 | March 5, 2015 |
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| FERGUSON REPORT |
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Huffington Post: Darren Wilson Will Not Face Civil Rights Charges In Michael Brown's Death
Darren Wilson, the former police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August, will not face federal civil rights charges in connection with Brown's death, Justice Department officials said Wednesday. DOJ found that Wilson’s use of deadly force against Brown could not be proven to be considered “objectively unreasonable,” and that federal charges were not appropriate. “There is no evidence upon which prosecutors can rely to disprove Wilson’s stated subjective belief that he feared for his safety,” states a DOJ report on the decision. Wilson, who is white, fatally shot Brown, who was black and unarmed, on Aug. 9. Brown's death, and the heavily militarized police response to demonstrators in the following days and weeks, accelerated a national debate about police brutality and systemic racism. Read more..
NBC News: Ferguson Police Employee Fired, Two Suspended for Racist Emails
A Ferguson, Missouri, police official has been fired and two others are on administrative leave pending an investigation of racist emails uncovered by the U.S. Justice Department in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown last year, Mayor James Knowles said Wednesday. "This type of behavior will not be tolerated in the Ferguson Police Department or any other department," Knowles told reporters a few hours after Attorney General Eric Holder slammed the city for a "highly toxic environment" of racism and misconduct. "We must do better not only as a city, but also as a state and country," said Knowles, who took no questions. The Justice Department highlighted seven grotesquely racist emails sent by police and court employees in a report that Holder said revealed constitutional violations and excessive and dangerous use of force disproportionately targeted against African-Americans. Read more.. |
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| IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS |
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Reuters: Iran Foreign Minister: Nuclear Deal Could Be Close
Iran's foreign minister said in a U.S. television interview on Wednesday he believed "we are very close" to a nuclear arms deal with six major world powers, but cautioned there were details that needed to be worked out. "We are prepared to work round the clock in order to reach an agreement," Mohammad Javad Zarif told NBC News in an interview excerpt released by the network. "We believe that we are very close, very close and we could be very far," he said. "There are details that need to be worked out. "We are very close if the political decision can be made to get to yes, as President Obama said," Zarif added. Read more..
Huffington Post: Democrats Rebel Against Mitch McConnell Over Iran Nuclear Bill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) infuriated Democrats on Tuesday by announcing he would bypass regular order and expedite a bipartisan bill to the floor next week relating to Iran's nuclear program -- a change from a previous agreement to wait until delicate U.S.-Iran talks conclude later this month. So on Wednesday, the senators hit back: All of the bill's Democratic co-sponsors vowed to vote against moving forward with their own bill. "There is no immediate or urgent need to circumvent the Committee process and we are disappointed that you've pursued this partisan course of action," reads a letter to McConnell, signed by nine Democrats and one Independent. "As such, and as a result of your actions, we will only vote for this bill after it has gone through the regular mark-up process in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and after the March 24th deadline for the political framework agreement." Read more..
Washington Post: Netanyahu’s Speech To Congress Fails To Jolt Electoral Needle At Home
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew home Wednesday to face a tougher, less adoring crowd than the cheering legislators in Washington. Awaiting him were Israeli voters — and a tight election in less than two weeks. According to polls carried out by Israeli TV news channels Wednesday, the day after his high-stakes speech to Congress, Netanyahu’s address had only a modest influence on the Israeli electorate. Israel’s Channel 2 news said Netanyahu’s Likud party had increased its likely support by one seat in the parliament. On rival Channel 10, Likud had gained two seats to tie its main challenger. In answer to Channel 2’s question — “Did the speech strengthen or weaken support for Netanyahu?” — 44 percent of those surveyed said it strengthened support, 43 percent said it had no influence and 12 percent said it weakened support for the premier. Read more.. |
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| CLINTON E-MAIL CONTROVERSY + OTHER POLITICAL NEWS |
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NYT: Associated Press Threatens Legal Action Over Request for Hillary Clinton Information
The Associated Press said Wednesday that it was considering legal action over unfulfilled Freedom of Information Act requests for government documents covering Hillary Rodham Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. In its requests, the AP asked for her full schedules and calendars and for details on the State Department’s decision to grant a special position to a longtime Clinton aide, Huma Abedin, among other documents. The oldest request, the news organization said, was made in March 2010. “We believe it’s critically important that government officials and agencies be held accountable to the voters,” said AP’s general counsel, Karen Kaiser. “In this instance, we’ve exhausted our administrative remedies in pursuit of important documents and are considering legal action.” Read more..
NYT: Membership in Clinton’s Email Domain Is Remembered As A Mark Of Status
Just before Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as secretary of state in January 2009, she and her closest aides decided that she should have her own private email address as Mrs. Clinton moved away from the Blackberry address that she had used during her 2008 presidential campaign. Private email would allow Mrs. Clinton to communicate with people in and out of government, separate from the system maintained at the State Department. An aide who had been with the Clintons since the 1990s, Justin Cooper, registered the domain name, clintonemail.com, which had a server linked to the Clintons’ home address in Chappaqua, N.Y. Obtaining an account from that domain became a symbol of status within the family’s inner circle, conferring prestige and closeness to the secretary. Read more..
The Hill: Benghazi Panel Subpoenas Clinton Emails
The House committee investigating the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, on Wednesday subpoenaed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for emails from her private accounts. The Select Committee on Benghazi “issued subpoenas for all communications of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton related to Libya and to the State Department for other individuals who have information pertinent to the investigation,” panel spokesman Jamal Ware said in a statement. The panel also “issued preservation letters to Internet firms informing them of their legal obligation to protect all relevant documents,” Ware added, without providing the names of the firms. The announcement came hours after Ware said the panel is in possession of “two separate and distinct email addresses” Clinton used while serving as the nation’s No. 1 diplomat. Read more..
CBS News: Jeb Bush Owns His Email Server, Too
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton isn't the only politician who possesses a private email server. Jeb Bush, an early proponent of email communication, has always been open about using his personal email, jeb@jeb.org, to answer official and personal emails alike while he was governor. Bus spokesperson Kristy Campbell confirmed to CBS News that he, like Clinton, also owns his server, a fact first reported by NBC News Bush quickly took to Twitter Monday evening to respond to the Times story about Clinton's communication habits "Transparency matters," Bush Tweeted. "Unclassified @HillaryClinton emails should be released. You can see mine, here." Bush then linked to his own archive of emails from his eight years as Florida governor. The published Bush emails, which only document the portion of the emails that had to do with official business, comply with Florida's open record laws. Aides say that the 2016 Republican frontrunner does not have further plans to release missives that were personal or political in origin. Read more..
NYT: Christie’s Office Took Over Exxon Settlement, Ex-Official Says
For more than a decade, the New Jersey attorney general’s office conducted a hard-fought legal battle to hold Exxon Mobil Corporation responsible for decades of environmental contamination in northern New Jersey. But when the news came that the state had reached a deal to settle its $8.9 billion claim for about $250 million, the driving force behind the settlement was not the attorney general’s office — it was Gov. Chris Christie’s chief counsel, Christopher S. Porrino, two people familiar with the negotiations said. One of those people, Bradley M. Campbell, was the commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection in 2004 when the lawsuits against Exxon were filed. Mr. Campbell, in an op-ed article appearing in The New York Times on Thursday, wrote that “even more troubling” than the decision to settle the lawsuit were “the circumstances surrounding the decision.”Read more..
National Journal: Chris Van Hollen Will Run For Mikulski's Maryland Senate Seat
Just days after longtime Sen. Barbara Mikulski announced she would not run again for her Senate seat, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Wednesday that he would join the race. Van Hollen, who has represented Maryland in the House for seven terms, emailed supporters that he would run for the seat, according to The Washington Post. "I am very grateful to the citizens of Maryland's 8th Congressional District for the opportunity to represent them," the email said. "I am very much looking forward to the upcoming campaign and a healthy exchange of ideas." His run promises to shake up House Democrats' plan for leadership succession. Democratic insiders told National Journal that Van Hollen had been seen as "either the preferred successor to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi or, at minimum, a member of the top tier of the Democratic bench." Read more..
Huffington Post: Senate Attempt To Override Obama's Keystone Veto Fails
The Senate tried, but failed, to override President Barack Obama's veto of legislation authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline on Wednesday. The measure drew 62 "yes" votes, with nine Democrats joining Senate Republicans in voting to override the veto. A two-thirds majority, or 67 votes, is needed to override a presidential veto. The Senate's original vote on the legislation in January yielded 62 "yes" votes as well. Obama vetoed the bill last week, arguing that the bill "conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest -- including our security, safety, and environment." Read more..
The Hill: Few Clues From Roberts On Fate Of ObamaCare At Supreme Court
The Supreme Court appeared deeply divided Wednesday on whether to curtail subsidies under ObamaCare, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy providing few clues about where they might fall. Roberts, who cast the decisive vote in favor of ObamaCare in 2012, was unusually quiet during the oral arguments, prompting CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin to declare the chief justice’s views of the case “almost entirely a mystery.” Supporters of ObamaCare had viewed Roberts as their best hope for winning King v. Burwell, which threatens to strip ObamaCare’s insurance subsidies from millions of people who live in states served by the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov.Read more..
Pew: Most Say Government Policies Since Recession Have Done Little To Help Middle Class, Poor
The public makes sharp distinctions about which groups have benefited – and which have not – from the economic policies the government has put in place since the start of the recession. Majorities say that large banks, large corporations and the wealthy have been helped a great deal or a fair amount by government policies. By contrast, 72% say that, in general, the government’s policies since the recession have done little or nothing to help middle class people, and nearly as many say they have provided little or no help for small businesses (68%) and the poor (65%). These opinions have changed little in recent years, and differ only modestly across demographic and income categories. There are significant partisan differences in these views, though majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents say that government policies following the start of the recession have done little or nothing for the poor and the middle class. Read more..
Huffington Post: Ben Carson Apologizes For Saying Prisons Prove Being Gay Is A Choice
Potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson apologized Wednesday for saying that prisons prove that being gay is a choice. Carson made the controversial remarks in an interview with CNN earlier in the day. "Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they're gay," Carson said. "So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question." In a statement to CNN, Carson walked back his assertion. "I realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues," Carson said. "I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended." Read more.. |
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| U.S. AMBASSADOR ATTACKED IN SOUTH KOREA & OTHER STORIES FOR THIS THURSDAY MORNING... |
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BBC News: US Ambassador To South Korea Injured By Knife-Wielding Attacker
The US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, has been injured by a knife-wielding attacker in Seoul. Mr Lippert, 42, was attending a breakfast meeting when he was slashed on his face and left hand. He was taken to hospital but his injuries are not life-threatening. Witnesses said the attacker, a 55-year-old man with a history of militant Korean nationalistic activism, shouted demands for North and South Korea to be reunified. He was subdued by security officers and arrested. South Korean President Park Guen-hye said the incident was an "attack on the South Korea-US alliance". The US State Department strongly condemned the incident. Read more..
Boston Globe: ‘It Was Him,’ Defense Admits As Marathon Bombing Trial Begins
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense attorney acknowledged Wednesday that her client had participated in the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the attack on an unsuspecting crowd near the finish line that killed three people and injured more than 260, shocking the nation and raising once again the specter of terrorism on American soil. Judy Clarke said the bombings were “misguided acts” carried out by Tsarnaev and his late older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. “There’s little that we dispute. It was him,” she said in US District Court in Boston. She sought to shift blame for the attack to the older brother. “It was Tamerlan Tsarnaev who self-radicalized. It was Dzhokhar who followed him,” she said in her opening statement. Read more..
AP: March Storm Heads East After Dumping Snow On Upper Midwest
A storm stretching from northern Texas to southern New England threatened to bring icy rains, sleet, and snow overnight Wednesday but also hopes it would be the last significant snowfall for the East Coast this winter. Governors in Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia and New Jersey declared states of emergency in advance of the storm, and Congress hurried to finish business amid a snow emergency declaration in Washington. Mississippi counties were advised to open shelters powered by generators to give residents an option beyond cold, dark homes in the event of power outages. West Virginia, Kentucky and southeastern Ohio were expected to get hit the hardest overnight Wednesday and into Thursday with 8 to 10 inches, while Baltimore and Washington were looking at 6 to 8 inches of snow, said National Weather Service forecaster Bruce Terry. Philadelphia, where a snow emergency was in effect Wednesday, could get 6 inches and New York could see more than 4. Read more..
NYT: Syrian Opposition To Post Dead Detainees’ Photos
The Syrian opposition on Wednesday began posting about 4,000 photographs of detainees who have died in President Bashar al-Assad’s prisons so that family members can try to identify the victims and potentially serve as plaintiffs in war crimes cases that could be filed in courts in Europe and possibly the United States. Nearly 27,000 photos of Syrian detainees have been turned over to the F.B.I. for analysis, but the Syrian opposition is now taking the unusual step of publishing those in which the victims’ facial features have not been blurred or otherwise disguised, as they have been in the past because of privacy concerns. The pictures were smuggled out of Syria by a former Syrian police photographer and renowned defector, who uses the pseudonym Caesar. Secretary of State John Kerry told a United Nations human rights body in Geneva on Monday that the photos Caesar provided show graphic evidence of torture at the hands of the Syrian government. Read more..
Reuters: California Man Charged With Trying To Join Islamic State
A Southern California man whom prosecutors say sought to travel to Syria last year in a bid to join Islamic State fighters was indicted on federal charges, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. The suspect, Adam Dandach, 21, of Orange, California, was indicted by a grand jury in Santa Ana, California, the department said in a statement. Dandach was arrested in July when he tried to travel to Turkey with what the department said was the intent of crossing into Syria to join Islamic State militants. He believed killing U.S. soldiers was justified, the statement said. Dandach, who is also known as Fadi Fadi Dandach, is charged with attempting to aid a foreign terrorist organization, lying on a passport application in order to aid terrorism and obstruction of justice. Read more..
NYT: New York City Adds 2 Muslim Holy Days to Public School Calendar
New York will become the nation’s first major metropolis to close its public schools in observance of the two most sacred Muslim holy days, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday, a watershed moment for a group that has endured suspicion and hostility since the Sept. 11 attacks. Several municipalities across the country — including in Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey — have moved in recent years to include the holy days, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, in their school calendars. But New York City, with its 1.1 million schoolchildren, dwarfs the others in its size and symbolism. Read more..
International Business Times: HBO In Talks With Apple To Be Launch Partner For Coming Web Service 'HBO Now': Exclusive
HBO is in talks with Apple to make Apple TV one of the launch partners for its highly anticipated streaming service when it debuts next month. HBO and streaming partner Major League Baseball Advanced Media are working to have the standalone service, called “HBO Now,” ready to launch in April in conjunction with the premiere of the fifth season of “Game of Thrones,” according to sources familiar with their plans. When it launches, consumers will be able to subscribe to HBO Now directly from HBO for the first time, rather than through a cable, satellite or telco TV distributor such as Comcast or Verizon. The retail price is expected to be $15 a month when purchased directly from HBO, or about what consumers pay when they order HBO through their cable, satellite or telco provider. Read more..
AP: Bolivia's Former Drug Police Chief Under Investigation For Narco Ties
The retired police general who reorganized Bolivia's counter-narcotics force after President Evo Morales expelled U.S. drug agents is under investigation for illicit enrichment and drug trafficking ties. A judge was to decide Wednesday whether Gen. Oscar Nina should be jailed. Nina's wife and two children were ordered jailed late Tuesday for suspected laundering of illicit earnings. Interior Minister Hugo Moldiz cited "serious suspicions" that Nina and his family had links to drug trafficking. Prosecutor Gomer Padilla said investigators had discovered assets unsubstantiated by income but did not disclose their nature. Read more..
Washington Post: McDonald’s To Stop Using Chicken Treated With Antibiotics
McDonald’s said on Wednesday that its fleet of 14,000 U.S. restaurants would stop serving chicken raised with antibiotics “important to human medicine,” a significant change in food policy for the world’s largest fast-food chain. McDonald’s said the move is an attempt to adapt to diners’ desire for healthier food. The company had one of its most challenging years in history in 2014 as consumers turned away from the brand, often in favor of fast-casual joints such as Chipotle, which have long emphasized a commitment to serving only ethically-raised meat. Read more..
Boston Herald: UN: World Eating Too Much Sugar; Cut To 5-10 Percent Of Diet
Put down the doughnut. And while you're at it, skip the breakfast cereal, fruit juice, beer and ketchup. New guidelines from the World Health Organization says the world is eating too much sugar and people should slash their sugar intake to just 5 to 10 percent of their overall calories. The guidelines finalize draft advice first released last year, which were published Wednesday after a year of consultations. They are focused on the added sugars in processed food and those in honey, syrups and fruit juices. The advice does not apply to naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables and milk, since those come with essential nutrients. Read more..
AP: Peyton Manning Returning To Denver While Taking Pay Cut
Hold that gold watch. Peyton Manning is taking one more shot at the silver trophy. Weeks of speculation about the five-time MVP's future ended Wednesday with word that he's returning for an 18th season in the NFL and fourth in Denver. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Manning will take a $4 million pay cut, from $19 million to $15 million, but that he can make it all back through performance incentives. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement of the deal. Read more..
ESPN: A-Rod Gets Hit, Walk In Debut
It took nearly 18 months for Alex Rodriguez to get back on a baseball field -- and just one at-bat to get back into the swing of things with a single his first time up in Wednesday's spring training game between the Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies at Steinbrenner Field. A-Rod finished his day 1-for-2 with a walk and left the game in the sixth inning, having turned a mixed early greeting to cheers by the time he was done. "I was happy I just made contact, and I was pleasantly surprised it was a base hit," Rodriguez said of his first plate appearance of the spring. "I was a little nervous. I told [plate umpire Marty Foster] to take it easy on the old man -- it's been a long time since I've been in the box."Read more.. |
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