USA News and Discussions

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weatheriscool wrote: Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:38 pm A new poll suggests Ron DeSantis’ 'anti-woke' crusade will backfire
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opi ... -rcna74350
March 12, 2023, 7:35 AM PDT
By Sarah Posner, MSNBC Columnist
He's a loudmouth like Trump. Biden is just a placeholder.
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Biden calls for tougher penalties for execs of failed banks
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday called on Congress to allow regulators to impose tougher penalties on the executives of failed banks, including clawing back compensation and making it easier to bar them from working in the industry.

Biden wants the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to be able to force the return of compensation paid to executives at a broader range of banks should they fail, and to lower the threshold for the regulator to impose fines and bar executives from working at another bank.

He called on Congress to grant the FDIC those powers after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sent shockwaves through the global banking industry.

“Strengthening accountability is an important deterrent to prevent mismanagement in the future,” Biden said in a statement. “Congress must act to impose tougher penalties for senior bank executives whose mismanagement contributed to their institutions failing.”
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... r-AA18L0Nm
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Wyoming Becomes First State to Outlaw Abortion Pills
Wyoming on Friday became the first state to ban the use of abortion pills, adding momentum to a growing push by conservative states and anti-abortion groups to target medication abortion, the method now used in a majority of pregnancy terminations in the United States.

Wyoming’s new law comes as a preliminary ruling is expected soon by a Texas judge that could order the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its approval of mifepristone, the first pill in the two-drug medication abortion regimen. Such a ruling, if it stands, could upend how abortion is provided nationally, affecting states where abortion is legal as well as states with bans and restrictions.

Legislation to ban or add restrictions on medication abortion has been introduced in several states this year, including a bill in Texas that would not only ban abortion pills but also require internet service providers to take steps to block medication abortion websites so people in Texas could not view them.

In these states, proposals to block or restrict abortion pills have typically been introduced along with other anti-abortion measures, a reflection of the range of obstacles to abortion these states have tried to erect since the Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion last June.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/us/w ... s-ban.html
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DOJ expects total number of people charged with crimes for Jan. 6 may be between 1,600 and 2,100
colmant_ @colmant_ 10m
More than 2,000 could be charged in Jan.6…”


from WaPo:
The Jan. 6 investigation is the biggest in U.S. history. It’s only half done.

___“It’s an enormous, enormous case and, by almost any measure, the largest case the Justice Department has ever had,” said Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at George Washington University. “Big criminal investigations that are far less complicated than this often take several years.”

Eliason said that while the riot cases may be about halfway over, there are indications some of the other branches of the investigation — like the false electors scheme or efforts to use Justice Department officials to undo the election results — appear to be further along, because the witnesses now being subpoenaed include some of the most thorny legal matters and the people closest to former president Donald Trump. Those are generally indicators that an investigation is nearing the end of the fact-gathering phase, he said.

“There are a lot of court fights over privilege, and those take time, and you can’t just plow past them and not try to get critical evidence,” Eliason said.

Prosecutors are hopeful many will be incentivized to plead to help manage the crush of cases, which already have strained the court in the nation’s capital. A Washington Post analysis of the cases so far shows defendants who seek a trial rather than plead guilty end up getting about a year of prison time added to their sentences.

To date, roughly 1,000 people have been arrested for their alleged roles in the events of that day. In late October, when the Justice Department had already charged nearly 900 individuals for alleged crimes surrounding Jan. 6, the U.S. Attorney for the District, Matthew Graves, wrote to court officials alerting them that an additional 700 to 1,200 people may be charged.
read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... 0-charged/
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Florida bans school discussions about girls' monthly cycles until 6th grade...
The Florida GOP is on a truly stunning tear of misogyny, ignorance, homophobia and censorship, culminating in a bill that just passed the Florida House that would bar young girls from discussing menstruation, including their own menstrual periods, in school. Fifty three years since Judy Blume wrote “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” some Republican legislators still seem less comfortable with puberty and sexuality than pre-teen girls (maybe they should go see the movie when it hits theaters next month).

The Florida bill states that education around sex, reproduction and sexuality cannot begin until 6th grade. On Wednesday, when Florida state Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Democrat, asked her Republican colleague who sponsored the legislation, state Rep. Stan McClain, if the bill means that girls who get their periods before sixth grade couldn’t discuss that in school, he said yes.

“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in fifth grade or fourth grade,” she asked, “will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?”

“It would,” McClain said,
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/opinions ... index.html
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Gay Sarasota school board member walks out of meeting after repeated homophobic remarks
The chairwoman of the school board let multiple members of the public directly attack a gay board member, calling him a "groomer" because he's openly gay.

Said chairwoman by the way is also the co-founder of the conservative nonprofit Moms For Liberty.
https://www.wfla.com/news/sarasota-coun ... c-remarks/
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DeSantis has requested nearly $100 million for the new State Guard force.

By Lawrence MowerTimes staff Ana CeballosTimes/Herald Tallahassee Bureau Romy EllenbogenTimes staff

Published 4 hours ago


TALLAHASSEE — When Gov. Ron DeSantis first proposed reviving the long-dormant Florida State Guard, he wanted 200 volunteers and a modest $5 million budget.

Then it grew to 400 members and $10 million.

Now it’s 1,500 members and a nearly $100 million budget — with police powers, helicopters, boats and, under one lawmaker’s request, cellphone-hacking technology.

The proposed budget for the Florida State Guard, released by a House committee on Tuesday, offers the most detailed realization of DeSantis’ vision for the State Guard, a WWII-era force brought back last year to supplement the state’s overworked Florida National Guard..................................
Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-p ... ellebrite/
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Illinois House passes bill prohibiting libraries from banning books due to partisan pressure
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois House passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure, prompting strong opposition from Republicans who called it an assault on local control.

House Bill 2789 is an initiative of Democratic Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the Illinois State Library and administers several grant programs for public and school libraries as well as adult literacy programs throughout the state.

The bill would require that as a condition of qualifying for those grants in the future, libraries or library systems would have to adopt a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books. Alternatively, they could adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, which includes a statement that "m)aterials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval."

The bill came in response to a wave of high-profile controversies throughout the country, including at least one in Illinois. School districts and public libraries have come under pressure to remove certain material from their collections, often material dealing with issues involving race, sexuality and gender identity.
https://abc7chicago.com/book-bans-illin ... /12993420/
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"Back to 1902": Virginia Governor Revives Lifetime Ban on Voting
Governor Glenn Youngkin just gave himself a lot more power to pick and choose Virginia voters. The Republican governor’s administration told state lawmakers in a letter last week that he was rescinding his predecessors’ policy of automatically restoring the voting rights of people with felony convictions.

Going forward, Virginians will no longer regain their rights when released from prison—the most recent policy announced by Virginia officials in 2021—nor at any later point, unless Youngkin deems them to be worthy on an individual basis.

His decision, which a future governor could alter, sidelines many residents who expected they would get to vote in Virginia elections.

“I’ve never voted in my life. I was looking forward to voting this year,” Sincere Allah, who was released from prison the week Youngkin was inaugurated in 2022 and who has since waited to learn if his rights will be restored, told Bolts, in reference to the state’s upcoming legislative and prosecutorial elections. “I can pay taxes, I can be held to the same standard as everyone else when it comes to laws and rules and regulations, but I have no say-so or representation.”

Youngkin’s announcement also puts Virginia in a category all its own: It is the only state where someone who is convicted today over any felony is presumed to be barred from voting for life, with no remedy other than receiving a discretionary act of clemency from the governor.

Virginia’s constitution permanently disenfranchises people with a felony conviction. Only Iowa and Kentucky have such a harsh rule on the books—other states with a lifetime ban, like Mississippi, do not apply it to all felonies—but their sitting governors have each issued executive orders that automatically restore at least some people’s voting rights upon completion of their sentences.


https://boltsmag.org/virginia-governor- ... storation/
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WI: Republicans propose bill to bar state employees from promoting or providing abortion
s
A bill being circulated by Republican lawmakers would prohibit state and local government employees from promoting, providing or facilitating abortion services while acting within the scope of their job.

The “Taxpayer Abortion Subsidy Prevention” bill is meant to continue severing ties between taxpayer dollars and abortion services, according to the co-sponsorship memo being circulated by authors Sen. André Jacque (R-DePere) and Rep. Elijah Behnke (R-Oconto). It comes as debate continues between Wisconsin Republicans and Democrats over whether and how to amend the state’s 1849 ban, which only includes an exception for the life of the mother.

“We will be introducing legislation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not utilized to subsidize abortions, either through the use of public employees or public facilities,” the co-sponsorship memo states.

Wisconsin state law already doesn’t allow state money to subsidize abortion services, however, the Republican lawmakers want to bar public employees from being able to speak about or perform abortion services while on the job.

“Liberal public officials across Wisconsin government have long participated in the procurement, and even performance of, abortion procedures within their taxpayer-funded employment,” the memo states. It references University of Wisconsin faculty members providing services at Planned Parenthood, something that Jacque has long opposed.

Under the bill, no person employed by the state, by a state agency or by a local government would be allowed to provide abortion services; promote, encourage, or counsel in favor of abortion services; make abortion referrals either directly or through an intermediary; or train others to perform abortions or receive training in performing abortions.

https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/03/2 ... abortions/
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