Illegal immigration

A Black couple is suing the Rosenberg Police Department in federal court over alleged civil and disability rights violations that occurred during a traffic stop in November 2020. Attorneys from the National Police Accountability Project, who are representing the couple in court, say the alleged violations in the case reflect RPD's ongoing pattern of conducting searches and detentions without probable cause. According to the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Houston, on the evening of November 6, 2020, RPD received a "weapons call," claiming that a group of Black teenagers had flashed guns at another group of kids in Rosenberg, Texas, a town of about 30,000 people located just southeast of Houston proper. Regina Armstead, 57, and her husband, Michael Lewis, 67, were driving back to their Rosenberg home after grabbing dinner at Captain D's Restaurant nearby when four RPD officers responding to the weapons call pulled them over, according to court documents. The suit … [Read more...] about Black couple suing Houston-area police department for excessive force, illegal search and seizure

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday proposed a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, the latest attempt by Congress to formulate ideas on how to oversee a multibillion-dollar industry that has been racked by collapsing prices and lenders halting operations. The regulations offered by Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow and top Republican member John Boozman would authorize the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to be the default regulator for cryptocurrencies. That would be in contrast with bills proposed by other members of Congress and consumer advocates, who have suggested giving the authority to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bill by Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, and Boozman, of Arkansas, would require all cryptocurrency platforms — including traders, dealers, brokers and sites that hold crypto for customers — to … [Read more...] about New crypto oversight legislation arrives as industry craters

(THE CONVERSATION) White nationalists keep showing up in the hearings of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Evidence is mounting that white nationalist groups who want to establish an all-white state played a significant role in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five dead and dozens wounded. Thus far, the hearings “have documented how the Proud Boys helped lead the insurrectionist mob into the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C,” journalist James Risen wrote in the Intercept. Based on July 12, 2022, testimony from a former Oath Keepers member, the white nationalist group coordinated with the Three Percenters, another group of white nationalists, and the Proud Boys in mobilizing their extremists' groups to rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, as asked by President Trump in his Dec. 16, 2020, tweet. As a cultural anthropologist who has studied these movements for over a decade, I know that membership in these … [Read more...] about Fueled by virtually unrestricted social media access, white nationalism is on the rise and attracting violent young white men

MILAN (AP) — Italy’s former firebrand interior minister, Matteo Salvini, is campaigning to get his old job back with a stop Thursday on Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa, the gateway for tens of thousands of migrants arriving in Italy each year across the perilous central Mediterranean Sea. Salvini is sounding the alarm that the migrant reception center on the island, which would rather be known as a summertime tourist destination, is “collapsing,” with more than 1,500 people crammed into a space designed, by his count, for 357. “An absolute shame for Italy and for Europe,” Salvini said, accusing his successor of hiding the actual numbers of migrants coming through Lampedusa with transfers to Sicily and elsewhere. Salvini is making immigration a key part of his campaign for Italy's parliamentary election next month. The Sept. 25th vote came after his right-wing anti-migrant League party, along with two other parties, yanked their support for outgoing Premier Mario … [Read more...] about Italy’s Salvini puts focus on migration ahead of Sept. vote

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez was arrested Thursday in the U.S. territory on corruption charges, marking the first time that a former leader of the island faces federal charges, an official told The Associated Press. Two other unidentified people were arrested along with her, said the official, who was not authorized to talk about the federal case. Juan Rosado-Reynés, a spokesman for Vázquez, told the AP he did not have immediate comment. In mid-May, Vázquez's attorney told reporters that he and his client were preparing for possible charges as the former governor at the time denied any wrongdoing: "I can tell the people of Puerto Rico that I have not committed any crime, that I have not engaged in any illegal or incorrect conduct, as I have always said.” Vázquez was the second woman to serve as Puerto Rico's governor and the first former governor to face federal charges. Former Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was charged with campaign finance … [Read more...] about Official: Ex Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vazquez arrested

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 11 DALLAS (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to receive a big welcome in the U.S. on Thursday from conservative admirers barely a week after the backlash at home and in Europe over anti-migrant remarks that one of his closest associates compared to Nazi rhetoric. Orban's headline slot at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, one of the nation's largest gatherings of conservative activists, has raised concerns about Republicans embracing an autocrat who has been criticized for undermining democratic institutions and consolidating power in his own country. Other speakers include former President Donald Trump, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Republican candidates fresh off GOP primary election victories Tuesday. Orban's invitation to CPAC reflects conservatives' growing … [Read more...] about Hungary’s autocratic PM Orban addressing US conservatives

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 11 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the elected state prosecutor of Tampa on Thursday for pledging not to enforce the state's new 15-week abortion ban and for supporting gender transition treatments for minors. The Republican governor announced the suspension of Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren at a news conference in the county's sheriff's office, where DeSantis and law enforcement officers criticized Warren for not prosecuting certain crimes. “When you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty, you have neglected your duty and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties," DeSantis said to cheers. The suspension comes as DeSantis runs for reelection in Florida and builds his national profile as a … [Read more...] about Florida governor suspends prosecutor over new abortion law

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have agreed to eleventh-hour changes to their marquee economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing the major impediment to pushing one of President Joe Biden’s paramount election-year priorities through the chamber in coming days. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., a centrist seen as the pivotal vote in the 50-50 chamber, said in a statement that she had agreed to revamping some of the measure's tax and energy provisions and was ready to “move forward” on the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he believed his party’s energy, environment, health and tax compromise “will receive the support of the entire" Democratic membership of the chamber. His party needs unanimity and Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote to move the measure through the Senate over certain solid opposition from … [Read more...] about Democrats say they’ve reached agreement on economic package

WASHINGTON - Bernie Sanders was jubilant. It was July 2021, and the Vermont senator had just helped finalize a $3.5 trillion blueprint to overhaul the country's health-care, education, climate, immigration and tax laws. "This is the most significant piece of legislation . . . since the Great Depression," he told reporters after a round of negotiations that stretched late into the night. "A lot of work remains." More than a year later, though, the sprawling package Sanders once envisioned is far smaller in size and scope. And as Democrats prepare to hold a key early vote on the bill, the senator himself has changed his tone - from a proud architect into a potent mix of supporter and critic. "You can do something significant with 50 votes," Sanders said in an interview Thursday, referring to the special legislative process Democrats plan to use to move the bill over Republican opposition. "Does this bill do that? No. Might it be better than nothing? Yes." For Sanders, the new … [Read more...] about Sanders grapples with missed opportunity in Democrats’ economic plan