This is a general thread for US related news and discussions.
New York attorney general adds 'criminal capacity' to probe of Trump Organization
May 19, 2021
New York Attorney General Letitia James is joining the Manhattan district attorney's office in a criminal investigation of the Trump Organization, James' office said Tuesday.
The attorney general office's investigation into the Trump Organization, which has been underway since 2019, will also continue as a civil probe, but the office recently informed Trump Organization officials of the criminal component.
"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA," James' spokesman Fabien Levy told CNN. "We have no additional comment."
In an increasingly serious sign for former President Donald Trump, the attorney general's office is working with the Manhattan district attorney's office, whose wide-sweeping probe into the Trump Organization has looked into whether the company misled lenders and insurance companies about the value of properties and whether it paid the appropriate taxes. James' notification to the organization brings a new level of potential legal risk to the former President, with the attorney general now able to seek criminal penalties as part of the probe.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed a law that bans abortions in Texas before many women even know they are pregnant and differs singularly from similar efforts nationwide: leaving enforcement to private citizens, who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion.
The law puts Texas in line with more than a dozen other states that ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, possibly as early as six weeks. It would take effect in September, but federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing similar measures.
One day after ending the mask mandate so "people could make their own health decisions."
So I suppose that excludes women.
And tell me, how is that bolded part not some Little Brother BS? That's all this phony libertarianism is. """Little government"""" indeed. All the abuses of big government totalitarianism, none of the benefits.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
With shoplifting 'legal,' organized crime has a field day in San Francisco
By Monica Showalter
With investors and residents fleeing, organized crime has found itself some big business opportunities in leftwing San Francisco.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle:
Retailers attributed a majority of losses to professional thieves instead of opportunistic shoplifters who may be driven by poverty, with one CVS leader calling San Francisco a hub of organized retail crime. Losses have shuttered drugstores providing vital services, even more critical during the pandemic as some stores give out vaccines.
“This has been out of control,” said Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who held a hearing Thursday with retailers, police, the district attorney and probation departments. “People are scared to go into these stores — seniors, people with disabilities, children. It’s just happening brazenly. We can’t just as a city throw up our hands and say this is OK. We have to come up with solutions.”
And more to the point, drug stores, groceries, and small retailers are closing rather than let these organized crime theft rings strip them bare.
Biden condemns attacks on U.S. Jewish community as 'despicable'
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden condemned violence against Jewish communities in the United States and abroad on Monday after a string of attacks amid the conflict between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers.
Physical or verbal assaults were reported against Jews in New York City, Los Angeles and South Florida during the 11 days of fighting in the region.
"The recent attacks on the Jewish community are despicable, and they must stop. I condemn this hateful behavior at home and abroad — it’s up to all of us to give hate no safe harbor," Biden wrote in a Twitter post.
Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United States, tweeted his thanks in response and said he hoped the assailants were swiftly brought to justice and hate crimes deterred.
Portland riots, demonstrations cost taxpayers more than $12M
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:25 PM PT – Saturday, May 22, 2021
Taxpayers in Portland, Oregon are fronting the multi-million dollar bill to fund city police’s response to riots and looting. One America’s Kendell Kadesky has more.
-- Home prices in March were 13.2% higher in March, compared with March 2020, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.
-- The 10-city composite rose 12.8% year over year, up from 11.7% in the previous month. The 20-city composite increased 13.3%, up from 12.0% in February.
Home prices in March were 13.2% higher in March, compared with March 2020, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. ... That’s up from the 12% annual gain in February, and it marks the 10th straight month of accelerating home prices.
The March gain is the largest since December 2005 and is one of the largest in the index’s 30-year history. Prices are being pushed higher by incredibly strong competition in the market. High demand is butting up against near record-low supply, resulting in bidding wars for the vast majority of listings.
The 10-city composite rose 12.8% year over year, up from 11.7% in the previous month. The 20-city composite increased 13.3%, up from 12% in February.
Cities with the strongest price gains continue to be Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle. Phoenix sits at the top with 20% year-over-year price increase, followed by San Diego with a 19.1% increase and Seattle prices rising 18.3%. All 20 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending March 2021 versus the year ending February 2021.
New York investigation into Trump business dealings: Special grand jury convened - reports
Wednesday 26 May 2021
Prosecutors in New York have convened a special grand jury as part of a two-year investigation into Donald Trump's business dealings.
According to news first reported in The Washington Post, the grand jury will meet three days a week for six months and could eventually be asked to consider returning indictments.
Mr Trump is being investigated by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr for matters including property valuations, hush-money payments to women on his behalf, and employee compensation.
Issues under investigation include Mr Trump's relationship with his lenders, a land donation made to qualify for an income tax deduction, and tax write-offs claimed by the Trump Organisation.
Biden's Plan: President To Propose 6 Trillion Budget Boost To Middle Class, Infrastructure
Source: The New York Times
(48 mins ago.). WASHINGTON -- President Biden will propose a $6 trillion budget on Friday that would take the United States to its highest sustained levels of federal spending since World War II, while running deficits above $1.3 trillion throughout the next decade.
Documents obtained by The New York Times show that Mr. Biden's first budget request as president calls for the federal government to spend $6 trillion in the 2022 fiscal year, and for total spending to rise to $8.2 trillion by 2031. The growth is driven by Mr. Biden's two-part agenda to upgrade the nation's infrastructure and substantially expand the social safety net, contained in his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, along with other planned increases in discretionary spending.
The proposal shows the sweep of Mr. Biden's ambitions to wield government power to help more Americans attain the comforts of a middle-class life and to lift U.S. industry to better compete globally in an economy the administration believes will be dominated by a race to reduce energy emissions and combat climate change.
Mr. Biden's plan to fund his agenda by raising taxes on corporations and high earners would begin to shrink budget deficits in the 2030s. Administration officials have said the jobs and families plans would be fully offset by tax increases over the course of 15 years, which the budget request backs up...
US consumers boosted spending in April as inflation surged
Source: AP
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans increased their spending by 0.5% in April, a slowdown after a massive gain in March that had been powered by the distribution of billions of dollars in individual stimulus checks.
Even with the pullback from a 4.7% surge in spending in March, the April increase provided further evidence that consumers are driving a strengthening recovery from the pandemic recession. The April gain was led by a 1.1% rise in spending on services, the sector that covers airline travel, hotels and restaurants — areas that were devastated by the pandemic-caused shutdowns a year ago.
Friday’s report also showed that inflation by a measure preferred by the Federal Reserve surged by a bigger-than-expected 3.6% for the 12 months that ended in April. Even excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the so-called core inflation over that period was a still high 3.1%.
Both figures are far above the Fed’s 2% annual inflation target. Yet the current year-over-year inflation figures are likely temporarily elevated. That’s because when the pandemic paralyzed the economy in early spring last year, many prices plummeted before rebounding later in the year. That factor at least partly explains why the 12-month inflation figures look so large. They are expected to ease in the coming months, although inflation pressures have been surfacing in the prices of many goods and components — a result, in most cases, of supply shortages.
QAnon Now as Popular in U.S. as Some Major Religions, Poll Suggests: Fifteen Percent of Americans Believe That "Patriots May Have to Resort to Violence" to Restore the Country's Rightful Order, the Poll Indicated
wjfox wrote: ↑Sat May 29, 2021 5:48 pm
QAnon Now as Popular in U.S. as Some Major Religions, Poll Suggests: Fifteen Percent of Americans Believe That "Patriots May Have to Resort to Violence" to Restore the Country's Rightful Order, the Poll Indicated
U.S. appeals court leaves CDC residential eviction ban in place
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to lift the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) nationwide moratorium on residential evictions.
U.S. economy adds 559,000 jobs in May, as the recovery shows signs of strength
Source: Washington Post
The U.S. economy added 559,000 jobs in May, the latest sign of a strengthening recovery as vaccinations rise and covid restrictions ease nationwide. The unemployment rate dropped slightly from 6.1 percent to 5.8 percent, according to the monthly report, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The gains were driven strongly by jobs added at restaurants, bars and other food service establishments, which added 186,000 workers in the month.
The categories of amusements, gambling and recreation, as well as hotels and accommodations also saw strong gains in May, adding 58,000 and 35,000 jobs respectively. Those sectors have been the subject of intense focus of whether a shortage of workers or other pandemic related issues have been holding back growth. Wages continued to rise, a reflection of what many employers say is a surprisingly tight jobs market, increasing an average of 15 cents per hour to $30.33 after an increase of 21 cents in April.
Economists and analysts have been forecasting robust months of growth in the labor market for the spring, as vaccine distribution spreads, weather warms, and coronavirus caseloads continue to fall. The strong May report comes on the heels of a disappointing month in April, when the economy added what federal statisticians initially tallied as 266,000 jobs, and later revised upward slightly to 278,000.
The country still has more than seven and a half million less people employed than it did in February 2020, and needs to regain those jobs at an accelerated rate to make a full recovery by sometime next year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday dismissed a fresh Republican infrastructure proposal that offered modestly more spending but fell short of “his objectives to grow the economy,” the White House said.
His reaction cast further doubt on the two parties’ prospects for striking compromise on one of the administration’s chief legislative priorities as deadlines slip and time runs out to make progress toward a deal.
Making the pitch for Republicans, Capito had suggested around a $50 billion boost above the previous Republican offer of $928 billion, the White House said, still leaving the GOP well short of the $1.7 trillion that Biden is seeking.
For weeks, the president has been engaged in talks with GOP senators trying to strike a compromise on Biden’s top legislative a priority, the big infrastructure investment package. While the two sides appear to have narrowed the price gap between his initial $2.3 trillion proposal and the GOP’s $568 billion opening bid, they remain far apart on the scope of the deal and how to pay for it.
Depending on whether the Democrats are able to negotiate with the Republicans or not, this bill might determine whether they abolish the filibuster. If Biden shows that he made an effort to be bipartisan to the senate Democrats and the Republicans don't respond well enough, that may convince the holdout Democratic senators to abolish the filibuster. If it doesn't then its likely Biden won't be able to do much more than budgets for the rest of his term.
Ferry with more than 100 aboard runs aground in New York
Source: AP
NEW YORK (AP) — A passenger ferry with more than 100 people aboard ran aground in New York City and was taking on water Saturday, according to the Coast Guard and fire department officials. No serious injuries were reported.
The ferry operated by Seastreak, which runs routes between New York and New Jersey, lost power and steering on the East River just after 4 p.m., drifted into Bushwick Inlet in Brooklyn and hit ground, Seastreak said in a statement. The Commodore vessel was traveling from Highlands, New Jersey, to East 35th Street in Manhattan.
The Coast Guard and New York firefighters helped the Commodore crew get all 105 passengers to safety, Seastreak said. Rescue boats were brought in to help with the evacuation.
Seastreak said the cause of the mishap was a mechanical issue. It did not elaborate.
