January 10, 2015

Muslim Grocery Clerk Saved Hostages

24-year-old Muslim grocery clerk, Lassana Bathily, who works at the kosher grocery store in Paris that came under siege by a terrorist on Friday, managed to save 15 hostages by hiding them in the store’s basement freezer. After a gunman opened fire inside the store, the Mali native ran along with 15 customers down to the store basement. “When they ran down, I opened the door [to the freezer],” he told France’s BFMTV. He then shut off the freezer and turned out the light, leaving the customers hiding safely inside as he told them, “Stay calm here. I’m going out.” Once police killed the gunman and hostages were freed, some thanked Bathily. “They congratulated me,” he said.

Read it at The Standard

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/01/10/muslim-grocery-clerk-saved-hostages.html

January 10, 2015

Prosecutor In Eric Garner Case Running For Congress In New York

By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published JANUARY 10, 2015, 12:24 PM EST

Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, the prosecutor in the Eric Garner case, will run for the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY).

Grimm announced in December that he would resign from his seat after pleading guilty to tax evasion. Donovan announced last week that he was considering seeking the Republican nomination for the seat, and said that in the last few days he has received a lot of encouragement.

"I made that announcement after a 24 hour period in which my phone never stopped ringing with expressions of enthusiastic support from elected officials, party leaders, and residents of Staten Island and Brooklyn," he said in a statement Friday. "In the week since my last announcement the enthusiasm for my candidacy has only broadened and intensified, with expressions of support also from beyond the two boroughs."

The Staten Island GOP executive committee planned to meet Saturday to officially support Donovan in his bid for the nomination, according to the New York Daily News.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/eric-garner-prosecutor-run-congress

January 10, 2015

Hezbollah Chief: Extremists Harm Islam More Than Cartoons

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS Published JANUARY 9, 2015, 11:34 AM EST

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah group says Islamic extremists have insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad more than those who published satirical cartoons mocking the religion.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah did not directly mention the Paris attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead, but he said Islamic extremists who behead and slaughter people — a reference to the IS group's rampages in Iraq and Syria — have done more harm to Islam than anyone else in history. Nasrallah spoke Friday via video link to supporters gathered in southern Beirut.

Nasrallah's Shiite group is fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad. His remarks are in stark contrast to those of Sunni militants from the IS group and al-Qaida who have called for attacks on Western countries.

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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/sheikh-hassan-nasrallah-terrorist-attack

January 9, 2015

Dublin Priest Says He Is Gay During Mass -- Receives a standing ovation

A Dublin priest received a standing ovation after coming out as gay during Mass. Father Martin Dolan, a priest at the Church of St Nicholas of Myra for 15 years, called on parishioners to support same-sex marriage in an upcoming referendum in May. “I’m gay myself,” he added, prompting parishioners to stand up and clap for the priest. “We are all very proud of Father Martin,” said youth worker Liz O’Connor. “Because he has admitted that he is gay he doesn’t change the person that he was before it.”

Read it at Belfast Telegraph

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/01/09/dublin-priest-says-he-is-gay-during-mass.html

January 9, 2015

Manchin Mulls Another Bid for West Virginia Governor

January 9, 2015 By Taegan Goddard

Still frustrated by gridlock in Washington, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told the Associated Press that he will decide by this summer whether he will return to West Virginia to run for a possible third term as governor in 2016.

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http://politicalwire.com/2015/01/09/manchin-mulls-another-bid-for-west-virginia-governor/

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The link to the AP article has the details

January 8, 2015

Honda Hit With Record $70 Million Fine for Not Reporting Deaths

Source: New York Times

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has fined Honda Motor $70 million for failing to submit reports of fatal accidents and injuries to the government.

It is the largest amount that the safety regulator has ever levied against an automaker. The penalty stems from the automaker’s failure to report 1,729 death and injury claims to the agency for the past 11 years, and its failure to report certain warranty and other claims in the same period.

“Today’s announcement sends a very clear message to the entire industry that manufacturers have responsibility for the complete and timely reporting of this critical safety information,” Mark Rosekind, the new head of the agency, said Thursday.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/business/honda-fined-70-million-in-underreporting-safety-issues-to-government.html?emc=edit_na_20150108

January 4, 2015

DID CHRISTIE GO EASY ON A HUMAN TRAFFICKER JUST TO BUST A SMALL-TIME POL?

By Olivia Nuzzi

DID CHRISTIE GO EASY ON
A HUMAN TRAFFICKER JUST TO BUST A SMALL-TIME POL?

Chris Christie built his reputation as a crime-fighter. So why did he cut a deal with an accused sex slave ringleader—and send to jail a Democratic mayor, instead?

Beginning in 2003, members of a smuggling ring in Honduras approached girls, some just 14 years of age, and talked them into illegally entering the United States with the promise of waitressing jobs.

After making it over the border, during which time the smugglers allegedly raped some of the girls, they landed in Houston, Texas. They were temporarily held there before making the rest of their journey north to Hudson County, New Jersey.

That’s when the girls learned the truth. They were never going to be waitresses.

The girls worked in one of several bars, Puerto de la Union in Guttenberg or Puerto de la Union II and El Paisano in Union City, owned by Luisa Medrano. They were on the job for 48 hours per week, making just $240 -- money that would have to go to pay off their smuggling debts, which ranged from $10,000 to $20,000. For that tiny salary, the girls were required to dance and drink with male patrons, and they were encouraged to prostitute themselves.

"If you wanted a beer, it was $4 … If you wanted a 'special beer' it was $14," Francisco Arroyo, a truck driver and customer at Puerto de la Union, told the Hudson Reporter. "These girls would do everything to the guys. I couldn't believe it was happening."

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/feature/2014/did-christie-go-easy-on-a-human-trafficker-just-to-bust-a-small-time-pol.html

January 2, 2015

A Tale of Two Cities -- By Governor Mario Cuomo, Democratic National Convention, 1984

January 1, 2015

UPDATED Judge: Clerks have duty to issue same-sex marriage licenses

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge says that Florida’s county court clerks have a legal duty to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but he has stopped short of ordering them to do so.

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a ruling Thursday in Tallahassee federal court responding to requests to clarify his previous order that Florida’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. He stayed that order, but the stay is scheduled to expire at the end of the day Monday.

The association representing county clerks said the ruling applies only to Washington County, where a lawsuit filed by two men became a key basis for Hinkle’s order. Gay rights groups said Hinkle’s order applies statewide. Hinkle warned Thursday that clerks who don’t start issuing the licenses when the stay expires could face future lawsuits or other legal consequences.

“History records no shortage of instances when state officials defied federal court orders on issues of federal constitutional law. Happily, there are many more instances when responsible officials followed the law, like it or not. Reasonable people can debate whether the ruling in this case was correct and who it binds. There should be no debate, however, on the question whether a clerk of court may follow the ruling, even for marriage-license applicants who are not parties to this case,” Hinkle wrote. Hinkle said while his order doesn’t require a clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, “the Constitution requires the clerk to issue such licenses.”

-snip-

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2015/01/01/judge_clerks_have_duty_to_issue_same_sex_marriage_licenses/

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UPDATE:

Read the full decision, here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/251461351/4-14-cv-00107-109-Florida-Federal-Order