Georgia's restrictive new voting law hit with legal challenge

March 28, 2021 KANKENNEWS

Voting rights groups on Thursday night filed a lawsuit just hours after Georgia enacted a Republican-crafted law that gives state lawmakers more power over elections and imposes a raft of new voting restrictions.

The 35-page complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta alleges that minority voters will be hit especially hard by the new legislation, which plaintiffs say illegally suppresses voters’ rights in violation of constitutional protections and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

According to the lawsuit, the new restrictions are “clearly intended to and will have the effect of making it harder for lawful Georgia voters to participate in the State’s elections,” adding that the measure will impose “unjustifiable burdens” that disproportionately impact people of color, as well as young, poor and disabled voters.

The lawsuit was filed shortly after Gov. Brian KempBrian KempDemocrats see Georgia as opening salvo in war on voting rights Tornado leaves at least 1 dead in Newnan, Georgia Bill Clinton on Georgia’s new voting restrictions: ‘An attack on our democracy’ MORE (R) signed a sweeping elections bill into law, tightening voting rules in the Peach State by limiting the use of ballot drop boxes and setting photo ID requirements for absentee voting, among other restrictions.

The GOP-controlled state General Assembly gave final approval to the measure in a party-line vote Thursday.

Democrats notched crucial victories in recent Georgia races, both in 2020 and earlier this year. The state sent two Democratic senators to Washington after a pair of January runoff elections handed Democrats a razor-thin majority in the Senate. In November, President BidenJoe BidenDemocrats see Georgia as opening salvo in war on voting rights MLB could move All-Star game from Georgia after controversial new voter restrictions Biden fires majority of DHS advisory council members MORE became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since former President Clinton in 1992.

The new Georgia voting law is among dozens of measures being considered by state legislatures across the country after former President TrumpDonald TrumpDemocrats see Georgia as opening salvo in war on voting rights MLB could move All-Star game from Georgia after controversial new voter restrictions Biden fires majority of DHS advisory council members MORE lied repeatedly about the 2020 presidential election being stolen through widespread voter fraud, a claim that is not supported by evidence.

Click Here: France National Team soccer tracksuit

The lawsuit was filed by voting rights groups New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter Fund and Rise, Inc., and is backed by Democratic lawyer Marc Elias.

Updated at 11:07 a.m.

Democrats disappoint by not going after more Trump regs with CRA

March 28, 2021 KANKENNEWS

Senate Democrats are planning to use their legislative authority to roll back just a handful of Trump-era regulations, disappointing some activists who hoped they would be more aggressive in using maneuvers to topple the former president’s legacy.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Shumer (D-N.Y.) announced Thursday that Democrats would use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn two different Trump-era regulations, one that weakened regulations on methane and another that limited workplace discrimination protections.

But by committing to attempt to nix just a few rules, Democrats are taking a sharp turn from the strategy employed by Republicans, who after Trump was elected used the act on 16 different regulations.

“I think it’s a powerful tool,” said Alison Kamhi, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center who helped analyze which of the many Trump immigration regulations could be good CRA targets.

“It’s not the only tool, but it’s a tool, and you want to see the Democrats using every tool in the toolbox,” Kamhi added. “So I would have hoped for more rules to be introduced for potential CRA disapproval.”

Click Here: Olympique Lyonnais soccer tracksuit

It’s possible more will be coming.

Democrats have introduced resolutions that would unwind two different Trump financial regulations, including one that significantly weakens predatory lending regulations. But so far Schumer hasn’t committed to a vote on either.

Democrats have some reason to be hesitant to use the CRA. Scrapping a rule reverts policy back to whatever was in place before it was adopted — which can leave weaker regulations in place.

There is also concern over statutory language in the CRA that then blocks the relevant agency from crafting another rule that’s substantially similar, a feature some fear could hinder future necessary regulation.

“The CRA is a blunt tool, so you have to be careful when you’re using it that you’re not going to tie the hands of the administration going forward,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, which tracked Trump’s environmental rollbacks.

“So it’s not surprising that Congress is going to use it judiciously this year considering how quickly the Biden administration is moving to roll back Trump’s environmental legacy the right way,” he said.

The CRA process also eats up about 10 hours of floor time, something in short supply in the Senate after Trump’s second impeachment trial and various 30-hour holds placed on several of Biden’s nominees.

Still, Democrats could be giving up a significant number of opportunities if they just use the CRA twice.

A coalition of various advocacy groups identified 28 different Trump rules ripe for CRA use that they hoped the Senate would prioritize.

On the list: changes to the asylum process, a rule opening up logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, a rule weakening unfair and deceptive practices regulations for airlines, and a rule that would have sunset all Department of Health and Human Services rules more than 10 years old if they weren’t reviewed within the next few years.

“It’s an extremely powerful tool because the alternative is typically to repeal through notice and comment rulemaking, and notice and comment rulemaking could take years and then that’s followed by one year of judicial review,” said Richard Revesz, a professor at New York University School of Law, who warned of legal challenges.

“The CRA allows for the definitive undoing of a bad policy very quickly.”

The two rules that will get a vote are ones Democrats view as particularly dangerous.

The methane rule short circuited existing regulations for the oil and gas industry, allowing them to spew heat-trapping methane — a gas several times more potent that carbon — into the atmosphere.

The other was an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulation that critics say tilted the scales in favor of employers fielding challenges from employees claiming they faced discrimination.

To be successful, Democrats will have to wrangle votes from each of their 50 senators or secure Republican backing — a potentially heavy lift with such tight margins.

But advocates are also hopeful Schumer will see fit to bring additional CRA resolutions to the floor, regulations they argue won’t trip up any future rulemaking.

That includes an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rule targeted by Sens. Chris Van HollenChristopher (Chris) Van HollenDemocrats disappoint by not going after more Trump regs with CRA Senators to unveil bill banning permanent Capitol fence SEC adopts measure aimed at cracking down on Chinese firms from US exchanges MORE (D-Md.) and Sherrod BrownSherrod Campbell BrownDemocrats disappoint by not going after more Trump regs with CRA American Rescue Plan: Ending child poverty — let’s make it permanent Meeting between Trump, Ohio Senate candidates turns tense: report MORE (D-Ohio).

“This is a terrible rule,” said Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, who said the federal government has no right to help payday lenders skirt state laws that cap interest rates.

“So the simplest thing to do is to just get rid of the rule.”

The bills came just in the nick of time. Public Citizen estimates lawmakers have until April 4 to file resolutions that comply with the law, leaving little time to file additional measures. Schumer has until mid-May to bring them to the floor before the CRA clock runs out.

Immigration advocates have yet to secure a CRA resolution for one of their top priorities — a regulation that barred asylum to those from any number of countries who passed through Mexico to arrive at the Southern border. It’s since been enjoined by the courts, but it has not yet been struck down.

“The reason that was our top priority is because it’s a rule that could bar asylum eligibility for vast numbers of people, if it were to go into effect, and we’re not concerned about the potential effects of CRA disapproval because that’s a place where we don’t want there to be rules issued,” Kamhi said. “We don’t think there should be rules barring people from applying for relief based on where they transited through.”

Democrats may also not be eager to let Republicans set a precedent. The CRA had only been used once since it was first adopted in 1996 until the GOP heavily used it in 2017.

The Biden administration has already opted to use a number of more traditional tactics, using a “freeze” memo to block regulations that had not yet taken effect, while striking some internal memos and directives. They’ve also flipped positions on a number of existing challenges to Trump era regulations, leaving the courts as another viable path for striking many of them down.

That’s part of the reason Weiss doesn’t think Democrats should rely too heavily on the CRA.

“They’re moving so quickly on everything else,” he said, and when there are bad regulations “the courts generally step in and do the right thing anyway. And when a court throws out a rule it tends to not tie the hand of the agency going forward. It just means they go back and do it right the next time.”

But Revesz worries that Democrats are too cautious about the CRA language blocking any future regulation that is substantially similar.

“I understand that argument floats around, but for this administration it shouldn’t be considered a bar even in cases where they actually want to replace a regulation,” he said. “Strengthening something not substantially the same as weakening something.”

White House canceled 50-person Interior Department party over pandemic concerns: report

March 28, 2021 KANKENNEWS

The White House scrapped a 50-person Interior Department party that had been planned to celebrate Secretary Deb HaalandDeb HaalandOvernight Energy: Putin, Xi among leaders invited to White House climate summit | Kerry looks to private sector on climate change | White House reportedly canceled 50-person Interior Department party over pandemic concerns The outdoors are great, but not for all White House canceled 50-person Interior Department party over pandemic concerns: report MORE’s confirmation, Politico reported Friday.

Two sources told the news outlet that Interior chief of staff Jennifer Van der Heide wanted the event for the secretary’s friends and supporters, but that the White House’s Office of Cabinet Affairs canceled it before they were invited.

A proposed catering menu seen by Politico said that the gathering was expected to have 50 attendees.

The White House officials reportedly raised concerns about both COVID-19 and the optics of such a celebration.

Spokespeople for the Interior Department and the White House declined The Hill’s request for comment.

An Interior spokesperson told Politico that “junior staff made soft inquiries for something that never happened.”

“That the new team conducted research and gathered estimates for potential future events and opportunities should not be shocking. There was no event at Interior,” the spokesperson said, adding that agency leadership has “diligently observed COVID protocols both in and out of the building.”

Catering was reportedly expected to be provided by New Mexico-style restaurant Anita’s of Northern Virginia, a nod to Haaland growing up in the state.

The restaurant’s catering director Tiffany Tellez told the news outlet that she was contacted by a lower-level employee about catering earlier this month.

“She told me what she liked, made her a quote and recommended some stuff. She told me she was going to get some delivery instructions for me, but then she canceled before she gave me anything concrete,” Tellez said, according to Politico.

She added that she was later told the event was canceled and that the 50-person event was too large.

Click Here: plastic injection molding

Study suggests pregnant vaccinated women pass immunity on to babies

March 28, 2021 KANKENNEWS

A new study examining coronavirus vaccine response in pregnant and nursing women found that antibodies from mothers were present in their umbilical cord blood and breast milk, suggesting that inoculated women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may pass immunity on to babies.

The results suggested that “the baby does have protection; we just don’t know how long it will last,” Andrea Edlow, a co-author of the study, told NBC News.

The study also found that pregnant and breastfeeding women who receive the vaccine developed a “robust humoral immunity” to COVID-19, one that is comparable to women who are not pregnant or nursing.

However, the study, published by the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology was not meant to determine if the vaccine is safe for pregnant and nursing women to receive, Edlow noted to NBC News.

Edlow said its findings are essential for OB-GYNs and other doctors because pregnant and nursing women were largely left out of vaccine trials, which left medical professionals with “a complete lack of data.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, noted that experts believe vaccines “are unlikely to pose a specific risk for people who are pregnant,” based on how they work in the body. They did note though that there is limited data on the topic.

The study, which took place at two academic medical centers, included 131 reproductive-age women, including 84 who were pregnant, 31 who were lactating, and 16 who were not pregnant for a control group. The participants were administered two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

On Feb. 18, Pfizer and BioNTech announced a new trial to test the safety and efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine in pregnant women.

Click Here: gold coast titans rugby store

On The Money: Yellen defends raising taxes 'in a fair way' to fund infrastructure plan | Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director | Fed creates climate financial risk panel

March 28, 2021 KANKENNEWS

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re perplexed by Mega Virginia. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://bit.ly/1NxxW2N.

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@thehill.com, njagoda@thehill.com and nelis@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane, @NJagoda and @NivElis.

THE BIG DEAL—Yellen defends raising taxes ‘in a fair way’ to fund infrastructure plan:

Treasury Secretary Janet YellenJanet Louise YellenThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden leans heavily into gun control On The Money: Yellen defends raising taxes ‘in a fair way’ to fund infrastructure plan | Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director | Fed creates climate financial risk panel Fed to form committee focused on climate risks to financial system MORE on Tuesday defended President BidenJoe BidenThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden leans heavily into gun control Justice Dept. faces risks, rewards with riot sedition charges Dems plan to squeeze GOP over filibuster MORE’s expected push to raise taxes for corporations and high-earning individuals to help fund a massive infrastructure spending package as the economy recovers from COVID-19.

During an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, Yellen said it’s essential for the U.S. “to raise revenues in a fair way to support the spending that this economy needs to be competitive and productive.”

“A package that consists of investments in people, investments in infrastructure will help to create good jobs in the American economy and changes to the tax structure will help to pay for those programs,” she told lawmakers.

I’ll take you to the hearing here.

The background:

Biden is planning to propose roughly $3 trillion in spending focused on revamping U.S. infrastructure, creating more domestic manufacturing jobs, adapting the U.S. to climate-related risks and expanding education and job training.
The proposal will likely be paired with increases to the corporate income tax rate, the top individual income tax rate and taxes on capital gains.

The political divide: While Democrats are eager to make a massive investment in the U.S. economy, Republicans have fiercely criticized them for pursuing trillions more in spending after just passing a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill along partisan lines. GOP lawmakers also argue that raising taxes as the economy works to rebound from the pandemic will disrupt the recovery.

“We know that raising the corporate tax rate results in higher costs for small businesses, schools and American households,” said. Rep. Ann WagnerAnn Louise WagnerOn The Money: Yellen defends raising taxes ‘in a fair way’ to fund infrastructure plan | Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director | Fed creates climate financial risk panel Yellen defends raising taxes ‘in a fair way’ to fund infrastructure plan Former Missouri GOP Gov. Eric Greitens launches Senate bid MORE (R-Mo.).

“Then why, as this country begins to reopen and recover economically, would the Biden administration be proposing tax policy which would in the end hurt the American family and millions of struggling small businesses?” she continued.

The implication: Biden and Democrats are unlikely to find much — if any — support from Republicans for their proposal and are expected to use budget reconciliation to pass the measure with just 51 votes in the Senate. Under this process, Biden could not afford a single defection from a Senate Democrat.

Read more on Biden’s infrastructure plan:

A massive White House spending proposal on infrastructure and other domestic priorities is setting the stage for a potential lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill, particularly as more lawmakers embrace a return to earmarks, per The Hill’s Alex Gangitano.
A group of nearly 200 businesses worth a combined $539 billion is urging Congress to expand access to paid family and medical leave in the next spending package, reports The Hill’s Jonathan Easley.

LEADING THE DAY

Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director: The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Shalanda Young as the White House’s deputy budget director, even as plans to fill the top spot at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) remain on hold.

Young, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, was confirmed by a vote of 63-37.
Many Republicans who initially supported Young’s confirmation as the No. 2 at OMB withdrew their support after an initial round of confirmation hearings, citing objections to her support for repealing the Hyde Amendment, which bars government funds from being used for abortions, in her written responses.

Young’s confirmation comes as the White House struggles to name a nominee to fill the top budget spot, which plays a central role in overseeing the executive branch.

The Hill’s Niv Elis explains here.

Who’s in the running? Since Tanden’s withdrawal, top House Democrats including Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden leans heavily into gun control Biden allies eye two-step strategy on infrastructure Progressives up pressure on Biden to back COVID vaccine patent waiver MORE (D-Calif.) have made a public push for Biden to offer Young the top budget job, but he’s been slow to name a new nominee.

Gene Sperling, a former director of the National Economic Council, had been floated for the job. Biden instead offered him a position in the administration overseeing the implementation of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief law signed earlier in the month.
Ann O’Leary, another potential nominee who was most recently chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomOn The Money: Yellen defends raising taxes ‘in a fair way’ to fund infrastructure plan | Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director | Fed creates climate financial risk panel Poll: Newsom beating recall effort Governor races to test COVID-19 response, Trump influence MORE (D), took herself out of the running earlier this week.

Some Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocacy groups are making a push for Biden to pick Nani Coloretti, who was deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration and is of Filipino descent. Her stock could rise after Sens. Tammy DuckworthLadda (Tammy) Tammy DuckworthThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden leans heavily into gun control Duckworth drops threat to oppose Biden picks over diversity concerns Duckworth, Hirono vow to oppose Biden picks over diversity concerns MORE (D-Ill.) and Mazie HironoMazie Keiko HironoThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden leans heavily into gun control House lawmakers fired up for hearing with tech CEOs Duckworth drops threat to oppose Biden picks over diversity concerns MORE (D-Hawaii) said on Tuesday that they would oppose Biden’s future nominees on the Senate floor over a lack of AAPI representation in his Cabinet.

Fed to form committee focused on climate risks to financial system: The Federal Reserve will create a committee dedicated to understanding the ways climate change could upend the global financial system, a top official announced Tuesday.

Fed Governor Lael Brainard said in a Tuesday speech that the central bank’s new Financial Stability Climate Committee (FSCC) will focus on the potential threats climate change can pose to the broader financial world.

While the Fed had already created a Supervision Climate Committee (SCC) to study the climate risks facing specific firms and the banking industry generally, Brainard said the new panel will focus on how climate-related disruptions could ripple through credit markets and other industries within the financial sector, causing a broader crisis.

I explain here.

The takeaway: The Fed’s new committee will dramatically expand the scope of its efforts to monitor and prepare for climate-related financial risks. While Democrats have praised the Fed for stepping up its climate oversight, Republicans have criticized the bank and warned officials against taking actions that could impede the oil and gas industry.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testify before the Senate Banking Committee on the federal response to the coronavirus recession at 10 a.m.
The House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on gender pay equity at 10 a.m.
A House Financial Services subcommittee holds a hearing on public housing and COVID-19 at 12 p.m.
The Senate Small Business Committee holds a hearing on oversight of the SBA’s pandemic economic relief programs at 2 p.m.
A House Agriculture subcommittee holds a hearing on the rural economy at 2 p.m.
The American Enterprise Institute hosts an event entitled “The Biden stimulus, the Federal Reserve, and the everything bubble” at 2 p.m.

GOOD TO KNOW

Click Here: cheap gold coast titans jerseys

Financial services company Charles Schwab terminated its membership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the company said on Tuesday.
Sales of new homes plunged in February as harsh winter weather and supply issues interrupted a scorching hot housing market, according to data released Tuesday by the Commerce Department.
House Majority Whip Jim ClyburnJames (Jim) Enos ClyburnOn The Money: Yellen defends raising taxes ‘in a fair way’ to fund infrastructure plan | Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director | Fed creates climate financial risk panel Clyburn: Democrats are ‘going to run’ in 2022 on COVID-19 relief bill Two gun bills for law and order go to the Senate MORE (D-S.C.) said that Democrats are going to run on the passage of the American Rescue Plan in the 2022 midterm elections.

ODDS AND ENDS

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill that seeks to give states more money to address aging water infrastructure, putting funds toward reducing lead levels and projects to address the impacts of climate change.

Environmental activist elected as Slovakia’s first female president

March 28, 2021 KANKENNEWS

A liberal environmental activist has been elected as the first female president of Slovakia. Relative newcomer Zuzana Caputova had 58 percent of the vote with almost 95 percent of returns counted in Saturday’s runoff election, topping European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who had 42 percent.

Sefcovic conceded defeat and congratulated his rival. “I’m extremely happy about the result,” Caputova said. “It’s an extremely strong mandate for me,” she said.
“Zuzana, Zuzana,” her supporters chanted. Caputova, 45, has little experience in politics and attracted voters who are appalled by corruption and mainstream politics. She only recently became vice chairman of the Progressive Slovakia, a party so new it has not had a chance to run in parliamentary elections. Caputova resigned from her party post after winning the first round of the presidential vote two weeks ago. She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil, BBC News reports. The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year. Caputova cited Jan Kuciak’s death as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role. Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot alongside his fiancée in February 2018.Caputova becomes Slovakia’s fifth president since the country gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The president of the nation of 5.4 million people has the power to pick the prime minister, appoint Constitutional Court judges and veto laws. Parliament can override the veto with a simple majority, however. The government, led by the prime minister, possesses most executive powers.

A lawyer by profession, Caputova is a rising star of Slovak politics. She became known for leading a successful fight against a toxic waste dump in her hometown of Pezinok, for which she received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2016. A divorced mother of two, she is in favor of gay rights and opposes a ban on abortion in this conservative Roman Catholic country. She was also part of a campaign in 2017 that led to the annulment of pardons granted by former authoritarian Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. Sefcovic, 52, is a career diplomat who was supported by the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party led by former populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, a major force in Slovak politics that was tarnished by corruption scandals. He campaigned on a traditional family values ticket. Popular incumbent Andrej Kiska, who did not stand for a second term, backed Caputova in the vote. The two had supported the massive anti-government street protests last year triggered by the slayings of an investigative reporter and his fiancee that that led to the fall of Fico’s coalition government. Investigators have linked Jan Kuciak’s death to his work probing possible widespread government corruption. Fico’s party has already suffered losses in local elections in November – the first votes since the largest demonstrations in the country since the anti-Communist Velvet Revolution of 1989.

Click Here: mens nrl jerseys

Biden admin announces $15M in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians

March 27, 2021 KANKENNEWS

The Biden administration will be providing $15 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the first major aid delivery under the new president.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-GreenfieldLinda Thomas-GreenfieldBiden admin announces M in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians US ambassador, Chinese diplomat clash over racism at UN General Assembly Fighting in Ethiopia threatens US security interests MORE announced the assistance in her remarks Thursday to the U.N. Security Council Briefing on the situation in the Middle East.

“For our part, President BidenJoe BidenThe Hill’s Morning Report – Biden shifts on filibuster GOP looks to squeeze Biden, Democrats on border Sanders creates new headache for Biden on taxes MORE is restoring U.S. assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people. Specifically, the United States is pleased to announce today $15 million in humanitarian assistance to support the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank and Gaza.”

The aid will be distributed through the U.S. Agency for International Development and will go in part to the international humanitarian agency Catholic Relief Services’ work in the region, to the COVID-19 response efforts in health care facilities and affected communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Assistance will also support emergency food assistance programs in communities facing food insecurity that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, the State Department said in a statement.

Click Here: new zealand blues jersey

The former Trump administration had made available $5 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians in April 2020 in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the former administration had in 2018 eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. assistance to the Palestinians and the main U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and severed contact with Palestinian officials, shutting their representative offices in Washington.

President Biden as a candidate promised to restore relations with the Palestinian Authority, the internationally-recognized representatives of Palestinians and restart assistance to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Thomas-Greenfield said in her remarks at the Security Council meeting that the $15 million in assistance is part of the Biden administration’s “renewed commitment to the Palestinian people.”

She added that the U.S. is committed to helping Israelis and Palestinians take steps toward a two-state solution, “one in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state.”

But Thomas-Greenfield also chided the council on a disproportionate focus on Israel and said the U.S. “steadfastly” stands by Israel.

“Let me be clear: not all criticism of Israel is illegitimate. But too often, that criticism veers dangerously into anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism, as with all forms of hate, works directly against the cause of peace. So we will vigorously oppose one-sided efforts,” she said.

Supreme Court wary of curbing police efforts to prevent suicide

March 27, 2021 KANKENNEWS

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared to seek a middle ground in a case involving a warrantless police search of a Rhode Island man’s home and seizure of his guns based on the officers’ belief he was at serious risk of self-harm.

Several of the justices seemed wary of strictly enforcing the Constitution’s general warrant requirement when doing so might hamper officers’ efforts to prevent suicides or aid other vulnerable people in high-risk situations.

“Every single day on average there are 65 suicides by gunshot in the United States,” Justice Brett KavanaughBrett Michael KavanaughSupreme Court wary of curbing police efforts to prevent suicide Supreme Court hears clash between California farm owners, labor unions Poll finds Clarence Thomas is GOP’s most popular Supreme Court Justice MORE said during oral arguments.

“Police officers in the moment don’t have time to do all this,” he said, referring to the process of obtaining a warrant. “They’re reacting to a situation and if they say, ‘That’s not enough (justification to intervene),’ and then the person commits suicide, that’s not a good result.”

For nearly five decades the courts have allowed police, when acting as community caretakers, to dispense with the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement while carrying out reasonable searches or seizures related to motor vehicles.

Click Here: newcastle knights rugby store

Wednesday’s case placed the issue in a novel context, asking the justices whether to extend the so-called community caretaking exception to the home, which has long enjoyed special protections under the law.

The case raised similar questions about what kinds of situations would permit the police, without a warrant, to force someone to undergo a psychological evaluation or relinquish their guns to authorities.

The case stems from a heated marital dispute in 2015 between Edward and Kim Caniglia, during which Edward Caniglia presented a pistol to his wife and said, “Why don’t you just shoot me and get me out of my misery?”

Kim Caniglia, upset by the exchange, hid the gun’s magazine and spent the night at a hotel. The next day she called home and grew concerned when her husband did not answer. Worried that he might have harmed or even killed himself, Kim Caniglia then called the Cranston police and asked them to conduct a wellness check of her husband and escort her home.

According to Edward Caniglia’s version of events, the police showed up at his home and forced him to undergo a psychological evaluation. While he was at the hospital, the police then entered the Caniglias’ home without a warrant. The officers, citing concerns about Edward Caniglia’s state of mind and fears that he and others “could be in danger,” seized his guns.

The case arrived at the Supreme Court after Caniglia lost a district court ruling that was affirmed by the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In a panel decision last March, the First Circuit joined several other court circuits in ruling that the community caretaking principle could encompass warrantless searches of the home.

Given “the practical realities of policing,” the court ruled, “we think it plain that the community caretaking doctrine may, under the right circumstances, have purchase outside the motor vehicle context.”

Critics of that decision say it gives police far too much discretion to bypass constitutional restraints on home intrusions and the seizure of firearms.

During Wednesday’s arguments, the justices presented both sides with a number of hypotheticals to test how far the exception should extend, including questions about incommunicado elderly neighbors who may be injured and even cats stuck in trees.

But they continued to return to the issue of suicide. Along with self-harm, the word suicide and similar phrasings were mentioned more than three dozen times during arguments, with a majority of justices asking about the interplay between attempts by officers to prevent suicide and the Constitution’s bar on unreasonable search and seizure.

Justice Samuel AlitoSamuel AlitoSupreme Court wary of curbing police efforts to prevent suicide Supreme Court hears clash between California farm owners, labor unions Justices hear sparring over scope of safeguards for minority voters MORE, one of the court’s more conservative members, asked an attorney for Caniglia what level of suspicion is needed to justify police intervention.

“Putting aside the warrant requirement, probable cause the person will commit suicide,” Alito asked, wondering if that were a valid “reason to enter” a home.

“That — that may be a reason to enter,” Shay Dvoretzky, Caniglia’s attorney, replied.

Despite apparent widespread agreement among the justices that suicide prevention was an important consideration in the case, there was seemingly little consensus about where an expanded exception might fit into the current legal landscape.

Attorneys for both the Cranston police and the Department of Justice expressed no qualms with the justices finding the case falling under a preexisting exemption to the Fourth Amendment, rather than expand the community caretaker exception.

“The Fourth Amendment has only one test,” said Marc Desisto, who argued on behalf of the city of Cranston, “and that is that searches and seizures shall not be unreasonable.”

A decision in the case, Caniglia v. Strom (No. 20-157), is expected by late June.

US tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home

March 27, 2021 KANKENNEWS

President BidenJoe BidenDemocrats see Georgia as opening salvo in war on voting rights MLB could move All-Star game from Georgia after controversial new voter restrictions Biden fires majority of DHS advisory council members MORE is taking steps to reinforce his support for the Asian American community grappling with a shocking trend of hate crimes and violence that has increased with the COVID-19 pandemic since it was first detected in China.

But Asian American advocates are raising alarm that the growing conflict with China is continuing to fan the flames of anti-Asian sentiments in the U.S. and could lead to more hate incidents against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

Democrats have heaped praise on Biden for rejecting xenophobic and derogatory terms for COVID-19 like the “China virus” and “kung flu” that former President TrumpDonald TrumpDemocrats see Georgia as opening salvo in war on voting rights MLB could move All-Star game from Georgia after controversial new voter restrictions Biden fires majority of DHS advisory council members MORE and his GOP allies used to blame the Asian nation for the global pandemic.

But there are fears that fresh clashes between Washington and Beijing — coupled with Republicans stepping up their attacks on Biden as weak on China ahead of the 2022 midterms — could reinforce negative attitudes that Americans have toward Asians, community leaders said.

A Gallup poll this month showed that 45 percent of Americans now view China as the nation’s greatest enemy, up from 22 percent just a year ago. Just 26 percent said Russia is America’s greatest enemy.

“Unfortunately, we know from history that geopolitical tensions with foreign countries often result in a backlash against our community back home. And this is particularly true for the Asian American community,” said John C. Yang, president of the civil rights group Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

“So, on one hand, our geopolitical tensions with the Chinese government are real, and they should be,” he added. “But we need to be very careful not to let those tensions have this effect on our community back here.”

The targeting of Asian Americans — particularly during times of economic uncertainty, political turmoil and war — is nothing new, Yang said. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act barring Chinese immigrants from entering or obtaining citizenship in the U.S. amid fears that Asian laborers would create too much competition for jobs and cut wages.

After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, more than 120,000 Japanese American men, women and children — many of them born in the U.S. — were rounded up, forced to sell their property and imprisoned in remote incarceration camps because of their ethnic heritage and the fact that they looked like the enemy. They were afforded no due process.

And in the early 1980s, during the rise of Japanese carmakers, two white autoworkers in Detroit bludgeoned to death a Chinese American named Vincent Chin days before his wedding. Neither of the assailants, who blamed Chin for taking their jobs, served any jail time.

“Anti-Asian sentiment has been part of the really terrible racist history” of America, said Rep. Mark TakanoMark Allan TakanoUS tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home Democrats rush to Biden’s defense on border surge K Street navigates virtual inauguration week MORE (D-Calif.), whose Japanese American parents and grandparents were incarcerated during World War II. “It’s no wonder so many Asian Americans often feel that they are not fully American, that they are outsiders, that people perpetually think of them as foreigners, because it was made so in the law.”

Hate crimes against the AAPI community surged between 2019 and 2020, a spike researchers and advocates say was fueled by Trump’s scapegoating of China for the coronavirus pandemic.

“Politics and the statements of political leaders, particularly the president, do have an impact, as well as catalytic or ongoing events,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

Levin said remarks from the bully pulpit can either enflame or mitigate tensions related to a particular ethnic group, pointing to former President George W. Bush speaking tolerantly about Muslims in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks as contributing to a decrease in violence.

“Hate crimes dropped the very next day,” he said, citing FBI data. Hate crimes also fell sharply during the next year, from 481 in 2001 to 155 in 2002.

Biden has gotten into hot water before over his rhetoric on China. Nearly a year ago, leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) took the Biden campaign to task for running a digital ad that portrayed Trump as soft on China, declaring that Trump “rolled over for the Chinese” and “let in 40,000 travelers from China” at the start of the pandemic.

“I can tell you that the Biden administration was very, very responsive,” said CAPAC Chair Judy ChuJudy May ChuUS tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home Sunday shows – Biden administration grapples with border surge Chu on Atlanta shootings: ‘This is an anti-Asian hate crime’ MORE (D-Calif.), who is Chinese American. “They listened to our concerns and acknowledged that there has to be a way of distinguishing the policies of the Chinese Communist Party versus painting, even the people of China, but certainly Asian Americans here in this country, with a broad stroke.”

In his first week in office, Biden responded to concerns from the AAPI community over Trump’s rhetoric, signing an executive order on Jan. 26 condemning racism, xenophobia and intolerance, and directed federal agencies to take more efforts in addressing anti-Asian bias.

But the March 16 shooting rampage in Atlanta — where six of the eight victims killed were women of Asian descent — and other high-profile attacks on Asians, particularly women and the elderly, have sparked a national and global outcry to confront harassment and violence.

Biden is pushing Congress to take up the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, legislation aimed at providing more resources for law enforcement and the Justice Department to address the rise in hate crimes and violence directed at the AAPI community.

Click Here: Bape Women 1st Camo Busy Works tee

He also condemned violence against the AAPI community in a meeting with community leaders in Atlanta after the shooting.

“Too many Asian Americans have been walking up and down the streets and worrying … They’ve been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. They’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed,” Biden said while meeting with AAPI leaders in Atlanta.

“Hate can have no safe harbor in America. It must stop. And it’s on all of us — all of us, together — to make it stop.”

But anti-Asian violence and discrimination is likely to be ongoing as relations between Washington and Beijing are at their most fraught point in decades.

“Our contentions with the Chinese Communist Party are going to continue, and it will last beyond COVID-19,” Yang said. “So we can’t think that this racism that we are seeing is going to magically go away.”

The Biden administration has continued a sanctions regime against Beijing for democratic rollbacks in Hong Kong and rallied allies to blacklist Chinese officials and entities for human rights abuses in Xinjiang — which the State Department has determined amounts to genocide.

Beijing has dismissed these criticisms as interference in China’s domestic affairs and imposed retaliatory sanctions.

The fraught tensions were most recently on display in Alaska last week, during the first face to face meeting between Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenUS tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home Congressional options to advance peace in Yemen Kerry: ‘No government is going to solve’ climate change MORE, national security adviser Jake SullivanJake SullivanUS tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home An anti-US alliance in the making, as Russia and China move ever closer together Biden warns China’s Xi sees autocracy as wave of the future MORE and their Chinese counterparts — a diplomatic summit that spiraled into a verbal confrontation over the future of the international order.

Both Democrats and Republicans support a tough stance against Beijing, but some GOP lawmakers have ignored warnings from AAPI leaders that stigmatizing rhetoric is putting a target on the backs of Asian Americans. At a recent hearing on violence against the AAPI community, Rep. Chip RoyCharles (Chip) Eugene RoyUS tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home 14 Republicans vote against resolution condemning Myanmar military coup The Memo: America faces long war with extremism MORE (R-Texas) repeatedly disparaged the Chinese Communist Party as the “Chi-Coms” and the “bad guys.”

He then added that all the “bad guys” who commit crimes should be brought to justice and lynched.

Yang, who testified at that House hearing, said he was confused by Roy’s reference to “Chi-Coms,” a term he had never heard before but one that has a “dehumanizing effect” that could be construed as a “dog whistle.”

Bryce Barros, China affairs analyst at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, praised the Biden administration for its early steps in drawing a distinction in its rhetoric between confronting China and condemning discrimination against the AAPI community.

“America has a history of anti-communist sentiment and I do worry if you say some of those things it could be interpreted as othering ethnic Chinese. But I don’t want to downplay the importance of the Chinese Communist Party, I think the way that the Biden team is going about this is actually quite smart and is very thoughtful and I really commend them for that.”

Freshman Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), who is one of the first three Korean American women ever elected to Congress, said AAPI leaders and political others need to do a better job of educating the public about the history of immigration, injustices and contributions in the Asian American community.

“Words matter. How we frame things matter. And for too many people when we talk about the Chinese government, they sometimes think it refers to every single person of Asian descent in this country,” Strickland said. “But America needs a civics lesson and American needs a history lesson and we have an opportunity to share the histories of our nations with the public.”

Overnight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week | This is where schools are back in session | WHO asks rich countries to donate 10M vaccine doses

March 27, 2021 KANKENNEWS

Welcome to Friday’s Overnight Health Care, where we are marveling at the lede on this story about a climate scientist and a random encounter in a bar.

Follow us on Twitter @PeterSullivan4 and @NateWeixel.

The World Health Organization wants rich countries to donate more vaccine, the former CDC director has a theory on the origins of the coronavirus, and New York is setting up a vaccine passport.

We’ll start, though, with more vaccine doses in the US:

White House: 11M Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week

The White House said Friday that Johnson & Johnson will deliver at least 11 million doses next week, a significant increase to hit the company’s target of 20 million total doses delivered to the U.S. by the end of March.

There had been some uncertainty over whether J&J would meet its goal: Johnson & Johnson experienced uneven manufacturing, fueling some doubts in the run-up to the end of the month.

But White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff ZientsJeff ZientsOvernight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week | This is where schools are back in session | WHO asks rich countries to donate 10M vaccine doses White House: 11M Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week Top industry groups press administration for May 1 roadmap to reopen international travel MORE said Friday that the company is poised to meet the goal.

“The company has said they’ll deliver the 20 million by the end of March,” Zients said during a press briefing. “And from our conversations with the company they appear on track to meet that goal with at least 11 million doses delivered next week.”

The White House has been working with the company to try to increase its manufacturing. There was a relatively small number of doses, 4 million, available when the vaccine was first authorized at the end of February.

Read more here.

This is where schools are back in session, and where kids are still learning virtually

About a third of school districts across the nation have resumed in-person learning, while just 1 in 10 school districts continue teaching students entirely remotely, according to a new tracker launched to measure the way local schools adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.

Some trends: The data shows that school districts across the South are the most likely to have sent children back to school already, while California has the highest concentration of districts that remain remote.

But the lack of a clear national strategy for reopening schools, a yearlong problem that is only beginning to be addressed as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention roll out new recommendations for distancing, air circulation and sanitation requirements, has kept most school districts in some type of hybrid learning environment.

A majority: The data, maintained by Return to Learn, a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, shows 54 percent of school districts still operating school in some kind of hybrid model, in which kids attend class in person some days and virtually on others.

Read more here.

WHO to rich countries: How about donating some more vaccine doses?

The World Health Organization (WHO) asked rich countries on Friday to donate 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations.

“COVAX is ready to deliver, but we can’t deliver vaccines we don’t have. Bilateral deals, export bans and vaccine nationalism have caused distortions in the market with gross inequities in supply and demand,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference, Reuters reported.

“Ten million doses is not much, and it’s not nearly enough,” Tedros added.

US priorities: The U.S. has signaled it will not be sending vaccines to most other countries until every American is able to be vaccinated, though the Biden administration has announced a deal to share with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico.

“The president has made clear that he is focused on ensuring that vaccines are accessible to every American. That is our focus,” White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiOvernight Defense: US offers to help with ship stuck in Suez Canal | DC Guard chief tapped to lead House security | More troops accepting COVID-19 vaccine Overnight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week | This is where schools are back in session | WHO asks rich countries to donate 10M vaccine doses House Democrats introduce ‘DeJoy Act’ to block postal service changes MORE said at a press briefing toward the beginning of March. “The next step is economic recovery, and ensuring that our neighbors, Mexico and Canada, have similarly managed the pandemic so that we can open our borders and build back better.”

Read more here.

Redfield tells CNN he believes origin of the coronavirus pandemic is a lab in China

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert RedfieldRobert RedfieldOvernight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week | This is where schools are back in session | WHO asks rich countries to donate 10M vaccine doses Lawmakers say manufacturers are in better position to handle future pandemics Redfield tells CNN he believes origin of the coronavirus pandemic is a lab in China MORE told CNN in an interview that aired Friday he thinks coronavirus originated in a lab in China.

“It’s not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a laboratory to infect a laboratory worker,” Redfield said.

There is no hard evidence that the virus escaped from a lab, and Redfield noted that his comments are “my opinion.”

World Health Organization begs to differ: A WHO team has called the theory that the virus escaped from a lab “extremely unlikely.”

“The findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population,” Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO expert, said in February.

Read more here.

New York launches nation’s first ‘vaccine passport’

New York has become the first state to launch a “vaccine passport” that can be used to get into certain venues.

Called an Excelsior Pass, the passport will be available on a phone app in the form of a QR code that can be scanned to prove the owner has been vaccinated, USA Today reported on Friday.

The pass will be used at entertainment venues and can allow for increased crowd sizes for events such as weddings.

Other countries including Denmark have already begun implementing their own vaccine passports.

The app for New York is being funded by the state and was built on IBM’s digital health pass platform, USA Today reported.

Read more here.

What we’re reading

What to make of the AstraZeneca vaccine data — and the surrounding controversy (Stat)

E.U. says it has exported more vaccine doses than it has administered, but leaders play down threat to block shipments (Washington Post)

Far-Right Extremists Move From ‘Stop the Steal’ to Stop the Vaccine (New York Times)

State by state

Thousands more COVID-19 vaccine doses headed to Massachusetts daily after FEMA approves site (Boston Globe)

When Texas ended its mask mandate, the event cancellations started — and the losses are adding up (Texas Tribune)

Click Here: crusaders rugby jerseys

dovdiv

Monthly Archives: March 2021

Georgia's restrictive new voting law hit with legal challenge

Democrats disappoint by not going after more Trump regs with CRA

White House canceled 50-person Interior Department party over pandemic concerns: report

Study suggests pregnant vaccinated women pass immunity on to babies

On The Money: Yellen defends raising taxes 'in a fair way' to fund infrastructure plan | Senate confirms Young as deputy budget director | Fed creates climate financial risk panel

Environmental activist elected as Slovakia’s first female president

Biden admin announces $15M in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians

Supreme Court wary of curbing police efforts to prevent suicide

US tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home

Overnight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson doses coming next week | This is where schools are back in session | WHO asks rich countries to donate 10M vaccine doses