Trump Administration Officials Asked About Sexual Abuse of Unaccompanied Minors Allegations

 

C-SPAN: Florida Congressman Ted Deutch raises newly reported allegations of sexual abuse against thousands of migrant children in U.S. custody by contract employees of the Health and Human Services Department. The allegations were included in documents handed over to Congress by the department. According to the documents the Office of Refugee Resettlement received 4,556 complaints and the Justice Department received 1,303 complaints, including nearly 200 allegations of sexual abuse between 2017 and 2018.

Click here for video. 

Click here for complete coverage of the hearing.  

Attorney General Barr Pledges to Protect Voting Rights In First Address

C-SPAN: New Attorney General William Barr delivers remarks at an African American History Month event at the Justice Department, in which he pledges to protect voting rights during his second tenure at the law enforcement agency.

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U.S. House Debates Resolution Blocking National Emergency Declaration

 

C-SPAN: The House will consider a joint resolution to terminate the President’s national emergency declaration to build a southern border wall.

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House Democrats Announce Plans for Vote on Gun Background Checks Bill

C-SPAN: House Democrats, former Representative Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), and student advocates speak with reporters about H.R.8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

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House Republicans Brief Reporters on Gun Legislation

C-SPAN: Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and other House republicans spoke about two gun background check bills before the House, H.R.8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, and H.R.1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019.

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Michael Cohen to Testify Trump Committed Crimes While in Office

High School Students Lead Fight to Get Civil Rights Cold Case Bill Passed

Note: In July of 2015, the teacher showcased in this report, Stuart Wexler, appeared on The G-Man Interviews to discuss "Christian Identity”. 

According to the critically acclaimed author and lecturer, his groundbreaking 2012 book, The Awful Grace of God: Religious Terrorism, White Supremacy, and the Unsolved Murder of Martin Luther King, Jr (Counterpoint), which he co-authored with Larry Hancock, allowed him to “have a better understanding of how a network of religious zealots created an informal proto-social network under the umbrella of a little known but important ideology: Christian Identity."

In tracing this network through the 1960s, it became clear that they may have had their hand in a number of different racial crimes. This revelation served as the catalyst for the book America's Secret Jihad, which was released in August of 2015.

From The G-Man congratulates Mr. Wexler and his students on their monumental achievement. 

Nicolas Maduro Accuses US of Fabricating a Crisis

Mixed Reactions Over Cardinal George Pell's Sex Abuse Conviction

Trump-Kim Summit 2.0: Host Vietnam in Focus

Amnesty Report on Middle East Rights Highlights Khashoggi Case

Venezuela Crisis: Dozens Hurt in Violence Near Border

Trump Wants US Troops in Iraq to 'Keep an Eye' on Iran

Indian Jets Target 'Terror Camps' in Pakistan

Brexit Deadlock: British PM Proposes Vote on Delaying Exit

Governor Cuomo Signs Red Flag Gun Protection Bill

Earlier today, Governor Andrew Cuomo, joined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, signed the Red Flag Bill, a key component of his 2019 Justice Agenda. The Red Flag Bill, also known as the extreme risk protection order bill, prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm. This legislation builds on New York's strongest in the nation gun laws and makes New York the first in the United States to empower its teachers and school administrators to prevent school shootings by pursuing court intervention. 

More information is available here. 

Source: NYGovCuomo

Worker Visas in Doubt as Trump Immigration Crackdown Widens

 
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Source: Associated Press

After Putin's Warning, Russian TV Lists Nuclear Targets in U.S.

 
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Source: Reuters

Bernie, His Army and the Historical Moment

 

By Ted Glick

Bernie Sanders finally announced that he is running for President this week. When asked what would be different this time around, he replied, “We will win.”

Can he win? Yes, there are lots of reasons to believe he can.

There’s the 6 million dollars he raised in the 24 hours after his announcement, most of it from his over-two-million-person list of donors from 2016. Of his competitors for the Democratic Party nomination, the second-best in this regard was Kamala Harris pulling in 1.5 million.

There’s the very important fact that after 2016 he and his supporters got themselves organized into an independent national organization, Our Revolution, with 600 chapters in just about every state. None of his competitors have anything close to that. When combined with the many millions of others not active in Our Revolution who supported him in 2016 and/or will be supporting him now, and remembering the massive, people-powered momentum built with his leadership in 2015-2016, calling it an “army” seems accurate.

There are the steps he has taken to politically strengthen both his message and his connections to important constituencies where he had weaknesses in 2016. An example is the fact that there are four co-chairs of his campaign, California Congressperson Ro Khanna, Our Revolution leader and former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner, San Juan, PR mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, and Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Three of the four are people of color, two are women.

Another example of how he has politically strengthened his positions is an In These Times article last month where he articulated a good analysis of US militarism and an imperialist foreign policy, without using those words.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: tedglick.com

Grannies Respond: What We Saw on the US-Mexico Border in McAllen, Texas Motivated Us to Fight On

 

Grannies Respond is a grassroots movement, which formed in spring 2018 in response to the separation of families seeking asylum at the southern border of the United States. As news spread of immigrant children being separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border — at that time a hallmark of the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy — a group of outraged grandmothers in New York state decided it was time to act.

They formed Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden, and put out a call on social media for others to join them in a six-city, 2,000-mile trip to McAllen, Texas, home of the largest U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention center for undocumented immigrants, where they planned to protest.

The 30 Grannies and their supporters departed from New York City’s Union Square July 31, 2018 in two 15-seat vans and a camper. By the time the Grannies’ caravan reached the border, the group had picked up participants from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana; they converged along the route, driving vans, RVs, cars, trucks, busses — anything, really, with wheels and a motor (there was even a motorcycle). They were a diverse lot, but all agreed on these demands: the immediate reunion of all families, an end to the detention of immigrants and their families, and due process under the law for all immigrants requesting asylum.

Click here for additional information.

Source: Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden

The Week Ahead in Washington

Associated Press White House reporter Darlene Superville and Washington Post congressional reporter Mike DeBonis discussed the week ahead on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

Click here for video.

Source: C-SPAN 

'El Chapo' Seeks New Trial After Report Jurors Followed Media Coverage

Michael Cohen to Testify Before Congress This Week

Nigerians Siphoning Off Oil for Survival

UK Moves to Ban Lebanon-Based Hezbollah

Yemen War Killing More Than Eight Children Every Day: UNICEF

West Bank: Muslims Saying Access to Holy Sites Restricted

Israeli PM Netanyahu Sparks Anger Over Jewish Supremacist Alliance

All Eyes on Senegal Vote Count After Incident-Free Election

Outrage as UK PM Accused of ‘Holding Parliament Hostage’ with Brexit Vote Delay

Cubans Go to the Polls in High-Stakes Constitutional Referendum

Trump Extends Tariff Deadline as US-China Trade Talks Make Progress

Venezuela Concert Battle; UK MPs Break Away; France Fights Anti-Semitism; Karl Lagerfeld's Legacy

Unpacking the Politics of the SNC-Lavalin Affair

This report was published on YouTube on February 24.

Tax Season’s Dynamic Duo: E-file and Direct Deposit

 
New York State Taxpayer Advocate Margaret Neri today encouraged all New York State taxpayers to e-file their tax returns and have any refund directly deposited into their bank account.

“We know that New Yorkers want their refunds quickly, and we aim to deliver,” said New York State Taxpayer Advocate Margaret Neri. “That’s why we recommend that filers avoid paper, and combine the simplicity and security of e-filing with direct deposit to speed refunds by up to two weeks.”

Benefits of e-filing

E-filing is safer and more efficient than sending paper returns through the mail. About 92% of all personal income tax returns in New York State are electronically prepared and filed. All returns, regardless of how they’re filed, undergo the same systematic review.

Use direct deposit

To use direct deposit, simply check direct deposit on your tax return, then enter your bank’s nine-digit routing number and your account number. For checking accounts, this information is available on your checks; for savings accounts, contact your bank.

Free filing options available

Taxpayers with adjusted gross household incomes of $66,000 or less in 2018 may use free, user-friendly software at www.tax.ny.gov to electronically prepare and file both their state and federal tax returns. Taxpayers can search Free File on the Tax Department website to be directed to the tax preparation software. Using the software can reduce filing errors that delay return processing and refunds. This also prevents valuable credits from being overlooked.

Eligible taxpayers can also visit a free Tax Department preparation site. A schedule of dates, times, and locations for free-filing sessions statewide is available on our Facilitated Self-Assistance (FSA) program webpage.

Tax Department experts will be available at each site to assist low- and middle-income New Yorkers through the filing process at no charge. At certain locations, they can assist taxpayers in multiple languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.

Check your refund status

Taxpayers can quickly view the status of their New York State tax refund anytime by using the Check your Refund tool on the Tax Department website: www.tax.ny.gov. Updated daily, it’s the fastest and most convenient way to know when to expect your refund. It provides the same information available to our phone representatives—only without the wait!

You can also find out when your refund will be issued by signing up for Tax Department email alerts. Visit the Tax Department homepage at www.tax.ny.gov and select subscribe at the bottom of the page.

Don’t have a computer or smart phone? Call the Tax Department’s automated refund-status line anytime at 518-457-5149.

New York State Taxpayer Rights Advocate

As a New York State taxpayer, you have rights protecting you from any unfairness in the administration and collection of taxes, as well as a variety of options to resolve tax issues.

The Office of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate will help you understand your rights and will help find the best way for you to pay the amount of tax you owe.

The Office of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate, an independent office within the Tax Department, provides: free assistance to resolve difficult or ongoing tax problems; options to consider if a tax issue is causing undue economic harm; and recommendations for administrative or legislative reforms.

Click here for additional resources. 

Source: The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Public Advocate Race: 7 Factors That Will Help Decide Who Wins on Tuesday

 
The nonpartisan special election features 17 candidates, and a number of variables.  

Click here for details. 

Source: The New York Times

A Simple Stop-and-Frisk or a Banned Chokehold? A Gun Tip in Brooklyn Lands a Cop in the NYPD Trial Room

 
Click here for details. 

Source: The New York Daily News

New Yorkers Spike Lee, Lady Gaga Win Big at Oscars

 
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Source: The New York Daily News

Jon Stewart Heads to Washington with 9/11 First Responders to Secure Victims Compensation Fund

 
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Source: The New York Daily News

Media Giant's 'Cross-Utilization' Plans Spark Fears NYC Radio Stations 1010 WINS, WCBS 880 Could Be Melded

 
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Source: The New York Daily News