % of the 11,000 residents live below the poverty level—roughly three times the national average .\n“ That ZIP Code is one of the unhealthiest in our city , ” said Oklahoma City Councilwoman Nikki Nice . “ Changing that starts with access to food . ”\nThis week , the City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on a plan requiring new retailers in the area to designate at least 500 square feet of space to fresh food . The measure is expected to pass .\nForcing dollar stores to change is one tactic local governments around the country are using to address the lack of access to fresh fruit , vegetables and meat in “ food deserts. ” Cities are also trying to bring in fresh produce by creating zoning allowances or public financing to attract grocery stores .\nOne of Oklahoma City ’ s lowest income areas , ZIP Code 73111 , has four dollar stores but no grocery stores . Officials are considering a measure to require all retailers there to designate some space to fresh food .\nMedian household income Grocery stores Dollar stores $ 20,000 $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $ 80,000 City border 44 ZIP code 73111 OKLAHOMA CITY Downtown 40 35 Will Rogers World Airport 2 miles Median household income Grocery stores Dollar stores $ 20,000 $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $ 80,000 City border 44 OKLAHOMA CITY ZIP code 73111 Downtown 40 35 Will Rogers World Airport 2 miles Median household income Grocery stores Dollar stores $ 20,000 $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $ 80,000 City border 44 OKLAHOMA CITY ZIP code 73111 Downtown 40 35 Will Rogers World Airport 2 miles Median household income $ 20,000 $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $ 80,000 Grocery stores Dollar stores City border OKLAHOMA CITY 44 ZIP code 73111 Downtown 40 35 Will Rogers World Airport 2 miles\nDollar stores , which carry everything from greeting cards to household supplies , sell food but it is often packaged or frozen , like chips , canned soups and frozen meats . Politicians and advocacy groups say the stores ’ presence in—and saturation of—low-income neighborhoods eats into the profits of full-service grocery stores , which have higher overhead , and causes some to close . Dollar stores say they offer a good value for shoppers and never intended to be full-service grocers .\nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food deserts as low-income areas where residents don ’ t live near grocers or other food vendors that carry affordable and nutritious food .\nThe USDA estimates that 39 million people , or 12.8 % of Americans , live in food deserts . Residents of these neighborhoods often must travel significant distances to reach stores with fresh food . Compounding the problem , many don ’ t have reliable means of transportation .\nFrom his house in Oklahoma City ’ s 73111 ZIP Code , an area dotted with suburban neighborhoods and home to the city ’ s sprawling zoo and science museum , Gregory McCauley estimates it takes him more than an hour by bus to get to a grocery store .\nHis 2006 Pontiac G6 doesn ’ t run well , so he limits driving distances to a mile or so and relies on the bus for longer trips .\n“ Most of the time I just go by the little convenience store to get what I can , or the dollar store , ” said the 47-year-old , who works as a cashier at Leo ’ s BBQ , a popular restaurant . He has nothing against dollar stores , saying they provide a service to a community with no other option . But he is also certain that having a supermarket nearby would help him make better dietary choices . “ To get real food , I have to go to a grocery store , ” he said .\nFood deserts have proven a stubborn problem for cities . The Obama administration announced its Healthy Food Financing Initiative in 2010 to help deliver healthy food to communities with inadequate access . But as local governments have taken on the issue in recent years , they have redrawn the battle lines to include dollar stores .\nDollar stores are one of the few bricks-and-mortar stores expanding at a time when online sales have prompted other retailers to close or contract , fueled by low- and middle-income shoppers searching out value and convenience .\nDollar Tree Inc. , which bought Family Dollar in 2015 , and Dollar General Corp. dominate this landscape . The retailers went from operating just over 20,000 stores in 2010 to around 30,000 by the end of the decade .\nDollar General isn ’ t and never intended to be a grocery store , but every store offers its customers essentials such as eggs , milk and bread , said spokeswoman Crystal Ghassemi .\n“ We ’ re proud to serve these communities and to provide them an option , ” Ms. Ghassemi said . By January 2020 , 650 Dollar General locations will sell produce , she added , which is about 4.1 % of the company ’ s 16,000 stores .\nThe company said restrictive zoning ordinances and moratoria weren ’ t the solution to the issues , and those measures would only adversely affect their customers .\nDollar Tree and Family Dollar offer a “ broad range of basic essentials to families at low prices they can afford , ” said a spokesman , and don ’ t intend to be grocery stores .\n“ Dollar stores help alleviate the effects of ‘ food deserts ’ in urban communities by helping serve the underserved , ” the spokesman said . He added that the majority of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar locations are within a few miles of a full-service grocer .\nThe first known local initiative to block new discount stores from opening in proximity to others was in 2016 in Wyandotte County , a part of Kansas City , Kan. That ordinance required a special-use permit to build a small-box variety store within 10,000 feet of another . Three years later , Tulsa , Okla. , passed a similar zoning law .\n“ It seemed like every time dirt was turning in my district , it ended up being another dollar store , ” said Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper , who championed the effort for more than a year . “ I have never said we don ’ t want any of these dollar stores . I ’ m just saying they ’ re a problem when they ’ re allowed to proliferate in communities . ”\nTulsa ’ s ordinance restricts the opening of new dollar stores within a mile of another in Ms. Hall-Harper ’ s district . To entice grocery stores into the neighborhood , the city also loosened parking requirements for any new supermarket .\nSHARE YOUR THOUGHTS What are some community efforts that could help fill in the gaps of grocery stores ? Join the conversation below .\nOther cities followed suit . In May , the Oklahoma City council placed a 180-day moratorium on new small-box discount stores in the 73111 Zip Code . This month , the city council in Fort Worth , Texas , passed a measure blocking new dollar stores within two miles of another store . Similar rules were enacted in New Orleans and Mesquite , Texas , just outside of Dallas .\nEarlier this year , Birmingham , Ala. , Mayor Randall Woodfin created a “ healthy food overlay district ” as part of an initiative to address the city ’ s outsize food deserts . An estimated 69 % of the population lives in one .\nThe three-pronged effort includes plans to limit dollar stores , loosen restrictions to invite new grocery stores and allow more farmers markets .\n“ We ’ re looking for a comprehensive and strategic approach , ” said Josh Carpenter , the city ’ s director of innovation and economic opportunity . “ There are the short-term repercussions for not being able to cook a healthy meal but also the long-term health consequences for a community that has been deprived of access to healthy food over time . ”\nDollar General has 16,000 stores . An earlier version of this story incorrectly said it had over 14,000 . ( Dec. 15 , 2019 )
|
allsides-corpus-137
|
“ I think we ’ re overreacting , ” says Chris Mejia-Argueta at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . “ I am very certain we ’ re not going to run out of food . ”\nIn the food industry , a rapid adjustment to this unprecedented shift in demand is underway . And while some items are in short supply , the prospect of an overall shortage of food is far-fetched , say industry experts . Sure , shoppers may have to substitute brands and food items . But there is still plenty of food to go around , and logistical bottlenecks are easing .\nAs restaurants shut their doors to help slow the spread of COVID-19 , Americans have been shopping more for groceries and eating at home . Everyone has seen the empty supermarket shelves , particularly during the first week of state-ordered lockdowns . Those scenes , coupled with recent reports of dumped crops and milk , have jolted shoppers who fret about food supplies going forward .\nMountains of rotting squash in Florida . Midwest dairy farmers pouring milk down the drain . A South Dakota pork processing plant ordered to shut down after 400 employees tested positive for coronavirus .\nThen there are the empty supermarket shelves where the flour and yeast – and toilet paper – used to be . It ’ s enough to make a shopper worry if there ’ s enough food to go around .\n“ I think the entire American public is getting a lesson in the supply chain , ” says Mike Troy , editorial director of Progressive Grocer . “ I bet they wish they weren ’ t . ”\nThey might especially wish they weren ’ t if they knew , say food supply experts , that the lessons they ’ re getting are likely wrong .\n“ I think we ’ re overreacting , ” says Chris Mejia-Argueta , director of the Food and Retail Operations Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , referring to reports of disruptions to the food industry . “ I am very certain we ’ re not going to run out of food . ”\nStill , he understands why people may feel anxious if they don ’ t grasp exactly how the food supply chain is adapting to meet the crisis and simply see headlines about rotting vegetables and shuttered slaughterhouses . “ It ’ s human nature to worry about things that are a mystery to us , ” he says . The “ black box ” aspect of the food system “ creates uncertainty . And uncertainty leads to hoarding and fear . ”\nThose feelings were on display last week in a Massachusetts supermarket where a woman wearing a face mask rooted at the back of near-empty shelves of dried beans . She rolled her cart down the aisle , then scooped up a couple dozen cans of black beans , pintos , kidneys .\nMelanie Stetson Freeman/Staff Food supply chain expert Chris Mejia Argueta , director of the Food and Retail Operations Lab at MIT , poses by his home , on April 7 , 2020 , in Cambridge , Massachusetts . He says better understanding of the supply chain can help prevent hoarding .\n“ Emergency beans , ” she told an onlooker . “ Can ’ t have enough . ... Or maybe this is too much ? ” She moved as though to put some back , but then thought better of it , and shrugged . “ Nah . Could be last chance . ”\nTo reduce such uncertainty , says Mr. Mejia-Argueta , “ we have to remember that the episodes we ’ re hearing about are local , and expected . ”\nThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration insists there are no nationwide shortages of food , though inventories may run low in grocery stores before restocking . “ Food production and manufacturing are widely dispersed throughout the U.S. and there are currently no widespread disruptions reported in the supply chain , ” it reported last month .\nNone of which means that grocery shopping will feel normal any time soon . Hoarding should fade as at-home stockpiles have been built . But shoppers may still need to substitute , says Mr. Mejia-Argueta . When a favorite Italian pasta is absent , a store brand will have to do . Instead of Cheerios , we ’ ll eat oatmeal . Substitution helps the supply chain by spreading demand more evenly across a store ’ s stock .\nGrocery retailers and the supply chain as a whole are busy adapting , too . They are figuring out how shoppers respond to variable supplies of items and how much they need to stock and to put on display . And , by knowing in advance what ’ s available from their suppliers , they can use promotions to nudge shoppers to choose some products over others , “ without us even knowing it , ” says Mr. Mejia-Argueta .\nBefore the pandemic , 54 % of U.S. food dollars were spent on meals away from home . Now suppliers are scrambling to redirect food from restaurants and food service to retailers for at-home eating , a sudden and unprecedented shift in consumption .\nTake bacon , for example . Doug Baker , an executive at FMI , the food industry association , points out that “ the 20 pounds of bacon intended for food service may be repackaged under a store brand in 1 pound consumer packages. ” But that doesn ’ t happen overnight .\nLikewise , logistics resources are being diverted into food transport . “ One of the hardest parts now is how to move cargo from its source to where people need it , ” says Mr. Mejia-Argueta . “ More truckers are needed , so truckers are being diverted into the food supply system from other sectors that are momentarily quiet. ” Trucks that used to carry auto parts might now be hauling flour .\nAs a supply-chain scientist , Mr. Mejia-Argueta has looked at what could happen to severely disrupt food production and distribution . The main risks would come from panic purchasing and hoarding , workforce shortages due to illness , and a disaster-case economic crisis .\nEvidence of every one of those worst-case scenarios is already present , but not to any extent deemed threatening .\nGet the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox . By signing up , you agree to our Privacy Policy\n“ I would tell people , to be honest , that you don ’ t need to worry . The supply chain will be resilient and robust enough to manage this without any issue . We will find a way , ” he says .
|
allsides-corpus-138
|
Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue maintains a , well , sunny view of the current farm economy . “ I don ’ t think there could have been a better time to be in agriculture than today , I really mean that , ” he recently mused on his podcast , The Sonnyside of the Street . In the latest episode , “ Do Right and Feed Everyone , ” Perdue chatted with veteran farm broadcaster Max Armstrong . “ I ’ m bullish on agriculture—with the diversity , with the opportunity of e-commerce and direct sales , ” Perdue gushed . “ People are still fascinated with the way food is produced ! ”\nArmstrong mostly played along with Perdue ’ s schtick , but at the end of the interview , he pushed back : “ What do you say to that younger operator who entered this industry maybe five , six , seven years ago , and doggone it , things have gotten a lot tougher ? ” Armstrong asked , adding : “ This is long , dark tunnel for them . ”\nThe question wasn ’ t frivolous . Away from Perdue ’ s recording studio , the farm economy is circling the drain . The trade war initiated by Perdue ’ s boss , President Donald Trump , shows no sign of abating . Prices for corn and soybeans—by far the two biggest US crops—hover near or below farmers ’ production costs . Cotton farmers and winemakers are also being slammed by the trade war , and dairy farmers are in the grip of a long and brutal slump . Then there ’ s climate chaos : Record rains in the spring delayed planting through much of the Midwest , and early blizzards slammed the fall harvest . ( Here ’ s a report from the ground I did for Bite podcast . )\nThe Trump administration has responded to its trade mess by essentially parachuting cash into farm country , handing out $ 12 billion to farmers hurt by the trade war in 2018 and another $ 16 billion this year . In 2019 , trade aid and other government programs will account for nearly 40 percent of farmer profits , according to the American Farm Bureau Federation . As trade talks flounder , “ a third round of payments for farmers increasingly is seen as inevitable , particularly if a trade deal with China is not reached soon , ” the Washington Post reported Tuesday , citing anonymous sources within the agriculture department .\nDespite the influx of government cash , conditions are so bad that the farm economy is tanking anyway . Farm bankruptcies spiked 24 percent in September , compared to the same month a year before . With debt loads rising and commodity prices stuck in the mud , conventional agriculture banks are “ placing stricter terms on farm loans and doling out less money , ” the Wall Street Journal reported Monday . As a result , farmers are increasingly turning to “ more lightly regulated entities ” for financing to buy the season ’ s seeds and chemicals . These new-wave banks offer loans with “ interest rates double those of traditional farm banks , ” the Journal added—putting farmers at risk of catastrophic losses if the season goes badly .\nWhile data on farmer suicides are scant , there ’ s evidence of an uptick amid all the debt and bankruptcies . In a wrenching article published this week , the Washington Post ’ s Annie Gowen reported that “ leaders and social workers in rural America say that , anecdotally , they ’ re seeing more ” suicides , and calls to crisis hotlines are rising . Gowen goes on to tell the story of South Dakota ’ s Chris Dykshorn , who , as financial troubles mounted on the corn , soybean , and cattle farm he took over from his father , killed himself this summer at the age of 35 .\n“ What we see happening is what farmers have done over the years—many of them have to have off-farm jobs in order to survive during this period of time , ” Perdue advised . In other words : get a job . In early October , Perdue delivered a similar lecture to struggling dairy farmers at an industry expo : “ In America , the big get bigger and the small go out…I don ’ t think in America we , for any small business , we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability . ”\nCommodity farmers supported Trump overwhelmingly in 2016 , and they ’ ve stuck with him , according to a recent poll . It remains to be seen whether the ongoing crisis , and Perdue ’ s public posturing , will change that .
|
allsides-corpus-139
|
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent the views of ███.com .\nLiberals can ’ t be happy with simply ruining the lives of decent conservatives for cheap political gain . They have to ruin hamburgers , too .\nThe burger is the ultimate Normal food , and horrible liberal elitists are trying to screw it up with lame alternative burgers because they are terrible .\nLet me be clear , to quote an awful ex-president : Nothing I write here is open to debate . I ’ m turning the epistemic closure thing back on the libs . It is impossible to disagree with my ground beef rantings , and if you do , you are racist , sexist , and a burgerphobic cisdinner hate criminal of hatred .\nLet ’ s clarify something else . Hamburgers are the King of American Casual Food . You can eat it in a bar , you can eat it in a car . Just don ’ t eat it in some trendy coastal eatery because they ’ ll screw it all up and you ’ ll end up dreaming of a Big Mac .\nSloppy Joes are gross . They are burgers ’ ne ’ er-do-well little brother , 35 and living in the basement nursing emotional damage because mom liked burgers better . And who wouldn ’ t ? Sloppy Joes are orangey muck plopped onto a bun . They provide none of the firm but juicy consistency , or the satisfying interplay of extras and condiments , that make the burger nature ’ s perfect food . They are mere goo and are unworthy of a proud and free people .\nNaturally , artisanal Sloppy Joes are probably about to become a thing .\nHot dogs are likewise terrible – what the hell is a hot dog anyway ? With their troubling shape , unnatural smoothness , and nauseating consistency , the hot dog is a mutant entrée , a devolved sausage without flavor or purpose . You have to waste perfectly good chili – chili that should be in a bowl topped with sour cream in a just universe – just to make a hot dog taste like something .\nEven the name is unappetizing , unless you are Obama . My kid says hot dogs are really tacos because of the bread V , and he makes a good point . Except tacos are tasty and hot dogs are awful .\nEat a burger , like a man , damnit . And don ’ t be a Fredocon and whine about how the bun has gluten .\nMillennial elitist dorks are all about screwing up burgers . “ Gourmet ” burgers , they call them . But they are a sad simulacrum of true burgers , and a crime against nature . The menus of those precious gastropubs that spring up in the gentrified blue coastal urban centers are loaded with “ specialty burgers ” with cutesy names and inane combinations of ingredients . It ’ s sad . Unable to create anything of value , these goateed hipster monsters can only pervert and deform that which is pure and beautiful . A burger is simple goodness . And , as they do with everything else , liberals screw them up .\nA burger requires , at the threshold , good meat . There lies the first problem . This meat must come from a cow . But many of these dorks will try to create a sort of patty from something else , like ( shiver ) vegan pea protein . Note that peas are terrible , and only by putting them on a burger in place of a beef patty can these offensive soft green nuts be made worse .\nThis is an abomination and if you ever encounter one , call an exorcist stat .\nBut the elite can even screw up meat . Somewhere along the line , maybe when the waygu craze started , they decided that soft , tasteless beef with the consistency of wet newspaper was the bomb . You get an $ 18 burger ( I live in LA – air costs $ 1 a breath ) with this fancy meat , and it ’ s like mush . Why is it so hard to make “ good meat ” actually good ?\nBut it ’ s artisanal , which means overpriced and bad . “ Oh , the cow was grass fed and massaged and hugged and it ’ s favorite band was Styx , ” they ’ ll say , like I want to be friends with the damn Dinner Horse . I want to eat it , and I want it to taste like beef . But fancy elitist liberal beef doesn ’ t taste like beef . It tastes like ruined dreams and the Deep Thoughts of Kamala Harris .\nBeef . Normal beef . You can fry it on the grill or cook it over a flame – see , I totally embrace diversity – but it can ’ t be some weird mushpatty . Not if you want a burger instead of some pathetic charade on a bun .\nThe bun . I ’ m open minded . You can do the traditional sesame seed style , or a potato roll . If you want to get kinky , throw it on rye for a patty melt . I will even accept a ciabatta in some cases . But a pretzel bun ? What the hell is that ?\nStop doing horrible things just to try to freak out the squares .\nCheese . Some of you eat burgers without cheese for reasons I can not fathom . This is wrong and you are wrong . But worse than putting no cheese on your burger is putting the wrong cheese on your burger , thereby making it a wrong burger .\nAmerican cheese is the quintessential burger cheese , and the name probably explains why liberals hate it . Cheddar is acceptable . Bleu cheese ? That ’ s borderline – sure , I ’ ve tried it , but who hasn ’ t gone through an experimental phase ?\nSwiss ? Gross . Provolone ? What ’ s wrong with you ? Gruyere ? Now you ’ re just screwing with us .\nThings to put on burgers break down into condiments and other stuff . Optional condiments include mustard and mayonnaise . Not Miracle Whip . I am not even sure what that is . Also , no Sriracha , no guacamole , no BBQ sauce . Mandatory condiments are ketchup and more ketchup . One of a hamburger ’ s key roles is to serve as a ketchup delivery system . There ’ s this one trendy place in LA that will remain nameless and patronless that serves this weird tomato fruit roll-up it calls a “ ketchup leather. ” They got the leather part right . The burger , which hipster doofuses rave about , tastes like an old shoe .\nSpecial sauce aka thousand island dressing aka ketchup + mayonnaise is an acceptable alternative to ketchup . Note that “ ketchup ” does not include “ catsup ” or grody Whole Foods/Trader Joe ’ s “ organic ” ketchup . The only good ketchup is mass-produced stuff you buy in a regular supermarket where they don ’ t sell kale .\nOther stuff . Bacon ? Not my scene but I won ’ t judge . Lettuce ? Eh ? Take it or leave it . Tomatoes ? Yes . Pickles ? Yes . Onions ? Yes , grilled , fresh , or – if you are awesome – both . But nothing weird . No “ tomato jam ” or “ onion chow-chow . ”\nIt ’ s not hard . Don ’ t be weird for the sake of being weird and you ’ ll have a decent burger . Start messing with something that works and you get Obamacare .\nLook . They ’ ve taken Hollywood . They ’ ve taken the media . They ’ ve taken the college campuses . And they ’ ve messed them all up . We can ’ t give up burgers , too .\nMy upcoming book Militant Normals : How Regular Americans Are Rebelling Against the Elite to Reclaim Our Democracy contains no burger recipes , because normal people don ’ t need burger recipes . Normals take meat , throw it on a grill , put it on a bun , put some stuff on it , and eat it like the heroes they are .\nAnd liberals ? They screw up everything they touch . The arts . Academia . Dinner .\nSo , confirm your normality by rejecting burger mutations . And confirm Kavanaugh , too .
|
allsides-corpus-140
|
Donald Trump is famed for his head-snapping reversals . One day he ’ s taking troops out of the Middle East ; the next he ’ s sending more in . One day he ’ s on the verge of an agreement with China on trade ; the next he ’ s tweeting about holding off until after the election .\nOn one thing , however , Trump and his administration have been clear , consistent , coordinated and relentless : waging a war on the poor . Not a war on poverty but a war on the most vulnerable themselves .\nColumnists In-depth political coverage , sports analysis , entertainment reviews and cultural commentary .\nDespite low unemployment , millions of Americans — the Brookings Institution estimates an astounding 44 % of all workers in the prime working ages of 18-64 — struggle to get by on median wages of little over $ 10 an hour or $ 18,000 a year . The working poor face soaring costs of housing , health care , transportation , utilities and , of course , debt — all rising faster than their wages .\nThe official “ poverty rate ” is far lower than any accounting of the true needs of a family . The National Center for Children in Poverty estimates that the average family needs about twice as much income as the poverty level to meet basic needs .\nCruelly , the Trump response to this is to make it worse . The administration and Republicans in Congress oppose raising the minimum wage and won ’ t even allow a vote on it in the Senate . Now the administration proposes lowering the poverty line over time by pegging the inflation adjustments lower than the actual increase in costs . All programs that help low-wage workers would be affected . The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities projects that 250,000 seniors would get less help in purchasing prescription drugs , 300,000 children would lose health care under the Children ’ s Health Insurance Program ( CHIP ) . This rule combined with others that the administration has imposed will cost literally millions of low-wage workers to face cutbacks in food assistance .\nStudent loan debt is now $ 1.5 trillion , primarily loans taken out by the children of middle- or low-income families trying to better themselves through education . Bernie Sanders , running for president , has pledged to eliminate all student debt , paying for it with taxes on the wealthy , and to make all public colleges tuition free . Elizabeth Warren has joined in a plan to eliminate the debt for most students and make colleges tuition free .\nTrump is reportedly worried that these plans are very popular . His administration is scrambling to respond . One proposal , as the Washington Post reported , is to cap the loans a student could get in relation to their projected income . That ’ s right , the Trump plan may call for reducing student debt by cutting the availability of loans to students — effectively closing the doors to college to the children of middle- and low-income families .\nAdd to this Trump ’ s most recent plan to take $ 2 billion out of the Pell Grant program — which supports college grants to children from families with less than $ 50,000 in income — to pay for sending NASA back to the moon . The maximum Pell Grant once covered nearly 80 % of the cost of tuition , fees , room and board at public four-year college ; now it covers less than 30 % .\nThis is a program that needs more funding , not less .\nTrump , of course , brags on his economy and the low unemployment . He argues — without evidence — that his tax cut is trickling down to workers . What he doesn ’ t realize is that this economy continues to generate jobs that won ’ t support a family . That ’ s why so-called poverty programs — from CHIP to food stamps to public housing to low income heating assistance to Medicaid — are so necessary . They give vital support to low-wage workers who do some of the hardest , most taxing jobs in our country .\nCuts in student aid , cuts in Pell grants , cuts in food stamps , cuts in the poverty level — Trump is putting low wage workers and their families in a box with no way out except down . Our country is paying a very high price for this meanness .
|
allsides-corpus-141
|
Approximately 6.1 million individuals dropped off the food stamp rolls since President Donald Trump ’ s first full month in office in February 2017 , according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) .\nThe USDA data showed that 6,074,074 individuals discontinued their participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ) between February 2017— when the president completed his first full month in office— and November 2019 .\nHousehold participation in SNAP declined as well , with 2,489,315 households discontinuing SNAP .\nThere are currently 36,223,717 individuals and 18,448,588 households that are participating in SNAP .\nWhen Trump took office , 42,297,791 individuals and 20,937,903 households were enrolled in SNAP .\nTrump recently made it a point in his annual State of the Union address to stress that he helped the poor move off welfare to find jobs with his recent enactment of work requirements .\nUnder these work requirements , which had been enacted at the state level during the Obama years , those between the ages of 18-49 and without children or dependents who receive food stamps for more than three months in a 36-month period must work , go to school , receive job training , or volunteer to receive benefits .\nAnother way the USDA has been trying to keep enrollment in the food stamp program down is through the use of data-mining practices to identify food stamp fraud .\nAccording to a report from the Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) , computer algorithms went through SNAP purchase data in seven states and matched it up with retailer and eligibility data to see if there was fraud .\nIn Mississippi , the state reported $ 2 million in SNAP overpayments since the state started incorporating data-mining into its fraud detection efforts .\nBut the study was limited , as all seven states said high costs , data limitations , and organizational support affected their ability to use more advanced artificial intelligence-gathering techniques to ferret out fraud .\nOther states , however , have done similar things with analytics for different welfare programs at the state level . Utah became one of the first states to modernize its unemployment insurance analytics system in 2006 after spending $ 14 million to overhaul it . In 2015 , the state had one of the lowest fraud rates in the country at 1.3 percent .
|
allsides-corpus-142
|
U.S. officials turned away a 17-year-old Palestinian incoming Harvard freshman last week after he was questioned about his friends ’ social media posts , according to the Harvard Crimson .\nThe 17-year-old , a resident of Tyre , Lebanon , was deported about eight hours after arriving at Logan International Airport in Boston and said in a written statement obtained by the Crimson that immigration officials questioned him for hours and searched his phone and computer .\nThe teen , whom ███ is not naming because he is a minor , said he was questioned on his religious practices and instructed to unlock his devices , according to the Crimson .\nAfter about five hours , he said , an immigration official “ called me into a room , and she started screaming at me . She said that she found people posting political points of view that oppose the US on my friend [ s ] list , ” according to the Crimson .\n“ I responded that I have no business with such posts and that I did n't like , [ s ] hare or comment on them and told her that I should n't be held responsible for what others post ... I have no single post on my timeline discussing politics , ” he added .\nThe student ’ s visa was then canceled and he was told he would be deported , according to the newspaper .\nIn an email to the Crimson , U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Michael McCarthy said `` Applicants must demonstrate they are admissible into the U.S. by overcoming ALL grounds of inadmissibility including health-related grounds , criminality , security reasons , public charge , labor certification , illegal entrants and immigration violations , documentation requirements , and miscellaneous grounds . ''\n`` This individual was deemed inadmissible to the United States based on information discovered during the CBP inspection , '' McCarthy added , according to the Crimson .\n███ has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment .\nHarvard said the university is negotiating with immigration officials to resolve the matter before the Sept. 3 start of the fall semester .\nTwo Harvard graduate students were similarly blocked in 2017 under the Trump administration ’ s initial travel ban , although they were eventually allowed into the U.S .\n“ The University is working closely with the student ’ s family and appropriate authorities to resolve this matter so that he can join his classmates in the coming days , ” university spokesperson Jonathan Swain told the Crimson .\nThe student says he is also in touch with AMIDEAST , the nonprofit that awarded him a scholarship to Harvard and that has agreed to provide legal assistance , according to the Crimson .\n“ Visa records are confidential under U.S. law ; therefore , we can not discuss the details of individual visa cases . Generally , visa applicants are continuously screened , both at the time of their application and afterwards , to ensure they remain eligible to travel to the United States , ” a State Department official told ███ .
|
allsides-corpus-143
|
Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi also criticized the Security Council for not agreeing to Kuwait ’ s request for an independent investigation of the Gaza deaths , adding that his country might instead seek an investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Office . Diplomats said that Kuwait had circulated a statement calling for an independent inquiry , which would require unanimous approval , but the United States had disagreed .\nDefending Israel , Ambassador Nikki R. Haley of the United States denounced what she called the double standard that other nations applied to Israel . “ Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border ? ” she asked . No country , she said , acted “ with more restraint than Israel . ”\nShe said that Hamas had been to blame for inciting protesters to storm the fence , and insisted that there had been no connection between the violence and celebrations on Monday for the opening of the American embassy . President Trump ’ s recognition of the Israeli position that Jerusalem is Israel ’ s capital , she said , “ makes peace more achievable , not less . ”\nAddressing the council , Nickolay Mladenov , the U.N. special coordinator for Middle East peace , found fault with both sides .\n“ Israel has a responsibility to calibrate its use of force , to not use lethal force , except as a last resort , under imminent threat of death or serious injury , ” he said . He added that Hamas “ must not use the protests as cover to attempt to place bombs at the fence and create provocations ; its operatives must not hide among the demonstrators and risk the lives of civilians . ”\nThousands of Palestinian refugees rallied in southern Lebanon on Tuesday in commemoration of the “ Nakba ” and in solidarity with the Gaza demonstrations .\nMany were bused in from the longstanding refugee camps of Lebanon .\nPalestinians have a complicated history with Lebanon . The influx of refugees in 1948 exacerbated Lebanon ’ s delicate sectarian balance and their presence is often cited as a major contributing factor to Lebanon ’ s 15-year civil war .\nNow , more than 450,000 of five million registered Palestinian refugees worldwide live in Lebanon . Legally , their rights are limited : Palestinians can not own property or attend public schools , and are banned from working in more than 30 professions .
|
allsides-corpus-144
|
With classes scheduled to start next week , incoming Harvard freshman Ismail B. Ajjawi , like many of his fellow students , was set to arrive on campus for the first time this week . But the 17-year-old Palestinian ’ s hard-won education at perhaps the world ’ s preeminent university is now in doubt . American immigration officials stopped Ajjawi , a Palestinian resident of Tyre , Lebanon , at Boston Logan International Airport on Friday night , the Crimson reports , where he was held in custody for eight hours and subjected to invasive questioning by a female immigration officer , who then abruptly told him his study visa was being canceled and that he was being deported .\n“ Upon arrival , Ajjawi faced questioning from immigration officials along with several other international students . While the other students were allowed to leave , Ajjawi alleges an immigration officer continued to question him about his religion and religious practices in Lebanon , ” according to the Crimson . “ The same officer then asked him to unlock his phone and laptop , and left to search them for roughly five hours , Ajjawi alleges . After the search , the officer questioned him about his friends ’ social media activity . ”\n“ When I asked every time to have my phone back so I could tell [ someone ] about the situation , the officer refused and told me to sit back in [ my ] position and not move at all , ” Ajjawi wrote in a statement . “ After the 5 hours ended , she called me into a room , and she started screaming at me . She said that she found people posting political points of view that oppose the US on my friend [ s ] list. ” University officials told the Crimson they still are trying to resolve the situation in time for Ajjawi—whose enrollment at Harvard was made possible by a scholarship from a nonprofit organization—to be in class when the semester starts Sept. 3 .\n“ I have no single post on my timeline discussing politics , ” Ajjawi wrote . “ I responded that I have no business with such posts and that I didn ’ t like , [ s ] hare or comment on them and told her that I shouldn ’ t be held responsible for what others post . ”
|
allsides-corpus-145
|
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington , Monday , Nov. 18 , 2019 . Pompeo spoke about Iran , Iraq , Israeli settlements in the West Bank , protests in Hong Kong , and Bolivia , among other topics . ( AP Photo/Andrew Harnik )\nSecretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington , Monday , Nov. 18 , 2019 . Pompeo spoke about Iran , Iraq , Israeli settlements in the West Bank , protests in Hong Kong , and Bolivia , among other topics . ( AP Photo/Andrew Harnik )\nWASHINGTON ( AP ) — The Trump administration on Monday said it no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be a violation of international law , reversing four decades of American policy and further undermining the Palestinians ’ effort to gain statehood .\nSecretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. is repudiating the 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the occupied territories are “ inconsistent with international law. ” Israeli leaders welcomed the decision while Palestinians and other nations warned that it undercut any chance of a broader peace deal .\nPompeo told reporters at the State Department that the Trump administration believes any legal questions about settlements should be resolved by Israeli courts and that declaring them a violation of international law distracts from larger efforts to negotiate a peace deal .\n“ Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace , ” Pompeo said . “ The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict , and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace . ”\nThe change reflects the administration ’ s embrace of a hard-line Israeli view at the expense of the Palestinian quest for statehood . Similar actions have included President Donald Trump ’ s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel ’ s capital , the movement of the U.S. Embassy to that city and the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington .\n“ The U.S. administration has lost its credibility to play any future role in the peace process , ” said Nabil Abu Rdeneh , a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas .\nThe European Union warned of the potential repercussions in a statement following the announcement that did not mention the U.S .\n“ All settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace , ” said the statement from the 28-nation bloc . “ The EU calls on Israel to end all settlement activity , in line with its obligations as an occupying power . ”\nEven though the decision is largely symbolic , it could give a boost to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who is fighting for his political survival after failing to form a coalition government following recent elections .\nIt could also spell further trouble for the administration ’ s peace plan , which is unlikely to gather much international support by endorsing a position contrary to the global consensus .\nThe Netanyahu government was dealt a blow on settlements just last week when the European Court of Justice ruled products made in Israeli settlements must be labeled as such .\nThe 1978 legal opinion on settlements is known as the Hansell Memorandum . It had been the basis for more than 40 years of carefully worded U.S. opposition to settlement construction that had varied in its tone and strength , depending on the president ’ s position .\nThe international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal based in part on the Fourth Geneva Convention , which bars an occupying power from transferring parts of its own civilian population to occupied territory .\nIn the final days of the Obama administration , the U.S. allowed the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution declaring the settlements a “ flagrant violation ” of international law .\nPompeo said that the U.S. would not take a position on the legality of specific settlements , that the new policy would not extend beyond the West Bank and that it would not create a precedent for other territorial disputes .\nHe also said the decision did not mean the administration was prejudging the status of the West Bank in any eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement .\nFor Netanyahu , the welcome boost comes at a time when he has been weakened domestically by mounting legal woes and two inconclusive elections this year .\nUnable to secure a parliamentary majority , Netanyahu is now anxiously waiting to see if his chief rival , Benny Gantz , can put together a coalition . If Gantz fails , the country could be forced into a third election , with Netanyahu facing the distraction of a trial .\nNetanyahu ’ s office released a statement saying the policy shift “ rights a historical wrong ” concerning settlements .\n“ This policy reflects an historical truth - that the Jewish people are not foreign colonialists in Judea and Samaria , ” it said , using the Israeli terms for the West Bank .\nGantz , meanwhile , applauded Pompeo ’ s “ important statement , once again demonstrating its firm stance with Israel and its commitment to the security and future of the entire Middle East . ”\nPompeo dismissed suggestions that the decision would further isolate the U.S. or Israel in the international community , though Jordan ’ s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi wrote on Twitter that the settlements hurt peace prospects . “ We warn of the seriousness of the change in the U.S. position towards the settlements and its repercussions on all efforts to achieve peace , ” he said .\nShortly after Pompeo ’ s announcement , the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued an advisory warning for Americans planning to travel in the West Bank , Jerusalem and Gaza , saying , “ Individuals and groups opposed to ( Pompeo ’ s ) announcement may target U.S. government facilities , U.S. private interests , and U.S. citizens. ” It called on them “ to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness in light of the current environment . ”\nIsrael captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and quickly began settling the newly conquered territory .\nToday , some 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the two areas , which are both claimed by the Palestinians for their state .\nAfter the war , it immediately annexed east Jerusalem , home to the holy city ’ s most important religious sites , in a move that is not internationally recognized .\nBut Israel has never annexed the West Bank , even as it has dotted the territory with scores of settlements and tiny settlement outposts .\nWhile claiming the fate of the settlements is a subject for negotiations , it has steadily expanded them . Some major settlements have over 30,000 residents , resembling small cities and serving as suburbs of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv .\nThe Palestinians and most of the world say the settlements undermine hopes for a two-state solution by gobbling up land sought by the Palestinians .\nIsrael ’ s settlement activities have also drawn attention to its treatment of Palestinians .\nWhile Jewish settlers can freely enter Israel and vote in Israeli elections , West Bank Palestinians are subject to Israeli military law , require permits to enter Israel and do not have the right to vote in Israeli elections .
|
allsides-corpus-146
|
The Palestinians on Saturday edged closer to a diplomatic standoff with the Trump administration , saying the U.S. is using “ extortion ” tactics by threatening to close their diplomatic mission in Washington .\nThe response follows the State Department saying Friday that the Palestine Liberation Organization 's office in Washington will close because the Palestinians have run afoul of a U.S. law by calling for Israelis to be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court .\nPalestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki told Palestine Radio that his people wo n't cave to `` extortion '' and that they await further communication from the administration .\n“ The ball is now in the American court , '' he said .\nIn addition , Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said this weekend that the administration 's decision is `` very unfortunate and unacceptable . ''\nErekat also accused the administration of bowing to pressure from the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while the Palestinians are `` trying to cooperate to achieve the ultimate deal . ''\nErekat said the Palestinians conveyed in a letter to the administration their intention to cut off talks if the office is closed .\nNetanyahu 's office says the closure is a `` matter of U.S . law . ''\nTrump has made brokering a long-sought Middle East peace deal a top priority , with senior White House adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner taking the lead .\nThe president has also sought to strengthen relations with Netanyahu , with whom former President Barack Obama had a weak relationship .\nStill , Trump has also apparently tried to improve ties with Mahmoud Abbas , the leader of the PLO and the Palestinian National Authority .\nThe president talked to Abbas in September at a United Nations meeting in New York .\nThe State Department could not be reached Saturday for comment .\nSecretary of State Rex Tillerson has reportedly determined that the Palestinians ran afoul of an obscure provision in a U.S. law that states the PLO ’ s mission must close if the Palestinians try to get the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for crimes against Palestinians .\nA State Department official said that Abbas crossed that line in September by calling on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israelis .\nHowever , the official also said the administration is not severing relations with the PLO or the Palestinian Authority and that the closing of the mission should not be interpreted as the administration backing away from trying to reach a peace agreement .
|
allsides-corpus-147
|
Rep. Rashida Tlaib ( D. , Mich. ) recently met with a controversial pro-Palestinian organization that has encouraged violence against Israel , justified the use of terrorism against the Jewish state , and has called for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers , according to online postings on social media .\nTlaib , who has been under fire for her hatred of Israel and support for the anti-Semitic Boycott , Divestment , and Sanctions movement was pictured meeting with members of the Palestine Youth Movement during the Arab Texas Festival held recently in Dallas . The PYM organization is known for its vitriolic rhetoric against Israelis and Jews and has been caught in the past glorifying the leaders of anti-Semitic terrorist organizations .\nTlaib 's interaction with the group is unlikely to come as a surprise to the pro-Israel community , but is further evidence of her willingness as a member of Congress to associate with some of the most radical and fringe anti-Israel groups .\nCongresswoman Rashida Tlaib with members of the Palestine Youth Movement at the Arab Texas Festival of Dallas . [ Photo by @ PYM_USA ] pic.twitter.com/tdsy35kXSa — The IMEU ( @ theIMEU ) September 2 , 2019\nPYM has a history of anti-Israel activity that has spilled into outright hostility toward the Jewish state . This includes a 2018 event held in San Francisco in which attendees called for Israeli soldiers to be kidnapped , according to a video of that event captured by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America , or CAMERA .\nIn Facebook postings PYM has memorialized so-called Palestinian martyrs , or those killed or imprisoned while carrying out terrorist attacks on Israel . At least three of those honored by the organization were known operatives of the Hamas terror group .\nThe PYM organization also has held campus events , including one at the University of California , Los Angeles , in which attendees chanted `` long live the intifada , '' a phrase routinely employed by those advocating armed resistance against the state of Israel .\nIn July 2019 , a PYM event to be held in Toronto , Canada , was canceled after it was disclosed that the group had advocated for terrorism by hosting an event with a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , or PFLP , a group that had committed terror attacks on Israel .\nIn response to the cancelation of the event , PYM blamed `` Zionist organizations '' for mounting a campaign against it .\nTlaib 's recent interaction with the group is just the latest in a string of meetings the lawmaker has held with leading anti-Israel groups and supporters of the BDS movement .\nTlaib and her freshman colleague Rep. Ilhan Omar ( D. , Minn. ) have further come under fire for attempting to organize a trip to Israel sponsored by an organization called Miftah , which has praised supporters of terrorism and promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories .
|
allsides-corpus-148
|
In an essay on political lying in the early 18th century , the writer Jonathan Swift noted that `` Falsehood flies and the truth comes limping after it . '' You have to hire a train to pull the truth , explained English pastor Charles Spurgeon in the 19th century , while a lie is `` light as a feather ... a breath will carry it . ''\nClearly , humans have always been susceptible to mistruths . And social networks simply provide another way to propel falsehoods .\nMIT researchers recently studied more than 10 years ' worth of data on the most shared stories on Facebook . Their study covered conspiracy theories about the Boston bombings , misleading reports on natural disasters , unfounded business rumors and incorrect scientific claims . There is an inundation of false medical advice online , for example , that encourages people to avoid life-saving treatments such as vaccines and promotes unproven therapies . ( Gwyneth Paltrow 's Goop is just one example . )\nThe researchers concluded that `` falsehood diffused significantly farther , faster , deeper , and more broadly than the truth in all categories of information . ''\nAnd it 's not necessarily the young that are more gullible either . A separate study found that those over age 65 shared nearly seven times as many fake news articles as 18- to 29-year-olds . Older is not always wiser .\nThe psychological research does , however , offer us a silver lining to this storm cloud , with various experiments demonstrating that people can learn to be better lie detectors with a little training in critical thinking .\nThese efforts are often called `` inoculations , '' since they use a real-life example in one domain to teach people about the strategies used to spread lies and therefore equipping people to spot them more easily . Educating people about the tobacco industry 's attempts to question the medical consensus on smoking , for example , led people to be more skeptical of articles denying climate change , according to one study .\nAnother project aimed to inoculate students at North Carolina State University in Raleigh , involved a course on misinformation throughout history . The class was taught about everything from the myth that aliens somehow built the Egyptian pyramids to the theories that NASA 's moon landings were faked . Along the way , the students had to identify the erroneous logic that helped create the arguments , and the motivations that may lead some people to spread those ideas .\nFollowing the course , the students were less likely to believe in a range of false beliefs that were not even covered in the course , such as the idea that 9/11 was an inside job . The inoculation appeared to be equipping them with a general skepticism that seems to escape traditional education .\nIf you would like to improve your own lie detection , a good first step is to learn the common logical fallacies -- red herrings , appeals to ignorance , straw men and `` ad populum '' appeals to the bandwagon -- that purveyors of misinformation may use to create the illusion of truth .\nThe Book of Bad Arguments is a free online resource that provides a good introduction to those terms , according to Alicia McGill , who taught the `` inoculation '' course on misinformation throughout history at North Carolina State University .\nQuestions to ask yourself when confronted with possible fake news\nWhen examining a new claim , you would do well to ask yourself the following questions :\n• Who is making the claim ? What are their credentials ? And what might be their motives to make me think this ?\n• What are the premises of the claim ? And how might they be flawed ?\n• What are my own initial assumptions ? And how might they be flawed ?\n• What is the evidence of their claim and how well do they fit with the opposing explanations ?\n• What further information do you need before you can make a judgment ?\nYou could also try basic strategies such as cross-checking different outlets and finding the original source of a claim . You might also look at independent fact-checking websites used in the MIT study such as Snopes PolitiFact and TruthOrFiction.com\nAnd pay particular attention to the way the information is presented . We tend to show more faith in a claim if it is accompanied by a photo , for instance -- even if it adds no additional evidence to the particular claim at hand . ( A headline about a celebrity death is more believable , for example , if it appears next to a generic stock image of the person . )\nIt is also important to be aware of our own partisan biases . We are more likely to believe something if it confirms our existing world view , while we will happily dismiss anything that disagrees with our pre-existing beliefs .\nGet CNN Health 's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team .\nThe psychological literature offers us one good strategy against bias , called the `` consider the opposite `` method . This involves asking yourself whether you would have been so credulous of a claim if its opinions had differed from your own . And if not , what kind of additional scrutiny might you have applied ? This should help you to identify the weaknesses in your own thinking .\nHoning these skills will not just reduce embarrassment when discussing the news with your friends or co-workers . Studies have found that someone 's critical thinking skills can protect them from flawed decisions in all areas of life , from being misled by a fad diet , to falling for scams , getting in debt and even landing in jail .\nBy appraising evidence more rationally , you will avoid being duped by others -- and yourself .\nFalsehoods may fly , but with this lie detection kit , you can better ensure your actions and beliefs remain grounded in the truth .
|
allsides-corpus-149
|
( CNN ) – GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan acknowledged the Republican campaign 's `` missteps '' on Sunday , calling Mitt Romney ’ s now-notorious “ 47 % ” comments “ inarticulate , ” while still defending the crux of his running mate ’ s argument .\nRyan also took the media to task for what he called bias against conservatives .\n- Check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator and game out your own strategy for November .\nAppearing on “ Fox News Sunday , ” Ryan said his running mate ’ s controversial comments were `` an inarticulate way to describe what we ’ re trying to do to create prosperity and upward mobility , and reduce dependency by getting people off welfare , back to work . ”\n“ We 've had some missteps , '' said Ryan , also noting many conservatives ' concerns that the campaign is failing to project a clear message to voters . `` But at the end of the day , the choice is really clear , and we 're giving people a very clear choice . ''\nRomney made the candid `` 47 % '' remarks to a group of wealthy donors at a private fund-raiser caught on a secretly recorded video in May . The video was posted online by a left-leaning news organization earlier in September , sparking a firestorm of criticism from both sides of the aisle . Among other hotly contested remarks , the Republican nominee said nearly half of Americans will automatically vote for the president because they are dependent on government and consider themselves “ victims . ”\nRyan noted that Romney had conceded the lack of `` eloquence '' in his choice of words , though Ryan also picked up on the argument , blaming Obama for a sluggish economy and what the GOP campaign bills as policies that foster dependency on government .\nRyan also accused the media of having a liberal disposition .\n“ I think it kind of goes without saying that there 's definitely a media bias . We 've - look , I 'm a conservative person , I 'm used to media bias . We expected media bias going into this , ” said Ryan .\nAsked to cite a specific example of media bias , Ryan demurred , instead asserting that most people who work in the media have liberal political affiliations and , therefore , would want a president who is a Democrat to win .\n“ I 'm not going to go into a tit-for-tat or litigate this thing , ” said Ryan . “ But as a conservative , I 've long believed and long felt that there is inherent media bias . And I think anybody with objectivity would believe that that 's the case . ”
|
allsides-corpus-150
|
Tesla CEO Elon Musk aired his frustration with the media on Wednesday , issuing a series of tweets calling out the “ hypocrisy of big media companies ” before floating the idea of starting a website which would allow the public to rate journalists .\n“ The holier-than-thou hypocrisy of big media companies who lay claim to the truth , but publish only enough to sugarcoat the lie , is why the public no longer respects them , ” Musk started out by tweeting .\nMusk went on to claim that “ journos are under constant pressure to get max clicks & earn advertising dollars or get fired . ”\n“ Tricky situation , as Tesla doesn ’ t advertise , but fossil fuel companies & gas/diesel car companies are among world ’ s biggest advertisers , ” he said .\nELON MUSK CONFIRMS TESLA MODEL 3 HAS A BRAKING ISSUE , SAYS A FIX IS IN THE WORKS\nAnd to one Twitter user who commented on the CEO ’ s remarks , Musk replied “ the media has earned this mistrust . But maybe there is a solution . ”\nMusk also talked about creating a site , possibly called Pravda , where people “ can rate the core truth of any article ” and keep track of the credibility of a journalist or news outlet . He also created a poll , asking followers to choose whether the website was a good idea .\nPravda was the name of a Communist newspaper in the former Soviet Union .\nMusk ’ s company has been the recipient of recent backlash due to a number of crashes involving the company ’ s vehicles .\nTESLA THAT CRASHED INTO TRUCK WAS ON AUTOPILOT , DRIVER SAYS\nDuring one incident in Utah this month , the driver of a Tesla that crashed into a truck at 60 mph told police that she had the vehicle ’ s autopilot feature turned on .\nMusk reacted at the time , tweeting that it was “ super messed up that a Tesla crash resulting in a broken ankle is front page news and the ~40,000 people who died in US auto accidents alone in past year get almost no coverage . ”\nDuring Wednesday ’ s comments , Musk also responded to individual reporters , including one who retweeted Musk ’ s comment and drew a comparison to President Trump .\nIn response to a reporter who said Musk was continuing “ his slow transformation into a media-baiting Trump figure screaming irrationally about fake news , ” the Tesla CEO replied , “ Thought you ’ d say that . Anytime anyone criticizes the media , the media shrieks “ You ’ re just like Trump !\nELON MUSK SHOWS OFF INCREDIBLE SPACEX HUMAN TRANSPORT POD ON INSTAGRAM , TWITTER\n“ Why do you think he got elected in the first place ? ” Musk continued . “ Because no one believes you any more . You lost your credibility a long time ago . ”\nTo another journalist , who wrote that “ blaming the messenger is the hot new thing everyone ’ s doing , ” Musk replied , “ Oh hey another sanctimonious media person who thinks he ’ s above criticism . ”\n“ Try being truthful & the public will believe you again , ” Musk said .\nTesla did not immediately respond to ███ ’ request for comment .
|
allsides-corpus-151
|
A once-upon-a-time voice for journalistic respectability — the Columbia Journalism Review — has consigned to the well-known hot place the notion that respectability entails letting voters rather than reporters decide whether a president is Abe Lincoln or a dirty lying rat . The Review rather leans to the latter conclusion .\nThe Review ’ s daily , always ( to me ) absorbing look at media goings-on raises the question of how to talk about , well , a lying rat of a president : a distinction most media institutions have awarded Donald Trump . The Review highlights the New York Times ’ efforts to call Trump a liar without actually calling him one .\n“ Trump Falsely Says Times Made Up Source in Report on Korea Summit Meeting. ” That would be just one example of journalistic efforts to downplay the President ’ s commitment , such as it is , to the Truth that Makes You Free . The Journalism Review quotes Times White House Reporter Maggie Haberman ’ s disparaging Tweet the other day : “ Trump told two demonstrable falsehoods this AM . ”\nThe Review says “ the argument consumed political media conversations on Twitter for much of the weekend. ” Some Twitterists thought Haberman ’ s charge a little mild . On May 28 came the Times ’ charge that “ He Uses Conspiracy Theories to Erode Trust . ”\nHere we go again , trying , as a society , as a culture , to make heads or tails of a president who defies efforts to categorize him . Over the uproar concerning his gift for veracity or falsehood , alarm bells should sound . The anti-Trump media are nuts if they think they ’ re improving their status in 21stcentury life . They ’ re undermining it further : deepening national disarray by abandoning standards more necessary than ever before in public life .\nMay it please the court , reporters and editors have neither right nor duty to show up the president as a liar . It ’ s lousy journalism to try . But oh , such modern journalism ! Which is the problem .\nLook : The media are our eyes and ears . Our brains they aren ’ t , though our media clearly suppose the opposite . Which supposition makes them try to lead mere viewers and readers by the nose : telling them what to think . Good luck with that ! “ Speaking truth to power ” — an old Quaker ideal beloved of modern Thought Leaders — involves telling Trump voters they laid an egg . What a non-fruitful mode of argumentation and discussion .\nThe President ’ s grasp of facts is his own , certainly . But :\n1 ) He ’ s not always wrong , even when being obnoxious ; and\n2 ) a statement out of line with the truth doesn ’ t suggest the need to go at him , as per the Times , with eyes bulging ; rather , it demands bringing to view — without indignation or contempt — asseverations and facts that undermine the Trumpian account . Only you set such asseverations and facts side by side with his own : quoting responsible , preferably neutral , or neutral-ish , sources . You let the White House answer those sources . Then you stand back and let the people make up their own minds !\nStrange conceit , that — trusting votes and consumers of news to make up their minds without pointed assistance from the media . For which , if it doesn ’ t work out , maybe we need to examine the U.S. education system with more alarm . And maybe also the lack of trust that previous media forays against previous presidents have engendered .\nMedia fury at one Donald Trump is sowing worrisome consequences for the future . The lying so-and-so , as most of the media view him , is going to be gone one day : possibly with the media ’ s invaluable assistance . And will there linger , save in progressive circles , any public inclination to believe , or even listen to , a word the anti-Trump press says about anything ? Including the weather ?\nA certain… call it mutual trust , or sense of shared conviction , lies at the foundation of any free society . I can not see the anti-Trump media adding to our depleted storehouse of trust . I see , indeed , the media ’ s angry judgmentalism — its love of crying “ Liar ! ” — making things far angrier , far more divisive , than they are now . And what we have right now isn ’ t great . Just subscribe ( as I do ) to the Times . And judge .\nWilliam Murchison is writing a book about moral restoration . He most recently was Radford Distinguished Professor of Journalism at Baylor University .
|
allsides-corpus-152
|
A White House reporter confronted White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the top of her Tuesday press briefing , accusing her of `` inflaming '' tensions with the media and undercutting the credibility of reporters .\nSanders had been asked about whether President Trump accepts the apology from CNN regarding a recent story it retracted about alleged ties between a Trump ally and a Russian investment fund .\n`` All we are saying is I think we should take a really good look at what we are focused on , what we are covering and making sure it 's accurate and honest , '' she said .\n`` If we make the slightest mistake , the slightest word is off , it 's an absolute tirade from a lot of people in this room . But news outlets get to go on day after day and cite unnamed sources , use stories without sources . ''\nAs she continued , Brian Karem , a contributor to Playboy magazine , interrupted .\n`` You are inflaming everyone right here right now with those words . This administration has done that as well ... Any one of us are replaceable , if we do n't get it right , the audience has the opportunity to turn the channel or not read us . You have been elected to serve for four years at least , there is no option other than that , '' Karem said .\n`` We are here to ask you questions , you are here to provide answers . And what you just did is inflammatory to people all over the country who look at it and say , 'See , once again , the president is right and everybody else is just fake media . ' Everybody in this room is only trying to do their job . ”\nPlayboy drew attention to Karem 's comments on Twitter , calling it `` his 'Network ' moment . ''\nSanders pushed back , briefly addressing the accusations before moving onto questions from another reporter .\n`` I disagree completely . First of all , if anything has been inflamed , it ’ s the dishonesty that often takes place by the news media . I think it is outrageous for you to accuse me of inflaming a story when I was simply trying to respond to his question , '' she said .\nTuesday marked the first on-camera press briefing for the White House in a week . Reporters have grown critical of the administration 's decision to hold more off-camera briefings , and of officials who denounce anonymous sources while only agreeing to speak to the press on background .\nDuring the same briefing , Sanders encouraged reporters `` and frankly everybody around the country '' to watch a new video from conservative provocateur James O'Keefe the purports to show a CNN producer referring to much of his network 's Russian coverage as `` bullshit . ''\n`` If it is accurate , I think it ’ s a disgrace to all of media , to all of journalism . I think that we have gone to a place where if the media can ’ t be trusted to report the news , then that ’ s a dangerous place for America , ” Sanders said .
|
allsides-corpus-153
|
UPDATE : Eagle Nation Online will not be subject to prior review in the upcoming school year . Prosper High School Principal John Burdett told the new journalism adviser , Lisa Roskens , that he was changing the highly restrictive policy he put in place last year and her students would no longer have to submit their stories for his approval before publishing . The students are also planning new editorials after all student opinion pieces were banned by Principal Burdett in the spring .\n“ It ’ s honestly kind of a miracle , ” said Editor-in-Chief Neha Madhira . She said that after months of silence from the administration , the staff was ready to keep fighting , but did not expect the policy change .\n“ I think [ the administration ] decided to change it because of all the press that we got , ” said Assistant Editor Haley Stack . “ … I mean , once it reached up to the New York Times , I think they realized that they really need to change something before they started getting a really bad name for themselves . ”\nThe ███ sent a letter of concern to the Prosper superintendent of schools in May which was co-signed by 17 other national press freedom organizations . The case at Prosper also received widespread news coverage from both local and national news outlets .\nMadhira and Stack both said despite their excitement over the news , they intend to test the administration on this policy to make sure they stick to it .\nMadhira says she will continue to advocate for a New Voices law in Texas , which would give specific legal protections to student journalists and protect advisers from retaliation . “ I don ’ t think this should lessen the importance of why we need this law anyway , ” she said . “ We shouldn ’ t have to trade our adviser for the right to publish . ”\n███ Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand agreed the positive outcome does not change the need for legal protection in the state . “ I think this case just kind of demonstrates the general unfairness that exists in Texas where the standard can be changed virtually overnight on the whim of a school official , ” said Hiestand .\nPrincipal Burdett did not respond to multiple requests for comment .\nTEXAS — After censoring the Eagle Nation Online three times this academic year over concerns that stories made the school look bad , the principal of Prosper ( Texas ) High School , located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area , will not renew the contract of a nationally acclaimed newspaper and yearbook adviser .\nLori Oglesbee-Petter , a journalism teacher with 34 years of experience in three states , has been at Prosper since May 2016 . Last year alone , her journalism students racked up more than 175 state and national journalism awards .\nIn October 2017 , copy editor Isabella Abraham published an article about a senior class movie night that was cancelled due to a “ miscommunication ” between past administrators and John Burdett , who is completing his first year as principal .\nThe article was online for one day when Burdett told Oglesbee-Petter to take it down . He said that the information in the article was not uplifting or accurate . The Eagle stands by the accuracy of the story .\n“ Ms . O and her students have distinguished themselves across the state and country for their exemplary work , ” according to an online bio on the school website .\nShe declined to comment for this story , saying her teaching contract bars her from speaking with reporters .\n“ Under her guidance , the young journalists she has worked with have regularly taken home top honors . And how does this principal reward such achievements ? He fires her and tells the students not to cover anything but happy news . ”\nIn February 2018 , staff writer Haley Stack , in an editorial , admonished Prosper ’ s choice to remove “ A Separate Peace ” from the 10th grade curriculum . No reason was given for the decision , but Stack pointed to the novel ’ s homoerotic undertones as a possible cause . The editorial was online for over a week until Burdett asked for it to be taken down , citing grammatical errors and a lack of positivity . According to the Eagle , there were two grammatical errors : a missing apostrophe and an extra period .\nBurdett then told Eagle staff that any articles or editorials that went against “ community norms ” were to be sent to him for approval . The paper started submitting all articles by Burdett , since they felt the policy was unclear .\nOn March 23 , Eagle staff was informed Oglesbee-Petter would not return to Prosper for another school year . According to associate editor Neha Madhira , Burdett did not provide a reason to Oglesbee-Petter . The school is not required to explain the decision because she was under contract .\n“ We were extremely concerned , ” said Madhira . “ We already knew [ Burdett ] wasn ’ t on our side . ”\n“ I think that [ Burdett ] doesn ’ t like our adviser , ” Stack said . “ And I think he is taking it out on our staff . Anytime that he sees an opportunity to shut us down in any sort of way , he will take it . ”\nSPLC ’ s Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand responded to the decision with “ shock . ”\n“ Prosper High School is blessed with a veteran teacher who was named the best high school journalism adviser in the entire country , ” Hiestand said in a May 18 press release . “ Under her guidance , the young journalists she has worked with have regularly taken home top honors . And how does this principal reward such achievements ? He fires her and tells the students not to cover anything but happy news . ”\nOn April 9 , Eagle staff sent a letter to Burdett , Prosper School District Superintendent Drew Watkins , and school board members , citing the importance of a student-led newspaper , criticizing the October and February instances of censorship , and asking for Oglesbee-Petter to remain at Prosper . Staff members also said they were worried about the future of the Eagle .\n“ We are not just public relations for the school . Not all news will be positive . ”\nAccording to Madhira , her staff never received a reply from any administrators . Burdett did bring up the letter with Madhira in an April 20 interview regarding an approved news article about the nationwide school walk-outs . She remembers Burdett angrily saying the April 9 letter was “ false ” and cutting her off multiple times during the conversation .\nOn May 1 , Madhira tried to publish an editorial about a team bonding activity organized by Burdett in response to instances of school shootings across the country . In the editorial , Madhira described the activity as disorganized and vague , and then offered solutions to improve it . Burdett blocked the editorial from being published online , saying it was incorrect and didn ’ t capture the voices of all Prosper students .\nBurdett then told Madhira the Eagle could not publish editorials anymore . This policy still remains in place .\n“ You have a principal that is upset that the teacher is not teaching how to produce fake news , ” Hiestand said . “ He is telling the kids , ‘ You can publish the news as long as it ’ s happy news. ’ That is the definition of fake news . ”\nProsper ’ s prior review policy allows the school ’ s principal ultimate editorial authority , including the right to block stories from being published . The policy states : “ All publications edited , printed , or distributed in the name of or within the District schools shall be under the control of the school administration and the Board . All publications approved and issued by individual schools shall be part of the instructional program , under the supervision of a faculty sponsor , and shall be carefully edited to reflect the ideals and expectations of the citizens of the District for their schools . ”\nOn May 18 , Madhira drafted a press release with the help of Hiestand and JEA Scholastic Press Rights Commission Chair Lori Keekley . It explains in detail Burdett ’ s practice of censorship and Oglesbee-Petter ’ s contract termination , as well as the importance of editorials .\n“ We are not just public relations for the school , ” Madhira said in the press release . “ Not all news will be positive . ”\nMadhira ’ s goal is to spread awareness of her paper ’ s situation . She has reached out to the Dallas Morning News , NBC5 , Prosper Magazine , and the Community Impact Newspaper . So far , no reporters have chosen to pick up the story .\nWant more stories like this ? The ███ is a legal and educational nonprofit defending the rights of student journalists . Sign up for our free News Roundup .
|
allsides-corpus-154
|
First she refused to testify . Now Lois Lerner , the IRS official at the center of the tax agency scandal , is refusing to resign , according to a top Republican senator .\nSources confirmed to Fox News earlier Thursday that Lerner , the head of the IRS division that oversaw the unit targeting conservative groups , had been placed on administrative leave , with pay .\nBut Sen. Charles Grassley , R-Iowa , claimed she was only put in that status after refusing to step down .\nHe said the commissioner was in his right to demand her resignation , and said taxpayers should not continue to pay her salary indefinitely .\n“ My understanding is the new acting IRS commissioner asked for Ms. Lerner ’ s resignation , and she refused to resign . She was then put on administrative leave instead , ” Grassley said in a statement . “ The IRS owes it to taxpayers to resolve her situation quickly . The agency needs to move on to fix the conditions that led to the targeting debacle . ''\nCapitol Hill sources said Lerner , the director of exempt organizations , was placed on paid leave Thursday , amid calls from some lawmakers for her to be suspended or fired . In her absence , Ken Corbin , the current deputy director of the submission processing , wage and investment division , will take over her duties , according to an internal IRS memo obtained by Fox News .\nLerner , the official who first acknowledged the controversial IRS practice earlier this month , asserted her innocence at a House hearing on Wednesday . She then refused to testify , citing her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination . The move angered many who say she should have been forced to answer why the tax agency targeted conservative groups applying for tax exempt status .\nRepublican leaders of that committee , though , now say she waived that right by giving a statement and want to haul her back to testify .\nPressure has been mounting on the administration to take tough action against Lerner , after two other IRS officials were pushed out in the wake of the scandal .\nIn a letter earlier Thursday to IRS Acting Commissioner Daniel Werfel , Sens . Carl Levin , D-Mich. , and John McCain , R-Ariz. , asked the agency to remove Lerner from office and said they had “ lost confidence in her ability to fulfill her duties . ”\nIt 's unclear whether Republicans will succeed in trying to recall her before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee . Rep. Darrell Issa , R-Calif. , chairman of the panel , said through an aide Thursday that her Fifth Amendment assertion is `` no longer valid , '' since she delivered remarks at the start of Wednesday 's hearing .\nThat hearing was never technically adjourned , and Republicans hope to bring her back .\nOthers , though , say she was in her right to defend herself and subsequently invoke the right to remain silent .\nThe IRS has had a series of missteps that have not only publicly marred the reputation of the IRS , but also called into question what the White House knew about the scandal and when they knew it .\nSeparately , Tea Party-related groups who claim they were targeted by the tax agency have started filing lawsuits this week against the IRS . In some cases they are asking for the IRS to admit wrongdoing . In others , they are seeking monetary claims .\n`` It 's extremely troubling that it has taken this long for Lois Lerner to removed from the top exempt position at the IRS , ” Jay Sekulow , chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice , the group suing on behalf of some Tea Party groups , said in a statement to FoxNews.com .\nSekulow said instead of putting Lerner on administrative leave , his group is calling for her to be fired .
|
allsides-corpus-155
|
Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama 's Job Performance ? Vote Now in Urgent Poll\nDo You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama 's Job Performance ? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
|
allsides-corpus-156
|
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended the Justice Department ’ s handling of the special counsel ’ s still-secret report , saying Attorney General William Barr is “ being as forthcoming as he can ” about his process for redacting and releasing the roughly 400-page document .\nIn his first interview since the conclusion of the special counsel ’ s investigation , Mr. Rosenstein beat back suggestions that Mr. Barr is trying to mislead the public by releasing only a four-page summary of Robert Mueller ’ s investigation . The attorney general in that letter said the Mueller probe found President Trump and his campaign didn ’ t conspire with Russian interference in the 2016 election but reached no conclusion about whether the president obstructed justice . With the absence of a recommendation , Mr. Barr and Mr. Rosenstein determined Mr. Trump ’ s actions weren ’ t criminal .\nDemocrats have demanded access to the full report , which Mr. Barr said he would release , likely next week , after blacking out portions for sensitive information .\n“ He ’ s being as forthcoming as he can , and so this notion that he ’ s trying to mislead people , I think is just completely bizarre , ” Mr. Rosenstein said .\nMr. Barr is under intense pressure to quickly produce the edited report amid concerns from Democrats that the attorney general , a longtime advocate of executive-branch authority , is seeking to protect the president from politically damaging information the report may contain . Their worries were heightened after reports that some investigators on Mr. Mueller ’ s team had told associates in recent days that they believe the report is more critical of Mr. Trump on the obstruction issue than Mr. Barr indicated in his summary . Mr. Rosenstein wouldn ’ t say why Mr. Mueller rendered no conclusion on that critical question .\n“ It would be one thing if you put out a letter and said , ‘ I ’ m not going to give you the report , ’ ” Mr. Rosenstein said . “ What he said is , ‘ Look , it ’ s going to take a while to process the report . In the meantime , people really want to know what ’ s in it . I ’ m going to give you the top-line conclusions. ’ That ’ s all he was trying to do . ”\nMr. Rosenstein , Mr. Barr , their top advisers and a member of Mr. Mueller ’ s team have been involved in reviewing the report for material related to intelligence sources , continuing investigations , grand-jury matters and the privacy of individuals not charged with crimes . Mr. Rosenstein wouldn ’ t say how it was going , only that the public should have “ tremendous confidence ” in Mr. Barr .\nThe rare interview in Mr. Rosenstein ’ s fourth-floor office at the Justice Department came in his waning days on the job , with the special counsel investigation he oversaw now complete and Mr. Trump ’ s nominee to replace him , Deputy Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Rosen , awaiting confirmation by the Senate . After nearly 30 years in the department , Mr. Rosenstein , 54 years old , said he doesn ’ t know what he will do next , only that he hopes to start a new job at the end of the summer .\nHis remarks came one day after Mr. Barr said he would form a team to examine the origins of a 2016 counterintelligence investigation that conducted what he termed as “ spying ” on people associated with the Trump campaign , a characterization Democrats and some former Justice Department officials , including fired Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey , found disturbing .\nSpeaking at a conference in San Francisco on Thursday , Mr. Comey said , “ When I hear that kind of language used , it ’ s concerning , because the FBI and Department of Justice conduct court-ordered electronic surveillance . I have never thought of that as spying . ”\nIt isn ’ t known whether Mr. Barr ’ s review will examine any of Mr. Rosenstein ’ s actions , namely that he approved an application to ask a court to grant continued surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page , who had long been on the radar of U.S. counterintelligence for his communications with Russians .\nMr. Rosenstein wouldn ’ t comment on Mr. Barr ’ s inquiry of that counterintelligence probe , but he said generally that he is open to objective scrutiny and stands by his approval of the renewal .\nMr. Rosenstein has been under an unusually intense spotlight as the No . 2 Justice Department official , largely because of his decision to appoint Mr. Mueller early in his tenure , which drew repeated swipes from Mr. Trump and concerns among some of the president ’ s advisers that he would move to fire the deputy attorney general . Mr. Rosenstein said he has stayed on the job at Mr. Barr ’ s request , adding , “ for me , it ’ s a real privilege . ”\nEarly on , at Mr. Trump ’ s request , Mr. Rosenstein wrote a memo that the White House initially cited as grounds for firing Mr. Comey . On Thursday , he said he stands by the memo and has few regrets about his time in office .\n“ If you put something in writing , put your name on it and be prepared to stand behind it , ” he said . “ That ’ s been a theme of my career . ”
|
allsides-corpus-157
|
The sudden withdrawal of the entire prosecution team assigned to Stone ’ s case — including two veterans of former special counsel Robert Mueller 's office — following the Justice Department ’ s decision to back away from the government ’ s original sentencing proposal seemed to embolden and energize Trump . A jubilant president took to Twitter on Tuesday night to celebrate and settle more scores .\n“ All starting to unravel with the ridiculous 9 year sentence recommendation ! ” Trump wrote before retweeting a perennial favorite : “ DRAIN THE SWAMP ! ”\nThe president ’ s tweets fueled an ongoing furor among Justice Department veterans and Democrats that broke out earlier in the day after the department backed off a recommendation for a lengthy prison term for Stone , a longtime informal political adviser to Trump .\nAll starting to unravel with the ridiculous 9 year sentence recommendation ! https : //t.co/6baxv3Lvuk — Donald J. Trump ( @ realDonaldTrump ) February 12 , 2020\nJonathan Kravis , the deputy chief of the fraud and public corruption section in the U.S. Attorney ’ s Office in Washington , said in a court filing on Tuesday afternoon that he had resigned his government job . Two former prosecutors for Mueller , Aaron Zelinsky and Adam Jed , also notified the court that they were stepping off the case , as did a D.C.-based prosecutor , Michael Marando .\nThe extraordinary exit of every prosecutor who shepherded the Stone case came one day after they urged that he be sentenced to between about seven and nine years in prison on his conviction on charges of impeding congressional and FBI investigations into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia .\nThat prompted Trump to blast federal prosecutors on Twitter just before 2 a.m. Tuesday for urging such a long prison sentence for Stone , the veteran GOP political consultant and provocateur found guilty by a jury last year on seven felony counts brought by Mueller .\n`` This is a horrible and very unfair situation , '' Trump wrote . `` The real crimes were on the other side , as nothing happens to them . Can not allow this miscarriage of justice ! ''\nTrump expanded on his view while speaking to reporters late Tuesday afternoon , but he denied that he had asked the Justice Department to change the sentence recommendation .\n“ I thought the recommendation was ridiculous . I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous , “ the president said . “ I thought it was an insult to our country and it shouldn ‘ t happen. “\nHe also indicated that he viewed the case against Stone as a vendetta that Mueller ‘ s prosecutors carried on even after his departure last May .\n“ These were the same Mueller people that put everybody through hell and I think it 's a disgrace , “ the president said . “ They ought to be ashamed of themselves. “\nLater , Trump used Twitter to take a swipe at the judge scheduled to sentence Stone , Amy Berman Jackson , an Obama appointee who has overseen several other Mueller-related cases .\n“ Is this the Judge that put Paul Manafort in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT , something that not even mobster Al Capone had to endure ? How did she treat Crooked Hillary Clinton ? Just asking ! “ Trump wrote .\nWhile Jackson revoked Manafort ‘ s bail over allegations of witness tampering , she did not order him put in solitary confinement . U.S . Marshals personnel made a decision to isolate the former Trump adviser from the general inmate population because of concerns about his safety , the judge has said .\nAnd Trump on Tuesday afternoon escalated his vendetta against Vindman , one of the prime targets of the president 's still-emerging revenge tour .\nSpeaking to reporters at a veterans event , Trump said the military will likely look at disciplinary action against Vindman , just days after the National Security Council official was ousted from the White House after giving damaging testimony during the House impeachment hearings .\n“ That ’ s going to be up to the military , we ’ ll have to see , but if you look at what happened , they ’ re going to certainly , I would imagine , take a look at that , ” Trump said in response to a follow-up question about what he meant when he said , “ the military can handle him . ”\nTrump , without providing evidence or specific examples , accused Vindman of reporting “ very inaccurate things ” about the “ perfect ” call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky .\nAround the same time Trump was speaking at the White House , the Justice Department submitted a revised sentencing filing that offered no specific recommendation for Stone ‘ s sentence , but said a term on the order of seven to nine years “ could be considered excessive and unwarranted. “\n“ The government respectfully submits that a sentence of incarceration far less than 87 to 108 months ’ imprisonment would be reasonable under the circumstances , “ the prosecution ‘ s new submission said . “ Ultimately , the government defers to the Court as to what specific sentence is appropriate under the facts and circumstances of this case. “\n“ Coupled with the president ’ s blatant retaliation against those who helped expose his wrongdoing , the Trump administration poses the gravest threat to the rule of law in America in a generation , ” said Rep. Adam Schiff ( D-Calif. ) , chairman of the House Intelligence Committee .\nSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter on Tuesday to the Justice Department inspector general , Michael Horowitz , requesting an investigation into the reversal .\nA senior Justice Department official said on Tuesday afternoon that department leaders were taken by surprise by the initial recommendation contained in the prosecution ‘ s Monday evening filing . The official , who spoke on condition of anonymity , said the decision to revise the submission was unrelated to Trump 's tweet and took place prior to the president ’ s sending the message .\n“ The department was shocked to see the sentencing recommendation in the Stone case last night , “ said the official . “ That recommendation was not the recommendation that had been briefed to the department . The department found the recommendation to be extreme and excessive and grossly disproportionate to Stone ’ s offenses and the department will clarify its position in court later today. “\nThe official declined to elaborate on who in the Justice Department hierarchy was aware of the actual contents of the recommendation submitted to Jackson , who is set to sentence Stone on Feb. 20 . However , the official insisted that the White House played no role in the reversal and that there was no contact between department leaders and Trump about Stone 's potential sentence prior to the decision .\nA spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney 's Office declined to address questions about whether the prosecution team was dismissed or quit in protest .\nFormer Attorney General Eric Holder praised two of the prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case .\n“ AUSA ‘ s Kravis and Zelinsky have shown more guts — and an adherence to the rule of law — than too many now serving in Washington , ” he wrote on Twitter . “ What Main DOJ is trying to do — and at whose behest ? — is unprecedented , wrong and ultimately dangerous . DOJ independence is critical . ”\nGrant Smith , an attorney for Stone , said in a statement : “ We have read with interest the new reporting on Roger Stone ’ s case . Our sentencing memo outlined our position on the recommendation made yesterday by the government . We look forward to reviewing the government ’ s supplemental filing. “\n`` Isn ’ t it lovely when the swamp drains itself ? '' Stone backer and GOP communications adviser Michael Caputo tweeted .\nIsn ’ t it lovely when the swamp drains itself ? Zelinsky is Beelzebub . 👿 https : //t.co/1doCgFWo6N — Michael R. Caputo 🇺🇸🇺🇦 ( @ MichaelRCaputo ) February 11 , 2020\nAfter the closure of Mueller ‘ s office last May , Stone ‘ s prosecution was taken over by lawyers in the U.S. Attorney ‘ s Office in Washington , who handled the weeklong jury trial last November in which Stone was convicted on five counts of making false statements to investigators , one count of obstructing Congress and one count of witness tampering .\nAt the time of the trial , the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia was Jessie Liu , but she was replaced in that post last month on an interim basis by a former top aide to Attorney General Bill Barr , Tim Shea . Shea ‘ s name appeared on Monday 's filing , although such filings are typically prepared by the line prosecutors on the case .\nLiu also appeared to become a casualty of the latest developments in the Stone case , as the White House abruptly withdrew her nomination as the Treasury Department ‘ s undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes , according to a former Trump administration official and another person familiar with the situation .\nIt was not immediately clear why Trump pulled her nomination , but her confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee had been scheduled for Thursday morning . A White House spokesman declined to comment on the move .\nA former Trump administration official said on Tuesday night : “ It was unusual to ask her to step down ahead of her confirmation. “\nEven before the new and extraordinary events in the Stone case , Liu was virtually certain to face questions at the hearing about her office ‘ s handling of various politically sensitive cases and investigations , including those of Stone , former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former the former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe .\nThe prosecution ‘ s initial proposal for a lengthy prison term for Stone was driven by the witness tampering charge and by allegations that Stone threatened violence in order to discourage an associate , Randy Credico , from cooperating with Congress and the FBI . Stone insisted that the messages — including such colorful missives as “ Prepare to die cocksucker “ — were part of outlandish banter between the two .\nCredico said in a letter to the judge last month that he didn ‘ t think Stone posed a physical threat , but acknowledged during the trial that he was concerned that Stone ‘ s language could prompt other people to act out .\nStone ‘ s statements alleged to threaten or encourage violence upped the prosecution ‘ s calculation of the sentencing guidelines in Stone ‘ s case by about four or five years , according to the government ‘ s filing Monday . Stone ‘ s defense calculates the guidelines to call for a 15- to 21-month sentence .\nTrump has the power to see that Stone serves no prison time by issuing a pardon , as many of Stone ‘ s supporters are urging . The president rebuffed a question about a pardon on Tuesday .\nJed and Kravis offered no hint of the mushrooming controversy during the more than two hours they spent in court on Tuesday handling another case that emerged from the Mueller probe : the prosecution of a Russian company accused of using social media activity and advertising to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential contest . That case is set for trial in April .\n███ NEWSLETTERS ███ Playbook Sign up today to receive the # 1-rated newsletter in politics . Sign Up Loading By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from ███ . You can unsubscribe at any time . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply .\nZelinsky 's filing with the court said he was giving up his temporary post as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Maryland is apparently returning to his job in the state . Jed and Marando included no information about their status beyond that they were withdrawing from the Stone case .\nLate Friday afternoon , the acting chief of the criminal division in the D.C. U.S. Attorney 's Office , John Crabb , formally notified the court that he was entering the case . His and Shea ‘ s names are the only ones in the signature block of the revised sentencing recommendation .
|
allsides-corpus-158
|
WASHINGTON ( ███ ) - Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker snapped back on Friday at newly emboldened Democrats in Congress who are pushing for information on the special counsel ’ s Russia probe as they try to put President Donald Trump ’ s administration under greater scrutiny .\nIn a combative congressional hearing , Whitaker said he had not talked to Trump about the probe into whether Moscow tried to tip the 2016 presidential election , or “ interfered in any way ” in the investigation since taking his role in November .\nDemocrats , who took over the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee after last year ’ s midterm elections , accused Whitaker of being evasive in front of the panel and frequently clashed with him .\nThe hearing room erupted in gasps when Whitaker pushed back strongly against a question from Chairman Jerrold Nadler , a Democrat , about whether he had ever been asked to approve any action requested by Mueller .\n“ Mr . Chairman , I see that your five minutes is up , ” Whitaker said , in a bold challenge to the head of the committee . “ I am here voluntarily . We have agreed to five-minute rounds , ” he added .\n“ How the heck did you become the head of the Department of Justice ? ” Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries later railed at Whitaker .\nTrump ’ s naming of Whitaker as acting attorney general caused controversy in part because it meant that the president ’ s appointee oversees the probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into whether Moscow meddled in the election and colluded with Trump ’ s campaign .\nRelated Coverage Whitaker says did not previously discuss Russia probe with Trump , associates\nWhitaker had publicly criticized the investigation before joining the Justice Department in 2017 but said on Friday he had not discussed it with Trump .\n“ I have not talked to the president of the United States about the special counsel ’ s investigation , ” Whitaker said .\nDemocrats repeatedly accused Whitaker of running out the clock by giving them evasive or rambling answers in the hearing .\nIn one case , he refused to answer Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee ’ s questions with a yes or no , and made a flippant remark about whether the time she had lost on the clock had been restored before he answered her questions .\n“ Mr . Attorney General , we are not joking here and your humor is not acceptable , ” she said .\nWhitaker testified he had never spoken with members of Trump ’ s inner circle about his views on the probe as a private citizen before he joined the Justice Department .\nTrump has repeatedly said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia and has called Mueller ’ s investigation a witch hunt .\nPolitical drama erupted on Thursday when Democrats threatened to serve Whitaker a subpoena if he failed to answer certain questions at the hearing .\nNadler later agreed to drop the threat , after Whitaker said he would back out from testifying if the subpoena was served .\nActing U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department on Capitol Hill in Washington , U.S. , February 8 , 2019 . ███/Jonathan Ernst\nDuring the hearing on Friday , Nadler threatened to force Whitaker to go back in front of the committee for a deposition .\nCongressman Doug Collins , the top Republican on the committee , accused Democrats of staging political drama .\n“ Bring your popcorn , ” he said . Collins repeatedly tried to cut Democrats off from asking questions unrelated to Whitaker ’ s current role at the department .\nJustice Department ethics officials had recommended Whitaker recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation , a step he chose not to take .\n“ When career officials at the department recommended that you take steps to mitigate your apparent conflicts of interest , ... you ignored them , ” Nadler said .\n“ Ultimately , the decision whether or not to recuse was my decision . ”\nWhen pressed on whether he trusted Mueller , he told lawmakers he has respect for the former FBI Director .\n“ I have been on the record about my respect for Bob Mueller , ” Whitaker said . “ I have no reason to believe he is not honest . ”\nWhitaker also denied media reports that Trump lashed out at him after learning his former lawyer and personal fixer Michael Cohen was pleading guilty for lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow .\nFriday was likely the first and last time that Whitaker will testify as acting attorney general .\nTrump ’ s nominee for attorney general , William Barr , is expected to face a Senate confirmation vote next week .
|
allsides-corpus-159
|
• US and UK spy agencies piggyback on commercial data • Details can include age , location and sexual orientation • Documents also reveal targeted tools against individual phones\nThe National Security Agency and its UK counterpart GCHQ have been developing capabilities to take advantage of `` leaky '' smartphone apps , such as the wildly popular Angry Birds game , that transmit users ' private information across the internet , according to top secret documents .\nThe data pouring onto communication networks from the new generation of iPhone and Android apps ranges from phone model and screen size to personal details such as age , gender and location . Some apps , the documents state , can share users ' most sensitive information such as sexual orientation – and one app recorded in the material even sends specific sexual preferences such as whether or not the user may be a swinger .\nMany smartphone owners will be unaware of the full extent this information is being shared across the internet , and even the most sophisticated would be unlikely to realise that all of it is available for the spy agencies to collect .\nDozens of classified documents , provided to ███ by whistleblower Edward Snowden and reported in partnership with the New York Times and ProPublica , detail the NSA and GCHQ efforts to piggyback on this commercial data collection for their own purposes .\nScooping up information the apps are sending about their users allows the agencies to collect large quantities of mobile phone data from their existing mass surveillance tools – such as cable taps , or from international mobile networks – rather than solely from hacking into individual mobile handsets .\nExploiting phone information and location is a high-priority effort for the intelligence agencies , as terrorists and other intelligence targets make substantial use of phones in planning and carrying out their activities , for example by using phones as triggering devices in conflict zones . The NSA has cumulatively spent more than $ 1bn in its phone targeting efforts .\nThe disclosures also reveal how much the shift towards smartphone browsing could benefit spy agencies ' collection efforts .\nOne slide from a May 2010 NSA presentation on getting data from smartphones – breathlessly titled `` Golden Nugget ! '' – sets out the agency 's `` perfect scenario '' : `` Target uploading photo to a social media site taken with a mobile device . What can we get ? ''\nThe question is answered in the notes to the slide : from that event alone , the agency said it could obtain a `` possible image '' , email selector , phone , buddy lists , and `` a host of other social working data as well as location '' .\nIn practice , most major social media sites , such as Facebook and Twitter , strip photos of identifying location metadata ( known as EXIF data ) before publication . However , depending on when this is done during upload , such data may still , briefly , be available for collection by the agencies as it travels across the networks .\nDepending on what profile information a user had supplied , the documents suggested , the agency would be able to collect almost every key detail of a user 's life : including home country , current location ( through geolocation ) , age , gender , zip code , marital status – options included `` single '' , `` married '' , `` divorced '' , `` swinger '' and more – income , ethnicity , sexual orientation , education level , and number of children .\nThe agencies also made use of their mobile interception capabilities to collect location information in bulk , from Google and other mapping apps . One basic effort by GCHQ and the NSA was to build a database geolocating every mobile phone mast in the world – meaning that just by taking tower ID from a handset , location information could be gleaned .\nA more sophisticated effort , though , relied on intercepting Google Maps queries made on smartphones , and using them to collect large volumes of location information .\nSo successful was this effort that one 2008 document noted that `` [ i ] t effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system . ''\nThe information generated by each app is chosen by its developers , or by the company that delivers an app 's adverts . The documents do not detail whether the agencies actually collect the potentially sensitive details some apps are capable of storing or transmitting , but any such information would likely qualify as content , rather than metadata .\nData collected from smartphone apps is subject to the same laws and minimisation procedures as all other NSA activity – procedures that the US president , Barack Obama , suggested may be subject to reform in a speech 10 days ago . But the president focused largely on the NSA 's collection of the metadata from US phone calls and made no mention in his address of the large amounts of data the agency collects from smartphone apps .\nThe latest disclosures could also add to mounting public concern about how the technology sector collects and uses information , especially for those outside the US , who enjoy fewer privacy protections than Americans . A January poll for the Washington Post showed 69 % of US adults were already concerned about how tech companies such as Google used and stored their information .\nThe documents do not make it clear how much of the information that can be taken from apps is routinely collected , stored or searched , nor how many users may be affected . The NSA says it does not target Americans and its capabilities are deployed only against `` valid foreign intelligence targets '' .\nThe documents do set out in great detail exactly how much information can be collected from widely popular apps . One document held on GCHQ 's internal Wikipedia-style guide for staff details what can be collected from different apps . Though it uses Android apps for most of its examples , it suggests much of the same data could be taken from equivalent apps on iPhone or other platforms .\nThe GCHQ documents set out examples of what information can be extracted from different ad platforms , using perhaps the most popular mobile phone game of all time , Angry Birds – which has reportedly been downloaded more than 1.7bn times – as a case study .\nFrom some app platforms , relatively limited , but identifying , information such as exact handset model , the unique ID of the handset , software version , and similar details are all that are transmitted .\nOther apps choose to transmit much more data , meaning the agency could potentially net far more . One mobile ad platform , Millennial Media , appeared to offer particularly rich information . Millennial Media 's website states it has partnered with Rovio on a special edition of Angry Birds ; with Farmville maker Zynga ; with Call of Duty developer Activision , and many other major franchises .\nRovio , the maker of Angry Birds , said it had no knowledge of any NSA or GCHQ programs looking to extract data from its apps users .\n`` Rovio does n't have any previous knowledge of this matter , and have not been aware of such activity in 3rd party advertising networks , '' said Saara Bergström , Rovio 's VP of marketing and communications . `` Nor do we have any involvement with the organizations you mentioned [ NSA and GCHQ ] . ''\nMillennial Media did not respond to a request for comment .\nIn December , the Washington Post reported on how the NSA could make use of advertising tracking files generated through normal internet browsing – known as cookies – from Google and others to get information on potential targets .\nHowever , the richer personal data available to many apps , coupled with real-time geolocation , and the uniquely identifying handset information many apps transmit give the agencies a far richer data source than conventional web-tracking cookies .\nAlmost every major website uses cookies to serve targeted advertising and content , as well as streamline the experience for the user , for example by managing logins . One GCHQ document from 2010 notes that cookie data – which generally qualifies as metadata – has become just as important to the spies . In fact , the agencies were sweeping it up in such high volumes that their were struggling to store it .\n`` They are gathered in bulk , and are currently our single largest type of events , '' the document stated .\nThe ability to obtain targeted intelligence by hacking individual handsets has been well documented , both through several years of hacker conferences and previous NSA disclosures in Der Spiegel , and both the NSA and GCHQ have extensive tools ready to deploy against iPhone , Android and other phone platforms .\nGCHQ 's targeted tools against individual smartphones are named after characters in the TV series The Smurfs . An ability to make the phone 's microphone 'hot ' , to listen in to conversations , is named `` Nosey Smurf '' . High-precision geolocation is called `` Tracker Smurf '' , power management – an ability to stealthily activate an a phone that is apparently turned off – is `` Dreamy Smurf '' , while the spyware 's self-hiding capabilities are codenamed `` Paranoid Smurf '' .\nThose capability names are set out in a much broader 2010 presentation that sheds light on spy agencies ' aspirations for mobile phone interception , and that less-documented mass-collection abilities .\nThe cover sheet of the document sets out the team 's aspirations :\nAnother slide details weak spots in where data flows from mobile phone network providers to the wider internet , where the agency attempts to intercept communications . These are locations either within a particular network , or international roaming exchanges ( known as GRXs ) , where data from travellers roaming outside their home country is routed .\nThese are particularly useful to the agency as data is often only weakly encrypted on such networks , and includes extra information such as handset ID or mobile number – much stronger target identifiers than usual IP addresses or similar information left behind when PCs and laptops browse the internet .\nThe NSA said its phone interception techniques are only used against valid targets , and are subject to stringent legal safeguards .\n`` The communications of people who are not valid foreign intelligence targets are not of interest to the National Security Agency , '' said a spokeswoman in a statement .\n`` Any implication that NSA 's foreign intelligence collection is focused on the smartphone or social media communications of everyday Americans is not true . Moreover , NSA does not profile everyday Americans as it carries out its foreign intelligence mission . We collect only those communications that we are authorized by law to collect for valid foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes – regardless of the technical means used by the targets .\n`` Because some data of US persons may at times be incidentally collected in NSA 's lawful foreign intelligence mission , privacy protections for US persons exist across the entire process concerning the use , handling , retention , and dissemination of data . In addition , NSA actively works to remove extraneous data , to include that of innocent foreign citizens , as early as possible in the process .\n`` Continuous and selective publication of specific techniques and tools lawfully used by NSA to pursue legitimate foreign intelligence targets is detrimental to the security of the United States and our allies – and places at risk those we are sworn to protect . ''\nThe NSA declined to respond to a series of queries on how routinely capabilities against apps were deployed , or on the specific minimisation procedures used to prevent US citizens ' information being stored through such measures .\nGCHQ declined to comment on any of its specific programs , but stressed all of its activities were proportional and complied with UK law .\n`` It is a longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters , '' said a spokesman .\n`` Furthermore , all of GCHQ 's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework that ensures that our activities are authorised , necessary and proportionate , and that there is rigorous oversight , including from the Secretary of State , the Interception and Intelligence Services Commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee . All our operational processes rigorously support this position . ''\n• A separate disclosure on Wednesday , published by Glenn Greenwald and NBC News , gave examples of how GCHQ was making use of its cable-tapping capabilities to monitor YouTube and social media traffic in real-time .\nGCHQ ’ s cable-tapping and internet buffering capabilities , codenamed Tempora , were disclosed by ███ in June , but the new documents published by NBC from a GCHQ presentation titled “ Psychology : A New Kind of SIGDEV '' set out a program codenamed Squeaky Dolphin which gave the British spies “ broad real-time monitoring ” of “ YouTube Video Views ” , “ URLs ‘ Liked ’ on Facebook ” and “ Blogspot/Blogger Visits ” .\nA further slide noted that “ passive ” – a term for large-scale surveillance through cable intercepts – give the agency “ scalability ” .\nThe means of interception mean GCHQ and NSA could obtain data without any knowledge or co-operation from the technology companies . Spokespeople for the NSA and GCHQ told NBC all programs were carried out in accordance with US and UK law .\n• This article was amended on 28 January 2014 . It referred to martial status , instead of marital status . This has been corrected .
|
allsides-corpus-160
|
NSA 's Bulk Collection Of Americans ' Phone Data Is Illegal , Appeals Court Rules\nThe National Security Agency 's practice of collecting data about Americans ' telephone calls in bulk goes beyond what Congress intended when it wrote Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act , a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday .\nThe three-judge panel was asked to consider whether the program violated the Constitution . Instead , the 2nd U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals panel punted on the constitutional claim , deciding the program was simply not authorized by federal law .\nOne of the big reasons it is hard to discern congressional intent in this case , the court wrote , is that the bulk collection program has been shrouded in secrecy . So it can not `` reasonably be said '' that Congress OK 'd `` a program of which many members of Congress — and all members of the public — were not aware . ''\nThe court concludes that it has no qualms about taking this step because if Congress wants to `` authorize such a far‐reaching and unprecedented program , it has every opportunity to do so , and to do so unambiguously . ''\nAccording to The New York Times , this is `` the first time a higher-level court in the regular judicial system has reviewed the program , which since 2006 has repeatedly been approved in secret by a national security court . ''\nThe NSA 's collection of phone metadata came back into the spotlight after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents that shed light on the scope of the program .\nOne of the first leaked documents was a secret court ruling that ordered Verizon to hand over the telephone metadata of all its customers . Metadata does not mean the content of calls . Instead it means things like time , phone numbers and duration of calls .\nThe panel has vacated a lower court 's decision to dismiss the case and has sent it back for further review . The panel also refused to order a preliminary end to the program , saying Congress is currently debating the NSA 's bulk collection program .\n`` We deem it prudent to pause to allow an opportunity for debate in Congress that may ( or may not ) profoundly alter the legal landscape , '' the panel wrote .\nUpdate at 11:47 a.m . ET . Obama Believes Bulk Collection Should End :\nWithout specifically commenting on the court 's ruling , Ned Price , a spokesman for the White House National Security Council , said President Obama has already expressed a preference for ending the bulk collection of metadata as it exists today .\nAs we reported back in January 2014 , Obama said he would prefer that the government not keep a massive database of Americans ' telephone data . Instead , the data could live elsewhere and the U.S. government could query the information based on each investigation .\n`` We continue to work closely with members of Congress from both parties to do just that and we have been encouraged by good progress on bipartisan , bicameral legislation that would implement these important reforms , '' Price said in a statement .\nUpdate at 11:44 a.m . ET . 'Resounding Victory For The Rule Of Law ' :\n`` This decision is a resounding victory for the rule of law , '' ACLU Staff Attorney Alex Abdo , who argued the case before the three-judge panel last September , said in a statement . `` For years , the government secretly spied on millions of innocent Americans based on a shockingly broad interpretation of its authority . The court rightly rejected the government 's theory that it may stockpile information on all of us in case that information proves useful in the future . Mass surveillance does not make us any safer , and it is fundamentally incompatible with the privacy necessary in a free society . ''\nThe ACLU also urged Congress to `` up its reform game '' to align itself with the concerns raised by the 2nd Circuit .\nThe panel argued that when Congress passed the Patriot Act , it could not have understood the sweeping nature of the program . The panel explains :\n`` Such expansive development of government repositories of formerly private records would be an unprecedented contraction of the privacy expectations of all Americans . Perhaps such a contraction is required by national security needs in the face of the dangers of contemporary domestic and international terrorism . But we would expect such a momentous decision to be preceded by substantial debate , and expressed in unmistakable language . There is no evidence of such a debate in the legislative history of § 215 , and the language of the statute , on its face , is not naturally read as permitting investigative agencies , on the approval of the FISC [ the secret national security court ] , to do any more than obtain the sorts of information routinely acquired in the course of criminal investigations of 'money laundering [ and ] drug dealing . ' ``\nUpdate at 9:57 a.m . ET . Echoes Some Members Of Congress :\nNPR 's David Welna , who covers national security for the network , tells us the ruling echoes what some members of Congress have been saying . David reports :
|
allsides-corpus-161
|
I have been writing for years about the dangers to human freedom that come from government mass surveillance . The United States was born in a defiant reaction to government surveillance . In the decade preceding the signing of the Declaration of Independence , the villains were the Stamp Act and the Writs of Assistance Act .\nIn 1765 , when the British government was looking for creative ways to tax the colonists , Parliament enacted the Stamp Act . That law required all persons in the colonies to purchase stamps from a British government vendor and to affix them to all documents in one 's possession . These were not stamps as we use today , rather they bore the seal of the British government . The vendor would apply ink to the seal and for a fee — a tax — impress an image of the seal onto documents .\nAll documents in one 's possession — financial , legal , letters , books , newspapers , pamphlets , even posters destined to be nailed to trees — required the government stamps .\nHow did the British government , 3,000 miles away , know if one had its stamps on one 's documents ? Answer : The Writs of Assistance Act . A writ of assistance was a general warrant issued by a secret court in London . A general warrant does not specifically describe the place to be searched or the person or thing to be seized . It merely authorized the bearer — a civilian or military government official — to search where he wished and seize whatever he found .\nThe use of writs of assistance ostensibly to search colonial homes for stamps produced an avalanche of opposition that often turned to violence against the stamp vendors . The sheer cost of invading private homes fueled fears that the true purpose of the tax was not to generate revenue — though the king always needed cash — rather , it was to remind the colonists that the king was sovereign and his agents and soldiers could enter colonial homes on a whim .\nParliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766 , but it had caused lasting harm to the king . Harvard Professor Bernard Bailyn has estimated that by the late 1760s , one-third of the colonists favored secession from Great Britain , either peaceful or violent .\nIn 1789 , six years after the American Revolution was won , the 13 colonies that had seceded combined into the United States of America under the Constitution . Two years later , the Bill of Rights was ratified , the Fourth Amendment of which was expressly written to prohibit general warrants — to assure that the new government would not and could not do to Americans what the British government had done to the colonists .\nThat assurance was manifested in the amendment 's requirements that only judges can issue search warrants , which must be based on probable cause of crime and which must specifically describe the place to be searched or the person or thing to be seized .\nThe history of the United States is the history of the growth of government and the loss of personal liberty . Thankfully , we eradicated slavery and recognized the equality of all people , irrespective of race or gender . Yet , in times of crisis , we have supinely permitted the federal government to invade our privacy on a scale never approached by the folks who brought the Stamp Act to our ancestors .\nAfter 9/11 , the George W. Bush administration offered the Patriot Act to Congress .\nIt was crafted in secrecy and enacted in infidelity to the Constitution . Members of the House of Representatives had 15 minutes to read is 300 plus pages and no time for serious floor debate . The one senator who spoke out against it was driven from office .\nSection 505 of the Patriot Act permits federal agents to bypass the requirements of the Fourth Amendment and to issue their own search warrants . Those agent-written warrants are not based on probable cause of crime but rather on a representation by one agent to another of governmental needs — the same lame standard used by the secret London courts that issued writs of assistance .\nSince 2001 , federal agents have issued more than 300,000 of these search warrants — which they call National Security Letters — to custodians of financial records . In 2004 alone , 56,507 agent-written search warrants were issued . Those custodians include financial institutions , telecom providers , computer service providers , supermarkets , credit card issuers , health care insurers and providers , legal service providers , local and state governments , and even the Post Office .\nThe very concept of one federal agent authorizing another to seize records is antithetical to the Fourth Amendment and repugnant to the American Revolution .\nI am writing about this now because a section of the Patriot Act will expire on March 15 , and many congressional liberals and libertarians — even a few conservatives still bruised at the governmental surveillance of candidate Donald Trump in 2016 — have been contemplating structural changes to this pernicious law .\nSection 215 — which is about to expire — is as fatal to freedom as is section 505 . It permits designated federal judges to issue general warrants based on the old writs of assistance standard of governmental need . One of those judges signed a search warrant for the telephone records of all Verizon customers in the U.S. — at the time , 115 million of them .\nBoth 215 and 505 are weapons of mass surveillance and should be repealed . They are instruments of a totalitarian government , not of free people . They defy the Constitution . They presume that our rights are not natural but come from a government that can take them back . Mass surveillance produces a state that knows more about us than we do about it — one that will slowly consume our freedoms in the name of governmental needs . It already has .\nJudge Andrew P. Napolitano was the youngest life-tenured Superior Court judge in the history of New Jersey . He is Fox News ’ senior judicial analyst . Napolitano has been published in The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , and numerous other publications . He is the author of the best-seller , `` Lies the Government Told You : Myth , Power , and Deception in American History . '' For more of Judge Napolitano 's reports , Go Here Now .
|
allsides-corpus-162
|
Small Violations Of Medical Privacy Can Hurt Patients And Erode Trust\nProPublica 's Charles Ornstein talks about data breaches Listen · 3:29 3:29\n`` PPL WORLD WIDE , '' the Facebook post shouted , using text-speak for the word `` people . '' `` FRANCES ... IS HPV POSITIVE ! ''\nThe public missive from January 2014 gave Frances ' full name , along with the revelation that she had human papillomavirus , a sexually transmitted disease that can cause genital warts and cancer . It also included her date of birth and ended with a plea to friends : `` PLZ HELP EXPOSE THIS HOE ! ''\nWithin hours , a friend told Frances that a former high school pal who lived near her in northwest Indiana had shared a secret that only her family and a former boyfriend knew , she later said .\n`` My heart fell to my stomach , '' said Frances , a dental assistant in her late 20s who asked that her last name not be used . `` I started crying immediately . ''\nThe Facebook poster was a patient care technician at the local hospital where Frances was treated , but the two were no longer friends .\nFrances complained to a nursing supervisor at the hospital , which sent her a letter of apology in March 2014 .\nUnder the federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , or HIPAA , it 's illegal for health care providers to share patients ' treatment information without their permission . The Office for Civil Rights , the arm of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for enforcing the law , receives more than 30,000 reports about privacy violations each year .\nThe bulk of the government 's enforcement — and the public 's attention — has focused on a small number of splashy cases in which hackers or thieves have accessed the health data of large groups of people . But the damage done in these mass breaches has been mostly hypothetical , with much information exposed but little exploited .\nAs Frances discovered , it 's often little-noticed , smaller-scale violations of medical privacy — the ones that affect only one or two people — that inflict the most harm .\nDriven by personal animus , jealousy or a desire for retribution , small breaches involving sensitive health details are spurring disputes and legal battles across the country :\nIn Tampa , Fla. , a nurse snooped in the medical records of her nephew 's partner , and learned that she had delivered a baby and had put the child up for adoption . She gave a printout to another family member , and the secret was announced at a family funeral in 2013 , the Tampa Bay Times reported . The nephew 's partner complained to the hospital ; the nurse admitted what she had done , was fired and relinquished her Florida nursing license .\nAnd in New Jersey , a woman sued a local hospital this fall , alleging that one of its employees shared details about her 11-year-old son 's attempted suicide with people at his school . The boy was subsequently `` bullied by his peers , called names and made fun of , '' her lawsuit says .\nEven when small privacy violations have real consequences , the federal Office for Civil Rights rarely punishes health care providers for them . Instead , the office typically settles for pledges to fix any problems and issues reminders of what the privacy law requires . It does n't even tell the public which health providers have reported small breaches — or how many .\nAsked about some of the privacy violations highlighted in this report , OCR Director Jocelyn Samuels called them `` heartbreaking stories '' and `` the kinds of harm that HIPAA is intended to address . ''\nShe insisted her agency is n't afraid to pursue formal sanctions when they are warranted , but said its primary role is helping health providers to follow the law . `` Our preference is always to promote voluntary compliance , '' Samuels said .\nFor patients , Samuels ' agency is usually the only place they can seek vindication . HIPAA does not give people the right to sue for damages if their privacy is violated . Patients who seek legal redress must find another cause of action , which is easier in some states than in others .\nAfter being attacked on Facebook , Frances contacted Indianapolis lawyer Neal Eggeson . He had won jury verdicts for people whose medical information was improperly disclosed . Eggeson contacted the hospital and , without filing suit , secured a confidential settlement for Frances . ( He asked that the facility not be named in this story . ) Frances ' former friend no longer works there , she said .\nFrances said she still has n't fully recovered . She sees a therapist and has a hard time trusting others .\n`` It 's hard to even still deal with it , '' she said . `` I 'll spend that extra gas money to go into another city to do grocery shopping or stuff like that , just so I do n't have to see anybody from around the neighborhood . ''\nEggeson , a litigator , was defending insurance companies in car accident cases when a `` friend of a friend of a friend '' referred a young man to him . The man , who is HIV positive , had been sued over a $ 326 debt by the medical group that had been treating him . The group 's court filing gave the man 's name , home address , Social Security number and date of birth — and included a billing statement containing the phrase `` Last Diagnosis : HIV . ''\n`` His first concern was getting the court record sealed , more than anything else , '' Eggeson said . `` I do n't think he had any designs or visions beyond that . ''\nAfter that victory , Eggeson represented Abigail Hinchy , who alleged that a Walgreens pharmacist had snooped in her prescription records and shared the information with the father of Hinchy 's child ( the man was dating and later married the pharmacist ) . Among the data shared : Hinchy had stopped taking birth control pills shortly before she became pregnant . A jury ordered Walgreens and the pharmacist to pay Hinchy $ 1.44 million .\nA copy of Walgreens ' check is framed on the wall of Eggeson 's home office , not far from his life-sized Batman costume and Star Wars lightsabers .\nAmong Eggeson 's current clients is a couple who claim that when their son was in an ATV accident this August , a hospital worker posted a comment on Facebook before the hospital had told them the teen had died . Panicked relatives who saw the post began calling his parents for updates , adding stress to an already wrenching time .\n`` It would n't have changed the outcome , '' said John Stuck , the boy 's father , `` but just the feeling of , 'What in the heck ? What do they know that we do n't ? ' — that 's what freaked me out I think the most . ''\nWhen Eggeson files lawsuits , he argues that privacy breaches amount to medical malpractice .\nWhile Indiana courts have been receptive to such arguments , courts in Ohio , Minnesota and other states have ruled that health providers are not liable for the actions of workers who snoop in medical records outside the scope of their jobs .\nThis summer , a Los Angeles jury ruled against a patient who sued UCLA and the Regents of the University of California after a romantic rival accessed and shared her medical records . The rival was a temporary worker in the office of a private practice physician affiliated with UCLA 's Santa Monica hospital . The doctor acknowledged improperly sharing his password and settled his part of the lawsuit .\nEggeson said it 's distressing that more states are n't like Indiana .\n`` Privacy protections should be the same regardless of what state you 're in , '' he said . `` There is something wrong with an employer providing the means , providing the access , and providing the tools by which an employee can commit this crime and then being able to hold up their hands and say , 'It 's not our fault . ' ``\nThe vast majority of the federal Office for Civil Rights ' enforcement work has been directed at large-scale medical data breaches , whether or not they result in any demonstrable real-world harm .\nHealth providers are required to notify the office within 60 days of breaches affecting at least 500 people and also must share details with the media and contact those potentially affected . OCR 's website makes public a list of these cases , highlighting them on what industry insiders dub the Wall of Shame .\nRarely do small privacy breaches get anywhere near the same attention , except when they involve celebrities or high-profile individuals .\nOrganizations have to report them to OCR only once a year . Even then , the agency does n't post them online . HHS has rejected requests under the Freedom of Information Act for information about them .\nSince 2009 , OCR has received information about 1,400 large breaches . During the same time , more than 181,000 breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals have been reported .\nIn September , the HHS inspector general issued a pair of reports that criticized the Office for Civil Rights , including its handling of small breaches . The inspector general said OCR did not investigate the small breaches reported to it or log them in its tracking system .\n`` OCR does not record that information and therefore it 's not available for staff to be able to look over time '' for repeat offenders , said Blaine Collins , regional inspector general for evaluation and inspections in San Francisco . `` Boy , that 's critical for monitoring and oversight . ''\nSamuels said that her agency is implementing the inspector general 's recommendations to improve oversight . `` We are constantly looking for ways to better serve the public and improve our operations , '' she said .\nPeter Brabeck , a 73-year-old retired petrophysicist who had worked for the oil giant BP , turned to OCR in September 2011 when he found himself in the midst of a nightmare .\nIt began a year earlier when Brabeck 's brother complained to the Medical Board of California that Dr. Steven Mangar , a pain doctor in Salinas , Calif. , had overprescribed controlled substances to Peter . The medical board accused Mangar of prescribing drugs without examining him and sought to take disciplinary action against Mangar 's license .\nMangar reacted by hiring a private investigator to dig up dirt on Brabeck — and gave the investigator all of Brabeck 's medical records . When Mangar refused to pay the investigator , he approached Brabeck 's brother and showed him the records . The investigator then offered to sell the records to Peter Brabeck , who within days complained to the Office for Civil Rights .\n`` Here we have not only a gross violation of [ HIPAA ] laws protecting the confidentiality of every patient 's medical history , but in my mind far worse , '' Brabeck wrote in his complaint . `` Here is a deliberate attempt , born of vengeance , with malice aforethought to inflict great harm on his own patient . ''\nTwo years later , the Office for Civil Rights wrote back , saying it was `` pleased to inform '' Brabeck that his complaint has been resolved . It said it had provided Mangar 's clinic , the Pacific Pain Care Institute , with guidance on how to comply with privacy rules . It said Mangar had acknowledged that he `` impermissibly disclosed '' Brabeck 's personal health information to the private investigator .\nOCR also said that Mangar had agreed to provide Brabeck with free credit monitoring .\nBrabeck , who lives near Carmel , Calif. , said he never actually received the credit monitoring . More importantly , he was left with a sense that the agency did n't take his case seriously .\n`` I made very clear in my letter that it was an act of vengeance and retaliation , '' he said . `` That 's why I was so surprised at how lightly they dismissed the whole thing . ''\nMangar did not return calls for comment . California 's medical board placed his license on probation in 2012 and is now seeking to revoke it , saying he violated his probation and provided negligent care to other patients . Earlier this year , federal and state investigators served search warrants at Mangar 's office and home . Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Amy Patterson said Brabeck 's concerns are part of a much broader investigation that she could not discuss because it is ongoing .\nOCR director Samuels said Brabeck 's case predated her arrival at the agency . But she said it was consistent with `` our general principles '' in terms of the nature of the injury , the number of individuals affected and a provider 's lack of prior HIPAA violations . She also said the doctor agreed to apologize , which `` can be very powerful in terms of remedying the damage that has been done . ''\nBrabeck said he did n't get an apology : `` No . Absolutely not . ''\nProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York . This story is part of a yearlong examination into the security of medical information . Has your medical privacy been compromised ? Help ProPublica investigate by filling out a short questionnaire . You can also read other stories in the Policing Patient Privacy series .
|
allsides-corpus-163
|
Get breaking news alerts and special reports . The news and stories that matter , delivered weekday mornings .\nAmazon will stop police from using its facial recognition technology for a year while it waits for federal regulation of the surveillance tool , the company said in a blog post Wednesday .\nThe announcement follows years of pressure from police reform advocates and privacy activists , including the American Civil Liberties Union , to stop marketing its facial recognition tool to police over concerns that it is racially biased and can be used to build an oppressive system to automate the identification and tracking of anyone .\n“ Face recognition technology gives governments the unprecedented power to spy on us wherever we go . It fuels police abuse , '' said Nicole Ozer , technology and civil liberties director of the ACLU of Northern California , responding to Amazon 's announcement . `` This surveillance technology must be stopped . ''\nAmazon said it has advocated for governments to put in place `` stronger regulations to govern the ethical use of facial recognition technology , '' noting that Congress `` appears to be ready to take on this challenge . ''\n`` We hope this one-year moratorium might give Congress enough time to implement appropriate rules , and we stand ready to help if requested , ” the company said .\nByers Market Newsletter Get breaking news and insider analysis on the rapidly changing world of media and technology right to your inbox . This site is protected by recaptcha\nLiz O ’ Sullivan , a privacy activist and founder or Arthur AI , described the announcement as a “ victory for activists and academics ” who have been pushing for stricter regulation of facial recognition for years . But she noted that it was an “ admission that the entire system of surveillance is flawed , biased and has racial implications . ”\n“ We need to make sure this moratorium turns into a permanent ban , ” she said , calling on activists and members of the public to apply pressure to their local policymakers to ensure any regulation “ serves the people versus corporate interests . ”\nThe one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon Rekognition does not include organizations that work closely with law enforcement to identify victims of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking , such as nonprofit Thorn , the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Marinus Analytics .\nIn July 2018 , the ACLU conducted a test of Amazon Rekognition and found it incorrectly matched 28 members of Congress , identifying them as other people who had been arrested for a crime .\nAt the time , Amazon said the ACLU had set the “ confidence rate ” in the system lower than the recommended level , leading to a higher number of false positives .\n“ Machine learning is a very valuable tool to help law enforcement agencies , and while being concerned it ’ s applied correctly , we should not throw away the oven because the temperature could be set wrong and burn the pizza , ” said the company in a July 2018 statement .\nThe announcement follows a similar pledge from IBM on Monday , when the company ’ s CEO Arvind Krishna wrote a letter to Congress stating it would no longer develop or research facial recognition technology .\nKrishna said the company “ firmly opposes ” the use of facial recognition technology for “ mass surveillance , racial profiling , violations of basic human rights and freedoms . ”\n“ We believe now is the time to begin a national dialogue on whether and how facial recognition technology should be employed by domestic law enforcement agencies , ” he said .
|
allsides-corpus-164
|
`` We 've reached kind of an inflection point in the privacy debate , '' says Senator Ron Wyden ( D–Ore. ) . With Americans spending more time online than ever before during the COVID-19 pandemic , he worries that government surveillance of the internet matters more now .\nBefore the Senate 's May 14 vote to reauthorize the USA Freedom Act , formerly known as the PATRIOT Act , Wyden fought a losing battle to rein in the broad authority that it gives U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on the web activities of American citizens .\n`` Americans should n't have their most intimate information…snooped over by the federal government without a warrant , '' says Wyden . `` That [ information ] is private and personal . It might be your dating history . It might be religious beliefs . It might be your fears…It 's like data mining of somebody 's thoughts . ''\nWyden , a Democrat , along with his Republican colleague Steve Daines ( Mont . ) , tried attaching an amendment to the bill that would 've explicitly banned government agents from collecting Americans ' web search histories without a warrant from a non-FISA court . It was defeated by a single vote .\nNow an anti-surveillance activist group called Fight for the Future is trying to convince Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D–Calif . ) and congressional Democrats to add the same amendment to the House version of the bill .\nBut in a political world where Democrats regularly call the president a power-abusing authoritarian in the making and Republicans bemoan a deep state plot to take down Trump , there 's still only weak support for concrete measures to rein in the post-9/11 surveillance state .\n`` Nancy Pelosi has spent the last several years saying that this administration is dangerous . She impeached the president for abuse of power , '' says Evan Greer , deputy director of Fight for the Future . `` If she does n't take this opportunity to get this amendment in place that at least puts some limit on this administration 's surveillance authority , it 's hard not to feel like the entire 'Resistance ' rhetoric has been a bit of a scam . ''\nGreer says Wyden 's introduction of the amendment could be a way of alerting the public that intelligence agencies have already been collecting U.S. citizens ' web search data . Wyden ca n't say that explicitly because that information would be classified .\n`` Senator Wyden has often been sort of a bit of a canary in the coal mine on things like this , '' says Greer . `` He 'll ask very specific questions of intelligence officials when they come to the Hill that sort of get at some of these things . ''\nOne example was Wyden 's questioning of former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in 2013 about the bulk collection of Americans ' phone records . When Wyden directly asked Clapper `` does the [ National Security Agency ] collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans , '' Clapper answered , `` No , sir…not wittingly . '' Less than three months later , former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden provided journalists documents showing that the FBI and NSA collected millions of cellphone records .\nWhen ███ asked Wyden if he could provide evidence that the government has engaged in warrantless surveillance of Americans ' web searches , he said that he could not discuss classified intelligence information but that he has put in requests for public disclosure of any practices of this sort .\nSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R–Ky . ) opposed Wyden in the Senate , claiming that additional limitations to the nation 's surveillance laws would `` jeopardize important tools that keep America safe . ''\nWyden says McConnell 's claim is `` flatly inaccurate '' and that his amendment addresses McConnell 's national security concerns because , during a crisis , law enforcement agencies would still be allowed to gather intelligence before obtaining a warrant .\nA more modest Senate amendment requiring FISA courts to hear analysis from opposing parties , such as the American Civil Liberties Union , was included in the version of the bill that passed . But Republican Sen. Rand Paul 's more radical effort to eliminate the surveillance of American citizens altogether without a warrant from a non-FISA court was defeated 11-85 . Even Wyden voted against it .\n`` I think that Senator Paul started an important conversation…with respect to whether the whole framework needs to be reconsidered , '' says Wyden . `` I 've told him that right now , I think I 've got my hands full trying to make the many reforms that are needed in FISA immediately . ''\nGreer encourages anyone concerned about government surveillance of what citizens are searching for on the web to call Nancy Pelosi 's office and pressure her to put a version of the Wyden-Daines Amendment , one of which is currently being drafted by Rep. Zoe Lofgren ( D–Calif . ) and Rep. Warren Davidson ( R–Ohio ) , back in the bill .\n`` It 's really important that we remind lawmakers that the public does care about our right to be free from overly broad and intrusive surveillance , '' says Greer .\nMusic : `` Europa '' by Yehezkel Raz licensed from Artlist ; `` Ganymede '' by Yehezkel Raz licensed from Artlist ; `` Hang Drum Traveler '' by Max H. licensed from Artlist ; `` The End '' by Max H. licensed from Artlist
|
allsides-corpus-165
|
Story highlights Eric Holder says Edward Snowden acted illegally , but that he did a public service\nThe former Attorney General also said there is a `` race-based '' component to Trump 's campaign\nThe Axe Files , featuring David Axelrod , is a podcast distributed by CNN and produced at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics . The author works at the institute .\nChicago ( CNN ) Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says Edward Snowden performed a `` public service '' by triggering a debate over surveillance techniques , but still must pay a penalty for illegally leaking a trove of classified intelligence documents .\n`` We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did , but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate that we engaged in and by the changes that we made , '' Holder told David Axelrod on `` The Axe Files , '' a podcast produced by CNN and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics .\n`` Now I would say that doing what he did -- and the way he did it -- was inappropriate and illegal , '' Holder added .\nHolder said Snowden jeopardized America 's security interests by leaking classified information while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency in 2013 .\nJUST WATCHED Here 's video of Holder talking about Snowden when he was in office in 2014 Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Here 's video of Holder talking about Snowden when he was in office in 2014 01:36\n`` He harmed American interests , '' said Holder , who was at the helm of the Justice Department when Snowden leaked U.S. surveillance secrets . `` I know there are ways in which certain of our agents were put at risk , relationships with other countries were harmed , our ability to keep the American people safe was compromised . There were all kinds of re-dos that had to be put in place as a result of what he did , and while those things were being done we were blind in certain really critical areas . So what he did was not without consequence . ''
|
allsides-corpus-166
|
The Supreme Court ’ s new move toward a definitive ruling on same-sex marriage could cement President Barack Obama ’ s claim to having presided over the most significant advances in gay rights in United States history .\nObama ’ s term has already seen the enactment of a federal law protecting gays and lesbians against hate crimes , an end to the ban on openly gay members of the U.S military and the issuance of a Supreme Court ruling striking down the law banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage . Such unions have now spread to 36 states across the country . A new Supreme Court ruling declaring same-sex marriage rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution could serve as the capstone on a record of change unparalleled on any other issue in the public eye during his tenure .\nBut precisely how much credit Obama deserves for the tectonic shift on the issue during his presidency is less clear-cut .\nMany gay rights activists and historians see Obama as having been reluctant to put much muscle into gay rights causes early in his White House stay , but then warming to the topic as a result of outside pressure and a realization that rapidly changing public opinion made such moves politically advantageous . Some advocates say he ’ s added crucial momentum to the drive for “ marriage equality ” in recent years , while others say he ’ s still cautious on the subject and more inclined to be swept along by the public debate than to lead it .\nThat gay rights , and in particular same-sex marriage , could wind up as a hulking component of Obama ’ s legacy is a surprising development for a president who publicly snubbed same-sex marriage until nearly 3 1/2 years into his presidency and faced repeated complaints that he was shortchanging gay issues .\n“ He was late to the party , but he certainly made up for it , ” said Richard Socarides , a New York lawyer and longtime gay rights advocate . “ This is shaping up to be [ Obama ’ s ] most significant policy achievement of his entire presidency . He has certainly participated and , in some large measure I think , pushed forward the most significant gains in gay rights that we ’ ve seen in the history of the country .\n“ He ’ s done so sometimes begrudgingly , but I think that is the nature of the presidency , ” the activist and former Clinton White House adviser said , noting the competing demands on a president ’ s attention .\nObama and his aides “ were against it until they were for it , and then they really owned the issue and championed it in a way that was jaw-droppingly historic , and that ’ s what they ’ ll be remembered for , ” said the Human Rights Campaign ’ s Fred Sainz .\nSome historians , however , give Obama less credit and question how much the issue deserves to be seen as part of his legacy . They conclude that Obama has eased the country ’ s moves toward greater recognition of gay rights but hasn ’ t been at the forefront of them .\n“ The question is : Is he a leader or a follower ? ” asked Andrea Friedman , a history professor at Washington University in St. Louis .\n“ Obama has been carried along by public opinion and shifts in public opinion that have just accelerated so rapidly , ” she said in answer to her own question . “ I don ’ t see him necessarily as a leader or this as part of his legacy . ”\nWhen Obama marked gay pride month last year , he boasted about his record but was careful to temper the remark with an acknowledgement that the White House had often been nudged along on the issue .\n“ Because of your help , we ’ ve gone further in protecting the rights of lesbian and gay and bisexual and transgender Americans than any administration in history , ” the president said .\nThe Supreme Court potentially extended that trend Friday when it announced that it has agreed to take up a set of cases that raise the issue of whether the U.S. Constitution guarantees all Americans the right to enter into same-sex marriages and whether states are obliged to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states .\nThe outcome of the case is far from guaranteed , but many legal analysts believe the court ’ s liberal justices are likely to join with Republican appointee Justice Anthony Kennedy in a ruling that makes same-sex marriage available nationwide .\nEarly on , the president showed more timidity in his approach on gay rights . The administration ’ s strategy on the military ’ s “ don ’ t ask , don ’ t tell ” policy , for instance , involved prolonged consultations with the Pentagon . As a result , the project lingered until Democrats lost seats in the Senate and Obama ’ s overall policy agenda bogged down .\nLegislation to repeal the “ don ’ t ask , don ’ t tell ” policy passed during Congress ’ s lame-duck session at the end of 2010 , and the president claimed the bill as a triumph , but many activists quietly said the administration ’ s strategy was flawed and the measure only nosed over the finish line due to a last-minute push by the likes of departing Sen. Joe Lieberman ( I-Conn. ) .\nOnce the law passed , however , advocates generally gave Obama high marks for its implementation , as well as for his appointment of a historic number of gay and lesbian officials to senior posts and judgeships .\nGay rights activists also credit the administration for taking a bold move in 2011 to dismantle the Defense of Marriage Act , the federal law President Bill Clinton signed in 1996 barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages . Attorney General Eric Holder , acting with Obama ’ s concurrence , announced the administration would no longer defend the law in court because there was no plausible argument to support its constitutionality .\n“ That was as game-changing as anything , ” said former Rep. Barney Frank ( D-Mass . ) , the first openly gay member of Congress . “ Presidents always have to defend the constitutionality of legislation they dislike . For the president to take the position that DOMA was so blatantly unconstitutional and undesirable that he would take that unusual step [ to abandon the law ] , that was the biggest deal of anything he did , and he deserved an enormous amount of credit for it . ”\nThat decision drew howls of outrage from Republicans , but in a 5-4 ruling two years later , the Supreme Court struck the law down .\nGay rights activists welcomed Obama ’ s reversal on same-sex marriage in 2012 , but he continued until last year to hold a nuanced stance on the legalities of the issue — arguably undercutting some advocates ’ efforts to have the courts sanction same-sex marriage throughout the country .\nIn part to fend off Republican calls for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage , Obama for years declared that marriage has traditionally been a state issue . Even when Obama ’ s evolution on gay marriage reached its apogee in 2012 , he spoke of state-by-state experimentation on the issue as welcome .\n“ What you ’ re seeing is , I think , states working through this issue — in fits and starts , all across the country , ” Obama told ABC ’ s Robin Roberts in an interview designed to showcase his change of heart on the subject . “ Different communities are arriving at different conclusions , at different times . And I think that ’ s a healthy process and a healthy debate . And I continue to believe that this is an issue that is going to be worked out at the local level , because historically , this has not been a federal issue , what ’ s recognized as a marriage . ”\nIn that interview , Obama also declined to quibble with North Carolina voters who had just agreed to insert a new ban on gay marriage in their state ’ s constitution .\nObama ’ s stance has long struck some advocates as misguided , since federal court cases striking down state bans on interracial marriage are at the core of civil rights jurisprudence and Obama once taught that subject at the University of Chicago . The approach also seemed to evoke a thread of the history of “ states ’ rights ” resistance to federal anti-discrimination laws — an odd resonance for America ’ s first African-American president .\nWhen litigation challenging California ’ s voter-approved same-sex marriage ban reached the Supreme Court in 2013 , the Justice Department did not announce unequivocal support for a federal constitutional right to what advocates call marriage equality . Instead , Obama administration lawyers took the highly nuanced position that California could not deny same-sex couples the right to marry because the state already accorded such couples all the other privileges that go along with marriage .\nSome analysts said the brief reflected a lack of courage on the administration ’ s part . Others said it was a strategic move aimed at making sure the court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act — a decision most easily reached by deferring to states .\n“ As a Republican looking at a Democratic president , President Obama ’ s equivocation on gay equality issues has always been really puzzling , ” said Gregory Angelo of the Log Cabin Republicans , a gay GOP group that backs same-sex marriage rights .\nWhen the Supreme Court announced Friday that it plans to wade into the issue of a federal right to same-sex marriage , the White House remained silent . In fact , on the eve of the announcement , White House press secretary Josh Earnest declined to state the president ’ s views on the legal issues , though the spokesman said the president would welcome wider availability of same-sex marriage .\nHolder was more direct , announcing that the administration will urge the court to make same-sex marriage rights the law of the land .\n“ We expect to file a ‘ friend of the court ’ brief in these cases that will urge the Supreme Court to make marriage equality a reality for all Americans , ” the attorney general said in a statement Friday . “ It is time for our nation to take another critical step forward to ensure the fundamental equality of all Americans — no matter who they are , where they come from , or whom they love . ”\nGay rights advocates say politics explain much of Obama ’ s reorientation from diffidence to active embrace of their positions . As public sentiment shifted on the issue , the administration saw opportunities to appeal to important constituencies by pushing an issue that differentiated Obama from most Republican candidates .\nProminent blogger and former Obama critic John Aravosis said Friday that he believes the administration ’ s change of approach on the subject became evident during the Democratic National Convention in 2012 . Pushing gay rights there wasn ’ t just the right thing to do , or a move to satisfy gay activists , but projected tolerance in a way that appealed politically to female voters , young people and others .\n“ Since 2012 , they ’ ve been embracing it , ” Aravosis said , even describing the administration as “ grandstanding ” on the issue . “ On the left , people talk about ours as one of the only progressive issues where [ Obama ] has had great success . ”\n“ Once they understood that this was an issue that could work for them , they got fully behind it . That happened when he got reelected : They realized they could run on this , rather than run away from it , ” added Socarides .\n“ Part of being president means you get to take credit for things that happen on your watch , and [ Obama ] came around and he was there when we needed him , ” Socarides said , getting to the issue of whether Obama could claim the sweeping change on the issue as part of his legacy . “ He definitely played a big part . ”\nAngelo said Obama deserves credit for embracing same-sex marriage rights even if that move came “ later than it should have. ” However , the gay GOP leader argued that the issue has been one where most politicians lagged , not led , the public .\n“ I don ’ t think any factor has been more important in influencing public opinion — and , I dare say , the opinions of the Supreme Court — than Joe and Jane American who happen to be gay and live down the street and are living their lives openly and honestly with their friends , neighbors and family members , ” Angelo said . “ It ’ s trickled up more than it ’ s trickled down . ”\nThe advances on gay rights under Obama are so dramatic that The New Republic declared last October that he had become , in essence , America ’ s first gay president — a label that echoes author Toni Morrison ’ s branding of President Bill Clinton in 1998 as America ’ s first black president .\nHowever , it ’ s also clear that Obama ’ s rejections of same-sex marriage continued to sting his own supporters and even close staffers all the way until his election to the White House . And even in 2004 — as he ran for the U.S. Senate at the age of 43 — he was unaware of the Stonewall Riots , a watershed 1969 event in the history of the fight for gay rights , according to “ Winning Marriage , ” a book by Marc Solomon of Freedom to Marry .\nFrank said that dwelling on Obama ’ s self-described evolution on the issue misses a more basic fact : Without his nominees to the Supreme Court , the ruling expected in June wouldn ’ t even be conceivable .\n“ If he had not appointed [ Justices Sonia ] Sotomayor and [ Elena ] Kagan , and if John McCain had been president and had appointed two justices , there isn ’ t any room for doubt we would not have had the DOMA case and the issue wouldn ’ t be before them again , ” Frank said . “ None of this would ’ ve been on the boards right now . ”
|
allsides-corpus-167
|
A matter of `` dignity '' is how Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cast his majority opinion upholding the right to same-sex marriage . Though Friday 's decision invoked high constitutional principles , the case had its roots in a very human , very personal crisis . Our Cover Story is reported by Martha Teichner :\nA party broke out on the steps of the Supreme Court when its ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry was announced . For the record , the case was called Obergefell v. Hodges .\nAnd in the middle of the noise and jubilation , Jim Obergefell got a phone call from President Obama :\n`` Your leadership on this has changed the country , '' Mr. Obama said .\n`` I really appreciate that , Mr. President , '' Obergefell said . `` It 's really been an honor for me to be involved in this fight , and to have been able to fight for my marriage and live up to my commitments to my husband . ''\nJim Obergefell and John Arthur had been together more than 20 years when they were married in July of 2013 . Arthur was dying of ALS , Lou Gehrig 's disease , so family and friends raised $ 13,000 to fly the couple by medical jet out of Ohio ( where gay marriage was prohibited ) to Maryland , where the ceremony was performed legally , aboard the plane , on the tarmac in Baltimore .\nAll Obergefell wanted was to be listed as `` husband '' on Arthur 's Ohio death certificate .\nAs he told ███ correspondent Jan Crawford , `` I promised John . It was one more promise I made to him that I would fight for him . I would fight for our marriage wherever that led . ''\nTheir sad love story , combined with cases from Michigan , Tennessee and Kentucky , led to Friday 's historic 5-4 ruling , and to Justice Anthony Kennedy 's words , in the majority opinion : `` They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law . The Constitution grants them that right . ''\n`` The thing about the same-sex marriage issue is , it was n't started by the big gay groups -- they hated this issue , '' said Andy Humm , a long-time gay activist and journalist in New York .\n`` The big gay groups thought it was a big loser , and they were right in the beginning . ''\nWhat changed so quickly ? Because , he said , same-sex marriage in a few states happened , `` and the sky did n't fall . The law changed , and what changed for people in their lives ? Well , they just saw happiness for gay couples . ''\nGloria and Linda Bailey-Davies were married on May 17 , 2004 , the first day same-sex marriage licenses were issued in Massachusetts , the first state to legalize gay marriage .\nSince then , how much the landscape has changed is remarkable , and how fast -- over the last two years especially , the number of states has accelerated , reaching 37 -- before the Supreme Court guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide .\nIn 1996 , fewer than 3 in 10 Americans ( 27 percent ) thought same-sex marriage should be legal . Now , nearly 6 in 10 ( 57 percent ) do .\n`` I do n't think most of us who have ever read the scripture would believe that there is a division over what marriage means , '' said former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee . `` It 's still one man , one woman , life partners , and the courts can no more suspend the law of marriage any more than it can suspend the law of gravity . ''\nLike Huckabee , every Republican presidential candidate has lined up against the Supreme Court ruling .\nChief Justice John Roberts argued in his dissent that the issue should have been left to states -- voted on , not decreed by the court . `` Just who do we think we are ? '' he wrote .\n`` We have to go , obviously , by what the courts say , but I certainly can disagree with them , and I do , '' said Alabama Governor Robert Bentley . He 's willing to comply with the ruling , but there is resistance ..\nWhen Michael Robinson and his partner , Earl Benjamin , tried to get a marriage license in New Orleans after the court ruled on Friday , they were told they would have to wait . Louisiana and Mississippi claimed `` legal technicalities . ''\n`` It 's disappointing that Louisiana will not be following the movement that is happening around the country today , '' said Robinson .\nAnd in Texas , Reverend Dave Welch of the Houston Area Pastor Council vowed disobedience . `` A law that violates the law of God is no law at all , '' he said . `` There is no question : it is by the thousands and tens of thousands and the hundreds of thousands that will not bend the knee and we will not kiss the ring . We will not bow to the god of political correctness that seems to be dominating much of our court system today . ''\nAndy Humm said in response , `` This is your homophobia . This is your fear . This is your hatred of gay people , and you got ta get over it . ''\nImmediately after the Supreme Court decision , 85-year-old Jack Evans and 82-year-old George Harris , partners for more than 50 years , were the first gays to tie the knot legally in Dallas . An estimated 390,000 same-sex couples had already beaten them to it in the United States , raising this question : A generation from now , will gay marriage be a non-issue ?
|
allsides-corpus-168
|
The Robertson family released a statement late Thursday that raises doubts about the future of one of the most popular shows on cable television .\n“ We have had a successful working relationship with A & E but , as a family , we can not imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm , ” the Robertson family said in a prepared statement . “ We are in discussions with A & E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty . ”\nThe family said it has “ spent much time in prayer ” since learning A & E had suspended Phil Robertson , the patriarch of the Louisiana family , over comments he made about homosexuality .\nRobertson sparked a national debate on religion and tolerance in an interview with GQ magazine . The writer asked him what he considered to be sinful behavior .\n“ Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there . Bestiality , sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men , ” Robertson said .\nThen he paraphrased Paul ’ s letter to the Corinthians : “ Don ’ t be deceived . Neither the adulterers , the idolaters , the male prostitutes , the homosexual offenders , the greedy , the drunkards , the slanderers , the swindlers -- they won ’ t inherit the kingdom of God . Don ’ t deceive yourself . It ’ s not right . ”\nThe family defended Robertson ’ s comments and stressed that they are a “ family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word . ”\n“ While some of Phil ’ s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse , his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible , ” the family said . “ Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments : ‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart ’ and ‘ Love your neighbor as yourself. ’ Phil would never incite or encourage hate . ”\nThe family also criticized A & E for its actions , saying he was placed on hiatus “ for expressing his faith , which is his constitutionally protected right . ”\nRobertson ’ s comments drew immediate condemnation from gay rights groups who pressured the network to take action . On Wednesday , A & E announced Robertson was being removed from the show indefinitely .\n`` We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson 's comments in GQ , which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty , '' the network said in a statement .\n`` His personal views in no way reflect those of A & E Networks , who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community . The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely . ''\nA & E ’ s decision to pull Robertson from the show drew strong support from the gay and lesbian rights group GLAAD .\n“ What ’ s clear is that such hateful anti-gay comments are unacceptable to fans , viewers , and networks alike , ” said GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz . “ By taking quick action and removing Robertson from future filming , A & E has sent a strong message that discrimination is neither a Christian nor an American value . ”\nDuck Dynasty drew 11.8 million viewers in August for the debut of its fourth season - setting a record for a cable nonfiction series . Hundreds of thousands of outraged fans responded to the news of Robertson ’ s suspension by launching boycotts and petitions They accused the network of discriminating against Robertson because of his religious beliefs and violating his First Amendment rights .\n“ Free speech is an endangered species , ” wrote former Alaska Gov . Sarah Palin on her Facebook page . “ Those ‘ intolerants ’ hatin ’ and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us . ”\nLouisiana Gov . Bobby Jindal also voiced support for his embattled constituents .\n“ The politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints , except those they disagree with , ” he said . “ It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh , and Phil Robertson gets suspended . ''\nTony Perkins , president of the Family Research Council , told Fox News the suspension shows Hollywood wants to avoid reality .\n“ The reality is that the Robertson family are Bible-believing Christians who don ’ t cherry pick what the Bible teaches , ” he said .\nPerkins said the Duck Dynasty patriarch was targeted “ simply because he expressed his religious beliefs but there is a clear double standard that is being applied . ”\n“ It is time for all Americans to take a stand against the cultural elites who want to destroy the livelihood of people and remove God and His truth from every aspect of public life , ” he said .\nThe Liberty Institute , a legal firm specializing in religious liberty cases , condemned A & E ’ s actions and urged them to reconsider .\n“ In the spirit of American tolerance of religious diversity , A & E should reinstate Mr. Robertson and apologize for its religious bigotry , ” the statement read .
|
allsides-corpus-169
|
UPDATE : A federal judge has ordered a defiant Kentucky clerk to jail after she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples .\nU.S. District Judge David Bunning told Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis she would be jailed until she complied with his order to issue the licenses . Davis said `` thank you '' before she was led out of the courtroom by a U.S. marshal . She was not in handcuffs .\nBunning also warned deputy clerks around the state that they could suffer the same fate should they refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples .\nDavis has refused to issue marriages licenses for two months since the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage . She argues that her Christian faith should exempt her from signing the licenses .\nI ’ m very steadfast in what I believe . I don ’ t leave my conscience and my Christian soul out in my vehicle and come in here and pretend to be something I ’ m not . It ’ s easy to talk the talk , but can you walk the walk ? — Kim Davis , clerk of Rowan County , Kentucky\nLiberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver , who is representing Davis , called the ruling “ outrageous . ”\n“ If this country has come to this point where a judge jails someone like Kim Davis for their religious convictions – then we have lost our religious liberty , ” Staver told me .\nHe said Davis will be fingerprinted and photographed “ just like a criminal . ”\n“ This can not be tolerated , ” he said . “ This is ultimately going to spark a huge debate around the country . This is not the kind of country – this is not the America that our founders envisioned . ”\nKim Davis could become the first Christian in America jailed as a result of the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage .\n“ I ’ ve weighed the cost and I ’ m prepared to go to jail , I sure am , ” Mrs. Davis told me in an exclusive interview . “ This has never been a gay or lesbian issue for me . This is about upholding the word of God . ”\n“ This is a heaven or hell issue for me and for every other Christian that believes , ” she said . “ This is a fight worth fighting . ”\nDavis is the clerk of Rowan County , Ky. – a small patch of earth in the northeastern part of the state . She was elected last November – taking the place of her mother , who held the position for nearly 40 years .\nIt ’ s fair to say that issuing marriage licenses was something of a family business – until the day the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage .\nDavis is a devout Apostolic Christian , and she knew that should gay marriage become legal , she could not and would not sign her name on a same-sex marriage certificate .\n“ I would have to either make a decision to stand or I would have to buckle down and leave , ” she said , pondering her choices . “ And if I left , resigned or chose to retire , I would have no voice for God ’ s word .\nSo when that day came , she issued an edict : No more marriage licenses would be issued in Rowan County . It was a decision that would bring down the wrath of militant LGBT activists and their supporters .\n“ They told my husband they were going to burn us down while we slept in our home , ” she said . “ He ’ s been told that he would be beaten up and tied up and made to watch them rape me . I have been told that gays should kill me . ”\nLiberty Counsel , the public interest law firm that represents Davis , says forcing her to issue same-sex marriage licenses violates her religious beliefs . But the courts don ’ t seem interested in that argument .\nA federal judge ordered her to issue the licenses , an appeals court upheld that decision and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene . Should Davis continue to defy the law , she could be fined or sent to jail .\nNo matter what the court decides , Davis says she will not violate her religious beliefs – and she will not resign her post .\n“ I ’ m very steadfast in what I believe , ” she told me . “ I don ’ t leave my conscience and my Christian soul out in my vehicle and come in here and pretend to be something I ’ m not . It ’ s easy to talk the talk , but can you walk the walk ? ”\nThe mainstream media and the activists have been ruthless . They ’ ve portrayed her as a monster – a right-wing , homophobic hypocrite . She ’ s been smeared by tabloid-style reports on her checkered past . They ’ ve written extensively about her failed marriages .\nIt ’ s true , she ’ s been married four times . But what ’ s missing in the mainstream media coverage is the context . Her life was radically changed by Jesus Christ in 2011 , and since then she has become a different person .\n“ My God in heaven knows every crack , every crevice , every deep place in my heart , ” she said . “ And he knows the thoughts that are in my mind before I even think them . And he has given me such a beautiful and wonderful grace through all of this . ”\nShe once lived for the devil , but now she lives for God . She ’ s a sinner saved by grace .\n“ I had created such a pit of sin for myself with my very own hands , ” she told me .\nSo how does she handle the reporters and talking heads who call her a hypocrite ?\n“ All I can say to them is if they have a sordid past like what I had , they too can receive the cleansing and renewing , and they can start a fresh life and they can be different , ” she said . “ They don ’ t have to remain in their sin , there ’ s hope for tomorrow . ”\nDavis did not seek the national spotlight . She had no intention of becoming a spokeswoman for religious liberty , and she bristles at the idea that she is a hero of the faith .\n“ I ’ m just a vessel God has chosen for this time and this place , ” she said . “ I ’ m no different than any other Christian . It was my appointed time to stand , and their time will come . ”
|
allsides-corpus-170
|
The `` Harry Potter '' author has come under fire for tweeting a message of support Thursday for Maya Forstater , a researcher who lost her job at a think tank for stating that people can not change their biological sex .\n`` Dress however you please , '' Rowling wrote . `` Call yourself whatever you like . Sleep with any consenting adult who ’ ll have you . Live your best life in peace and security . But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real ? # IStandWithMaya # ThisIsNotADrill ''\nThe “ Harry Potter ” author , otherwise known for her liberal political views , was label by many on Twitter as a TERF ( Trans Exclusive Radical Feminist ) . The hashtag `` # JKRowlingIsATerf '' was a top trending topic that day .\nA spokesperson for Rowling told ███ the author would not have any further comment .\nThe researcher was a visiting fellow at the Centre for Global Development , which in March declined to renew her contract . A London judge this week upheld her dismissal , finding that her views of sex and gender were “ absolutist '' and `` incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others . ''\nForstater shared a copy of the judge 's ruling on Twitter .\n`` I struggle to express the shock and disbelief I feel at reading this judgment , '' she wrote . `` My belief as i set out in my witness statement is that sex is a biological fact & is immutable . There are two sexes . Men are male . Women are female . It is impossible to change sex . These were until very recently understood as basic facts of life . ''\nThe researcher noted she will use `` preferred pronouns '' as a `` matter of courtesy '' and that everyone `` should be free to express themselves , to break free of gender stereotypes and to live free of violence , harassment and discrimination . ''\n`` But this does not require removing people ’ s freedom to speak about objective reality , or to discuss proposed changes to law and to government policies clearly , '' she added .\nIn a statement to ███ Thursday , GLAAD 's head of talent Anthony Ramos condemned Rowling 's support for Forstater .\n`` J.K. Rowling , whose books gave kids hope that they could work together to create a better world , has now aligned herself with an anti-science ideology that denies the basic humanity of people who are transgender , '' he wrote . `` Trans men , trans women , and non-binary people are not a threat , and to imply otherwise puts trans people at risk . Now is the time for allies who know and support trans people to speak up and support their fundamental right to be treated equally and fairly . ''\nRowling 's tweet stirred controversy , with some criticizing the author and others defending her .\nAmong those criticizing her was the Human Rights Campaign , which tweeted : “ Trans women are women . Trans men are men . Non-binary people are non-binary . CC : JK Rowling . ”\nJ.K. Rowling says Dumbledore , Grindelwald had sexual relationship ; fans mourn missed opportunity\n`` This is incredibly disappointing to see , from someone whose writing espouses so much kindness , '' wrote @ LouisatheLast . `` Ms. Forstater has the right to think what she pleases , but she does not have the right to expect that employers will always be okay with that . Trans people have to go to work too . ''\n`` As a gay man that found safety in Hogwarts throughout my childhood - knowing that Trans people wouldn ’ t be able to have that safety breaks my heart , '' wrote user @ shahmiruk .\nMore : 'Harry Potter ' author JK Rowling gives $ 18.8 million gift for MS research\nSome Twitter users backed Rowling and slammed the criticism directed at her .\n`` The one time you say something reasonable and everyone ’ s canceling you , '' wrote @ MsBlaireWhite .\n`` Just in case you needed any further proof that the Left is the party of raging intolerance , cancel culture , blind hypocrisy , and the full refusal to compromise on even the most reasonable of ideas outside their 'woke ' insanity .... here we are , watching them cannibalize their own , '' wrote @ iheartmindy .\nJ.K. Rowling mocks Trump with sarcasm : His Twitter rant is study of quiet strength
|
allsides-corpus-171
|
CLOSE Rowan County , Kentucky clerk Kim Davis squares off with David Moore and his partner David Ermold over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a federal court order to do so . The Courier-Journal\nMOREHEAD , Ky. — Defying the Supreme Court , a county clerk says she was acting under `` God 's authority '' Tuesday while continuing to deny marriage licenses to gay couples , whose lawyers asked a federal judge to hold her in contempt of court .\nThe Supreme Court refused Monday to allow Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis ’ office to deny the licenses because of her religious beliefs . However , on Tuesday morning , she turned away at least four couples .\n`` To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God 's definition of marriage , with my name affixed to the certificate , would violate my conscience , '' Davis said in a statement on the website of her lawyers , Orlando-based Liberty Counsel . `` It is not a light issue for me . It is a Heaven or Hell decision . For me , it is a decision of obedience . ''\nDavid Moore and his partner , David Ermold , confronted Davis over the clerk 's counter for more than 5 minutes as crowd of supporters shouted for Davis to do her job .\n`` This is overwhelming . It feels ridiculous , '' Moore said after being refused . `` Who has to go through this to get married ? This is 2015 . This is America . This is what we pay taxes for — to be treated like this , to be discriminated against ? ''\nLater in the morning , lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union filed two motions in U.S. District Court to hold Davis in contempt of court and compel her to start issuing marriage licenses again to those who apply . They want her to be severely fined , not jailed .\n“ I feel like I ’ ve been humiliated on such a national level , I can ’ t even comprehend it. ” David Ermold , Morehead , Ky .\n`` The duty of public officials is to enforce the law , not place themselves above it , '' the ACLU 's legal director , Steven R. Shapiro , said in a statement . State law requires county clerks to issue marriage licenses to all eligible applicants .\nAn hour later Davis and her deputy clerks were notified to appear at an 11 a.m . ET Thursday hearing at U.S. District Court in Ashland , Ky. , about an hour to the east . The county seat of Rowan County , Morehead , is about halfway between Lexington and Ashland and is home to 10,000-student Morehead State University ; the county itself has about 24,000 residents .\nKentucky Gov . Steve Beshear previously has told county clerks resistant to issuing same-sex marriage licenses to resign . Another couple has filed a misdemeanor official-misconduct complaint against Davis with Kentucky 's attorney general , and Jack Conway , now running as the Democratic nominee for governor in this conservative state , will decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor .\nAs an elected official , Davis can ’ t be fired , but federal Judge David Bunning , who previously ordered her to stop denying marriage licenses , can impose potentially heavy fines and jail time . She could be impeached but the state Legislature is not in session and many lawmakers support her position .\nThe Kentucky County Clerk 's Association has proposed legislation to remove the issuing of marriage licenses from county clerks ' duties , relegating it to the state . County clerks now record and keep various legal records , including vehicle , hunting , fishing and marriage licenses ; mortgages , deeds and liens ; and voter-registration forms .\nDavis won her $ 80,000-a-year office in November , running as a Democrat , and succeeded her mother who served as county clerk for 37 years , according to The Morehead News .\n`` She is basically telling Judge Bunning and the 6th Circuit and the Supreme Court that she does n't care what they say , '' said William Kash Stilz Jr. , a lawyer for one gay couple whom her office has turned away four times , including Tuesday .\n“ I 'm willing to face my consequences , and you all will face your consequences when it comes time for judgment . It 's plain and simple. ” Kim Davis , Rowan County ( Ky. ) clerk\nMat Staver , Liberty Counsel 's chairman , said the decision was Davis ' to continue denying marriage licenses .\n`` Every decision in this case has been her decision , '' he said . `` For her this is ... not a defiance-of-the-court issue . This is a conscience issue . ''\nMonday 's ruling from the Supreme Court , made without comment or apparent dissents , is an early indication that while some push-back against gay marriage on religious grounds may be upheld , the justices wo n't tolerate it from public officials . In one of the first tests of the court 's June 26 decision upholding the rights of gays and lesbians to marry , Davis had argued that her Apostolic Christian faith prevented her from recognizing such marriages .\nRather than deny only same-sex couples , which the high court had said would be unconstitutional , Davis chose to stop issuing marriage licenses altogether — and same-sex and opposite-sex couples sued her .\n“ I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will , '' she said in her statement . `` To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue . It is about marriage and God ’ s Word . ”\nBut her detractors mock her moral stand , noting that Davis was married and divorced three times before marrying her fourth husband .\nDavis argued before the courts that her refusal to issue licenses was not a major burden for any couple because Kentucky has more than 130 other marriage-licensing locations in other county clerks ' offices and branches . But federal district and appeals court judges refused to grant her wish , forcing Davis to seek the Supreme Court 's intervention .\nAt one point Tuesday , Moore and Ermold said they were not leaving without a license , and Davis told them they would be in for a long day . Then she began walking back toward her office where she remained much of the day with the door and blinds closed .\nThat 's when Moore shouted for someone to call the police .\n`` You should be ashamed of yourself , '' he yelled . `` Everyone in this office should be ashamed of themselves . Is this what you want to remember ? Is this what you want to remember — that you stood up for this ? That you children have to look at you and realize that you are a bigot and that you discriminated against people ? ''\n`` I 'm willing to face my consequences , and you all will face your consequences when it comes time for judgment , '' she said . `` It 's plain and simple . ''\nErmold and Moore have been together for 17 years . Davis has rejected their attempts to apply for a marriage license four times , and they now are among those suing Davis .\n“ I feel sad . I feel devastated , ” Ermold said outside as he stood with protesters . “ I feel like I ’ ve been humiliated on such a national level , I can ’ t even comprehend it . ”\nMoore said he hopes to obtain a license before the end of 2015 although lawyers have told him that the case could drag on for years .\nJames Yates and Willliam Smith Jr. left the courthouse hand-in-hand after they also were refused a license for the fifth time in recent weeks . Yates appeared to be fighting back tears as he said the denial was too hard to talk about .\nTheir lawyer , Stilz , said they were jeered as they left the courthouse .\n`` James said he and Will had never seen such hatred , '' Stilz said .\nRandy Smith , a local evangelist and Davis supporter , said her convictions are from God and he doubts she will reverse her policy . He was one of dozens of people backing the clerk and singing hymns in a demonstration outside .\nSome of her supporters compared her Tuesday to the Biblical figures of Paul and Silas , imprisoned for their faith and rescued by God .\n“ It ’ s because of the love of Christ that Kim is not passing out marriage licenses , '' said one man in the crowd , Jack Templeman . `` She ’ s even going against a man and woman to show the love of Christ . ... It ’ s all about the love of God . I see signs that it is about hate , but it ’ s really not . It ’ s about love . ”\nThe high court 's ruling does n't end Davis ' challenge , still pending at the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals — the same appellate court that previously allowed Kentucky , Michigan , Ohio and Tennessee to block same-sex marriage before Supreme Court justices overruled them . But it means that in the meantime , her office must issue marriage licenses .\n`` There is separation of church and state for a reason , '' said Jeanna Smith , who stood with Davis ' critics . `` My mother is a Sunday school teacher , and my mother even said Kim Davis needs to do her job or get out . ”\nChristian group holding pray outside Rowan County Courthouse pic.twitter.com/99U10i136n — Mike Wynn ( @ MikeWynn_KY ) September 1 , 2015
|
allsides-corpus-172
|
Part 2 Of The Martin O'Malley Interview Listen · 5:59 5:59\nMartin O'Malley , former governor of Maryland , says he 'll decide by late May whether he 's running for president . Running would put him — even he seems to acknowledge — in an uphill battle against Hillary Clinton , currently the only Democrat who has declared .\nO'Malley is positioning himself to Clinton 's left , and even President Obama 's left .\nHe 's for a much higher minimum wage , and against a major trade deal — the Trans-Pacific Partnership . In an interview with NPR 's Steve Inskeep , O'Malley also said he wants to increase Social Security benefits , even though some people would pay more taxes .\nSurveys put O'Malley far behind Clinton . But , he 's hoping his travels across the country can change that . Last month , he addressed a crowd in Iowa while standing on a chair . Last week , he gave a speech at Harvard . And this week , he 's in the early primary state of South Carolina .\n`` I 've been an executive and a progressive executive with a record of accomplishments , '' the former Baltimore mayor said of the difference between him and Clinton . `` I think contrasts will become apparent . ''\nI think what 's going on right now , Steve , is you have a competition between two theories of how our economy actually works and how we generate economic growth that lifts us all . The Republican Party is doubling down on this trickle-down theory that says thou shalt concentrate wealth at the very top of our society . Thou shalt remove regulation from wherever you find it , even on Wall Street . And thou shalt keep wages low for American workers so that we can be more competitive . We have a different theory . Our theory as Democrats and as the longer arc of our story as Americans is that we believe that a stronger middle class is actually the cause of economic growth . What ails our economy right now is 12 years of stagnant or declining wages , and we need to fix this .\nI mean , look , talk is cheap . And so there are two ways to go forward from here , and history shows this . One path is a sensible rebalancing that calls us back to our tried and true success story as the land of opportunity . The other is pitchforks .\nThere 's , history affords no other paths . We 're either going to sensibly rebalance and do the things that allow our middle class to grow , that expands opportunities and allows workers to earn more when they 're working harder . Or , we 're going to go down a very , very bad path .\nOn whether large corporations are able to deal with regulation better than small businesses\nOh , certainly . I mean , our tax code 's been turned into Swiss cheese . And certainly the concentrated wealth and accumulated power and the systematic deregulation of Wall Street has led to this situation where the economy is n't working for most of us . All of that is true . But it is not true that regulation holds poor people down or regulation keeps middle class from advancing . That 's kind of patently bulls- - - .\nYeah , I do oppose it . What 's wrong with it is first and foremost that we 're not allowed to read it before our representatives vote on it . What 's wrong with it is that right now what we should be doing are things that make our economy stronger here at home . And it 's my concern that the Trans-Pacific Partnership , this deal is a race to the bottom , a chasing of lower wages abroad , and I believe that that does nothing to help us build a stronger economy here at home .
|
allsides-corpus-173
|
Top House Republicans are demanding are seeking an investigation into new reports that the Census Bureau manipulated surveys that showed a steep drop in the U.S. unemployment rate shortly before the 2012 presidential election , even as the bureau said a key suspect in the matter left the bureau more than two years ago .\nHouse Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa , California Republican , sent an angry letter to the bureau this week demanding that it investigate a “ shocking ” report in the New York Post that field worker Julius Buckmon and other unnamed bureau employees faked figures that were used in the monthly unemployment report , resulting in a dramatic and puzzling plunge in the unemployment rate from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent just before last year ’ s presidential election .\nHowever , the bureau said that Mr. Buckmon left the agency in August 2011 , long before the election , apparently because of questionable procedures that he used in gathering data when he worked at the bureau ’ s Philadelphia field office . Since the bureau has more than 7,000 field representatives like Mr. Buckmon , it would be close to impossible for one employee to have a significant effect on the overall report , the Census Bureau said in a statement Tuesday .\n“ We have no reason to believe this isn ’ t an isolated incident , ” she said , adding that she could not discuss Mr. Buckmon ’ s specific reasons for leaving because of privacy laws . “ This was an employee who was willfully disobeying Census procedures and disobeying the law . ”\nThe spokesperson said that when the bureau discovers inappropriate activity , the matter is referred to the Department of Labor ’ s inspector general . The field representative would be subject to disciplinary action if the IG finds any wrongdoing , including termination , the publication Business Insider reported .\nAsked about the reports at his White House press briefing Tuesday , spokesman Jay Carney called the Post story “ obviously misleading. ” The original New York Post story , which set off Mr. Issa ’ s inquiry , cited what it called a “ knowledgeable source ” who claimed that the data manipulation “ escalated at the time President Obama was seeking reelection in 2012 and continues today . ”\nThe Post ’ s anonymous source said that an unusual and headline-grabbing jobs report in September 2012 , which came out just before the election when Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared to be closing in on President Obama in a very close contest , was “ faked ” to produce the dramatic reported decline in the unemployment to under 8 percent for the first time since the recession .\nFormer General Electric chairman Jack Welch and many Republicans at the time questioned whether the numbers had been manipulated in light of the weak job growth reported by businesses in a separate survey by the department .\nThe Post story , which cited confidential documents dating from 2010 , said Mr. Buckmon and other census employees were pressured by their supervisors to fudge surveys to fill in data gaps when they did not get the 90 percent response rate sought by the Department of Labor in compiling its monthly household survey , from which it derives the unemployment rate .\nThe Post story triggered a letter to the bureau from Mr. Issa demanding information about Mr. Buckmon , including his e-mails , his list of supervisors and any material related to a government investigation of Mr. Buckmon ’ s actions after he left the agency . Mr. Issa asked for the requested information by Dec. 3 .\n“ Since the bureau relies on the American public for its data , it is important that the Census Bureau cooperate with all investigations into this matter , ” Mr. Issa wrote . “ Any erosion of trust by the Census Bureau would have an immediate impact on other important census surveys , such as the American Community Survey , or the planning and implementation of the 2020 decennial census . ”
|
allsides-corpus-174
|
`` We do n't have a level playing field for our workers , '' President Donald Trump told a group of workers in Kenosha , Wisc. , on Tuesday . Truth is , if we were to ever level the playing field with countries like Mexico and China , the average American worker would be making $ 3 an hour and spending their pittance on third-world health care and decrepit housing . Please , do n't level the playing field .\nWhen few things are going your way in politics , though , it 's customary to return to rhetoric that made you successful . So , as Republicans have been unable to push forward on health care reform or tax reform—or anything not named Neil Gorsuch , for that matter—it is unsurprising that Trump would turn to protectionism as a way to bolster his political fortunes .\nOn Tuesday , the president traveled to a tool manufacturing company in Wisconsin and threw some nationalistic bromides at a blue-collar crowd ( none of which included the words `` I 'm afraid some of your jobs will be taken by robots in the future '' ) , and then signed an executive order ordering the White House to look into ways to curb guest worker visa programs and require government agencies to buy more goods and services from American companies .\nFor the past two years , over 200,000 foreigners applied for open positions each year . The U.S . Citizenship and Immigration Services holds a lottery and gives out 85,000 H-1B visas to high-skilled foreign workers . It 's a program that 's most popular with the tech industry , due to a shortage of Americans trained in science and engineering . I suppose it 's a lot easier to stop talented immigrants from entering the country than to find ways to incentivize Americans to become math majors .\nOver the past couple of decades , a high number of immigrants ( which many H-1B visa holders become ) have been part of innovations and start-ups that have created jobs for American workers . Now , even if you do n't believe immigrants add economic value , how exactly is cutting down on high-tech visas going to help rehabilitate the economically depressed areas of the nation ?\nMoreover , it seems telling that many of those who are concerned about illegal immigration also seem intent on lowering numbers of legal and potentially high-achieving immigrants from entering the country . The underlying message is that there is a cultural problem , not merely an economic one . `` When two-thirds or three-quarters of the CEOs in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or from Asia , I think… '' White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said not long ago in a jumbled explanation of economic nationalism , `` a country is more than an economy . We 're a civic society . ''\nThe second part of the order cuts down on waivers and exemptions to President Herbert Hoover 's Buy American law . It instructs agencies to use American-made goods and services rather than saving taxpayer dollars or searching out the best deals they can . This is how we incentivize rent-seeking and cronyism . Until a couple of months ago , this is what Republicans used to call `` picking winners and losers . '' If you thought General Motors should n't be bailed out because it could n't compete in a global marketplace , why would you support a state-impelled `` Buy American . Hire American '' when it comes to steel , for example ?\nIn a political sense , the idea of `` Buy American . Hire American '' is much like fighting climate change : a comforting government-prescribed solution that people embrace in theory but rarely in practice . In the protectionist 's universe , everyone with a Samsung cellphone or a Toyota Camry ( both the best-selling brands in their categories ) would be a traitor to the American worker . In the real world , competition allows us to buy the best products at the cheapest prices—and then buy more things with the money we save . The rules of economics do n't give us waivers for being American .\nHow damaging will Trump 's trade agenda be ? Who knows ? Despite the protestations of the left—and their eight-year weakening of constitutional restrictions on executive power—Trump 's power has always been curbed by the realities of the job . But protectionism is one area where he could find willing partners in both parties .\nProtectionism , after all , is where Trump is most comfortable and effective . It 's the issue that made him , the issue he is most coherent about and the issue with which he has shown the most ideological affinity . Because of its political potency , it has also seen converts , not only among blue-collar Americans but also one-time free-market conservatives .\n`` Buy American , '' an appealing and patriotic-sounding solution , is popular across ideological lines . The protectionist impulses of the progressive left—the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren wing—closely align with Trump once the cultural aspects are stripped away . In American politics , both parties seem to have warmed to the idea that we can regulate the country into economic growth . The biggest risk is that protectionist rhetoric will be normalized within the GOP , which means there will be two parties with significant factions embracing mercantilism . How long will it be before that kind of support manifests in truly destructive legislation ?
|
allsides-corpus-175
|
This is a rush transcript . Copy may not be in its final form .\nAMY GOODMAN : For more , we ’ re joined by two guests . Here in New York , Catherine Ruetschlin is a policy analyst at Demos and author of the report , “ Fast Food Failure : How CEO-to-Worker Pay Disparity Undermines the Industry and the Overall Economy. ” And Terrance Wise joins us from KCPT , Kansas City Public Television . He ’ s worked for Burger King for nine years , plans to go on strike today as part of the international push by fast-food and retail workers to demand a living wage . He ’ s a member of the Stand Up Kansas City campaign . We last spoke with Terrance in August as the strikes were just beginning here in the U.S .\nWe welcome you both to ███ ! Terrance , let ’ s go to you . You have worked at Burger King for nine years . How much do you make an hour , if you don ’ t mind me asking ?\nTERRANCE WISE : Well , I ’ ve worked in fast food for 17 years and at Burger King for nine years , and I make $ 9.40 an hour at Burger King .\nAMY GOODMAN : I ’ m sorry , I didn ’ t catch what you said . Can you say that again ?\nTERRANCE WISE : I ’ m sorry . I ’ ve been working fast food for 17 years , and Burger King I ’ ve worked for the past nine years , and I make $ 9.40 an hour working there .\nAMY GOODMAN : And why are you going on strike today ?\nTERRANCE WISE : Well , I ’ m going on strike for my family . I raise three little girls here in Kansas City , and I need their future not to look anything like the past . We ’ ve struggled with homelessness , paying basic utilities—gas , rent , the lights . And that ’ s while working every day . The working poor is what we are .\nAMY GOODMAN : Are you concerned about retaliation if you go out today ? What has Burger King said ? Presumably , since this is being organized all over the country , Burger King and McDonald ’ s know that workers are going to be walking out .\nTERRANCE WISE : Well , me , I first spoke to you , Amy , in August . That was my first strike . And this is number four for me . So , we know that the federal laws provide us protection when we come together as workers and demand the corporations we work for to pay us a living wage and to give us the right to form a union . So with that knowledge of knowing that the federal government protects our rights to organize and go on strike , it ’ s a huge relief for fast-food workers .\nAMY GOODMAN : Terrance , how many hours a week do you work at Burger King ?\nTERRANCE WISE : Well , it ’ s—I make $ 9.40 an hour , so it ’ s like 35 , 40 hours a week . It ’ s , after taxes , maybe $ 400 every two weeks . And that ’ s working double sometimes , going in in the morning and working at night , just not bringing in enough . And we know that these companies make billions in profit . They can afford to pay us better and do better by us and give us a voice on the job . That ’ s what we ’ re demanding .\nAMY GOODMAN : Well , Catherine Ruetschlin , you ’ ve been studying this , the issue of what these fast-food companies can afford . Your report , “ Fast Food Failure : How CEO-to-Worker Pay Disparity Undermines the Industry and the Overall Economy. ” What is the disparity between the CEO , say , of Burger King and the workers , or McDonald ’ s ?\nCATHERINE RUETSCHLIN : Well , you know , when I started the study , I didn ’ t know that fast food was going to be such an extreme outlier in terms of pay disparity . The study arose kind of in this context that Terrance and other workers like him have created , where there ’ s a growing awareness that inequality is undermining the economy at several levels . But when I dug into the data , what I found was that fast food is a catalyst , with inequality that outstrips all the sectors of the economy . The CEO of a fast-food company in 2012 earned 1,200 times what the typical worker earned that year .\nCATHERINE RUETSCHLIN : Twelve hundred times . And that ’ s with a fairly generous assumption that workers in fast food are receiving benefits and work a full-time schedule , which in many cases , you know , isn ’ t true .\nAMY GOODMAN : How does that affect the industry and the economy as a whole ? You say it hurts it .\nCATHERINE RUETSCHLIN : That ’ s right . You know , there ’ s a macro-level story that ’ s just become a part of the conversation with organizations like the IMF and the World Economic Forum in Davos , pointing to inequality as a threat at the macro level because it generates instability in the economy and undermines growth . But then , at the micro level , firms are starting to wake up to the fact that it undermines their bottom lines , as well . In March , McDonald ’ s filed with the SEC and listed income inequality as one of the primary risks facing their own returns over the coming years , not just because workers are striking , but because they ’ re having a hard time satisfying their customers because they ’ ve underinvested in the front-line services that really build the brand and provide revenues to the firm .\nAMY GOODMAN : How do you respond to the companies saying , “ All right , if they increase the workers ’ wages , but then consumers have to be willing to pay more for the burgers ” ?\nCATHERINE RUETSCHLIN : Well , firms have a lot of ways that they could pay for a raise . They don ’ t necessarily have to pass the cost on to customers . They could do that , but they could also use some of the ways that they ’ re redirecting their profits right now . Firms like McDonald ’ s spend billions of dollars a year buying back their own shares of company stock on the market in order to consolidate ownership and bump up earnings per share and meet these short-term benchmarks . But that ’ s really a short-term understanding of the interest of the firm , right ? If they had a longer-term perspective , they would see that rather than investing in their share price , if they were investing in their labor force , they would generate returns—higher productivity , loyal workers with better knowledge of the company processes , you know , lower turnover rates , so lower costs associated with job search—and it would actually receive benefits through that investment that would pay off in the long run .\nAMY GOODMAN : And the issue of how these companies are subsidized , government-subsidized ?\nCATHERINE RUETSCHLIN : That ’ s right . A study came out recently that shows that fast-food employers , like McDonald ’ s , Subway , you know , Yum ! Brands , which owns Taco Bell and KFC and Pizza Hut , Domino ’ s Pizza , these are some of the highest-ranking employers in terms of working poor . So , if you can—if you look into who ’ s receiving healthcare benefits for their families and wage subsidies from the state agencies , from poverty alleviation programs , the highest-ranking firms are Wal-Mart and fast food . So , it ’ s the taxpayers who are actually paying the—for the ability for these firms to maintain a labor force at all .\nAMY GOODMAN : Terrance , how does it feel to learn that the CEO makes something like 1,200 times more than what you make ?\nTERRANCE WISE : Well , I know that workers like myself and my co-workers across the city , we go to work every day , and we ’ re the driving force behind his billions in profit he brings in . He ’ s buying new yachts and new boats and new cars , and I just want to put my kids through college . So , just to see the disparity that I ’ m making $ 9.50 an hour and he makes over $ 9,000 , and just to get that out to the public and that information to be known , it ’ s eye-opening . And it calls for change .\nAMY GOODMAN : And , Terrance , the action you ’ re going to engage in today in Kansas City , what exactly are you going to do ?\nTERRANCE WISE : Well , like I said earlier , this is my fourth time . And I ’ ll band together with the majority of the co-workers at my store and hundreds of workers from around the city , and we ’ ll go different parts of the city . We ’ ll do chants . We ’ ll hold signs . We ’ ll give speak-outs . We ’ ll try to enter some stores , like I heard them say on New York earlier . In New York City , they ’ ve been doing this , and we ’ ll be doing this here in Kansas City . It ’ s just to get the message out to the public and to our bosses in the companies , that we ’ re not afraid . We ’ re going to stand together in solidarity , and we demand better . We ’ re not asking for a minimum wage increase . It ’ s not a minimum wage drive . It ’ s for billion-dollar corporations that have the money to pay us better and give us the right to have a union in this industry .\nAMY GOODMAN : Well , Terrance Wise , I want to thank you very much for being with us , Burger King worker on strike today , part of Stand Up Kansas City , speaking to us from Kansas City Public Television . And , Catherine Ruetschlin , one more thing , not only the issue of the pay ratio of worker to CEO , 1,200 to one , CEO of course being the 1,200 , but the fast-food CEOs earnings quadrupling .\nCATHERINE RUETSCHLIN : That ’ s right . What we ’ ve seen is that at these firms that have benefited from economic growth , overall , the CEOs and top executives have been able to capture all of those gains . So , while the fast-food CEO pay grew by 470 percent since 2000 , worker earnings only grew by 0.3 percent . Now , that means that their earnings aren ’ t even keeping up with the basic cost of living , so they ’ re actually losing ground in terms of standard of living year after year .\nAMY GOODMAN : Catherine Ruetschlin , I ’ d like you to stay with us , because next up after break we ’ re going to talk about Wal-Mart . President Obama spoke at a Wal-Mart recently . Right afterwards , 1,800 warehouse workers in California settled a major wage theft lawsuit against Wal-Mart and one of its largest contractors . This is ███ ! We ’ ll be back in a moment .
|
allsides-corpus-176
|
LISTEN TO ARTICLE 6:10 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email\nAfter a yearlong assault on the Federal Reserve and its chairman , President Donald Trump has tapped two wildly different economists to the central bank ’ s board who seemingly have one important thing in common .\nThey ’ re both likely to support the president ’ s call for lower interest rates .\nOne , Christopher Waller , is largely a conventional choice . Drawn from within the Fed ’ s own ranks , he ’ s been consistent in his calls for a more dovish approach over the years . The other , Judy Shelton , has spent decades outside mainstream economics and recently appears to have completed a metamorphosis from proponent of returning to the gold standard -- a concept broadly espoused by those who feel monetary policy is too lax -- to an advocate of the need for more stimulus .\n“ It seems like both are going to be in favor of lower rates , and sooner rather than later , ” said Kathleen Bostjancic , an economist at Oxford Economics in New York . “ They are much more dovish , and obviously that ’ s what President Trump wants . ”\nWaller is director of research for St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard , who was the only dissenting vote in favor of a rate cut at the Fed ’ s meeting in June . Shelton , who has been an informal adviser to Trump , has publicly said the central bank should reduce rates .\nTrump , who announced his picks within minutes of each other on Twitter Tuesday , has recently struggled to find candidates for the Fed that are acceptable to senators who must confirm nominees . The president previously advanced four people for the two remaining open seats on the board of governors . None of them made it , raising questions about the White House vetting process for his picks .\n“ It was a great pleasure to meet with the president this afternoon , ” Shelton said in an email on Tuesday night . “ This president really gets it . His pro-growth economic agenda should not be undermined by wrongheaded ‘ Phillips Curve ’ thinking that punishes productive economic growth and subverts continued gains while turning a blind eye to the currency impact of ‘ additional stimulus measures ’ by other central banks . We have high employment and low inflation ; so much for the supposed trade-off . ”\nThe Phillips Curve holds that there ’ s an inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation .\nThe lengthy Senate confirmation process means neither candidate is likely to join the board for months , perhaps not even until next year . Current Vice Chairman Richard Clarida ’ s nomination was announced April 18 , 2018 , and he wasn ’ t sworn in until Sept. 17 . Governor Michelle Bowman , nominated the same day as Clarida , didn ’ t take office until Nov. 26 .\nAs a high-ranking Fed staffer , Waller may have a better chance of passing muster with lawmakers than some of Trump ’ s previous contenders . As for Shelton , the Senate has already confirmed her in her current role as the U.S. executive director for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development .\nIn an interview with ███ in May , she said she was “ highly skeptical ” that the goals for the Fed set by Congress -- the pursuit of maximum employment , stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates -- were relevant .\nRead more : Fed Hopeful Shelton Questions Value of Bank ’ s Dual Mandate\nThe White House has conducted the search for Fed candidates as Trump has repeatedly blasted Fed Chairman Jerome Powell over the Fed ’ s interest rate increases . The president has told confidants that he believes he has the authority to replace Powell as Fed chairman , demoting him to the level of board governor , according to people familiar with the matter . But Trump said he doesn ’ t plan to do it . The president chose Powell as Chair , replacing Janet Yellen last year .\nTrump ’ s eagerness to get rid of Powell makes both of these nominees potential chairs-in-waiting , a factor that may also affect their confirmation process in the Senate . Powell has said he intends to serve his full four-year term and that “ the law is clear ” on that issue .\nEarlier this year , Trump advanced two supporters for the Fed board , Stephen Moore and Herman Cain , but both withdrew their names after they came under criticism .\nWaller , who declined to comment Tuesday on his nomination , is a Ph.D. economist who previously served as a professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame before joining the St. Louis Fed in 2009 . His key research focus has been on monetary and macroeconomic theory and the political economy .\nWaller was approached by the White House last month about the job and met with Trump Tuesday , said Karen Branding , a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Fed .\nThe overture came after the White House talked to his boss , Bullard , about joining the Fed board of governors himself . But Bullard told reporters last month that he ’ s happy in his current position .\nThe two men are close and have co-authored monetary-policy papers . Waller shares , and helped to develop in 2016 , Bullard ’ s dovish view that policy is in a new regime in a world with low inflation and high savings -- where higher interest rates are not needed .\nRead more : St. Louis Fed ’ s Waller Joins Bullard in a Dovish Duo at the Fed\n“ We didn ’ t see any overheating in the economy coming , and so the question was , why are we raising rates , ” Waller recalled in a June interview with ███ . “ We didn ’ t see any reason to raise rates just for the sake of raising rates . ”\nWaller also said that he doesn ’ t worry about pushing the unemployment rate too low and sparking higher prices . “ We don ’ t buy into the Phillips curve story that low unemployment causes inflation . Look at Japan , ” he said .\nShelton has a doctorate in business administration from the University of Utah with an emphasis on finance and international economics . She previously worked for the Sound Money Project , which was founded to promote awareness about monetary stability and financial privacy .\nIn her interview with ███ in May , Shelton questioned the use of the Fed ’ s basic interest-rate tool to adjust the price of money , and thereby guide an economy toward a sustainable level of growth .\n“ A Fed that is too eager to artificially put in an interest rate that isn ’ t close to what the market would be suggesting is not so good , ” she said at the time . “ I would try to be the voice saying , are you sure you know better than the markets ? ”\nShelton has also in the past argued for a return to a gold standard , fixing the value of the U.S. dollar to a weight of gold , a system the U.S. followed to varying degrees until 1976 . If appointed to the Fed , however , Shelton said she would not call for a return to the gold standard or for a sudden abandonment of other established policies .\nAfter raising interest rates last year in the face of criticism from Trump , Powell and fellow Fed colleagues are widely expected to cut rates at their next meeting at the end of this month .\n— With assistance by Steve Matthews , Christopher Condon , Craig Torres , Matthew Boesler , Kathleen Hays , Sarah McGregor , and Saleha Mohsin
|
allsides-corpus-177
|
There won ’ t be renewed efforts to tackle debt drivers until next year at the earliest . | AP Photos D.C. 's attention-to-deficits disorder\nFatigued by a government shutdown and repeated failures to reach a grand bargain , leaders from both parties have moved on .\nPresident Barack Obama isn ’ t expected to spend much time on deficit reduction and entitlement reform during Tuesday ’ s State of the Union address , instead focusing on issues such as economic inequality and raising the minimum wage that will be the centerpiece of his 2014 agenda .\nRepublicans don ’ t want to divert attention from Obamacare and plan to demand changes in the health care law , not spending cuts , in exchange for a debt-limit increase next month . They dismiss grand bargain talks with Obama as fruitless .\nFor Obama , the shifting political landscape is a chance to move past an issue that some Democrats see as a political loser headed into the midterms — the president even complained to Senate Democrats this month that he doesn ’ t get enough credit for previous deficit cuts .\nRepublicans see an opportunity to redefine themselves as a party that has an agenda beyond budget cuts . They say they will now focus on “ kitchen-table ” issues like increasing take-home pay , creating new incentives for school vouchers and charter schools , and some form of immigration reform .\nNot that the $ 17 trillion debt is going away anytime soon . The debt as a share of the economy is projected to decline over the next few years , and the deficit has dropped at the fastest rate since World War II — a point that Obama repeats often these days . The brightened outlook will last only a few years before an aging population and rising health care costs force deficits to balloon over the next decade . But the temporary cease-fire in the budget wars and an improvement in the fiscal picture have diminished any lingering sense of urgency for Washington to act on a large-scale deal .\nThat means there won ’ t be renewed efforts to tackle the real drivers of the debt until next year at the earliest , but likely not until after the 2016 presidential election .\n“ Neither party wants to talk about it , ” said Maya MacGuineas , president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget . “ This is the first time we have been staring into the political horizon and there is no action-forcing moment . ”\nHouse Speaker John Boehner ( R-Ohio ) , whose ascension in 2011 was fueled by small-government conservative activists , has all but ruled out any further deficit reduction talks with Obama because they can ’ t move past a basic disagreement on taxes . They also insist Obama has shifted his demands too often .\nIn next month ’ s fight to raise the debt ceiling , Boehner is not expected to renew his demand to cut spending by an equal amount — a principle that pushed Obama into extended , unsuccessful talks with the speaker in 2011 . Instead , Republicans are zeroing in on Obamacare , and are likely to insist on some kind of fix in exchange for increasing the country ’ s borrowing authority .\nWhite House aides said Obama stands by his last offer to Boehner in December 2012 , which included Medicare cuts that infuriated Democrats . But the president believes he ’ s reached the end of the line with Republicans on this issue , aides said , and has reoriented his White House toward fighting income inequality .\n“ The president has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to compromise with Republicans to reduce the deficit , ” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said . “ In fact , the deficit has been cut in half since he took office five years ago . That improvement in our deficit picture means we have more room to put in place , in a fiscally responsible way , policies that will expand opportunity for all Americans . ”\nFor Democratic lawmakers , many of whom never bought into Obama ’ s focus on debt and deficit reduction , the move away from austerity couldn ’ t have come soon enough .\n“ It is amazing how it has faded as an issue except among a small group , ” said Sen. Chuck Schumer ( D-N.Y. ) , the No . 3 leader . “ The reason is , first , we have made big progress and , second , it has become apparent that it is not on the average person ’ s mind . ”\nThe president gave the budget top billing in last year ’ s State of the Union address , turning to it immediately after detailing the general themes of the speech . The White House and Congress had agreed to $ 2.5 trillion in spending cuts and tax hikes over the past few years , he told lawmakers , putting them more than halfway toward the goal of $ 4 trillion to stabilize the country ’ s finances .\n“ Now we need to finish the job . And the question is , how ? ” Obama said as he renewed calls for tax and entitlement reform .\nAlthough he pushed for a repeal of across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester , they kicked in last March , locking in budget savings that allowed Obama to tout several months later that the deficit was on a rapid decline .\n“ It ’ s now dropped at the fastest rate in 60 years , ” Obama said at an August town hall in Birmingham , N.Y. , as he called for only “ some modifications ” to entitlement programs . “ I want to repeat that , because a lot of people think that — if you ask the average person what ’ s happening with the deficit , they ’ d tell you it ’ s going up . The deficit has been cut in half since 2009 and is on a downward trajectory . And it ’ s gone down faster than any time since World War II . ”
|
allsides-corpus-178
|
President Trump waived shipping restrictions for Puerto Rico on Thursday at the request of the island 's governor and after an outcry from Congress about shortages of fuel , food and emergency supplies in the wake of Hurricane Maria .\nThe decision temporarily lifts the Jones Act 's restrictions prohibiting foreign-flagged vessels from picking up and delivering fuel between U.S. ports .\nA one-two punch by Hurricanes Irma and Maria battered the island in recent weeks , leaving residents with shortages of all supplies . Maria wiped out the power supply , destroyed cell towers and led to massive fuel shortages on the island that relies on diesel for much of its power .\nMore : On the defensive over response to Hurricane Maria , Trump to visit Puerto Rico\nElaine Duke , acting secretary of Homeland Security , said the waiver followed Puerto Rico Gov . Ricardo Rossello 's request and the Defense Department 's determination that lifting the restrictions was in the interest of national defense . The waiver is in effect 10 days and covers all products .\n`` It is intended to ensure we have enough fuel and commodities to support lifesaving efforts , respond to the storm , and restore critical services and critical infrastructure operations in the wake of these devastating storms , '' Duke said .\nMore : Why Puerto Rico is being denied shipping deliveries of fuel\nBut members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Thursday continued to blast the administration for a slow response and said the 10-day waiver isn ’ t long enough .\n“ This is Katrina 2017 , ” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez , D-Ill. “ Think of 3.4 million people who have no escape route from the island of Puerto Rico . ”\nRep. Nydia Velázquez , D-N.Y. , called on Trump to waive the Jones Act for a year .\nThe administration waived the act for Southeastern states — and included Puerto Rico for petroleum products — from Sept. 8 through 22 , after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma . But Defense and Homeland Security officials said there were plenty of ships to supply Puerto Rico — the problem was moving supplies around the island because of roads blocked by trees and landslides .\nSen. John McCain , R-Ariz. , has tried repeatedly to repeal the Jones Act , which he called archaic and burdensome . He and Sen. Mike Lee , R-Utah , proposed Thursday to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act , as the U.S. Virgin Islands are already exempt .\n`` It ’ s time for Congress to take action , end this injustice , and help our fellow citizens in this time of need , '' McCain said .\n“ The Jones Act is just another example of a federal regulation that harms American consumers , gives foreign corporations an edge over American businesses , and makes disaster response harder , '' Lee said . “ It is far past time to repeal it . ”\nBut Rep. John Garamendi , D-Calif. , said Puerto Rico ’ s problem is moving cargo from ports to gas stations , warehouses , supermarkets and relief agencies , rather than shipping cargo to the island . Of 6,000 containers filled with supplies already sitting at the island 's port terminals , only about 400 will be moving Thursday , he said .\n“ The log jam is the freight movement on the island , which is simply not going well , ” said Garamendi , who serves on the maritime transportation subcommittee . “ It ’ s picking up a little bit each day , but the problem is on the land side , not the water side . ”\nAbout two-thirds of Puerto Rico ’ s imports typically come from foreign vessels and international ports , including six of the seven petroleum tankers that arrived within the last week , Garamendi said .\nThe Jones Act is crucial to maintaining the U.S. maritime industry and protecting national security , rather than to allow foreign vessels to move between U.S. ports along inland waterways such as the Mississippi River , he said .\n“ It would be a major national-security issue to open those waterways in the heart of America to foreign vessels , foreign crews , which would be impossible to maintain any level of security , ” Garamendi said .\nTrump , who plans to visit the island next week , said Wednesday that he was studying the matter , but the U.S. shipping industry was opposed to waiving the law .\nSarah Sanders , Trump ’ s spokeswoman , tweeted Thursday the Jones Act would be waived .
|
allsides-corpus-179
|
Irma pushes north and is causing problems in Charleston , S.C .\nHigh winds felled trees and severed service lines in Georgia and South Carolina on Monday , knocking out power for more than 900,000 electricity customers in the two states .\nA tropical storm warning was issued for all of Georgia ’ s Atlantic coast and most of the South Carolina coast . Some of the worst flooding occurred in Charleston , where knee-high floodwaters coursed through the streets — high enough for some residents to navigate by kayak .\nThe National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for Charleston County , and said that parts of the Charleston peninsula , which contains the city ’ s historic core , were being closed down .\nIn an interview Monday afternoon , Mayor John Tecklenburg said that the city had been hit with a four-foot storm surge , leaving parts of the peninsula looking as if they had merged with the Ashley River .\n“ It sounds kind of counterintuitive that we ’ d have that , because the center of the storm is over 200 miles away in western Georgia , and here we are over on the coast of South Carolina , ” he said . “ But just if you looked at the bigger weather map and saw the counterclockwise rotation of Irma , juxtaposed with a clockwise high-pressure rotation over the Atlantic , Charleston was like in the pincer of those two motions that has driven wind and hurricane bands almost directly into our city . ”\nMr. Tecklenburg said that the flooding was even worse than last year ’ s Hurricane Matthew , which inundated the city in October , in great part because Matthew arrived at low tide , whereas Irma ’ s effect came at high tide .\nFarther inland , concerns about serious damage remained high , even as the storm ’ s power diminished somewhat .\nIn Atlanta , the winds whipping through the leaves created a sound like an angry sea breaking on a shoreline , and trees crashed into residences and onto roadways . The city ’ s public school system canceled classes through Tuesday , and Delta airlines , based in Atlanta , canceled about 900 flights Monday , noting a special concern about strong north-south crosswinds at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport , which bills itself as the busiest in the world .\nThe forecast in Alabama was somewhat milder , though a tropical storm warning was in effect for much of the state ’ s eastern half .\n“ We need you to heed our warnings , ” Mayor Lenny Curry of Jacksonville said on Monday , explaining that high tides would raise river waters up to 6 feet above their normal levels and cause additional flooding .\nThe mayor urged residents to avoid drawing on city resources except for in emergencies , but said people who needed rescuing should raise a white flag to draw the authorities ’ attention .\nJacksonville was facing a “ trifecta ” of water-related threats , city officials said : storm surge , heavy rainfall over the weekend and Monday ’ s rising tides . “ This is potentially a weeklong event with water and the tides coming and going , ” Mr. Curry said .\nIn Tampa , Mayor Bob Buckhorn , who on Sunday warned residents that the city was about to get “ punched in the face , ” said on Monday that the city had been spared the storm ’ s worst .\n“ It ’ s looking good , ” Mr. Buckhorn said . “ The first blush is that not only did we dodge a bullet , but we survived pretty well . Not a lot of flooding . Tree removal , debris — don ’ t want to say it ’ s negligible , but it ’ s manageable . ”\nThe city was again spared from a direct hit by a hurricane , as has been its good fortune for more than 90 years running . How ? “ Because we live good lives , because we only get drunk once in a while , ” Mr. Buckhorn joked . “ No , I don ’ t have an answer for that . ”\nIn St. Petersburg , tree limbs littered lawns and minor debris had blown onto roads but was not stopping traffic . In Orlando , officials said the city had weathered the storm without major damage .\nGovernor Scott inspected the Florida Keys on Monday from a Coast Guard aircraft , saying the flight revealed extensive flood damage , boats washed ashore and trailer parks filled with overturned homes . “ My heart goes out to the people in the Keys , ” he said .\nMr. Scott also flew over the state ’ s Gulf Coast and reported there was less damage than had been feared . “ We saw the remnants of the storm surge along the west coast , but I didn ’ t see the damage I thought I would see , ” he said .\n“ It ’ s not as bad as we thought the storm surge would do , ” he added .\nHe asked for patience as the state deals with a long recovery . “ I know for our entire state , but especially the Keys , it ’ s going to be a long road , ” he said .\nHere ’ s how officials tried to help people on Marco Island\nPicking their way through ruined and waterlogged streets , rescue officials searched on Monday through neighborhoods on Marco Island , checking in on people who stayed behind during the storm , which made landfall there on Sunday .\n“ As soon as it was safe , we went outside and immediately began as the storm was coming at us and during the eyewall , ” Capt . Dave Baer of the Marco Island Police Department said in an interview on Monday .\nOfficials were also assessing tens of thousands of homes and condominiums on the island , where an estimated 30 percent of the 20,000 permanent residents did not evacuate , Captain Baer said .\nThere were no deaths and no serious injuries , he said . The rescues were all fairly similar — people stuck in cars as they tried to evacuate or in houses that had some sort of structural collapse .\nThe storm surge had receded by daybreak . “ Now all our streets are dry , ” said Larry Honig , chairman of the City Council . “ We are without power and water , but presumably we will be restored in a couple of days . There is minimal structural damage . I know of no lost homes . ”
|
allsides-corpus-180
|
President Trump issued a warning Thursday to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico , saying the U.S. territory 's infrastructure was a mess before the storm and warning that federal officials can not stay on the island `` forever . ''\nThe president made the comments in a series of early-morning tweets .\n“ ’ Puerto Rico survived the Hurricanes , now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making. ’ Says Sharyl Attkisson . A total lack of accountability say [ s ] the Governor . Electric and all infrastructure was disaster before hurricanes , ” Trump said .\n“ Congress to decide how much to spend…We can not keep FEMA , the Military & the First Responders , who have been amazing ( under the most difficult circumstances ) in P.R . forever ! ”\nThe president ’ s comments come just one week after he visited the U.S. territory that is struggling to recover from the devastation left by Hurricane Maria , the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in nearly a century .\nTrump ’ s trip to Puerto Rico was criticized , for among other things commenting on how the storm 's death toll was far lower than that of a “ real catastrophe like Katrina ” in 2005 .\n“ Sixteen people versus in the thousands , ” Trump said . “ You can be very proud of all your people . ”\nThe president has repeatedly called for more help “ on a local level ” from Puerto Rico and has had an intermittent feud with the San Juan mayor , who also has faced criticism for engaging in political combat when other officials on the island are not .\nSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y. , shot back Thursday at Trump 's latest tweets .\n`` Why do you continue to treat Puerto Ricans differently than other Americans when it comes to natural disasters ? '' Schumer tweeted .\nAccording to the Federal Emergency Management Agency , earlier this month , there were more than 10,000 federal officials on the ground on the island .\nOn Friday , House Speaker Paul Ryan , R-Wis. , plans to lead a small bipartisan group , including the chairman and top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee that signs off on spending legislation , to visit Puerto Rico .\nRyan plans to meet with local officials and emergency personnel .\nThe House is expected to vote this week on an emergency spending package including billions of dollars more in relief for Puerto Rico , Texas and Florida in the wake of deadly storms Maria , Harvey and Irma this hurricane season .\nThe president asked Congress this week for a $ 4.9 billion loan to help Puerto Rico pay its bills from the storm . The island faced more than $ 70 billion in debt prior to the storm , and declared bankruptcy in May .
|
allsides-corpus-181
|
SANTA ROSA , Calif. -- An onslaught of relentless wildfires across a wide swath of Northern California broke out almost simultaneously and then grew exponentially , swallowing up properties from wineries to trailer parks and tearing through both tiny rural towns and urban subdivisions .\nAt least 13 people are dead , at least 100 injured and at least 1,500 homes and businesses destroyed , authorities said . All three figures are expected to surge in coming days as more information is reported . Many homes and businesses were evacuated -- some just in the nick of time as flames approached .\nVice President Mike Pence , who is visiting California , announced that President Trump approved a `` major disaster declaration '' for the state to assist in the response . Pence , who received a briefing on the wildfires , said 17 were burning in Northern California .\n`` It 's heartbreaking to think that many of the fallen represent our most vulnerable , in some cases senior citizens who simply were not able to escape the flames that overcame their homes , '' Pence said . `` They 're in our prayers . ''\nTaken as a group , the wildfires are already among the deadliest in California history .\nCBS San Francisco reports the fires have consumed nearly 107,000 acres and turned whole neighborhoods into piles of ashes .\nResidents who gathered at emergency shelters and grocery stores said they were shocked by the speed and ferocity of the flames . They recalled all the possessions they had left behind .\n`` All that good stuff , I 'm never going to see it again , '' said Jeff Okrepkie , who fled his neighborhood in Santa Rosa knowing it was probably the last time he would see his home of the past five years standing .\nHis worst fears were confirmed Monday , when a friend sent him a photo of what was left : a smoldering heap of burnt metal and debris .\nSome of the largest of the blazes burning over a 200-mile region were in Napa and Sonoma counties , home to dozens of wineries that attract tourists from around the world . They sent smoke as far south as San Francisco , about 60 miles away .\nSonoma County said it has received more than 100 missing-person reports as family and friends scramble to locate loved ones .\nThe reports have come via calls to a hotline the county set up for the missing , according to Scott Alonso , communications director for Sonoma County .\nIt 's possible that many or most of the missing are safe but simply ca n't be reached because of the widespread loss of cell service and other communications .\nAs of Monday evening , 99,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers were without power because of the wildfires in Northern California , a majority in Napa and Sonoma counties , PG & E officials told CBS San Francisco .\nIn addition , PG & E crews had shut off gas service to about 26,000 customers as a precaution because flames can damage a gas pipe or meter , the station said .\nWorkers in the renowned Northern California wine country picked through charred debris and struggled with what to do after wildfires swept through lush vineyards , destroying at least two wineries and damaging many others .\nThe wind-driven wildfires came as Napa and Sonoma counties were finishing highly anticipated harvests of wine grapes . Monday normally would have found workers picking and processing the ripe grapes to make chardonnay and other wines .\nInstead , melted and blackened wine bottles decorated the ruined Signorello Estate winery in Napa Valley . People at Paradise Ridge Winery in Sonoma County posted photos of debris and haze , saying they were `` heartbroken to share the news '' that the winery had burned .\nMuch of the damage in Northern California was in Santa Rosa , a far larger and more developed city than usually finds itself at the mercy of a wildfire . The city is home to 175,000 residents , including both the wine-country wealthy and the working class .\nThe flames were unforgiving to both groups . Hundreds of homes of all sizes were leveled by flames so hot they melted the glass off cars and turned aluminum wheels into liquid .\nFormer San Francisco Giants pitcher Noah Lowry , who now runs an outdoor sporting goods store in Santa Rosa , was forced to flee in minutes along with his wife , two daughters and a son just over 2 weeks old .\n`` I ca n't shake hearing people scream in terror as the flames barreled down on us , '' Lowry said .\nHis family and another evacuating with them tried to take U.S. 101 but found it blocked by flames , and had to take country roads to get to the family friends who took them in .\nTo the south , in Orange County , more than 5,000 homes were evacuated because of a rapidly spreading brush fire in the Anaheim area . The blaze had grown to nearly 10 square miles and had destroyed dozens of structures .\nThe blaze has scorched 6,000 acres and destroyed dozens of structures in Orange County .\nPlumes of smoke were visible over Disneyland , and officials issued air quality warnings for parts of Los Angeles County .\nAn Anaheim police spokesman says there 's been no containment so far .\nAmong those fleeing the flames in Northern California were what the San Francisco Chronicle calls `` a who 's who of athletes -- Olympians , Hall of Famers . ''\nThe newspaper says they 'd gathered to attend retired football star Ronnie Lott 's celebrity fundraiser at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa .\n`` Former Giants outfielder Barry Bonds wound up shuttling guests who did not have rides away from Mayacama when the villas at the course were evacuated , '' the Chronicle reports . `` Longtime Kansas City pitcher Bret Saberhagen left his golf clubs in the parking lot in order to fit Olympic speedskater Dan Jansen and his wife into his rental car . And onetime Dodgers closer Eric Gagne raised the alarm at a second hotel to which the celebrities were sent , pounding on doors to make sure occupants were out . ''\nA 90-mile stretch of the highway is framed by the flames and has been a major concern overnight , said Brad Alexander , a spokesman for the California Office of Emergency Services .\nHighway 12 , which winds through the heart of wine country , was also rendered unusable by the flames .\n`` Sonoma and Napa counties have been hit very hard , '' Alexander said .\nThe ferocity of the flames forced authorities to focus primarily on getting people out safely , even if it meant abandoning structures to the fire .\nFirefighters rushed to a state home for the severely disabled when flames reached one side of the center 's sprawling campus in the historic Sonoma County town of Glen Ellen .\nCrews got the more than 200 people from the threatened buildings , one firefighter said , as flames closed within a few dozen feet .\nFires from ruptured gas lines dotted the smoky landscapes of blackened Santa Rosa hillsides . Fire trucks raced by smoldering roadside landscaping in search of higher priorities .\nThe flames were fickle in some corners of the city . One hillside home remained unscathed while a dozen surrounding it were destroyed .\nKim Hoe , a 33-year-old tech worker from Penang , Malaysia , was staying at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country , which was gutted by flames . He said the power went out around 1 a.m. , and he and his colleagues started packing up when someone knocked on the door and told them to run .\n`` We just had to run and run . It was full of smoke . We could barely breathe , '' Hoe said .\nThe large majority of the injured were treated for smoke inhalation , according to St. Joseph Health , which operates hospitals in the Santa Rosa area . Two were in critical condition and one was in serious condition . The number of injured is expected to climb as information comes in for all the other areas affected by the firestorm consuming the state .\nOctober has generally been the most destructive time of year for California wildfires . What was unusual Sunday , however , was to have so many fires take off at the same time .\nOther than the windy conditions that helped drive them all , there was no known connection between the fires , and no cause has been released for any of them .\nBut the conditions late Monday and early Tuesday were calmer than they were 24 hours earlier , bringing hopes of progress against the flames .\nGov . Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the fire areas , and asked the federal government to do the same . Pence said at an event near Sacramento that the federal government stands with California as it takes on the blazes , but he made no specific promises .
|
allsides-corpus-182
|
Florida Governor Declares State Of Emergency As Hurricane Dorian Gains Force\nHurricane Dorian is `` expected to become a major hurricane on Friday , '' according to the National Hurricane Center .\nMaximum sustained winds at 5 a.m . ET Thursday were 85 mph — a Category 1 hurricane — with higher gusts , according to the center 's most recent update . Dorian was about 150 miles north northwest of Puerto Rico , moving about 13 mph toward the northwest .\nDorian 's sustained winds topped 80 mph , hitting Puerto Rico and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands before heading northwest . Forecasters are now warning that the storm will strengthen into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane , defined as sustained winds of at least 111 mph .\n`` Heavy rains are expected to occur over portions of the Bahamas , Florida , and elsewhere in the Southeastern United States later this week and into early next week , '' forecasters said .\n`` All indications are that by this Labor Day weekend , a powerful hurricane will be near or over the Florida peninsula , '' the National Hurricane Center said at 5 a.m . ET .\nFlorida Gov . Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 26 counties in the possible path of the hurricane .\n`` The Hurricane Warning for Vieques , Culebra , and the U.S. Virgin Islands has been discontinued , '' the National Hurricane Center report said earlier . `` The Hurricane Watch and Tropical Storm Warning for Puerto Rico have been discontinued . ''\nDorian caused only limited damage in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands .\n`` We 're happy because there are no damages to report , '' Culebra Mayor William Solís told The Associated Press . He said only one community on his island lost power .\nCurrent predictions show Dorian 's center hitting Florida 's coast late Sunday/early Monday .\nThe hurricane center has said it 's too early to give an exact location where the eye will come ashore , and everyone in the affected area should make emergency preparations .\nThe NHC said the northern Bahamas and coastal sections of the Southeast United States could see 4 to 8 inches of rain , with 10 inches possible in isolated areas . `` This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods , '' it said .\nNHC Director Ken Graham cautioned that anyone on the Southeastern U.S. coast from Florida up through Georgia and South Carolina should watch for potential hazards .\nEarlier , President Trump had declared an emergency in the commonwealth of Puerto Rico , ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency late Tuesday to provide `` equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency . ''\nAnalysis Millions Could Be Diverted From FEMA To Pay For Detention Beds Millions Could Be Diverted From FEMA To Pay For Detention Beds Listen · 5:08 5:08\nPuerto Rico Gov . Wanda Vázquez Garced thanked Trump for approving the declaration , saying it would `` allow federal aid to arrive more quickly '' after the storm passes .\nTrump approved an emergency declaration for the Virgin Islands on Wednesday .\nIn a statement about its preparations , FEMA said that its `` stock on the island compared to 2017 levels includes three times as many generators , nine times as many meals , five times as many liters of water and 16 times as many blue tarps . ''\nMeanwhile , the fifth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic season formed late Tuesday , as Tropical Storm Erin 's winds reached 40 mph . The storm , which was several hundred miles southeast of Cape Hatteras , N.C. , was downgraded to a tropical depression on Wednesday . Erin is expected to remain on a north-northeastern track , likely arriving at Canada 's coast late this week .
|
allsides-corpus-183
|
There is an old expression in Washington that nothing is decided until everything is decided .\nWell , consider the state of the $ 19.1 billion disaster bill .\nIt took a Herculean effort to pry that package loose Thursday in the Senate , triggering an overwhelming , 85-8 vote . President Trump signaled to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby , R-Ala. , and Sen. David Perdue , R-Ga. , that he would sign the package – even without provisions for the border . The senators say the President indicated the disaster money was too important and had been stalled too long . States in the south and Midwest – stricken by hurricanes and flooding – could wait no longer .\nThat ’ s until Rep. Chip Roy , R-Texas , torpedoed everything Friday morning .\nThere are three ways the House and Senate can approve bills . They can conduct a standard roll call vote , where everyone either casts ballots as yea or nay . The House and Senate can hold a “ voice vote. ” That ’ s where everyone either hollers yea or nay . The loudest side is supposed to win .\nHowever , the lawmaker who is presiding always declares “ in the opinion of the chair , the ayes have it ” or “ the noes have it. ” But , if the losing side doesn ’ t like the outcome , they can always demand a recorded vote . Finally , there is “ unanimous consent. ” That ’ s where all 435 or 100 people must agree . All it takes is a solitary objection , even if everyone else wants to do something else . Lodging an objection stops everything .\nLONE GOP REP BLOCKS DISASTER AID BILL IN SURPRISE MOVE\nIt is said you can make the sun rise in the west if you obtain unanimous consent .\nThere were only three House members on the floor Friday when the House tried to advance the disaster aid measure by unanimous consent and sync up with the Senate . Rep. Jim McGovern , D-Mass. , presided over the session . Rep. Donna Shalala , D-Fla. , was on the floor to make the unanimous consent request . And then there was Roy .\nThose in favor of the measure outnumbered Roy two one .\nUnanimous consent is powerful - but hard to obtain . There ’ s only one reason Roy showed up Friday morning as the House attempted to approve the measure with a skeleton staff on hand . Passing the package by unanimous consent would mean the House and Senate were in alignment , having okayed the same package . The measure would then be ready for President Trump ’ s signature .\nHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif. , implored Democratic leaders to keep the House in session on Thursday to approve the disaster aid measure . But the House wasn ’ t going to budge until the Senate acted . Most House members jetted out of Washington midday Thursday for a week-and-a-half , starting the Memorial Day recess .\nIt was unclear until early Thursday afternoon as to the fate of the disaster package . Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. , warned his colleagues the Senate would vote “ on something ” on disaster aid and “ not adjourn. ” The Senate pondered re-voting a sidetracked version of disaster aid which fell apart in early April . But the Senate was set to vote on a retooled plan once President Trump signaled he would sign the measure – even without the border provisions . Things came together very quickly in the Senate . But the House was long gone .\nOne may ask whether it would have been worthwhile to keep the House in session just to see if the Senate would act . Of course , there ’ s always grandstanding from lawmakers about such efforts . Lawmakers regularly trumpet why Congress should remain in session over a recess or a weekend to try to fix one issue or another . Those are often the same lawmakers who have a cab idling just outside the Capitol , ready to whisk them across the river to make a flight at Reagan National Airport .\nThe Memorial Day recess is particularly problematic for scheduling . Many members have big overseas work trips planned . A number of lawmakers are expected to go to Normandy , France in a few days for the 75th anniversary of D-Day . That ’ s to say nothing of lawmakers who are jetting back to their states and districts to participate in Memorial Day parades and visit cemeteries .\nTethering lawmakers to Washington for a day or two , without a clear idea that a consequential vote is coming presents a problem . Yes , the Senate approved the disaster bill just after the House abandoned Washington . But it was far from clear that senators would do that Thursday .\nRoy chatted briefly with Shalala on the House floor just before the session started Friday morning .\n“ He came up to graciously inform me he was going to object because he wanted the President ’ s border request to be included , ” said Shalala . “ This is not the way our government should work . We ’ re ready to work in the House in a bipartisan way . The same as the Senate was ready to go . One individual . His position is irresponsible . ”\nShalala characterized the turn of events as “ tragic. ” She worried about the additional delay for families trying to recover .\n“ Why should they have to wait a week longer because some member of Congress objects ? ” asked the Florida Democrat .\nOf course , the question is whether Roy simply delayed the inevitable . But the House won ’ t return to full action until June 4 . The House appears to have the votes to pass the plan in bipartisan fashion .\n“ This , is respectfully , swamp-speak . Delaying the inevitable . It ’ s the inevitability of DC . The inevitability of spending where we don ’ t speak up and voice the concerns that I hear when I go back to every town in Texas 21 , ” said Roy . “ Why aren ’ t we addressing disaster spending in a way that is fiscally responsible ? We just keep writing checks . ”\nRoy got an earful from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried .\n“ It ’ s craven , shameful politics at its worst that a single House member would choose to further delay disaster relief , ” protested Fried . “ Congressman Roy must have forgotten the aid that Texans received after hurricane Harvey . ”\nIt is said that house guests and fish start to smell after three days . Consider the controversy which stymied this disaster package . Republicans tried to infuse the bill with presidential politics . They argued Senate Democrats running for President should vote yes – or face trouble in sodden Iowa ahead of the caucuses . Republicans contended Democrats played politics with Puerto Rico money . There were questions about what a stunted disaster bill would mean for Sens . Joni Ernst , R-Iowa , Ben Sasse , R-Neb. , John Cornyn , R-Texas , and Perdue . All face re-election bids in states desperate for disaster assistance . All could face competitive races . Ernst is in a battleground state . Texas and Georgia are trending slightly toward Democrats . Then there were issues about adding humanitarian provisions for the border . Are things settled with this legislation ? Or , will another impediment possibly expose the bill to political enzymes , ready to foul the legislation ?\n“ I am not looking for a way to erode support for something , ” said Roy when asked about letting the legislation bake in the parliamentary elements for more than a week . “ This legislation should be offset . This legislation should include border funding so we can deal with that crisis . ”\nBut the bill may not have to wait a week .\nOnly a few House members will linger around Washington for the next 11 days . The House is scheduled to meet briefly at 2 pm on Tuesday , May 28 and at 4:30 pm on Thursday , May 30 . House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer , D-Md. , intimated that “ we will take action as early as next week when the House meets again during pro forma . ”\nThat ’ s a reference to those short sessions . The House could again attempt to marshal unanimous consent to pass the disaster aid bill without a roll call vote . This is a ploy by Democrats to dare Roy or other Republicans to object again . Then Democrats can portray them as obstructionists who are trying to delay disaster assistance .\nThis could all backfire on Roy and other GOPers . If they don ’ t object , then the bill passes and the protestations fall by the wayside . If they do block the bill a second or a third time , then Democrats can easily make the case about Republican obstructionism .\nNot a lot of people knew who Chip Roy was before today . But now they do . Democrats will pin a name and a face on the obstruction .\nThen again , one senior Republican source told Fox “ perhaps Roy wants it that way . ”
|
allsides-corpus-184
|
Two years ago , almost no British people had heard of it , but this year Black Friday has become the latest American craze to cross the pond . At shops up and down the country punters fought to get their hands on discounters toasters and TVs .\nAmazon was the first UK-based retailer to discount goods on the day after the American Thanksgiving holiday three years ago . Last year they were followed by ASDA , which is owned by the US retail giant Walmart .\nSo far there have been at least four arrests , as discounts whipped shoppers into a frenzy . The main disturbances were in South London and Manchester , where shoppers queued for hours before shops opened . When they did open the British abandoned their traditional love of politeness and queuing to join in what was much more akin to London ’ s new NFL team .\nBy the time tills close tonight shoppers are expected to have spent £200m , a welcome boost for struggling retailers . The major chains joining in this year include the UK ’ s largest retailer TESCO and New Look which operates 1,100 branches . The major chains have offered seemingly unbelievable deals , with prices being halved on many products .\nIn advance of Black Friday Ayaz Alam , Senior Directorof Asda , said : “ Last year we were the first major retailer to bring Black Friday to the UK . This year , we ’ ve stepped it up a gear again and by working closely with Walmart – the godfather of Black Friday – we ’ ll be bringing an even bigger and better sale to the UK than ever before . ”\nDespite the excitement of the retailers and shoppers , some experts sounded a note of caution over the stunt . Retail expert Dan Wagner from Powa Technologies told Sky News that the day could trigger a “ battle to reduce prices more and more ” until some retailers bankrupt themselves .\nThe Metropolitan Police have also appealed for calm after they were asked to restore order in a number of participating stores today .
|
allsides-corpus-185
|
The government is to add a new clause to the Brexit bill to rule out any extension to the transition period beyond the end of next year .\nThe post-Brexit transition period - due to conclude in December 2020 - can currently be extended by mutual agreement for up to two years .\nBut an amended Withdrawal Agreement Bill the Commons is set to vote on this week would rule out any extension .\nThe PM told MPs it would put an end to years of `` deadlock , dither and delay '' .\nAs the House of Commons assembled for the first time since the election , Boris Johnson said his priority was to `` get Brexit done '' . He also promised to seek `` common ground '' and to approach politics with a `` new and generous spirit '' after the rancour of recent years .\nJeremy Corbyn congratulated the Conservative leader on his victory but said he would be `` judged '' on whether he delivered on the `` many , many promises '' he had made during the campaign , including to longstanding Labour voters .\nThe UK is set to leave the EU on 31 January , more than three and a half years after the public backed Brexit in a referendum .\nSoon after , the two sides will begin talking about their future economic relationship , including controversial areas such as fishing rights , consumer and environmental standards and financial services .\nTrade deals typically take many years to conclude and senior EU figures are sceptical that a deal can be agreed within that time . If it is not , the economic relationship will default to World Trade Organization ( WTO ) terms , with the likelihood of tariffs on imports and exports .\nThe EU 's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the bloc would `` do the maximum '' to finalise the deal in time . Asked about the UK 's refusal to contemplate any extra time for the talks , he said `` it is the British choice to choose the procedure it wants '' .\nThis is a political signal , a moment of early chest beating too , designed to disappoint those who might have been hoping No 10 might slide to a softer Brexit over the next few months .\nAnd designed to gratify those who are adamant that Brexit must be completely `` done '' as soon as possible .\nBoris Johnson seems to have concluded that if the talks are to go anywhere fast , there has to be a convincing clear deadline .\nIt was his vow of a Halloween deadline that got him to Downing Street in the first place , and although it was broken in the end , there 's little question that his attitude towards extending again and again changed the dynamics of the talks with the EU that got the revised deal done .\nPutting the deadline into law may also be designed to focus minds in Brussels . How effective that might be ? That 's a different question .\nShadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the PM 's move was `` reckless and irresponsible '' and he argued that Mr Johnson was `` prepared to put people 's jobs at risk '' .\nLiberal Democrat interim leader Sir Ed Davey said : `` The only way Johnson can meet the December 2020 timetable is by giving up all his previous promises to Leave voters and agreeing to all the demands of the EU . ''\nDowning Street has said the government plans to ask the new Parliament to have its first debate and vote on the withdrawal agreement - the legislation needed to ratify Brexit - on Friday .\nWith a majority of 80 following Thursday 's general election , Mr Johnson is expected to get the bill into law with few changes in time for the UK to end its EU membership on 31 January .\nSo , the government is going to pass a law to stop itself doing something that it had already promised not to do .\nBecause the decision on whether to extend the transition period lies with the prime minister anyway , not with Parliament .\nAnd with his new majority , Mr Johnson knows his critics ca n't do anything to force his hand .\nBut as a statement of intent , this announcement is important .\nBy reaffirming Mr Johnson 's guarantee that the transition period will not be extended , it suggests there will only be enough time to agree a pretty basic trade deal which would leave many important issues unresolved .\nThat means a quick 'zero tariffs zero quotas ' deal on goods could be done , as long as the UK is prepared to sign up to the EU 's main conditions .\nThey include the UK sticking with EU rules on environmental and social policy , and on state aid for companies .\nSuch an agreement would n't get rid of all border checks , though , and it would n't do anything for the services sector .\nThe PM could of course change his mind again - he 's done that before .\nBut this is also a warning for businesses - they could be in for a bit of a bumpy ride at the end of next year .\nAs well as ruling out an extension , the Independent reports that the amended withdrawal agreement may omit previous `` provisions to ensure that workers ' rights were not weakened after Brexit '' .\nCabinet minister Michael Gove said workers ' rights would be `` safeguarded '' in separate legislation , adding that the government wanted to make sure the Withdrawal Agreement Bill passes through Parliament `` cleanly and clearly '' .\nBut shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the government would `` sacrifice our basic rights and certainty for business at the altar of turning the UK into a Trump-supporting tax haven '' .\nAnd Labour 's Barry Gardiner said his party would be less likely to support the bill if clauses on workers ' rights and the environment were removed .\nThe prime minister promised during the general election campaign that he would not seek an extension to the transition period - persuading Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage to stand down candidates in Tory seats .\nSam Lowe , from the Centre for European Reform think tank , told BBC Radio 4 's Today programme that a December 2020 deadline could help the PM manage his own party when it comes to making concessions to the EU .\n`` The prospect of a no-deal is still there , '' Mr Lowe said . `` The question is whether Boris Johnson wants a no-deal but the evidence of recent time suggests no he does n't . ''\nMeanwhile , in the first act of the new Parliament , MPs re-confirmed Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle in his post without any opposition .\nThe MP for Chorley , who was only succeeded John Bercow at the start of November , said it was the `` greatest privilege '' to be asked to take the chair again and he would do his utmost to `` cherish the best traditions '' of the Parliament .\nCommons officials have begun the process of swearing in the new MPs - which will continue on Wednesday .\nAfter the election of the Speaker , the process of swearing in MPs begins . They are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown , or , if they object to this , a solemn affirmation . Those who speak or vote without having done so are deprived of their seat `` as if they were dead '' under the Parliamentary Oaths Act of 1866 .\nTwo to three days are usually set aside for this process .\nThe state opening of Parliament . The Queen 's Speech is the centrepiece of this , when she will read a speech written by ministers setting out the government 's programme of legislation for the parliamentary session . A couple of hours after the speech is delivered , MPs will begin debating its contents - a process which usually takes days .\nDepending on how rapidly Boris Johnson wants to move , the debate on the Queen 's Speech could continue into Friday .\nThe government will introduce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to Parliament .\nMPs in the previous Parliament backed Mr Johnson 's bill at its first stage but rejected his plan to fast-track the legislation through Parliament in three days in order to leave the EU by the then Brexit deadline of 31 October .\nAfter the debate on the Queen 's Speech is concluded , MPs will vote on whether to approve it . Not since 1924 has a government 's Queen Speech been defeated .
|
allsides-corpus-186
|
The shadow foreign secretary , Emily Thornberry , has said a Labour government would engage in a businesslike way with Donald Trump but would not afford special honours to the US president .\nSpeaking before a mass demonstration in London on Tuesday , which will be addressed by the Labour leader , Jeremy Corbyn , Thornberry said : “ A state visit is an honour and we don ’ t think this president deserves an honour .\n“ The truth is he has tried to close borders with Muslim-majority countries , he is caging small Mexican children , he has grabbed women and boasted about it . He is a sexual predator , he is a racist and it ’ s right to say that – we need to think about when is it our country got so scared ? ” she told BBC Radio 4 ’ s Today programme .\nThornberry said Corbyn ’ s attendance at a state banquet for the Chinese president , Xi Jinping , was a different situation .\n“ When you have a close friend and they ’ re going wrong , you are more likely to be adamant with them and clearer with them than someone who has not been as close a friend and someone you are trying to build a relationship up with , ” she said .\nThornberry , speaking earlier on ITV ’ s Good Morning Britain , said Labour would not refuse to engage with Trump , but would do so without pomp and ceremony .\n“ When I become foreign secretary , I hope that what he will respect and understand is a certain amount of strength and an ability to be able to say what it is that you think , and not be bullied and kowtowed and shouted over . And say Britain is a friend of a America , you are going wrong , ” she said .\nThe shadow foreign secretary called the government ’ s attitude “ pusillanimous , it ’ s too weak , it doesn ’ t stand up to him ” , and said the president “ undermines the world order ” in a hugely risky way .\n“ We ’ ll talk to him but not in front of the Queen . We ’ d have a business meeting , ” she said .\nThornberry said she had written to Buckingham Palace to pre-emptively decline an invitation to the state dinner hosted by the Queen at the palace on Monday night , which Corbyn also declined to attend .\n“ I didn ’ t want to embarrass the palace by them sending an invitation and me saying no . So I wrote and pre-empted it , ” she said .\n“ The Queen invited the president over on the advice of the prime minister . That advice was wrong . I ’ m not saying that he should not come and have business meetings , I ’ m not saying we shouldn ’ t talk to him , but the things I want to say to President Trump I probably shouldn ’ t say in front of Her Majesty . We would end up having an argument . ”\nA huge police and security operation was under way on Tuesday morning , with protesters barred from demonstrating directly outside Downing Street and road closures in place .\nOrganisers of the Together Against Trump protest have billed the day as a “ carnival of resistance ” , with demonstrators gathering at Trafalgar Square from 11am to declare a “ Trump-free zone ” .\nDemonstrators will not be permitted to march past Downing Street , as part of Whitehall will be closed off , the Metropolitan police confirmed on Monday afternoon . Organisers had initially planned to demonstrate outside the entrance to Downing Street as Trump held talks at No 10 .\nTheresa May , who is hosting the US president as one of the final acts of her premiership , will not hold a one-on-one bilateral meeting with him , but will host Trump in Downing Street on Tuesday for a series of events , including a press conference later in the afternoon .\nShe will insist the relationship between the US and the UK is “ a great partnership , but one I believe we can make greater still ” .\nThe two leaders will jointly host a business breakfast with US and UK companies , highlighting the claimed benefits of a post-Brexit bilateral free-trade deal . Trump has tweeted that a “ big trade deal is possible once UK gets rid of the shackles [ of the EU ] ” .\nAbout 250,000 anti-Trump activists gathered when he flew into the UK in July last year for his first visit as US president .\nProtests are also planned in Birmingham , Stoke , Sheffield , Glasgow , Edinburgh , Chester , Leicester , Oxford and Exeter .
|
allsides-corpus-187
|
Boris Johnson 's decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was unlawful , the Supreme Court has ruled .\nJudges said it was wrong to stop MPs carrying out duties in the run-up to the Brexit deadline on 31 October .\nThe PM , who has faced calls to resign , said he `` profoundly disagreed '' with the ruling but would `` respect '' it .\nThe Labour conference finished early following the ruling and MPs are returning to Westminster ready for Parliament to reconvene on Wednesday .\nA senior government official said the prime minister spoke to the Queen after the Supreme Court ruling , but would not reveal the details of the conversation .\nIt comes after the court ruled it was impossible to conclude there had been any reason `` let alone a good reason - to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament for five weeks '' .\nMr Johnson , who returns to London from New York on Wednesday , also chaired a 30-minute phone call with his cabinet .\nA source told the BBC that the Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said to other cabinet ministers on the call that the action by the court had amounted to a `` constitutional coup '' .\nThe prime minister insisted he wanted to outline his government 's policies in a Queen 's Speech on 14 October , and to do that , Parliament must be prorogued and a new session started .\nBut critics said he was trying to stop MPs scrutinising his Brexit plans and the suspension was far longer than necessary .\nDuring a speech in New York , the PM said he `` refused to be deterred '' from getting on with `` an exciting and dynamic domestic agenda '' , and to do that he would need a Queen 's Speech .\nThe court ruling does not prevent him from proroguing again in order to hold one , as long as it does not stop Parliament carrying out its duties `` without reasonable justification '' .\nA No 10 source said the Supreme Court had `` made a serious mistake in extending its reach to these political matters '' , and had `` made it clear that its reasons [ were ] connected to the Parliamentary disputes over , and timetable for '' Brexit .\nBut Supreme Court president Lady Hale emphasised in the ruling that the case was `` not about when and on what terms '' the UK left the EU - it was about the decision to suspend Parliament .\nDelivering the justices ' conclusions , she said : `` The decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification . ''\nLady Hale said the unanimous decision of the 11 justices meant Parliament had effectively not been prorogued - the decision was null and of no effect .\nSpeaker of the Commons John Bercow said MPs needed to return `` in light of the explicit judgement '' , and he had `` instructed the House of Commons authorities to prepare ... for the resumption of business '' from 11:30 BST on Wednesday .\nHe said prime minister 's questions would not go ahead , but there would be `` full scope '' for urgent questions , ministerial statements and applications for emergency debates .\nShort of the inscrutable Lady Hale , with the giant diamond spider on her lapel , declaring Boris Johnson to be Pinocchio , this judgement is just about as bad for the government as it gets .\nMr Johnson is , as is abundantly clear , prepared to run a general election campaign that pits Parliament against the people . And so what , according to that view of the world , if that includes the judges as part of the establishment standing in his way ?\nBut there is a difference between being ruthless and reckless .\nAnd the scope and strength of this judgement can not just be dismissed as some pesky judges sticking their noses in .\nReacting to the ruling , Mr Johnson said it was an `` unusual judgement '' , adding : `` The prerogative of prorogation has been used for centuries without this kind of challenge .\n`` There are a lot of people who basically want to stop this country from coming out of the EU and we have a Parliament that is unable to be prorogued and does n't want to have an election . I think it is time we took things forward . ''\nThe PM said getting a deal was `` not made much easier with these sort of things in Parliament or the courts '' , but insisted the UK would still leave on 31 October .\nLabour leader Jeremy Corbyn was due to close the Labour Party conference in Brighton with a speech on Wednesday , but brought it forward to Tuesday afternoon so he could return to Westminster .\nHe told cheering delegates : `` Tomorrow Parliament will return . The government will be held to account for what it has done . Boris Johnson has been found to have misled the country . This unelected prime minister should now resign . ''\nLawyers for the government had argued the decision to prorogue was one for Parliament , not the courts .\nBut the justices disagreed , unanimously deciding it was `` justiciable '' , and there was `` no doubt that the courts have jurisdiction to decide upon the existence and limits of a prerogative power '' .\nThe court also criticised the length of the suspension , with Lady Hale saying it was `` impossible for us to conclude , on the evidence which has been put before us , that there was any reason - let alone a good reason - to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament for five weeks '' .\nA spokesperson from the Attorney General 's office said the government had acted in `` good faith and in the belief that its approach was both lawful and constitutional '' .\n`` These are complex matters on which senior and distinguished lawyers have disagreed , '' a statement said .\n`` The Divisional Court led by the Lord Chief Justice agreed unanimously with the government 's legal position , as did the Outer House in Scotland .\n`` We are disappointed that in the end the Supreme Court took a different view . We respect the judgment of the Supreme Court . ''\nIt is worth just taking a breath and considering that a prime minister of the United Kingdom has been found by the highest court in the land to have acted unlawfully in shutting down the sovereign body in our constitution , Parliament , at a time of national crisis .\nThe court may have fallen short of saying Boris Johnson had an improper motive of stymieing or frustrating parliamentary scrutiny , but the damage is done , he has been found to have acted unlawfully and stopped Parliament from doing its job without any legal justification .\nAnd the court has quashed both his advice to the Queen and the Order in Council which officially suspended parliament .\nThat means Parliament was never prorogued and so we assume that MPs are free to re-enter the Commons .\nThis is the most dramatic example yet of independent judges , through the mechanism of judicial review , stopping the government in its tracks because what it has done is unlawful .\nBe you ever so mighty , the law is above you - even if you are the prime minister .\nUnprecedented , extraordinary , ground breaking - it is difficult to overestimate the constitutional and political significance of today 's ruling .\nThe ruling was made after a three-day hearing at the Supreme Court last week which dealt with two appeals - one from campaigner and businesswoman Gina Miller , the second from the government .\nMrs Miller was appealing against the English High Court 's decision that the prorogation was `` purely political '' and not a matter for the courts .\nThe government was appealing against the ruling by Scotland 's Court of Session that the prorogation was `` unlawful '' and had been used to `` stymie '' Parliament .\nThe court ruled in favour of Mrs Miller 's appeal and against the government 's .\nSpeaking outside the court , Mrs Miller said the ruling `` speaks volumes '' .\n`` This prime minister must open the doors of Parliament tomorrow . MPs must get back and be brave and bold in holding this unscrupulous government to account , '' she added .\nThe SNP 's Joanna Cherry , who led the Scottish case , called for Mr Johnson to resign as a result of the ruling .\n`` The highest court in the United Kingdom has unanimously found that his advice to prorogue this Parliament , his advice given to Her Majesty the Queen , was unlawful , '' she said .\n`` His position is untenable and he should have the guts , for once , to do the decent thing and resign . ''\nFormer Prime Minister Sir John Major - one of the sponsors of the prorogation appeal - said it gave him `` no pleasure to be pitted against a government and prime minister of my own party '' .\n`` No prime minister must ever treat the monarch or Parliament in this way again . ''\nMr Johnson was backed by US President Donald Trump at a joint press conference at the United Nations in New York .\n`` I 'll tell you , I know him well , he 's not going anywhere , '' said Mr Trump , after a US reporter quizzed the prime minister on whether he was going to resign .\nBut reaction at home was far more negative . Scotland 's First Minister , the SNP 's Nicola Sturgeon , said the ruling was the most significant constitutional judgement in her lifetime , and it would be `` unthinkable '' for Mr Johnson to remain in office .\nWales ' First Minister , Labour 's Mark Drakeford , said the court 's decision had been a `` victory for the rule of law '' and the PM had `` tried to play fast and loose with our constitution '' .\nIn Northern Ireland , the leader of the DUP , Arlene Foster , said the ruling must be respected , while Sinn Fein 's vice president , Michelle O'Neill , said Mr Johnson should resign .\nOther figures have taken to Twitter to support the court 's decision , including former Tory minister Amber Rudd , who resigned her post - and the party whip - over the government 's approach to Brexit .\nThe leader of The Brexit Party , Nigel Farage , said Mr Johnson must , `` as a matter of honour '' , offer his resignation to MPs in Parliament on Wednesday .\nThe decision to prorogue Parliament had been a `` disaster '' , he added , and there must be a general election `` before very long because Parliament and the government have ceased to function '' .\nFormer Attorney General Dominic Grieve , who has been an outspoken critic of the suspension , said he was `` not surprised '' by the judgement because of the `` gross misbehaviour by the prime minister '' .\nHe told the BBC 's Victoria Derbyshire programme he was `` delighted '' the Supreme Court had `` stopped this unconstitutional act in its tracks '' .\nBut Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said the court 's decision was `` the worst possible outcome for our democracy '' and `` an absolute disgrace '' .\nHe told the same programme : `` What we 've got is a Parliament that 's completely out of step with sentiment of the country . ''\nFellow Tory MP and chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group Steve Baker said the ruling was an `` earthquake moment '' .\nHe described the Commons as a `` rotten Parliament '' facing a `` crisis '' , and called for a general election so a government with a majority could move forward .\nProrogation is a power that rests with the Queen , carried out by her on the advice of the prime minister .\nAnd at the end of August - shortly before MPs returned from their summer recess - Mr Johnson called Her Majesty to advise she suspend Parliament between 9 September until 14 October .\nMPs had been expecting to be in recess for some of these weeks for their party conferences .\nBut unlike prorogation , a recess must be agreed by a vote , and a number of MPs said they would have voted against it to ensure they could scrutinise Mr Johnson 's Brexit plans .\nThe decision to prorogue prompted an uproar from the Commons , especially from MPs who had planned to take control of Parliament to force through a law to block a no-deal Brexit after Mr Johnson said the UK would leave the EU with or without a deal on the Halloween deadline .\nDespite only sitting for a week , they did manage to pass that law ahead of prorogation and it received royal assent on 9 September .\nWhat questions do you have about the Supreme Court 's decision ?
|
allsides-corpus-188
|
The race to become Britain 's next prime minister took a dramatic last-minute turn with former London Mayor Boris Johnson -- considered a front-runner -- ruling himself out of the race after the defection of a key ally on Thursday .\nJohnson , a prominent campaigner for British withdrawal from the European Union , told a news conference that the next Conservative Party leader would have needs to ensure Britain 's standing in the world .\n`` Having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in Parliament , I have concluded that person can not be me , '' he said .\nJohnson dropped out after Justice Secretary Michael Gove , Johnson 's ally in the EU `` leave '' campaign , astonished the political world by announcing that he was running to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron .\nHome Secretary Theresa May and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb are also in the race .\nThe winner of the contest , to be announced Sept. 9 , will become prime minister and play a vital role shaping the nature of Britain 's relationship with the European Union after last week 's Brexit vote ended the career of Cameron , whose bid to keep Britain in the EU block failed .\nThe bookies ' early favorite is May , who is seen by many in the party as a safe pair of hands as the country struggles to disentangle itself from the EU .\n`` This is not a normal leadership held under normal circumstances , '' May said in a speech Thursday in London . `` The result means we face a period of uncertainty we need to address head on . ''\nAlthough May had offered a tepid endorsement of Britain 's place in the European Union during the referendum campaign , she was clear that the vote would be respected .\n`` The United Kingdom will leave the EU , '' she said , pledging to create a brand new government department devoted to negotiating Britain 's `` sensible and orderly '' departure from the 28-nation bloc .\nBoosting May 's chances was a last-minute falling out between her two leading competitors -- Gove and Johnson -- who had campaigned together to yank Britain from the EU .\nIn a statement , Gove said he would pursue the prime minister 's post after concluding that Johnson `` can not provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead . ''\nAn email from Gove 's wife , Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine , obtained earlier by Sky News , suggested that Gove should ensure he had specific guarantees from Johnson before backing the latter 's bid .\nShe added that influential right-wing media barons Rupert Murdoch and Paul Dacre `` instinctively dislike '' Johnson .\nThe opposition Labour Party is also is extreme disarray , with leader Jeremy Corbyn facing intense pressure to resign after losing a confidence vote . He has lost the support of the party 's lawmakers but claims the rank and file still back him\nHe is expected to face a formal leadership challenge in the coming days . He has faced heavy criticism for failing to campaign effectively in support of keeping Britain within the EU .
|
allsides-corpus-189
|
The 52-year-old Kent-born attacker had been convicted of violent offences and may have been a late convert to Islam\nDetectives are piecing together the history of the Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood , a 52-year-old ex-convict who used a string of aliases and reportedly converted to Islam only in later life .\nMasood was described by police as a criminal with a 20-year record of offending , who had once been investigated for extremism but was assessed as low risk . Reports have emerged that his birthname was Adrian Russell Ajao . He was earlier named as Adrian Elms .\nLondon attack : police investigate terrorist Khalid Masood as death toll rises – live Read more\nAs police search for any evidence of a wider conspiracy , eight people remain in custody after properties across the UK were raided , while a picture emerged of the killer ’ s apparently nomadic lifestyle .\nThe death toll from his assault on the capital rose to four on Thursday night when a 75-year-old man , named as Leslie Rhodes from Streatham , south London , had his life support withdrawn at King ’ s College hospital .\nThe police said on Friday morning that two people remained in hospital in critical condition , with one of these considered to have “ life-threatening ” injuries , after Masood drove his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before running into the parliamentary estate armed with two knives and fatally stabbing PC Keith Palmer before himself being shot dead . Fifty people have been confirmed as injured , with 31 requiring hospital treatment . Two police officers remained in hospital with significant injuries .\nOn Thursday night , thousands of people gathered to commemorate the victims of the attack in Westminster , and to hear speeches by the capital ’ s mayor and other leaders aimed at preventing terrorism from spreading division and hatred .\nThe vigil in Trafalgar Square , central London , was held to honour the dead and injured , Sadiq Khan said , but also “ to send a clear , clear , message – Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism ” .\nWestminster vigil : we will never be cowed by terrorism , says mayor Read more\nEarlier , prime minister Theresa May told MPs Masood had been previously known to MI5 : “ Some years ago , he was once investigated in relation to concerns about violent extremism . He was a peripheral figure . The case is historic – he was not part of the current intelligence picture . ”\nAmber Rudd , the home secretary , later added that Masood had spent time in jail , but not for terrorist offences , while the Metropolitan police said “ Masood ” was in all likelihood not his birth name .\nThe names of two people who died after Masood mowed them down on Westminster Bridge also emerged .\nThey were Kurt Cochran , 54 , a US tourist from Utah celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary , and British-born Aysha Frade , 43 , who worked at sixth-form college and had been walking over the bridge to pick up her daughters from school .\nIn the frenzied attack on Wednesday , Masood also stabbed to death PC Keith Palmer , a 48-year-old husband and father .\nThe prime minister said Palmer was “ every inch a hero and his actions will never be forgotten ” , while a crowdfunding appeal for his family has raised more than £364,000 .\nThe attack was stopped when armed officers assigned to protect the defence secretary , Michael Fallon , shot Masood , who is believed to have been intent on entering parliament . Palmer died at New Palace Yard on the edge of the parliamentary estate , near Parliament Square , raising questions about security for legislators .\nThe original incident , in which Masood drove a Hyundai Tucson 4x4 into crowds at one of London ’ s busiest tourist spots , left 40 people injured , 29 of whom were taken to hospital .\nIn an emergency statement to the Commons , May said people from around the world had been caught up in the attack . “ In addition to 12 Britons admitted to hospital , we know the victims include three French children , two Romanians , four South Koreans , one German , one Pole , one Irish , one Chinese , one Italian , one American and two Greeks , ” she said .\nLondon terror attack : what we know so far Read more\nShe also sounded a note of defiance , telling MPs : “ Today we meet as normal , as generations have done before us and as future generations will continue to do , to deliver a simple message : we are not afraid and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism . ”\nMay ’ s spokesman said she had received phone calls from world leaders including Angela Merkel , François Hollande and Donald Trump , offering their condolences and support , and had herself signed a book of condolence in parliament . She later visited the injured in hospital .\nPolice said Masood had been inspired by Islamic State . But he hid his extremism from his neighbours , coming across as a keen gardener and family man .\nThe domestic intelligence service will face questions over why Masood dropped off the radar after being investigated in relation to concerns over violent extremism .\nAn MI5 team has been set up to see what lessons can be learned from the case and to look at the decision to not put him under surveillance . The police and security services monitor an estimated 3,000 Britons , mainly Islamists , regarded as capable of terrorism , but it emerged he was not on this list .\nIsis claimed responsibilty for the attack , although the claim could not be verified . Amaq , the news agency it uses to broadcast propaganda , issued a statement describing the attacker as a soldier of Islamic State , without naming him .\nPolice revealed that Masood , born in Kent on Christmas Day 1964 , had a string of criminal convictions . In a statement , the Met said : “ He was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults , including GBH , possession of offensive weapons and public order offences .\n“ His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last conviction was in December 2003 for possession of a knife . ”\nThe investigation is being led by SO15 , Scotland Yard ’ s counter-terrorism command . Police staged raids across Birmingham , including Masood ’ s recent home in Winson Green , and at properties in London , Carmarthenshire and Brighton .\nNeighbour Iwona Romek said Masood was a keen gardener , who lived in the modern mews house with his wife and young child . Romek , 45 , said her experience of him was of a “ nice man ” .\nShe said the family had moved out suddenly in December 2016 and added : “ I used to see him outside doing his garden . Never any trouble . ”\nIt is believed that Masood rented the Hyundai car that he turned into a weapon of terror from the depot of a car hire firm , Enterprise , in Spring Hill , Birmingham .\nPolice still believe the attack was carried out by Masood alone , but are looking into whether others helped him . The eight arrests were all on suspicion of acts of preparation of a terrorist act , a key indication that police are investigating the possibility of a wider conspiracy .\nA 39-year-old woman was arrested in east London , while two women aged 26 and 21 were detained in Birmingham . Five men aged 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 and 58 were arrested in Birmingham .\nPC Palmer ’ s family released a statement paying tribute to the police officer , who had a five-year-old daughter . They said : “ Dedicated to his job and proud to be a police officer , brave and courageous . A friend to everyone who knew him . He will be deeply missed . We love him so much . ”\nAs a mark of respect , Palmer ’ s shoulder number – 4157U – is to be retired and not reissued to any other officer , Scotland Yard said .\nThe Met has put extra officers on the streets and has extended the shifts they work from eight to 12 hours , until further notice . Forces outside London are also increasing their presence on the streets , to provide reassurance and to deter not only any further Islamist attacks but hate crimes against Muslims .\nThe Independent Police Complaints Commission began an investigation into the shooting of the suspect , which is mandated by law .
|
allsides-corpus-190
|
Republicans and Democrats returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday pledging to try to reach common ground — but as each side reinforced its pre-election battle lines , last week ’ s results appear to have shifted little other than the rhetoric .\nMajority Leader Harry Reid , Nevada Democrat , opened the Senate ’ s lame-duck session pleading for the chance to rescue the 112th Congress from being the most lethargic on record .\nHe said the looming “ fiscal cliff ” depends on better cooperation . In his opening bid , he told Republicans in the House to quickly pass tax legislation that would mean a rate increase for the wealthy , but keep rates low for everyone else .\nBut Republicans have rejected that plan repeatedly , and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , Kentucky Republican , instead said it was up to President Obama to make overtures to Republicans now that he has secured election to a second term .\nThe White House , though , was in no mood to break from its pre-election posture . Press secretary Jay Carney said Mr. Obama still will veto any bill that doesn ’ t include a tax-rate increase on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans , and shot down other proposals , such as cutting out loopholes but not raising the rates themselves , as “ hypotheticals . ”\n“ What I can tell you is that the president will not sign a bill that extends tax cuts for the top 2 percent with an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts , ” Mr. Carney said .\nCongress had been in recess for most of the past two months , and lawmakers watched with bemusement as their colleagues dug in again .\n“ People are stuck in suspended animation , ” said Sen. Ben Nelson , a Nebraska Democrat who is retiring at the end of this year . “ My hope is that as everybody adjusts to the outcome of the election and looks to their positions that maybe then action will occur . But if it doesn ’ t , then this country is stuck in neutral . But the problem with being stuck is neutral is that it is actually reverse . ”\nMr. Nelson said he doesn ’ t want to talk about raising more tax revenues until he has seen more spending cuts put on the table .\nRepublicans say they are willing to break with their past stance and allow the government to collect more revenue — though for now , they don ’ t appear to be talking about new direct money from higher taxes .\nInstead , they propose a streamlined tax code , with lower rates and fewer deductions , which they say will expand the economy . With a better economy , they say , the government can take in more money .\nHowever , budget analysts have said the hole is so deep that the government can not grow its way out of the problem , and will need either deep spending cuts , significant tax increases or a combination of the two in order to bring the deficit to manageable levels .\nMr. Obama and Democrats have said they need to see tax rates rise , while Republicans have said entitlement programs must face spending cuts .\nBut both sides are also under enormous pressure to resist each other ’ s demands . On Tuesday , Mr. Obama met with liberal leaders at the White House and they urged him to reject any deal that would cut Social Security or Medicare .\n“ The truth is America does not face an ‘ entitlement crisis. ’ We should not be cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits to put our fiscal house in order , ” said Max Richtman , president of the National Committee to Protect Social Security & Medicare .\nThe so-called fiscal cliff hits early next year . The Bush-era tax cuts expire Jan. 1 , and $ 110 billion in automatic spending cuts take effect Jan. 2 as a result of last year ’ s debt deal . The tax increases would apply across the board , while the spending cuts would be divided equally between defense and domestic appropriations .\nTogether , they would plunge the economy into a short but sharp recession — though the tax increases and spending cuts also would reduce the budget deficit dramatically in 2013 , and would produce a stronger economy by the end of the decade , according to the Congressional Budget Office .\nSome Democrats have suggested that their party should let the fiscal cliff hit and then negotiate from a position of strength when Democrats get additional members early next year . They gained seats last week in both chambers , though they will hold a majority only in the Senate .\nBut House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , California Democrat , flatly rejected that Tuesday .\n“ I want you to be disabused of any notion that there ’ s any widespread thought that it would be a good thing for our country for us to go over the cliff , ” she told reporters .\nGetting there , however , will take a deal — which has been elusive for the past 18 months .\nMr. Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House on Friday to start negotiations anew .\nIn one ominous sign , the Senate picked up right where it left off in September , fighting over a bill to open more federal lands to fishing and hunting .\nMr. Reid used procedural tactics to lock out Republican amendments , saying the GOP is threatening to delay the bill , as it did with many of Democrats ’ priorities over the past two years .\n“ I can ’ t imagine why we ’ re still fighting the battles of the last election , ” he said .\nBut Republicans say Mr. Reid is pushing a partisan agenda and in restricting amendments he is refusing to allow the freewheeling debate the Senate usually enjoys .
|
allsides-corpus-191
|
-- The estimated cost of compliance to American taxpayers in 2010 , including tax preparation fees , hours worked and other costs , according to the IRS .\nIt ’ s D-Day for President Obama ’ s health law as millions of American tax filers face the deadline for reporting their status under Obama ’ s new entitlement program and their vulnerability to new taxes used to fund it .\nAmericans have been paying the biggest new taxes associated with the law since the beginning of the year : a .9 percent income tax and a 3.8 percent tax on investment income , both for top earners .\nWhile the estimated cost of those taxes is $ 318 billon over the next decade , like this year ’ s other big tax hike , the 48 percent jump in the payroll tax rate for all workers , they occur automatically and don ’ t create sticker shock except for those who count every penny in every paycheck .\nAmericans are also already living with two other costly tax increases in the law .\nThose facing huge medical bills were previously able to deduct any expenses above 7.5 percent of their annual income . That ’ s now 10 percent . This is a relatively small number of people , mostly with serious illnesses , and the pinch won ’ t come until they file their taxes next year .\nThe other change is a new cap on health savings accounts , now set at $ 2,500 . But consumers already got that word during the enrollment period for their health plans at the end of last year . Many will pay higher taxes , but in small sums mostly . ( The point of this regulation was more to discourage cash-based purchases of medical services and products and drive people into more expensive , comprehensive insurance plans to help insurance companies cover costs under the law . )\nBut today is the day when the compliance curve of the president ’ s law really starts to get steeper .\nThe Supreme Court ruled last year that whatever Obama and congressional Democrats called the penalty under the law for not having insurance , it is still a tax . And one can see why , since the initial point of contact for the uninsured with the law comes through the IRS .\nThe government will be using the tax returns due today to decide who will receive an estimated $ 25 billion in new insurance subsidies next year .\nEnrollment in the new entitlement program is set to begin on Oct. 1 . The complex process of enrollment looks to be an even more daunting task than tax preparation . And with many states functioning differently and delays piling up , it could be a real goat rope .\nBut whatever comes out and whenever it goes into place , the tax returns due today will provide the initial basis for how one ’ s relationship with the government and health insurance functions .\nThose making up to 400 percent of federal poverty levels -- $ 43,560 for an individual and $ 89,400 for a family of four in 2011 , according to the Kaiser Family Foundation – will be eligible for the new benefit .\nThe government will know from the tax forms due today how many Americans fall into that category . The government will still be working from estimates on how many of those folks in the subsidy zone don ’ t have insurance , but these forms will define the universe of those who may be eligible .\nThen those individuals in the subsidy zone without insurance will have to decide whether to sign up for the program or face a fine .\nBy Tax Day 2015 all American taxpayers will have to provide proof of insurance to the IRS , so today starts the clock for those without insurance to either comply or face the penalty -- $ 95 for 2014 , $ 325 for 2015 and $ 695 for 2016 .\nThe purpose of the “ mandate ” in Obama ’ s law is to start herding people into the re-regulated insurance market , and Tax Day 2013 is the start of that great health insurance cattle drive .\nChris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for ███ , and his POWER PLAY column appears Monday-Friday on FoxNews.com . Catch Chris Live online daily at 11:30amET at http : live.foxnews.com .
|
allsides-corpus-192
|
The tax bill that Republicans are muscling through Congress could result in cuts to entitlement spending if it significantly increases the national debt , budget experts say .\nRepublicans say the tax-cut package will lead to economic growth and greater tax revenues , but there are doubts even within their party about whether that growth will come to pass .\nThe Joint Committee on Taxation , Congress ’ s official budget scorekeeper , estimated the bill would cost $ 1 trillion over a decade even with economic growth taken into account . Sen. Bob Corker Robert ( Bob ) Phillips CorkerTrump announces , endorses ambassador to Japan 's Tennessee Senate bid Meet the key Senate player in GOP fight over Saudi Arabia Trump says he 's 'very happy ' some GOP senators have 'gone on to greener pastures ' MORE ( R-Tenn. ) opposed the bill for that reason .\nAs the population ages and health-care costs continue to rise , the fiscal demands on entitlements like Medicare , Medicaid and Social Security are projected to grow . The projected increase in the debt from the tax package could make the situation worse , budget experts say .\n“ In the past when members of Congress have been concerned about the debt , they ’ ve turned to these programs , so it ’ s not a stretch to see that they turn there in the foreseeable future , ” said Tricia Neuman , a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation .\n“ If we are talking about the kinds of deficits ” that are projected from the tax bill , “ entitlement cuts are definitely on the table , ” said William Hoagland , a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center .\nDemocrats and activist groups are seizing on the potential threat to entitlement programs to try and stop the bill and rally their base for the 2018 elections .\nThey have run television ads warning the bill would result in a $ 25 billion cut to Medicare , and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Charles ( Chuck ) Ellis SchumerTrump calls on Republicans to vote out Democratic Louisiana governor amid GOP infighting Appeals court upholds net neutrality repeal but rules FCC ca n't block state laws Schumer : Trump 's reported Russian meddling remarks among 'most disturbing things ' yet MORE ( D-N.Y. ) has repeatedly said the bill will “ gut ” the program .\nDuring an exchange on the Senate floor Thursday evening , Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersBiden , Warren in dead heat in New Hampshire : poll Trump campaign , RNC raise staggering 5 million in third quarter Biden has 20-point lead in South Carolina primary : poll MORE ( I-Vt. ) asked Sens . Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioOver 1,000 people attend funeral for veteran with no immediate family To win the federal paid family leave debate , allow states to lead the way Rubio : The term 'impeachable offense ' has 'lost all meaning ' MORE ( R-Fla. ) and Pat Toomey Patrick ( Pat ) Joseph ToomeyNSA improperly collected US phone records in October , new documents show Overnight Defense : Pick for South Korean envoy splits with Trump on nuclear threat | McCain blasts move to suspend Korean military exercises | White House defends Trump salute of North Korean general WH backpedals on Trump 's 'due process ' remark on guns MORE ( R-Pa. ) to promise that Republicans wouldn ’ t cut Medicare and Social Security after passing the tax bill .\n“ Will you guarantee the American people there will be zero cuts to benefits in Social Security , Medicare and Medicaid ? ” Sanders said .\nToomey said there were no plans to cut the programs , but activists are skeptical .\n“ This is a tax bill that ’ s coming after Medicare and Medicaid cuts , ” said Eliot Fishman , senior director of health policy at Families USA . “ It ’ s fundamentally step one of a two-step process . Nobody should be under any illusions otherwise . ”\nSenate Republicans on Friday scrambled to piece together their legislation ahead of a final vote . The bill passed despite the $ 1 trillion price tag .\nCorker wanted to add $ 350 billion in automatic tax increases to reduce the bill ’ s impact on the debt , but other Republicans balked . He originally called for a tax-increase trigger , but that provision ran into issues with the Senate parliamentarian and couldn ’ t be included in the bill .\n“ I wanted to get to yes . But at the end of the day , I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe , based on the information I currently have , could deepen the debt burden on future generations , ” Corker said in a statement .\nCorker ’ s worries about increasing deficits were not echoed by other rank-and-file Republicans or members of leadership . They said the bill would grow the economy , reducing the debt in the process .\n“ This will be a revenue enhancer . This will not be revenue decrease overall , or else we wouldn ’ t be doing it , ” Sen. Mike Rounds Marion ( Mike ) Michael RoundsAmerica 's newest comedy troupe : House GOP 'Mike Pounce ' trends on Twitter after Trump slip at GOP retreat Conservatives offer stark warning to Trump , GOP on background checks MORE ( R-S.D . ) said .\n“ We are presupposing it is going to cause a deficit and I am not sure that is a correct presupposition , ” added Sen. Bill Cassidy William ( Bill ) Morgan CassidyTo win the federal paid family leave debate , allow states to lead the way Democrats divided on surprise medical bill fix America 's newest comedy troupe : House GOP MORE ( R-La . ) .\nRepublicans are also facing the possibility that the $ 1 trillion tax bill will trigger deep , automatic cuts to Medicare next year unless Congress stops it from happening .\nMajority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison ( Mitch ) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell : Communist Party 's methods a 'tragedy ' for Chinese people Trump congratulates China on anniversary as GOP lawmakers decry communist rule Appeals court upholds net neutrality repeal but rules FCC ca n't block state laws MORE ( R-Ky. ) promised Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsYes , President Trump , we do have a homelessness crisis and you 're making it harder for us to address The policy-driven presidential campaign could be drowned out by impeachment Flake tells GOP : Trump 'does not deserve reelection ' MORE ( R-Maine ) that the cuts required by the `` pay-as-you-go '' or `` pay-go '' budgetary rule won ’ t happen .\nCollins was a key holdout , and she said the personal promise from McConnell helped win her support for the legislation .\nMcConnell on Friday issued a joint statement with Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanDemocrats hit Scalia over LGBTQ rights Three-way clash set to dominate Democratic debate Krystal Ball touts Sanders odds in Texas MORE ( R-Wis. ) saying the pay-go cuts won ’ t happen .\n“ Congress has readily available methods to waive this law , which has never been enforced since its enactment . There is no reason to believe that Congress would not act again to prevent a sequester , and we will work to ensure these spending cuts are prevented , ” McConnell and Ryan said .\nLawmakers have voted numerous times in the past to waive the rule , but they need the support of Democrats , who have so far been reluctant to offer it .
|
allsides-corpus-193
|
WASHINGTON ( ███ ) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that he would shield President Donald Trump ’ s tax returns from Congress , during remarks that could signal the administration ’ s approach to an expected request from congressional Democrats .\nDuring testimony in the House of Representatives , Mnuchin told the House tax committee that he would follow the law upon receiving a request for tax returns but would also protect Trump ’ s privacy rights .\n“ I ’ m not aware if there ’ s ever been a request for an elected official ’ s tax return , ” Mnuchin said in response to questions from Democratic Representative Lloyd Doggett , a member of the House Ways and Means Committee . “ But we will follow the law and we will protect the president as we would protect any individual taxpayer under their rights . ”\nCommittee Chairman Richard Neal , the only member of the House authorized by law to request the president ’ s returns , is expected to ask Mnuchin for the documents . A Democratic member of the committee said earlier this month he believed the panel would ask for Trump ’ s returns in a few weeks .\nDemocrats view the documents as a potential linchpin for oversight investigations , saying they would show whether the president has complied with U.S. tax law , profited from his own tax cuts , or has conflicts of interest from his vast business holdings .\nNeal ’ s committee could seek both his personal and business returns .\nTrump defied decades of precedent as a presidential candidate by refusing to release his tax documents and has continued to keep them under wraps as president , saying his returns were under audit by the Internal Revenue Service . The IRS has said that Trump can release his tax returns even while under audit .\nInterest in Trump ’ s returns has soared since his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen told a House panel on Feb. 27 that the president has altered his value of assets and slashed the wages of his employees to lower his tax bills .\nSection 6103 of the U.S. tax code allows the chairs of three committees — Neal ’ s House panel , the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation — to request confidential tax returns , and says the Treasury secretary “ shall furnish ” the documents .\nBut requesting the tax returns of a sitting president is unprecedented . Fearing a lengthy court battle for the documents , Neal ’ s committee has spent months working to develop a winning legal argument that could base the quest firmly within the panel ’ s jurisdiction to oversee the U.S. tax system .\nSenator Chuck Grassley , the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee , is also expected to seek Trump ’ s taxes if Democrats obtain them .\n“ There ’ s an awful lot of interest in 6103 today , ” Mnuchin said . He said he would not speculate on a specific strategy for handling a request from lawmakers because he has not yet received one .
|
allsides-corpus-194
|
Republican leaders in Congress have been hesitant to raise tax rates on anyone because the party ’ s brand is largely built around the idea that the economy does best when people have more money to spend . Yet they may have no choice : Senator Susan Collins , Republican of Maine , said this week that she opposed lowering the top tax rate for individuals earning more than $ 1 million , creating pressure for Republicans to include a higher bracket in order to win passage .\nRepublican lawmakers are selling their plan as a middle-class tax cut , and the bill is expected to create three income tax brackets — 12 percent , 25 percent and 35 percent — and call for doubling the standard deduction . Yet lawmakers are considering making these changes temporary , so they would expire after 10 years .\nThe conventional wisdom is that a future Congress will vote to continue the cuts and not allow them to expire . But that ’ s a tricky assumption given their cost , which will only exacerbate a federal deficit already on an upward trajectory . The Treasury Department said the deficit for the fiscal year 2017 grew by $ 80 billion , to $ 666 billion . Federal debt , which has already topped $ 20 trillion , is expected to grow by an additional $ 10 trillion over the next decade , according to the Congressional Budget Office .\nCompounding the math problem is that the plan would probably make the corporate tax cuts permanent . Lawmakers argue that a permanent cut , to 20 percent from today ’ s 35 percent rate , is needed to trigger the economic growth they anticipate , and they say it will ultimately put more money into workers ’ pockets .\nStill , those corporate tax cuts are expected to cost $ 2 trillion over the next decade and , to help make the budget work , lawmakers are discussing phasing in the corporate tax cut over several years to get to the 20 percent rate . The White House on Monday seemed to suggest that was a nonstarter .\nThe original framework called for repealing the estate tax , which would reduce federal revenues by $ 239 billion over a decade .\nEstates are taxed at a rate of 40 percent , but the first $ 5.49 million of an inheritance is exempt from taxation . Couples can leave their heirs as much as $ 11 million , none of it taxed , meaning only a few thousand wealthy estates are subject to the tax each year .
|
allsides-corpus-195
|
( CNN ) – A new plan from President Barack Obama that would alter the corporate tax code while investing in job creation is a deal that any `` serious '' lawmaker could sign onto , the president argued in Tennessee Tuesday .\nWhat Obama called a `` grand bargain '' is being proposed in a bid to break partisan gridlock currently plaguing attempts to pass major legislation in Washington , though congressional Republicans signaled on Tuesday they were unlikely to back the plan , which the president announced at an Amazon.com distribution center in Chattanooga .\n`` Here 's the bottom line : If folks in Washington really want a 'grand bargain , ' how about a grand bargain for middle-class jobs ? '' Obama said in his fourth speech in a week centered on the economy . `` I do n't want to go through the same old arguments , where I propose an idea and Republicans say no just because it 's my idea . So I 'm going to try offering something that serious people in both parties should be able to support . ''\nObama suggested Congress cut corporate tax rates - long a goal of Republicans - while simultaneously making investments in job creation programs , which Democrats and the president have been championing .\nIn the past , both Obama and Republicans have insisted that corporate tax reform be passed alongside reform for individual earners . Republicans argue that some small business owners file taxes as individuals , and would only benefit from an overhaul of the entire tax code .\nThe president 's plan would propose slashing the corporate tax rate to 28 % from 35 % while making the filing process simpler and ramping up incentives for small businesses to hire workers .\nThe plan would also put the tax rate on manufacturers at 25 % and remove current tax incentives to send jobs overseas .\nOn Tuesday , Obama explained that he 's open to changing only the corporate tax code as long as it 's combined with major investments in programs that create high-paying middle class jobs .\n`` If we 're going to give businesses a better deal , we 're also going to have to give workers a better deal , too , '' he said , suggesting money saved by closing tax loopholes should be put toward infrastructure initiatives that would create construction jobs .\nObama also called for bolstering the country 's manufacturing sector and network of community colleges , and proposed creating 45 `` innovation institutes '' that pair companies with universities and community colleges with the goal of fostering research and development .\nEarly reaction from Republicans to the outlines of the president 's plan was not receptive .\n`` While I understand he is looking for headlines here , reports indicate that the policy he intends to announce does n't exactly qualify as news , '' Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday . `` It is just a further left version of a widely panned plan he already proposed two years ago , this time with extra goodies for tax-and-spend liberals . ''\nMcConnell said he first learned of the plan Monday night . Brendan Buck , a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner , wrote on Twitter his office learned of the proposed `` grand bargain '' through media reports , though White House officials said they reached out to a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday to discuss the proposal .\nMichael Steel , another spokesman for Boehner , cast the proposal as old news .\n`` The President has always supported corporate tax reform , '' Steel wrote in a statement . `` Republicans want to help families and small businesses , too . This proposal allows President Obama to support President Obama 's position on taxes and President Obama 's position on spending , while leaving small businesses and American families behind . ''\nAnother House Republican leadership aide said the White House was taking their own plan and making it less amenable to Republicans than previous offers , while `` trying to extract a ransom of infrastructure spending '' at the same time .\nThe aide argued the new White House plan was an attempt to `` get a headline that says they 're offering a grand bargain . ''\nObama 's address in Chattanooga is the latest in a series of speeches the president will deliver on the economy and jobs , part of an attempt to turn back to the issue that rates as most important among Americans . The tour began last week in Illinois , Missouri and Florida .\nTuesday 's announcement of a `` grand bargain '' was the first specific proposal the president made in his new push to focus on the economy , though White House officials say there will be more as the initiative continues .\nDuring his remarks , Obama said he 'd `` keep throwing things out there to see if something takes '' on jobs .\n`` If ( Republicans ) have better ideas to help create jobs rebuilding our infrastructure , or help workers earn the high-tech skills our businesses demand , let 's hear 'em , '' the president said .\nAmazon.com , whose facility Obama spoke at Tuesday , announced this week plans to hire 7,000 workers for its U.S. operation , with most jobs offering pay and benefits far above typical retail wages , the company said .\nAmazon did not give specific pay scales for the positions , but said the 5,000 warehouse jobs will pay 30 % more than jobs in traditional retail stores .\nThe jobs are full-time permanent positions and also include stock grants that , over the last five years , have averaged 9 % of pay for Amazon 's full-time workers . And the company said many workers would also be eligible for 95 % tuition reimbursement for those attending college , whether or not their field of study is related to their job .\nIn addition , Amazon is looking for 2,000 workers for its customer service department , with those jobs being a mix of full-time , part-time and seasonal positions .
|
allsides-corpus-196
|
( CNN ) The rain may have stopped , but South Carolina is grappling with a host of new concerns . Dam breaks . Billions of dollars in damage . And rivers that still have n't crested .\n`` We still have to be cautious , '' Gov . Nikki Haley told reporters on Tuesday afternoon . `` The next 36 to 48 hours are going to be a time that we need to continue to be careful . ''\nHaley declined to provide an estimated cost of the damage -- which she called `` disturbing '' -- but said state and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were making assessments .\n`` It 's hard to look at the loss we 're going to have , '' she said . `` This could be any amount of dollars . ''\nMore than 400,000 state residents were under a `` boil water advisory '' affecting about 16 water systems , said Jim Beasley , a spokesman for the S.C . Emergency Response Team .\nHere 's the latest on the mammoth flooding in the region :\nAt least 11 dams have failed in South Carolina since Saturday , the state 's Emergency Management Division said . Another 35 dams were being monitored .\nOne failure , of the Overcreek Bridge dam in Richland County 's Forest Acres , sent a torrent of floodwater raging downstream and forced evacuations near Columbia .\nMANDATORY EVACUATION : OVERCREEK RESIDENTS LIVING BETWEEN FOREST DR. & PERCIVAL RD . IN FOREST ACRES — SCEMD ( @ SCEMD ) October 5 , 2015\nOfficials allowed water to breach at least one other dam , also in Richland County . Officials conduct these controlled breaches `` to prevent a much larger incident and a much larger amount of water escaping from the dam , '' emergency management spokesman Derrec Becker said .\nHaley said National Guard members were helping with sandbagging operations and other mitigation efforts .\nSo far , at least 17 people have died in weather-related incidents : 15 in South Carolina and two in North Carolina .\nAt least nine people drowned and six died in traffic accidents , South Carolina 's Department of Public Safety said .\nNorth Carolina reported two deaths from traffic accidents , in Cumberland and Jackson counties , a state emergency management spokeswoman said .\nHaley said there had been 175 water rescues so far in South Carolina , and more than 800 people were temporarily housed in shelters .\nMore than 70 miles of Interstate 95 in the state remained closed , with five to eight bridges still awaiting structural checks , she said .\nOf all the scenes of items drifting away in the flooding , perhaps none appeared as dramatic as a casket unearthed from a cemetery .\nWayne Reeves , pastor of New Life Ministries in Summerville , was in the middle of an interview when he saw the casket float away .\nSo he headed into the waist-deep floodwater to retrieve it .\nThis was the scene an hour ago as a SC pastor pushed an unearthed casket out of the flood waters @ WCBD pic.twitter.com/qLVe3q4i5l — Matt Alba ( @ mattalbaWCBD ) October 5 , 2015\n`` That 's somebody 's family out there , '' he told CNN affiliate WCBD-TV . `` That 's ( a ) family suffering . That 's their family there that popped up from under the ground . And I think it 's the human thing to do . ''\nThe casket , still adorned with white and pink flowers , carried the remains of a woman buried in May , WCBD said . Another casket , that of the woman 's husband , also drifted away , but Dorchester County sheriff 's officials later recovered it .\nAs it turned out , the woman 's family was watching nearby as Reeves went into the water .\n`` This family do n't want to sit on the edge of this road all night long watching their family members bob in the water like that , '' the pastor told WCBD .\n`` If that was my mom or my dad , I 'd walk through hell and high water . And today it happened to be high water . ''\nSome Columbia residents left their homes as victims of flooding . They returned to find their homes looted .\nOn Sunday , an apparent dam breach led to the flooding of the Willow Creek Apartments , property manager Heather Lovell told CNN affiliate WACH-TV\nSo rescue crews in boats came to the complex and helped residents to safety .\nOn Monday , Pamela Courts returned to her apartment and found not just flood damage but signs of theft .\n`` Overnight , we had a break-in , so whatever was upstairs they came and took : TVs , jewelry , everything , '' she told WACH .\nResident Juamaame Evins told the affiliate he was trying to stay positive despite the back-to-back hardships .\n`` Even though we lost everything and stuff got stolen , we can rebuild together and help each other and be each other 's backbones and carry each other through this time because we need each other , '' he said .\nThe flooding is far from over . Rivers might not crest for another two weeks , CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said .\nAnd the mayor of Columbia , who has said he believes damage `` will probably be in the billions of dollars , '' is bracing for more trouble .\n`` We are n't close to being out of the woods , '' Mayor Steve Benjamin said Tuesday , adding that even more dams could be in danger of breaking or being topped by water . `` We still expect the water to start coming down from the Upstate , coming downhill to the Midlands . ''\nThe situation is the result of a weather system that funneled tropical moisture into South Carolina last week and refused to move on , Myers said .\n`` It was a garden hose that just kept pouring ashore in one spot , and that spot was South Carolina , '' he said .\nFlooding conditions could force the South Carolina Gamecocks to move Saturday 's game against Louisiana State University to Baton Rouge , University of South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner said . The school hopes to make a decision in the next day or two .\nThe University of South Carolina has canceled classes through Friday , saying that resuming normal operations for its 34,000 students and 6,000 faculty would `` place an undue burden on a recovering infrastructure in the city . ''
|
allsides-corpus-197
|
Retailers dangled hefty discounts in their stores—after offering earlier deals on their websites—as they waged a high-stakes battle with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.40 % and other rivals to capture as much spending as they could during the Black Friday shopping spree .\nShoppers arrived in the predawn hours Friday , following millions of Americans who left family Thanksgiving gatherings Thursday to visit malls and shopping centers . They scooped up flat-screen Samsung televisions , Hatchimals toys and other gifts that retailers have been promoting for days—but often had their smartphones in hand to check prices .\n“ So far , the most encouraging trend we are seeing is that while door-busters continue to be important , once guests are there , they are shopping multiple categories , ” Target Corp. TGT 0.21 % chief Brian Cornell said late Thursday .\nFor brick-and-mortar retailers , the challenge is to draw more shoppers into their stores on a chaotic day often marred by long lines and crowded parking lots .\nLast year , more people shopped online than in stores during the Thanksgiving weekend , according to the National Retail Federation .\nOn Friday morning , Macy ’ s Inc. CEO Terry Lundgren said he was seeing more opportunity to grow sales as a whole this holiday season , compared with last year when online gains came at the expense of physical stores . “ This year , there is more opportunity to grow the pie , ” Mr. Lundgren said . “ Last year , when business was challenging , the pie was being divided in more ways . ”\nRetailNext Inc. , which collects data through analytics software it provides to retailers , said online sales increased 14 % on Thanksgiving compared with the same day a year ago , while sales at brick-and-mortar stores fell nearly 18 % . RetailNext attributed the drop in sales at physical stores to fewer stores opening on Thanksgiving .\nMarshal Cohen , retail analyst at NPD , said he saw evidence that Thanksgiving openings and online deals were stealing business from Black Friday . “ In the 40 years I ’ ve studied Black Friday , I ’ ve never seen the crowds this soft on Friday morning ; parking wasn ’ t an issue , and lines were shorter than any weekend in October , ” he wrote .\nBy 5:30 a.m. Friday the crowds had thinned at the sprawling Gateway Center in Brooklyn , N.Y. , with employees appearing to outnumber shoppers at several stores . “ I don ’ t miss the crazy , ” said Christine Aguirre , a 37-year-old office manager , as she pushed a cart filled with two televisions and other goods at a Target on Friday morning . “ It ’ s better now ; it used to be so packed . ”\nAlthough more people are doing holiday shopping online and know that the same deals or better can be found there , many Black Friday shoppers said they still wanted to try on clothes , shoes or household items .\n“ I know you can get the deals online , but I don ’ t think you get the gratification , ” said Tara Christy , 34 , who drove nearly two hours with her cousin to shop in Kansas City . By 9 a.m. the crowds had died down .\nRetail CEOs credited a stronger economy and pent-up demand following the presidential election for helping drive traffic to stores . “ With the election earlier in the month , things were soft , ” Kohl ’ s Corp. chief Kevin Mansell said . “ That put a lot of pressure on this weekend . It looks like results will come in equal or better to our expectations . ”\nThe executives cited strong sales of smartwatches and other electronics such as videogame systems and TVs . Coats and other winter goods got a lift from a cold snap that hit the East Coast just before this year ’ s Thanksgiving , said Jerry Storch , the CEO of Hudson ’ s Bay Co. , which owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor .\nBut it was the sharply discounted goods that were the big draw . J.C. Penney sold out of 200,000 pairs of diamond stud earrings priced at $ 20 each .\nEven though the chain doesn ’ t make money on that item , shoppers purchase other goods while in the store , “ so you come out ahead , ” said Penney chief Marvin Ellison .\nWhile some shoppers said they hit the stores out of tradition , many consumers said they were largely focused on grabbing deeply discounted items . Some shoppers said they went to brick-and-mortar stores because they weren ’ t confident they could get door-busters online , even though they were offered .\n“ I try online every year , but it just hasn ’ t worked ; you can ’ t access everything online , ” said Betty Rasmus , 63 , who arrived at Best Buy in Spring , Texas , at 4:45 a.m. and was the first in line , aiming to buy a 55-inch Sharp television for $ 250 , about half price , as well as two laptops .\nBlack Friday is no longer a one-day event . Promotions are increasingly spread throughout November , as traditional retailers try to match online rivals such as Amazon . They have been linking their stores and websites more closely and are finding ways to capitalize on the rise in mobile shopping .\nAmazon said Friday that Thanksgiving was becoming one of the biggest mobile shopping days on the site , with orders exceeding both Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday last year . Wal-Mart said mobile orders accounted for 60 % of its Black Friday event sales that were purchased online .\nOthers used their smartphones to avoid the stores altogether . James Seatter , 24 , purchased a vacuum cleaner on his phone from Amazon and gifts for his father on BrooksBrothers.com . He plans to continue his online shopping Monday . “ I don ’ t want to fight with someone over a toaster oven at Wal-Mart , ” he said .\n—Sharon Terlep , Bradley Olson and Annie Gasparro contributed to this article .
|
allsides-corpus-198
|
Billionaire businessman , philanthropist and independent presidential candidate Ross Perot is dead at 89 , ███ has confirmed . Perot , who ran for president in 1992 and 1996 , died after a five-month battle with leukemia , said James Fuller , a representative for the Perot family . `` In business and in life , Ross was a man of integrity and action . A true American patriot and a man of rare vision , principle and deep compassion , he touched the lives of countless people through his unwavering support of the military and veterans and through his charitable endeavors , '' Fuller said in a statement . Perot is survived by his wife , Margot , his five children and 16 grandchildren .\nThis 1992 file photo shows presidential hopeful H. Ross Perot at a rally in Austin , Texas . AP\nPerot was an early tech entrepreneur . He started his career in sales at IBM , where he excelled . In 1962 , he founded his first company , Electronic Data Systems , with just $ 1,000 in savings . More than two decades later , he launched information technology services provider Perot Systems , which was acquired in 2009 by Dell for $ 3.9 billion . As a disruptive third-party candidate for president , Perot ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility and protectionism . He won nearly 19 % of the vote in the 1992 race — by far the biggest slice of the electorate for a third-party candidate since Theodore Roosevelt 's Bull Moose Party in the 1912 election .\nPerot stood out from the political crowd for his quirks as much as his business credentials and lack of experience in establishment politics . `` I do n't have any experience in running up a $ 4 trillion debt . I do n't have any experience in gridlock government , where nobody takes responsibility for anything and everybody blames everybody else , '' he said in a 1992 presidential debate . The shifting of U.S. jobs to Mexico created a `` giant sucking sound , '' he famously said during the campaign . Perot participated in all three presidential debates in that election , and took a nontraditional campaign route by booking lengthy time slots on network television to lay out his political views . He was `` certainly the most influential political force in the late 20th century from outside the regular party system , '' said Allan Lichtman , distinguished professor of history at American University . Lichtman told ███ he had been tapped to write a biography of Perot , and Lichtman had agreed . But `` quirky Ross Perot , just like he pulled out of the presidential race , he pulled out of the biography , '' Lichtman said . Perot was a veteran , and followed his service with a lifetime commitment to supporting U.S. veterans , especially during the Vietnam War . He was honored in 2009 by then-Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake for his advocacy efforts .
|
allsides-corpus-199
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.