Day: August 20, 2020

Steve Bannon Indicted Along with ‘We Build the Wall’ Founder Brian Kolfage and Others Over Alleged Crowdfunding Scheme

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon was arrested Thursday on charges that he and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of dollars” from  donors to an online fundraising effort to build a southern border wall, making him the latest in a long list of Trump associates to be indicted or charged.

The “We Build The Wall” fundraiser was headed by men who pushed their close ties to President Trump and raised more than $25 million. They touted their effort to help the president realize his vision of a physical border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, especially after Trump’s effort to redirect millions in government funds, was held up through lawsuits by open-border activists.

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New Unemployment Claims Surge Past a Million After One Week Drop Below Threshold

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More than 1.1 million American workers filed new unemployment claims last week, a week after the number of claims dropped below the million mark for the first time since pandemic-related shutdowns were put in place in March.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1,106,000 workers filed new claims on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending Aug. 15.

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Blackburn Organizes Smithsonian Exhibit of Women Senators Discussing What 19th Amendment Means to Them

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) assembled a special project for the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification giving women the right to vote.

They recruited 22 of their female colleagues to write essays about what the centennial means to them and the challenges they faced on their path to the U.S. Senate, Blackburn said in a press release. The exhibit is titled “Senators on Suffrage” and is available online here. It is part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s “Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage” exhibit.

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Commentary: Democratic Voters Appear Disengaged with Joe Biden as DNC Ratings Disappoint

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The first-night Democratic National Convention ratings were down almost 28 percent from their levels in 2016 in what can only be called a massive disappointment for former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in their bid to oust the incumbent Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

The ratings for CBS, NBC and ABC were down a combined 42 percent to 6.7 million from the 11.6 million who watched four years ago, according to the Hollywood Reporter. On cable news channels MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, the numbers were similarly down 16 percent to about 11.98 million viewers from the 14 million viewers of four years ago.

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University of Minnesota Medical School Application Features Question About George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks

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The University of Minnesota Medical School application includes an optional question that asks students to share their “lessons learned” about “systemic racism” in the wake of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks’s deaths.

“Right now is a watershed moment in American history and this country’s reckoning with race, racism, racial injustice, and especially anti-black hatred,” the question on the application, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, read.

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Biden’s Plan to Increase Refugees Will ‘Overwhelm’ Cities, Trump Says

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President Donald Trump criticized presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s plans to allow 125,000 refugees admittance to the U.S. on an annual basis during a speech in Minnesota on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

“He [Biden] would overwhelm Minnesota with refugees, from terror hotspots, depleting public services, burdening schools, and straining city budgets,” Trump said during a speech on a tarmac in Minnesota, the AP reported.

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Prosecutors Seek Maximum Penalty Against Indiana Woman Who Pleaded Guilty to Helping ISIS: Report

Admin

Prosecutors say that a woman who pleaded guilty to providing financial support to the Islamic State should face the maximum penalty under law, according to a new report.

Samantha Elhassani of Lake County, Indiana, faces up to 10 years in prison as she was reportedly aware of her actions, court documents say, Fox 59 reported. She is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27.

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One in Five Students May Defer Upcoming Academic Year, Axios Poll Shows

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Over 20 percent of college students may defer the upcoming academic year, according to a recent Axios poll.

The deferment data comes as prominent universities across the country move from in-person to online classes in response to campus-wide outbreaks of the coronavirus. Of the 21% of students who may not return, most are working full-time in the interim, Axios reported. The statistic comes as 27% of students lost their summer internship, according to the poll.

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Joint Legislative Committee Will Meet to Study Emergency Executive Powers in Tennessee Thursday

Laura Baigert

The Tennessee General Assembly Joint Ad Hoc Committee studying emergency powers of the executive branch will include presentations from by retired U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch, Jr.

The meeting to be held at the legislature’s home of the Cordell Hull Building is scheduled for Thursday.

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Baltimore Republican Candidate Grabs National Attention with Ad

Ben Kolodny

To showcase the plight of Black citizens living in Democratic-run Baltimore, Republican congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik took a simple approach: a walk through Baltimore’s downtown.

In a two-and-a-half minute video, Klacik (pronounced “CLAY-sick”) showcased Baltimore’s run-down buildings, asked citizens their thoughts on defunding police, and explained many of the issues facing the city.

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Minneapolis Residents Sue the City and Mayor Jacob Frey Over Defunding Police

Corinne Murdock

Eight Minneapolis residents filed a lawsuit Monday against the City of Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey for the negative repercussions of defunding the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The plaintiffs allege that city officials’ words and actions concerning law enforcement caused a severe uptick in Metro’s crime rates.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMWLC), who issued a press release the day after the suit was filed.

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Northam Proposes to Keep $2.3B in Budget Cuts for Now, Revisit in January

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With a $2.7 billion budget shortfall and continued economic uncertainty, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wants the General Assembly to postpone considerations of higher education spending, teacher pay raises and other spending initiatives he had hoped to include in the budget before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The General Assembly passed a biennial budget in April that gutted about $2.3 billion from the governor’s pre-pandemic budget proposal. The General Assembly was expected to reconsider some of these proposals based on new revenue projections in a special session that convened Tuesday, but Northam proposed a budget that maintained all of the cuts and urged the General Assembly to reconsider the spending initiatives when they reconvene in January.

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Virginia General Assembly 2020 Special Session Day Two

Jacob Taylor

It was relatively quiet during day two of the Virginia General Assembly special session as the House adjourned after less than an hour of meeting, while the Senate was more lively during member’s points of personal privilege.

Wednesday marked the first day the House held session electronically, with Speaker Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax County) and the House Clerk in the actual chamber of the Capitol building. The Senate, just like on Tuesday, held its session at the Science Museum of Virginia.

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Dominion Earns $500 Million Above Authorized Profit as Bills Continue to rise for Virginians, SCC Report Says

Jacob Taylor

Dominion Energy earned $502.7 million in revenues above authorized profit from 2017-2019, and customers’ residential energy bills have increased by 28.81 percent since 2007, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) said.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission released its annual report on the status of implementation of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act, highlighting detailed business figures of Dominion Energy and other electric companies operating in Virginia.

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New Motion Alleges Woman Blackmailed Tennessee District Attorney

Chris Butler

Tenth Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Crump allegedly had an extramarital affair that prompted him to commit prosecutorial misconduct in a murder trial, according to a motion that a Chattanooga attorney filed this month.

Bradley, McMinn, Monroe, and Polk counties make up the 10th Judicial District, according to the Office of the District Attorney General’s website.

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