In this May 2020 photo, a voter casts her mail-in ballot at in a drop box in West Chester, Pa., prior to the primary election. On Saturday a federal judge blocked a Trump campaign lawsuit to limit the use of drop boxes in the state.
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In this May 2020 photo, a voter casts her mail-in ballot at in a drop box in West Chester, Pa., prior to the primary election. On Saturday a federal judge blocked a Trump campaign lawsuit to limit the use of drop boxes in the state.
Matt Rourke/AP
A federal judge in Pennsylvania has thrown out a lawsuit by the Trump campaign that tried to limit the battleground state’s use of drop boxes in the current presidential election.
The lawsuit also challenged the Pennsylvania secretary of state’s guidance that mail-in ballots shouldn’t be rejected if the voter’s signature doesn’t match the one on file, and a state restriction that poll watchers be residents of the county where they are assigned.
All of these claims turned on a common theme: the idea that without sufficient security measures, people might commit voter fraud. The campaign argued that that fraud would then “dilute” lawfully cast votes, in violation of the state and U.S. constitutions.
In reality, voter fraud is extremely rare, though Trump has repeated baseless claims about it being widespread.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, who wrote the opinion, was reluctant to second-guess the judgment of the state legislature and election officials.
“Perhaps Plaintiffs are right that guards should be placed near drop boxes, signature-analysis experts should examine every mail-in ballot, poll watchers should be able to man any poll regardless of location, and other security improvements should be made,” Ranjan wrote. “But the job of an unelected federal judge isn’t to suggest election improvements, especially when those improvements contradict the reasoned judgment of democratically elected officials.”
Ultimately the court found that the election regulations furthered important state interests without significantly burdening any right to vote, and were therefore constitutional.
In his 138-page ruling, the judge — a Trump appointee — also noted that the Trump campaign had offered no hard evidence that voter fraud would actually occur. Instead, Ranjan wrote, the campaign had simply provided a series of “speculative” assumptions: They assume that “potential fraudsters” might try to fill drop boxes with forged ballots, and that the election security measures in place won’t work to prevent that fraud.
“All of these assumptions could end up being true and these events could theoretically happen,” Ranjan wrote. “But so could many things.” Speculation, Ranjan concluded, isn’t enough to let the plaintiffs bring their case.
“Today is another loss for Republicans’ effort to make voting more difficult and a victory for democracy and the millions of Pennsylvania voters who will vote by mail,” Marc Elias, a Democratic election lawyer, told The New York Times. “This court joins a chorus of other courts in rejecting the false claims of fraud Trump and the Republicans continue to advance for cynical political reasons.”
NPR member station WHYY explains that the drop boxes, first used in this year’s primary, were deployed to keep up with unprecedented demand for mail-in voting. The Trump campaign sued the state and each county board of elections over the drop boxes and other election rules in June.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, called Saturday’s ruling “a win for voters and our democracy.”
The Trump campaign plans to appeal the decision.
“We’ve continued the fight against the Democrats’ completely unmonitored, unsecure drop boxes in the federal courts,” the campaign’s general counsel, Matthew Morgan, told the Times. “Clearly, we disagree with the Western District’s decision on unsecure drop boxes, and President Trump’s team will immediately file an appeal.”
The decision comes just a day after a federal judge in Texas blocked a plan to limit drop boxes to one per county. The Republican governor, Greg Abbott, said it was an election security measure to prevent fraud. Democrats accused him of trying to suppress the vote.
In a rare address, which was prerecorded, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia announced a partial mobilization of his military, effective immediately, stoking speculation that Mr. Putin could officially declare war and a nationwide draft.CreditCredit…Pool photo by Mikhail Klimentyev
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia accelerated his war effort in Ukraine on Wednesday, announcing a new campaign that would call up roughly 300,000 reservists to the military while also directly challenging the West over its support for Ukraine with a veiled threat of using nuclear weapons.
In a rare videotaped address to the nation, Mr. Putin stopped short of declaring a full, national draft but instead called for a “partial mobilization” of people with military experience. Though Moscow’s troops have recently suffered humiliating losses on the battlefield, he said that Russia’s goals in Ukraine had not changed and that the move was “necessary and urgent” because the West had “crossed all lines” by providing sophisticated weapons to Ukraine.
The speech was an apparent attempt to reassert his authority over an increasingly chaotic war that has undermined his leadership both at home and on the global stage. It also escalated Russia’s tense showdown with Western nations that have bolstered Ukraine with weapons, money and intelligence that have contributed to Ukraine’s recent successes in reclaiming swaths of territory in the northeast.
Mr. Putin accused the United States and Europe of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” against his country and warned that Russia had “lots of weapons” of its own.
“To those who allow themselves such statements about Russia, I want to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and some components are more modern than those of the NATO countries,” he said.
Mr. Putin also reaffirmed his support for referendums hastily announced on Tuesday that have set the stage for him to declare that occupied Ukrainian territory has become part of Russia. That annexation could potentially come as soon as next week.
Pro-Kremlin analysts and officials have said that at that point, any further Ukrainian military action on those territories could be considered an attack on Russia itself. Mr. Putin did not spell that out, but warned that he was ready to use all of the weapons in Russia’s arsenal to protect what the Kremlin considered Russian territory.
“If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people,” he said. “This is not a bluff.”
In announcing a call-up of soldiers, Mr. Putin was also responding to those in Russia who support the war but have criticized the Kremlin for not devoting the resources and personnel necessary to wage an all-out fight. Mr. Putin had previously avoided conscription in an effort to keep the war’s hardships as distant as possible from ordinary Russians, but the recent battlefield setbacks, and the drumbeat from pro-war nationalists for a more robust effort, apparently changed the calculation.
In a subsequent speech, Russia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, put the number of new call-ups at 300,000 people, all of them with some military experience. The mobilization makes it mandatory by law for reservists who are officially called up to report for duty, or face fines or charges. Mr. Shoigu said that students would not be called up to fight and that conscripts would not be sent to the “special operation zone,” the term the Kremlin uses to refer to the war, though observers were skeptical of that claim.
Reaction from Western nations was swift, with British and European Union officials calling Mr. Putin’s move a sign that his war is failing. China, which has been an increasingly important ally of Russia, issued a brief statement from its Foreign Ministry that called for all parties “to reach a cease-fire through dialogue and negotiations.”
President Biden, in an interview with “60 Minutes” aired Sunday night on CBS, warned Mr. Putin against using nuclear weapons on the battlefield. “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t,” Mr. Biden said when asked what his message was to Mr. Putin. “You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II.”
The number of Russian troops, including Russia-aligned separatists, members of private security companies and volunteers, does not currently exceed 200,000, according to estimates by military analysts and experts. If the partial mobilization is successful, the new recruits would more than double that amount, making it easier for Russia to defend hundreds of miles of front lines in Ukraine. However, observers say, most high-ranking personnel have already been deployed, and those called up will need further training and weapons.
Chris Buckley, Ivan Nechepurenko and Alina Lobzina contributed reporting.
The U.S. Capitol dome is seen during the partial government shutdown in Washington, on Monday.
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The U.S. Capitol dome is seen during the partial government shutdown in Washington, on Monday.
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With no deal in sight to keep the government funded, hundreds of thousands of federal employees will either not be returning to work after holiday vacations or will be back on the job, but without pay.
President Trump reiterated Tuesday that he is in no mood to compromise over funding for his wall along the Southern border, and Democrats who oppose the measure are showing no signs of budging either.
“I can’t tell you when the government’s going to be open,” the president said in a Christmas Day video conference with representatives of all five military branches stationed in Alaska, Bahrain, Guam and Qatar.
“I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall or fence, whatever they’d like to call it,” Trump said, suggesting that a change in semantics might allow for a breakthrough. “I’ll call it whatever they want, but it’s all the same thing.”
“It’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “But other than that, I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas.”
The partial shutdown, which began Saturday, was triggered by a lapse in funding for a quarter of the government’s departments and agencies. It affects some 800,000 government workers. Workers deemed non-essential will be furloughed, while “essential” workers will be required to report to their jobs, but with no guarantee of a paycheck.
The president, who canceled plans to retreat to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, for the holidays, instead remained at the White House, where he issued a series of angry tweets over the shutdown. He has blamed Democrats for the impasse, which came to a head over the weekend after lawmakers refused to agree to $5 billion in funding to begin building a border wall or fence, something the president has long championed. Democrats say a physical barrier would be expensive and ineffective.
I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security. At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!
During the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Trump told supporters that the wall would be built and that Mexico would pay for it.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York suggested that the president’s insistence on a wall IS little more than an attempt to mollify his political base.
“Instead of bringing certainty into people’s lives, he’s continuing the Trump Shutdown just to please right-wing radio and TV hosts,” Schumer said in a joint statement issued on Christmas Day along with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.
“The president wanted the shutdown, but he seems not to know how to get himself out of it,” the Democratic leaders added.
Sentiment on Capitol Hill is that the closure could continue through the middle of January as tentative efforts at a compromise have been unsuccessful.
As Politico reports, “While Trump has told allies he’d be willing to come down from his demand for $5 billion in border wall money, Democrats have stood firm on $1.3 billion for fencing, consistent with current spending levels. On Saturday, [Vice President Mike] Pence offered Schumer a bill to reopen the government that would provide $2.1 billion for fencing and an additional $400 million for Trump’s other immigration priorities; Democrats countered with $1.3 billion in fencing and more aid for Puerto Rico as part of a disaster package, according to a person familiar with the talks, which essentially recirculated past offers.”
A protester holds up a sign in favor of impeachment outside the U.S. Capitol building on Thursday.
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A protester holds up a sign in favor of impeachment outside the U.S. Capitol building on Thursday.
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Americans are split, 49%-46%, on whether they approve of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and independents at this point are not on board, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll finds.
But the pollsters warn that the new developments could change public opinion quickly, especially with 7 in 10 saying they are paying attention to the news.
“Democrats in the House have work to do to convince people of the usefulness of their case,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the survey of 864 Americans. The poll was conducted Wednesday night with live phone interviewers. That was one day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry, but before a whistleblower complaint about the president’s call with the Ukrainian leader was released to the public.
Miringoff added that while “independents still need to be convinced,” the next few days are going to be crucial for both Democrats and Republicans, who will be making their cases about the validity of the inquiry.
“It’s very important,” Miringoff said, “because this is sort of like we are in the middle of a potential storm here.”
Americans are also split on whether the impeachment inquiry is a serious matter (50%) or just politics (48%) and whether it’s worth going through with if the Senate doesn’t convict and Trump gets to stay in office. By a 2-point margin, 49%-47%, they say it’s not worth it.
Important for Democrats, half of independents disapprove (50%) of the impeachment inquiry and don’t think it’s worth it if the Senate doesn’t convict (52%). People who live in the suburbs, whom Democrats relied on for support in the 2018 midterms to take back the House, are largely split on each of those questions.
On the impeachment inquiry, 48% of those living in the suburbs approve, while 49% disapprove. And on whether it’s worth it, they divide evenly, 49%-49%.
Familiar fissures also emerge by party, gender, education and place. Democrats; women, especially college-educated women; and people who live in big cities are in favor of the impeachment inquiry. Republicans, people who live in rural areas, and men largely are not.
Overall, 71% say they have been paying very close or fairly close attention to the news about the House impeachment inquiry into Trump. More Republicans (80%) said they’ve at least followed the news on this fairly closely than Democrats (70%) or independents (64%).
But overwhelmingly, people want to hear more, with three-quarters of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, saying the whistleblower should testify before Congress.
A majority also think there needs to be investigation into the Ukraine call and the president asking about the Bidens, with 54% of voters calling it a very serious matter.
This is going to be a long fight between the two parties, waging a messaging war to try to win over persuadable voters. And right now, independents are saying they don’t approve of the job Trump is doing (52%), but they disapprove of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi more (62%).
What’s more, the president’s base is more behind him than Pelosi’s is behind her — 90% of Republicans approve of Trump’s job, as opposed to 74% of Democrats saying the same about Pelosi.
Trump’s overall approval rating is about where it’s been — 44%, but Pelosi comes off worse at 39%.
Viewed worst of all of the leaders in Washington, however, is Mitch McConnell. Just 32% approve of the job he is doing.
So it’s pretty clear whose party the GOP is.
Methodology: The poll of 864 Americans was conducted with live telephone callers the night of Sept. 25. The margin of error for the overall sample is 4.6 percentage points. Party affiliation results reflect the 745 respondents who identified as registered voters, and the margin of error is 5 percentage points
The U.S. House passed Biden’s infrastructure bill late Friday in a 228-206 vote largely along party lines. 13 Republican representatives broke with the party to vote in favor of the bill.
“Very sad that the RINOs in the House and Senate gave Biden and Democrats a victory on the ‘Non-Infrastructure’ Bill,” Trump said in a statement. “Where only 11% of the money being wasted goes to real infrastructure.”
“How all of those Republican Senators that voted thinking that helping the Democrats is such a wonderful thing to do, so politically correct. They just don’t get it!,” he continued.
Former President Donald Trump presides over a meeting about immigration with Republican and Democrat members of Congress in the Cabinet Room at the White House January 9, 2018, in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“Now they’ll go for the big kill—getting their second $1.9 Trillion Bill (really $5 Trillion) approved, again with RINO support,” the former Republican president added. “All Republicans who voted for Democrat longevity should be ashamed of themselves, in particular Mitch McConnell, for granting a two month stay which allowed the Democrats time to work things out at our Country’s, and the Republican Party’s expense!”
The bill now heads to Biden desk to be signed into law. It passed the Senate in August in a 69-30 vote with support from every Democrat and 19 Republicans. McConnell was among the Republican members who supported it, drawing the ire of former president Trump and his supporters.
“The Republicans in the Senate have the cards, including political cards, to stop the onslaught of Democrat Legislation that will further lead to the destruction of the United States,” Trump said in a statement in September. “The 19 Senators who voted for the [non] Infrastructure Bill, of which only 11 [percent] is infrastructure as we know it, have created a big setback for Republicans. They can’t make mistakes like that again. They must play every card in the deck!”
Trump argued that passing the infrastructure legislation would boost Democrats in future elections. He also threatened to endorse challengers for any Republicans who vote in favor of Biden’s agenda.
Trump’s own failure to pass infrastructure legislation during his presidency has been cited by Democrats in the wake of Biden’s bill passing.
The United States is working with G20 nations on a global minimum tax for companies, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday. It’s part of President Biden’s corporate tax plan that also includes raising the corporate tax rate in the United States and setting minimum taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign earnings.
Yellen said reaching an agreement would move the world away from what she called a 30-year race to the bottom.
“Together we can use a global minimum tax to make sure the global economy thrives based on a more level playing field in the taxation of multinational corporations, and spurs innovation, growth and prosperity,” Yellen said.
Yellen’s remarks came during a speech Monday before the Chicago Council on Global Affairs as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group kick off a new round of spring meetings this week. This is Yellen’s first participation in the meetings as Treasury secretary.
While the Biden administration is calling for a global minimum tax, a Treasury official would not give a specific number for what the target minimum is, only saying that the U.S. is looking to reach a comprehensive agreement on corporate taxation with other major economies. The G20 is aiming to reach a political agreement by July.
The Treasury official acknowledged that some countries may not agree to a deal but argued there are a number of provisions in the Made in America Tax Plan to help address tax havens and the U.S. is working with major partners as well. The tax proposal is part of the president’s American Jobs Plan, unveiled last week, which would pay for infrastructure including roads, bridges and airports but also affordable housing, broadband and other provisions. As part of his plan, the president is also calling for upping the minimum tax on U.S. multinational corporations from 10.5% to 21%, which would be calculated on a country-by-country basis to help hit profits in tax havens.
According to the Tax Foundation, the average corporate tax rate across 177 different jurisdictions in 2020 was just under 24%. The regional average was lower in Europe – just under 20% — and higher in in Africa, at 28.5%. With the Trump 2017 tax law, the U.S. brought its corporate tax closer to the average, from 35% to 21%.
Yellen has spent the past week briefing House and Senate leaders on Biden’s tax plan. According to the administration, the tax plan would raise more than cover paying for the $2 trillion infrastructure plan over 15 years, in part by reversing some of the Trump administration tax cuts. Yellen will also brief House Democrats on Tuesday.
On Monday, Yellen also laid out other global cooperation priorities including addressing climate change, fighting inequality, working with partners to advance the global economic recovery from the pandemic, and making sure the world’s poorest countries have access to vaccines and financing.
The Treasury secretary said the Biden administration is committed to restoring U.S. leadership to help make the world economy stronger and advance American interests, stating the U.S. needs a strong presence in the global market and would cooperate with willing partners, but she did not shy away from the challenges, specifically China.
“Our economic relationship with China, like our broader relationship with China, will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, and adversarial where it must be,” Yellen said.
During Monday’s speech, Yellen highlighted the sharp shift from the previous administration’s approach on the world stage, saying America is strongest when it engages with the world.
“Over the last four years, we have seen firsthand what happens when America steps back from the global stage,” Yellen said. “America first must never mean America alone.”
La noticia con mayor lectoría de la semana en EL UNIVERSAL fue la revelación que hizo René Franco, en su programa para Radio Fórmula, sobre la recaída de Mauricio Clark en las drogas, motivo por el cual salió del noticiero “Primero Noticias”. El material generó 167 mil clicks.
Carlos Loret de Mola, titular del noticiario y columnista de esta casa editorial, aclaró que el propio Clark pidió salir del noticiario por problemas personales.
Algo inusual y muy impactante sucedió en un noticiero de Albania, luego de que diferentes chicas deleitaran a televidentes con sus escotes al momento de dar la información más importante del día. Las jóvenes presentadoras no son periodistas y con su apariencia física buscan atraer a la audiencia; la nota tuvo 153 mil pageviews.
Por ultimo, la entrega: Jorge Campos, cansado de Martinoli, de la columna deportiva Barra Brava, obtuvo 150 mil visitas, tras darse a conocer que el ex portero está canasado de ser el “patiño” del narrador de TV Azteca durante las transmisiones futboleras.
Los datos son del índice Dax de la Consultora Comscore para consumo interno de EL UNIVERSAL.
Speaking exclusively with Tucker Carlson, Trump said he “built up a lot of great capital” after his decision — but said that means “if something should happen, we’re in a position to do far worse by not doing it.”
He quickly added, “But, hopefully, we don’t have to do anything.”
The president’s comments were made before it was reported Iran has exceeded the threshold for the Islamic Republic’s low-enriched uranium stockpile agreed upon in the 2015 nuclear deal.
On Monday, a source told Fars News Agency that U.N. inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) weighed Iran’s stockpile of uranium and said it surpassed the 660-pound limit.
Iran previously announced its intent to pass the limit unless certain demands were met by June 27. A spokesperson for the country’s Atomic Energy Organization said on June 17 that Iran already had quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium — which can be used in a nuclear reactor, but not in a bomb.
The IAEA confirmed on Monday that Iran had brought through the limit. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told the agency’s board of governors that it had verified the development.
Monday afternoon, the White House released a statement outlining how the U.S. will continue to pressure Iran.
“Maximum pressure on the Iranian regime will continue until its leaders alter their course of action,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. “The regime must end its nuclear ambitions and its malign behavior.”
During his interview with Carlson, Trump reveled in the praise he was given for not going through with the retaliatory strike.
“I was given a lot of credit by most people. A lot of people gave me of credit,” the president said after Carlson asked about the pullback.
“A lot of people said that was a great presidential moment, which was, you know, rather shocking to hear.
“So, they shot down an unmanned drone. And, they claim it was over their territory, which it wasn’t, but they would say that, so on top of it, they’ll say, unmanned and over their territory, then we go in.
“Before I sent them out, they had to give me everything I wanted to know by seven o’clock. They walked in, they gave me everything but they didn’t tell me how many people would die. How many Iranians — I know a lot of Iranians from New York City, and they’re great people. They’re all great people. Were all great, right? Iranian or not.”
Trump continued, explaining why he canceled the plan after learning at least 150 people could be killed.
“I said, ‘I don’t like that. I don’t like it,’ and I stopped it,” he said. “I did — we didn’t send them out, you know, there was a little incorrect reporting. It was like we sent them out and we pulled them, but we didn’t do that. I didn’t — I made the final decision not to do it.
“I built up a lot of great capital, and if something should happen, we’re in a position to do far worse by not doing it. But, hopefully, we don’t have to do anything.”
Trump then took aim at former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with the country and reaffirmed his commitment to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
“Iran now, since we terminated that horrible deal, which was a truly horrible deal, and, you know, you and I aren’t so different in terms of fighting, we want to have peace,” Trump told Carlson.
“We want to build our roads and build our schools and build all the things we want to build. But, we can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon… you can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and you can’t let certain other countries have nuclear weapons. It’s too devastating.”
Iran last month had threatened to exceed the stockpile limit if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the nuclear accord, which was engineered by the Obama administration in July 2015 but significantly weakened when the Trump administration withdrew in May 2018 and restored crippling sanctions. Many European countries repeatedly have urged Iran to abide by the deal.
Under terms of the multinational nuke deal, Iran can keep a stockpile of no more than 660 pounds of low-enriched uranium and the country pledged to stay within those limits if Britain, France, Germany and the rest of the European Union followed through with plans to provide Iran access to international banking systems.
Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Two days after President Donald Trump took part in a departure ceremony for the USNS Comfort at Naval Station Norfolk on March 28, the massive hospital ship sailed into New York Harbor to provide much needed medical help to a city overwhelmed with rising numbers of coronavirus cases.
The USNS Comfort’s sister ship, the USNS Mercy, has already been deployed and moored in Los Angeles where it has been serving patients since Sunday.
As positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise, New York City has already converted the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center into a temporary hospital and is setting up another field hospital in Central Park to help relieve the strain. The USNS Comfort will focus on providing medical services to those not afflicted by the coronavirus as hospitals continue to struggle to treat patients with the virus.
There are certain photos that stand out to mark pinnacle moments in our history. Images that encompass the emotions, struggles and determination to meet the challenges of our time. The following photos of the USNS Comfort’s arrival into New York City have undoubtedly captured one of these moments, providing a city and country with a sense of hope in the fight against this pandemic.
At least three other DA offices, in Manhattan and in Nassau and Westchester counties, have asked James for investigative materials collected as part of the probe of Cuomo.
The report detailed multiple instances of Cuomo touching women in ways that made them feel uncomfortable and making comments that likewise unsettled them.
James said Cuomo “violated federal and state law” with his conduct but she did not file criminal charges.
“Executive Assistant #1” is the first woman whose claims against Cuomo are described in detail in James’ report.
The report says that “since approximately late 2019, the Governor engaged in a pattern of inappropriate conduct with an executive assistant (“Executive Assistant#1″), who is a woman.”
“That pattern of conduct included: (1) close and intimate hugs; (2) kisses on the cheeks, forehead, and at least one kiss on the lips; (3) touching and grabbing of Executive Assistant #1’s butt during hugs and, on one occasion, while taking selfies with him; and (4) comments and jokes by the Governor about Executive Assistant #1’s personal life and relationships, including calling her and another assistant “mingle mamas,” the report said.
Cuomo also asked the woman “multiple times about whether she had cheated or would cheat on her husband, and asking her to help find him a girlfriend,” according to the report
“These offensive interactions, among others, culminated in an incident at the Executive Mansion in November 2020 when the Governor, during another close hug with Executive Assistant #1, reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast,” the report said.
“For over three months, Executive Assistant #1 kept this groping incident to herself and planned to take it ‘to the grave,’ but found herself becoming emotional (in a way that was visible to her colleagues in the Executive Chamber) while watching the Governor state, at a press conference on March 3, 2021, that he had never ‘touched anyone inappropriately,'” according to the report.
“She then confided in certain of her colleagues, who in turn reported her allegations to senior staff in the Executive Chamber.”
The report also described an encounter on Dec. 31, 2019, when Executive Assistant #1 was helping Cuomo in his office at the Executive Mansion in Albany “when the Governor asked her to take a “selfie” photograph with him.”
“Governor Cuomo stood next to Executive Assistant #1, on her left, as she took a selfie with her right hand,” the report said. “As Executive Assistant #1 held up the camera, the Governor moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it. The rubbing lasted at least five seconds.”
Cuomo later ordered her “not to share the photograph with anyone else” other than one particular fellow staffer, according to the report.
A top state Assembly committee warned Cuomo this week it will soon conclude an impeachment inquiry into his conduct, and asked him to give the panel any evidence for the probe.
The search continued Thursday for a gunman who shot two people, one fatally, on a packed Muni commuter train in San Francisco on Wednesday, police said.
The shooting occurred around 10 a.m. as the light-rail train was moving between stations, according to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Kathryn Winters.
Winters said police were initially called to the city’s Forest Hill Muni station for a report of a shooting, but the train had already pulled away. Officers caught up to the train at the busy Castro Street Station, where they discovered the two victims, Winters said.
Police late Wednesday released a photo of a person of interest connected to the shooting.
Winters said the gunman and commuters aboard the train ran off as soon as it stopped and the doors opened at the station.
Winters said one victim, a man, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second individual was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting happened ahead of this Sunday’s Pride Parade in San Francisco and in the heart of the city’s popular Castro District, which is expected to be filled with revelers celebrating LGBTQ pride this weekend. Winters said preliminary evidence showed that the shooting has no connection to this coming weekend’s activities or directed at the city’s LGBTQ community.
San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar told ABC station KGO-TV in San Francisco that police informed her that the shooting occurred during a confrontation the gunman had with the victim who died.
“We do know the shooting happened after a heated verbal argument,” Melgar said.
It was not immediately clear whether the gunman and the deceased victim knew each other. She said the second victim who was wounded was an innocent bystander.
Winters said on Wednesday that homicide detectives were securing surveillance video from the train and the Forest Hill and Castro stations in hopes there was footage of the shooting that could help them identify the assailant.
Police had released a vague description of the perpetrator, saying he was a man wearing dark clothes and a hooded sweatshirt.
Melgar asked any commuters who were on the train and witnessed the shooting to contact police immediately.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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El vicepresidente brasileño, Michel Temer, es un actor cada vez más protagónico en la crisis política de su país.
El futuro político de la presidenta de Brasil, Dilma Rousseff, cada vez luce más incierto.
El Partido del Movimiento Democrático Brasileño (PMDB), que además de tener la mayor bancada del Congreso ejerce la vicepresidencia del país y controlaba seis ministerios, decidió salirse del gobierno de Rousseff por aclamación de su directorio nacional.
La ruptura deja potencialmente vacantes cientos de cargos ejecutivos de Brasil en plena crisis político-económica y aumenta la vulnerabilidad de Rousseff al proceso de juicio político para destituirla, que avanza en el Congreso.
Si el impeachment es aprobado, Rousseff, que pertenece al izquierdista Partido de los Trabajadores (PT) y está acusada de haber ocultado el déficit fiscal violando normas presupuestales, debería dejar la presidencia mientras la juzga el Senado.
Entonces el gobierno del mayor país de América Latina quedaría encabezado, al menos temporalmente, por el actual vicepresidente Michel Temer, uno de los líderes del PMDB.
La voluntad de los parlamentarios de este partido de ocupar el lugar de Rousseff quedó expuesta durante la reunión de su directorio este martes, que duró menos de cinco minutos y acabó con cánticos de “Fuera PT” y “Temer presidente”.
Image copyright Getty
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Dilma Rousseff está cada vez más aislada y lucha por seguir en el cargo.
“Con el PMDB saliendo de la coalición (gubernamental) obviamente el impeachment va a seguir adelante y la presidenta muy probablemente será apartada”, sostuvo Marcus Melo, profesor de ciencia política en la Universidad Federal de Pernambuco.
Pero recordó que el propio Temer enfrenta acusaciones de ilegalidades y que sobre otros miembros del PMDB en el Congreso pesan denuncias graves.
“Es una situación dramática”, le dijo Melo a BBC Mundo.
Fundado en 1980 a partir de un movimiento opositor a la dictadura militar brasileña (1964-1985), el PMDB se volvió uno de los mayores partidos de Brasil al priorizar las elecciones de alcaldes, gobiernos estatales y congresistas.
Esto lo hizo sin tener un liderazgo nacional firme, una ideología clara o candidatos presidenciales en elecciones recientes: el último lo presentó en 1994 y sacó apenas 4% de los votos.
Image copyright Agencia Brasil
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El PMDB es un “partido bisagra” en el Congreso brasileño.
Pero el poder del PMDB en el Congreso lo volvió decisivo los últimos gobiernos: al igual que Rousseff, los expresidentes Fernando Henrique Cardoso y Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tuvieron que buscar acuerdos con el partido para lograr mayorías.
A medida que el PMDB ganó fuerza para negociar y cargos en diferentes gobiernos, aumentaron las denuncias contra sus miembros.
Hoy, con 68 diputados federales y 18 senadores, el partido es un actor crucial en un Congreso fragmentado. Además tiene siete gobernadores estatales y casi un millar de alcaldes electos.
Los seis ministerios que el PMDB ejercía en el gobierno y ahora decidió entregar son: Salud, Minas y Energía, Agricultura, Ciencia y Tecnología, Aviación Civil y Puertos. También comandaba el ministerio de Turismo, pero su titular anticipó su renuncia el lunes.
Tras el anuncio de ruptura, el ministro jefe de gabinete de Rousseff, Jaques Wagner, sostuvo que la salida del PMDB abrió el espacio para “un nuevo gobierno”.
Pero algunos analistas advierten que otros partidos menores de la coalición de gobierno podrían seguir los pasos del PMDB, lo que debilitaría aún más a la presidenta.
Rousseff y sus aliados han calificado como intentos de “golpe” las acciones para acabar con su mandato mediante un juicio político, una acusación que es rechazada por opositores y los integrantes del Tribunal Supremo federal.
Image copyright AFP
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La presidenta brasileña y quienes la apoyan afirman que hay un intento de “golpe” en Brasil.
En una señal de la gravedad de la crisis, Rousseff canceló un viaje a Estados Unidos previsto para el jueves, que habría implicado que el vicepresidente Temer asumiera la presidencia durante dos días.
Temer, un abogado constitucionalista de 75 años que hasta poco tiempo atrás mantenía un bajo perfil, es señalado como un impulsor clave de la ruptura del PMDB con el gobierno.
El vicepresidente evitó asistir a la reunión del directorio de su partido este martes, pero divulgó un video asegurando “con la mayor tranquilidad” que las instituciones brasileñas “están funcionando regularmente”.
“El próximo en caer”
Temer ha intentado mostrarse como un factor de unidad en Brasil y algunos creen que un gobierno suyo reduciría tensiones en la desgastada clase política brasileña si Rousseff fuese destituida por el Congreso.
“Temer conviene por muchos motivos, sobre todo porque evita la elección”, sostuvo el destacado columnista brasileño Elio Gaspari esta semana.
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En Brasil hay un amplio apoyo popular al juicio político para destituir a Rousseff, según las encuestas. Pero el vicepresidente Temer parece lejos de ser una opción de gobierno querida por la mayoría.
Pero el vicepresidente parece lejos de ser una figura popular:tiene menos de 3% de las intenciones de voto para las elecciones de 2018, según una encuesta de la empresa Datafolha de este mes.
Aunque el impeachment a Rousseff es apoyado por 68% de los electores brasileños, la misma encuestadora indicó que sólo 16% creen que Temer haría un gobierno bueno o muy bueno.
El vicepresidente también ha rechazado recientes acusaciones en su contra.
El senador Delcídio Amaral, exlíder del PT en la cámara alta, acusó a Temer de “apadrinar” a un operador de la enorme red de corrupción en la petrolera estatal Petrobras, preso por sospechas de que movió millones de dólares de sobornos para el PMDB.
Image copyright Agencia Senado
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El senador brasileño Delcídio do Amaral acusa al vicepresidente Temer.
Amaral, procesado en la causa Petrobras, realizó esa acusación en un acuerdo de colaboración con la Fiscalía donde también citó los nombres de Rousseff, Lula y el senador opositor Aécio Neves.
El líder del gobierno en el Senado, Humberto Costa, advirtió el lunes que Temer “será el próximo en caer” si asumiese la presidencia tras una destitución de Rousseff.
Rousseff y Temer enfrentan además denuncias opositoras en el Tribunal Superior Electoral de que su campaña en las elecciones de 2014 recibió dinero ilegal, lo cual podría acabar con el mandato de ambos a la vez.
Causas y cuentas
Otros miembros notorios del PMDB están en situaciones más delicadas que Temer.
Uno de ellos es el presidente de Diputados, Eduardo Cunha, que aceptó el pedido de impeachment a Rousseff estando él mismo acusado de cobrar al menos US$5 millones en sobornos por contratos de Petrobras.
Cunha rechaza esto y ha luchado para mantenerse en el cargo hasta ahora, pero el Supremo ya aceptó examinar las denuncias por corrupción y lavado de dinero que le realizaron los fiscales.
Image copyright Ag. Camara
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Eduardo Cunha, presidente de la cámara brasileña de Diputados, enfrenta acusaciones de corrupción y lavado de dinero.
El Supremo también tiene nueve investigaciones por corrupción en Petrobras abiertas contra el presidente del Senado, Renan Calheiros, otro miembro destacado del PMDB.
Hasta ahora el más favorable al gobierno, Calheiros, puede ser otro actor clave de un juicio político a Rousseff en el Senado, si el proceso es aprobado por dos tercios de los diputados y aceptado por la mayoría de los senadores.
La cámara baja tiene 513 miembros, por lo que los opositores necesitan reunir 342 votos de diputados para lanzar el impeachment.
Para evitarlo, el oficialismo precisa que 172 diputados voten en contra o al menos se ausenten durante la sesión. El PT tiene 58 diputados y con sus aliados más firmes suma 97.
Así, lo más cierto hoy es que los partidos menores tendrán la llave del impeachment, que es analizado por una comisión y podría pasar en abril al plenario de diputados.
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