Firefighters run through fireball to escape L.A. explosion – Los Angeles Times
Firefighters run through fireball to escape L.A. explosion – Los Angeles Times

Firefighters were inside a burning downtown Los Angeles business Saturday evening when there was a huge explosion. The blast injured 12 first responders and spurred an investigation into its cause, fire officials said.

The explosion damaged several storefronts, melted fire helmets and left one fire truck burned and covered in debris. Officials said firefighters had to pass through the fireball to escape.

“Firefighters were coming out with obvious damage and burns,” said Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

They ran “straight through that ball of flame to get to safety across the street,” Scott said.

An initial investigation of the scene identified the business as Smoke Tokes, a warehouse distributor with supplies for butane hash oil, he said. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

The owners of Smoke Tokes could not be reached for comment.

Eleven firefighters received treatment for burn injuries at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, according to the LAFD. A 12th firefighter was treated and released at the emergency room Saturday night for “a minor extremity injury,” said Nicholas Prange, an LAFD spokesman.

As of Sunday morning, three firefighters had been discharged from the hospital. Eight remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

All were expected to survive, officials said. Doctors at USC said one of the firefighters would likely need skin grafts.

Firefighters first received a call about 6:30 p.m. Saturday about a structure fire in the 300 block of Boyd Street south of Little Tokyo.

While firefighters were inside attempting to find the source of the blaze, there was “a significant explosion, very high, very wide, rumbling the entire area,” Scott said. Some other firefighters were on the roof of the building when the blast occurred.

The fire was put out an hour and 42 minutes after the call came in, authorities said.

LAFD Chief Ralph M. Terrazas said the firefighters responding to the call sensed something was wrong inside the building but could not escape before the explosion.

Initially, officials could not account for all the firefighters.

In an LAFD radio transmission, an official is heard screaming, “Mayday! Explosion! I have two down firefighters.”

“When one of your own is injured … you can imagine the amount of mental stress,” Terrazas said. “A lot of our firefighters were traumatized.”

The fire broke out in an older business district off East 3rd Street known for its various smoke shops.

Prange said carbon dioxide and butane canisters were found inside the building but that it was still not clear what caused the blast.

The fire is being investigated by LAFD’s arson and counterterrorism section and by the Los Angeles Police Department’s major crimes division, Prange said.

In 2016, there was another major fire at a business called Smoke Tokes at an address nearby on 3rd Street.

It took more than 160 firefighters about two hours to put out that blaze, with the flames largely confined to the wholesaler and distributor of smoking paraphernalia, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

Firefighters encountered pressurized gas cylinders that exploded amid the inferno, fire officials said. “It was a tricky fire for us,” LAFD Battalion Chief Mark Curry said. “We had multiple explosions going off inside the fire while it was burning due to the butane containers releasing.”

There were no injuries in the 2016 fire. The LAFD later said in a statement that firefighters who entered the building found “intense fire in dense and highly flammable storage that included pressurized flammable gas cylinders, several of which were heard to explode.”

It was unclear whether that business and the one that burned Saturday were connected.

Jeralyn Cleveland was celebrating a family birthday party on the roof of the 13-story apartment building she manages three blocks away when she saw the explosion.

“Everyone in my building thought there was a bomb that went off,” said Cleveland, 37. “It was like a mushroom.”

Cleveland said there were small fires all the time in the neighborhood, which borders skid row, but she had never seen anything like this before.

Source Article from https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-17/firefighters-escape-downtown-la-explosion

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Pelosi: ‘No red lines’ for bill to help struggling state and local governments – NBCNews.com
Pelosi: ‘No red lines’ for bill to help struggling state and local governments – NBCNews.com

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday she has “no red lines” when it comes to passing hundreds of billions in emergency aid to state and local governments.

Her comments came after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said last week he wouldn’t support a new coronavirus relief bill without a provision removing liability from companies that bring workers back amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“My red line going forward on this bill is we need to provide protection, litigation protection, for those who have been on the front lines,” he told Fox News on Tuesday.

Speaking with CBS’ “Face the Nation” after the House passed Pelosi’s HEROES Act late last week, Pelosi was asked about McConnell’s stance.

“Well we have no red lines, but the fact is the best protection for our workers and our employers is to follow very good OSHA mandatory guidelines and we have that in our bill,” Pelosi said. “And that protects workers, protects their lives, as well as protects the employer if they follow the guidelines. Remember, when people go to work, they go home, they could bring it home to their children or they could bring it to a senior living in their home. This is beyond just the individual at work.”

The HEROES Act contains a provision requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue standards requiring workplaces to design and implement infection control plans in line with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, in addition to preventing workplaces from retaliating against workers who report workplace outbreak issues.

Among other provisions, the HEROES Act would provide nearly $1 trillion in emergency relief to struggling state and local governments that have seen revenue sources dry up amid the coronavirus pandemic. An NBC News survey of 33 states and Washington, D.C. found that the outbreak will cost states hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue in the upcoming fiscal year.

Congressional Republicans and the White House have said the bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. Pelosi said Sunday that “no bill” becomes law “without negotiations.” She said the prior four bills on coronavirus aid have all been passed in a bipartisan manner.

“The bill that Leader McConnell put forth, CARES 1, was his offer,” Pelosi said. “Nobody said it doesn’t have a chance because he just put it forth, the interim PPP bill was his offer.”

She said she has confidence significant aid will be passed for state and local governments because lawmakers know teachers, sanitation workers, health care workers, police and firefighters are all at risk of losing their jobs otherwise.

Pelosi’s comments echoed budget officials across the country who spoke with NBC News expressing hope that Congress will pass additional funding so they can avoid massive cuts. During the last economic downturn in 2009, the slow recovery for state and local governments put a drag on how quick the overall economy was able to emerge from the Great Recession.

Republicans, meanwhile, are split over the path forward for state relief — both on whether more money should be provided and if existing appropriated funds for states can be made more flexible. States received $150 billion in emergency funding in earlier COVID-19 legislation, but the Treasury Department has said that money can only be used to cover costs directly associated with the pandemic, not on filling budget gaps.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that “none” of the budget issues his state is facing is a result of any preexisting financial conditions. His state is facing a budget hole of more than $54 billion.

“We’re not looking for charity, we’re not looking for handouts,” Newsom said, adding that states “are facing unprecedented budgetary stress. It is incumbent upon the federal government to help support these states through this difficult time.”

Newsom added the funding is “not a red issue or a blue issue.”

“This is impacting every state in America,” he said.

Elsewhere, on “Face the Nation,” Gary Cohn, formerly Trump’s top economic adviser, said he thinks aid for state and local governments is “very important” and that states having to lay off such workers “would be the complete wrong outcome here.”

“So the federal government does have to step in and help out states just like they’ve helped small businesses and big businesses,” Cohn said. “They should help the states.”

But Cohn said that “doesn’t mean they should return the states to perfect financial condition.”

Source Article from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pelosi-no-red-lines-bill-help-struggling-state-local-governments-n1208896

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Sen. Ron Johnson says White House explained firing of State Department inspector general – CNN
Sen. Ron Johnson says White House explained firing of State Department inspector general – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/17/politics/ron-johnson-state-department-inspector-general-firing-cnntv/index.html

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Obama Again Blasts White House Reponse to Coronavirus Crisis – Slate
Obama Again Blasts White House Reponse to Coronavirus Crisis – Slate

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Source Article from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/05/obama-blasts-white-house-response-coronavirus-commencement.html

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11 firefighters injured in downtown Los Angeles explosion – The Washington Post
11 firefighters injured in downtown Los Angeles explosion – The Washington Post

“We’ve been saying for the last two months, even more than usual, how much we appreciate our medical personal and first responders,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said at the briefing, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, “and, tonight, I’m doubly and deeply grateful for both of them.”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/17/los-angeles-explosion/

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State polls suggest Biden has a clear national lead – CNN
State polls suggest Biden has a clear national lead – CNN

Why Trump’s enthusiasm edge over Biden could matter

Here are the two groups of voters who may determine 2020

History says whoever can best handle coronavirus will win the election. That should worry Trump.

Democrats are slight favorites for Senate control

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/17/politics/state-polls-2020-analysis/index.html

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Watch Now: Cuomo Giving Updates on Virus in New York – The New York Times
Watch Now: Cuomo Giving Updates on Virus in New York – The New York Times

Cases and deaths in New York State

See maps of the coronavirus outbreak in New York »

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/17/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html

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Mike Pompeo recommended Trump firing of State Department inspector general, White House says – CNBC
Mike Pompeo recommended Trump firing of State Department inspector general, White House says – CNBC

President Donald Trump fired the State Department’s inspector general on the recommendation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a White House official said Saturday. 

Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick Friday night, notifying Congress of the decision in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump, who has targeted several government agency watchdogs in the past several weeks, told Congress he no longer had full confidence in Linick, but did not provide an explanation as to why.

“Secretary Pompeo recommended the move, and President Trump agreed,” a White House official said.

Democratic lawmakers said the inspector general was investigating potential misconduct by Pompeo.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., launched an investigation into Linick’s removal Saturday, claiming Pompeo wanted the inspector general removed because the secretary was under investigation. Menendez and Engel have called for the White House to turn over records related to Linick’s firing. 

“Such an action, transparently designed to protect Secretary Pompeo from personal accountability, would undermine the foundation of our democratic institutions and may be an illegal act of retaliation,” the lawmakers said in press release Saturday. “This concern is amplified by the fact that it came only hours after the House of Representatives passed the Heroes Act, which contains additional legal protections for inspectors general.”

A Democratic aide told NBC News that Linick was scrutinizing Pompeo’s alleged misuse of a political appointee to perform person tasks for himself and his wife, Susan. 

The firing of Linick was also met with skepticism by some Republican lawmakers. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Trump must provide details to Congress about why Linick was removed. 

“As I’ve said before, Congress requires written reasons justifying an IG’s removal,” said Grassley, who co-chairs the Whistleblower Protection Caucus  “A general lack of confidence simply is not sufficient detail to satisfy Congress.” 

Linick was appointed to the role by the Obama administration and is being replaced by Stephen Akard, a former career foreign service officer with close ties to Vice President Mike Pence, according to the Associated Press. 

Menendez and Engel are also requesting information regarding Akard as part of their investigation.

Linick is the latest inspector general to be fired by Trump.

In April, he removed Glenn Fine, who was appointed the watchdog of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill just days before Trump’s move. Also in April, Trump fired the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson, who had overseen the whistleblower complaint that led to the president’s impeachment.

Earlier this month, Trump moved to replace Christi Grimm, the top watchdog at the Health and Human Services Department, a month after he criticized her for a report detailing “severe shortages” of coronavirus testing kits and other serious issues with the U.S. response to the pandemic.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/16/pompeo-urged-trump-to-fire-state-department-inspector-general.html

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Los-angeles-fire-explosion – The New York Times
Los-angeles-fire-explosion – The New York Times

The fire took place in a downtown district not far from Skid Row and the heart of Little Tokyo.

The area is rapidly gentrifying — a mix of senior housing, bars and restaurants, homeless encampments, wholesalers and small industrial facilities.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/us/los-angeles-fire-explosion.html

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Obama takes apparent dig at Trump’s coronavirus response – Business Insider – Business Insider
Obama takes apparent dig at Trump’s coronavirus response – Business Insider – Business Insider
  • Former President Barack Obama appeared to criticize the Trump administration during a virtual commencement address on Saturday.
  • Speaking to thousands of students graduating from historically black colleges and universities, Obama said the pandemic has shown that many leaders “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”
  • Less than two weeks earlier, Obama also described the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as “an absolute chaotic disaster.”
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Former President Barack Obama appeared to take a rare dig at the Trump administration during a speech on Saturday, decrying what he called a lack of leadership when it came to handling the coronavirus pandemic.

Obama spoke at a virtual commencement address for historically black colleges and universities, suggesting that graduates could not rely on current leadership to make the changes they hoped to see.

“More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many folks in charge know what they’re doing. A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge,” Obama said.

“If the world is going to get better, it’s going to be up to you,” he added.

Obama didn’t name President Donald Trump in his criticism, but the remarks were widely perceived to be about the federal government.

Watch Obama’s remarks below, beginning at the 1:47:00 mark.

 

Little more than a week earlier, Obama took a more pointed dig at the Trump administration during a private conference call with 3,000 members of the Obama Alumni Association.

“It would have been bad even with the best of governments,” Obama said, referring to the coronavirus crisis. “It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset — of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.”

So far, the US has confirmed more than 88,000 coronavirus-related deaths. The crisis has also slammed the economy, and some 36.5 million people have lost their jobs over an eight-week period.

During his remarks on Saturday, Obama acknowledged that black Americans have been the hardest-hit population in the outbreak sweeping across the country.

“Let’s be honest — a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country,” he said. “We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog, and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.”

The latter part of his remarks were a reference to Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a white father and son in Georgia earlier this year.

Obama also spent much of his address urging the HBCU graduates to reject motivations such as greed or self-preservation, and instead seek to help the most vulnerable.

“So rather than say, ‘What’s in it for me?’ or ‘What’s in it for my community? And to heck with everyone else,’ stand up for and join up with everyone who’s struggling,” he said. “Look out for folks whether they are white or black or Asian or Latino or Native American. As Fannie Lou Hamer once said, ‘nobody’s free until everybody’s free.'”

Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-takes-apparent-dig-at-trumps-coronavirus-response-2020-5

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New COVID-19 cases in New York coming from people leaving home – Cuomo – Reuters.com
New COVID-19 cases in New York coming from people leaving home – Cuomo – Reuters.com

(Reuters) – New York’s new confirmed COVID-19 cases are predominantly coming from people who left their homes to shop, exercise or socialize, rather than from essential workers, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday.

“That person got infected and went to the hospital or that person got infected and went home and infected the other people at home,” Cuomo said during his daily news conference on the coronavirus outbreak.

State data showed the number of new cases statewide has fluctuated between 2,100 and 2,500 per day. On Saturday, the number of new cases decreased to 2,419, from 2,762 on Friday.

Cuomo said while last week he had theorized that new cases were coming from essential workers, “that was exactly wrong.

“The infection rate among essential workers is lower than the general population and those new cases are coming predominantly from people who are not working and they are at home,” he said.

The state’s budget director, Robert Mujica, said officials expect to learn a lot more about the genesis of new cases from contact tracing over the next week.

Cuomo has said that New York was hiring thousands of workers to trace the contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus. Health experts say contact tracing is critical to isolating potentially contagious people in order to limit further outbreaks.

Cuomo said the five regions of the state that were allowed on Friday to reopen for business — out of 10 total regions — were required to have a certain number of tracers proportionate to their populations.

“The tracing operation is tremendously large and challenging,” he said.

New York state, home to both bustling Manhattan and hilly woods and farmland that stretch hundreds of miles north to the Canadian border, has been the global epicenter of the pandemic, but rural areas have not been nearly as badly affected as New York City, the country’s biggest city at roughly 8.4 million people.

Driven by the impact in New York City, the state has accounted for more than one-third of the nearly 80,000 American who have died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, according to a Reuters tally.

Statewide, the outbreak is ebbing, with coronavirus hospitalizations falling to 6,220, more than a third of the level at the peak one month ago, state data showed.

In the five regions where restrictions were eased on Friday, in central and upstate New York, construction and manufacturing work was allowed to resume, and retail businesses offering curbside pickup or in-store pickup for orders placed ahead were allowed to reopen. A broader pause on activity in New York City and elsewhere was extended until at least May 28.

New York, along with the nearby states of New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware, will partially reopen beaches for the Memorial Day holiday weekend on May 23-25, Cuomo has said.

New York’s Watkins Glen International auto race circuit and several horse racing tracks in the state can reopen without fans from June 1, the governor said on Saturday.

Cuomo warned that with an increase in economic activity, New Yorkers should expect an increase in coronavirus cases.

“We don’t want to see a spike,” he said. “It depends on how people react and it depends on their personal behavior.”

Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Additional reporting by Herb Lash and Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis

Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-usa/new-covid-19-cases-in-new-york-coming-from-people-leaving-home-cuomo-idUSKBN22S0S3

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Over 200 firefighters are responding to a blaze in downtown Los Angeles – CNN
Over 200 firefighters are responding to a blaze in downtown Los Angeles – CNN

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/16/us/los-angeles-building-explosion-fire/index.html

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Barack Obama Pummels Unnamed Donald Trump Over “Why Things Are So Screwed Up” In ‘Graduate Together’ Commencement Speech – Deadline
Barack Obama Pummels Unnamed Donald Trump Over “Why Things Are So Screwed Up” In ‘Graduate Together’ Commencement Speech – Deadline

President Barack Obama never mentioned Donald Trump in his virtual Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 commencement speech tonight, but it was clear to everyone in coronavirus lockdown and elsewhere that he was throwing shade and throwing down the gauntlet to his successor – for the second time in less than 12 hours.

“Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy, that’s how little kids think, Obama told a multi-network and multi-digital platform audience of millions of high school seniors who won’t have an in-person graduation this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grownups with fancy titles and important jobs still think that way,” the former POTUS added in this time of economic near collapse and “mass uncertainty” because of the public health crisis.

“That’s why things are so screwed up,” Obama said, noting the flailing response and financial free fall to the fatal virus “pulled back the curtain” and has “laid bare a lot of our country’s deep-seated problems. In another comment that sounded like a jab at the notoriously self-absorbed Trump, Obama went on to point out that in his view “our society and our democracy only work when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other.”

“It’s woken a lot of young people up to the fact that the old ways of doing things, just don’t work,” the former leader of the free world stated of the consequences of coronavirus before taking another swing at the unmentioned Trump for not only not having “all the answers” but “not even asking the right questions.”

Even as many states begin to reopen from shelter-in-place orders, COVID-19 has claimed over 90,000 American lives in the past few months. As the Trump administration has stumbled repeatedly and now is pointing fingers at the Obama administration for alleged empty stockpiles, there have been more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of the respiratory disease around the country so far – with worries another deadly wave could come later this year.

Noting the “usual pressures of growing up,” self-described “old guy” Obama shifted into his once familiar wordsmith optimism and told the grads watching “not to be afraid” and that they “could make things better” if they were “part of the solution, instead of part of the problem”

He also listed off the contemporary challenges of “social media, reports of school shootings and the spectre of climate change.” Then, with an aside to Netflix’s very well watched Tiger King and being stuck under the same roof as your parents due to stay-at-home orders, POTUS 44 added, “just as you’ve been looking forward to proms, senior nights, graduation ceremonies and let’s face it, a whole bunch of parties, the world is turned upside down by a global pandemic.”

In calling out what he sees as the lack of leadership on the part of Team Trump, Obama was the headliner tonight for Graduate Together, but the one-hour event was packed with marquee names.

Strolling through a virtual environment of high school seniors, LeBron James kicked things off with a “thank you” to this year’s grads for their “sacrifice” during this stay-at-home time and a declaration that “there is no doubt in my mind that the class of 2020 is going to be something special”

As well as President Obama and the NBA legend, the pre-recorded Graduate Together also featured a ton of grads from across the nation, a “who is leading matters” proclaiming Megan Rapinoe, Shaquille O’Neal, Zendaya, Brandan Bmike Odums, National Teacher of the Year Rodney Robinson, Kumail Nanjiani, Lena Waithe, Ben Platt, and self-described “global citizen” Yara Shahidi. Also on board was Nobel Prize winner Malala, Olivia Wilde, Pharrell Williams, Bad Bunny, Kevin Hart (who gave a shout out to the public school system and his “guys” L.J. and B.O.), H.E.R., the Jonas Brothers featuring KAROL G, Alicia Keys, Timothée Chalamet and Lana Condor, among others.

The refreshingly fast-paced remote ceremony was put together by the XQ Institute, The LeBron James Family Foundation, and The Entertainment Industry Foundation and supported by American Federation of Teachers. In what has become a common occurrence in these coronavirus lockdown times with remote benefit concerts and more, Graduate Together was shown live at 8 PM ET on CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, California Music Channel, ESPN, The CW, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Twitter, Freeform, MSNBC, Univision and over a dozen other outlets and platforms.

As widely seen and wide reaching as Graduate Together was, it wasn’t the only show in town or online for the millions graduating without the right of passage of a graduation ceremony this year.

Earlier in the day, a “divisive tribalism” warning ex-President Bill Clinton, the Fonz himself Henry Winkler, Seinfeld star Jason Alexander, Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals and others also gave remote remarks and “congratulations” to the “amazing” graduating class of 2020.

Even earlier than that on Saturday,  Obama himself went online to the grads of historically black colleges and universities in a speech that ripped the “folks in charge” AKA Trump and his administration over their widely criticized fumbling of the COVID-19 crisis. “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge,” POTUS 44 shrived POTUS 45, who has started peddling a flimsy “Obamagate” national security scandal in an effort to shift focus away from the ongoing pandemic.

Undoubtedly the ex-Celebrity Apprentice host will respond on social media and through his surrogates of sorts at FNC. Yet, with the 2020 election shaping up to be a bare knuckles clash and the suddenly more engaged former POTUS obviously playing a big role in trying to get his VP Joe Biden elected, Obama looks to get the last word in the commencement battle. Obama is already schedule hit the virtual stage with former First Lady Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga, at June 6’s Dear Class of 2020 YouTube Originals’ virtual commencement event.

No word on if any major school or organization has asked Trump to talk to them for the grads of 2020.

Source Article from https://deadline.com/2020/05/barack-obama-graduate-together-speech-coronavirus-livestream-lebron-james-bill-clinton-1202936655/

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Trump Ousted State Dept. Watchdog at Pompeo’s Urging; Democrats Open Inquiry – The New York Times
Trump Ousted State Dept. Watchdog at Pompeo’s Urging; Democrats Open Inquiry – The New York Times

Two other investigations spearheaded by Mr. Linick’s office created friction among senior political appointees at the State Department. The office said in November that it had found that appointees at the agency, when it was led by Rex W. Tillerson, had retaliated against a career civil servant, Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, because of her Iranian-American ethnicity and a perception that she held political views different from those of top Trump officials. Brian H. Hook, then the head of the office of policy planning, where Ms. Nowrouzzadeh worked, was scrutinized in that inquiry. Mr. Hook is now the special representative for Iran and works closely with Mr. Pompeo.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/us/politics/linick-investigation-pompeo.html

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Cuomo says NY can avoid coronavirus ‘spike’ — despite inevitable rise amid reopenings – New York Post
Cuomo says NY can avoid coronavirus ‘spike’ — despite inevitable rise amid reopenings – New York Post

Deaths from the coronavirus ticked higher in New York over the last 24 hours, but hospitalizations and new cases continued to decline, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who warned Saturday about complacency amid data showing reason for optimism.

An additional 157 people died of COVID-19 Friday, 105 in hospitals and 52 in nursing homes, a jump from the 132 recorded the day before, the governor said during his coronavirus briefing in Albany. The state’s death toll now stands at 22,478.

“That number has been stubborn,” Cuomo said of the daily death toll. “We just need to make sure we don’t go back to the hell we’ve gone through.”

Hospitalizations fell to 6,220 — a level last seen at the start of the pandemic, and a third of the peak number.

New cases fell to 2,419, from 2,762 reported the day before, the governor said.

Five regions in the state were allowed to reopen for business Friday, and Cuomo said he expects to see an increase in cases as more areas are phased in.

“You’re in control of what happens. How you act will determine what happens,” he said. “If people are smart, then yes, you will see an increase in the numbers, but you won’t see a spike.”

“Be smart, be diligent and don’t underestimate this virus,”  he added.

Nothing is certain with the coronavirus, said Cuomo, admitting his surprise when he learned that the majority of new cases were seen in people who left their homes to exercise, socialize or shop, rather than essential workers.

“That was exactly wrong,” he said. “The infection rate among essential workers is lower than the general population and those new cases are coming predominantly from people who are not working and they are at home.”

The state’s budget director, Robert Mujica, said officials expect to “learn a lot more” about how the virus travels from contact tracing over the next week.

Also Saturday, Suffolk and Westchester, were added to the list of those approved to begin elective surgeries and ambulatory care services.

“We want to make sure people who need medical services are getting medical services. There was a period when hospitals were dealing basically with COVID patients. We are past that period. If you need medical attention, if you need a medical procedure, you should get it,” Cuomo said.

“Hospitals are safe places to go to. The extent people are worried about going to hospitals, there is no reason,” he said, while still urging vigilance — and common sense.

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2020/05/16/cuomo-warns-of-inevitable-rise-in-cases-amid-reopening/

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Watch Obama’s Commencement Speech to High School Seniors – The New York Times
Watch Obama’s Commencement Speech to High School Seniors – The New York Times

“Whether you realize it or not, you’ve got more road maps, more role models, and more resources than the Civil Rights generation did,” he said. “You’ve got more tools, technology, and talents than my generation did. No generation has been better positioned to be warriors for justice and remake the world.”

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/us/barack-obama-2020-commencement-graduation-speech.html

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Trump fires State Department inspector general Steve Linick – Vox.com
Trump fires State Department inspector general Steve Linick – Vox.com

President Donald Trump fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday, continuing a pattern of ousting independent watchdogs that has alarmed government ethics experts and top Democrats.

Linick’s firing is of particular concern to both groups — Democrats have described the inspector general’s removal as an apparent attempt to retaliate against Linick for reportedly opening an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

A Democratic congressional aide told Vox’s Alex Ward Linick was looking into the potential “misuse of a political appointee” by Pompeo, including having that appointee carry out “personal tasks” for the secretary of state and his wife.

And CNN reports that a State Department official “confirmed that Pompeo made the recommendation that Linick be removed, but the official did not know the reasons why.”

“The President’s late-night, weekend firing of the State Department Inspector General has accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath.”

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also criticized the president in unusually harsh terms.

“This firing is the outrageous act of a President trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the Secretary of State, from accountability,” he said in a statement. “I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo. Mr. Linick’s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation.”

Trump did not specify why he believes Linick needs to be removed in a letter he sent to Pelosi and other leaders, informing them of his intent to remove Linick from his post in 30 days (the amount of advanced notice that must be given to lawmakers for personnel changes like this). Instead, the president wrote he “no longer” has the “fullest confidence” in the inspector general.

While Democrats appear to believe an inquiry into Pompeo may be behind this loss of confidence, it’s also possible that Trump plans to release Linick due to his small role in 2019’s impeachment proceedings. While he did not testify, Linick did hand over documents to Congress that had been given to the State Department by Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. A number of officials involved in those proceedings were removed from their posts, including Michael Atkinson, the former inspector general of the intelligence community; Gordon Sondland, the former US ambassador to the EU; and Ukraine expert Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

Linick, who was appointed to his role as the watchdog of the State Department by President Barack Obama in 2013, will be replaced by Stephen Akard. A former Foreign Service officer who leads the State Department’s Office of Foreign Missions, Akard previously served as chief of staff for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation under then-Gov. Mike Pence.

In general, the job of an inspector general is a nonpartisan one — they are tasked with auditing and investigating government agencies to evaluate efficiency and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement — but Trump’s critics fear he has removed Linick for purely political reasons.

And Democrats have signaled plans to investigate Linick’s dismissal before his tenure ends in June. Saturday, Engel and the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, sent the White House a letter promising to “look deeply into” the inspector general’s removal. To facilitate this inquiry, the lawmakers requested the Trump administration to preserve all records related to Linick’s removal — and to send those documents to Congress by May 22.

Trump is developing a habit of firing watchdogs

Trump’s firing of Linick is only the latest incident of the president removing inspectors general whom he sees as disloyal or a potential obstacle to his political agenda.

At the beginning of May, Trump moved to replace Christi Grimm, the principal deputy inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services, weeks after she put out a report that pointed out shortages of testing supplies at hospitals as the coronavirus pandemic was spreading across the US.

As Vox’s Alex Ward explained after the announcement, Trump’s anger at Grimm for embarrassing him by publishing a report on the facts of the situation was easy to discern:

Trump was asked about this report during an April 6 press conference with the government’s coronavirus task force. He fumed at the conclusions.

“It’s just wrong. Did I hear the word ‘inspector general’? Really? It’s wrong. And they’ll talk to you about it. It’s wrong,” he asserted. And then he wanted to know exactly who wrote the report. “Where did he come from — the inspector general? What’s his name? … No, what’s his name? What’s his name? … If you find me his name, I’d appreciate it.”

When it became clear to him that Grimm served in the Obama administration, he derided the report as “a typical fake-news deal.” But, Grimm is a career official who’s been in government since the Clinton administration and has worked for two Democrats and two Republicans, including Trump. She took over her current role as acting inspector general after the last person in that position left.

Trump’s move to replace Grimm came after firing two other inspector generals the previous month.

In April he fired Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who forwarded the Ukraine whistleblower’s report to Congress and triggered Trump’s impeachment. Then, just days later, Trump ousted Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general for the Defense Department, from his job overseeing coronavirus relief spending.

Government ethics experts have consistently sounded the alarms over Trump’s firing spree and have described it as an authoritarian governance strategy.

“The assault on the [inspector generals] is late-stage corruption, and Trump’s kicking down one of the last bulwarks that stand between us and the burgeoning corruption-driven authoritarianism,” tweeted Walter Shaub, the former White House ethics chief who resigned in 2017, in response to Linick’s ouster, adding that Trump’s moves are signs of a “collapsing republic.”

Support Vox’s explanatory journalism

Every day at Vox, we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you, and our audience around the world, with information that has the power to save lives. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower you through understanding. Vox’s work is reaching more people than ever, but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles, videos, and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today.

Source Article from https://www.vox.com/2020/5/16/21260887/trump-state-department-inspector-general-fired-steve-linick

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The Bill Passed For Second Stimulus Check And Hazard Pay For Essential Workers – Forbes
The Bill Passed For Second Stimulus Check And Hazard Pay For Essential Workers – Forbes

The House successfully passed a fourth stimulus relief package yesterday. The $3 trillion Heroes Act contains a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, $200 billion in hazard pay for essential workers, six additional months of COVID-19 unemployment, funding for state, local and tribal governments and food and housing assistance among several other things. Overall, three different stimulus relief packages have so far gone on to become law and are currently being implemented throughout the nation. Though the Republican-led Senate is pushing against injecting more stimulus money into the economy, Friday’s House vote was a huge step towards delivering a fourth stimulus package to America.

Most Americans, including the unemployed, employed, employers, governments, students and families, have an interest in many aspects of the newest stimulus package; however, some aspects stand out more than most for some I have spoken with. Based on these studies and the near daily conversations I have with a cross-section of employers, executives and employees, there is huge interest in two specific core aspects. A bunch of discussion occurs around whether Congress will pass a second round of stimulus checks and whether it will pass hazard pay for essential workers.

Here are the questions we have been getting and how The Heroes Act that the House passed yesterday advances some answers.

On Stimulus Checks

The three most asked questions go like this:

  1. Will Congress send out more stimulus checks at all?
  2. Will they provide one more stimulus check, or will they do monthly stimulus checks?
  3. How much more stimulus money will people get? If any?

This is what we now know.

The bill the House passed does include a second $1,200 stimulus check. If the bill becomes law—yes—another one-time stimulus check would go out to those who qualify. The House is currently agreeing to send only one more stimulus check and not the monthly stimulus checks that most Americans say they want. Also, the amount of the second stimulus check would be the exact same amount as the first one with an increase in the amount provided for children. Where the first $1,200 stimulus check provided $500 for children, this second round provides the same $1,200 for all eligible members of a household, including children, up to a maximum $6,000 in payments for a family.

Individuals would receive $1,200, married joint filers would receive $2,400, and children (up to three) could receive $1,200 with a maximum amount of $6,000.

Just as with the first $1,200 stimulus check, eligibility is based on income. The income limits for the second check are the same as with the first. Individuals must earn $75,000 per year or less to receive the full payment, and married couples need to earn $150,000 or less per year for the full payment. The $1,200 amount decreases and then phases out for those earning above these limits.

On hazard pay for essential workers

The three most asked questions go like this:

  1. Will hazard pay be provided to low-income essential workers on the front lines?
  2. What is meant by essential workers, and which ones could end up getting hazard pay?
  3. How will America do more than thank essential workers? Or will they not do anything more at all?

This is what we now know.

The House included hazard pay for essential workers in the bill, and it passed. The $3 trillion stimulus package specifically sets aside $200 billion for essential workers in the form of hazard pay for essential workers (and yes, this includes low-income workers on the frontlines). This hazard pay money is being called the Heroes Fund. This fact sheet describes that $200 billion will be used to “ensure that essential workers who have risked their lives working during the pandemic receive hazard pay.”

Well who are the essential workers?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines essential workers as those employees who “conduct a range of operations and services that are typically essential to continued critical infrastructure viability, including staffing operations centers, maintaining and repairing critical infrastructure, operating call centers, working construction, and performing operational functions, among others. It also includes workers who support crucial supply chains and enable functions for critical infrastructure. The industries they support represent, but are not limited to, medical and healthcare, telecommunications, information technology systems, defense, food and agriculture, transportation and logistics, energy, water and wastewater, law enforcement, and public works.”

DHS provides this essential worker advisory memo as well as these different categories of essential workers.

But here’s my take on essential workers.

It is absolutely critical that Congress and state and local governments prioritize lower-income essential workers who have public-facing roles on the frontlines of this pandemic. They are most in need and most at risk. The point needs to be made that although $200 billion is indeed a lot of money; it is not enough to give a decent hazard pay bonus to all the 17 different categories of essential workers that DHS identifies. If the $200 billion in hazard pay becomes law, decisions must be made about who gets priority. My recommendation is that America shows thanks and appreciation by doing all it can to get hazard pay to the following essential workers. This list is not all-inclusive by any means, but it includes many who are often commonly discussed.

  • grocery clerks and retail workers who support getting food, beverage and other critical products to humans and animals; restaurant workers, food manufacturers and suppliers
  • maintenance workers, and janitors, housekeepers, sanitarians; sanitation and pest control workers who support food manufacturing processes, etc.
  • mortuary professionals and those who handle, recover or otherwise deal with the dead; funeral, cremation, burial, cemetery workers, etc.
  • police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services (EMS), and other security and safety personnel with higher-levels of public interaction
  • social workers and others who must be on the frontlines to work with abused and neglected individuals as well as teachers who must interact with students in a front-facing role (those who must hold in-person classes)
  • agriculture, seafood and meat harvesters, producers, etc.; farmers and other corresponding roles such as rancher
  • postal workers and other transportation and delivery workers who support agriculture or deliver essential goods and products
  • childcare workers, cafeteria workers and others who must necessarily support the ability of other essential workers to be able to work.
  • Other essential workers who are mostly public-facing on the frontlines.

Does it even matter that the House passed the bill if the Senate is against it?

Yes it matters, and this is why.

While a bill can only become law after both chambers of Congress pass it and the president then signs it, it’s important to remember that nothing happens without a first step. Yesterday’s bill passage was that first step, and Speaker Pelosi communicated that The Heroes Act outlines the House’s priorities for a fourth-phase stimulus package. She indicated that it would be used to set the baseline for beginning negotiations with the Senate and the White House.

It’s the economy, stupid.

James Carville’s old adage, “It’s the economy, stupid” still fits today, and it will certainly lead the way on any future stimulus checks or hazard pay decisions.

Even a position like “it’s dead on arrival” can be changed. This is the current position of Senate Republicans, but the economy will drive further action or inaction by the Senate. Right now, the economy continues to struggle badly. More than 36 million new jobless claims have been filed in eight weeks, and we are in a recession that is arguably headed to a depression. The most recent unemployment rate was reported as 14.7%, but many experts acknowledge that unemployment is really around 25%. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin admitted on Fox News Sunday that “real” unemployment is much higher than 14.7% before agreeing that it’s probably really 25% and that things would get worse before getting better.

I recommend that rather than listen to the bluster and partisan tones of Democrats and Republicans in Congress just pay attention to the economy. Pay attention to unemployment. Pay attention to job losses and notice whether or not those jobs are expected to come back. Listen closely to what employers (large and small) are saying. Hone in on corporate bankruptcies and assess the impact on hiring. These factors as well as others will give you more insight into what Congress might do than anything any members say.

And now that the House has passed another stimulus package, by paying attention the economy, you can better gauge whether or not the Senate will ultimately become more agreeable to negotiating with the House about taking action and passing more stimulus checks, hazard pay for essential workers and all the rest. To learn more about The Heroes Act, check out this brief fact sheet. To read the full Heroes Act bill, go here.

Recommended reading:

This Is The Most Important Question Leaders Ask During A Crisis

Stimulus checks.

The $2,000 Second Stimulus Check: What Americans Say About It

The $2,000 Vs. The $1,200 Stimulus Check: Four Key Payment Differences

Emergency Cash: Monthly Payments Up To $5,500 For Families And $2,000 For Individuals

Hazard pay for essential workers.

These Two Groups Of Employees Need New Stimulus Checks More Than Most

$200 Billion In Hazard Pay: These Essential Workers Must Get Their Fair Share

New Proposal: $1,920 Monthly Pay Raise For Essential Workers

Up To $25,000 Hazard Pay For Essential Workers ‘One Of Our Very Highest Priorities’

Senate Proposal: Up To $25,000 Pay Raise For These Essential Workers

Unemployment and the economy.

Depression Is On The Rise With High Unemployment And Career Instability

3 Bitter Truths About Coronavirus Job Losses And The Economy

16% Unemployment This Summer: CBO’s Prediction And How To Prepare For It

Source Article from https://www.forbes.com/sites/terinaallen/2020/05/16/the-bill-passed-for-second-stimulus-check-and-hazard-pay-for-essential-workers/

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Top Democrats launch investigation into late-night firing of the State Department inspector general – The Washington Post
Top Democrats launch investigation into late-night firing of the State Department inspector general – The Washington Post

Menendez, the ranking Democrat of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, had called the firing “shameful” in a late Friday tweet. “Another late Friday night attack on independence, accountability, and career officials,” he wrote. “At this point, the President’s paralyzing fear of any oversight is undeniable.”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/16/state-department-inspector-general-fired-democrats-decry-dangerous-pattern-retaliation/

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HEROES Act would provide another stimulus check, broader student loan relief – CNBC
HEROES Act would provide another stimulus check, broader student loan relief – CNBC

The bill includes a provision for another round of stimulus checks, or economic impact payments, of up to $6,000 per household. They would be structured similarly to the first round: Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get a one-time $1,200 check, and couples earning up to $150,000 would be eligible for $2,400.

There are a few key differences from the first round, though. For one, a maximum of three dependents, regardless of age, would also get $1,200. The first round of stimulus checks excluded adult dependents, including many college students. Additionally, immigrants with taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) would also be eligible for a payment this time around.

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/16/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-heroes-act.html

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Trump’s Firing of Steve Linick an ‘Unlawful Act of Retaliation’ for Pompeo Inquiry, Democrats Say – Newsweek
Trump’s Firing of Steve Linick an ‘Unlawful Act of Retaliation’ for Pompeo Inquiry, Democrats Say – Newsweek

President Donald Trump fired the State Department Inspector General Steve Linick on Friday in a move Democrats condemned as an “unlawful act of retaliation” for starting an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump confirmed the decision to remove Linick, the latest government watchdog to be fired by the administration in recent months, in a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“As is the case with regard to other positions where I, as President, have the power of appointment, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, it is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspector General,” Trump wrote. “That is no longer the case with regard to this Inspector General.”

As first reported by Politico, Linick will be replaced by Stephen Akard, the current Director of the Office of Foreign Missions.

Akard is also a close ally of Mike Pence and worked as the chief of staff for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation when the Vice President was the state’s governor.

“I can confirm that Mr. Linick was fired,” a State Department spokesperson told to Newsweek. “The State Department is happy to announce that Ambassador Stephen J. Akard will now lead the Office of the Inspector General at the State Department… and we look forward to him leading the Office of the Inspector General.”

The State Department did not give a reason for Linick‘s dismissal.

In a statement, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said Linick‘s removal arrived after he opened an investigation into Pompeo for alleged abuse of power.

“This firing is the outrageous act of a President trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the Secretary of State, from accountability,” Engel said. “I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo. Mr. Linick‘s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation.

“This President believes he is above the law. As he systematically removes the official independent watchdogs from the Executive Branch, the work of the Committee on Foreign Affairs becomes that much more critical. In the days ahead, I will be looking into this matter in greater detail, and I will press the State Department for answers.”

Linick—who played a small role in Trump’s impeachment trial after providing House members documents that the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, gave to the State Department—is the latest inspector general to be fired late by Trump.

In April 3, Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson was also dismissed what critics argued was retaliation for his handling of the whistleblower report regarding Trump’s phone call to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which triggered the impeachment proceedings against him.

Four days later, Trump fired Glenn Fine, acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense, who was tasked with overseeing the $2.2 trillion in spending for coronavirus relief.

On May 1, Trump also fired Christi Grimm from her role in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG), after authoring a report detailing a lack of testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Pelosi said that the firing shows that Trump has “accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation” against public servants investigating his administration.

“Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath,” she added.

“The President must cease his pattern of reprisal and retaliation against the public servants who are working to keep Americans safe, particularly during this time of global emergency.”

Sen. Bob Menendez also called Linick‘s ouster “shameful.”

“Another late Friday night attack on independence, accountability, and career officials,” Menendez tweeted. “At this point, the president’s paralyzing fear of any oversight is undeniable.”

The State Department has been contacted for further comment.

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Source Article from https://www.newsweek.com/trump-steve-linick-mike-pompeo-investigation-fired-1504548

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