Thursday, September 7, 2017

Bronx DA Dismisses the Indictment of Pedro Hernandez


Bronx, New York – Assembly Member Michael A. Blake released the following statement in reaction to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark dismissing the indictment of Pedro Hernandez:
 
“Pedro Hernandez and his family received Justice today thanks in large part to leadership from Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.  I commend D.A. Clark, the Public Integrity Bureau, the Conviction Integrity Unit, the Crime Strategies Unit and all of the people who worked together to examine in detail, the facts of Pedro Hernandez’s case leading to this game-changing decision today.
 
District Attorney Clark and her team clearly took the necessary steps to ensure that fairness and justice wasn't predicated on how much money a family had in an account or a last name.
 
While Justice was delivered today, countless others, especially young people of color, suffer at the hands of a criminal justice system that simply is stacked against them. Too many people wait for justice, even when they are no longer incarcerated, but fortunately, Pedro does not have to wait any longer.
 
Pedro’s ordeal is a reminder that we must continue to advocate for changes to the Criminal Justice system such as strengthening Raise The Age, Bail and Grand Jury reform, Open Discovery and the closing of Rikers Island. These efforts continue, but, we take time to celebrate the victories along the journey of justice.
 
I commend D.A. Clark for delivering #Justice4Pedro and helping us all continue #BuildingABetterbronx”
 
En Espanol:
 
El asambleísta Michael A. Blake publicó la siguiente declaración en reacción a la decisión de Darcel Clark, abogado del distrito de Bronx, sobre la acusación de Pedro Hernández:
 
El día de hoy, Pedro Hernández y su familia recibieron justicia gracias en gran parte, al liderazgo del fiscal Darcel Clark del distrito de Bronx. Deseo elogiar a D.A. Clark, La Oficina de Integridad Pública, la Unidad de Integridad para Convictos, la Unidad de Estrategias Criminológicas y todas las personas que trabajaron juntos para examinar en detalle los hechos del caso de Pedro Hernández y que condujeron a esta decisión hoy.
 
La Fiscal del Distrito Dancel Clark y su equipo claramente tomaron las medidas necesarias para asegurar que la equidad y la justicia no dependieran de cuánto dinero tenía su familia en una cuenta o de que apellido es.
 
Mientras que hoy se hizo justicia, muchos otros jóvenes, especialmente de color, sufren a manos de un sistema de justicia penal que simplemente está en contra de ellos. Muchas personas esperan justicia, incluso cuando ya no están encarcelados, pero afortunadamente, Pedro no tiene que esperar más.
 
El caso de Pedro es un recordatorio de que debemos seguir abogando por cambios en el sistema de justicia penal, como el fortalecimiento de la reforma de Raise The Age, Bail y Grand Jury, Open Discovery y el cierre de Rikers Island. Estos esfuerzos continúan, pero hoy, tomamos tiempo para celebrar las victorias que obtenemos a lo largo del camino hacia la justicia.
 
Elogio a D.A. Clark por dar #Justice4Pedro y ayudarnos a todos a continuar #BuildingABetterBronx

Source: The Office of Assemblyman Michael Blake

Madrid Unleashes Its Fury Against Catalonia


Source: euronews (in English)

The War in Syria: Israeli War Planes Target Syrian Military Base


Source: TRT World

Thousands Greet Pope Francis in Colombia


Source: euronews (in English)

Hurricane Irma Devastates Antilles


Source: euronews (in English)

What You Need to Know About the German Election


Source: euronews (in English)

Protesters Injured as THAAD Deployed


Source: euronews (in English)

Trump Urges China to Do More to Reign in North Korea


Source: euronews (in English)

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

NOAA: Hurricane Irma Public Advisory

 
Click here for the latest advisory and constant updates. 

Click here to view the forecast track. 

Source: The National Hurricane Center

President and the First Lady Donate $1 Million to Harvey Relief Efforts


President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump announced today a personal donation of $1 million dollars to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts and have designated twelve organizations to receive contributions.  

The President and First Lady witnessed the work of some of these groups first hand while visiting with hurricane survivors, first responders, volunteers, and Federal, State, and local officials, and are proud to further assist the recovery efforts in Texas.  

Several of the following organizations were recommended, at the invitation of the President, by members of the White House Press Corps, and he would like to thank those who made recommendations for their attention to this important cause.  The President and First Lady continue to pray for the people of Texas and Louisiana. 

Reach out America – $100,000 
Red Cross – $300,000
Salvation Army – $300,000
Samaritan’s Purse – $100,000
ASPCA – $25,000
Catholic Charities – $25,000
Direct Relief – $25,000 
Habitat for Humanity – $25,000
Houston Humane Society – $25,000
Operation Blessing – $25,000
Portlight Inclusive Disaster Strategies – $25,000 
Team Rubicon – $25,000

Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary 

Hurricane Irma: Alerts and Information in Spanish





Source: CDN 37

 

Source: Presidencia República Dominicana

House Passes Harvey Relief Bill, Trump Agrees to Add Shorter Debt Ceiling Hike

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a $7.85 billion disaster aid package for Hurricane Harvey victims with overwhelming bipartisan support Wednesday, the first round of money expected for areas of Texas and Louisiana devastated by the storm.

And as the bill moved to the Senate, it quickly became a negotiating tool for controversial must-pass legislation.

At a meeting with President Donald Trump today, Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders agreed to attach a three-month debt limit increase and a three-month extension of government funding to the Harvey aid package. The move averts a potential government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year on September 30 but puts conservatives in a difficult position: Vote against disaster relief or turn their back on principled opposition to increased government spending. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News  

Oval Office Chat: Xi Jinping, Theresa May and Malcolm Turnbull



UPDATE: 1:46 P.M. (ET) - This report now includes a conversation with President Xi JinPing.

President Trump spoke today with President Xi Jinping of China to discuss North Korea’s September 3 test of a powerful nuclear device.  The two leaders condemned North Korea’s latest provocative and destabilizing action and noted North Korea’s current path is dangerous to the world and not in its own interest.  President Trump and President Xi committed to strengthen coordination and take further action with the goal of achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

On September 5, President Trump spoke with Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom to discuss North Korea’s claimed September 3 test of a hydrogen bomb. They agreed that this latest reckless act only strengthens the world’s determination to confront the growing North Korean threat. President Trump reiterated that now is not the time to talk to North Korea, and made clear that all options remain open to defend the United States and its allies against North Korean aggression. The two leaders resolved to continue working closely together on increasing diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea, and to call on others to do the same.

The same day, President Trump spoke with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia to discuss North Korea’s claimed test of a hydrogen bomb on September 3. The two leaders condemned North Korea’s belligerent actions and confirmed that their two countries will intensify joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea. President Trump reaffirmed his commitment to defending the homeland, territories, and allies of the United States, using all available diplomatic and military capabilities.  The two leaders also discussed a range of global issues of mutual concern. 

Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary 

House Republicans on the Legislative Agenda



At a House GOP leaders news conference, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said President Trump made the “right” decision to rescind the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, saying lawmakers would aim to find a compromise on the program as part of a larger immigration package. The speaker also said lawmakers would remain in Washington until emergency funding for Hurricane Harvey victims is approved.  

Click here for the full article.

Source: C-SPAN 

House and Senate Democrats on DACA Program


House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) joined other House and Senate Democrats in a news briefing urging Congress to act immiedately on immigration policy and pass a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for people who are undocumented or have temporary protected status. Members criticized President Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Leader Pelosi called the action a “despicable act of political cowardice” and accused President Trump of being the first president in modern time to be anti-immigration.

Click here for video. 

C-SPAN 

Governor Cuomo Delivers Remarks at the Flatiron Institute


Source: NYGovCuomo

The 'I Am Woman' Series: Jessica Mendoza


This video was published on YouTube on August 8, 2016. 

Trailblazers in Black History: Claudette Colvin


This video was published on YouTube on March 29, 2013. 

At a ceremony unveiling a statue in her honor last month, President Obama called Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus a "singular act of disobedience." But nine months before Parks' historic action, a 15-year-old teenager named Claudette Colvin did the very same thing. She was arrested and her case led to the U.S. Supreme Court's order for the desegregation of Alabama's bus system.

Obama: Ending DACA is Cruel and Wrong


Charlottesville Council Votes to Remove Confederate Statue After Tense Hearing

The City Council in Charlottesville, Virginia, voted Tuesday night to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson from a park after a public hearing punctuated by protests and chants of "Let her speak."

By voice vote, the council voted after 11 p.m. ET to ask a design firm to redesign Emancipation Park, where the Jackson statue stands — effectively ordering its removal once all court cases are resolved.

The vote would also expedite the relocation of a statue of another Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, that was at the center of a white nationalist demonstration in mid-August that led to the death of a woman after a car plowed into a group of anti-protesters. 

Click here for the full article. 

Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand to Headline Harvey Relief Telethon

Beyoncé, Blake Shelton, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey will headline a one-hour benefit telethon to benefit Hurricane Harvey victims that will be simulcast next week on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CMT.

The event will be telecast live at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 12, and on tape delay at 8 p.m. on the West Coast. It is being organized by Houston rap artist Bun B and Scooter Braun, founder of SB Projects. The show will also be streamed live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC News

NFL Star Michael Bennett Says Las Vegas Cops Threatened to 'Blow My F—ing Head Off'


Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett has been one of the most vocal players in the NFL about the protests started by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, began in opposition to the unequal treatment of minorities by law enforcement.

Bennett now has a personal reason to continue.

Bennett just posted an open letter to social media, detailing an incident in Las Vegas in which police there forced him to the ground and pointed a gun at his head, threatening to “blow my f—ing head off.”

Bennett described a chaotic scene as he was leaving the recent Mayweather-McGregor fight, when a loud sound was heard which sounded like gunshots. Bennett said he ran away from the sound for consideration of his own safety, a police officer pulled a gun on him, ordered him to the ground and threatened to shoot him if he moved. He said a second cop then came and put a knee in his back to detain him, and he was handcuffed and put in the back of a police car until they confirmed his identity. 

Click here for the full article. 

Source: NBC Sports

Congress Faces Daunting To-Do List in DC


Congress' Agenda Expands to Include Immigration Reform


This video was published on YouTube on September 5. 

Source: CBS News

Florida Gov. Rick Scott: Do Not Wait to Prepare for Irma


This video was published on YouTube on September 5. 

Governor Scott told his constituents that now is the time to prepare for Hurricane Irma. Scott also waived all tolls on roads across the state to make it easier for Floridians to evacuate as the monster storm approaches.
 
Source: CBS News

Hurricane Irma Takes Aim at Caribbean, Puerto Rico 
 

This DREAMer Is Ready to Go to the Army. Will Trump Let Him?

 
By Michael Daly

They speak languages deemed of particular importance to national security. But as they wait for basic training, Trump canceled DACA—and possibly their dreams of serving.

Among those who watched the smoke rise from the World Trade Center into a perfect blue sky on 9/11 were an Army Reserve officer on the cliffs at West Point and a 7-year-old undocumented immigrant on the street in Queens.

The officer was Maj. Margaret Stock, and in the days afterward she decided that the attacks might have been prevented if the military had not been so lacking in personnel fluent in foreign languages such as those spoken by the plotters.

Stock set about creating the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program, which offered expedited citizenship to immigrants who speak languages of particular importance in terms of national security. The program was also open to physicians, nurses, and dentists who could offset a longtime shortage of medical personnel in the armed services. The overall principle was simple.

“The whole idea of the program was to make sure we have enough people to protect the country,” Stock told The Daily Beast.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: The Daily Beast 

Mayor de Blasio Responds to Trump Rescinding the DACA Program


This video was published on YouTube on September 5. 

Source: NYC Mayor's Office

New York City Anti-Poverty Group Responds to Plans to End DACA


The following statement was issued today by Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO of FPWA. 

Yesterday the Trump Administration announced its plans to end DACA, putting nearly 800,000 young adults currently attending school or work and contributing to the prosperity of this country into jeopardy of deportation. In New York City, 30,000 DACA recipients now face uncertain futures and the possibility of their accomplishments and contributions being erased.

FPWA stands with the Dreamers and their desires to live and succeed in the only home that they have likely ever known. We see you as our classmates, we acknowledge you as our co-workers, and we will advocate for your protection and path to citizenship as our friends and neighbors. As an organization, we believe in an America of equal opportunity, where it is our moral obligation to care for and treat all people with dignity and compassion. We demand Congress hold to the promise of our American ideals of democracy, liberty, and equality, and move immediately to protect the Dreamers.  

FPWA, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, is an anti-poverty, policy, and advocacy nonprofit with a membership network of nearly 180 human-service and faith-based organizations. FPWA has been a prominent force in New York City's social services system for more than 95 years, advocating for fair public policies, collaborating with partner agencies, and growing its community-based membership network to meet the needs of New Yorkers. Each year, FPWA helps close to 1.5 million New Yorkers move up the economic ladder. 

Visit www.fpwa.org for additional information.

Source: Mercury

Mayor de Blasio Discusses the Latest Crime Statistics


This video was published on YouTube on September 5. 

Source: NYC Mayor's Office

Chelsea Manning Will Headline Politically-Charged New Yorker Festival



The 2017 New Yorker Festival comes to venues across the city next month, bringing with it a diverse lineup of "talks" (and a few performances) from cultural and political luminaries like Chelsea Manning, Kumail Nanjiani, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Ava DuVernay.

The annual three-day gathering skews more political than previous festivals, according to New Yorker Editor David Remnick, with the addition of voices like former U.S. attorney for Manhattan turned podcaster Preet Bharara and Senator Al Franken. There's also be a panel called "All The President's Reporters," where a host of reporters from the Times, the Washington Post, and the New Yorker will discuss covering national politics.

"I don’t think it would be possible for us to have a New Yorker Festival that wasn’t political, considering what an intensely political time we’ve been living in,” Remnick told the Times. “I think we’re living in a unique moment of emergency.”

Click here for the full article. 

Source: Gothamist (via The Empire Report) 

Trump's DACA Decision Could Strip Thousands in New York of Medicaid Coverage


By Dan Goldberg

The Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program could strip thousands of New Yorkers of their health insurance, a consequence unique to New York that could focus the debate in Albany when the Legislature returns in January.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that the Obama-era program, which granted legal status to approximately 800,000 children brought to the United States by their parents, would begin to unwind in six months.

That provides Congress a brief window to solve one of the nation's most divisive issues. Should Congress fail, New York could face its own difficult choice: whether to continue providing Medicaid to the DACA population.

There are approximately 42,000 DACA recipients in New York. The vast majority are at risk for losing their job-based health insurance if they lose their legal right to work. The Department of Health could not say how many DACA recipients currently rely on Medicaid but estimates are between 5,000 and 10,000. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: Politico (via The Empire Report) 

Hurricane Irma: 'So Powerful That It's Registering on Devices Used to Measure Earthquakes'


Source: FRANCE 24 English

Azerbaijan: 'The Regime is Trying to Suppress Any Criticism Anywhere By Any Means'


Source: FRANCE 24 English

Karnataka Police Hunts For Journalist Gauri Lankesh's Killers


Source: India Today

Journalist Gauri Lankesh Shot Dead Outside Her Bangalore Home


Source: FRANCE 24 English

North Korea Nuclear Crisis: South Korean, Russian, Japanese Leaders Hold Talks


Source: FRANCE 24 English

Aung San Suu Kyi Slams 'Iceberg of Misinformation' Over Rohingya Exodus


Source: FRANCE 24 English

EU Court Rejects Hungary, Slovak Case Against Taking Refugees


Source: FRANCE 24 English

French Left Divided, But Opposed to Macron's Reforms


Source: FRANCE 24 English

Kenya Back to the Polls: Landmark Ruling, Renewed Uncertainty


Source: FRANCE 24 English

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Congressional Leaders and Trump Administration Discuss Tax Reform


Statement from the Press Secretary 

This afternoon, key leaders from Congress and the Administration had a productive meeting at the White House with President Trump to discuss the priority of enacting historic tax reform that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-worker, and pro-America. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reducing the crushing burden of the Nation’s self-destructive tax code, which hurts our companies and our workers, and discussed their desire to make the tax code simple, fair, and easy to understand. They discussed House and Senate committee hearings on tax reform and agreed that committee activity should continue so that Congress can move to mark-ups on legislation as expeditiously as possible. President Trump expressed his resolve to encourage action and build public support for the passage of tax reform that creates jobs and raises wages for American workers. The leaders also discussed the critical need for funding to support the Hurricane Harvey rebuilding and recovery efforts in Texas and Louisiana. 

Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary