Mediaboss Marketing

With heartbreaking videos of mass graves filled with Ukrainian victims of Russian genocide, civilians mowed down by sadistic Russian soldiers and apartment buildings pulverized by Russian missiles, there hasnt been much occasion for mirth. But you can count on Trump World to provide some comic relief.

Turns out North Carolina election officials removed former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows from the states voter rolls after it emerged that Meadows had voted absentee from a North Carolina residence where he had never resided. He not only listed a false address on his absentee ballot application, but his civic-mindedness in exercising his franchise was so fervent that he had registered to vote in two states at the same time.

It was Meadows who teamed up with his former boss to try to pressure Georgias Secretary of State to nullify Georgias 2020 election results and induce him to fraudulently proclaim that a state that Joe Biden had won had been won by Donald Trump. Meadows is among the esteemed band of Trump aides who, subpoenaed to testify about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, either refused to honor the subpoena or invoked their Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination. Hes been referred to the Justice Department for criminal charges for contempt of Congress. But the nation owes Meadows a real debt of gratitude for reminding us that the only apparent voter fraud in the 2020 election was committed by Donald Trumps chief of staff.

Witlessness isnt a crime, but it does seem plain that Meadows is no Einstein. Fumbling to come up with something, anything, that would provide a molecule of support for Trumps fraudulent claim of election fraud, Meadows had this exchange with CNNs Jake Tapper at one point: Do you realize how inaccurate the voter rolls are? he asked the host without any sheepishness on account of his own voter fraud. When Tapper replied that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud, Meadows was ready. Theres no evidence that theres not, either, he said. Thats the definition of fraud, Jake.

With Trump and many of his closest advisers either under criminal investigation, indicted, referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution or already convicted, the prospect of a return to power by the former president and the party that swears fealty to him should concentrate Americans minds in a most serious way. It is a real prospect. The thanks accorded Biden for steering America through the national COVID disaster bequeathed him by Trump, record economic growth, an unemployment rate of 3.6% and a historic response to Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine is a 39% approval rating. Fifty-five percent of Americans say they disapprove of Bidens job performance.

Just what we need right about now is a Putin loyalist in the White House.

Things dont look promising for democracy either here or abroad if the party of Trump regains power. I think NATO is obsolete, pronounced Trump about the alliance of European democracies that holds a nuclear Russia at bay and is enabling Ukraine to defend itself. Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton believes Trump would have withdrawn from NATO in a second term. And I think Putin was waiting for that, Bolton said.

More than 60 Congressional Republicans recently voted against a resolution expressing support for NATO. Trump is seeking to bolster the bloc of Republicans happy to sell Ukraine down the river. Last weekend he endorsed Ohio Republican J.D. Vance for the Senate, not long after Vance bragged to former chief Trump strategist and twice-indicted podcast host Steve Bannon I gotta be honest with you, I dont really care what happens to Ukraine.

In this season of holidays, as we emerge from pandemic-induced hibernation, its painful to consider that democracy is on the edge. The next months may determine whether and where it survives.

Jeff Robbins is a Boston lawyer and former U.S. delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

See the original post:
Robbins: Here and abroad, democracy hanging in the balance - Boston Herald

The Supreme Court this month will hear its last oral arguments in a term that has been overshadowed by disputes over abortion and the Second Amendment and the confirmation of the nations first Black female justice.

As the country awaits decisions in those potentially landmark cases, three cases stand out as highlights among the remaining disputes to be argued before the justices.

They involve a Trump-era immigration policy, a dispute over a high school football coachs religious practice on school grounds and the Miranda warning that suspects are given by law enforcement.

Its the last set of arguments that will include Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire this summer. He will be replaced by the newly confirmed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Trump-era remain in Mexico policy

One of the most high-profile fights on the courts docket is a dispute over the Biden administrations effort to end a controversial Trump-era immigration measure that requires asylum-seekers at the southern border to stay in Mexico while their applications are processed.

Arguments will center on whether the Biden administration must continue the policy despite the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) conclusion that the measure is not in the United States national interest.

Former President Trumps remain in Mexico policy, implemented in 2019, blocked migrants at the Mexican border from entering the U.S. to apply for asylum, leaving tens of thousands of people awaiting their fates in Mexico and subjecting them to potential persecution and abuse.

More than 60,000 asylum-seekers were returned to Mexico under the policy, formally called the Migrant Protection Protocols, a departure from a previous practice of allowing those fleeing violence to cross the border and apply for asylum within the U.S.

The Biden administrations two efforts to rescind the program were blocked after a lawsuit by the attorneys general of Texas and Missouri. Lower courts found the legal basis for ending the policy lacking, prompting the administrations appeal to the Supreme Court.

DHS has thus been forced to reinstate and continue implementing indefinitely a controversial policy that the Secretary has twice determined is not in the interests of the United States, the administration told the justices in court papers.

The court will hear arguments in the case in the second week of the two-week period during which it is hearing new arguments.

Miranda rights

The justices this week will hear a procedural dispute that stems from a police officers failure to issue a Miranda warning in a case with potentially weighty criminal justice implications.

The case arose after Terence Tekoh, a Los Angeles hospital worker, was accused of sexually assaulting a patient. In the course of investigating, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Carlos Vega brought Tekoh to a private room to talk but did not advise Tekoh of his Miranda rights, which include a notice of the right against self-incrimination while in police custody.

At the conclusion of their meeting, Tekoh had produced a written confession. The partys claims about what transpired in their meeting are at stark odds, with Tekoh claiming Vega coerced him into confessing by threatening to deport Tekoh and his family to their native Cameroon. Vega, by contrast, depicted Tekoh as contrite and remorseful and having confessed voluntarily.

Prosecutors used Tekohs confession as evidence in his criminal trial, but the jury found Tekoh not guilty. Following his acquittal, Tekoh filed a civil lawsuit against Vega for violating his constitutional rights.

Tekoh asked the court to instruct the jury that the prosecutions use of Tekohs confession which arose after he was provided no Miranda warning amounted to an automatic violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The trial court denied Tekohs request, and the jury sided with Vega.

On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with Tekoh. The appeals court determined that a Miranda violation alone can be the basis for finding an officer liable if the confession is later used at a criminal trial. Vega appealed to the Supreme Court, which will hear arguments in the case on April 20. The Biden administration has asked the justices to side with the officer.

Prayer in school athletics

A third upcoming case pits a high school football coach against school administrators who reprimanded the coach over his practice of holding a brief prayer on the fields 50-yard line following games.

A devout Christian, coach Joseph Kennedys custom of kneeling on field and conducting prayer while surrounded by many of his players drew reproach from officials at his Seattle-area public school. Administrators told Kennedy his conduct violated a school policy that prohibited staff from encouraging students to engage in prayer or other devotional activity.

Amid widespread publicity, Kennedy sued the school district, alleging that his First Amendment speech and religious rights were violated. A federal district court in Washington ruled against him, reasoning that Kennedys conduct was not constitutionally protected because it was done in his capacity as a public employee.

Kennedy appealed, but a unanimous three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based federal appeals court last year affirmed the lower courts decision. The panel concluded that Bremerton School District (BSD) would have violated the Constitutions prohibition on government endorsement of religion by allowing Kennedy to pray at the conclusion of football games, in the center of the field, with students who felt pressured to join him.

Kennedys attempts to draw nationwide attention to his challenge to BSD compels the conclusion that he was not engaging in private prayer, but was instead engaging in public speech of an overtly religious nature while performing his job duties, the appeals court wrote.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in Kennedys appeal on April 25.

View post:
Three cases to watch as Supreme Court readies for final oral arguments of term - The Hill

TRIPOLI, April 13 (Reuters) - (This April 13 story corrects headline and first paragraph to make clear delegates are from parliamentary chambers, not governments)

Representatives of Libya's two rival parliamentary chambers began talks in Egypt on Wednesday aimed at reaching agreement on holding national elections, the United Nations Mission in Libya said.

Libya has had two competing governments since March when the eastern-based parliament appointed Fathi Bashagha to replace the Tripoli-based prime minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, renewing a standoff between the east and west of the country.

Register

The other legislative body, the High Council of State, still recognises Dbeibah as prime minister.

Dbeibah, who was chosen as interim prime minister a year ago in U.N.-backed talks, has refused to cede power to Bashagha.

"The ultimate solution to the issues that continue to plague Libya is through elections, held on a solid constitutional basis and electoral framework that provides the guard rails for an electoral process," U.N. Libya adviser Stephanie Williams told the opening session of the talks in Cairo.

Williams, supported by Western countries, has been seeking to resolve a political impasse since a scheduled election collapsed days before the vote was due to take place in December, amid arguments over the rules.

Delegates from the eastern-based parliament and the Tripoli-based High State Council named 12 members of each chamber to participate in the talks, which parliament spokesman Abdullah Belhaiq said will continue until April 20.

The parliament, elected in 2014, is recognised internationally through a 2015 political agreement that also recognised the High State Council as a legislative chamber formed from members of a previous parliament elected in 2012.

The planned election is part of a U.N.-endorsed peace process aimed at ending a decade of chaos since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and reunifying the country.

"You have a critical role to play in making your voice heard in support of your 2.8 million fellow Libyan citizens who have registered to vote," Williams said.

Register

Reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli; additional reporting by Ayman al-Werfalli in Benghazi; editing by Dominic Evans and Grant McCool

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Originally posted here:
Libya's rival lawmakers start U.N.-backed talks in Egypt - Reuters.com

After a 49-year-old woman was killed in a hit and run early Sunday in Dade City, a pickup truck drove into the ensuing crime scene investigation, running over part of the body and nearly hitting two deputies, police say.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to the crash along U.S. 301 south of Desrosier Road around 3:30 a.m., according to a police news release. Police said a white or silver sedan ran off the road, hit a traffic sign and got back on the highway briefly before veering off again and plowing into a Dade City woman who was walking on the grass along the shoulder. The impact severed the woman in two, killing her, police say.

A little over an hour later, Florida High Patrol troopers and Pasco Sheriffs deputies on the scene saw a truck headed toward them at high speed, police say. The driver, identified by police as 23-year-old Andrew Thomas Krummen, did not stop. Police say the truck nearly hit two officers and ran over the womans lower half. A chase ensued, going on for about 10 minutes.

Police arrested Krummen and booked him into Pasco County Jail on charges of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle upon a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, DUI, fleeing and eluding, destruction of evidence and driving while his license was revoked.

Police said Krummen was also charged with false imprisonment, as he had two passengers who were trying to leave the vehicle and flag down officers.

Police are still investigating the initial hit and run.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Read more:
Dade City woman killed, body severed in two in Pasco hit and run - Tampa Bay Times

US Supreme Court could decide bans imposed by several states

A political and controversial fight over border security grows with the looming expiration of a federal pandemic policy.

Iowas Supreme Court weighs in on Abby Finkenauers ballot eligibility in her bid for the U. S. Senate.

And Illinois lawmakers take a stand against so-called ghost guns guns that are considered impossible to trace.

We cover that this morning with Jake Lewis, the deputy director of Illinois Democratic Party, and former Iowa Republican Party Chair Steve Grubbs.

We will start in Illinois with ghost guns. State lawmakers adopted legislation last weekend to ban them altogether. These are guns that can be made with a 3D printer and a special kit at home.

A lot of people buy them online. They dont have serial numbers. Thats what keeps them from being tracked.

The Illinois bill would ban selling any guns or kits that dont include serial numbers. It would make privately made firearms illegal and require anyone who owns parts without serial numbers to register them.

The federal government also weighed in on this.

President Biden announced a policy to require ghost gun businesses to have a federal license and to add serial numbers to the parts.

Republicans argued against the legislation saying it punishes law-abiding gun owners.

Ten other states already have legislation against ghost guns.

The bill is an important step forward in making sure that we can keep our communities safe by getting illegal guns and getting these ghost guns off of the street, Lewis said. These are untraceable guns.

Is this really going to stop the bad guys from printing their own guns? Grubbs asked. if they want to break the law, theyre probably going to do it with or without the approval of the government.

Hear what else our panelists have to say in the video.

Question of the week: Tell us what you think

We want to hear from you, too, with our question of the week: What do you think about legislation that bans ghost guns as they exist and requires them to contain serial numbers so they can be traced? Share your thoughts at 4therecord@whbf.com

Local 4 News, your local election headquarters, is proud to present4 The Record, a weekly news and public affairs program focused on the issues important to you. Its a program unlike any other here in the Quad Cities. Tune in each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. asJim Niedelmanbrings you up to speed on whats happening in the political arena, from Springfield, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and right here at home.

See the rest here:
Drawing a line between ghost guns and the Second Amendment - WHBF - OurQuadCities.com