Saturday, July 28, 2018

NY State Regulators Move to Order Charter Out of New York Over Alleged Broadband Woes

 
New York state regulators on Friday moved to kick Charter Communications and its Spectrum cable service out of the state, saying the company hadn't fulfilled its obligations to expand broadband service. 

The Public Service Commission rescinded its 2016 order approving Charter's purchase of Time Warner Cable, which made the company one of the dominant providers of TV and Internet service in New York City.

The commission unanimously approved the move at a meeting Friday.

Click here for the full article.

Source: NBC News 4 New York 

What You Need to Know About the New York City Charter Revision Commissions


What they're looking at, why there are two, and what key officials are saying.

By Rebecca C. Lewis

Most New Yorkers don’t know much about the city charter. Even fewer know that commissions can be set up to review and revise New York City’s charter. And only the most die-hard political junkies know that the city’s charter is being revisited not once, but twice.

To get our readers up to speed, here are the basic details about the process – and what key officials are saying about how it’s playing out.  

The first commission was convened by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who also appointed each commissioner. The second was created by the City Council, with members appointed by the council speaker, borough presidents, city public advocate, city comptroller and de Blasio. Although the mayor’s commission began its work first, the council has been working to create one since last year. However, the legislation to do so only passed in April.

A charter revision commission reviews the city charter, holds public hearings and can put initiatives on the ballot. If voters approve any of the proposed changes, the charter is amended.

De Blasio directed his commission to explore campaign finance reform and ways to improve democracy in the city. It intends to have initiatives on the ballot this fall. The council’s commission has no stated directive and will review the charter more broadly. It plans to have its ballot initiatives ready in 2019.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: City and State (New York)

Food Shortages Persist in Puerto Rico After Hurricane

Click on the map to increase its size. 

Several villages in Puerto Rico are still struggling with food shortages after Hurricane Maria. Gaby Acevedo reports.

Click here for video. 

Source: NBC News 4 New York 

Sessions Must Investigate Florida 'Stand Your Ground' Death, Lawmakers Say


by Erik Ortiz

Democratic congressional lawmakers on Friday asked the Department of Justice to weigh whether criminal charges should be filed in the death of a Florida father who was gunned down last week in a case of "stand your ground."

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson tweeted that he sent a signed letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore, of the DOJ's civil rights division, for an investigation to be opened. Florida congressmen Charlie Crist and Alcee Hastings, as well as California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker also signed their support.

Click here for the full article.

Source: NBC News 

Former U.S. Archbishop Resigns Amid Sex Abuse Scandal


by Saphora Smith and Alanna Satur 

LONDON — Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who last month became one of the highest-ranking Americans to be removed from public ministry because of sex abuse allegations, has resigned from the College of Cardinals in the Vatican.

Pope Francis accepted the resignation and ordered McCarrick — the former head of the Archdiocese of Washington and a well-known religious figure around the world — to observe a life of prayer and penance in seclusion, according to a statement released by the Holy See on Saturday.

The statement said he was obliged to "remain in a house yet to be indicated to him ... until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News

Friday, July 27, 2018

Immigrant Youth Shelters: 'If You’re a Predator, It’s a Gold Mine'

Just five days after he reached the United States, the 15-year-old Honduran boy awoke in his Tucson, Arizona, immigrant shelter one morning in 2015 to find a youth care worker in his room, tickling his chest and stomach.

When he asked the man, who was 46, what he was doing, the man left. But he returned two more times, rubbing the teen’s penis through his clothing and then trying to reach under his boxers. “I know what you want, I can give you anything you need,” said the worker, who was later convicted of molestation.

In 2017, a 17-year-old from Honduras was recovering from surgery at the shelter when he woke up to find a male staff member standing by his bed. “You have it very big,” the man said, referring to the teen’s penis. Days later, that same employee brushed the teen with his hand while he was playing video games. When the staff member approached him again, the boy locked himself in a bathroom.

And in January of this year, a security guard at the shelter found notes in a minor’s jacket that suggested an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

Pulled from police reports, incidents like these at Southwest Key’s Tucson shelter provide a snapshot of what has largely been kept from the public as well as members of Congress — a view, uncolored by politics, of troubling incidents inside the facilities housing immigrant children.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: ProPublica

ICE Detainee Diagnosed With Schizophrenia Spent 21 Days in Solitary Confinement, Then Took His Own Life

 Efraín Romero de la Rosa


Isaí Romero had no idea how to break the news to his parents that their son — his brother — had died. The elderly couple, nearly 2,000 miles away in Puebla, Mexico, had been anxiously waiting for their 40-year-old son, Efraín Romero de la Rosa, to be deported back home. Efraín himself was also looking forward to it.

“His big hope was that — going to Mexico,” Isaí Romero, who lives in North Carolina, told The Intercept by phone. The deportation would be a relief compared to the limbo of immigration detention, where Efraín had landed after being placed in immigration removal proceedings by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But Efraín never made it out of the ICE facility.

“When they gave me the news, all of a sudden, the entire world collapsed,” Isaí Romero said. “I spent the entire day crying. I didn’t know how to tell my parents what had happened. I waited for my mom to eat — to be calm, you know?”

Efraín Romero’s suicide came at the end of 21 days in solitary confinement, according to investigators.

Romero had been previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to documents from the Virginia Department of Corrections. His death parallels a case from May 2017, when 27-year-old Jean Jimenez-Joseph, another Stewart detainee with a mental health diagnosis, killed himself at the facility after 19 days in solitary confinement.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Intercept_

Trump Administration Says It Met Deadline to Reunite Migrant Families. 711 Children Are Not Reunified.

 Public Domain image


Donald Trump's administration has taken credit for meeting a court-ordered deadline to reunite thousands of migrant families it separated at the border — despite hundreds of children remaining apart from their parents. 

More than 700 migrant kids have not been reunified with their parents since the White House launched a "zero tolerance" policy along the US-Mexico border. That policy began the systematic separation of families, including those legally seeking asylum, forcing children into immigrant detention centres and makeshift “tent cities.” 

The administration said it reunified all eligible migrant children — nearly 1,800 — with their family members by Wednesday’s 6.00 p.m. deadline, claiming the more than 700 outstanding cases could not be resolved due to outside circumstances.

In some instances, children could not be reunited due to a parent or guardian’s criminal record or suffering from a communicable disease. However, in the majority of cases, families have not yet been reunited because the parent was deported or left the country without their child.

Click here for the full article.

Source: The Independent

Retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on Legacy and Court

 
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy talked about his retirement from the court and several other topics at the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Anaheim, California. He announced his retirement from the bench back in June 2018. While he didn’t elaborate too much on his plans, he did say an issue he’d like to focus on is prison reform. 

Click here for video.

Source: C-SPAN

Congressional Roundtable on the Opioid Crisis


House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings and Senator Elizabeth Warren hold a roundtable with congressional colleagues, Baltimore officials, and community representatives to discuss the city’s opioid crisis.

Click here for video.

The Role of First Responders in the Opioid Crisis


Baltimore’s Acting Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle and Fire Chief Niles Ford discuss the opioid crisis from their perspectives as first responders.

Click here for video.

Source: C-SPAN 

Trailblazers in Black History: The Mamie Johnson Little League Team


A youth baseball team just became the first all-black little league team to win the Washington, D.C. championship -- and their accomplishment would've made their namesake proud.

Source: CBS New  

From The G-Man applauds and congratulates the Mamie Johnson Little League Team on their phenomenal accomplishment.

Turning Point USA Courts Activist Who Said Jews Want the ‘Destruction of the Black Community’


By Will Sommer

Conservative group Turning Point USA has courted a vocally anti-Semitic activist and conspiracy theorist, including him in meetings and inviting him to a retreat for “black influencers” in June.

Activist Bryan Sharpe earned high praise from Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk at the retreat, where Sharpe and other conservatives gathered at an Arizona resort planned how to increase the Trump movement’s appeal to black voters.  

“This guy’s the man right here,” Kirk said, gesturing to Sharpe.

Sharpe’s online nickname, “Hotep Jesus,” is a nod to “hoteps,” a right-wing black subculture that preaches black empowerment but is often accused of being misogynistic and homophobic. Sharpe shot to prominence in broader conservative media in April, when Fox News and other conservative media outlets publicized a video of him pranking Starbucks employees by demanding free coffee as a form of reparations. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Daily Beast 

Mayor de Blasio Appearance at The Sapolin Accessibility Awards


This video was published on YouTube on July 26. 

Source: NYC Mayor's Office

Meghan McCain: ‘Republicans Are Not Welcome’ in New York City


By Joe Concha

ABC's Meghan McCain on Thursday questioned the decision of Sean Spicer to conduct a book signing event in New York City, saying that "Republicans are not welcome here right now," including herself as someone who would "probably get kicked out of the bookstore" if she tried a similar event.

Spicer would need to be "fine being heckled" to do an event in the deep-blue city, she said on ABC's "The View."

“I think there’s a lot of anti-Trump sentiment and people will get heckled here," the co-host said of New York City. "If you’re fine being heckled, great. It makes me uncomfortable.”

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Hill (via Empire Report New York) 

NYC Doctor Pulled Off Duty For Racist Posts: Reports



THE BRONX, NY — A radiologist at Montefiore Medical Center was reportedly pulled off duty as the hospital investigates racist internet posts he allegedly made. Dov Bechhofer argued for forced deportations and the creation of a white ethnostate despite identifying as Jewish, according to news reports.

A Medium.com blog post detailed Bechhofer's alleged comments on white supremacist websites including the blog for Counter-Currents Publishing, which describes itself as the "home of the North American New Right." The now-deleted Medium post also published the doctor's personal information.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: New York City Patch (via Empire Report New York) 

Sarah Jessica Parker Has a Message for Cynthia Nixon’s Critics



While Sarah Jessica Parker’s relationship with Kim Cattrall appears to be irreparably strained, hers with Cynthia Nixon is, at least on the surface, healthy. On Thursday’s episode of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop podcast, Parker delivered a strong message to those who are critical of her former Sex and the City co-star’s run for governor of New York: Learn a little bit about her platform before you totally write her off.

Nearly four months ago, Parker officially endorsed Nixon’s campaign to unseat governor Andrew Cuomo, and her support has clearly not wavered. And while Parker knows that Nixon is “brilliant,” “formidable,” and “willing to learn,” she wants others to give her a chance, too.

“You don’t have to agree with her policy, you don’t have to vote for her, but certainly take the time before you criticize the fact that she’s boldly pursuing this,” Parker said.

Click here for the full article.

Source: New York Magazine (via Empire Report New York) 

New York Is Worst Place In Nation To Retire


If you're thinking about retirement, a new report suggests you may want to leave New York for greener pastures, like South Dakota. The financing consultant firm Bankrate, based in New York City, recently ranked the best — and worst — states for retirement. The Empire State did not fare well in the rankings.

South Dakota topped the list with particularly high marks for well-being and taxes — residents don't pay income taxes and apparently live in the second most tax-friendly state, according to the Tax Foundation. Meanwhile, New York ranked 50 out of 50 in the country, with its best scores coming in low crime and access to culture. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: East Meadow Patch (via Empire Report New York) 

SPLC Sues DHS for Failing to Produce Records on Unconstitutional Arrests of Immigrants


The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) today sued two federal agencies that operate under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for failing to provide public documents detailing their unconstitutional methods of arresting and detaining immigrants in Florida.

In one of the two complaints, the SPLC sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for failing to provide records describing ICE’s “Basic Ordering Agreements” with 17 Florida sheriffs. 

The agreements detail the ways in which sheriffs hold immigrants in their custody – people who are otherwise eligible for release – until ICE can detain them for immigration issues.

The other complaint, against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is for that agency’s failure to provide documents detailing the way in which it arrests and detains immigrants on interstate buses and at bus stops.

Click here for the full report. 

Source: SPLC

Happening in Harlem: Free Food and Film Fest

Click on the flier to increase its size.

The event will be presented by Transforming Life Ministry, Mt. Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church and ImageNation. 

Source: ImageNation 

New York: Suit Filed to Block Trump Administration's Attempt to Undermine Affordable Care Act

 
Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Barbara Underwood today filed a lawsuit as part of a coalition of twelve states challenging the U.S. Department of Labor's Association Health Plan Rule, which expands the criteria for forming AHPs in order to evade consumer protections and sabotage the Affordable Care Act. AHPs have a long history of fraud, mismanagement, and abuse, with millions in unpaid claims for policyholders and providers, often leading to consumer bankruptcies. 

"Our number one priority is the health and safety of New Yorkers, and we have zero tolerance for any action that undermines the Affordable Care Act and puts health care coverage at risk for thousands of people," Governor Cuomo said. "The Trump Administration is once again waging an assault against the fundamental rights of Americans to have access to safe, high quality, affordable health care. We are suing the federal government to protect health care for New Yorkers and to fight back against these federal attacks."

"The Trump administration's AHP Rule is nothing more than an unlawful end run around the consumer protections enshrined in the Affordable Care Act -- part of President Trump's continued efforts to sabotage our health care system," said Attorney General Underwood. "Our lawsuit today seeks to safeguard federal protections under the ACA that help guarantee access to quality, affordable health care."

Click here for the full announcement. 

Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 

House of Representatives Passes the NDAA Conference Report

Statement from the Press Secretary 

President Donald J. Trump promised the American people that he would restore our national security.  Today, Congress is taking action on the President’s request that it carry out his commitment to our military. The Administration commends the House of Representatives for passing the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, and encourages its swift passage in the Senate.

The Conference Report supports the President’s request for a pay raise for our troops and rebuilds the military to deter adversaries and maintain the Administration’s posture of peace through strength. It also takes positive steps that are consistent with the Administration’s commitment to maintaining a strong and resilient manufacturing and defense industrial base.

By supporting key components of the Administration’s National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, both of which focus on a return to principled realism in an era of great power competition, the FY 2019 NDAA enhances the President’s ability to defend the Nation. It also supports key components of the Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, South Asia Strategy, vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and ongoing operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The Conference Report’s topline authorization levels for base national defense funding and Overseas Contingency Operations funding are consistent with the levels requested in the FY 2019 President’s Budget and enacted in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.

The FY 2019 NDAA keeps faith with Israel, fully authorizing the Administration request for co-development and co-production of missile defense systems. It supports the European Deterrence Initiative, strengthening the posture of the United States in Europe and bolstering our European allies against the threat of Russian aggression. Finally, the Administration appreciates the Conference Report’s inclusion of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), which achieves the twin aims of protecting our national security and preserving our long-standing open investment policy. It also welcomes language recognizing the ongoing and wrongful detainment of Andrew Brunson and Serkan Golge.

Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary 

NYPD Cop in Eric Garner Chokehold Death to Face Departmental Charges of Reckless Assault, Compression to the Neck: Sources


By Andrew Siff

The police officer seen putting Eric Garner in an apparent chokehold, a move that the medical examiner said contributed to his death, faces departmental charges of reckless assault and compression to the neck, multiple sources briefed on the case told News 4 Thursday. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News 

Betsy DeVos' $40 Million Yacht Vandalized in Ohio

 
by Farnoush Amiri

One of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ yachts was vandalized over the weekend, according to Ohio police.

The $40 million, 163-foot boat, which is usually docked at the Huron Boat Basin in Huron, Ohio, was found undocked 6 a.m. Sunday by Captain Quintynn Botha and his crew.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News 

Henry Kissinger Pushed Trump to Work With Russia to Box In China


A Daily Beast Exclusive

By Asawin Suebsaeng, Andrew Desiderio, Sam Stein and Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian 

Henry Kissinger suggested to President Donald Trump that the United States should work with Russia to contain a rising China.

The former secretary of state—who famously engineered the tactic of establishing diplomatic relations with China in order to isolate the Soviet Union—pitched almost the inverse of that idea to Trump during a series of private meetings during the presidential transition, five people familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast. The potential strategy would use closer relations with Russia, along with other countries in the region, to box in China’s growing power and influence.

Kissinger also pitched the idea to Jared Kushner, the top White House adviser whose portfolio includes foreign-policy matters, one of the sources briefed on the discussions said.

Inside the administration, the proposal has found receptive ears, with some of Trump’s top advisers—in addition to officials in the State Department, Pentagon, and the National Security Council—also floating a strategy of using closer relations with Moscow to contain Beijing, according to White House and Capitol Hill insiders. But the idea has been complicated by the president’s deference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has caused countless domestic political headaches.

Both the White House and the National Security Council declined to comment. Kissinger's office did not return a request for comment. 

Click here for the full article. 

Strikers Introduce New Plan To Succeed Charter/Spectrum In NYC With Worker Cooperative


By Joe Maniscalco

New York, NY – A group of striking Charter/Spectrum workers holding the picket line for nearly a year-and-a-half have introduced a new business plan to break the corporation’s stranglehold on cable-TV service in New York City and replace it with a new worker cooperative that benefits everyone. 

It took the group of about 50 strikers just three months to assemble the comprehensive business plan, which they maintain could be enacted with limited disruption to New York City cable-TV subscribers. 

“The best time is now,” striking IBEW Local 3 member Troy Walcott, 39, told LaborPress this week. “If [the city] were to deny [Charter/Spectrum’s] Franchise Agreement now, for the stuff they’re doing in the city, [Charter/Spectrum] would still have two years that they have to service the city; during which time we could be building out our network to make the transition as seamless as possible and have as little disruption as possible.”

Click here for the full article.

Source: Labor Press

Councilman Diaz: 'Et Tu, Brute?' ('Even You, Brutus?')


WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
By Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr.
District 18 Bronx County, New York

You should know that during the times of the Roman Empire, the Emperor Julius Caesar was double crossed and betrayed by Gaius Cassius Longinus, which resulted in his stabbing death by his trusted friend Marcus Julius Brutus. Caesar, before dying, looked at Brutus and with his last dying breath uttered “Et tuBrute?”,  which means “Even you, Brutus”.

Now Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, after 27 years serving the State of New York as one of the most progressive elected officials, has been put on notice by the New York Working families Party that they might support Cynthia Nixon.

Assemblywoman Glick, I believe, will go into the history books as the first openly gay legislator in New York State. Assemblywoman Glick was sworn into office on January 3, 1998. This was a time when many, from fear of repercussion, hid their sexuality. However, Assemblywoman Glick stood firm and fought for the rights of gay and lesbian communities, opening doors, jumping hurdles, and breaking through many obstacles to ensure equality.  

Assemblywoman Glick serves as the Chair of the Committee of Higher Education and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. These are two of the most powerful and influential committees in the New York State Assembly.

Ms. Glick has remained focused on her fight for women’s issues, such as their right for reproductive freedom and abortion rights, environmental protection, immigration rights, and many, many more issues that are of importance for the progressives.    

I believe that when the Progressive movement was created, seated at the table was Assemblywoman Deborah Glick. 

It is important for you to know that I am a social Conservative Democrat.  During the sixteen years I served in the New York State Legislature as a State Senator, Deborah Glick and I never spoke to each other. I can honestly say that Ms. Glick hates my guts. She can’t stand the ground I walk on. Believe me when I say... she can’t stand me!

But those that know me well will attest to the fact that I will always speak the truth and call it out as it is when I feel someone is being treated unfairly, even if the person being unfairly treated has different opinions and disagreements with me, which is the case with Ms. Glick.

Some might say that I should be happy to see that Ms. Glick is going through this situation with the Working Families Party, but I am not. 

The Working Families Party (WFP) hatched a plan to have Cynthia Nixon run on their line against Glick in the event Nixon loses the election to Governor Cuomo. According to the WFP they don’t want to have a candidate serve as a spoiler in the general elections. But, surprise, surprise! They should have known that when they hatched their plan to give their party line to Cynthia Nixon, or maybe that’s been the plan all along, (it would be viewed as) a coup against Deborah Glick.

I believe,  figuratively speaking, that given this political climate, we politicians must walk with a political bulletproof vest because it appears as though we have and unseen bullseye on our backs, and we never know when and to whom we will have to say “Et tu, Brute?”

I am Councilman Rev. Rubén Díaz and this is What You Should Know.   

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

UCCA Lauds US 'Crimea Declaration'


The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest representation of over 1.5 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, welcomes today’s long-awaited declaration by the United States Department of State, affirming as the United States did in 1940 with the Welles Declaration, the non-recognition of “the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.” The “Crimea Declaration,” as signed by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, rejects “Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea,” and pledges that the United States intends to maintain this policy of refusal to recognize Russia’s illegal assertions “until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.”

UCCA President Andriy Futey responded enthusiastically to today’s declaration, stating, “Today the U.S. Government sent a strong message of support to those living under direct threat from Russia’s unrelenting aggressive behavior. The United States and Ukraine stand united, as demonstrated by the recently increased U.S. security assistance to the government of Ukraine, which will help deter the government of the Russian Federation from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent countries.”

The United States’ refusal to recognize the Soviet Union’s occupation of three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - was enshrined in the 1940 Welles Declaration by then-Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles. Doubted by some as a merely a symbolic gesture, the Welles Declaration would go on to outlast the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, and made clear to our allies that the United States stood with them no matter the circumstances.

UCCA began its advocacy for a “21st century Welles Declaration” for Crimea immediately after the invasion of Ukraine began on February 27, 2014. In previous statements, the UCCA has categorically rejected Russia’s March 2014 staged plebiscite in Crimea and forced “annexation” of the peninsula. UCCA continues to call upon elected officials in Congress and the White House to work to aid Ukraine, including those Ukrainian citizens living under foreign occupation. Russia currently imprisons over 60 Ukrainians abducted illegally from their homeland, including the award-winning filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, a native of Crimea. All Ukrainian citizens living under Russia occupation live under constant threat of imprisonment and torture, including the all too common “disappearance” of activists, journalists, or ethnic minorities such as the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, whose language, rights, and culture are being threatened as much today as they were during the Soviet and Tsarist regimes.

Source: UCCA