Day: January 14, 2017

Trump aides deny summit with Putin planned

Two top aides to President-elect Donald Trump denied a published report on Saturday that he is planning to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin weeks after taking office. U.S.President-elect Donald Trump gestures to people in the lobby after speaking to the news media with television personality Steve Harvey and businessman Greg Calhoun after their meeting at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., January 13, 2017.

To understand Obama’s legacy, walk in his shoes on the day it all began

To understand Obama’s legacy, walk in his shoes on the day it all began We assess Obama’s legacy by squinting into the future. Why not also look to the past? Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2iA3euJ WASHINGTON – We try to assess Barack Obama’s legacy by squinting into the murky future – debating the durability of his policies and programs, wondering what the new president will do to them.

Protesters across US decry Trump’s anti-immigrant stance

Protesters gathered Saturday to support immigrant rights at rallies around the U.S., denouncing President-elect Donald Trump for his anti-immigrant rhetoric and his pledges to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and to crack down on Muslims entering the country. “We are not going to allow Donald Trump to bury the Statue of Liberty,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, told a standing-room-only crowd at historic African-American church in downtown Washington during one of dozens of rallies around the nation.

Pause the Calls: Black Lives Matter

Ending Mass Incarceration in Seaside/Tricounty PAUSE THE CALLS: Black Lives Matter -Seaside will kick off the Monterey County rallies standing in solidarity with targeted groups of people who are scared and threatened by the new administration that is raring to reign with fascism and talks of destroying families and communities in light of the Trump Presidency with increasing racist rhetoric and violence nationwide, residents of Seaside and supporters from the broader region are gathering to declare that “Black Lives Matter!” In solidarity with affected communities and with struggles against police violence locally and across the country, we will stand together to demand: “No we won’t have it!” Regardless if you are African-American, a woman, undocumented immigrants, LGBTQ people or Muslims, it is time to unite and create safe places for everyone.

Report: Trump to visit African American museum in DC

After a public feud with a black civil rights figure, President-elect Trump will likely visit the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, according to a report Saturday. The Saturday evening report from ABC News , citing senior transition sources, follows a pair of Trump’s tweets reacting to comments made by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a well-known leader from the civil rights movement, suggesting Russia’s interference with the election sullied Trump’s Electoral College win over Democrat Hillary Clinton .

Peter Thiel considering bid for California governor

Peter Thiel considering bid for California governor – Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire and outspoken Donald Trump supporter, is considering a 2018 bid for California governor, according to three Republicans familiar with his thinking. – Thiel, who co-founded PayPal

We Were Warned About Barack Obama-By Obama

In the fall of 2014, I attended a meeting of Iowa City progressives called to discuss the possibility of trying to enlist Bernie Sanders to enter the 2016 presidential race as a Democrat. When the 30 or so attendees went around the table introducing themselves, all but two expressed “disappointment” with Barack Obama-a president in whom they’d invested considerable betrayed hope for progressive- and left-leaning change.

Zoe Saldana: Hollywood bullied Trump

Zoe Saldana: Hollywood bullied Trump – Los Angeles (AFP) – It isn’t an opinion heard frequently in the famously liberal Hollywood, but sci-fi queen Zoe Saldana has spoken out against the acting community for bullying abrasive Donald Trump. – The “Star Trek,” “Avatar” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Protesters denounce Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, plans

Protesters gathered Saturday to support immigrant rights at rallies around the United States, denouncing President-elect Donald Trump for his anti-immigrant rhetoric and his pledges to build a wall on the US-Mexican border and to crack down on Muslims entering the country. A standing-room-only crowd packed into a historic African-American church in downtown Washington for one of dozens of rallies around the nation.

Jeff Sadow: Medicaid expansion becomes an obsession

If you agree with the agenda of Medicaid reformers taking power in Washington, Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards and his intemperate chief health bureaucrat say you’re the bad guy. With a mixture of conceit and high dudgeon, Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Rebekah Gee declared efforts to repeal Medicaid expansion “irresponsible, inhumane and ill-advised.”

Sewell voices opposition to Obamacare repeal efforts

With a near party-line 227-198 House vote, Congress gave final approval Friday to a budget that will ease passage of a still-unwritten bill replacing President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul with a GOP edition. The budget – the Senate approved it Thursday – bars Democratic senators from blocking that future legislation with a filibuster.

Democrats already are trying to get out the vote for 2020

Even before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, top Democrats — including President Barack Obama — are already launching efforts to reshape the electoral landscape. Faced with a stinging loss at the polls, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court and an incoming attorney general who testified this week about the dangers of voter fraud, Democrats are starting early to change the legal terrain in four years.

Trump poised to reform America’s failed immigration policies

Individuals raise their right hands as they pledge the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony to become United States citizens presented by the Littleton Immigrant Resources Center at the Littleton Center Council Chamber on September 29, 2016. U.S. immigration policy is a joke – a bad joke that President-elect Donald Trump estimates costs our economy $113 billion per year and hurts millions, including both U.S. taxpayers and non – U.S. citizens waiting in line to come here legally.

Fixing our broken immigration system truly would be great

There are so many flaws in the U.S. immigration system that could be readily fixed by Congress that it’s a shame so much of the election season was focused on illegitimate and downright harmful fears based not in fact, but in jaded rhetoric and political convenience. Our broken immigration system needs real and humane solutions.

The Latest: Capitol architect says pig painting breaks rules

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., center, accompanied by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., right, and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 to discuss P… Just weeks before a gunman opened fire at Fort Lauderdale’s airport, authorities said he walked into an FBI office in Alaska, telling agents the government was controlling his mind and that he was having… Just weeks before a gunman opened fire at Fort Lauderdale’s airport, authorities said he walked into an FBI office in Alaska, telling agents the government was controlling his mind and that he was having terroristic… States across the nation’s midsection are bracing for another round of winter storms expected to add to thick ice that already has glazed roads, grounded flights and prompted class cancellations amid warnings… Parts of the central U.S. grappled … (more)

Trump unleashes attack on U.S. civil rights icon who called election ‘illegitimate’

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump lashed out Saturday at a prominent civil rights icon and lawmaker who said he is skipping this week’s inauguration ceremony because he sees the New York businessman’s election as illegitimate. Trump aimed his latest Twitter blast at longtime Rep. John Lewis and the majority-black district in Georgia he represents, drawing widespread criticism just days before the holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. A park near the monument to King was the endpoint Saturday of the first major protest in Washington ahead of Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration: Nearly 2,000 people rallied both in honor of King and against the president-elect.

Trump team struggles for cohesion on tougher China policy

The incoming U.S. administration’s tough talk against China has set the stage for showdowns on everything from security to trade and cyberspace, but contradictory signals are sowing uncertainty over how far President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to go in confronting Beijing. Highlighting the contested South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson threw out an explosive challenge to Beijing on Wednesday by calling for it be denied access to artificial islands it is building in the strategic waterway.

Jennifer Holliday backs out of Trump inauguration gig

Broadway star Jennifer Holliday has backed out as a performer at next week’s presidential inaugural, saying she did not realize that her participation would be interpreted as a statement of support for President-elect Donald Trump. Holliday, best known for her Tony-winning role in Broadway’s “Dreamgirls,” faced pressure from her gay, lesbian and black fans when it was announced she would sing at a Thursday concert at Washington’s Lincoln Memorial.

SpaceX launches first rocket since explosion in Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Saturday and placed a constellation of satellites in orbit, marking the company’s first launch since a fireball engulfed a similar rocket on a Florida launch pad more than four months ago. The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites.

Federal judge rules on Crown Hill North Woods case

Jane Magnus-Stinson, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, has denied the request from the Indiana Forest Alliance and plaintiffs to halt the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs’ columbaria project at Crown Hill Cemetery’s North Woods.

Politico: Cruz Swatted Down Supreme Court Nomination

Ted Cruz and Donald Trump appear to have moved past their contentious campaign, but the Texas senator does not want to become the president-elect’s new Supreme Court nominee. After Cruz spoke with Trump a week after Election Day, he and his chief of staff, David Polyansky, met with Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon and rejected the potential nomination, reports Politico, and has been emerging as one of Trump’s key allies in the Senate instead.

Christopher Steele, the ex-MI6 agent behind the Trump dossier

The building housing the offices of Orbis Buiness Intelligence where former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele works, is in central London. Christopher Steele, who wrote reports on compromising material Russian operatives allegedly had collected on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is a former officer in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, according to people familiar with his career.

The Internet on the Peninsula :Options for Broadband

Blue Hill resident and past Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Director Butler Smythe will present current options and realistic growth areas for Broadband Capacity on the Blue Hill Peninsula at the Blue Hill Public Library on Thursday January 26th at 7:00 PM. He will discuss how Internet service affects selling a house; working and recreating from home; and establishing scalable business opportunities in the area.

‘We will not be Trumped’: Sharpton calls for protests against Sessions

Rev. Al Sharpton called for an occupation of senators’ offices to call on them to block Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Session from becoming President-elect Trump’s attorney general, chanting “We will not be Trumped.” Sharpton, speaking at a march in Washington organized by his National Action Network, called on his supporters to take action to stymie Trump’s agenda.

Trump Hits Back at John Lewis [Updated]

Lawmakers condemn Trump for attack on John Lewis – Lawmakers took to social media on Saturday to defend Rep. John Lewis’s (D-Ga.) legacy after President-elect Donald Trump – launched an early-morning Twitter attack on the civil rights leader. – Pushing back against Trump’s criticism that Lewis is

.com | Obama urges public to embrace the ‘work of citizenship’

Washington President Barack Obama is calling on all Americans to “throw ourselves into the work of citizenship”, regardless of party. In the final radio and Internet address of his presidency, Obama says the country’s success depends on everyone participating not just at election time, but during the course of one’s lifetime.