Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalMAGA Grammys dress leads to sales spike
Source: The Hill
A singer who sported a President Trump-inspired dress to the Grammy Awards is seeing a sudden spike in sales.
Joy Villa posed in a blue gown bearing the commander in chief’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again!” — as well as his name — at the annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Shortly after she unveiled the pro-Trump frock, Villa’s record, “I Make the Static,” jumped to the top spot on Amazon’s list of top 100 digital paid albums. The collection of tunes also leapt to No. 7 on iTunes’ top album chart, according to Fox News.
Some reviews of the album noted the 25-year-old performer’s headline-making attire.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/319200-maga-grammys-dress-leads-to-sales-spike
Palm Beach hotelier says he's losing business as Trump visits, report says
Source: South Florida Business Journal
A Palm Beach business owner says he and others are being negatively impacted by land and air lockdowns caused by President Donald Trump's presence at Mar-a-Lago, according to a recent report from British Daily newspaper the Guardian.
“People will just say 'I’m not going to stay in the Palm Beaches, I don’t need the aggravation.' It’s going to grind our economy to a halt,” Jeff Greene, owner of the Tideline Ocean Resort, told the Guardian. The Secret Service requires roadways and airways around Mar-a-Lago to close when Trump visits.
Greene said he has lost bookings at the hotel, which is south of the private Mar-a-Lago resort where Trump hosted Japan's prime minister and spent the weekend. Greene is worried that restaurants and other hotels will be negatively impacted by what's expected to be regular closures in the area throughout Trump's presidency.
It has been widely reported that Trump and the First Family are living at Trump Tower in New York and will not be living full time at the White House.
Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2017/02/13/palm-beach-hotelier-says-hes-losing-business-as.html?ana=twt
How ritual chicken sacrifices in Miami helped halt Trumps travel ban
In ruling against President Donald Trump’s “Muslim travel ban,” a trio of federal judges relied in part on a distinctly South Florida court case — one that granted religious protections for the ritual sacrifice of chickens and goats.
The unanimous ruling Thursday night upholding a halt to the White House executive order cited a famous 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a Hialeah law banning Santería animal sacrifices. Justices found that the city ordinance infringed on constitutionally protected freedoms.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit court made clear that judges can consider outside statements made by elected leaders — in this case, President Donald Trump himself — in trying to figure out if the intent of a government action was to discriminate against a religious group.
“In Hialeah in the 1990s, it was Santería. With Trump, it’s Muslims,” said University of Virginia law professor Douglas Laycock, an expert on religious liberties who successfully argued the Hialeah case.
more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article131983429.html
Senate Dems want details on Trump's use of personal smartphone
Source: The Hill
A pair of Senate Democrats voiced concerns about reports that President Trump is using a unsecured personal smartphone, arguing it's a security risk.
Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Tom Carper (Del.) — two Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — released a letter on Monday to Defense Secretary James Mattis asking for details on the president's phone.
"The national security risks of compromising a smartphone used by a senior government official, such as the President of the United States, are considerable," they wrote in the letter.
They added that "hackers are sometimes successful even when smartphone users take recommended precautions and restrict access to their personal information. These vulnerabilities are among the reasons why national security agencies discourage the use of personal devices."
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/319218-senate-dems-worried-about-trumps-use-of-personal-smartphone
Warren hammers Labor nominee with 83 questions ahead of hearing
Source: The Hill
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is grilling President Trump’s Labor secretary nominee, Andy Puzder, ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday.
Warren sent a 28-page letter to the fast food CEO Monday with 83 questions that included queries about his opposition to minimum wage laws, his company’s history of labor and discrimination lawsuits, and his potential conflicts of interest.
"My staff's review of your 16-year tenure as CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc., the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., reveals that you've made your fortune by squeezing the very workers you'd be charged with protecting as Labor Secretary out of wages and benefits," Warren wrote.
"Your company's record of prolific labor law abuses and discrimination suits — the most of any major burger chain — gives me great pause given that as Labor Secretary you'd be charged with enforcing these very laws.”
Read more: http://thehill.com/regulation/labor/319220-sen-warren-hammers-puzder-with-83-questions-ahead-of-hearing
200 patient groups ask Price to keep protections for those with pre-existing conditions
Source: The Hill
More than 200 patient groups are asking the newly confirmed Health and Human Services secretary to preserve key ObamaCare protections, including one that guarantees coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.
In a letter to Tom Price, I Am Essential, a coalition of patient and community organizations, says certain ObamaCare provisions have provided improved access to care to millions living with chronic and serious health conditions.
"If they lose access and coverage for even one day, their health and well-being can be immediately jeopardized," the letter reads.
"Therefore, providing them with continuous coverage and consistent care and treatment must be your number one priority."
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/319224-200-patient-groups-ask-price-to-keep-protections-for-those-with-pre
Former GOP rep to Trump: 'Stop complaining and do your job'
Source: The Hill
Former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) is urging President Trump to stop complaining and focus instead on serving the country.
"He needs to stop complaining and do your job. Stop taking on fake news, stop taking on the judiciary, stop taking on senators, John McCain. Do your job," Jolly said on CNN's "New Day."
"You asked for this job. Stop complaining. Do your job, because Republicans should be proud to have a Republican president."
Over the weekend, the president claimed that the media wouldn't report on pro-Trump crowds outside his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, while his administration repeated Trump's claim, presented without evidence, that massive voter fraud cost him the popular vote.
Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/319191-former-gop-rep-to-trump-stop-complaining-and-do-your-job
Governor makes defense of economic incentives, tourism programs
Not even a week after the Florida House voted to kill both the state's job incentives program and its tourism marketing arm, Gov. Rick Scott is fighting back.
The Republican governor has stops planned in Cape Coral, Tampa and Flagler Beach today where he will meet with business leaders. In each city, he's holding a roundtable discussion about how important Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida have been to the state - a counter argument to House leaders who last week blasted both agencies as "corporate welfare" that puts the power in the hands of the government to pick winners and losers.
On Wednesday, the House Careers & Competition Subcommittee voted 10-5 to kill both agencies, despite Scott's warnings the move would hurt the economic momentum Florida has had since he was elected in 2010. Only one Republican on the panel defended Scott's position and the two programs.
The House plan face major obstacles still. Even the biggest critics of Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida in the Senate have said while both agencies need to be recast, they shouldn't be eliminated completely.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2017/02/governor-makes-defense-of-economic-incentives-tourism-programs.html
Automakers ask Trump to reconsider car emissions standards
Source: The Hill
The heads of several major automakers are asking President Trump to reconsider greenhouse gas standards for vehicles instituted during the Obama administration.
CEOs from General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler and the American arms of several international manufacturers sent Trump a letter last week asking him to change the fuel standards, Reuters reports.
The letter asked Trump to reconsider the standards “without prejudging the outcome,” and said Trump has a “personal focus on steps to strengthen the economy in the United States and your commitment to jobs in our sector.”
It said the rule “threaten[s] future production levels, putting hundreds of thousands and perhaps as many as a million jobs at risk." Automakers also raised the issue during a meeting with Trump in January.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/319196-automakers-ask-trump-to-reconsider-car-emissions-standards
FAMU's Robinson to attend White House discussion on black colleges and universities
Florida A&M University interim president Larry Robinson will be attending a summit this month on historically black colleges and universities with President Trump’s staff and Republican lawmakers.
Robinson and other HBCU presidents were invited to the summit by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The summit is scheduled for Feb. 27-Feb. 28 at the White House. Among those expected to meet with university presidents are U.S. Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), along with Omarosa Manigault, director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the Trump administration, and staff from the Thurgood Marshall fund.
"The university is pleased with the invitation of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to participate in such a meaningful conversation about higher education in America,” Robinson said. “Institutions of higher education, historically black colleges and universities specifically, play a major role in the advancement and success of our great nation.”
more: http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/02/12/famus-robinson-attend-white-house-discussion-black-colleges-and-universities/97768950/
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