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Later, McConnell met with Republicans who are working the scaled-back, bipartisan measure, including Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Across Capitol Hill, an allied bipartisan “problem solvers” group claimed growing momentum at an outdoor news conference.

Source Article from https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-second-coronavirus-stimulus-check-updates-20201203-f4u23mdrevhrxgi3q532wjhb2e-story.html

An Ethiopian Airlines jet faltered and crashed Sunday shortly after takeoff from the country’s capital, spreading global grief to families in 35 countries that had a loved one among the 157 people who were killed.

Three Austrian physicians. The co-founder of an international aid organization. A career ambassador. The wife and children of a Slovak legislator. A Nigerian-born Canadian college professor, author and satirist. They were all among the passengers who died Sunday morning when the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya.

The airline has said eight Americans were killed.

Body bags were spread out nearby while Red Cross and other workers looked for remains.

Around the world, families were gripped by grief. At the Addis Ababa airport, a woman called a phone number in vain. “Where are you, my son?” she said, in tears. Others cried as they approached the terminal.

At the Nairobi airport, hopes quickly dimmed for loved ones. “I just pray that he is safe or he was not on it,” said Agnes Muilu, who had come to pick up her brother.

Henom Esayas, whose sister’s husband was killed, told The Associated Press they were startled when a stranger picked up their frantic calls to his phone, told them he had found it in the debris and promptly switched it off.

DEBRIS OFF MADAGASCAR ‘MOST LIKELY’ FROM MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT 370, REPORT SAYS

Adrian Toole said his 36-year-old daughter Joanna was traveling for her work for the United Nations. (Facebook)

The father of a British woman named Joanna Toole has told the DevonLive website that he was informed she’d died in the crash.

Adrian Toole said his 36-year-old daughter Joanna was traveling for her work for the United Nations.

He told the website she was a fervent environmentalist who had worked on animal welfare issues since she was a child.

He said, “Joanna’s work was not a job, it was her vocation.”

Toole said his daughter used to bring home pigeons and rats in need of care and had traveled to the remote Faroe Islands to try to stop whaling there.

She is one of seven British nationals confirmed to have died in the crash.

According to her Facebook page, she worked for the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Ethiopia’s capital on Sunday morning, killing all 157 on board, authorities said, as grieving families rushed to airports in Addis Ababa and the destination, Nairobi. (AP Photo/Yidnek Kirubel)

Another victim, Cedric Asiavugwa, a law student at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., was on his way to Nairobi after the death of his fiancee’s mother, the university said in a statement.

Asiavugwa, who was in his third year at the law school, was born and raised in Mombasa, Kenya. Before he came to Georgetown, he worked with groups helping refugees in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the university said, adding that his family and friends “remembered him as a kind, compassionate and gentle soul, known for his beautifully warm and infectious smile.”

Shocked leaders of the United Nations, the U.N. refugee agency and the World Food Program announced that colleagues had been on the plane. The U.N. migration agency estimated some 19 U.N.-affiliated employees were killed. Both Addis Ababa and Nairobi are major hubs for humanitarian workers, and many people were on their way to a large U.N. environmental conference set to begin Monday in Nairobi.

The Addis Ababa-Nairobi route links East Africa’s two largest economic powers. Travelers and tour groups crowd the Addis Ababa airport’s waiting areas, along with businessmen from China, Gulf nations and elsewhere.

A list of the dead released by Ethiopian Airlines included passengers from China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Israel, India and Somalia. Kenya lost 32 citizens. Canada, 18. Several countries including the United States lost four or more people.

The State Department said it would contact victims’ family members directly and that “out of respect for the privacy of the families, we won’t have any additional comments about the victims.”

A brief State Department statement said U.S. embassies in Addis Ababa and Nairobi were working with Ethiopia’s government and Ethiopian Airlines “to offer all possible assistance.”

Ethiopian officials declared Monday a day of mourning.

The Ethiopian plane was new, delivered to the airline in November. The Boeing 737 Max 8 was one of 30 meant for the airline, Boeing said in July. The jet’s last maintenance was on Feb. 4, and it had flown just 1,200 hours.

The plane crashed six minutes after departure, plowing into the ground at Hejere near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 31 miles outside Addis Ababa, at 8:44 a.m.

There was no immediate indication why the plane went down in clear weather while on a flight to Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya.

Members of the Ethiopian community taking part in a special prayer for the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crash, at the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada Saint Mary Cathedral in Toronto, on Sunday. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration said it would join the National Transportation Safety Board in assisting Ethiopian authorities with the crash investigation. Boeing planned to send a technical team to Ethiopia.

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The crash shattered more than two years of relative calm in African skies, where travel had long been chaotic. It also was a serious blow to state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, which has expanded to become the continent’s largest and best-managed carrier and turned Addis Ababa into the gateway to Africa.

African air travel has improved in recent years, with the International Air Transport Association in November noting “two years free of any fatalities on any aircraft type.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/world/ethiopian-airlines-plane-crash-spreading-global-grief-to-families-in-35-countries


Gov. Gavin Newsom | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

09/30/2020 06:27 PM EDT

Updated 09/30/2020 08:30 PM EDT


OAKLAND — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed policing bills that ban chokeholds, allow the state Department of Justice to investigate police shootings and give counties more oversight of sheriff’s departments.

Impact: The signings represent a win for police reform advocates and Democrats who introduced a wave of bills after the May police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Still, the moment is bittersweet for these groups after some of the most aggressive proposals — including bills to establish a police decertification process and mandate officers intercede to stop excessive force — stalled in the Legislature.

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The new laws: CA AB1506 (19R), by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), is the biggest breakthrough for legislative advocates for changing police practices. They tried and failed in past years to overhaul the investigatory process for police shootings and other uses of lethal force. The bill will establish an investigative unit within the Department of Justice to handle investigations of officer-involved shootings and lethal force when requested by local law enforcement agencies or district attorneys.

“This has been an effort before George Floyd, but the murder of George Floyd before our eyes put these issues in the spotlight, and it allowed us to get bipartisan support,” McCarty said, explaining it took three and a half years to get the bill enacted.

CA AB1196 (19R), by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), prohibits officers from using carotid restraints or chokeholds, techniques that have come under increased scrutiny in the last few months. The change comes after local law enforcement agencies around the state and country quickly banned the technique in the days following Floyd’s death as a result of an officer kneeling on his neck.

Newsom signed another measure authored by McCarty, CA AB 1185 (19R), that will give county officials more oversight of sheriff’s departments and grant them more authority to collect records from a department in the course of an investigation. The bill specifically authorizes a county to establish a sheriff oversight board and an office of the inspector general that can issue subpoenas.

Later Wednesday, Newsom’s office announced he signed CA AB 846 (19R), by Assemblymembers Autumn Burke (D-Marina del Rey) and Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), which requires law enforcement agencies to evaluate prospective officers for any potential biases related to race, religion, gender or other attributes protected from discrimination.

What’s next: Legislative leaders have committed to making police reform a priority in 2021 after a half-dozen bills died at the end of a chaotic session.

The most contentious is CA SB731 (19R), by Sen. Steve Bradford (D-Gardena), which would have established a system for decertifying peace officers who have committed serious offenses or abuses on the job. California is one of only five states that don’t have a process for pulling an officer’s badge if they’ve committed a crime, which allows problem officers to bounce between departments.

Another measure that will likely be reintroduced next session include an effort by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) that would mandate specific steps an officer has to take when witnessing another officer using excessive force. Other proposals likely to resurface include a ban on using rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray during protests and a requirement that all use-of-force incidents are subject to public disclosure.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/09/30/newsom-to-sign-chokehold-ban-police-shooting-oversight-bill-1319013

Inland flooding is the leading cause of death associated with tropical cyclones in the past 50 years, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On average, damage from inland floods costs more than any other severe weather event. It’s a problem from the mountains of western North Carolina, where Tropical Storm Fred killed five people last week, to the streets of Dearborn, Mich., where heavy rains have repeatedly overwhelmed the sewer systems and destroyed homes.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/08/23/tennessee-floods-show-pressing-climate-danger-across-america-wall-water/

Firefighters surveyed the Soda Rock Winery as it burned during the Kincade Fire and flames raced through Healdsburg, Calif., on Sunday.

Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images


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Firefighters surveyed the Soda Rock Winery as it burned during the Kincade Fire and flames raced through Healdsburg, Calif., on Sunday.

Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

A fire that has been burning through the wine country of California’s Sonoma County for the past few days is now spurring evacuations in its largest city.

And as firefighters work to control blazes in both Northern and Southern California, even residents who aren’t running for their lives are dealing with other effects of the fires: rolling blackouts and poor air quality.

Some 180,000 people are being asked to leave their homes in Northern California as the Kincade Fire threatens the city of Santa Rosa. “This is the largest evacuation that any of us at the Sheriff’s Office can remember. Take care of each other,” the office tweeted.

At 3:18 a.m., the city of Healdsburg alerted residents, “Winds have kicked up and the Kincade Fire is approaching. … If you are still in town, LEAVE NOW.”

The Kincade Fire is just 11% contained after three days and has burned about 26,000 acres. Smoke from the fires is affecting the entire Bay Area, though in most of the region, air quality was not expected to exceed the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range.

PG&E, the state’s bankrupt electric utility, said it would be cutting power to 940,000 homes and businesses in 38 counties. That means an estimated 2.35 million people are without power, according to The Associated Press. The utility company said it was notifying customers 48 hours and 24 hours in advance and then again just before cutting power — but warned that other customers could lose power without notice because of damage to PG&E equipment.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the Kincade Fire, but PG&E said one of its transmission towers had been damaged shortly before the fire erupted in the same area.

Firefighters hose down a burning house during the Tick Fire in Agua Dulce, near Santa Clarita, Calif., on Friday.

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Firefighters hose down a burning house during the Tick Fire in Agua Dulce, near Santa Clarita, Calif., on Friday.

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The Los Angeles County Fire Department said Sunday morning that the Tick Fire was 65% contained after burning 4,600 acres. It had destroyed or damaged about 50 structures in the two days since it had started.

Almost 1,000 firefighters were at work building additional containment lines and looking for burned areas in danger of rekindling. They were also preparing for more Santa Ana winds expected on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Critical fire conditions are possible on Wednesday and Thursday, as gusts could reach 50 to 70 miles per hour and humidity is low.

“The next 72 hours will be challenging,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference Saturday, referring to both the power outages and the fires. “I could sugarcoat it, but I will not.”

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/10/27/773844324/2-million-californians-without-power-and-180-000-ordered-to-evacuate-amid-wildfi

Private payroll growth tops estimates as jobs market shows signs…

Private payrolls increased by 156,000 for the month, according to a report Wednesday from ADP and Moody’s Analytics that beat Dow Jones estimates of 150,000.

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Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/31/trade-talks-to-continue-in-september-in-the-us-chinese-state-media-says.html

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday exceeded its bounds in issuing a subpoena for the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian skullduggery concerning the 2016 elections.

Attorney General William Barr should release as much of the Mueller report as possible, as soon as possible, because the public has a right to see what all the fuss was about. Yet if he determines that some information within it is either classified or subject to grand jury secrecy rules, he is duty-bound to redact it. Unless Congress passes, and President Trump signs, a new law waiving grand jury secrecy rules, then existing laws protecting that secrecy should take legal precedence over Congress’ subpoena authority.

This is decidedly not a similar situation to the 1998 investigation of, and eventual impeachment of, then-President Bill Clinton. That investigation was led not by a special counsel, which is what Robert Mueller was, but by an independent counsel, Kenneth Starr. The difference is significant.

Under the independent counsel statute, which has since lapsed (and always was of dubious constitutionality anyway), such counsels were creatures of, and reported to, Congress. They existed independent of, and separate from, the ordinary lines of authority within the Justice Department and the executive branch. When House Speaker Newt Gingrich and company made the foolish decision to post the full Starr report immediately on the Internet, they had full power to do so because Starr’s report was specifically theirs to use as they saw fit.

Special counsels are different. Special counsels, while enjoying a modicum of separation from ordinary lines of authority in the Justice Department, are nonetheless still ultimately part of the department and the executive branch as a whole. They report to the attorney general (or his designee), and they must follow all ordinary rules of civil and criminal procedure.

Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), neither the attorney for the government nor anyone else may “disclose a matter occurring before the grand jury.” The exceptions involve disclosure to another federal grand jury or to an attorney for the government pursuing another criminal matter in certain circumstances, or to certain national security officials if the information involves foreign intelligence, terrorism, or threat of attack. If petitioned by the government or a defendant in another judicial proceeding, the court can also permit release in the other proceeding. Absent such very limited circumstances, Barr would run afoul of this almost blanket prohibition, and could be sanctioned by contempt of court if he disclosed to Congress any grand jury information in the Mueller report under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)(7).

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and the Democrats surely know this, but seem not to care about the rule of law, the sanctity of the grand jury process, or the lack of any impeachment authorization in the House that could be considered a “judicial proceeding” to support their subpoena.

The Democrats are not seeking the grand jury information “to avoid a possible injustice in another judicial proceeding,” Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Nw., 441 U.S. 211, 222 (1979). Nor are they seeking grand jury information to support articles of impeachment, as the House has not authorized such inquiry, unlike 1974 when grand jury information was produced to the Judiciary Committee related to its impeachment inquiry of President Richard M. Nixon. (Haldeman v. Sirica, 501 F.2d 714 — D.C. Cir. 1974). Likewise, the impeachment proceedings of federal district Judge Alcee Hastings provided the basis for the 11th Circuit to consider such congressional efforts a “judicial proceeding” and thus the House Judiciary Committee could subpoena grand jury documents related to Hastings’ indictment. (In re Request for Access to Grand Jury Materials Grand Jury 81-1, Miami, 833 F.2d 1438 — 11th Cir. 1987).

If Nadler wants to subpoena any grand jury information contained in the Mueller report, he first needs a majority of the House to authorize the Judiciary Committee to investigate impeachment of President Trump.

Somehow, it doesn’t seem as if Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to open that can of worms, at least not yet.

Quin Hillyer is a senior commentary writer for the Washington Examiner. James Robertson is a lawyer in Mobile, Ala.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/jerry-nadlers-mueller-report-subpoena-isnt-legit-without-impeachment-inquiry

Bernie Sanders took the stage at a fiery Fox News town hall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Monday, and sparks flew almost immediately, as Sanders defiantly refused to explain why he would not voluntarily pay the massive new 52-percent “wealth tax” that he advocated imposing on the nation’s richest individuals.

“We’ll get through this together,” Sanders said at one point, as tensions flared.

Sanders later admitted outright that “you’re going to pay more in taxes” if he became president. Just minutes before the town hall began, Sanders released ten years of his tax returns, which he acknowledged showed that he had been “fortunate” even as he pushed for a more progressive tax system.

According to the returns, Sanders and his wife paid a 26 percent effective tax rate on $561,293 in income, and made more than $1 million in both 2016 and 2017.

But pressed by anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as to why he was holding onto his wealth rather than refusing deductions or writing a check to the Treasury Department, Sanders began laughing dismissively and, in an apparent non sequitur, asked why MacCallum didn’t donate her salary. (“I didn’t suggest a wealth tax,” MacCallum responded.)

“Pfft, come on. I paid the taxes that I owe,” Sanders shot back. “And by the way, why don’t you get Donald Trump up here and ask him how much he pays in taxes? President Trump watches your network a little bit, right? Hey President Trump, my wife and I just released 10 years. Please do the same.”

Asked whether Sanders’ success — and subsequent decision to hold onto his cash — wasn’t an implicit endorsement of the capitalist system he has repeatedly called dysfunctonal, Sanders rejected the notion out of hand.

“When you wrote the book and made the money, isn’t that the definition of capitalism and the American dream?” Baier asked, referring to Sanders’ bestselling 2016 memoir “Our Revolution.”

“No,” Sanders replied flatly, after a pregnant pause. “What we want is a country in which everyone has an opportunity. … A lot of people don’t have a college degree. A lot of people are not United States senators.”

BERNIE LIGHTS INTO DEM THINKTANK HE SAYS IS ‘SMEARING’ PROGRESSIVES

Sanders doubled down on his previous defenses of his wealth, which even some progressives have called hypocritical.

“This year, we had $560,000 in income,” Sanders said. “In my and my wife’s case, I wrote a pretty good book. It was a bestseller, sold all over the world, and we made money. If anyone thinks I should apologize for writing a bestselling book, I’m sorry, I’m not gonna do it.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders addressing a rally in North Charleston, S.C., in March. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

On whether he supported abortions that occur up to the moment of birth, Sanders retorted, “I think that happens very, very rarely, and I think this is being made into a political issue. At the end of the day, I thnk the decision over abortion belongs to a woman and her physcian, and not the government.”

Sanders also said felons, including rapists and murderers, should be able to vote from prison. But he insisted he was not simply courting more potential Democrat voters.

VIRGINIA DEM GOVERNOR SEEMINGLY ENDORSES INFANTICIDE; DEMS BLOCK ‘BORN ALIVE’ BILL TO PROTECT INFANTS THAT SURVIVE ABORTIONS

The Tax Day town hall took place as Sanders emerged as the fundraising front-runner among Democrats, and sought to further distinguish himself from a crowded field of liberal candidates who have largely embraced his progressive proposals, from a sweeping ‘Medicare for All’ overhaul to a higher minimum wage and free public college education.

“I think Trump is a dangerous president, but if all we do is focus on him, we lose,” Sanders said at the town hall.

Separately, Sanders acknowledged that his proposed Medicare for All health care overhaul — which has also been embraced by other 2020 Democrat hopefuls, including Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren — would mean that many Americans would “pay more in taxes.”

Some estimates put the total costs for the plan over 10 years at more than $32 trillion, and say it would necessitate historic tax hikes.

Sanders began by deflecting when asked by Baier whether he was concerned about the rising national debt, saying it was “ironic” that Republicans weren’t instead attacking the president.

“You’re talking to the wrong guy,” Sanders said. “We pay for what we’re proposing, unlike the President of the United States.”

Sanders more substantively discussed a plan to impose a “speculaton tax” on Wall Street.

“I am concerned about the debt. That’s a legitimate concern,” Sanders said. “But we pay for what we are proposing. In terms of Medicare for All, we are paying for that by eliminating as I said before, deductibles and premiums. We are going to save the average American family money.”

When Baier polled the audience at the town hall — which was clearly supportive of Sanders throughout — most indicated they would support Sanders’ health care plan, despite currently having private insurance they would lose.

Sanders also warned that climate change poses an existential threat, citing a recent United Nations report claiming that only 12 years remain to make significant changes in global carbon emissions to avert a climate catastrophe. The United Nations made the same prediction in 1989, falsely warning that the world then faced a 10-year deadline that has come and gone.

On immigration, Sanders said we “don’t need to demonize immigrants” and proposed “building proper facilities right on the border” and enacting “comprehensive immigration reform.” But he said it was “not a real question” when MacCallum asked about the merits of Trump’s proposal to send illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities.

The 77-year-old self-proclaimed ‘democratic socialist’ — the longest-serving Independent member of Congress in history — has also faced criticisms that he mght be too old to serve as president.

SANDERS RELEASES TAX RETURNS — WHAT DO THEY SHOW?

At the town hall, Sanders acknowledged it was a “fair question,” but said to applause there is “too much focus on individuals and not enough focus on the American people and what their needs are.”

Over the weekend, Sanders sparred with progressive activist groups that pointed out that he has since largely dropped his criticisms of “millionaires and billionaires,” opting instead to single out “billionaires” only.

Earlier Monday afternoon, Sanders previewed some of his messaging by asserting that President Trump’s “tax policies” will “raise taxes on millions of people.”

In an article entitled “Face it: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut,” the New York Times credited liberal messaging with confusing large swaths of the electorate into thinking that their taxes went up, when in fact most saw significant tax savings under Trump’s 2017 tax law.

The town hall marked the Vermont senator’s first appearance on Fox News Channel since he agreed to be a guest on Baier’s show in December 2018. He also participated in a Fox News Channel town hall back in 2016 alongside his then-competitor Hillary Clinton.

Sanders ended the town hall by thanking Fox News for providing him the opportunity.

DNC Chair Tom Perez in April 2017. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images, File)

“Not everybody thought I should come on this show,” Sanders said at one point. “Your network does not have a great deal of respect in my world, but I thought it was important to be here.”

HOW BERNIE WENT FROM SOCIALIST GADFLY TO FRONTRUNNER

Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez has excluded Fox News from hosting a Democrat primary debate. Some congressional Democrats have called that decision inappropriate and unhelpful, and DNC leadership later said it had no objection to Sanders appearing at a Fox News town hall.

Asked whether he felt that the DNC would seek to tip the scales against Sanders — as leaked emails showed it did in 2016 — Sanders was optimistic.

“I think we have come a long way since then. We speak to the DNC every week,” Sanders told Baier and MacCallum. “And I think the process will be fair.”

Since announcing his presidential bid in February, Sanders has hauled in a whopping $18.2 million in the first 41 days of his campaign. But, although Sanders had a fundraising edge over his rivals, Democrats generally haven’t raised as much cash as they’d hoped by this point. Many donors have been sitting on the sidelines to see how the contest unfolds, signaling a drawn-out primary battle ahead.

The campaign among Democrats has come into greater focus as declared White House hopefuls reported their first-quarter fundraising totals. Early glimpses provided by nine of the declared candidates showed that Democrats were raising less money than they had in previous cycles and were coming up short against the campaign bank account Trump has been building.

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Democrats collectively raised about $68 million since January, according to the candidates who have already released their fundraising totals. That’s less than the $81 million Democrats raised during the same period in 2007, the last time the party had an open primary, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. And, it paled in comparison with the $30 million Trump raised during the first quarter.

“There is no question that the numbers are not at the level that they were with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008 by a long shot,” said Tom Nides, a Clinton adviser and longtime fundraiser. “Am I worried? No, I’m not worried. But I’m a little bit concerned.”

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-takes-stage-at-fox-news-town-hall-after-emerging-as-apparent-dem-frontrunner

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Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/politics/timeline-michael-cohen-trump-financial-records/index.html

“Everything is on the table so far as we’re concerned.”

Just five Republicans voted for the measure: co-sponsors Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith (N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), along with Reps. John Katko (N.Y.) and Don Young (Alaska). One Democrat voted against it: Henry Cuellar (Texas), an aide said.

The bill’s advancement concludes several days of behind-the-scenes wrangling by Democratic leaders after a group of moderate members pushed for last-minute changes to the bill. By Monday night, top Democrats had agreed to include an amendment that would study the bill’s impact on gig workers, which the centrist bloc — led by Blue Dog Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), who voted against the bill last session — described as a win.

“There were some concerns about the flexibility aspect of the PRO Act, and if people could opt out if it didn’t suit their personal needs and circumstances,” Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), who was among those backing the amendment, told POLITICO.

That change, Wild said, would help address some of the many concerns in the Senate, adding: “There’s a way to do it if we all really focus on it and we don’t insist on being purist.”

“If people need to do things to be able to support the bill, I’m all good with that,” Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) said. “I don’t consider it much of a change.”

The legislation — which would make it easier for workers to join and form unions by empowering the National Labor Relations Board to levy fines and extending collective bargaining rights to independent contractors — is a real-time example of the thin line Biden must walk as he works to appease both the pro-union forces he has aligned himself with and the business groups who helped him win.

“People are realizing that unions are important,” House Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott (D-Va.) told POLITICO. “They noticed this during the pandemic when there were unfair, unsafe working conditions.”

Businesses, fiercely opposed to the PRO Act, spent the days leading up to passage lobbying against it. More than 150 trade associations, including the influential Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to lawmakers last week urging them to vote against the legislation, which they wrote “would cost millions of American jobs, threaten vital supply chains, and greatly diminish opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses.”

Employers “have deep concerns about the PRO Act’s intrusions on worker privacy and restrictions on workplace communication — among many other issues,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said. “It will make it harder for manufacturers to thrive and more difficult to foster positive, inclusive workplace cultures.”

Republicans echo many of the same concerns, fretting that the bill — which Rep. Virginia Foxx, the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, has dubbed the Pro Union Bosses Act — will cost employers and eliminate jobs. They also take issue with the fact the bill would preempt state right-to-work laws, which guarantee no worker can be required to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment.

It’s “a left-wing wish list of union boss priorities which undermines the rights of workers by forcing them to pay into a union system, whether or not they want to be represented by a union,” Foxx said.

The PRO Act “is yet another attack on states’ rights,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) said on the floor. Iowa is a right-to-work state.

Unions have thrown their weight behind the legislation, which leaders have described repeatedly as one of their top priorities for a Biden administration. Indeed, the executive board of the AFL-CIO — the nation’s largest federation of unions — plans to meet Wednesday to discuss its position on eliminating the filibuster, likely the only path forward for seeing the PRO Act enacted.

“I assume that [Senate passage] requires getting rid of the filibuster for sure, or finding some way around it,” Levin said.

Senate HELP Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told POLITICO that she plans “to fight hard to make sure we honor the essential workers that have kept us going during this pandemic by getting the PRO Act across the finish line.”

“As workers continue to bear the brunt of this pandemic, ensuring they can stand together and fight for better pay, quality health care, a safer workplace and a secure retirement has never been more important,” she said.

Prior to passage, lawmakers adopted a package of Democratic amendments containing the Murphy amendment, among others. They rejected a set of Republican amendments.

Passage coincides with Amazon workers’ ongoing push to form a union at one of the retail giant’s Alabama facilities. Biden was notably mute on the issue until February, when he released a video expressing support for organized labor. Despite declining to mention Amazon by name, it was nonetheless hailed as the most pro-union statement from a sitting U.S. president.

The House first advanced the bill in February 2020 after it languished for months amid many of the same concerns floated this session: worries from moderate Democrats that it was anti-business and relentless bashing from groups including the Chamber of Commerce, which labeled it “a litany of almost every failed idea from the past 30 years of labor policy.” But it was never taken up by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Biden pledged on the campaign trail that he would see the legislation enacted, and reiterated his support for the legislation Monday with a full-throated Statement of Administration Policy encouraging House passage.

“We should all remember that the National Labor Relations Act didn’t just say that we shouldn’t hamstring unions or merely tolerate them. It said that we should encourage unions,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday. “The PRO Act would take critical steps to help restore this intent.”

“We have a champion who more than any of his recent predecessors understands that labor isn’t just another constituency group that exists only during campaign cycles, and his rhetoric on the campaign trail has been carried into the Oval Office,” Trumka said. “This is a president who jumps at the chance to tell a roomful of CEOs that he’s a union guy. He released the most pro-union statement of any president since FDR, and just yesterday, he chose to double down.”

“To borrow a lightly tweaked quote from Joe Biden, this is a big freaking deal.”

Unions have fought to enact labor law reform since 1947, when a Republican Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act and, in doing so, made changes to the National Labor Relations Act that labor advocates consider anti-union. But the efforts have yet to be successful.

Even under former President Barack Obama, a package containing many provisions similar to the PRO Act — the Employee Free Choice Act — stalled in Congress as his administration focused its efforts elsewhere.

Source Article from https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/09/house-pro-act-labor-unions-474941

A 47-year-old man was hospitalized after an argument turned violent outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, police said. Christel Reyna said her husband, Rafael Reyna, sustained a skull fracture and is on life support following the encounter in a parking lot Friday evening.

Police said a male suspect punched Rafael Reyna, who fell to the ground following the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Police are investigating the encounter as an assault. No arrests have been made.



The suspect may have driven off in a white SUV, possibly a Toyota 4Runner, according to investigators. The Dodgers released a statement saying the team was cooperating with police.

Christel Reyna said she was on the phone with her husband, a father of four, as he was leaving the stadium. She said she heard a woman and a man arguing with him.

“The next thing I heard was like a bat sound. Now I know that was him hitting the ground,” Reyna told CBS Los Angeles. “Why does everything have to turn to violence?”

In 2011, a fight at Dodger Stadium left a San Francisco Giants fan with permanent brain injuries. Two men pleaded guilty to the attack and were sentenced to federal prison. They were also ordered to pay a share of the $18 million judgment against the Dodgers. The attack drew national attention and led to increased security at the stadium.

Reyna questioned why the stadium is still unsafe after the 2011 attack. “We’re a huge Dodgers fan family. Is this how they treat their fans?”

Source Article from https://www.10tv.com/article/man-life-support-after-fight-dodger-stadium-2019-mar

Deval Patrick, a former governor of Massachusetts and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks during the 61st Annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 8.

Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images


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Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Deval Patrick, a former governor of Massachusetts and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks during the 61st Annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 8.

Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Deval Patrick, a former Massachusetts governor who jumped into the Democratic presidential primary months after most of his competitors did, has now ended that bid.

Patrick announced his decision on Wednesday, a day after the New Hampshire primary.

“[T]he vote in New Hampshire last night was not enough for us to create the practical wind at the campaign’s back to go on to the next round of voting. So I have decided to suspend the campaign, effective immediately,” he said in a statement.

The 63-year-old joined the Democratic field in November 2019, reversing an earlier decision. In December 2018, Patrick had opted against a run, citing “the cruelty of our elections process” and his wife’s diagnosis of uterine cancer. (He said his wife was cancer-free when he made his bid official.)

Patrick’s entrance into the crowded primary field seemed to indicate unease among Democrats with the large group of candidates, and Patrick, a gifted campaigner who is close to former President Barack Obama, cast himself as a leader who could unify the party and bring opposing coalitions together.

He also leaned into his inspiring life story, rising from his youth in Chicago to become one of only two African American men elected governor.

But Patrick, who admitted his late-entry campaign was a “Hail Mary from two stadiums over,” began his campaign with comparably low name recognition and never gained traction in polls. He earned less than 1% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, despite leading next-door Massachusetts for two terms as governor and receiving a boost on the airwaves from a pro-Patrick superPAC.

Patrick had also sought to compete in South Carolina, where African American voters make up a majority of the Democratic electorate.

Patrick’s departure from the race leaves eight candidates still running for the party’s presidential nomination. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is the only one who is not white.

Positioning himself closer to the center-left among the Democratic presidential candidates, Patrick outlined a series of broad policy agendas, including a “democracy agenda” and an “opportunity agenda” that sought universal prekindergarten among other measures. He also favored a “public option” expansion of Medicare.

“Patriotism demands, now more than ever, that we reject false choices,” Patrick said in his statement Wednesday. “Despite our righteous anger, Democrats don’t have to hate Republicans to be good Democrats. We don’t have to hate business to fight for social justice or to hate police to believe black lives matter. In that same spirit, we don’t have to hate moderation to be a good progressive. I say that because, unlike most other candidates, I have actually delivered progressive results using a moderate approach.”

Prior to his terms as Massachusetts governor, Patrick led the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice during President Bill Clinton’s administration and then was general counsel at oil company Texaco and Coca-Cola and a member of the board of directors at the parent company of mortgage lender Ameriquest.

After he left office, Patrick joined Boston-based investment firm Bain Capital to launch a so-called impact investing fund.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2020/02/12/798296505/deval-patrick-ends-his-presidential-bid

La inflación, el fracaso del Indec, la deuda externa, precios, salarios, paritarias e Impuesto a las Ganancias han ocupado la preocupación de la gente. En el campo de batalla mediática son más las noticias malas para el Gobierno que las buenas a pesar de que el 90 por ciento de la artillería es del oficialismo. Llega en su socorro la caballería judicial y un cambio de estrategia. Ya que las noticias propias son malas, busquemos enchastrar al adversario. Dos conocidos alfiles anti K de los tribunales salieron en socorro del gobierno macrista para distraer el foco de atención y socavar la imagen de la ex presidenta Cristina Kirchner. Es ahora o nunca. Si la imagen de la ex presidenta se mantiene, cada momento que pase será más difícil bajarla.

Con el propósito de enfocar las sospechas sobre el anterior gobierno, el fiscal Ricardo Sáenz dictaminó “sin ninguna duda” que el fiscal Alberto Nisman fue asesinado. El fiscal no basó su dictamen en ninguna investigación propia. Simplemente se hizo cargo de los argumentos de las querellas, que han sido descartados por la gran mayoría de los peritos. Pero Sáenz es un viejo enemigo de Cristina Kirchner y hubiera sido el Procurador de la Nación del macrismo si lograban expulsar a Alejandra Gils Carbó.

Detrás suyo apareció el polémico juez Claudio Bonadio –un magistrado con record de pedidos de juicio político en la Magistratura– para citar a indagatoria a la ex presidenta por las operaciones con dólar a futuro, una causa puramente mediática. Lo que importa es distraer la atención de los sablazos al bolsillo de la gente, para insistir con una táctica que fue fructífera cuando el macrismo estaba en la oposición. Pero el impacto en la billetera no se disipa con una cortina de humo con protagonistas que han pasado a segundo plano.

El Gobierno necesitaba cambiar el eje y estos funcionarios judiciales fueron funcionales. Había pasado una semana intensa. En dos meses de gestión el macrismo se ganó el primer paro nacional de estatales contra sus políticas, acompañado por una masiva concentración en la Plaza de Mayo. Y al mismo tiempo pudo evitar el paro docente pero contraviniendo su propia estrategia al concederles casi un 40 por ciento de aumento. Ha podido operar sobre el massismo para que lo acompañe en el Congreso, pero el quiebre en el Frente para la Victoria fue mínimo, mucho menos de lo que se esperaban y en términos más expectantes que rupturistas.

Es el momento de mayor fuerza para el gobierno y de más debilidad para el FpV que fue derrotado en las urnas. Sin embargo el rédito ha sido pobre. Es la desgracia de haber ganado por muy poca diferencia. La presión centrífuga en el seno del FPV es menor que la sensación de que las políticas oficiales están desatando una tormenta económica y social impredecible. Si el horizonte fuera de fortalecimiento del gobierno a partir de la gestión y el manejo del aparato estatal, es probable que la ruptura del FPV hubiera sido inevitable y bastante más grande que las diferencias que se discutieron en el congreso del PJ de esta semana. El peronismo tendrá muchos defectos, pero sabe que la gestión puede ampliar el poder político y, por lo tanto, es un buen termómetro de ese fenómeno. Si no hubo división y la gran mayoría se quedaron adentro, es porque afuera huelen a tormenta. El sector más duro quiere una oposición activa pero el ala más moderada quiere evitar que les achaquen responsabilidad sobre cualquier fracaso de las políticas oficiales. Las dos posiciones coexisten junto con las necesidades de intendentes y gobernadores. La fotografía actual del PJ, tras una derrota reciente, es más o menos igual a la previa de ese traspié, lo cual es ganancia para un peronismo que puede ser volátil. La Cámpora cedió terreno en forma voluntaria y gobernadores como José Luis Gioja o jefes territoriales como Jorge Capitanich ocuparon el centro. Hubo reacomodos pero sin sangrías.

El paro de los estatales el miércoles es indicativo de la situación social. Muchas veces no se trata del motivo, si existe o no, sino de la circunstancia: si el contexto o la situación política soportan una medida de fuerza. Y normalmente los dos primeros meses de un gobierno constituyen un tiempo desfavorable. Pero esta vez fue una medida con muy poco rechazo, se produjo dentro de la lógica que se está desarrollando en el país. Ese “no” al rechazo que podría haber generado en otro momento, da una medida de los espacios que va cediendo el Gobierno.

No pudo explicar los despidos masivos alegando ñoquis o militantes. No pudo mostrar un solo caso. El hecho más vergonzoso quizás sea el del ministro encargado de los despidos, el ministro de “Modernización del Estado” Andrés Ibarra, que anuncia que va a revisar contratos y concursos para justificar los despidos. Pero su esposa, la militante del PRO Carla Piccolomini, que ha tenido cargos de bajo rango en la CABA, fue catapultada a una gerencia de Radio y Televisión Argentina (RTA) con un sueldo de 90 mil pesos, sin realizar ningún concurso. Para completar la imagen de arbitrariedad por los miles de despidos que está decidiendo Ibarra, en los círculos internos de la empresa paraestatal se asegura que Ibarra llegó a presionar incluso a Hernán Lombardi para lograr el nombramiento de su esposa.

Para desprestigiar al gobierno anterior y justificar despidos en estas áreas, se han construido mitos sobre Tecnópolis y el Centro Cultural Kirchner como obras faraónicas sin sentido, igual que el Museo del Bicentenario. Se escribieron editoriales en La Nación y se organizaron visitas de periodistas de Clarín para mostrar goteras y cables pelados. Según la administración, en estas obras todo fue despilfarro, corrupción y demagogia. Dijeron horrorizados que los 500 trabajadores del Centro Kirchner habían sido designados dos meses antes del fin del gobierno, o sea cuando empezó a funcionar.

Sin embargo, el presidente de Francia François Hollande pidió visitar el centro Kirchner, la cena en su honor se organizó en el Museo del Bicentenario y uno de los tratados que firmó el presidente francés fue de intercambio entre Tecnópolis y su similar de París. El presidente Mauricio Macri se lució ante su par francés con las obras realizadas por el gobierno kirchnerista y que su gestión denigra.

En un informe del año pasado el Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Empleo (Cippec), muchos de cuyos integrantes forman parte ahora del gobierno de Macri, señalaba que el 17 por ciento de la población activa trabaja en el Estado. De esa cantidad la mayoría corresponde a los gobiernos provinciales y municipales y sólo una pequeña fracción a la estructura nacional. Desde Canadá hasta la mayoría de los países desarrollados de la OCDE tienen ese índice por arriba del de Argentina. O sea que esos países tienen, en proporción, más empleados públicos que Argentina.

El empleo público no es un problema como lo presentó demagógicamente el macrismo y su coro de prensa oficialista. La diferencia que está planteando la supuesta “modernización” macrista está en el rol del Estado que proponen. Según ellos están despidiendo ñoquis a los que ya están reemplazando por sus esposas y parientes o militantes del PRO. Pero no han podido presentar un solo caso de ñoquis hasta ahora, aunque sí están metiendo a sus parientes y militantes mientras Macri dice, suelto de cuerpo, que “el Estado no tiene que financiar la militancia”.

Lo que sí están haciendo es desactivar los programas sociales de inclusión, los programas de salud pública y ambiental y los programas de derechos humanos o desmantelando aquellos organismos encargados del control de precios o de la vigilancia de delitos financieros que involucran a bancos y grandes empresas, muchas de las cuales tienen sus representantes en el gobierno.

La consigna: “modernización del Estado”, que sirve para justificar este verdadero linchamiento público de miles de trabajadores que se quedan en la calle, no es modernización, sino retroceso a un Estado controlado por las grandes empresas, una estructura que se retira del rol de inclusión, de equilibrar desigualdades o de resguardo de los más débiles para convertirse en una herramienta de las grandes corporaciones que están representadas en esta gestión. También se trata de un Estado presente, pero esta vez para consolidar desigualdades. Sería un contrasentido que un Estado que incorporó a sus niveles de dirección a los altos ejecutivos de las corporaciones más poderosas se preocupara por la desigualdad. Si esta afirmación fuera pura construcción teórica o abstracta, cualquiera diría que es esquemática. Pero solamente es una descripción de los hechos. Cuando la realidad se propone ser esquemática supera incluso a los ideologismos esquemáticos.

Source Article from http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-293378-2016-02-27.html

La orden de excarcelación alcanza a los integrantes de la banda Patricio Fontanet, Juan Alberto Carbone, Cristian Torrejón, Maximiliano Djerfy y Elio Delgado. También será liberado el manager Diego Argañaraz y se dejará sin efecto la prisión domiciliaria del escenógrafo Daniel Horacio Cardell. En tanto, el exbaterista Eduardo Vásquez seguirá detenido “a exclusiva disposición del Tribunal Oral en lo Criminal N°20 de la Capital Federal”, en el marco de la causa por el homicidio de su esposa, Wanda Taddei.

Raúl Villareal, exmano derecha del gerenciador del boliche Cromañón, Omar Chaban, es otro de los beneficiados de la resolución del TOC 24, al igual que los tres funcionarios procesados. Abandonarán la cárcel la exsubsecretaria de Control Comunal porteña, Fabiana Fiszbin, y el exdirector general de Fiscalización y Control porteño, Gustavo Torres. Ana María Fernández, exdirectora adjunta de Fiscalización y Control porteña, estaba con prisión domiciliaria, la cual fue dejada sin efecto.

El tribunal sostuvo que en función de lo resuelto por la Corte Suprema “la ejecutoriedad de la sentencia condenatoria dispuesta por la Sala III de la CFCP ha perdido vigencia (…) hasta tanto sea revisada por otra sala de ese mismo tribunal de casación”.

En un fallo emitido ayer, pero que se difundió hoy, la Corte aceptó los recursos presentadas por las defensas, por lo que ordenó que el expediente vuelva a la Cámara Federal de Casación Penal y que se dicte una nueva sentencia para la mayoría de los acusados. Oscar Marcelo Brito, abogado de Fontanet, explicó que el Máximo Tribunal “decidió que en virtud de una disposición de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (los músicos) deben tener una revisión de la sentencia y una nueva condena”.

En el juicio oral, los músicos de Cromañón habían sido absueltos, pero en 2012, la sala III de Casación, integrada por Liliana Catucci, Eduardo Riggi y Mariano Borinsky, los condenó y dispuso el inmediato cumplimiento en prisión de las penas impuestas. Fontanet fue condenado a siete años, el exbaterista Eduardo Vázquez, que cumple prisión perpetua por el crimen de su esposa Wanda Taddei, a seis años, mientras que el saxofonista Juan Alberto Carbone, los guitarristas Maximiliano Djerfy y Elio Delgado, Torrejón y el ex manager Diego Argañaraz, a cinco años. En tanto, el escenógrafo Cardell, fue sentenciado a tres años.

También fueron condenados el exgerenciador del boliche Omar Chabán (diez años de cárcel), el exsubcomisario Carlos Díaz (ocho años), la ex “mano derecha” de Chabán, Raúl Villarreal (seis años), los ex funcionarios porteños Fabiana Fizbin (cuatro años), Ana María Fernández (tres y medio) y Gustavo Torres (tres y nueve meses). Las condenas a Chabán y Villareal se mantuvieron firmes en ambas instancias, por lo que son los únicos que seguirán en la cárcel.

Source Article from http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/ultimas/20-252373-2014-08-06.html

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said Friday night that she would sleep outside the US Capitol in an effort to persuade Congress to extend the nationwide moratorium on evictions set to expire Saturday.

“Many of my Democratic colleagues chose to go on vacation early today rather than staying to vote to keep people in their homes,” Bush tweeted. “I’ll be sleeping outside the Capitol tonight. We’ve still got work to do.”

Bush, 45, who experienced a period of homelessness nearly two decades ago, sent a letter to her colleagues earlier Friday calling on them to stay in Washington DC a little longer before starting their August recess to pass an extension to the moratorium.

“I’m urging you to please hear me out on this issue because as a formerly unhoused Congresswoman, I have been evicted three times myself,” she wrote. “I know what it’s like to be forced to live in my car with my two children. Now that I am a member of Congress, I refuse to stand by while millions of people are vulnerable to experiencing that same trauma that I did.”

In a separate letter later Friday, Bush invited her colleagues to join her “in solidarity” outside the Capitol.

“[W]e must reconvene to protect people from violent evictions during an deadly pandemic …,” she said. “We need to get this done, and we must not let up.”

While some supporters praised Bush for the campout on Twitter, others called the congresswoman out for what they saw as a publicity stunt.

Rep. Cori Bush invited colleagues to sleep outside of the US Capitol to persuade Congress into extending the nationwide moratorium on evictions.
REUTERS

The eviction moratorium, meant to prevent Americans from being forced out of their homes during the pandemic, was initially put in place by the CARES Act enacted in March 2020, at the height of the outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed a similar ban that September after the initial moratorium expired. Congress initially extended the CDC’s order by 30 days before the agency unilaterally extended it twice more.

Last month, the Biden administration extended the moratorium through the end of July. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to turn aside a challenge to the latest extension from a group of landlords. However, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who voted to deny the landlords’ petition, wrote in a concurring opinion that extending the moratorium beyond July 31 would require “clear and specific congressional authorization.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Thursday that the administration’s hands were tied by the Supreme Court ruling and called on Congress to “extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay.”

With the clock ticking Friday, President Biden called on state and local governments to speed up the distribution of the remainder of nearly $47 billion in emergency rental assistance funding. Lawmakers have said that only around $3 billion has been spent.

“[T]here can be no excuse for any state or locality not accelerating funds to landlords and tenants that have been hurt during this pandemic. Every state and local government must get these funds out to ensure we prevent every eviction we can,” said Biden, who added that “State and local governments should also be aware that there is no legal barrier to moratorium at the state and local level.”

On Capitol Hill, House Democrats failed to find enough support to extend the moratorium. An attempt to approve an extension by unanimous consent, without a formal vote, was objected to by House Republicans.

On the Senate side, aides to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY) and Sen. Sherrod Brown, (D-Ohio) the chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said the two were working on legislation to extend the moratorium and were asking Republicans not to block it.

By the end of March, 6.4 million American households were behind on their rent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As of July 5, roughly 3.6 million people in the U.S. said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

With Post Wires

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2021/07/31/rep-cori-bush-to-sleep-outside-capitol-in-protest-of-eviction-freeze-ending/