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In this May 18, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington.(Photo: Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

HAMBURG, Germany News reports are coming almost too quickly for reaction. The dispatches are being described as hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes fast, furious and all over the place.

The investigation of a U.S. president is dominating global news and is a major subject at this year's World Congress of the International Press Institute, of which I am a member.

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But here's the thing: We cannot continue to swat at news like bothersome flies at a picnic, or gird ourselves, like with hurricanes. So rather than offer thoughts specifically about ...

the Department of Justice ordering a special counsel to investigate whether Donald Trump or any of his associates should be charged with a crime in #Russiagate. the death of former Fox head Roger Ailes.

orthe white Tulsa police officer who will not be charged for killing an unarmed black driver.;

my hope is that we do what University of Missouri journalism professor Marty Steffens advised journalists covering Trump: "When you're in a hurricane, build a strong foundation."

America is in a hurricane, so we need to strengthen our foundation rather than focus on sides, at least for a while. That means we cannot continue doing what we've been doing wrong.

We have spent the past seven years, since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010, taking up sides on either side of a wall.

We have spent the past four years, since George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, growing in number on either side of that wall.

We have spent nearly two years, since Donald Trump became a presidential candidate, adding even more people and vitriol on both sides of that wall.

Unfortunately, that wall that divides us on so many issues, has not pushed the wall one way orthe other. Rather, the wall has grown higher, so neither side can hear the yelling from those on the other side.

And we have been wrong, in each instance, to choose to be adversaries, rather than Americans allied to solve problems;to find ways to do what is best for America. We don't need a third political party. Oh, America will need it later, but not now when our country is at stake. Now, we need to unite on the side that wants America to continue to thrive and continue to be the world's greatest superpower, not a power partner with Russia, fighting wars in nine countries and empowering a rise in overt racial hatred unseen in this country for decades.

We cannot continue to choose the wrong sides in the police versus innocent black men feud. Oh, it is a feud, a blood feud that hasnt affected everyone, but could affect anyone. But it won't end by taking sides or criticizing deaths when they happen. We must unite, all on one side, and fight it together.

We can no longer pretend that Obamacare wasn't about making sure that all Americans have health care. We must unite as one country that doesn't want Americans dying because they cannot get access to a doctor. It is that simple. When you remove partisan politics and rhetoric, that is what is left.

So why dont we start here: Let us look at what the wall is, what it represents. That wall is dividing America, not by ideology, but between right and wrong.

Where President Donald Trump is concerned, lets not make the fight about Trump but about right and wrong. If Trump has done nothing wrong, as he contends, he should have nothing to fear from an investigation. His supporters must convince him of that and stand with him, with everybody on the right side of the wall.

If the GOP doesn't want Obamacare which my friend Daoud Kuttab from Jordan calls Obamacares then every member of Congress should work together on Realcare. It would be a plan that would save people as well as save dollars. Who could be opposed to that?

Where the police are concerned, it is past time to have conversations with the majority of officers who arent thugs and work to keep them safe while they keep us safe. We cannot pretend that there arent people who use their uniforms to harm, but we have to change the dynamic of our interactions and work together to stand, rightversus wrong.

My hope, as I watch my country from 4,000 miles away, is that we remember that we are America versus everybody.

We can have allies and enemies, but neither should come between us Americans. We don't need another wall in America. We have one.

On one side are those fighting for the America we know, one that embraces exceptionalism, diversity and a greatness that already existed two years ago and still exists now.

On the other side, mixed in like weeds among hardworking people who want the same hope and change America asked for in 2008, are the unAmericans who are using the Trump presidency to advance their own causes. Some are using it as an excuse to empower their hatred, as an absurd opportunity to embrace the misguided notion of a white supremacy they once hid under sheets.

Some are people telling folks who have never been to Africa to go back to Africa. Some are people telling Jews the Holocaust didn't happen, and some are calling for a separate America for white people.

Those on that hate side are welcome to leave their hatred behind and come around to the American side of the wall, or they are welcome to just leave and find a place outside America where they can continue to hate American values and greatness. The rest of us will stand together, live together, work together to be the envy of the world. The world is pulling for us because much, not all, but a heck of a lot of the world, wants to be us. They are watching how we handle the wall we have, let alone the wall some want, because they are counting on us, particularly journalists.

"Right now, the world is watching the Trump story, and for a country like Zambia,that depends on knowing what's going on in America, we are telling the press 'Don't stop!'''said Joan Chirwa, editor-in-chief and CEO of the Mast, an independent newspaper in Lusaka, Zambia, that was shut down by the government but continued to operate from a street corner. "We are always looking up to America in terms of press freedom. How is America going to speak in defense of press freedom when they are represented by a government having problems with press freedom?"

There's America. And there's the world. And much of that world wants what we've built.

So we dont need more walls to separate us from us. When were all on one side, we wont need a wall at all.

Contact Rochelle Riley:rriley99@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @rochelleriley.

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Americans don't need another wall, we've already got too many - Detroit Free Press

"It's one of the worst I've seen," says Barbara Petersen, president of Florida's First Amendment Foundation.

Her frustration stems from this year's legislative results regarding exemptions to the state's public records laws.

Petersen believes doors are closing on open government.

"It's a concern, and it's a continuing concern," Petersen says.

In the recent legislative session, state lawmakers passed 17 exemptions to public records laws.

According to Petersen's records, it was the second highest amount of exemptions since 1995.

The record was set in 2014, when 22 exemptions passed. The average is about 10 a year.

"But in terms of volume, it was almost 12% of all the bills passed by the Legislature, so they can't agree on school funding," Petersen says. "They can't agree on medical marijuana, gaming, but it seems they can agree on chipping away at our constitutional right of access to government information."

Petersen agrees some exemptions are justified but many aren't.

Her biggest concern with this year's exemptions, Senate Bill 118, which she said will keep the public from viewing criminal history records, if a person is found not guilty or acquitted.

Petersen argues there are many reasons a case can be tossed such as perhaps the victim didn't want to to press charges.

She says in cases such as O.J. Simpson, George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony, the new exemptions would have sealed information, if they were in existence at the time.

"That means if you want to hire a babysitter or a clerk to work in your store you would go to the FDLE website search for the name and they won't pop up," Petersen says referring to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. House Speaker Richard Corcoran entered the legislative session declaring more transparency. Corcoran said he was not concerned.

"The question is, are you protecting the publics interest," Corcoran says. "Does the public who has an absolute right to know how their taxpayer money is being spent, is that right? And is that knowledge being protected? And it absolutely is."

Petersen says the public should pay close attention to who's proposing these exemptions and why, because it ultimately affects your access to records.

She says in 1985 there were about 250 exemptions to Sunshine Laws. There now are more than 1,000.

"The last time the Legislature did anything to improve our public records laws, to enhance our right of access, was in 1995, and that tells you something," Petersen says.

This year is the first year ever the First Amendment Foundation is calling on the governor to veto this year's budget. Not because of any specific policies, Petersen says, but rather because major policy changes were agreed to in secret behind closed doors.

Florida's First Amendment Foundation has been around since 1983.

Read more from the original source:
Public records advocate opposes public records exemptions passed by Legislature - ABC Action News

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - (WFOR/CNN) - Florida Memorial University on Saturday awarded an honorary degree to slain Florida teenagerTrayvon Martin.

Martin's parents attended the ceremony and accepted the teenagers degree in aeronautical science on his behalf.

Martin, who had dreamed of being a pilot, was killed five years ago in Sanford, Fla., after being shot by community watch member George Zimmerman.

Martin's parent said the posthumous degree is bittersweet.

"I think this just shows what this community, how they feel, how they believe in our family, believe in our foundation. This was a day that we planned for as parents, we just wish that we would have watched him walk across the stage," said Trayvons father Tracy Martin.

Martin's mother graduated from Florida Memorial University located in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Zimmerman was found not guilty in Martin's death.

Courtesy WFOR via CNN Newsource

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Trayvon Martin awarded honorary degree at Florida Memorial University - WPTV.com

FORT MYERS, Fla. -

Justified shooting or cold-blooded murder?

A Fort Myers father is asking Gov. Rick Scott to decide after the state said the man who shot and killed his son was acting in self-defense.

The family of Ryan Modell is frustrated that more wasn't done to figure out what happened in his shooting death. They say they don't understand why a grand jury wasn't the one to make the decision if the killing was murder or justified.

James Taylor is a free man after a March ruling that his shooting of Ryan, 33, was justified based on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. Modell was trying to enter Taylor's condo, which looked identical to his.

The case was reviewed by Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg.

"This was a questionable shooting at the very least," said Mark O'Mara, the Modell family attorney.

"The threat that you perceive has got to be immediate, and it's got to be one of great bodily injury."

In March, Sandy Modell confronted Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox about the lack of charges, which until then a decision hadn't been announced. It was the next day the State Attorney's Office said charges would not be filed.

"That looks to me like a call that should have been made by the grand jury, not some prosecutor," O'Mara said.

Modell and his attorney want Scott to assign a different state attorney to take a second look at the case.

Mark O'Mara, who rose to fame after successfully defending George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, says a critical component for "Stand Your Ground" is missing from this case.

"The fear has to be immediate. You're going to do it to me now, and it has to be that you can cause great bodily injury," O'Mara said.

For now, the SAO is sticking with its original decision and says they won't be taking any other actions in the case.

Scott has shown a willingness to get involved in judicial issues.

In April, he took 21 first-degree murder cases away from Orlando State Attorney Aramis Ayala when she said she would no longer seek the death penalty in any cases, including the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing a police officer.

James Taylor, the man who shot Ryan Modell, had no comment.

See more here:
Fort Myers family asks Scott to review 'Stand Your Ground' ruling - NBC2 News

The parents of a teen killed in 2012, sparking outrage when his shooter was acquitted, took the stage at Florida Memorial Universitys commencement in Miami Gardens today to accept an honorary degree for their son,WSVN in Miami reports.

Trayvon Martin's bachelor's degree in aeronautical science was bittersweet, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin said, but they were encouraged by the community's support. "Just watching all the 2017 graduates come across the stage, and just to share that moment with them, it was very powerful," Martin said. Fulton is a graduate of Florida Memorial.

Earlier,the university said it was awarding the aeronautics degree, with a concentration in flight education, to Martin "in honor of his love for planes and the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot."

The teen was shot and killed in Sanford by George Zimmerman, who claimed self-defense on the grounds of a gated community in which Zimmerman and Martin's father's fiancee lived. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2013.

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Trayvon Martin's parents accept posthumous aeronautical science degree - Palm Beach Post