Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalCity of Seattle found negligent in deadly 2020 CHOP shooting
Source: KIRO-TV
The City of Seattle was found negligent for the killing of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., who was shot in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) in 2020, The Post Millennial reported Thursday.
Seattle was found liable for a “state-created danger” after abandoning the Seattle Police Department (SPD) East Precinct, fortifying the zone with barriers, and prohibiting police from entering the area. Plaintiffs argued this allowed violence to escalate and delayed aid to Mays Jr.
The city will have to pay Mays Jr.’s family more than $30 million in damages — $4 million to the estate of Mays Jr. and $26 million to Mays Sr., according to The Seattle Times.
Antonio Mays Sr., Mays Jr.’s father, filed a lawsuit against Seattle in 2022, claiming the city failed to provide emergency services to protesters in CHOP.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/city-seattle-found-negligent-deadly-233002972.html
El Portal Councilman sparks outrage after using N-Word twice in public meeting; calls for apology, resignation grow
An El Portal Village councilmember is under fire for using the N-word twice during a meeting.
Councilmember Anders Urbom says he was quoting someone to describe where he thinks the country is heading.
At the end of last week's planning and zoning meeting, Urbom wanted to bring up an issue he's seen in the community, border patrol agents stopping people.
"It just seemed odd that a CPB officer was doing a traffic stop," he said. At the end of his retelling of the traffic stop, he continued on.
more: https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/el-portal-councilman-sparks-outrage-after-using-n-word-twice-in-public-meeting-calls-for-apology-resignation-grow/
Germany's Merz floats possibility of EU-India trade deal by end of January
Source: Reuters
AHMEDABAD, India, Jan 12 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz floated on Monday the possibility that the European Union and India could sign a landmark free trade agreement by the end of January, a move that could reshape global trade ties as protectionism rises and U.S.-India talks remain stalled.
Top EU leaders would travel to India to seal the deal if negotiations wrap up in time, Merz told reporters in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Monday after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"In any case, they will take another major step forward to ensure that this free trade agreement comes into being," Merz said during his first trip to India since becoming chancellor.
European Union officials have yet to comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/merz-germany-wants-closer-security-cooperation-with-india-reduce-russia-reliance-2026-01-12/?lctg=67e20b8a81092991ea0c50e0
Supreme Court Resolves Split Over Federal Inmates' Habeas Rights
Source: Bloomberg
A provision of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act requiring federal courts to dismiss certain previously raised habeas corpus claims applies only to state prisoners’ applications, the US Supreme Court said Friday.
“AEDPA is replete with examples of Congress treating state and federal prisoners differently,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the 5-4 court.
The decision resolves a six-to-three circuit split that the justices were eager to resolve over the extent of the law’s applicability.
Significant structural barriers resulted in the question presented in petitioner Michael Bowe’s case having a history of evading review.
Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/supreme-court-resolves-split-over-federal-inmates-habeas-rights
Venezuela to release a 'significant number' of prisoners as gesture to 'seek peace'
Source: ABC News
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela will release a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country, the head of Venezuela’s national assembly said Thursday.
Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released.
Despite mass detentions following the tumultuous 2024 election, Venezuela’s government maintains it doesn’t keep political prisoners.
The U.S. government and the country’s opposition have demanded the release of opposition figures and critics.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/venezuela-release-significant-number-prisoners-gesture-seek-peace-129026156
Congress passes Lumbee recognition bill, heads to Trump's desk
Source: Yahoo News
Lumbee Chairman John Lowery testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Nov. 5, 2025. (Photo from senate.gov)
The Senate approved federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina on Wednesday as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, following passage by the House last week.
In a vote Wednesday, a broad bipartisan coalition of senators approved the bill in a 77-20 vote, following a 312-112 vote in the House last Wednesday. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk, where he can now deliver on a pledge for recognition that he made during his campaign stops in North Carolina in both 2020 and 2024.
The Lumbee are set to become the largest federally recognized tribe east of the Mississippi River with more than 55,000 enrolled members and only the second with full federal recognition based in North Carolina after the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/congress-passes-lumbee-recognition-bill-231924592.html
Trump, Clinton, Gates included in Epstein photo trove
Source: Politico
Photos from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein tie the late, convicted sex offender to President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, tech billionaire Bill Gates and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
These men and others are featured in the roughly 95,000 photos the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has received from the Epstein estate as part of its ongoing investigation. House Democrats publicly released select 19 photos Friday morning.
“It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends,” said the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, in a statement. “These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.”
The White House and other individuals in the photographs beyond Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/12/trump-clinton-gates-included-in-epstein-photo-trove-00688628?experience_id=EXYF89KVT5UQ&is_login_link=true&template_id=OTJIR2CRKUD6&variant_id=OTV632IE7RALS
Easton City Councilwoman says she filed police report over 'harassment' at Christmas parade
EASTON, Pa. — Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana said late Friday that she has filed a formal police report after being subjected to "aggressive harassment, intimidation and politically motivated threats" during the city Christmas Parade.
"While leading the parade in her official capacity, Councilwoman Sultana was confronted by an individual who approached her in an angry and hostile manner," Sultana said in a news release.
The person "shouted derogatory remarks, invoked her past political opponent and told her 'You shouldn’t be here,' and 'that you have no shame,'” Sultana said in the release.
Sultana said the person continued "approaching her, escalating the situation and creating a threatening, unsafe atmosphere at a family event attended by children, seniors and city staff."
More: https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/easton/easton-city-councilwoman-says-she-filed-police-report-over-harassmant-incident-at-parade
Epstein emails show close connection with MIT's Noam Chomsky
Source: WBUR
Emails show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had a tight friendship with MIT professor Noam Chomsky that spanned discussions about vacation, politics and included an apparent letter of support from Chomsky.
The emails were part of a trove of documents released last week by the U.S. House Oversight Committee detailing communications between Epstein and powerful figures across politics, academia and business.
A WBUR review of the emails show despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute, Chomsky stayed in close contact with Epstein into at least 2017. Chomsky is professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, noted activist and philosopher.
In an undated letter addressed simply "To whom it may concern," Chomsky raves about Epstein’s talents and connections. It’s unclear if the letter of support was sent to anyone. However, Chomsky likely wrote the letter in 2017 or there after, because he signed it stating he was a laureate professor at University of Arizona, a position he only began in 2017.
Read more: https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/11/20/emails-epstein-mit-harvard-trump-chomsky
Jeffries stalls effort to restore federal workers' bargaining rights
Source: Politico
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ staff on Wednesday night blocked an effort to sidestep Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on a bipartisan bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for thousands of federal workers, according to four people granted anonymity to describe the sensitive matter.
House leadership has stalled on scheduling a vote for the “Protect America’s Workforce Act” since it was introduced in April. Lawmakers have introduced a discharge petition that would allow the bill to immediately get a floor vote if 218 people sign on.
But Jeffries’ staff stopped the newly confirmed Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) from signing the petition on Wednesday. An aide pulled Grijalva aside moments before she approached the clerk’s desk to add her name, according to a video of the House floor reviewed by POLITICO.
Two of the people, who were granted anonymity to share private details, said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) was poised to sign on if Grijalva did — a move that would have given the petition the numbers needed to advance. But Democrats privately argue that Lawler only wants to attach his name to the effort if he can be the 218th and decisive supporter, allowing him to claim credit as a pro-union Republican.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/13/hakeem-jeffries-federal-workers-union-rights-bill-00650491
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