Ashly Raven спросил 1 год назад
Convict Trump or face dire democracy damage, prosecutors say WASHINGTON (AP) — Dire harm from Donald Trump´s false and mpoagen violent incitements will vex American democracy long into the future unless the Senate convicts him of impeachment and bars him from future office, House prosecutors insisted Thursday as they concluded two days of emotional arguments in his historic trial. Making their case, they presented piles of new videos of last month’s deadly Capitol attack, with invaders proudly declaring they were merely obeying «the president´s orders» to fight to overturn the election results as Congress was certifying his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump is accused of inciting the invasion, which prosecutors said was a predictable culmination of the many public and explicit instructions he gave supporters long before his White House rally that unleashed the Jan. 6 attack. «If we pretend this didn´t happen, or worse, if we let it go unanswered, who´s to say it won´t happen again?» argued prosecutor Rep.
Joe Neguse, D-Colo. Even out of office, Democrats warned, Trump could whip up a mob of followers for similar damage. Trump´s defense will take the Senate floor on Friday, arguing that as terrible as the attack was, it clearly was not the president’s doing.
The proceedings could finish with a vote this weekend by the senators who are sitting as impeachment jurors. The Democrats, with little hope of conviction by two-thirds of the evenly divided Senate, are also making their most graphic case to the American public, while Trump´s lawyers and the Republicans are focused on legal rather than emotional or historic questions, hoping to get it all behind as quickly as possible.
Five people died in the Capitol chaos and its aftermath, a domestic attack unparalleled in U.S. history. ___ Trial highlights: ‘We were invited’ and a quick defense WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump incited a deadly attack on the U.S.
Capitol, put his own vice president in danger and later expressed solidarity with rioters who attempted to overturn the 2020 election in his name, Democrats argued Thursday as they wrapped up opening arguments in Trump’s impeachment trial. Over two days of testimony, the Democrats asserted that Trump deliberately ordered his supporters to «fight like hell» and «go by very different rules» or they «wouldn’t have a country anymore.» They bolstered their case with accounts from the rioters themselves, some of whom said they were acting on Trump’s orders. The former president’s defense team insists Trump’s speech near the White House was protected under the First Amendment.
And they argue he shouldn’t be on trial in the Senate because he is no longer in office — an argument Democrats reject. «The First Amendment does not create some superpower immunity from impeachment,» said Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat who is leading the prosecution. «If you don´t find this a high crime and misdemeanor today, you have set a new terrible standard for presidential misconduct.» Highlights from the trial on Thursday: ___ AP: Over 9,000 virus patients sent into NY nursing homes NEW YORK (AP) — More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes early in the pandemic under a controversial directive that was scrapped amid criticism it accelerated outbreaks, according to new records obtained by The Associated Press. The new number of 9,056 recovering patients sent to hundreds of nursing homes is more than 40% higher than what the state health department previously released.
And it raises new questions as to whether a March 25 directive from Gov. Andrew Cuomo´s administration helped spread sickness and death among residents, a charge the state disputes. «The lack of transparency and the meting out of bits of important data has undermined our ability to both recognize the scope and severity of what´s going on» and address it, said Richard Mollot, the executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a residents advocacy group. The new figures come as the Cuomo administration has been forced in recent weeks to acknowledge i t has been underreporting the overall number of COVID-19 deaths among long-term care residents.
It is now nearly 15,000 up from the 8,500 previously disclosed. The Cuomo administration’s March 25 directive barred nursing homes from refusing people just because they had COVID-19. It was intended to free up space in hospitals swamped in the early days of the pandemic.
It came under criticism from advocates for nursing home residents and their relatives, who said it had the potential to spread the virus in a state that at the time already had the nation´s highest nursing home death toll. ___ Biden says US is securing 600 million vaccine doses by July BETHESDA, Md.
(AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. Biden made the announcement at the sprawling National Institutes of Health complex just outside Washington as he visited some of the nation’s leading scientists on the frontlines of the fight against the disease.
He toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory that created the COVID-19 vaccine now manufactured by Moderna and being rolled out in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. is on pace to exceed Biden´s goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, with more than 26 million shots delivered in his first three weeks. «That´s just the floor,» Biden said.
«Our end goal is beating COVID-19.» Biden announced on Thursday that the U.S. had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses of vaccine by the end of July — more than a month earlier than initially anticipated. ___ Lincoln Project to launch outside probe amid new revelations NEW YORK (AP) — The Lincoln Project, one of the best-known and best-funded organizations in the so-called Never Trump movement, announced plans late Thursday to launch an external investigation to review the tenure of a co-founder accused of sexual harassment. The announcement came hours after The Associated Press reported that members of the organization´s leadership were informed in writing and in subsequent phone calls of at least 10 specific allegations of sexual harassment against co-founder John Weaver, including two involving Lincoln Project employees.
The revelations raised questions about the Lincoln Project´s statement last month that it was «shocked» when accusations surfaced publicly this year. In a statement released Thursday evening, the organization announced that its board had decided to retain «a best-in-class outside professional» to review Weaver´s tenure «to establish both accountability and best practices going forward for The Lincoln Project.» The organization also encouraged anyone bound by a nondisclosure agreement to contact the Lincoln Project «for a release.» The situation threatens the stature of not just the Lincoln Project but also the broader coalition of establishment-oriented Republican groups working to excise Trump from the party. ___ Law firm details sexual misconduct by global ministry leader NEW YORK (AP) — Ravi Zacharias, who died in May after a high-profile career leading a global Christian ministry, engaged in sexual misconduct with massage therapists and carried on many amorous extramarital relationships via text message and email, according to a scathing, in-depth report from a law firm hired by the ministry. Five of the therapists said Zacharias touched them inappropriately, and one said she was raped, according to the report.
It said investigators searching Zacharias’ mobile devices found more than 200 photographs of younger women, including nude images of a salon employee in Malaysia. In blunt terms, the report by Atlanta-based Miller & Martin said Zacharias had lied in claiming in 2017 that «I have never engaged in any inappropriate behavior of any kind.» Coinciding with the report´s release on Thursday, the board of directors of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries issued a statement of «corporate repentance.» The board apologized for earlier statements that belittled accusers and pledged steps to support victims, combat abuse and harassment, and reassess the management structure, which is overseen by Zacharias´ eldest daughter, ministry CEO Sarah Davis. «We are devastated by what the investigation has shown and are filled with sorrow for the women who were hurt by this terrible abuse,» the board said. ___ Democrats pushing Biden’s COVID-19 bill through House panels WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed half of President Joe Biden´s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan through a House committee Thursday, advancing $1,400 payments for millions of Americans and other initiatives that Republicans call too costly, economically damaging and brazenly partisan. The Ways and Means Committee approved its $940 billion chunk of Biden´s proposal on a 25-18 party-line vote, highlighting a frenzied week that´s seeing a dozen House panels fashion contributions to the sprawling measure.
On Wednesday, the Education and Labor Committee approved another top Democratic priority — a boost in the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 hourly over five years. «Yes it will. We´re very proud of that,» House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters when asked if the overall House bill would include the minimum wage increase.
Its fate remains precarious in the more moderate Senate. The House bill would provide hundreds of billions for state and local governments and to boost vaccination efforts, raise tax credits for children and increase unemployment benefits and federal health care assistance.
Democratic leaders hope for House passage later this month, with Senate approval and a bill on Biden´s desk by mid-March. In committee after committee, Republicans futilely launched waves of amendments at the Democratic measures in an attempt to derail the new president´s top initial priority — a massive bill aimed at stemming the deadly pandemic and resuscitating an economy that´s shed 10 million jobs and shuttered countless businesses. ___ New video captures pepper-sprayed girl’s wait for EMTs ROCHESTER, N.Y.
(AP) — A 9-year-old Black girl pepper sprayed by police pleaded «please don´t do this to me» and «it burns» as she waited handcuffed in the back seat of a police cruiser for 16 minutes, according to new police body camera footage released Thursday. The city of Rochester suspended police officers seen in an initial video released Sunday spraying a chemical irritant in the face of the distraught and handcuffed child.
Mayor Lovely A. Warren said the city released almost 90 minutes of additional video from the Jan. 29 detainment in order to be transparent. In the video, the girl can be heard wailing and whimpering that she wants her dad and saying her eyes are burning as an officer tells her an ambulance is on its way but has been slowed by the snowy roads. «Officer, please don’t do this to me,» she says at one point. «You did it to yourself, hon,» the officer responds. ___ Kim lays blame at officials for N.
Korea’s economic failures SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ripped into the performance of his Cabinet and fired a senior economic official he appointed a month ago, saying they’d failed to come up with new ideas to salvage an economy in decay. The report by state media on Friday comes during the toughest period of Kim’s nine-year rule.
The diplomacy he had hoped would lift U.S.-led sanctions over his nuclear program is stalemated, and pandemic border closures and crop-killing natural disasters last year deepened the damage to an economy broken by decades of policy failures. Some analysts say the current challenges may set up conditions for an economic perfect storm in the North that destabilizes markets and triggers public panic and unrest. The current challenges had forced Kim to publicly admit that past economic plans hadn’t succeeded.
A new five-year plan to develop the economy was issued during the ruling Workers´ Party congress in January, but Kim´s comments during the party’s Central Committee meeting that ended Thursday were rich with frustration with how the plans were being executed so far. During Thursday´s session, Kim lamented that the Cabinet was failing in its role as the key institution managing the economy, saying it was producing unworkable plans while displaying no «innovative viewpoint and clear tactics.» ___ Chick Corea, jazz great with 23 Grammy Awards, dies at 79 NEW YORK (AP) — Chick Corea, a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy Awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has died.
He was 79. Corea died Tuesday of a rare form of cancer, his team posted on his website. His death was confirmed by Corea’s web and marketing manager, Dan Muse. On his Facebook page, Corea left a message to his fans: «I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It´s not only that the world needs more artists, it´s also just a lot of fun.» A prolific artist with dozens of albums, Corea in 1968 replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis´ group, playing on the landmark albums «In a Silent Way» and «Bitches Brew.» He formed his own avant-garde group, Circle, and then founded Return to Forever.
He worked on many other projects, including duos with Hancock and vibraphonist Gary Burton. He recorded and performed classical music, standards, solo originals, Latin jazz and tributes to great jazz pianists.
