Thursday, May 17, 2018
Turkish Banker Sentenced in US Case Over Iran Sanctions
This report was published on YouTube on May 16.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Two Transgender Women Found Dead in Dallas in Less Than a Week
by Brooke Sopelsa
Dallas police are investigating the apparently unrelated deaths of
two transgender women of color whose bodies were found within a span of
four days.
The body of a black transgender woman
was found Saturday floating in a creek, Dallas Deputy Chief Thomas
Castro told reporters Tuesday. Her body was found in a “severe state of
decomposition” by a kayaker who called 911.
Castro said the department is investigating the case as an “unexplained death,” but he indicated that could change.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Senators Vote to Begin Debate on Repealing Changes to Net Neutrality Rules
Washington (CNN)The Senate voted Wednesday to begin debate on repealing changes to net neutrality rules that were recently adopted by the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission.
The measure, which is backed by all 49 Democrats and Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, is expected to pass the full Senate later Wednesday and then be sent to the GOP-led House, where it'll likely go nowhere -- and President Donald Trump is unlikely to back it.
Click here for the full article.
Source: CNN
Statement from Governor Cuomo on the Senate Net Neutrality Vote
"The federal administration wants to destroy the internet as we know it and hand the reins over to cable companies and powerful corporations. The FCC's dangerous order to roll back net neutrality rules next month puts corporations over people and goes against our fundamental belief in the free exchange of ideas.
"In New York, we believe in a free and open internet and we are taking action to protect and strengthen net neutrality. I call on Senators in Washington to join us in this fight and vote against the FCC's attempt to end net neutrality. The fate of the internet - with open access to content and applications for everyone - depends on it."
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
NYPD Officer Edwin Raymond on the Department's Quota System
This video was published on YouTube on November 20, 2017.
NYPD officer Edwin Raymond describes his hopes of fixing the system from
the inside by becoming a cop — and how his idealism was stamped out
once he graduated from the academy and was forced to meet quotas.
Director: Jenny Carchman
"We Are Witnesses" is a portrait of crime and punishment in America.
Source: The Marshall Project
Note: Raymond and other NYPD officers are featured in the acclaimed documentary "Crime + Punishment", which exposes disturbing cases of corruption within the New York City Police Department.
Note: Raymond and other NYPD officers are featured in the acclaimed documentary "Crime + Punishment", which exposes disturbing cases of corruption within the New York City Police Department.
Governor Cuomo Tours Storm Damage in Putnam County and Issues Recovery Update
Earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo toured storm damage in Putnam County and delivered a recovery update in response to several severe thunderstorms that occurred throughout Tuesday.
At the height of the storm, over 200,000 utility customers were without power, mainly in the Mid-Hudson Valley Region. The severe weather felled trees and power lines, damaged vehicles and homes, and resulted in at least two fatalities. As part of the recovery effort, the Governor has deployed 125 members of the New York National Guard and to further assist communities with recovery efforts.
Currently, thousands of state and local personnel are on site in the affected areas with pre-deployed equipment to clear transportation corridors of debris and assess damage throughout the affected areas.
More information is available here.
Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
At the height of the storm, over 200,000 utility customers were without power, mainly in the Mid-Hudson Valley Region. The severe weather felled trees and power lines, damaged vehicles and homes, and resulted in at least two fatalities. As part of the recovery effort, the Governor has deployed 125 members of the New York National Guard and to further assist communities with recovery efforts.
Currently, thousands of state and local personnel are on site in the affected areas with pre-deployed equipment to clear transportation corridors of debris and assess damage throughout the affected areas.
More information is available here.
Source: The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
4 Women Running on Socialist Platforms Unseat Male Incumbents in PA Primary
A Wake-Up Call for Dems?
Source: Democracy Now!
Qatari Investor: Michael Cohen Asked Me For a Million Dollars
By Ryan Grim
In the blink of a Michael Avenatti tweet,
Ahmed al-Rumaihi has suddenly found himself internet-famous. It began
on Sunday evening, when the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels
posted a screenshot of video footage from Trump Tower’s lobby, recorded on December 12, 2016.
Viral speculation followed, with
online detectives identifying al-Rumaihi, the former head of a $100
billion wing of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, in the image and
linking him to a Russia-Qatar deal to sell a portion of the oil company Rosneft, which had been referenced in the Steele dossier, a set of raw intelligence reports compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.
From there, Slate took over, headlining a piece late Monday night: “Michael Cohen’s Meetings With Michael Flynn and a Qatari Diplomat Might Be the Key to Unlocking the Steele Dossier.”
Over the past two months, al-Rumaihi
has shared details of his meetings that week in off-the-record
interviews with The Intercept. al-Rumaihi said he was reluctant to speak
out publicly, so as not to create diplomatic problems for his country,
which has been the subject of a blockade led by Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates since June. Qatar has been relying on the United
States to mediate the dispute, and al-Rumaihi said he did not want to
get in the way of that effort.
But al-Rumaihi, who was educated in the U.S. and served as the No. 2 in the Qatar embassy in Washington from 2008 until 2013, has changed his mind.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept_
White Supremacist Jason Kessler: Unite the Right Anniversary Rally Could Be Held in Front of White House
By Emily Shugerman
The organiser of a deadly, white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last summer has said he's planning round two – but few of his former associates seem to be on board.
For months, white supremacist blogger Jason Kessler has fought unsuccessfully for a permit to return to Charlottesville – the site of his infamous Unite the Right rally, which brought hundreds of neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and “alt-right” activists to the small college town last summer.
Now, he says he has a backup plan: The White House.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Independent
Spike Lee Unedited and Uncensored: 'Blackkklansman' Press Conference
This video was published on YouTube on May 15.
Warning: Mr. Lee's comments contain very strong language.
Source: Festival de Cannes (Officiel)
Former Arab League Chief: 'The One-State Solution Should Be Put on the Agenda'
A FRANCE 24 Exclusive
'Abenomics' Hits Road Bump as Japan's Economy Shrinks for First Time in Two Years
Source: FRANCE 24 English
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Senate Republican Leadership News Conference
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says White House aide Kelly
Sadler should publicly apologize for comments she made about Senator
John McCain's health during a recent communications staff meeting. Ms.
Sadler has apologized privately to Meghan McCain.
Click here for video.
Senate Democratic Leadership News Conference
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and leadership colleagues field
questions from reporters following their weekly caucus luncheon at the
U.S. Capitol.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Recording Artist Smokey Robinson Testifes on Copyright Laws
Recording artist Smokey Robinson, along with other musicians,
songwriters, and music industry executives, testifies before the Senate
Judiciary Committee on federal copyright laws and music licensing rules.
Click here for video.
Source: C-SPAN
Ahead of Vote on Gina Haspel, Senate Pulls Access to Damning Classified Memo
By Ryan Grim
As the Senate prepares for a
Wednesday vote on whether to confirm Gina Haspel as director of the CIA,
the Senate Intelligence Committee has restricted access to a classified
memo that Democratic staff put together, detailing Haspel’s role in advocating for torture and later destroying related evidence.
On Monday morning, Elizabeth Falcone, a
senior aide for Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top-ranking Democrat on
the intelligence committee, announced the decision to restrict access in
an email to Democratic legislative directors. The memo had previously
been available for senators and staff with security clearances to review
in a Secure Compartmented Information Facility housed within Congress.
Staff will no longer be able to review the document, and senators will
only be able to do so upon request. It has been removed from the SCIF.
In Falcone’s email, which a Senate
source shared with The Intercept, she said that the memo was “unable to
be viewed.” (Over the weekend, both The Intercept and NBC News inquired
about the existence of the memo, and NBC reported Monday afternoon that it had been removed from the Senate’s secure space.)
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Intercept
Police Are Mislabeling Anti-LGBTQ and Other Crimes as Anti-Heterosexual
ProPublica sent public-records requests to more than 50 police departments that reported anti-heterosexual hate crimes to the FBI. None of the reports we could track down actually included evidence of hate crimes against straight people.
by Rachel Glickhouse and Rahima Nasa
by Rachel Glickhouse and Rahima Nasa
Rob heard a loud knock at his door late one night in August 2014. His
landlord had been calling him about maintenance issues in his Columbus,
Ohio, apartment, but that night she came with a male companion and
began to scream at him. According to a police report, the man jumped
into the argument and threatened Rob — who asked that we not use his
full name — with a homophobic slur. Fearing an escalation, he called the
police.
“A thing that I’ve dealt with my entire life as a gay man is extreme
prejudice, from threats to constant harassment,” Rob said, noting that
his landlord had previously told his neighbors that he was a “filthy
queer.”
Columbus police acknowledged Rob’s concern that the incident may have
been motivated by bias, but they got a key detail wrong in their
incident report: They mistakenly marked it as a case of
anti-heterosexual harassment.
Since 2010, Columbus police have reported six incidents that list
bias against heterosexuals as the purported motivation. That’s more than
any other local law enforcement agency in the nation reported during
that period. Columbus Police Department Sgt. Dean Worthington
acknowledges it’s likely that the officers who filed the reports marked
the wrong box.
Click here for the full article.
Source: ProPublica
Uber Changes Course, Will Not Push Sexual Assault Victims Into Arbitration
by Alyssa Newcomb
SAN FRANCISCO — Uber will no longer force customers, drivers or
employees who claim they were sexually assaulted or harassed when using
the ride-hailing service to pursue their cases behind closed doors, a
move meant to make the company’s safety issues more transparent.
Previously,
people with such claims were forced to take their claims to
arbitration, a private legal framework that shields cases from public
view. Victims who settled claims were also required to sign
confidentiality agreements, effectively silencing them.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Trump Thanks James Shaw Jr. for 'Heroic Actions' in Waffle House Shooting
by Todd Johnson
President Donald Trump on Monday thanked the man hailed as a national
hero for grabbing an assault rifle from a suspected gunman at a
Tennessee Waffle House last month.
Trump called James Shaw Jr. on
Monday morning to “commend his heroic actions and quick thinking,”
according to White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
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