El juez Claudio Bonadio dictó la inhibición de bienes de la expresidenta argentina Cristina Fernández tras la audiencia en la que debía notificarse del procesamiento y el embargo dictados en su contra, en el marco de la causa que investiga las operatorias de dólar a futuro.
La audiencia fue realizada en el despacho de Bonadio, en el cuarto piso de los Tribunales Federales de Comodoro Py y finalizó poco después de las 13:15 horas, según informaron a La Nación fuentes judiciales.
Después de la notificación, la exmandataria subió al quinto piso, donde funciona la fiscalía de Gerardo Pollicita, que entiende en el caso Hotesur. Aunque no está confirmado, se cree que Fernández se presentó ante el fiscal para responder a las acusaciones de la diputada Margarita Stolbizer en su contra.
Stolbizer se presentó el martes ante el fiscal y denunció que en los últimos meses hubo “extraños movimientos bancarios en las cuentas de diferentes empresas de la familia Kirchner” y que “existirían cajas de seguridad a nombre de la familia Kirchner y/o sus empresas que atesoran millonarias cifras en dólares”. La causa Hotesur investiga el supuesto lavado de dinero a través de los hoteles de los Kirchner.
El trámite que Fernández hizo en el juzgado de Bonadio este miércoles es formal, notificatorio y personal. La exmandataria llegó a los tribunales antes de las 13. Entró al edificio sonriente, mientras saludaba a los simpatizantes que la esperaban. Cuando los medios le consultaron si estaba nerviosa por la situación, hizo “montoncito” con la mano y siguió caminando.
En declaraciones a la prensa recogidas por Todo Noticias, la expresidenta dijo que Stolbizer “además de mala es burra y es un principal problema porque si a la maldad se le suma la ignorancia hay un cóctel peligroso”.
El mismo día del cumpleaños de su hija Florencia, la exjefa de Estado pidió que se postergara la audiencia, prevista en un primer momento para las 10, porque debía ir al médico. En ese horario estaba prevista la presentación a indagatoria del otrora empresario cercano al kirchnerismo, Lázaro Báez, quien finalmente se negó a declarar y presentó un escrito.
Esta mañana había un importante despliegue de fuerzas de seguridad en los alrededores del los tribunales y se dispuso un doble vallado en el edificio. Respecto del operativo, la ministra de Seguridad argentina, Patricia Bullrich, confirmó que el kirchnerismo quería custodiar a la expresidenta cuando llegó el sábado al Aeroparque Metropolitano, pero aclaró que tanto en esa ocasión, como en esta en Comodoro Py, es una tarea “que corresponde al Estado y no a una agrupación política”.
Incredible GoPro footage takes you inside the gunfire-heavy raid that ended drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s six months on the run.
The video, obtained from Mexican authorities, looks as if it’s from an action movie. The camera follows the armed men as they storm the house, unleash grenades and bullets, and search room to room.
The Friday raid was called “Operation Black Swan,” according to the Mexican show “Primero Noticias.” Authorities decided to launch the raid Thursday after they got a tip about where Guzman was sleeping, the show reported.
Seventeen elite unit Mexican Marines launched their assault on the house in the city of Los Mochis at 4:40 a.m., “Primero Noticias” said.
They were met by about one dozen well-armed guards inside who were prepared for a fight, the show said.
The Marines moved from room to room, clearing the house. Upstairs they found two men in one room and found two women on the floor of a bathroom. All were captured, “Primero Noticias” said.
After 15 minutes, the Marines controlled the entire house, according to “Primero Noticias.”
In the end, five guards were killed and two men and two women were detained. One of the women was the same cook Guzman had with him when he was detained a couple years ago, according to “Primero Noticias.”
Eventually the marines determined that the only bedroom on the first floor was Guzman’s and they began pounding on the walls and moving furniture, finding hidden doors, the show said.
His room had a king-sized bed, bags from fashionable clothing stores, bread and cookie wrappers, and medicine including injectable testosterone, syringes, antibiotics and cough syrups, the show said. The two-story house had four bedrooms and five bathrooms. There were flat-screen TVs and Internet connection throughout the house, according to “Primero Noticias.”
The Marines eventually found a hidden passageway behind a mirror, with a handle hidden in the light fixture. The handle opened a secret door, leading down into the escape tunnel, the show explained.
The escape tunnel was fully lit and led to an access door for the city sewage system, “Primero Noticias” said, adding that Guzman had at least a 20-minute head start on the Marines.
The address where Guzman was captured had been monitored for a month, Mexican Attorney General Arely Gomez has said. According to Gomez, Guzman and his lieutenant escaped through that drainage system.
“Primero Noticias” said it obtained surveillance footage showing Guzman and his lieutenant emerging from the manhole cover, where they then stole two cars to flee, the show said.
Guzman was finally caught when he and the lieutenant were stopped on a highway by Mexican Federal Police, the show said.
Authorities took them to a motel to wait for reinforcement. The men were then taken to Los Mochis airport and transfered to Mexico City.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP PHOTO
Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is escorted by soldiers and marines to a waiting helicopter, at a federal hangar in Mexico City, Jan. 8, 2016.
Guzman is now back in prison as his lawyers fight his extradition to the U.S.
The drug kingpin escaped from the Altiplano prison near Mexico City on July 11, launching an active manhunt. When guards realized that he was missing from his cell, they found a ventilated tunnel and exit had been constructed in the bathtub inside Guzman’s cell. The tunnel extended for about a mile underground and featured an adapted motorcycle on rails that officials believe was used to transport the tools used to create the tunnel, Monte Alejandro Rubido, the head of the Mexican national security commission, said in July.
Guzman had been sent there after he was arrested in February 2014. He spent more than 10 years on the run after escaping from a different prison in 2001. It’s unclear exactly how he had escaped, but he did receive help from prison guards who were prosecuted and convicted.
Guzman, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was once described by the U.S. Treasury as “the most powerful drug trafficker in the world.” The Sinaloa cartel allegedly uses elaborate tunnels for drug trafficking and has been estimated to be responsible for 25 percent of all illegal drugs that enter the U.S. through Mexico.
The 116th Congress will convene Thursday, including a new Democratic majority in the House after female candidates spearheaded gains for the party during the 2018 midterms. The presumptive incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview that President Donald Trump can expect a “different world” from his first two years in office. She and her Democratic colleagues plan to confront Trump on such issues as the deaths of migrant children and the protection of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. And they will have subpoena power, giving them new leverage in the clashes.
Government shutdown: Fight for funding takes a new turn
Shortly after Nancy Pelosi returns as House speaker and Democrats reclaim the House majority Thursday, they will put their new political power to the test by moving to reopen the federal government. Democratic leaders have scheduled two votes on a package of bills to end the shutdown and give Congress more time to negotiate a deal with the White House over border funding. But the bills still must clear the GOP-controlled Senate, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has said he won’t call for a vote to end the standoff unless President Donald Trump backs it.
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Democratic leaders told press outside the White House that they’re presenting the president with a plan to reopen the government while still negotiating border security. USA TODAY
App could change the way we react to earthquakes
Los Angeles officials will formally announce a new app for Apple and Android smartphones Thursday that may give residents a few seconds to prepare for an earthquake. Similar to an Amber Alert, ShakeAlertLA will give warnings when significant shaking starts nearby, ideally allowing users to get to a safe place. The U.S. Geological Survey has been developing the alert system for the West Coast since 2006, ShakeAlertLA says. Users will only receive alerts for earthquake and aftershocks over 5.0 magnitude, which are deemed capable of creating damage and affecting public safety.
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PGA Tour begins 2019 with a notable absence
The Sentry Tournament of Champions begins Thursday in Hawaii, but Tiger Woods will not be participating after speculation he could start his 2019 campaign at Kapalua. Woods has not played the TOC since 2005, but will likely begin 2019 at the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 24 at Torrey Pines. Among the notable players in the field in Hawaii are defending champion Dustin Johnson, 2018 PGA Player of the Year Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau.
Didn’t get what you want over the holidays? Well, you’re in luck!
Thursday is expected to be the second biggest day for holiday returns which will mean shoppers may face crowds or issues when exchanging or bringing back unwanted gifts. In anticipation for the annual return-a-thon, — UPS is expecting returns to hit 1.3 million — retailers also have launched their after-Christmas sales. According to the National Retail Federation’s annual December survey, 50 percent of consumers plan to take advantage of after-Christmas sales in stores and 45 percent plan to do the same online. If you plan on returning gifts, experts recommend reading store policies and deadlines to avoid post-holiday-gift-return headaches.
According to Johns Hopkins University, at least 777,286 people around the world are known to have been infected since the outbreak began, though the true figure is likely to be higher. The institution says 37,140 people have died and 164,435 have recovered.
The daily government tally only accounts for those dying in hospital but authorities say they will very soon be able to compile data on deaths in retirement homes, which is likely to result in a big increase in registered fatalities.
Israeli prime minister tests negative
Benjamin Netanyahu and his key advisers isolated themselves after one of the prime minister’s aides tested positive for the coronavirus. Later, it was confirmed that Netanyahu had tested negative, though his spokesman said he would remain quarantined until further instructions were issued by the Israeli ministry of health.
Italians face lockdown extension despite slowing growth in cases
The lockdown imposed on Italians is being extended at least until Easter, health minister Roberto Speranza says. Italy has been under lockdown for three weeks and the restrictions were due to end on Friday.
Earlier, it was revealed that the number of new cases rose by just 4,050 on Monday; the lowest nominal increase since 17 March.
UK police to get lockdown guidelines
New guidance is being drawn up warning police forces not to overreach their lockdown enforcement powers after some were criticised for deploying controversial tactics in recent days.
Study reveals increased risks from middle age onwards
The first comprehensive study of Covid-19 deaths and hospital admissions in mainland China reveals the increase in risk for patients once they reach middle age. The analysis finds that, while the average death rate for confirmed cases is 1.38%, the rate rises sharply with age – from 0.0016% in the under 10s, to 7.8% for those in their 80s and over.
Tasmania records its second death
Peter Gutwein, the Tasmanian premier, says a man died overnight, bringing the state’s total to two. “This is … two deaths too many, and it serves as a warning to us all that these are going to be tough and difficult times and we must all do our part to keep Tasmania safe,” he said. The new deaths bring Australia’s death toll to 19.
Covid-19 cluster in Bondi
There are signs of community transmission in Waverley and Bondi in New South Wales in Australia, according to the state’s premier Gladys Berejiklian. She says it istoo early to say NSW is beating the curve and reduce any restrictions. “Do not leave your home unless you absolutely have to,” she tells residents.
US ‘faces hundreds of thousands of deaths’
As many as 200,000 people in the US may die even if Washington plays its response to the outbreak “almost perfectly”, according Dr Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus taskforce.
“If we do things together well, almost perfectly, we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities,” she told NBC News’ Today. We don’t even want to see that … the best-case scenario would be 100% of Americans doing precisely what is required, but we’re not sure … that all of America is responding in a uniform way to protect one another.”
Rescue flights to repatriate Britons
Tens of thousands of people stranded abroad will be flown back to the UK by airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Titan Airways on chartered planes as part of a partnership between the government and private enterprise announced by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.
Party officials are frustrated that the former president’s record was collateral damage in the debate attacks on Joe Biden.
Joe Biden is fair game. Barack Obama is not.
Former Obama White House officials and allies responded in force Thursday to stress that message after several Democratic contenders criticized the former president in a debate that featured uncharacteristically tough assessments of his policies.
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The disparagement of aspects of Obama’s record led to stern warnings that the tactic could backfire on the presidential candidates themselves — and perhaps arm Republicans with ammunition to attack the eventual Democratic nominee next fall.
“Stay away from Barack Obama,” advised Steve Elmendorf, a well-known Democratic lobbyist who worked on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.
“I don’t know why you would attack Barack Obama or his record or any part of him when he’s the most popular person in the party,” he added. “And I don’t think it helps for the general election voters, either. I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
Republicans have already seized on the division. Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump’s eldest son, tweeted Thursday morning how nice it was “to see Democrats finally go after Obama’s failed policies very aggressively.”
On Thursday night at a campaign rally in Cincinnati, the president echoed the theme.
“The Democrats spent more time attacking Barack Obama than they did attacking me, practically,” he said. “This morning, that’s all the fake news was talking about.“
Obama, who endorsed dozens of party candidates in 2018 and was active on the campaign trail, remains a revered figure within the party. Several presidential hopefuls have sought the two-term president’s advice and counsel, and he continues to have periodic conversations with candidates, according to a source close to the former president.
But as rivals attempted to level attacks on Biden, Obama got caught in the crossfire Wednesday. The former president, once referred to by critics as the “deporter in chief,” came under fire for the rate of deportations under his watch, and his signature health carelaw also drew heavy scrutiny.
In large part, it’s because Biden’s eight-year service to the nation’s first black president has made him a difficult target in the primary. He often calls Obama by his first name to illustrate their closeness and makes references to the “Obama-Biden administration.” More recently, he used Obama’s decision to tap him as a running mate in 2008 to swat down criticism of his record on criminal justice.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker accused Biden of invoking Obama more than any other candidate on stage Wednesday. “You can’t have it both ways,” he said. “You can’t do it when it’s convenient and then dodge it when it’s not.”
But Booker wasn’t the only one to call out Biden. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio asked Biden if he used his power as VP to stop the deportations. Biden said he was keeping his recommendations private but said Obama “moved to fundamentally change the system.”
“But much more has to be done,” Biden said. “Much more has to be done.”
Biden asserted he would “absolutely not” deport immigrants at the rate the Obama administration did in its first two years. The administration’s nearly 800,000 deportations were more than the number of deportations during the Trump administration’s first two years.
In a discussion with California Sen. Kamala Harris over her “Medicare for All” style plan, Biden stressed that “Obamacare is working” and Democrats should build on its success.
It was one of many instances in which Biden was forced into a defensive posture over the Obama record, leaving some Democrats frustrated.
“The GOP didn’t attack Reagan, they built him up for decades,” tweeted Neera Tanden, CEO and president of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress and the Obama campaign’s domestic policy director. “Dem Candidates who attack Obama are wrong and terrible. Obama wasn’t perfect, but come on people, next to Trump, he kind of is.”
Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director, told MSNBC, “It was interesting last night to see a debate in which a lot of Democrats on the stage decided to attack the legacy of Barack Obama rather than to take it directly to Donald Trump.”
Biden himself told reporters in Detroit onThursdayhe was proud to serve alongside Obama and proud of what he accomplished. He said he was surprised by the“degree of criticism” but insisted Obama had nothing to apologize for.
“The next debate, I hope we can talk about how we fix our answers, to fix things that Trump has broken, not how Barack Obama made all these mistakes,” Biden said. “He didn’t. He didn’t.”
Obama, who has largely stayed on the sidelines and has no plans to endorse in the primary, understands that the Democratic Party has changed since 2008 and candidates won’t be entirely in lockstep with him, according to the source close to him.
He wants to see them share a forward-looking vision for the country but doesn’t mind a fact-based criticism of his record, said the source, who described talking about what the Obama administration did — and what the candidates would do differently — as the appropriate way to criticize him.
In TV interviews Thursday morning, Harris and Booker heaped praise on Obama but also defended their approaches in the debate. Harris framed her health care proposal to MSNBC as a plan that builds on Obamacare. Booker, meanwhile, told CNN that “nothing is without” criticism in public service and not even Obama is perfect.
Still, many Democrats feel going after Obama is the wrong way to go.
“I think attacking President Obama is bad policy and bad politics,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.
“No sane political person would advise any candidate to run on a policy platform of third Obama term because the issues facing our country have changed and the debates have progressed,” said Jen Psaki, who served as the Obama White House’s communications director. “But every minute spent arguing over the record of a former president who is supported by 95 percent of the Democratic electorate and not on making the case for why a Democrat should replace Donald Trump is a minute wasted.”
Henry Crespo, former chair of the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida, who watched the debate with about a dozen fellow black Democratic officials and operatives, cold-called a POLITICO reporter outraged with what he saw transpire on the debate stage Tuesday and the following day, when Harris and Bookerappeared to him to be insufficiently supportive of Obama.
“Obama is an icon in our community. And they’re attacking his legacy Obamacare? And Joe Biden is the one defending it?” he asked.
“We were sitting here watching this and wondering: ‘What the hell are you doing? What is wrong with our party?’ It’s like they want to lose,” Crespo said, adding that Democrats like him resent Harris and Booker for attacking Biden’s record on race.
“Joe Biden is not Bull Connor,” Crespo said. “You just can’t make us believe it.”
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Biden’s campaign co-chair and the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Obamacare is widely supported among African Americans because it’s good policy and people know how hard it was for Obama to pass his signature health law.
“I don’t think it’s the wisest move to go after it. You’ve got to realize when you go after it, you’re doing exactly what Trump and Republicans have tried to do, which is repeal Obamacare,” he said. “When you talk about the Affordable Care Act, there’s deep, deep appreciation for it. That was a hard-fought win.”
Though two prominent African American senators — Harris and Booker — have emerged as prominent Biden critics in the primary, Biden has a significant edge in support from black voters.
“The attacks, particularly from Harris and Booker, have been backfiring with black voters who always show up in Democratic primaries,” said Patrick Murray, a Monmouth University pollster who released a survey last week showing Biden capturing 51 percent of the African-American vote in South Carolina’s Democratic primary, where more than 60 percent of the electorate is black.
“Black voters are significantly less liberal than white voters in the Democratic primary,” Murray said. “So if their strategy is to attack him because he’s not woke enough on race or left enough on issues like Medicare for All, it’s not going to help you with these voters.”
Murray said polls show the dismissal of Obamacare made no sense more broadly with Democratic voters who like the program. Surveys also show voters prefer Biden’s proposal to add a Medicare-like public option to Obamacare rather than scrapping all private insurance and instituting a Medicare for All plan.
Several members of the Obama administration let his first attorney general, Eric Holder, speak for them, retweeting a now-viral message to the field he posted Wednesday night.
“To my fellow Democrats. Be wary of attacking the Obama record,” he wrote. “Build on it. Expand it. But there is little to be gained — for you or the party — by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President.”
Alex Thompson,Quint Forgey and James Arkin contributed to this report.
Voters stand in line to cast their ballots during the first day of early voting in the U.S. Senate runoffs at Lenora Park in Atlanta in December 2020.
Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images
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Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images
Voters stand in line to cast their ballots during the first day of early voting in the U.S. Senate runoffs at Lenora Park in Atlanta in December 2020.
Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed a massive overhaul of election laws, shortly after the Republican-controlled state legislature approved it. The bill enacts new limitations on mail-in voting, expands most voters’ access to in-person early voting and caps a months-long battle over voting in a battleground state.
“With Senate bill 202, Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible and fair,” Kemp told reporters Thursday evening.
Kemp’s remarks during the signing appeared to have been cut short as Democratic state Rep. Park Cannon was escorted out of the building and arrested by Georgia State Patrol. Cannon was seen on video before that knocking on the governor’s door as he spoke. According to the Fulton County Department of Public Safety website, Cannon was charged with willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence and preventing or disrupting general assembly sessions.
The Georgia State Constitution states that lawmakers “shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly” except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.
The 96-page bill makes dramatic alterations to Georgia’s absentee voting rules, adding new identification requirements, moving back the request deadline and other changes after a record 1.3 million absentee ballots overwhelmed local elections officials and raised Republican skepticism of a voting method they created.
Previous plans to require an excuse to vote by mail, as well as restrict weekend voting hours primarily used in larger Democratic-leaning counties, were scrapped amid mounting opposition from voting rights groups, Democrats and county elections supervisors.
On a 100-75 party-line vote, the state House approved SB 202 early Thursday, and the Senate voted later Thursday to agree with the House changes 34-20 on a party-line vote as well.
“Included in SB 202 are topics that are important to all Georgians,” Ethics Committee Chair and state Sen. Max Burns said when presenting the bill, ticking through provisions like a new fraud hotline for the attorney general’s office to a new expansion of early voting.
Earlier law required three weeks of in-person early voting Monday through Friday, plus one Saturday, during “normal business hours. The new bill adds an extra Saturday, makes both Sundays optional for counties, and standardizes hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or as long as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
SB 202 also criminalizes passing out food or drinks to voters waiting in line, except for a self-serve water station.
Many of the measures in SB 202 will streamline the election administration process at the local level, such as allowing officials to process absentee ballots sooner, require them to count ballots nonstop once the polls close and allow flexibility with voting equipment for smaller, lower-turnout races. Poll workers could serve in neighboring counties, after the pandemic saw a shortage of trained workers.
Precincts with more than 2,000 voters that have lines longer than an hour at three different points throughout the day have to add more machines, add more staff or split up the poll. The absentee ballot request window is narrower, starting for most Georgians 11 weeks before the election and ending 11 days before.
Third-party absentee ballot applications must be more clearly labeled, and state and local governments are not be allowed to send unsolicited applications.
The bill will also shorten Georgia’s nine-week runoff period to four weeks by sending military and overseas voters instant-runoff ranked choice absentee ballots and only requiring in-person early voting starting the Monday eight days before election day.
Democrats opposed several pieces of the bill, including language that removes the secretary of state as chair of the State Election Board, allowing the SEB and lawmakers a process to temporarily take over elections offices and limiting the number, location and access to secure absentee drop boxes.
Drop boxes were enacted as an emergency rule of the SEB because of the coronavirus pandemic, so this codifies their existence, requires all counties to have at least one, and would only allow voters to use the drop boxes during early voting hours and inside early voting locations.
“How does this bill help to build voter trust and confidence?” state Rep. Debbie Buckner said. “The bill adds up to more burdens and cost and returns to old practices that were abandoned years ago for security, convenience and safety.”
Voters who show up to the wrong precinct will not have provisional ballots counted, unless it’s after 5 p.m. and they signed a statement they could not make it to the correct poll.
A performance review of local elections officials could be initiated by the county commission or a certain threshold of General Assembly members. The SEB could also create an independent performance review board, and no more than four elections superintendents could be suspended at any given time.
Democratic Rep. Kim Alexander said county elections officials shared concern about the timing and the cost of the legislation, including a requirement for more expensive security paper for ballots.
“We have heard testimony from county election officials … that more time is needed to fully understand the fiscal and logistical impacts the provisions in these bills would have,” she said. “Given the substantial changes we’d be making with this legislation, why not take more time to get county input on the proposed legislation and take this up next session?”
In the Senate, Democrats objected to the bill being brought up without a fiscal analysis of the cost to the state and counties, but Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan ruled that the bill did not meet requirements that needed that sort of analysis.
Elsewhere in the bill, the secretary of state will be required to conduct a pilot of posting scanned ballot images from elections, and those images would be public records. Ballots used in the election will have to be on special security paper, which will cost more to use.
Overall, the bill will touch nearly every facet of elections, like a section that aims to provide more information about vote totals as results come in.
As soon as possible, but no later than 10 p.m. on election night, counties must publish the total number of votes cast by each method, and all absentee ballots have to be counted by 5 p.m. the day after the election, otherwise a county supervisor could face the state’s new performance review process.
The 20-candidate special election to fill the remainder of Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term and accompanying runoff between then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler and current Sen. Raphael Warnock is no more: special elections have special primaries.
Fulton County is no longer be able to use its two mobile voting buses for early voting, as the bill limits mobile polls to emergencies.
Wall Street remontó hoy posiciones en la recta final y el Dow Jones, su principal indicador, cerró con un leve ascenso del 0,08%, a pesar de los resultados de Morgan Stanley y las malas noticias procedentes de China.
Ese índice sumó 14,57 puntos y terminó en 17.215,97 unidades, mientras que el selectivo S&P 500 avanzó 0,03% hasta 2.033,67 enteros y el índice compuesto del mercado Nasdaq progresó 0,38% y quedó en 4.905,47 unidades.
Los operadores en la plaza neoyorquina lograron remontar las pérdidas que habían acumulado durante buena parte de la jornada tras el mal sabor que dejaron las cuentas trimestrales de Morgan Stanley y unos nuevos datos que confirman la desaceleración en China.
El banco de inversiones ganó 1.018 millones de dólares (48 centavos por acción), un 44 % menos que un año antes, y su facturación bajó un 13 %, hasta 7.767 millones, y sus acciones cedieron un 4,83 % en la Bolsa de Nueva York (NYSE).
Los inversores también vieron con preocupación otro dato peor de lo esperado en China, donde se acentuó su desaceleración económica en el tercer trimestre con un crecimiento interanual de un 6,9 %, según la Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas.
Las malas noticias procedentes del gigante asiático también impactaron en el mercado de materias primas, donde el precio del barril de petróleo cerró con fuertes pérdidas en los mercados internacionales.
Mr. Jordan was deeply involved in Mr. Trump’s effort to fight the election results, including participating in planning meetings in November 2020 at Trump campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., and a meeting at the White House in December 2020.
On Jan. 5, Mr. Jordan forwarded to Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, a text message he had received from a lawyer and former Pentagon inspector general outlining a legal strategy to overturn the election.
“On Jan. 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as president of the Senate, should call out all the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all — in accordance with guidance from founding father Alexander Hamilton and judicial precedence,” the text read.
Mr. Jordan has acknowledged speaking with Mr. Trump on Jan. 6, though he has said he cannot remember how many times they spoke that day or when the calls occurred.
Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming and the vice chairwoman of the committee, has said that Mr. Jordan is a “material witness” to the events of Jan. 6.
Campaign Trail Mix: Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg back Stephanie Abrams’ claim that she was the victim of voter suppression in Georgia’s gubernatorial race.
“Don’t listen to anybody in either party who says we can just go back to what we were doing,” Buttigieg told the Des Moines crowd, according to the Washington Examiner. “We in the LGBT community know that when we hear phrases like ‘Make America Great Again,’ that that American past was never quite as great as advertised.”
It’s a usual refrain for Buttigieg to criticize Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, but by including “both parties” he seemed to reference Biden — who is running on his decades-long political career and on Democrats’ nostalgia for the Barack Obama presidency.
In fact, Biden posted a tweet Saturday, reminding his followers of his close association with his former boss.
But Biden has recently come under scrutiny over issues like his reversal on the Hyde Amendment on abortion funding and the 1994 crime bill, according to the Examiner.
The former vice president has consistently led the pack of 2020 Democratic contenders, and his rivals have struggled to tread the fine line between standing out from Biden and avoiding alienating his supporters.
Despite the dig, Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., balked at the idea that he should see the other candidates as the enemy.
“I don’t even view us as having opponents so much as competitors. You would be surprised how often we are in dialogue with each other,” he said. “We might as well carpool,” he joked about the large number of candidates in Iowa over the weekend.
A new poll of likely Democratic caucus goers in Iowa that came out Saturday shows Biden’s support in the first caucus state has gone down by nearly a third since last fall and Buttigieg is now in a statistical tie for second place with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
Noticias Telemundo’s “Inmigración, Trump y los Hispanos” (Immigration, Trump and the Hispanic Community) Town Hall broadcast on Sunday, February 12 at 7PM/6 C, ranked # 1 in Spanish-language TV in primetime across all key demographics, averaging 1.57 million total viewers, 708,000 adults 18 to 49 and 325,000 adults 18 to 34, according to Nielsen. The news special moderated by Noticias Telemundo News Anchor José Díaz-Balart also positioned Telemundo as the #1 Spanish-language network during the entire primetime on Sunday, across all key demos.
“Noticias Telemundo is empowering millions of Latinos with reliable and TRANSPARENT information at a time of change,” said José Díaz-Balart. “Viewers trust us because they know our only commitment is to present the facts the way they are, with professionalism and a total commitment to our community.”
“Immigration, Trump and the Hispanic Community” also reached 1.6 million viewers on Facebook, generating 23,000 global actions on the social network.
The Town Hall answered viewers’ questions about the impact of President Trump’s immigration policy on the Hispanic community. The news special featured a panel of experts, including immigration lawyer and Telemundo contributor Alma Rosa Nieto; Telemundo conservative political analyst Ana Navarro; the Deputy Vice President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Clarissa Martínez, and CHIRLA’s Executive Director, Angélica Salas. In addition, “El Poder en Ti”, Telemundo’s robust community initiative, launched an Internet site for Hispanics looking for information, tools and resources on immigration in parallel to the Town Hall.
“Inmigración, Trump y los Hispanos” is part of a series of Noticias Telemundo specials, including “Trump en la Casa Blanca,” produced the day after the elections, and “Trump y los Latinos,” which aired on Inauguration Day. All of these programs share an emphasis on allowing audiences to express their views and empower them by giving them access to trustworthy, rigorous and relevant information presented under Noticias Telemundo’s banner “Telling It Like It Is” (“Las Cosas Como Son” in Spanish).
Noticias Telemundo is the information unit of Telemundo Network and a leader provider in news serving the US Hispanics across all broadcast and digital platforms. Its award-winning television news broadcasts include the daily newscast “Noticias Telemundo,” the Sunday current affairs show “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart” and the daily news and entertainment magazine “Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste.” The rapidly-growing “Noticias Telemundo Digital Team” provides continuous content to US Hispanics wherever they are, whenever they want it. Noticias Telemundo also produces award winning news specials, documentaries and news event such as political debates, forums and town halls.
Britain on Thursday accused Russia of a “war crime” for an attack the previous day on a children’s and maternity hospital in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials have said that at least three people, including a young girl, were killed in the strike, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky labelled an “atrocity” soon after it happened.
U.K. armed forces minister James Heappey said Thursday that regardless of whether it was “indiscriminate” fire by Russia into a built-up area or a deliberate targeting of a health facility, “it is a war crime.”
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking alongside Poland’s president Thursday in Warsaw, noted the attack on the hospital and said the world was witnessing “atrocities of unimaginable proportions in Ukraine.”
“We stand with the people of Ukraine,” Harris said after reaffirming America’s “ironclad” commitment to defend NATO nations.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attends a news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda (not pictured) at Belwelder Palace, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Warsaw, Poland March 10, 2022.
Saul Loeb/Pool/REUTERS
Asked later if she believed Russia’s actions should be investigated as possible war crimes, Harris said “when it comes to crimes and violations of international norms” the U.S. was “clear that any intentional attack on innocent victims is a violation.”
She said the United Nations had an established process to determine whether war crimes had been committed, and “absolutely there should be an investigation. The eyes of the world are on this war and what Russia has done.”
An injured pregnant woman walks downstairs at the bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Speaking after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday in Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the claims of a Russian attack on a functioning hospital as lies and propaganda.
“It is not the first time we have seen pathetic outcries concerning the so-called atrocities” by Russia, Lavrov said, claiming the hospital was being used as a base by an “ultra-radical” Ukrainian battalion. He said Russia had submitted data to the United Nations “days ago” to prove its claim, and accused foreign media of manipulating information on the strike.
Lavrov claimed no patients or staff had been at the facility, which he insisted had “long ago become a base for extremists.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a news conference after meeting with his counterparts Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba and Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Antalya, Turkey, March 10, 2022.
STRINGER/REUTERS
CBS News’ Pamela Falk reported from United Nations headquarters that Russia’s U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia did tell Security Council members on March 7 that “locals” in Mariupol had reported “that Ukraine’s Armed Forces kicked out personnel of natal hospital #1 of the city of Mariupol and set up a firing site within the facility.”
Nebenzia offered no evidence to support the claim, and Russia has been accused for weeks by the West of making false statements to create a pretext for attacks in Ukraine.
“We lost three people, including a child, a girl. The number of wounded is 17. These are children, women, medical workers,” Ukraine’s Zelensky said in a video address on Thursday.
“This topic was mentioned on Russian TV,” said Zelensky. “But not a word of truth was said. The Russians were lied to that there had been no patients in the hospital and no women or children in the maternity hospital. The Russians were lied to that ‘nationalists’ had allegedly taken up positions there. They lie confidently, as always.”
CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata said the massive airstrike on the hospital in Mariupol shattered a fragile cease-fire in the southern port city of Mariupol late Wednesday afternoon amid efforts to evacuate civilians from the besieged city.
Emergency teams and soldiers scrambled to evacuate the wounded, including pregnant women, from the hospital. The blast destroyed the complex inside and out, and the size and depth of the crater and the surrounding debris were clear evidence of its ferocity, D’Agata said.
Albania’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ferit Hoxha, speaking Thursday to the Security Council, dismissed Russian allegations that the hospital was being used by any armed forces.
“What we saw were women in labor among rubble. We condemn this in the strongest terms. This is a crime which should not remain unpunished and no one should get away with crime,” Hoxha said according to Falk.
Mariupol has come under heavy Russian bombardment for days, cutting off power and water to more than 400,000 people trapped in the city. Ukrainian officials say at least 1,200 civilians have been killed there since the war began, and images have shown city workers placing bodies into a mass grave.
A car burns outside the damaged maternity hospital in Mariupol, March 9, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Ukrainian officials said at least seven more civilians were killed in further Russian artillery attacks overnight, and the city council said on Thursday that the rocket fire continued, hitting more civilian infrastructure.
“Bombs are hitting houses,” the council said in a social media post.
A video shared on the Telegram social media app by Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and a former member of the Ukraine’s parliament, showed what he said were fresh strikes hitting central Mariupol on Thursday.
An image from video shared on the Telegram social media app by Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and a former member of the Ukraine’s parliament, shows what he said were fresh Russian strikes hitting central Mariupol on March 10, 2022. BBC News said it had confirmed the location of the video as being central Mariupol.
Telegram/Anton Gerashchenko
“Russian occupiers continue to shell residential areas of Mariupol. The maternity and the children’s hospitals are not enough for them, they want more victims among the civilians,” Gerashchenko said in his post.
A humanitarian convoy trying to reach Mariupol was forced to turn back on Thursday because of ongoing fighting, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
After his discussion with Lavrov on Thursday, Ukraine’s Kuleba said he was prepared to meet his counterpart again to “continue engagement” aimed at first establishing a cease-fire and humanitarian corridor for Mariupol, saying the city was at the epicenter of the humanitarian crisis in his country.
Embattled Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam tells CBS This Morning that he will not resign after a blackface photo emerged in his medical school yearbook. (Feb. 11) AP
Pam Northam, the wife of embattled Virginia governor Ralph Northam, is facing criticism for her handling of a governor’s mansion tour in which she handed cotton to multiple African-American students and asked them to ponder slavery, according to reports.
Letters from the girl and her mother detail the alleged incident. They say the eighth-grade girl — who served as a page for the state senate — visited the governor’s mansion with other pages on Feb. 21. Pages are high school students appointed by senators that often help deliver messages and prepare the chamber for senate sessions.
During that visit, Northam is said to have handed multiple African-American pages cotton and asked them to imagine what it would be like to pick cotton as slaves.
Leah Dozier Walker, the girl’s mother, wrote in a letter that her daughter was left “upset and deeply offended” by the incident. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has published that letter and identified Walker as the director of the state’s Office of Equity and Community Engagement for the state’s Department of Education.
“I can not for the life of me understand why the First Lady would single out the African American pages for this – or – why she would ask them such an insensitive question,” Walker’s letter reads.
The girl’s letter — addressed to Northam and published by WAVY-TV — says the cotton was handed to herself and another African-American page. Northam also gave it to “other pages,” the letter says.
Northam is said to have asked the pages: “Can you imagine being an enslaved person and having to pick this all day?”
Northam’s office and another parent whose child was in attendance during the tour have disputed the claim that Northam singled out black students, The Washington Post reports. The first lady handed the cotton to a group of students, they say.
In a statement published by multiple outlets, Northam said she has worked to include the stories of slaves in tours of the governor’s residence.
“I have provided the same educational tour to Executive Mansion visitors over the last few months and used a variety of artifacts and agricultural crops with the intention of illustrating a painful period of Virginia history. I regret that I have upset anyone,” the statement reads.
The controversy comes after Virginia governor Ralph Northam has faced calls for his resignation from leading Democrats since his 1984 yearbook page from Eastern Virginia Medical School surfaced weeks ago. The page included a photo of a man in blackface standing beside a person in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.
Walker says the latest incident brings a new relevance to the previous scandal: “But the actions of Mrs. Northam, just last week, do not lead me to believe that this Governor’s office has taken seriously the harm and hurt they have caused African Americans in Virginia or that they are deserving of our forgiveness,” the letter says.
Walker’s letter was copied to multiple lawmakers to make sure her daughter’s experience is taken seriously, the complaint says.
São Paulo – The countries in the Middle East and North Africa should grow less than expected in 2014 and 2015, and so should the world economy. The same holds true of developing countries such as Brazil and South Africa, but not of advanced economies. So says the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) released this Tuesday (8th) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Fund believes the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be up 3.6% this year and 3.9% in 2015; both rates are down 0.1% from the WEO revision issued in January. The GDP of Middle East and North Africa countries should be up 3.2% on average this year (down 0.1% from January) and 4.5% in 2015. The prior forecast for 2015 was 4.8%.
In a statement released alongside the WEO, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said the beginning of the world economic recovery in October last year is not only “strong,” but also “broader.” Still, old risks and new challenges continue to threaten the world’s recovery from the 2008 crisis. The hazards listed by the IMF include high rates of indebtedness, high unemployment and concerns over emerging markets. New challenges include the risk of deflation in advanced economies and geopolitical tensions.
The document notes that advanced economies such as the United States, Japan, China and the Eurozone are driving global growth, but the challenge for emerging countries lies in growing despite domestic adjustments and scarcer credit.
“Many (emerging) economies need a new round of structural reforms that include investment in infrastructure, removal of barriers to entry in product and services markets, and in China, rebalancing growth away from investment toward consumption,” said Blanchard.
Arab growth
As per the report, oil output in Arab countries has declined, partly due to political instability in Libya, low growth in private investment and higher government spending stemming from conflicts and political transitions. Nevertheless, Arab economies are expected to grow this year, driven by higher exports and investment.
Concerning investment in the region, the WEO cites Qatar’s investment plan for hosting the 2022 World Cup, and the United Arab Emirates’ for hosting the 2020 World Expo, in Dubai. Still, the WEO posits that Arab countries, especially non-oil exporting ones, are plagued by high unemployment, high indebtedness and low competitiveness. The WEO’s calculations include the economies of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, which are located in the Middle East but are not Arab countries.
The IMF forecasts growth of 4.1% in 2014 and 4.2% in 2015 for Saudi Arabia; 4.3% in 2014 and 4.1% in 2015 for Algeria; 4.4% and 4.2% for the United Arab Emirates; 5.9% and 7.1% for Qatar; 2.6% and 3% for Kuwait; 5.9% and 6.7% for Iraq; 2.3% and 4.1% for Egypt; 3.9% and 4.9% for Morocco; 3% and 4.5% for Tunisia; 2.7% and 4.6% for Sudan; 1% and 2.5% for Lebanon; and 3.5% and 4% for Jordan.
Slower growth in Brazil
The WEO has revised down its Brazilian economic growth forecast. The document names low private investment, low competitiveness and restricted domestic supplies as the reasons for 1.8% growth this year and 2.7% in 2015. The prior forecast was 2.3% in 2014 and 2.9% in 2015. The growth expectancy for Brazil is lower than the global rate and the estimate for emerging countries, which is 4.9% this year and 5.3% in 2015. The WEO forecast for China has been maintained at 7.5% this year and 7.3% in 2015.
Few Americans alive today have set foot inside North Korea, the isolated, nuclear-armed dictatorship sometimes called the Hermit Kingdom.
On Sunday, Ivanka Trump became one of them, capping a consequential three-day Asian trip in which the president’s eldest daughter played a very public role that blended family ties with diplomatic work that is usually performed by diplomats.
She pronounced the short walk to the other side of one of the world’s most fortified borders “surreal.”
Previously, at the Group of 20 economic summit in Japan, Ivanka Trump was everywhere — at her father’s side at times when other leaders’ spouses were present (first lady Melania Trump skipped the trip), in meetings where her presence puzzled other participants, and even giving an awkward video “readout” of Trump’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Another video of Ivanka Trump talking with British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde at the G-20 also went viral over the weekend. Lagarde’s impatient side-eye as Ivanka Trump interjects in what appears to have been a back-and-forth between Macron and May suggested irritation at finding herself standing alongside the daughter of the U.S. president — rather than the president himself.
“As soon as you charge them with that economic aspect of it, a lot of people start listening who otherwise wouldn’t listen,” May can be heard saying, as Lagarde nods in agreement.
“And the same with the defense side of it, in terms of the whole business that’s been, sort of, male-dominated,” Ivanka Trump then says, as a startled-looking Lagarde turns toward her, then purses her lips.
A video shows Ivanka Trump looking into the camera as she recounts meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Modi and others at the G-20, and touts a program launched by G-20 members to expand access to capital for women in the developing world.
“It’s been a great success; one of the truly great deliverables of the G-20 in Hamburg” two years ago, Ivanka Trump says. “Very excited to talk about the deliverables of this important initiative.”
She also posted a photo in which she and Kushner pose with Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“Today, President Trump held dynamic and productive meetings with many world leaders to discuss key security and economic issues. It is an honor to be a member of the U.S. delegation during an incredible first day of the #G20OsakaSummit,” she wrote.
But the final day of Trump’s trip — with the history-making trip to the DMZ and an address to U.S. forces stationed in South Korea that had at times sounded like a campaign rally — produced the most dramatic images of Ivanka Trump in her hybrid and often inscrutable role.
Trump invited Pompeo onstage at the Osan Air Base, and gave a nod to traditional diplomacy by saying that a “whole team” would follow up on Trump’s third face-to-face discussion with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Pompeo trotted onto the stage and started toward Trump but hadn’t made it to the lectern when Trump moved on to the big reveal.
“And you know who else I have?” he asked, leaning toward the crowd for dramatic effect.
“Has anybody ever heard of Ivanka? he asked, to whoops from the crowd.
“Come up here,” he commanded, as Ivanka Trump appeared at the rear of the stage.
Even as so many Americans decry the events of January 6, the day has had lasting impacts on the nation’s psyche, the most immediate of which is that millions of Americans think more violence is coming, and that democracy itself might be threatened.
The reality — and this won’t allay all those fears — is that there are some Americans who generally view force or political violence undertaken by others as justifiable, depending on the situation. That applies to the violence on January 6, and to a few for whom 2020 remains unsettled, but also extends to other issues, from abortion to gun policy to civil rights. And it’s partially related to beliefs that political opponents are an existential threat, or being convinced they’ll do worse to you. We stress this is not how most people feel, and that those who do are a low number in percentage terms. But then, we’ve also seen that it doesn’t take large numbers to provoke these wider concerns in the nation.
So, when people feel democracy is threatened, their concerns about violence become even more critical, and here’s where public opinion really matters: democracy depends on its citizens adhering to its norms both because they believe in them, and because they expect others will, too.
More violence to come?
The implications of January 6 are reverberating through the polity: two-thirds see the events as a harbinger of increasing political violence, not an isolated incident. That leads to larger misgivings. When people see it as a sign of increasing violence, they’re more likely to think violence is a reason democracy is threatened.
January 6 views — then and now
The events of January 6 were widely condemned when they happened and still are today by majorities of both parties. But there is an alternative set of descriptors and interpretations of those events, and of what should happen next, largely on the right, along with a softening of their disapproval that’s worthy of attention.
Despite overall disapproval of the events on January 6, Republicans do stand apart from others in offering descriptions that are less harsh. One, the intensity with which Republicans disapprove softened over the summer and has stayed softer. A year ago, most Republicans strongly disapproved, but today, their disapproval is spread between strongly and a bit more only somewhat disapproving.
Americans who no longer strongly disapprove are less likely to describe the day’s events as an insurrection than they were in January. They are also much likelier to consume conservative media than those consistent in strongly disapproving.
Moreover, four in 10 Republicans have a different conception of who was involved in the first place, saying most of those who forced their way into the Capitol were left-leaning groups pretending to be Trump supporters.
Outright approval of what happened comes only from a minority of Americans, but it certainly is there. Those who approve are younger and use right-leaning news sources and social media more, but they also have what seem like larger items than just their views about 2020 or an election. They are more likely to say the United States should divide into “red” and “blue” countries. There’s a relationship between approval and conspiracy theories: among Americans who think QAnon ideas are at least probably true, approval of the Capitol events goes up to 50%.
Descriptions of what happened are also similar to how they were a year ago after it happened. People widely call it a protest that went too far, but how much further becomes more partisan. Most Americans — including most Democrats, but just a fifth of Republicans — call it an insurrection and describe it as an attempt to overturn the election and the government.
Four in 10 Republicans say those who went into the Capitol were actually left-leaning groups pretending to be Trump supporters.
Only a quarter of Americans call what happened “patriotism” or “defending freedom.” They tend to be on the political right, identifying as conservatives. When asked why they describe it that way, they say those who entered the Capitol were “exercising their right to protest” and drawing attention to (what they see as) election fraud — more than twice as often as they say January 6 participants were trying to stop the electoral count, per se. So, they are still supportive of the act, even though it didn’t meet its alleged goals, which could partially explain why they’re also willing to see other actions as justified.
What should Trump do next?
So, what do they want now? There is 12% of the country, and a fifth of Trump’s 2020 voters, that want Trump to fight to retake the presidency right now, before the next election.
When we follow up with them on that idea, they mostly say they would like to see that done through legal channels. But then a third of the people within that 12% say he should use force if necessary. While that only amounts to 4% of the population, it still translates into millions of Americans effectively willing to see a forceful change in the executive branch.
The specter hanging over the next election
In particular — and perhaps because it’s still so tangible — a majority of the nation now expect there will be violence from the losing side of a future presidential election.
We then followed up and asked, “If that’s your side that loses and there is in fact violence, would you be in favor of that or not?” It’s an abstraction right now, of course, and a mere 2% would favor it. But another quarter left it open, saying it depends on the circumstance — and in that, we start to see political differences, with 2020 Trump voters twice as likely as Biden voters to say that it depends.
Specifically, those who claim widespread voter fraud in 2020 and those who don’t consider Biden legitimate now are relatively more likely to be in favor, should violence occur after their side loses a future election. And they’re more likely to say that violence over election results might be justified in general.
It’s not just elections
The idea of political violence historically isn’t confined to anger over elections, of course. And to be clear, most don’t condone it on the left or right. But there are some Americans who could see justification for political violence over some issues, at least in principle. We’d also stress this by no means suggests they would do it themselves.
Gun policies, abortion policies, civil rights, labor issues, and even vaccine and coronavirus issues are each issues at least a quarter of Americans say are important enough that violence might be justified, depending on the situation.
Among liberals and Democrats, about four in 10 say civil rights and equality issues are important enough that violence might be justified over them, and a quarter name labor issues and abortion policies. For the right — that is, conservatives and Republicans — it’s more likely to be gun policies and election results, with about four in ten saying force might be justified on these issues.
Then there’s how people respond to political actors who might call for violence, or otherwise violate political norms. It’s 14% who feel that elected officials or candidates might be justified in calling for violence in public speeches. This is somewhat lower than the one in five who say that public insults might be justified.
Within each group, those who would justify violence tend to be younger, and somewhat more ideologically extreme — that is, identifying as very liberal or conservative. It’s important to note they also report being less likely to vote, which may reflect an inclination to seek political outcomes by other, less traditional means.
But it’s also associated with attitudes toward opponents: the partisans among them are more inclined to think the other side threatens their way of life and less likely to favor compromise in general.
On that, too, we see what looks like a vicious circle: Americans who consider violence potentially justified aren’t necessarily eager for it, but may feel it is forced upon them. For example, looking at people who say that calls for force from political leaders can be justified, about half say this approach can be justified because their opponents do the same or worse.
This is not wholly relegated to one ideology or political party, because on several issues, like labor issues, civil rights, abortion, and vaccines, we find comparable numbers of Democrats and Republicans saying violence might be justified, though Republicans are more apt to say so on elections and guns. Across all six issues tested, Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to select at least one issue as important enough to possibly justify violence. The formation of citizen militias — which for the purposes of this study, is not directly measuring action or violence — is acceptable to three in 10 Americans, driven by those on the right.
The good news?
It’s not necessarily related to violence but speaks to some of the mood that underpins animosity: not all partisans think of the opposition as enemies threatening their way of life. Those who do tend to be more ideological, though. And few Americans favor the idea — as far-fetched as it might be — of a “national divorce” between red and blue states.
Given all this, going forward, the important divisions into 2022 and beyond might be not just along partisan lines, but between that large group of Americans who don’t condone violence, along with those who don’t see themselves as engaged in an existential struggle with an opposing party, and those smaller numbers who do.
What does run throughout public sentiment, though, is that wider apprehension about the state of democracy, and that measure may be the most important of all to watch. On a certain level, democracy has to be self-reinforcing; when people adhere to its norms, they need to believe and trust in its stability, particularly that others will adhere to them as well.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,063 U.S. adult residents interviewed between December 27-30, 2021. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as to 2020 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.6 points.
The attorney general and Rep. Douglas Collins of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, have suggested that nearly everything about Starr’s report is irrelevant to current circumstances because Starr was an independent counsel operating under a different statutory scheme than did Mueller. As, of course, he was. But so what? The court’s express holding in response to the Starr motion was that its order applied to Rule 6(e); otherwise put, the transmission of grand jury material was proper because Congress needed it to determine whether to initiate a formal impeachment inquiry. It is difficult to see how Collins, Barr or the Justice Department could make a tenable argument to the contrary.
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