Hurricane Dorian posed an increasing menace to Florida Thursday as it pushed over open waters after doing limited damage in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Dorian was expected to grow into a potentially devastating Category 3 hurricane before hitting the U.S. mainland late Sunday or early Monday somewhere between the Florida Keys and southern Georgia.
“Hurricane Dorian looks like it will be hitting Florida late Sunday night,” President Donald Trump tweeted. “Be prepared and please follow State and Federal instructions, it will be a very big Hurricane, perhaps one of the biggest!”
Dorian blew through the Virgin Islands as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday while raking nearby Puerto Rico with high winds and rains.
The storm caused an islandwide blackout in St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and scattered power outages in St. Croix, government spokesman Richard Motta said. The storm also downed trees and at least one electric pole in St. Thomas, he said.
And there were no reports of serious damage in the British Virgin Islands, where Gov. Augustus Jaspert said crews were already clearing roads and inspecting infrastructure by late Wednesday afternoon.
Early Thursday, Dorian was centered about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said its top winds were blowing at 85 mph (140 kph) as the storm moved northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
The Hurricane Center projected the storm could have winds of 125 mph (200 kph) by the time it reaches the mainland. Also imperiled were the Bahamas, with Dorian’s forecast track running just to the north of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama islands.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for counties that could be in the storm’s path, and he urged people to have a week’s worth of supplies on hand.
County governments along the state’s central east coast distributed sandbags and many residents rushed to warehouse retailers to load up on water, canned food and emergency supplies.
Puerto Rico seemed to be spared any heavy wind and rain, a huge relief on an island where blue tarps still cover some 30,000 homes nearly two years after Hurricane Maria. The island’s 3.2 million inhabitants also depend on an unstable power grid that remains prone to outages since it was destroyed by Maria, a Category 4 storm.
Several hundred customers were without power across Puerto Rico, said Ángel Figueroa, president of a union that represents power workers.
Police said an 80-year-old man in the northern town of Bayamón died Wednesday after he fell trying to climb up to his roof to clear it of debris ahead of the storm.
What the documents say: A memo the committee obtained that was sent by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in March 2020 warned that the then-isolated cases of Covid-19 would balloon into “a very serious public health emergency” and lamented that “movement has been slow” to prepare. The memo advised the president to shore up domestic supply chains for PPE and accelerate development of diagnostics and therapeutics.
In the months that followed, according to other documents the committee released Wednesday, Navarro and other senior officials and outside advisers pushed federal agencies to give no-bid contracts for pharmaceutical ingredients and other supplies to companies that were recently formed and had political ties with the Trump administration.
One deal under investigation is a $354 million contract awarded to the Phlow Corporation — a first-time government contractor that had incorporated just a few months before receiving the funds. It was the largest contract ever awarded by BARDA, and it followed a series of emails from Navarro to agency leaders in March of 2020.
“Phlow needs to get greenlit as soon as humanly possible…Please move this puppy in Trump time,” he wrote. In a subsequent message he said: “My head is going to explode if this contract does not get immediately approved.”
Steven Hatfill, an adjunct assistant professor at George Washington University with ties to White House political advisor Stephen Bannon, was also involved in brokering the contract, the committee said.
The panel is also investigating a $3 million federal contract given to a company formed by former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Zachary Fuentes to provide respirator masks to the Navajo Nation through the Indian Health Services. Fuentes’ company received the contract just 11 days after its creation.
“When the respirator masks were delivered, IHS determined that they were unsuitable for use in a medical or surgical environment,” the committee wrote, asking for further records detailing how the contract was negotiated.
Why it matters: The Trump administration’s Covid contracting received some scrutiny last year. A plan to loan Eastman Kodak $765 million to shift to producing drug ingredients was scuttled after suspicious stock trades on the eve of the loan’s announcement prompted the U.S. International Development Finance Corp to cite “recent allegations of wrongdoing.”
But Democrats in charge of oversight panels on Capitol Hill say there is still more to uncover, in part because the Trump administration did not respond to requests for documents. Republicans on the committees are complaining that the panels are focusing too much on the past and failing to hold the Biden administration accountable.
Residents who evacuated and needed assistance finding lodging were told to contact the Red Cross, and Castaic Animal Shelter was taking all animals that were being evacuated.
West Hills Drive was also closed between Copper Hill and Iron Village drives until further notice.
Evacuation warnings had earlier been issued for the areas of Rye Canyon Loop, Sterling Court and Iron Village Drive.
There were at least 120 firefighters at the scene, working to put the flames out.
No injuries have been reported.
The city of Santa Clarita asked residents to avoid the area.
“Fue una persona muy transparente, se mostraba en la pantalla de la misma forma que se mostraba en la familia, en la intimidad”, comenzó diciendo Gabriel Mesa sobre su padre en Por si las moscas, el ciclo radial de La Once Diez/Radio de la Ciudad. Calificó al fallecido actor, autor y director como “muy buen padre, muy buen amigo y muy buen profesional porque era un tipo muy generoso en todo sentido”.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the U.S. hopes to gain access soon to a former Marine who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges and that “if the detention is not appropriate we will demand his immediate return.”
Paul Whelan, who is head of global security for a Michigan-based auto parts supplier, was arrested on Friday. In announcing the arrest three days later, the Russian Federal Security Service said he was caught “during an espionage operation,” but it gave no details.
Whelan, 48, was in Moscow to attend a wedding when he suddenly disappeared, his brother David Whelan said Tuesday.
Pompeo, speaking in Brazil, said the U.S. is “hopeful within the next hours we’ll get consular access to see him and get a chance to learn more.”
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The U.S. has “made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges and come to understand what it is he’s been accused of and if the detention is not appropriate we will demand his immediate return,” Pompeo said.
Whelan’s family said in a statement David Whelan posted on Twitter, “We are deeply concerned for his safety and well-being. His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected.”
The Russian spying charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
David Whelan said in an interview that his brother had been to Russia several times previously, so when a fellow former Marine was planning a wedding in Moscow with a Russian woman he was asked to go along to help out.
The morning of his arrest, he had taken a group of wedding guests on a tour of the Kremlin museums. The last time anyone heard from him was at about 5 p.m. and then he failed to show up that evening for the wedding, his brother said.
“It was extraordinarily out of character,” he said.
The family feared he had been mugged or was in a car accident, David Whelan said, and it was when searching the internet on Monday that he learned of the arrest.
“I was looking for any stories about dead Americans in Moscow, so in a way it was better than finding out that he had died,” he said.
The State Department said Monday it had received formal notification from the Russian Foreign Ministry of the arrest and was pushing for consular access. David Whelan said the family was told by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow they have not been able to speak to Paul Whelan.
David Whelan said he has no idea why his brother was targeted by the Russian security services. Paul Whelan had traveled to Russia in the past for work and to visit friends he had met on social networks, his brother said.
“I don’t think there’s any chance that he’s a spy,” David Whelan told CNN on Wednesday.
Paul Whelan did multiple tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps, his brother said. He now lives in Novi, Michigan, and is director of global security for BorgWarner, where he has worked since early 2017.
“He is responsible for overseeing security at our facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan and at other company locations around the world,” company spokeswoman Kathy Graham said in a statement.
She said BorgWarner does not have any facilities in Russia.
Paul Whelan previously worked for Kelly Services, which does maintain offices in Russia, his brother said.
The arrest comes as U.S.-Russian ties are severely strained, in part over Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
A Russian gun rights activist, Maria Butina, is in U.S. custody after admitting she acted as a secret agent for the Kremlin in trying to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups as Donald Trump was seeking the presidency. She pleaded guilty in December to a conspiracy charge as part of a deal with federal prosecutors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the case is fabricated and that Butina entered the guilty plea because of the threat of a long prison sentence.
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Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.
The U.S. is unlikely to meet its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of the year, health officials said this week.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. is unlikely to meet its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of the year, health officials said this week.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Snowstorms, holidays and general inexperience in handling a pandemic response is to blame for a “lag” in the number of Americans so far vaccinated for the coronavirus, according to U.S. officials.
The federal government previously estimated that 20 million Americans would receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine by the end of the year. But as 2020, a year defined by the coronavirus pandemic, comes to a close on Thursday, the government appears set to fall well short of that goal.
U.S. Army Gen. Gustave F. Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, and Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to federal vaccine effort, said the U.S. has deployed around 14 million vaccine doses as of Wednesday, but only 2.1 million people had received shots. Perna and Slaoui spoke on Wednesday during a news conference.
The vaccination process started on Dec. 14 with frontline health workers getting the shots first.
The number of people vaccinated as reported by Perna and Slaoui contrasts with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday morning, the agency said that more than 12.4 million doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines had been distributed across the country. The CDC reports just 2.7 million people have been vaccinated. It has said, however, it is working with out-of-date data.
Perna said he is also working off of a 72- to 96-hour lag in vaccine reporting data, which he says will be adjusted as time goes on.
Regardless of the data used, Perna and Slaoui say the number of Americans vaccinated from the coronavirus is far lower than what they would like.
“We know it should be better, and we are working hard to make it better,” Slaoui said.
More than 340,000 Americans have died from the pandemic, as of Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. Health officials warn that January could be the deadliest month since the start of the pandemic, making a successful vaccine distribution all the more critical.
The vaccine rollout has been challenging, but officials expect that between Jan. 8 and Jan. 15, access to vaccines will greatly increase, Perna said.
Despite the early hiccups, Perna and Slaoui applauded the multipronged effort involving states and local governments, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and delivery companies to get the immunization program rolling.
President Trump criticized state officials for the lag in a tweet this week and urged states to, “Get moving!”
The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!
News of the lag in vaccinations comes as reports of problems with state-level distribution processes trickle out.
Florida’s county-by-county plan to vaccinate the state’s elderly residents created a scramble earlier this week. CNN reported that a southwest Florida county encouraged anyone 65 and older and high-risk frontline health care workers to come to one of its seven vaccination sites — no appointment necessary. Each location only had 300 doses, leading to overwhelmed health centers and residents camping out for several hours to get their shots.
In Wisconsin, a medical center employee intentionally left 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine out of its cold storage, leaving health officials with no choice but to destroy them. The vials could have provided around 500 doses.
Lunes 05 de diciembre
El Gabinete Zavala experimentó su primer recambio. Tras la salida del titular de Defensa, se asignó a Jorge Nieto Montesinos como nuevo ministro en esa cartera, mientras que Salvador del Solar tomó la posta de Nieto Montesinos en el ministerio de Cultura.
Martes 06 de diciembre Resultados de Prueba Pisa indican mejoras en la educación peruana con respecto a resultados del 2012. En ciencias Perú alcanza 24 puntos más, ocupando el puesto 63 de 69 naciones. En comprensión lectora sube 14 puntos, llegando a la ubicación 62 de la lista. Y en matemática eleva 19 puntos su promedio pasado, trepando al puesto 61. El titular de Educación, Jaime Saavedra, consideró que el país se ubicaba en la ruta correcta.
Jueves 08 de diciembre
El histórico líder demócrata del Senado estadounidense se retiró luego de 34 años de labor. Harry Reid aprovechó su marcha para advertir a sus colegas sobre sus responsabilidades en esta nueva etapa que comienza el país con la presidencia del republicano Donald Trump.
Viernes 09 de diciembre
El presidente Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, anuncia que esta ‘evaluando’ solicitar la cuestión de confianza ante el Congreso, para afrontar la moción de censura presentada contra el Ministro de Educación, Jaime Saavedra.
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White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says the ‘phase 4 stimulus package’ will be ‘strategic and tactical’ on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro tore into Dr. Anthony Fauci in a stunning op-ed on Wednesday, saying the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, who has been a leading voice on the Coronavirus Task Force, has been “wrong about everything.”
“Dr. Anthony Fauci has a good bedside manner with the public, but he has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on,” Navarro wrote in a blistering op-ed for USA Today.
Navarro began by saying that Fauci “fought against” Trump’s “courageous decision” in late January to suspend flights from China as the novel coronavirus began to spread, arguing that that decision “might well have saved hundreds of thousands of American lives.”
He continued: “When I warned in late January in a memo of a possibly deadly pandemic, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was telling our news media not to worry.”
Further, he wrote that in February, “Fauci was telling the public the China virus was low risk.” Navarro went on to complain Fauci was “flip-flopping on the use of masks.”
He dinged Fauci for downplaying falling mortality rates, amid the debate over whether businesses should be allowed to reopen or stay shuttered. Navarro added: “So when you ask me whether I listen to Dr. Fauci’s advice my answer is: only with skepticism and caution.”
Navarro’s comments come as tensions have been bubbling between the White House and Fauci. Officials have reportedly been concerned about the number of times Fauci has “been wrong on things,” according to a report last week.
A senior administration official, though, told Fox News that Navarro’s op-ed slamming Fauci was “definitely not approved by the White House.”
Another White House official told Fox News that Navarro is “going rogue.”
Alyssa Farah, White House director of strategic communications, said on Twitter that the piece “didn’t go through normal White House clearance processes and is the opinion of Peter alone.”
She said President Trump “values the expertise of the medical professionals advising his Administration.”
Trump, on his part, has said Fauci is “a nice man, but he’s made a lot of mistakes,” and has criticized him for his back-and-forth guidance over masks.
“I disagree with him. You know, Dr. Fauci said ‘don’t wear masks,’ and now he says ‘wear them.’ And you know, he’s said numerous things,” Trump said in an interview last week with Greta Van Susteren. “‘Don’t close off China. Don’t ban China.’ And I did it anyway.”
He added: “I sort of didn’t listen to my experts and I banned China.”
The president last week also said he had a “very good relationship” with Fauci, while saying: “I don’t always agree with him.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, during an interview on “Fox & Friends” on Monday, described Fauci as representing “one viewpoint within the administration.”
“The point of the task force is to be a whole of government look at what is best for this country,” she said. “That includes Dr. Fauci’s opinion…Ultimately, those conclusions are taken to the president.”
McEnany added: “Dr. Fauci is one member of a team, but rest-assured his viewpoint is represented and the information gets to the president through the task force.”
Fox News’ Kristin Fisher contributed to this report.
A tradução deste artigo se encontra no final da versão em inglês
This Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 pm, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center presents the acclaimed Brazilian film “Que Horas Ela Volta?” (The Second Mother), starring famous comedian and Globo actress Regina Casé. The movie portrays the life of Val (Regina Casé), a hardworking live-in maid. Val caters to all of her employers’ needs, as she is appreciative of having a job and a place to live. The one, and perhaps only, happy aspect of the job is her relationship with Fabinho, her employers’ only son, whom she has cared for as her own since Fabinho was a toddler. However, when Val’s daughter Jessica, whom she hasn’t seen in 10 years, decides to move in with Val to pursue her dream of applying to and attending a university, the unspoken but real class barriers that exist within the home are tested, forcing everyone to reconsider what family means.
If you can’t make it to Friday’s screening, you can watch the film on Saturday, Sunday, or next Thursday (Nov. 12) at 7:30 pm at the Film Center.
The first Thursday of every month is referred to as “translation day” at the Edgartown District Courthouse. A translator, usually Maria F. Mello, a Spanish and Portuguese court-certified interpreter from Seekonk, provides translation services for individuals who are not yet proficient in English.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, I spent the day at the Edgartown District Courthouse and met Michelle J. Da Silva, a criminal defense and immigration lawyer. I was very interested in her views regarding the driver’s license dilemma that undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts face. Most of the Brazilians in court that day were confronting the same charge — they had been charged with driving without a license.
Some states, such as Connecticut, have created a driver’s license for undocumented immigrants, one that doesn’t grant the same privileges as an American citizen, or a legally documented immigrant, but that helps ensure public safety and accountability. In Massachusetts, similar initiatives to allow undocumented immigrants to drive legally remain on hold.
Michelle J. Da Silva agreed to an interview in which she shared her views on the matter.
MVTimes: Please tell me about your law practice involving Brazilian nationals.
Michelle J. Da Silva: My practice areas are immigration, criminal defense, and divorce. I would say that 80 percent of my clients are Brazilians, with the remaining being from Spanish-speaking nations.
MVT: To what extent do motor vehicle violations, specifically driving without a license, account for the cases you handle?
MD: Of my criminal defense practice, about 20 percent of cases involve operating without a license and operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
MVT: Is there a typical scenario for the Brazilian national charged with driving without a license?
MD: The typical scenario involves an undocumented immigrant (typically Brazilian in my practice, since I am fluent in Portuguese) who is driving using a “foreign or international license.” Most of the time, the clients are first-time offenders who are frightened by the U.S. legal system because of lack of knowledge and understanding of how the system works. They seek the assistance of an attorney to help them navigate the system.
Many undocumented immigrants are under the mistaken belief that a foreign license gives them the right to drive in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous businesses that provide these “international licenses” (for a fee, of course) and who often prey on these undocumented immigrants’ fears and misinformation about the true validity of these licenses.
After they acquire the license, they have a false sense of security that they are eligible to drive. It is only once they are stopped by the police and issued a citation and summoned into court for driving without a license that they come to realize that they were defrauded.
However, although the minority of the cases, some undocumented immigrants use the international license as an excuse to violate the laws knowingly.
MVT: Please comment on the typical outcome for a first-time offender on the mainland versus what you know of the outcomes on Martha’s Vineyard.
MD: It is important first to note that the law gives the judge discretion in the fine amount, up to $500 for the first offense. A typical outcome in my experience is that a case is dismissed on fine of $300 to $500 for a first offense. The difference on Martha’s Vineyard from the mainland is that most of the unlicensed-operation violations are held on the same day [because it is the only day there is a Portuguese interpreter available], thus allowing much more consistency in the judge’s ruling.
MVT: Based on what you have observed, is the system for issuing driver’s licenses broken?
MD: In my opinion, the system for issuing licenses is not broken; it is that the current laws are not adequate for the times we are living in. The reality is that we do have undocumented immigrants living within our communities, and will continue to have as long as U.S. employers are willing to employ them. It is also true that U.S. employers will continue to employ these individuals if the U.S. labor market cannot produce the quality of workers that come from abroad. Therefore, the first issue that must be addressed is the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
However, because of the current gridlock in Congress and the polarization involved with the topic of immigration, it is unlikely that we will see any immigration reform shortly. Therefore, a better solution would be to provide licenses for these undocumented immigrants, so that not only do we know who is living among us, but we also reduce the burden to our court system.
Also, by allowing these undocumented immigrants to have access to licenses, we would also be protecting our society. Right now, many undocumented immigrants drive without insurance; that endangers the public and other drivers on the road — this occurs not because they want to evade the law, but because without a valid driver’s license, an insurance company will not insure them.
MVT: In general, do your clients think they are fairly treated by the courts?
MD: Yes, I do think that my clients are treated fairly because I fight for their rights.
Overall, I do believe the system works. Undocumented individuals have all the rights afforded to them as those of a native person in this country. However, I think the system works better for those who have private legal representation than those who do not. In my experience, most of my clients have never been involved with the legal system either here in the U.S. or abroad in their home country. This makes going to court a very scary experience, because many of them think that if they go to court they are automatically going to be deported. The undocumented individual’s fear of the legal system is only because of their lack of education about the American justice system. As a private counsel whose practice deals with a large number of undocumented individuals, I find it necessary to provide a basic understanding of the criminal justice system to my clients in order to ease their fears, which in turns makes them much more trusting of the system and reassures them that they are getting a fair treatment when their case is heard.
Michelle Da Silva’s Law Office Contact Information:
Nesta sexta-feira, dia 6 de novembro, às 7:30 da noite, no Martha’s Vineyard Film center, o filme brasileiro “Que Horas Ela Volta” será exibido. O filme tem recebido diversas críticas positivas. A atriz e comediante global Regina Casé faz o papel de Val, uma empregada doméstica que trabalha há anos para uma família que também a concede moradia. Val gosta do emprego por lhe proporcionar um lugar para morar, assim como um salário. Mas talvez o único elemento positivo de seu emprego seja a sua relação com Fabinho, de quem Val cuida como filho desde que ele ainda era um bebê. Porém, quando sua filha Jessica, que Val não vê há dez anos, decide mudar para onde Val mora, para correr atrás de seu sonho de passar no vestibular e cursar faculdade, as barreiras de classes sociais existentes na casa, mas nunca discutidas, começam a serem testadas, forçando todos a reconhecer o que uma família realmente é.
Se você não conseguir ir a sessão de sexta, pode ver o filme no sábado, domingo ou na próxima quinta (12/nov) às 7:30 da noite no Film Center.
A primeira quinta-feira do mês é conhecida como “dia da tradução” na corte de Edgartown. Um tradutor(a), geralmente Maria F. Mello, uma intérprete de português e espanhol certificada pela corte de Seekonk, provê tradução para indivíduos que ainda não são fluentes em inglês.
Na quinta-feira, dia 3 de setembro, eu passei o dia na corte de Edgartown, onde conheci Michelle Da Silva, uma advogada de defesa criminal e imigração. Eu fiquei muito interessada na opinião de Michelle no tocante dilema que imigrantes que não possuem documentação adequada enfrentam quando se trata de uma carteira de motorista no Estado de Massachusetts. A maioria dos brasileiros em corte naquele dia enfrentavam o mesmo problema – eles estavam na corte por dirigem sem uma carteira de habilitação.
Alguns estados, como Connecticut, já criaram carteiras especificas para imigrantes sem documentação adequada para morar nos Estados Unidos, mas não fornecem os mesmos privilégios que americanos desfrutam, ou imigrantes com documentação adequada. Porém, essas carteiras foram criadas para ajudar a garantir segurança pública, assim como prestação de contas.
The Brazilian lawyer Michelle Da Silva.
Michelle J. Da Silva concordou em dar uma entrevista na qual compartilha seu ponto de vista sobre o assunto.
MVTimes: Por favor descreva sua prática de lei que envolve brasileiros.
Michelle J. Da Silva: As minhas áreas de prática são imigração, defesa criminal e divórcio. Eu diria que 80% dos meus clientes são brasileiros, e os demais são clientes de nações cuja língua oficial é o espanhol.
MVT: Até que ponto as violações de trânsito especificamente dirigir sem licença, contabiliza os casos que você lida?
MD: Na minha prática de defesa criminal, cerca de 20% dos casos envolvem dirigir sem carteira de motorista e dirigir sob a influência de álcool ou drogas.
MVT: Existe um cenário típico para o brasileiro acusado de dirigir sem uma carteira de motorista?
MD: O cenário típico envolve um imigrante sem documentação (tipicamente brasileiro, na minha prática, uma vez que eu sou fluente em Português) que está dirigindo usando uma “licença estrangeira ou internacional”. Na maioria das vezes, os clientes são réus primários que estão assustados com o sistema legal americano, por causa da falta de conhecimento e compreensão de como funciona o sistema. Eles procuram a assistência de um advogado para os ajudar a navegar pelo sistema.
Muitos imigrantes sem documentação estão sob a crença equivocada de que uma licença estrangeira lhes dá o direito de conduzir no Estado de Massachusetts. Infelizmente, há empresas sem escrúpulos que fornecem esses “licenças internacionais” (por uma taxa, é claro) e que, frequentemente, aproveitam-se dos medos e desinformação dos imigrantes sem documentos sobre a verdadeira validade dessas licenças.
Depois de adquirir a licença, eles têm uma falsa sensação de segurança de que eles são habilitados para a condução. É somente quando eles são parados pela polícia, recebem uma citação e são convocados ao tribunal por dirigir sem uma licença que eles percebem que foram defraudados.
No entanto, embora na minoria dos casos, alguns imigrantes sem documentos usam a licença internacional como uma desculpa para violar as leis com conhecimento de causa.
MVT: Por favor, comente sobre o resultado típico de um réu primário em outras cidades de Massachuseets e para um réu primário em Martha’s Vineyard.
MD: É importante primeiro notar que a lei dá ao juiz critério para decidir o valor da multa, até US$ 500 para a primeira ofensa. Um resultado típico, na minha experiência, é que um caso é encerrado com uma multa de US$ 300 a US$ 500 para uma primeira ofensa. A diferença em Martha’s Vineyard é que a maioria dos casos de violações sem licença são realizadas no mesmo dia porque é o único dia no qual há um intérprete de português disponível, permitindo assim muito mais consistência na decisão do juiz.
MVT: Baseado no que você tem observado, o sistema de emissão de carteiras de motorista é defeituoso?
MD: Em minha opinião, o sistema de emissão de licenças não está quebrado; é que as leis atuais não são adequadas para os tempos em que estamos vivendo. A realidade é que nós temos imigrantes sem documentos vivendo dentro de nossas comunidades, e continuaremos a ter, enquanto os empregadores dos EUA estiverem dispostos a empregá-los. Também é verdade que os empregadores norte-americanos continuarão a empregar esses indivíduos se o mercado de trabalho dos EUA não pode produzir a qualidade de trabalhadores que vêm do exterior. Portanto, a primeira questão que deve ser abordada é a necessidade de uma reforma abrangente da imigração.
No entanto, por causa do impasse atual no Congresso e da polarização envolvida com o tema da imigração, é pouco provável que vejamos qualquer reforma da imigração em breve. Portanto, a melhor solução seria a de fornecer licenças para estes imigrantes sem documentos, para que possamos não só saber quem está vivendo entre nós, como também reduzir a carga do nosso sistema judicial.
Além disso, ao permitir que esses imigrantes sem documentos tenham acesso a licenças, estaríamos também protegendo a nossa sociedade. Agora, muitos imigrantes sem documentos conduzem sem seguro; o que põe em perigo o público e outros motoristas nas estradas – isso não ocorre por que eles querem fugir da lei, mas porque, sem uma carteira de motorista válida, uma companhia de seguros não vai segurá-los.
MVT: Em geral, os seus clientes acham que são tratados de maneira justa pelos tribunais americanos?
MD: Sim, eu acho que meus clientes são tratados de forma justa porque eu luto pelos direitos deles.
No geral, eu acredito que o sistema funciona. Indivíduos sem documentos têm todos os direitos concedidos a eles como as de uma pessoa nativa neste país. No entanto, eu acho que o sistema funciona melhor para aqueles que têm representação jurídica de direito privado do que aqueles que não o fazem. Na minha experiência, a maioria dos meus clientes nunca esteve envolvido com o sistema jurídico, seja aqui nos EUA ou no exterior, em seu país de origem. Isso faz com que ir ao tribunal seja uma experiência muito assustadora, porque muitos deles pensam que, se forem ao tribunal, eles serão automaticamente deportados. O medo do indivíduo em situação irregular do sistema jurídico é só por causa de sua falta de educação sobre o sistema de justiça americano. Como uma advogada privada, cuja prática lida com um grande número de pessoas em situação irregular, acho que é necessário fornecer uma compreensão básica do sistema de justiça criminal para os meus clientes, a fim de aliviar seus medos, que por sua vez os torna muito mais confiante no sistema e assegura-lhes que eles estão recebendo um tratamento justo quando seu caso for ouvido.
Informações sobre o escritório da advogada Michelle Da Silva:
Pese a la difusión de que el Gobierno denunció finalmente a NOTICIAS ante la Justicia Federal por publicar la lista de 138 nuevos agentes K de la ex SIDE, la edición cerró normalmente y entró a imprenta sin que llegara a la redacción ninguna comunicación judicial.
En el próximo número, Edi Zunino cuenta cómo se tomó la decisión de afrontar el riesgo de transgredir la Ley Nacional de Inteligencia, que prohíbe revelar nombres y rostros de los agentes del servicio secreto, pese al acoso gubernamental.
Por su parte, Rodis Recalt vuelve sobre esa lista (que ya supera los 200 espías).
Una faja negra cruza la portada con el siguiente texto: EDICIÓN PROHIBIDA POR EL GOBIERNO.
Y en el copete se anuncia: “Quién es quién entre los flamantes espías: militantes, tuiteros, hijos y amigos de funcionarios, sin formación. El escandaloso método de reclutamiento. Los tiempos del Truchismo de Estado”.
Officials stressed there have been no credible threats to the festivities, but ISIS propaganda on the internet has prompted heightened vigilance across the country.
One lucky lottery ticket-buyer in Illinois may soon be a billionaire, following Friday night’s $1.337 billion Mega Millions lottery drawing.
According to lottery officials, the winning numbers — 13, 36, 45, 57 and 67 and a gold Mega Ball of 14 — match a single ticket sold at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, roughly 17 miles northwest of Chicago. The winner has yet to claim the prize, Harold Mays, director of the Illinois Department of the Lottery, said at a news conference on Saturday.
“We don’t know whether or not they even know that they won a prize,” Mays said. “So, I encourage everybody to check your ticket.”
The jackpot ranks as the third-highest lottery prize in American history, and its winner — who likely paid around $2 for the ticket — stands to either gain $780.5 million as a cash lump sum or receive payments in an annuity over the next 30 years.
If the winner chooses the more popular lump sum option, which “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary recommends, he or she will have to account for a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding. The winner will likely also owe state income tax: If the winner lives in Illinois, the winnings will be considered taxable income at the state’s 4.95% rate, and they may owe even more if they live in a state with a higher income tax rate.
That means the winner should expect to owe a minimum of almost $226 million in taxes, lowering the take-home amount to roughly $554.5 million — still a potentially life-changing sum of money.
In a statement on Saturday, Mega Millions also noted that 26 tickets earned second-tier prizes worth either $2 million or $1 million apiece, and a total of 14,391,740 tickets won some amount of money across nine different prize tiers Friday night.
If you’re one of the lucky winners — especially if you’re the mystery individual who hit the jackpot — experts say you should immediately take steps to protect your ticket and privacy.
“Privacy is key,” Emily Irwin, senior director of advice at Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management, told CNBC on Friday. “That provides safety to both you and your family from scammers or other individuals who can start to prey on you.”
You should then hire a team of professionals to assist you, including an experienced attorney, a financial advisor, a tax advisor and an insurance expert, as CNBC recently noted.
Trump asserted in a tweet that the whistleblower’s complaint was “way off” and claimed that key Democrats didn’t think he would release a transcript of his call with the Ukrainian president, which sparked the scrutiny.
“The so-called Whistleblower’s account of my perfect phone call is ‘way off,’ not even close,” he tweeted.
The so-called Whistleblower’s account of my perfect phone call is “way off,” not even close. Schiff and Pelosi never thought I would release the transcript of the call. Got them by surprise, they got caught. This is a fraud against the American people!
Trump’s tweet came the morning after The New York Times reported that a second intelligence official was considering whether to file their own whistleblower complaint over concerns about the president’s dealings with Ukraine.
The person reportedly has more direct information than the first whistleblower, who did not have direct knowledge but cited “multiple White House officials with direct knowledge.”
Pelosi last week announced that Democrats would launch a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump over his dealings with Ukraine. The probe is being handled by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees.
The White House released a rough transcript of the July 25 call that matched key details from the whistleblower complaint. Trump was quoted in the memo as asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “look into” the former vice president. Trump this week also publicly encouraged Ukraine and China to launch probes into Biden.
“I would think that if they were honest about it they’d start a major investigation into the Bidens,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked about Ukraine.
House Democrats have ramped up their impeachment probe in recent days, issuing a subpoena on Friday for Ukraine-related documents from the White House and issuing a request for similar information from Vice President Pence.
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