Suburban NY county considers letting police sue protesters

Source: ABC News

Lawmakers in a suburban New York county are set to vote Monday on a proposal that would allow police officers to sue protesters and collect financial damages — a move civil rights activists say is payback for demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd last year in Minneapolis.

Newsday reports that the bill being considered by the Nassau County Legislature would make police officers and other first responders a protected class under the county’s Human Rights Law, which currently bars discrimination based on race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. No other professions are protected under the Human Rights Law.

The bill would allow a lawyer for the Long Island county to sue protesters on behalf of officers and calls for fines of up to $25,000 for anyone who harasses, menaces or injures an officer. The fine amount would be doubled if the offending behavior happened “in the course of participating in a riot,” the bill says.

Civil rights lawyer Frederick Brewington told reporters Friday that the bill violates free speech rights and, if passed, will have a chilling effect on protesters. The NAACP said it will bring members to Monday’s vote.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/suburban-ny-county-considers-letting-police-sue-protesters-79191448

Sinema says she opposes $3.5T price tag for spending bill

Source: The Hill

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said Wednesday that she does not support the $3.5 trillion price tag for a sweeping spending package at the center of President Biden’s legislative agenda.

Sinema, in a statement to the Arizona Republic, said she would vote to start debate on the budget resolution, which lays the groundwork for the Democrat-only spending package, but wants changes, including to the cost of the legislation.

“I have ... made clear that while I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion — and in the coming months, I will work in good faith to develop this legislation with my colleagues and the administration to strengthen Arizona’s economy and help Arizona’s everyday families get ahead,” Sinema said in a statement to the newspaper.

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Sinema’s statement is the latest sign of the headaches awaiting Democrats as they try to craft legislation packed with some of their biggest priorities.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/565304-sinema-says-she-opposes-35t-price-tag-for-spending-bill

Couple Charged Over Gender Reveal Party That Allegedly Started California Wildfire

Source: Law & Crime

A couple has been charged with starting a California wildfire that killed a firefighter. Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angela Renee Jimenez were indicted Monday, according to San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson in a press conference.

The conflagration, which authorities call the El Dorado Fire, started in the park of the same name on September 5, 2020, near Yucaipa, California, according to officials. It burned 22,680 acres, and killed Charlie Edward Morton, who worked with the San Bernardino National Forest for 14 years. Five homes and 15 structures were destroyed; four residences were damaged. The wildfire also resulted in 13 injuries. Two firefighters were hurt, Anderson said.

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Refugio and Angela Jimenez are charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures, and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another, Anderson said. They pleaded not guilty to charges, he said. The prosecution requested a $50,000 bail, but the couple was released on their own recognizance

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/crime/couple-charged-over-gender-reveal-party-that-allegedly-started-california-wildfire/?utm_source=mostpopular

CEOs sound the alarm on inflation

Source: Axios

CEOs are speaking up about what we’ve seen in the government data: inflation. And some of them warn elevated levels of inflation could persist.

Why it matters: Prices for goods and services have been rising at a historic pace, a phenomenon that many economists have characterized as transitory.

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"The inflation could be worse than people think," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on an earnings call Tuesday. “I think it'll be a little bit worse than what the Fed thinks. I don't think it's only temporary."

"[Policymakers] are saying jobs are more important than consumerism," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told CNBC on Wednesday. "That is going to probably lead to systematically more inflation."

"Is there somewhat more inflation out there? There is," PepsiCo CFO Hugh Johnston said on an earnings call Tuesday. "Are we going to be pricing to deal with it? We certainly are."

"Will Conagra take list pricing increases? The short answer is, yes," Conagra CEO Sean Connolly said. "And we have more pricing coming."

Read more: https://www.axios.com/ceos-warn-inflation-alarm-sound-da5e2dcf-af16-4ca4-a1de-bdd03fbbe775.html

Joe Manchin says he's 'very, very' disturbed about reconciliation proposals on climate change

Source: CNN

Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrats' most pivotal swing vote, expressed his most serious concerns yet about a key element in their party's $3.5 trillion sweeping economic plan: Provisions dealing with climate change that have been sought by progressives.

Manchin, who hails from coal-producing West Virginia, told CNN that he's "very, very disturbed" by provisions he believes would eliminate fossil fuels -- a warning sign for Democrats who need all 50 members of their caucus to sign off on the plan in order to get it through the Senate. But the climate provisions are key to getting support from liberals, particularly in the House.

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"Because if they're eliminating fossils, and I'm finding out there's a lot of language in places they're eliminating fossils, which is very, very disturbing, because if you're sticking your head in the sand, and saying that fossil (fuel) has to be eliminated in America, and they want to get rid of it, and thinking that's going to clean up the global climate, it won't clean it up all. If anything, it would be worse."

Democrats still need to draft their bill to expand the social safety net, which would go through the budget reconciliation process by September and cannot be filibustered, meaning it can advance with just 51 votes rather than 60.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/14/politics/joe-manchin-reconciliation-climate-change/index.html

Manchin draws red line in infrastructure talks

Source: The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) warned on Tuesday that he wants both a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a separate Democratic-only bill to be fully paid for.

“I think everything should be paid for. We’ve put enough free money out,” Manchin told reporters.

Manchin’s demand, if he sticks to it, could create real problems in Democratic negotiations.

The party in a matter of weeks is seeking to exercise a complicated legislative goal of winning Senate approval of both a bipartisan infrastructure measure opposed by many progressives and a budget resolution that will tee up a larger Democratic bill filled with spending priorities. The latter bill will not win any GOP support and will need to pass with just Democratic votes, including Manchin's.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/562746-manchin-draws-red-line-in-infrastructure-talks

South African military deployed as ex-leader Zuma jailed and looting spreads

Source: CNN

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed the country's military to restore calm after days of violent protests and looting sparked by the imprisonment of former leader Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa addressed the nation Monday evening, calling for calm after at least six people died in the violence and hundreds were arrested. As Zuma's lawyers argued for a sentence reduction Monday, protests and looting centered in two provinces escalated.

"We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and ensure they face the full might of the law," Ramaphosa said in a national address, as local media played live pictures of malls being looted in Durban.

"It is this rule of law that enables our society to function and our economy to develop in the interests of the people of South Africa." Ramaphosa acknowledged the protests and looting may have begun with political grievances, but that criminal elements had taken over.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/12/africa/zuma-looting-south-africa-intl/index.html

Drop box use soared in Democratic areas before Georgia voting law

Source: AJC

Ballot drop boxes saw heavy usage in mostly Democratic metro Atlanta counties during their rollout last year, far more than in rural Republican areas of Georgia, election records show.

The state’s new voting law, passed by the Republican majority of the General Assembly, limits the availability of the boxes in future elections, especially in Democratic areas where voters relied on drop boxes.

About 56% of absentee voters in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties returned their ballots in drop boxes before November’s election, according to ballot transfer forms.

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In metro Atlanta’s four most populated counties, more than 305,000 out of 547,000 absentee voters deposited their ballots in drop boxes. By comparison, a sample of 11 smaller counties across Georgia found 32% of absentee voters used drop boxes, with the rest delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/drop-box-use-soared-in-democratic-areas-before-georgia-voting-law/N4ZTGHLWD5BRBOUKBHTUCFVOEU/

So what are the chances Stephen Breyer announces his retirement today?

Pelosi appoints Liz Cheney to House select committee investigating Jan. 6

Source: Axios

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is one of eight members she has selected to serve on the select committee that will investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Why it matters: The former GOP conference chair was ousted from leadership for her opposition to Donald Trump's election lies. She is the only Republican hand-picked by Pelosi to serve on the 13-member committee.

The committee will consolidate several House investigations, and was formed after Republicans blocked a bill that would have established a bipartisan 9/11-style commission to probe the attack.
The remaining five members will be picked in consultation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), though he has not yet indicated whether other Republicans intend to participate.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/pelosi-jan-6-committee-members-cheney-356695a9-4006-4708-852c-84c89f93bb1e.html