Facebook ha anunciado la incorporación de más opciones de gestionar el «News Feed» (Noticias) de una cuenta. A partir de ahora, los usuarios podrán seguir o dejar de seguir contenidos de contactos de manera más sencilla.
Según ha explicado Greg Marra, director de producto, lo que hace el usuario en el News Feed determina los contenidos que ve en las Noticias. Es por eso que quieren facilitar algunas tareas.
«Ahora en la configuración de News Feed se mostrará una lista de las principales personas, páginas y grupos que usted ha visto en sus Noticias durante la última semana. También podrá ver a quienes ha dejado de seguir en el pasado, por si quiere optar por volver a seguirlas», ha dicho Marra en un comunicado.
Actualmente cuando una persona ve una publicación en la que no está interesada o que prefiere no recibir, puede hacer clic en la flecha ubicada a la derecha del mensaje para «esconderlo» del «timeline». Ahora cuando se decida esconder un mensaje, aparecerá la opción de «ver menos contenido» de ese usuario.
A sus 79 años, acribillado por algunas afecciones cerebrales que él describió con la minuciosidad de un médico, Fernando del Paso, el gran autor mexicano de José Trigo, Palinuro de México y Noticias del Imperio, pronunció ayer noche las palabras más delicadas, profundas y terminantes que hay hoy en la garganta de sus compatriotas mexicanos:
–¡Presidente Peña Nieto, todos somos Ayotzinapa!
Aludía el escritor, desde su silla de ruedas, al lado del presidente de Conaculta, su amigo el también escritor Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, a la situación creada por los secuestros de 43 estudiantes en aquella castigada zona del país, donde los narcos han borrado de la esencia de México su carácter de Estado de Derecho.
Podría haber hablado más Fernando del Paso, y de hecho en la intimidad de su casa o en los pasillos donde sonríe y ríe detrás de sus gafas oscurecidas, el más importante de los escritores mexicanos de hoy relata anécdotas, recuerdos; se refiere a la vida presente y a la vida pasada, y asiste, aquí, en la Fil, a actividades en las que se le recibe en medio de un homenaje constante.
Pero en esta ocasión, ante un público que, como sucede aquí, es casi el de un estadio cada vez que se reúne para escuchar, Fernando del Paso tenía que hablar de Octavio Paz, su amigo del que se cumplen cien años, y lo hizo con sus palabras pero no con su voz. Leyó su discurso Ángel Ortuño, un amigo escritor, porque para esos trotes largos no está la voz de este hombre que, por otra parte, en los años 70 del siglo pasado era una de las voces más lujosas de los informativos en español de la BBC de Londres.
Ese texto lo había escrito Del Paso en 1994, cuando México vivía la crisis de Chiapas (recuerdan: el episodio del comandante Marcos) en medio de “la estulticia, la crueldad infinitas” de los gobernantes de entonces. Dio escalofrío escuchar esas palabras del autor minucioso y genial de Noticias del Imperio y echar la vista a los lados de lo que ahora mismo sucede. Aquí y en muchas partes del mundo.
Sus advertencias incluyeron las propias de Paz: contra las desigualdades, los nacionalismos fanáticos, el individualismo feroz
Con esa nobleza que da la rectificación, además, en este texto que él escribió para rendir homenaje a Paz, con quien colaboró, y de cuya biblioteca de Guadalajara fue director, el narrador recorre lo que pasó con su conciencia civil de los años 60 y 70. Entonces, como muchos jóvenes intelectuales mexicanos (y de otros países del mundo, España entre ellos), Del Paso deploraba las posiciones de Paz de alerta ante las consecuencias desviadas de la Revolución cubana, que pasó de practicar la ilusión a practicar el dogma. Ese “deterioro irreversible” del concepto de Revolución dio paso al dogma, y añadió: “Y el dogma sustituía al dogma”.
Ese “idealismo pueril” con el que se recibió el dogma en aquellas edades revolucionarias “se prolongó durante muchos años”. Fue mucho después cuando él y otros (aquí, en el mundo, también en España) advirtieron que los avisos de Paz eran en defensa de la libertad; y no era la defensa, como se dijo, de un hombre que se hubiera puesto al lado de los poderosos, ni de los iluminados del libre mercado, sino de la libertad, puramente. Relató nombres (Castoriadis, Semprún, Savater) para citar a algunos capitanes de la antidemagogia, que, como él, hicieron ese viaje de reconciliación que Paz aceptó.
En este punto, Del Paso (que pasaba las hojas de su propio texto mientras las iba leyendo su amigo Ortuño) relató su intercambio de cartas con Paz; esas cartas sellaron tal reconciliación, de la que él se honró. Fue una confesión (que ya había hecho, por otra parte) que sonó en el Salón 6 de la Fil (al lado de donde iban a homenajear a García Márquez) como un subrayado de las advertencias de este momento, a favor de la libertad, en contra de la demagogia.
Luego hubo, por parte de Del Paso, una reivindicación multilateral del carácter de Paz (ensayista, poeta, observador del arte, antropólogo); pero él concluyó con la ansiedad política, o civil, que ahora parece describir los sufrimientos del intelecto de la ciudadanía, sin que ésta aprecie los riesgos que corre el aire de la libertad.
Las advertencias de Del Paso incluyeron las propias de Paz: contra las desigualdades, contra los nacionalismos fanáticos, contra el culto al éxito, contra el individualismo feroz.
Lo fueron a ver cientos. Por la mañana uno de sus más acendrados lectores, Claudio Magris, el escritor italiano que recibió ayer mismo el premio FIL, había puesto en el primer plano de sus preferencias literarias Noticias del Imperio; por la tarde, Magris cruzó un danubio de cuerpos para llegar hasta donde estaba el acto de Del Paso, para escucharlo.
Cuando terminó el mexicano, su amigo italiano se acercó al estrado, tomó en sus manos la silla de ruedas para empujarla. Y Magris caminó un trecho conduciendo a Del Paso, hasta que los perdimos de vista, yendo ambos hacia un idéntico horizonte.
As well as tanks, the event will feature a military jet flyover, an extended fireworks show and speech by the president at the Lincoln Memorial.
Mr Trump invited the leadership of the Department of Defense to celebrate alongside him on Thursday.
The president will be joined by top brass, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, the highest-ranking US military officer.
But the weather forecast is threatening to rain on Mr Trump’s parade. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are predicted for Thursday.
Army Col Sunset Belinsky told a local CBS News affiliate: “Residents of the Capitol City will see the vehicles move through their neighbourhoods, but should not panic.”
The tanks were moved from a railyard in south-eastern Washington DC on Tuesday evening.
Col Belinsky did not disclose where the tanks would be displayed on the National Mall in the city centre.
Image caption
A visitor stands in front of temporary fencing along the National Mall as set up continues for Mr Trump’s “Salute to America”
Mr Trump’s Independence Day plans have divided opinion.
Critics of the president see it as an inappropriately partisan display and a misuse of public funds.
The National Park Service is diverting a portion of entrance and recreation fees intended to improve parks across the US in order to foot the bill for the parade, reports the Washington Post.
In previous years, the 4 July celebration on the National Mall has typically cost the agency about $2m, according to the newspaper.
The diverted funds are just a small fraction of the National Park Service’s $2bn plus budget.
But the agency complained in March that it is facing almost $12bn in backlogged maintenance and repair needs – exacerbated by the US government shutdown at the beginning of this year.
Trump administration officials have not disclosed how much taxpayers’ money will be used for the 4 July celebration. Military flyovers alone cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour.
Mr Trump said in a tweet that the expense “will be very little compared to what it is worth”.
On Monday, the National Park Service issued a permit to feminist group Code Pink, allowing them to display an inflatable balloon depicting Mr Trump as a baby on a section of the National Mall on 4 July to protest against the “militarisation” of the US holiday.
“We requested a space on the large, empty expanse at the base of the Washington Monument that would not have obstructed anyone’s view but would have allowed the president to see the baby,” said the group in a statement.
But organisers were denied permission to use helium for the balloon to make it airborne.
Image copyright Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Image caption
The president and first lady at last year’s 4 July celebration
Reports that the White House has distributed VIP tickets to major donors and political appointees have stoked accusations that the event will be partisan rather than patriotic.
The Democratic National Committee has been given no tickets for the event.
This week, Mr Trump’s re-election campaign reportedly sent out an email to some of its donors in the Washington area, encouraging supporters to attend the event.
Both the Republican National Committee and Mr Trump’s campaign confirmed to US media they had received passes to hand out.
The Department of Defence said in a statement it had received 5,000 tickets from the White House.
It is unclear whether those without a ticket will be permitted into an area protected by Secret Service as the president delivers his speech.
WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence defended his opposition to same-sex marriage in an interview Wednesday in which he also scolded Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg for making comments “critical of my Christian faith and about me personally.”
“He knows better,” Pence said in a CNBC interview scheduled to air Thursday. “He knows me.”
Asked by CNBC’s Joe Kernen if his position on marriage equality had evolved in the past two decades as public opinion has shifted, Pence said: “My family and I have a view of marriage that’s informed by our faith.”
“And we stand by that,” Pence continued. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re critical of anyone else who has a different point of view.”
His comments were the latest development in what Buttigieg, the openly-gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has called his “long and complicated relationship” with the former Indiana governor.
The Democrat and Republican worked together on economic development and other issues in Indiana.
“We had a great working relationship,” Pence said on CNBC.
But Buttigieg was a vocal opponent of a “religious freedom” law Pence backed that critics called a license to discriminate against gay people.
As Buttigieg has been exploring a presidential bid that he’s expected to make official Sunday, he’s frequently criticized Pence and his record on gay rights issues.
In remarks Sunday that received widespread media attention, Buttigieg said he wished the “Mike Pences” of the world would understand that he didn’t choose to be gay.
“That if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator,” Buttigieg said at a fundraising brunch for a group that supports LGBTQ candidates.
After delivering a speech at the United Nations and before the CNBC interview Wednesday, Pence ignored shouted questions from reporters about whether he believes people choose to be gay.
Republicans have accused Buttigieg of attacking Pence to raise his own profile, even though he previously had a cordial relationship with Pence.
The vice president, likewise, told Kernan that he understands the Democratic field is crowded and “they’re all competing with one another for how much more liberal they are than the other.”
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Buttigieg’s attacks “have miffed the vice president, who has privately told allies that if Mr. Buttigieg had questions about his religious beliefs, he could have asked him at any time during their friendship.”
Pence’s wife and daughter have also weighed in this week as they’ve made media appearances promoting their new children’s book about the family’s pet rabbit.
“It’s perfectly OK for us to believe what we believe. People shouldn’t take that as us attacking what they believe,” Karen Pence said on Fox News Tuesday. “Mike Pence can believe what he believes. And Mayor Pete can believe what he believes.”
In the children’s book that Charlotte Pence wrote and her mother illustrated, the family rabbit visits places in Washington meant to illustrate the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. First stop is the Washington National Cathedral, which, the rabbit learns, is a symbol of religious freedom
“I wrote this book before religious liberty was a hot topic,” Charlotte Pence said on Fox when asked about Buttigieg’s criticisms of her father. “I think it is important for kids to learn at a young age that religious liberty means you can believe in God or you can not believe in God. And you don’t have to be afraid to hold that belief.”
Buttigieg, who talks often about his faith on the campaign trail, told reporters Monday that most Christians understand that it’s not OK to discriminate against gay people.
“It’s time to move on to a more inclusive and more humane vision of faith than what this vice president represents,” he said.
La mujer de Amado Boudou volvió a twittter y le respondió a la revista Noticias por la tapa que le dedicó. Recordó la fallida edición que le dedicaron a Máximo Kirchner.
COMENTARIOS
Agustina Kämpfer volvió a twittter y le respondió a la revista Noticias por la tapa que le dedicó tratando de ensuciarla con su pasado.
La mujer del vicepresidente Amado Boudou le dedicó 2 tuits irónicos, y recordó la fallida edición que la revista tuvo con Máximo Kirchner, hijo de Néstor y Cristina.
The man organizing the recall election campaign against CA Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive for COVID-19.
Orin Heatlie, the retired sheriff’s deputy who helped organize the recall election campaign against California Gov. Gavin Newsom, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Heatlie told the paper that he tested positive on August 28 and that he was unvaccinated because he thought a previous bout with COVID-19 would help give him immunity. He claimed that he was experiencing mild symptoms and did not require hospitalization.
“People need to continue to stay diligent and stay safe,” he told the LA Times. “Protect one another. Wash your hands and wear a mask where appropriate.” He added that his wife and daughter were vaccinated.
Heatlie has faced criticism for associating with anti-mask, anti-vax, conspiracy elements throughout the recall election process.
Hace 19 días que nada se sabe de Daiana Garnica, la chica de 17 años que desapareció el 6 de mayo pasado tras salir de su casa de la localidad tucumana de Alderetes y sus padres ya no saben cómo vivir con la angustia de no saber dónde está su hija. Si bien por el caso hay 13 detenido, entre ellos el hombre que ese día la invitó a acompañarlo a comprar un aire acondicionado, Ramón Garnica no halla consuelo y, es tal su tormento, que tomó una decisión desesperada: “Quiero negociar con Darío Suárez; que me diga dónde está mi hija a cambio de su libertad”.
El hombre fue hasta los tribunales tucumanos para hacerle la propuesta al fiscal Claudio Bonari y obviamente obtuvo una respuesta negativa. “Hay que respetar los pasos a seguir”, reveló Garnica según publicó Contextotucuman.com y detalló que el funcionario les contó cómo buscan a su hija. Pero nada consuela a este padre: “Lógicamente estamos desesperados y queremos la respuesta ya”.
A mediados de mayo, los papás de Daiana (en el centro) marcharon por las calles tucumanas.
El 6 de mayo pasado, Daiana salió de su casa tras recibir un mensaje de texto de Suárez donde le pedía que lo acompañara a buscar un regalo para su madre. “No le cuentes a nadie”, terminaba. Él admitió haber mandado ese mensaje, pero aseguró que nunca se encontraron.
La desaparición de Daiana: los perros rastreadores y un hallazgo clave
En estos 19 días, se hicieron muchísimos rastrillajes para dar con la chica y hasta llevaron a Tucumán al grupo de perros rastreadores de los bomberos de Punta Alta que dieron con el cuerpo de Araceli Fulles en San Martín. Ellos fueron los que marcaran un recorrido que sería el que hizo la adolescente el día de su desaparición y que finalizó en la vivienda de Suárez.
Daiana tiene 17 años y la vieron por última vez el sábado 6 de mayo en compañía de un vecino de 40 años.
Ramón Garnica en todo este tiempo ha esperado a que alguno de los detenidos o el mismísimo Suárez se quiebre, pero la desesperación le corroe el alma: “Yo venía a hacerle el planteo de que necesito a Daiana; si a Darío lo meten 20 años preso no gano nada, lo que quiero es encontrar a mi hija, saber dónde está y cómo está. Llega un punto en que no sabés qué botón tocar y vine a plantear la libertad de Suárez a cambio de que declare dónde dejó a mi hija. Necesito a Daiana, no a Suárez preso… ¿Qué pasa si Darío no se quiebra nunca? Voy a tener que vivir deambulando por las calles hasta encontrar a Daiana”, se sinceró.
Rastrillajes por la desaparición de Daiana.
“La llave principal es la declaración de Suárez para ir a donde está Daiana. Mientras no se quiebre él, la seguiremos buscando. Siempre voy a pedir la verdad, que haya una Justicia mejor para nosotros, las víctimas, que no tenemos derechos”, se quejó Garnica y agregó: “Creo que la voy a encontrar con vida y no veo las horas de estar con ella, que era la alegría del hogar y ahora estamos todos en tinieblas”.
Llevan a Tucumán a los perros que hallaron el cuerpo de Araceli Fulles para buscar a Daiana
En la causa por la desaparición de Daiana ayer se sumó un nuevo detenido, y ahora son 13. Se trata de una mujer que fue aprehendida mientras declaraba como testigo. Se trata de la ex esposa de un hermano de Darío Suárez, quien se presentó voluntariamente pero durante su relato debieron frenarla y pidieron detenerla. Creen que ayudó a su ex cuñado.
Creen que un hombre violó y quemó a una chica en un horno de ladrillos: 10 detenidos
La principal hipótesis del fiscal es que la adolescente fue secuestrada y asesinada. Bonari creen que Suárez abusó de la chica, que era su vecina, tras lo cual la asesinó e hizo desaparecer el cuerpo incinerándolo en el horno de ladrillos del establecimiento donde trabajaba. Además estima que varias personas de su entorno lo ayudaron en el proceso, aunque todavía no halló pruebas que avalen su teoría.
Boeing is cutting production of 737 Max jets as the company moves quickly to finalize a fix that will get the grounded aircraft flying again.
Boeing’s monthly production of the aircraft, involved in two crashes since October, is dropping by 20 percent from the current level of 52 a month to 42 a month, the company said Friday.
“We’re adjusting the 737 production system temporarily to accommodate the pause in MAX deliveries, allowing us to prioritize additional resources to focus on software certification and returning the MAX to flight,” Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement announcing the rate cut. Muilenburg said the aerospace giant is already working with suppliers to, “minimize operational disruption and financial impact of the production rate change.”
The production cut is likely to weigh on shares of Boeing which have held up relatively well after initially dropping more than 10% in mid-March after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8. It was the second crash of a 737 Max in the last six months and led countries around the world to ground the airplane or ban it from flying in their airspace.
Boeing’s shares were down 2.3% in after-hours trading Friday.
The FAA, after initially calling the plane “airworthy,” joined the rest of the world on March 13 in grounding the Max.
At the time, Boeing said it had no plans to cut production and many analysts agreed with the decision. Jose Caiado, airline analyst at Credit Suisse, said in mid-March that he expected Boeing to keep the assembly lines rolling at current levels so it didn’t disrupt supply chains.
“They will just have to carry that inventory on their balance sheet a little while longer,” he told CNBC.
Boeing says it hopes to have a software fix for the 737 Max in the coming weeks that it will submit to the FAA and international regulators for approval. Their review and a potential certification could take several more weeks, even months, meaning the 737 Max could be grounded well into June, if not later. As a result, Boeing has decided it is smarter to roll fewer 737s out of its plant in Renton, Washington.
Separately, Muilenburg says the Boeing board of directors has formed a committee to “review our company-wide policies and processes for the design and development of the airplanes we build.”
“MURIENDO POR CRUZAR,” AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INCREASING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANT DEATHS ALONG THE BORDER, THIS SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 AT 6 P.M./5 C
Carmen Dominicci and Neida Sandoval present the Telemundo and The Weather Channel co-production
Miami – July 31, 2014 –Telemundo presents “Muriendo por Cruzar”, a documentary that investigates why increasing numbers of immigrants are dying while trying to cross the US-Mexican border near the city of Falfurrias, Texas, this Sunday, August 3 at 6PM/5 C. The Telemundo and The Weather Channel co-production, presented by Noticias Telemundo journalists Carmen Dominicci and Neida Sandoval, reveals the obstacles immigrants face once they cross into US territory, including extreme weather conditions, as they try to evade the border patrol. “Muriendo por Cruzar” is part of Noticias Telemundo’s special coverage of the crisis on the border and immigration reform.
“‘Muriendo por Cruzar’” dares to ask questions that reveal the actual conditions undocumented immigrants face as they try to start a new life in the United States,” said Alina Falcón, Telemundo’s Executive Vice President for News and Alternative Programming. “Our collaboration with The Weather Channel was very productive. They have a unique expertise in covering the impact of weather on people’s lives, as we do in covering immigration reform and the border crisis. The result is a compelling documentary that exposes a harrowing reality.”
“Muriendo por Cruzar” is the first co-production by Telemundo and The Weather Channel. Both networks are part of NBCUniversal.
DORAL, Florida — Hace unas semanas empezó a correr un rumor entre la comunidad hispana del noreste de Miami por medio de mensajes de WhatsApp: agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Aduanas estaban subiendo a los migrantes indocumentados a unos autobuses para detenerlos. Parecía que había llegado la “fuerza de deportación” que prometió el presidente Donald Trump durante la campaña.
Eso despertó el miedo entre muchas personas que acudieron a la fuente de información en la que realmente confían: Univisión, la televisora en español que se ha dedicado a monitorear cómo Trump cumple con sus promesas de realizar deportaciones masivas.
Los periodistas de las oficinas centrales de Univisión salieron a las calles, llamaron a sus contactos y analizaron una fotografía del supuesto autobús del Servicio de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés). Descubrieron que no se estaba realizando una redada; la imagen era de 2014.
Univisión promovió en Facebook y Twitter publicaciones en las que desmentía el rumor; en su sitio web puso un artículo con más detalles y produjo un video para la televisión. Cuando surgió otro rumor en Los Ángeles, unos días después, volvió a hacer lo mismo.
Solo fue un día más de cobertura del gobierno de Trump para Univisión Noticias.
El guatemalteco José Zamora, quien creció bajo amenaza constante por el trabajo periodístico de su padre, es vicepresidente sénior de comunicaciones estratégicas. Credit
Greg Miller para The New York Times
Quizá hayan escuchado el argumento de que esta es una era dorada para el periodismo. En el caso estadounidense, The New York Times y The Washington Post compiten por primicias como si fuera la era de Nixon y Watergate; un público hambriento de información ha disparado las tasas de suscripción y de audiencia televisiva.
Pero esa historia no se puede contar por completo si no incluye a Univisión Noticias, uno de los ejemplos más claros de una organización noticiosa cuyo trabajo ha estado a la altura.
Es la principal fuente de noticias para los hispanos en Estados Unidos —tanto ciudadanos como no— y su audiencia tiene un interés casi existencial en las medidas impulsadas por el gobierno de Trump, debido a sus promesas de quitarle fondos federales a las llamadas “ciudades santuario” o la revocación del programa DAPA de Obama que protegería contra la deportación a los padres indocumentados de ciudadanos. La noche del 15 de junio, Univisión fue el primer medio en reportar que el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional eliminó DAPA.
Univisión Noticias tiene sus propios antecedentes con el presidente. El conductor mexicano Jorge Ramos fue el primer periodista expulsado de un evento de Trump durante la campaña después de una disputa verbal en una conferencia de prensa en 2015. Para ese entonces la empresa matriz del medio ya había tenido disputas con Trump por sus declaraciones de que México enviaba drogas, crimen y violadores a Estados Unidos (Univisión cesó el contrato para la transmisión de los desfiles de belleza de Trump, mientras este respondió con una demanda y una carta en la que decía que el personal de Univisión ya no puede ir a sus campos de golf).
El resultado de la elección estadounidense hizo que las apuestas fueran mayores.
David Maris, editor fotográfico en Univisión, huyó de Venezuela junto con su esposa, la periodista Tamoa Calzadilla, después de recibir amenazas de muerte. Credit
Greg Miller para The New York Times
“Por un lado, sabíamos que iba a tener un impacto terrible en la comunidad hispana en Estados Unidos”, dijo el colombiano Daniel Coronell, director de la división de noticias, desde su oficina con vista a la redacción central.
Pero también se dieron cuenta de que las noticias para ellos ahora serían cuestión “de la supervivencia y permanencia de los miembros de la comunidad”. Univisión estaba lista para cumplir con el reto como quizá no lo habría estado hace unos años.
Coronell fue una de las primeras contrataciones del también colombiano Isaac Lee, que en 2010 fue nombrado como director general de contenidos de Univisión —ahora con un dueño relativamente nuevo, un grupo encabezado por el inversor mediático y donante de campañas demócratas Haim Saban— con la instrucción de construir una redacción más grande y mejor.
En ese momento, la división de informativos dependía en buena medida de programas como “Noticiero Univisión”, con Ramos y María Elena Salinas como conductores, pero fuera de eso “no había reporteo; usaban cables e imágenes y así armaban el noticiero”, dijo Lee.
Primero puso en marcha unidades de investigación y documentales. Por su tiempo como periodista en Colombia, donde su trabajo vinculó a integrantes del Cartel de Cali con funcionarios de alto rango del gobierno y los forzó a renunciar, Lee sabía algo que sus competidores en Estados Unidos no: algunos de los reporteros más valientes habían sido marginados, empujados fuera de sus redacciones o de sus países natales por exponer verdades incómodas.
“Somos la voz de quienes no tienen voz”, dijo Daniel Coronell, colombiano que dirige la división de noticias. Credit
Greg Miller para The New York Times
Coronell, por ejemplo, huyó hacia Estados Unidos desde Colombia tras recibir amenazas de muerte muy detalladas en contra de su hija de seis años de edad. El vicepresidente sénior de comunicaciones estratégicas, José Zamora, se crió en Guatemala ante constantes amenazas por el trabajo de su padre, un periodista que reveló varios casos de corrupción gubernamental. Zamora siguió el ejemplo de su papá al incursionar en el periodismo, pero decidió que Estados Unidos sería un mejor lugar para criar a su hijo por una experiencia en 2003, cuando presuntas fuerzas de seguridad lo retuvieron a él, sus padres y sus hermanos durante varias horas. “Pensamos que nos iban a matar”, dijo Zamora.
La mayoría del talento nuevo que ha llegado a Univisión lo ha hecho desde Venezuela, donde el trato del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro hacia los medios y la compra de algunas empresas mediáticas por aliados del presidente ha puesto en peligro a varios reporteros o ha acallado su trabajo.
Entre el grupo están Tamoa Calzadilla, quien perdió su trabajo en Último Noticias tras acusar censura por reportar la muerte de manifestantes presuntamente a mano de las fuerzas de seguridad, y Nathalie Alvaray, quien dejó la misma organización por su frustración con esta.
La venezolana Patricia Clarembaux es periodista digital. Dejó su país después de ser atacada y que le robaran el equipo; dice que las autoridades se quedaron viendo. Credit
Greg Miller para The New York Times
Sus contrataciones son parte del esfuerzo más reciente de expandir Univisión y reforzar su enfoque hacia un periodismo digital, bajo la dirección del exsubdirector de El País, Borja Echevarría.
Con un equipo que incluye a 75 personas contratadas durante los últimos dos años, Echevarría ha lanzado nuevas unidades para proyectos de investigaciones especiales, podcasts, periodismo de datos, video pensado para teléfonos móviles y gráficos.
Prácticamente todas las redacciones en las que se lleva a cabo la transición hacia lo digital han construido equipos similares con el fin de producir periodismo de nuevas maneras. Pero en Univisión el esfuerzo es impulsado por una urgencia respecto a su propósito como medio.
Una de sus publicaciones digitales más compartidas este año explica qué papeles deben tener siempre a la mano los migrantes tanto legales como irregulares en caso de redadas o detenciones.
Durante mi visita a la redacción, Almudena Toral, la directora de video digital, estaba editando un segmento —animado por un diseñador venezolano recién llegado— que, me explicó, buscaba responder a la pregunta: ¿qué pasa si el ICE llega a mi casa?
Almudena Toral, directora de video digital, tuvo que abandonar una cobertura en México después de que sus colegas fueran amenazados de secuestro. Credit
Greg Miller para The New York Times
Unos cuantos escritorios después, el equipo de periodismo de datos estaba por terminar un análisis estadístico sobre la falta de representantes legales para las personas indocumentadas que se presentan ante jueces migratorios.
Luego estaba el equipo de verificación de información, el primero de su tipo que trabaja en español en Estados Unidos. No le ha faltado trabajo, conforme se esparcen falsedades sobre el tema migratorio incluso dentro de agencias del gobierno, como la aseveración de Trump de que votaron millones de indocumentados en noviembre pasado.
Es un ambiente al que muchos periodistas de Univisión dicen estar acostumbrados. Durante la campaña, cuando los partidarios de Trump le gritaban a reporteros que “dijeran la verdad”, era como lo hacían los simpatizantes de Hugo Chávez, me contó el editor fotográfico David Maris. Lo mismo sucede ahora que Trump es presidente y tiende a atacar a los medios y a quienes trabajan en ellos.
“A cada investigación en Colombia o Guatemala o México”, me dijo Coronell, “le sigue el ‘este periodista tiene su agenda propia, quiere afectar a mi gobierno’ o ‘esas son noticias falsas’”.
“Muchos de nosotros ya vimos esta película, solo que estaba en español”.
“Vemos muchas similitudes entre Trump y Chávez”, dijo Nathalie Alvarey, directora de noticias locales digitales. Credit
Greg Miller para The New York Times
Coronell destacó que es importante defender la libertad de prensa y los derechos humanos tal como los reconoce la constitución estadounidense.
“Es decisivo para nosotros que la gente conozca sus derechos y sus posibilidades”, dijo Coronell. “Y estamos trabajando todo el tiempo para usar herramientas de periodismo de investigación para darle a nuestra comunidad una mejor información”.
Es una comunidad muy expuesta a desinformación, como los rumores sobre redadas, lo que implica que “la gente no sale de su casa para ir a hacer el súper o para llevar a sus hijos a la escuela”, dijo el presidente de la Federación Hispana, José Calderón. Calificó a Univisión como “un salvavidas”.
Ese papel también desata acusaciones de que el medio es más una organización de activismo que informativa, algo que rechazan en la redacción.
“Cuando se trata de temas relacionados a la corrupción o abusos a los derechos humanos, eres un contrapoder”, dijo Zamora. “Y eso no significa que eres un activista. De eso se trata el periodismo”.
Bush, speaking at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, noted Lewis’s childhood in rural Troy, Ala., where Lewis has described preaching to his family’s chickens as a child.
When Lewis refused to eat one of the chickens, Bush added, “going hungry was his first act of nonviolent protest.”
“From Troy to the sit-ins of Nashville, to the Freedom Rides to the March on Washington, from Freedom Summer to Selma, John Lewis always looked outward, not inward,” Bush added. “He always believed in preaching the Gospel in word and in deed, insisting that hate and fear had to be answered with love and hope.”
“John Lewis believed in the Lord. He believed in humanity. And he believed in America.”
Lewis, Bush said, “believed in the Lord, he believed in humanity and he believed in America.”
Bush referenced the Biblical passage in which, seeking a prophet, God asks “Whom shall I send?” with Isaiah responding “Here am I, send me.”
“John Lewis heard that call a long time ago in segregated Alabama, and he took up the work of the Lord through all his days,” Bush said. “His lesson to all of us is that we must all keep ourselves open to hearing the call of love, the call of service and the call to sacrifice for others.”
Lewis died earlier this month at the age of 80. He was a legendary figure on Capitol Hill, where he had served Georgia for three decades. He had a profound impact on civil rights in America, participating in sit-ins, being the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington and leading the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on what would become known as “Bloody Sunday.”
The former president acknowledged some political disagreements with Lewis, but said both men were capable of “hav[ing] differing views on how to protect our union while sharing the conviction that our nation, however flawed, is at heart a good and noble one.”
“We live in a better and nobler country today because of John Lewis and his abiding faith in the power of God, the power of democracy and in the power of love to lift us all to a higher ground,” the former president said. “The story that began in Troy isn’t ending today, nor is the work.”
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam places hand over his heart at a funeral for a state trooper Saturday in Chilhowie, Va., during one of his first public appearances since the blackface scandal broke.
Steve Helber/Pool/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Steve Helber/Pool/Getty Images
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam places hand over his heart at a funeral for a state trooper Saturday in Chilhowie, Va., during one of his first public appearances since the blackface scandal broke.
Steve Helber/Pool/Getty Images
It may be tough to believe it’s been just a week and a half since a racist photograph in a decades-old medical school yearbook knocked Virginia’s leadership into disarray.
But amid all this turmoil, there is at least one thing that has not happened: Not one of the three men has bowed to public pressure and resigned.
Virginia “needs someone who is strong who has empathy, who has courage and who has a moral compass,” Northam told CBS News on Sunday, in his first televised interview since the scandal broke. “And that’s why I’m not going anywhere. I have learned from this. I have a lot more to learn.”
Northam’s assertion defies the condemnations issued recently by prominent Virginian politicians on both sides of the aisle — many of whom have also called on Fairfax, who is black, to step down for very different reasons.
Since a second woman came forward Friday with a sexual assault claim against him, the lieutenant governor has been asked to resign by the Democratic Party of Virginia, Sen. Tim Kaine and nearly the state’s entire Democratic congressional delegation, among others.
But Fairfax has steadfastly maintained that the two incidents that surfaced this week — one from 2004, and the other from 2000 — were consensual sexual encounters, and he has asked for the FBI to conduct an investigation in order to ensure “due process.”
Despite the controversy this week, Justin Fairfax continued to fulfill his duties as lieutenant governor — such as presiding over Senate sessions at the Capitol. Here he is gavelling a session to order Friday in Richmond.
Steve Helber/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Steve Helber/AP
Despite the controversy this week, Justin Fairfax continued to fulfill his duties as lieutenant governor — such as presiding over Senate sessions at the Capitol. Here he is gavelling a session to order Friday in Richmond.
Steve Helber/AP
Those rebuttals have not satisfied fellow Democrat Patrick Hope, a state delegate who has promised to introduce articles of impeachment when lawmakers reconvene Monday. Both of Fairfax’s accusers, Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson, announced over the weekend that they would be willing to testify at an impeachment hearing if called upon.
“Ms. Watson stands ready, although it will be painful, to tell the Virginia Legislature what Mr. Fairfax did to her when she was 20 years old,” Watson’s lawyers says in a statement emailed to NPR. They also noted she would be able to provide “at least two witnesses whom Ms. Watson told of the assault the day after Fairfax raped her.” (Emphasis theirs.)
As embattled as the politicians may seem at the moment, it’s possible that today’s unique political environment will help the three men hang onto office. Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, says they’ve got the benefit of deep political polarization, the growth of partisan media — and now the model of President Trump, who has often survived his scandals simply by riding out the news cycle.
“That has served as an unfortunate lesson now for politicians who are in office. And this is regardless of party because Northam, of course, is a Democrat,” says Dagnes, who has studied and written extensively about political scandals.
And according to Dagnes, the increasingly tumultuous news cycle may help politicians endure scandal until the public loses interest — but it doesn’t help resolve the painful questions those scandals have raised.
“When politicians are given the cue that if they just keep their mouth closed and they disappear for a little while, it’ll all go away, they’re wrong. They may keep their job, but at what cost?” she says. “Because the country will still be hurt by this until we address it.”
Gregory Howard, interim dean of theology at Richmond’s historically black Virginia Union University, says there’s still another point not to miss when thinking about the apologies offered by Northam and Herring.
“Every now and again, we slip up, we fall, and we have a responsibility to dust ourselves off and seek for full healing and reconciliation — but reconciliation that is based upon the one who has been offended, not the offender,” Howard explains.
For now, it appears Virginians themselves remain split on whether their leaders must step down. In a poll conducted late last week by The Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, respondents were evenly divided as to whether Northam should resign. And most of them did not know enough about Fairfax’s response to the allegations to feel strongly about it.
To Howard and many of his students, though, the answer is clear.
“This is not a partisan issue. This is not a political issue,” he says. “This is a matter of humanity and morality.”
“Bob Mueller has made that abundantly clear that he has not presented accurately the context, the nature and the substance of the investigation,” she continued.
Hillary Clinton: “Calling for” AG Barr’s “resignation makes perfect sense, because he’s not discharging the duties of the office; he’s not going to resign, and at this point, I think that we know what we need to know about him.” pic.twitter.com/iCrFdzi0L0
Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his handling of Mueller’s report on Wednesday, one day after The Washington Post reported that Mueller had expressed frustration in a letter to Barr over how he initially portrayed the investigation.
It was reported Tuesday that Mueller sent Barr a letter in March complaining that the attorney general’s letter mischaracterized the investigation and created “public confusion about critical aspects of the results.”
Barr sent Congress a four-page memo summarizing the report in March, nearly a month before the report on Mueller’s probe was released to the public. The letter was widely lambasted by Democrats, who accused Barr of acting as Trump’s personal attorney, rather than the American people’s attorney general.
Barr testified Wednesday that he did not review the underlying evidence in Mueller’s report before he concluded that the special counsel’s findings did not reach the threshold to charge Trump with obstructing justice.
Mueller’s probe did not uncover evidence to conclude conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the 2016 election. But the report noted that Mueller could not “conclusively determine” that no criminal conduct occurred in regard to obstruction of justice.
São Paulo – Libya wants to resume business and projects with Brazilian companies which operated in the country before the social conflicts that led to the ousting of the then president Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. The information comes from Khaled Dahan, ambassador of the Arab country, who had several meetings with Brazilian businessmen this week, in São Paulo, and also visited the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s office this Thursday (6th).
Aurea Santos/ANBA
Dahan: companies are interested in returning to Libya
Dahan had meetings with representatives of JBS (a food company), Queiroz Galvão (a construction company) and BRF (a food company). According to him, these companies had projects in Libya or conducted business with the country from Brazil.
“The projects stopped since the revolution of 2011, due to the war and conflicts with the previous regime. But now our country is free and we came here to see these companies, to know about their problems, if they had losses and what they need to carry out their projects there,” explained the diplomat to ANBA. Before the interview, Dahan was welcomed at the Arab Chamber by Marcelo Sallum, the organization’s president, and Michel Alaby, CEO.
Libya has been suffering with frequent conflicts in its territory and the country has not reached political stability or a safe environment to lure international companies yet.
According to Dahan, the Brazilian companies showed interest in resuming business with Libya as soon as the political and safety issues of the country are solved. “We promised the companies we have visited here in São Paulo that, as soon as it is convenient for them to return and carry out their projects, we will let them know. The companies said that as soon as we call them, they will go back,” he explained.
“We expect this to happen soon. We hope that, with the combined efforts of the Libyan people, of our neighbouring countries and of the United Nations, we will soon be able to see some stability and the companies will return,” the ambassador pointed out.
According to the diplomat, the lingering conflicts in the country are a consequence of several weapons being left behind by the previous regime, as they were picked up by rebel groups. He, however, denies the information published by international news agencies that, currently, there are two governments in Libya, the official one and a parallel government, comprised of militia groups. “Libya is a single country with a sole government, it does not have two governments nor is it two countries. But there are news and media centres which are trying to make the problem look bigger,” he said.
“We are optimistic that our country will soon be stabilized and better. That is why I am seeking to strengthen ties and see how we can benefit from the experience of Brazil and its companies in several different fields,” said Dahan, reinforcing his intention of creating closer ties with Brazil.
Dahan also said Libya is an oil exporting country and it is very rich in natural resources. “We came here to improve Libya’s image. I want to say to all Brazilian companies and businessmen that they do not need to worry, they just need to be a little patient because problems arise after changing any kind of regime, particularly after a revolution. As soon as possible, our country will be in a good situation, it will be safe and the environment will be favourable for foreign companies to come and do their business,” he concluded.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto faced fresh questions on Wednesday about his dealings with a company at the center of a conflict-of-interest scandal, after it emerged that he enjoyed rent-free use of a house belonging to the firm as a campaign office.
Already under pressure over the government’s handling of the presumed massacre of 43 students abducted by corrupt police in southwestern Mexico in September, Pena Nieto is facing his most difficult period since taking office two years ago.
On Nov. 3, the government announced a Chinese-led consortium had won a no bid contract to build a $3.75 billion high-speed rail link in central Mexico.
Three days later, the government abruptly canceled the deal, just before a report by news site Aristegui Noticias showed that a subsidiary of Grupo Higa, a company that formed part of the consortium and had won various previous contracts, owned the luxury house of first lady Angelica Rivera.
Under public pressure, Rivera said she would give up the house. But neither she nor Pena Nieto have addressed the apparent conflict of interest stemming from the government’s business with Grupo Higa.
On Wednesday, Aristegui Noticias published a new story that said Pena Nieto used a different property belonging to another Grupo Higa subsidiary as an office when he was president-elect in 2012.
Eduardo Sanchez, the president’s spokesman, said Pena Nieto unwittingly used the property. Sanchez said it was leased from the Grupo Higa firm by Humberto Castillejos, the president’s legal adviser, who lent it rent-free to Pena Nieto’s team.
“If I invite you to my house, do you come to my house and ask me under whose name it is? Neither does the president,” Sanchez said, denying there were conflicts of interest.
The spokesman also said there were no more properties Pena Nieto or his team had used belonging to Grupo Higa.
“No, there is no other house that was used in a professional capacity,” Sanchez said.
Castillejos could not immediately be reached for comment.
Jorge Luis Lavalle, a senator with the opposition conservative National Action Party, said the public saw a clear conflict of interest in the dealings of Pena Nieto and his government with Grupo Higa.
“It needs to be investigated. All these doubts need to be dispelled fully and clearly,” he said. “We now have another case with no explanation.”
Texas Department of Public Safety officers stand near a vehicle where multiple people died after the van carrying migrants tipped over just south of the Brooks County community of Encino on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Encino, Texas.
Delcia Lopez/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Delcia Lopez/AP
Texas Department of Public Safety officers stand near a vehicle where multiple people died after the van carrying migrants tipped over just south of the Brooks County community of Encino on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Encino, Texas.
Delcia Lopez/AP
An overloaded van carrying 29 migrants crashed Wednesday on a remote South Texas highway, killing at least 10 people, including the driver, and injuring 20 others, authorities said.
The crash happened shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday on U.S. 281 in Encino, Texas, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of McAllen. Sgt. Nathan Brandley of the Texas Department of Public Safety says the van, designed to hold 15 passengers, was speeding as the driver tried to veer off the highway onto Business Route 281. He lost control of the top-heavy van, which slammed into a metal utility pole and a stop sign.
The van was not being pursued, said Brooks County Sheriff Urbino.
Martinez said he believed all of the passengers were migrants. Brandley said the death toll was initially announced as 11 but was later revised. He also said the 20 who survived the initial crash all have serious to critical injuries.
The identities of the 30 in the van were being withheld until relatives can be notified, Brandley said. No information about the van, including where it was registered or who owned it, was immediately released..
Encino is a community of about 140 residents about 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) south of the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint.
A surge in migrants crossing the border illegally has brought about an uptick in the number of crashes involving vehicles jammed with migrants who pay large amounts to be smuggled into the country. The Dallas Morning News has reported that the recruitment of young drivers for the smuggling runs, combined with excessive speed and reckless driving by those youths, have led to horrific crashes.
Victor M. Manjarrez Jr., director of the Center for Law & Human Behavior at the University of Texas at El Paso, told the newspaper that criminal organizations recruit drivers from Austin, Dallas and Houston. Others come from the El Paso area, while others come from parts of Latin America rife with police corruption.
“They’re told, ‘If you’re caught, it’ll go bad for you,'” he said.
They’ll be picked out of a group of migrants seeking safe passage across the border for a reduction of their smuggling fee, Manjarrez said. They’re told to follow a scout vehicle.
“It’s not bad for a few hours’ work,” Manjarrez said.
One of the deadliest crashes came on March 3, when 13 people were killed when a semitrailer truck slammed into a sport utility vehicle containing 25 migrants near Holtville, California, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of San Diego.
On March 17, eight migrants were killed when the pickup truck carrying them crashed into another truck while being pursued by police nearly 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the border city of Del Rio, Texas. The driver faces a possible life sentence after pleading guilty to multiple federal charges on May 24. No sentencing date has been set.
Speaking publicly for first time since the release of Russia report, special counsel Robert Mueller says there were ‘multiple, systematic efforts’ to interfere with the presidential election, that his team found insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy, and that if there was confidence that the president did not commit a crime, the report would have said so.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has peddled two different stories. Only one can be true.
In his final act before resigning his position, Mueller told the gathered media on Wednesday that his non-decision decision on whether the president obstructed justice was “informed” by a long-standing opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the Justice Department that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime. But according to William Barr, that’s not what Mueller told the attorney general and others during a meeting on March 5, 2017. Here’s what Barr told Senators during his May 1st testimony:
“We were frankly surprised that they were not going to reach a decision on obstruction and we asked them a lot about the reasoning behind this. Mueller stated three times to us in that meeting, in response to our questioning, that he emphatically was not saying that but for the OLC opinion he would have found obstruction.”
Barr said there were others in the meeting who heard Mueller say the same thing – that the OLC opinion played no role in the special counsel’s decision-making or lack thereof. The attorney general repeated this in his news conference the day Mueller’s report was released to the public:
“We specifically asked him about the OLC opinion and whether or not he was taking a position that he would have found a crime but for the existence of the OLC opinion. And he made it very clear several times that was not his position.”
Yet, on Wednesday Mueller was telling a different tale. He seemed to argue that he could not have accused the president of obstruction because he was handcuffed by the OLC opinion. Why, then, did Mueller allegedly inform Barr that a special counsel can abandon the opinion if the facts merit it?
“He (Mueller) said that in the future the facts of a case against a president might be such that a special counsel would recommend abandoning the OLC opinion, but this is not such a case.”
Mueller did not abandon the OLC opinion in this case because he surely knew the facts and evidence did not support the law of obstruction. Instead, in his 448-page report, he implied presidential obstruction in a remarkable achievement in creative writing.
He set forth in luxurious detail “evidence on both sides of the question.” But this is not the job of any chief prosecutor, anywhere.
Mueller was not retained to compose a masterpiece worthy of Proust. He was hired to investigate potential crimes arising from Russian interference in a presidential election and make a reasoned decision on whether charges were merited.
Mueller’s actions were not only noxious but patently unfair to Trump. The special counsel publicly besmirched the president with tales of suspicious behavior instead of stated evidence that rose to the level of criminality.
Mueller’s actions were not only noxious, but patently unfair to Trump. The special counsel publicly besmirched the president with tales of suspicious behavior instead of stated evidence that rose to the level of criminality.
This is what prosecutors are never permitted to do. Justice Department rules forbid its lawyers from annunciating negative narratives about any person, absent an indictment.
How can that person properly defend himself without trial? This is why prosecutors like Mueller are prohibited from trying their cases in the court of public opinion.
If they have probable cause to levy charges, they should do so. If not, they must refrain from openly disparaging someone that our justice system presumes is innocent.
In this regard, Mueller shrewdly and improperly turned the law on its head. Consider the most inflammatory statement that he leveled at the president in his report. It was guaranteed to ignite the impeachment fire:
“While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”
To reinforce the point, Mueller stated it twice in his report. He then reiterated the argument on Wednesday when he said: “if we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”
Prosecutors are not, and have never been, in the business of exonerating people. That’s not their job.
An experienced federal prosecutor, Mueller certainly knew this. It appears he had no intention of treating Trump equitably or applying the law in conformance with our criminal justice system.
In a singular sentence, Mueller managed to reverse the legal duty that prosecutors have rigidly followed in America for centuries. Their legal obligation is not to exonerate someone or prove an individual’s innocence. Nor is any accused person required to prove his or her own innocence.
Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence. It is the bedrock on which justice is built.
Prosecutors must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. To bring charges they must have, at minimum, probable cause to believe that a crime was committed.
The special counsel took this inviolate principle and cleverly inverted it. He argued that he could not prove the president did not commit a crime.
Think about what that rationale really means. It is a double negative. Mueller was contending that he can’t prove something didn’t happen.
What if this were the standard for all criminal investigations? Apply it to yourself.
Let’s say you deposited your paycheck at the bank on Monday, the same day it’s robbed. A prosecutor then announces publicly that he cannot prove you didn’t rob the bank, so you are neither criminally accused nor “exonerated.”
The burden of proof has now been shifted to you to disprove the negative. How would you feel? You’ve been maligned with the taint of criminality and no longer enjoy the presumption of innocence.
This is the equivalent of what Mueller did to Trump. The special counsel created the impression that Trump might have engaged in wrongdoing because he could not prove otherwise.
The consequential injustice and harm that inevitably follows is what happens when we reverse the burden of proof and abandon the innocence standard that are revered in a democracy as fundamental rights.
Yet, this is what Mueller did. He improvised a new standard that applies only to Trump —presumption of guilt. Under this novel “guilty until proven innocent” paradigm, it is up to the president to prove the allegations are false.
Attorney General Barr recognized that Mueller had mangled the legal process, describing his statement as “actually a very strange statement.”
Barr told Congress that he was forced to correct Mueller’s mistake. “I used the proper standard,” said Barr. “We are not in the business of proving someone did not violate the law –I found that whole passage very bizarre,” he added.
Our system of justice in America is designed to protect the innocent. This is why there are laws that prevent disclosure of grand jury testimony and even more expansive rules at the Justice Department that prohibit prosecutors from disclosing derogatory information about uncharged individuals. It is, in a word, unfair to smear people who have not been charged with anything.
Mueller was well aware of this. In the “introduction” to Volume II on obstruction, he recited the duty of prosecutors to be fair by refraining from comment. In the case of a sitting president, wrote Mueller, “The stigma and opprobrium could imperil the President’s ability to govern.”
Ironically, the special counsel then proceeded to ignore his own warning. He produced his own “dossier” on Trump that was filled with suspicions of wrongdoing.
A proposed law to legalize recreational use ofmarijuana in Illinois would allow possession of up to 30 grams of the plant for residents 21 and over, a $20 million low-interest loan program to promote “social equity” in business ownership, and expungement of misdemeanor and Class 4 felony marijuana convictions.
At the heart of the measure is ensuring that communities that have been disproportionately affected by enforcement of lower-level drug crimes would be able to benefit from the legal pot business in Illinois, said Gov. J.B. Pritzker and lawmakers who worked on the measure at an announcement Saturday morning.
“Illinois is going to have the most equity-centric law in the nation,” Pritzker said at the Black United Fund of Illinois on Chicago’s South Side.
The governor and lawmakers touted a central social justice provision of their proposal: Expunging what they estimate would be 800,000 low-level drug convictions. Revenue from Illinois’ marijuana industry would be reinvested in communities that lawmakers said have been “devastated” by the nation’s war on drugs.
Under the proposed rules, no new large-scale commercial growers would be permitted to set up shop here, at least for now. Instead, the focus would be on small “craft” growers, with an emphasis on helping people of color become entrepreneurs in the weed industry. In addition, adults would be allowed to grow up to five plants per household, in a locked room out of public view, with the permission of the landowner.
“We have to ensure it’s not a small group of people getting very rich,” said Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, one of the measure’s sponsors. “We want to make a lot of new business leaders in the state through this process.”
Municipalities couldban retail stores within their boundaries within the first year of the program. After that, any ban would have to come through a voter referendum.
According to a summary from Pritzker’s office, permit fees would be $100,000 for growers and $30,000 for retailers, with lower fees for applicants from minority areas disproportionately affected by convictions in the war on drugs. There would also be a business development fee of 5 percent of total sales or $500,000, whichever is less, for cultivators, and up to $200,000 for dispensaries, with lower fees for “social equity applicants.”
Cultivators and processors would pay 7 percent of gross sales to dispensaries, while consumers would pay a 10 percent sales tax on products with less than 35 percent THC, the component that gets users high; 20 percent for all cannabis-infused products, such as edibles; and 25 percent sales tax on products with more than 35 percent THC, such as for concentrated extracts known as shatter and wax.
Municipalities may add an extra 3 percent sales tax as well, with counties tacking on another .5 percent in incorporated areas, and 3.5 percent in unincorporated areas.
Of the tax revenue generated, 35 percent will go to the state General Fund, 25 percent for community reinvestment, 20 percent for mental health and substance abuse treatment, 10 percent for the state’s unpaid bills, 8 percent for law enforcement training grants, and 2 percent for public drug education.
Those who treat substance abuse warned of an increase in addiction if marijuana use is made legal.
Aaron Weiner, director of addiction services at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Naperville, emphasized his concerns about the lack of limits on THC concentration, that advertising will be allowed, that marijuana shops can be 1,000 feet from schools, and that concentrates and extracts can be sold.
“This is a bill to generate money for the marijuana industry,” he said. “We have other, more responsible options for drug policy — our state deserves better.”
A group that opposes legalization said the bill would usher in an “addiction-for-profit industry” that it said will have “devastating impacts on citizens.” Smart Approaches to Marijuana supports efforts to slow down on legalization.
“Marijuana is not inevitable,” Kevin Sabet, the president and founder of SAM, said in a written statement.
Proponents on Saturday said that what makes the bill stand out is people of color were at the center of the measure’s negotiations, where they hadn’t been before.
“It’s only fair,” said Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights.
The governor would appoint a cannabis regulation oversight officer who would recommend changes to the law and rules, and would coordinate regulation among the departments of agriculture, revenue, financial and professional regulation, state police, public health, commerce and economic opportunity, and human services.
Advertising would be prohibited near schools, playgrounds, public transit and public property, and any advertising meant to appeal to minors would be banned, lawmakers said.
Packaging would be sealed and labeled, child-resistant, and required to state that cannabis “can impair cognition and may be habit forming,” and should not be used by pregnant or breast-feeding women. It would be illegal to resell marijuana, and to take it out of state, since it remains illegal under federal law.
Hutchinson spoke directly to those opposed to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in the state, specifically those who advocate for slowing down the process. The legalization bill she and other lawmakers have led the charge on not only addresses the logistics of the weed business here, but does so under the umbrella of social justice reform.
“Every month that goes by, there are some who can’t get a lease, can’t get a loan, and can’t get a job” because of low-level marijuana convictions, she said. “Every sentence is a life sentence.”
As they spoke, leaders were surrounded by advocates from civil rights groups and anti-violence workers. Minor criminal convictions related to drugs are directly tied to violence, they said, and legalizing marijuana could make a difference.
“When you are marked, you can’t get a job,” said Rodney “Hot Rod” Phillips, an anti-violence outreach worker in Englewood for Communities Partnering 4 Peace. “That leads to despair.”
This is a widget area - If you go to "Appearance" in your WP-Admin you can change the content of this box in "Widgets", or you can remove this box completely under "Theme Options"
