Calista241
Calista241's JournalManhattan District Attorney, Under Fire, Adjusts Lenient Policies
Source: NY Times
The Manhattan district attorney on Friday issued harsher new guidance on the prosecution of gun possession and robbery that revised and in some cases reversed policies in a memo, released in his first week in office, that had been criticized as too lenient.
Within days of taking office on Jan. 1, the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, instructed prosecutors in the memo to avoid seeking jail time for all but the most serious crimes. Its release prompted weeks of pushback from police officers, business owners and public officials and marred the first month of his tenure.
Much of his time since has been devoted to clarifying and modifying the policies outlined in the document, which he has acknowledged was confusing and legalistic.
The memo had instructed prosecutors to avoid seeking jail time for certain crimes including robberies, assaults and gun possession. Mr. Bragg has said in several public appearances that the impact of the changes outlined in the memo had been overstated and misunderstood.
On Friday, in an email to his staff, Mr. Bragg said that the document had been “a source of confusion, rather than clarity,” and emphasized that it was up to the office’s prosecutors to determine how best to handle individual cases.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/04/nyregion/manhattan-da-alvin-bragg-memo-prosecution.html
OPINION: Take The Hint, John Roberts -- It's Time For You To Retire, Too
“Judges are like umpires,” John Roberts famously said at his confirmation hearing as Chief Justice. “Umpires don’t make the rules, they apply them ... They make sure everybody plays by the rules, but it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire.”
The analogy is vivid and folksy — and even more starkly at odds with reality today than when Roberts invoked it back in 2005.
One way to hear Roberts’ pious words is as a gesture of respect. He knows the truth is more complicated. But he’s describing an ideal that right-thinking people should honor in theory, and judges and justices should strive at least to approximate in practice.
Another way to hear the words is as a gesture of contempt. Roberts is asking his audience to join him in a cynical exercise of make-believe. It is designed to preserve the fraudulent mystique of the high court as detached and apolitical when anyone can see from a surfeit of narrowly decided cases that justices are fully immersed in questions of politics and power.
...
This surprising act would be most likely to advance what the Chief Justice says he wants — a revival of public faith in the Court’s institutional legitimacy, and that its rulings flow from something other than the personal agendas of individual justices or the partisan machinations that placed them in their jobs.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/03/john-roberts-scotus-justices-00005051
California Has No Idea What Its Going To Do With Millions Of Old EV Batteries
California Governor Gavin Newsom has big EV plans for the state. California is the largest EV market in the country, and on Jan. 26, the governor announced a $10 billion proposal to transition the state to clean energy and get people driving EVs. But as Southern California news outlet the Daily Bulletin reports, when these EVs inevitably get old, no one seems to know how to handle or dispose of the old batteries.
We here at Jalopnik have touched on this looming problem before. Depending on where and who you talk to, there are different solutions. The UK, for instance, wants to recycle batteries using direct recycling, which would use ultrasonic waves to break down the cathode powder without damaging the battery itself so it can be reused. Then VW announced a recycling plan at the beginning of 2021 with a dedicated recycling facility.
...
Meanwhile, the state hasn’t mentioned anything regarding battery recycling since late 2018. Assembly Bill 2832 was signed calling for an advisory group to look into recommendations for battery recycling. A report was done up last December with public comments being taken until mid-Febuary 2022.
California’s own strict environmental legislation may be another hurdle to battery recycling, as batteries have always been deemed hazardous waste. A bigger hurdle is not knowing what happens to out-of-warranty batteries. The advisory group’s report found that there is no good way to track what happens to these batteries after they come out of old vehicles, suggesting that money be used as an incentive to track the batteries:
https://jalopnik.com/california-has-no-idea-what-its-going-to-do-with-millio-1848435371
SALT change likely to be cut from bill, say Senate Democrats
Source: The Hill
Senate Democrats say a proposal to raise the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, a top priority of Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), is likely to be cut from the revised Build Back Better Act.
Senate Democrats who were involved in negotiations over the bill before Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) blew it up last month say there’s simply not enough room for the expensive tax change, which Republicans argue would benefit wealthy suburban households in blue states.
“Yeah, I think that’s dead,” said one Democratic senator, who requested anonymity to summarize early discussions about changing the bill to win Manchin’s support.
A second Democratic senator familiar with negotiations on the tax provisions of the legislation said Manchin has signaled to colleagues that he’s not a fan of changing the tax break.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/591378-salt-change-likely-to-be-cut-from-bill-say-senate-democrats
Russia moves troops to Belarus for joint drills amid Ukraine invasion fears
Source: NBC
Russia and Belarus will rehearse repelling an external attack when they hold joint military drills in Belarus next month, both sides said on Tuesday, at a time of acute tensions with the West over neighboring Ukraine.
Russian military forces and hardware began arriving in ex-Soviet Belarus on Monday for the “Allied Resolve” drills to be held near Belarus’s western border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania, and close to its southern flank with Ukraine.
The West has voiced fears of a possible invasion of Ukraine by tens of thousands of Russian troops gathered near its border.
Russia has denied such plans, but troop movements are being closely scrutinized as the military buildup near Ukraine and a barrage of threatening rhetoric have stirred fears about the Kremlin's plans.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-moves-troops-belarus-joint-drills-ukraine-invasion-fears-rcna12533
This is a big deal. Russia needs a 2nd corridor for any invasion of the Ukraine, and Belarus is the easiest / only option.
US ballistic missile submarine stops in Guam amid Indo-Pacific tensions
Source: The Hill
A U.S. ballistic missile submarine made a stop in Guam on Saturday amid tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.
The USS Nevada arrived at the Apra Harbor in Guam on Saturday, according to a statement from the Navy. The branch said the rare visit reflects the United States' “commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, and complements the many exercises, operations, training, and military cooperation activities conducted by Strategic Forces to ensure they are available and ready to operate around the globe at any time.”
The USS Nevada is an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine that is typically kept at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington state. It serves as an undetectable launch platform for ballistic missiles.
The vessel provides the U.S. with its “most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,” according to the Navy. It carries 20 Trident ballistic missiles and is armed with dozens of nuclear warheads, CNN reported.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/590077-us-ballistic-missile-submarine-stops-in-guam-amid-indo-pacific-tensions
This is a big, big deal. Ballistic missile subs rarely do this kind of thing, and wouldn't have done it if the Administration hadn't wanted to send a message to whoever's listening.
McCarthy vows to remove Democrats from committees if Republicans win House
Source: CNN
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to remove three Democratic lawmakers from key committee assignments if Republicans win back the chamber in the upcoming midterm elections.
Citing a "new standard" that Democrats had created last year by removing GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees for inflammatory rhetoric and posts, McCarthy told Breitbart he would strip Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both of California, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota of their committee assignments.
Schiff and Swalwell serve on the House Intelligence Committee, while Omar serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"The Democrats have created a new thing where they're picking and choosing who could be on committee. Never in the history have you had the majority tell the minority who could be on committee," McCarthy lamented in the interview.
The California Republican had previously hinted that if Republicans win back the House, a GOP majority may kick some House Democrats off their committee seats. "[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi has set new policies here. Those same members that I talked about in my speech ... voted for these new policies," McCarthy said in November, alluding to Schiff, Swalwell, Omar and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, also of California. "This isn't about threats, but it's about holding people accountable."
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/10/politics/kevin-mccarthy-committees-republican-house-majority/index.html
Biden says he supports filibuster carve-out for voting rights
Source: CNN
President Joe Biden says he supports making an exception to the Senate filibuster rules in order to pass voting rights legislation.
"If the only thing standing between getting voting rights legislation passed and not getting passed is the filibuster, I support making the exception of voting rights for the filibuster," Biden told ABC News' David Muir in an interview that aired Thursday morning.
It's the most direct answer Biden has given on his position on the filibuster and voting rights.
CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Biden at a CNN town hall in October, "When it comes to voting rights, just so I'm clear though, you would entertain the notion of doing away with the filibuster on that one issue, is that correct?"
"And maybe more," Biden responded.
Since Democrats won a slim majority in Congress, Republicans have blocked several Democratic-sponsored bills that seek to expand voting access and aim to end voter suppression, arguing that the proposals are a federal power grab. That's led some progressive Democrats and activists to demand an end to the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation, in order to pass federal voting rights protections. But Democrats also don't have the votes they need in the Senate to change the filibuster due to opposition from members of their own party, including from Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/politics/joe-biden-filibuster-voting-rights/index.html
CNN Exclusive: US intel and satellite images show Saudi Arabia is now building its own ballistic mis
Source: CNN
US intelligence agencies have assessed that Saudi Arabia is now actively manufacturing its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, CNN has learned, a development that could have significant ripple effects across the Middle East and complicate the Biden administration's efforts to restrain the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the Saudis' top regional rival.
Saudi Arabia is known to have purchased ballistic missiles from China in the past but has never been able to build its own -- until now, according to three sources familiar with the latest intelligence. Satellite images obtained by CNN also suggest the Kingdom is currently manufacturing the weapons in at least one location.
US officials at numerous agencies, including the National Security Council at the White House, have been briefed in recent months on classified intelligence revealing multiple large-scale transfers of sensitive ballistic missile technology between China and Saudi Arabia, according to two sources familiar with the latest assessments.
The Biden administration is now confronted with increasingly urgent questions about whether Saudi's ballistic missile advancements could dramatically change regional power dynamics and complicate efforts to expand the terms of a nuclear deal with Iran to include restraints on its own missile technology -- a goal shared by the US, Europe, Israel and Gulf countries
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/politics/saudi-ballistic-missiles-china/index.html
I would bet money they're all aimed squarely at Iran.
Senate parliamentarian rejects Democrats' third attempt to include immigration in economic bill
Source: CNN
The Senate parliamentarian on Thursday rejected Democrats' third attempt to include immigration in President Joe Biden's economic bill, delivering a major blow to Democrats who have repeatedly sought to include immigration provisions in the Build Back Better bill.
It's the latest hit to the Biden administration's immigration agenda and likely marks the end of the road for providing protections to millions of undocumented immigrants through the budget process known as reconciliation, which would not require GOP votes.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advises the chamber on how its rules, protocols and precedents should be applied as Democrats and the White House figure out what they can include in the massive spending bill.
Democratic aides had pushed for the third attempt, dubbed "Plan C," before MacDonough and her staff weeks ago after she struck down two other attempts to include more extensive immigration provisions in the bill.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/politics/immigration-senate-democrats-parliamentarian-build-back-better/index.html
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