Conservatives cite study showing that people with Medicaid insurance have poorer health care outcomes than people without any insurance, science pushes back. “Medicaid recipients are the poorest, least educated and sickest of all patients. Those patients have the highest incidence of AIDS, depression, liver disease, neurologic disorders, psychoses and metastatic cancer, according to the study.” http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2017/jun/28/michael-needham/are-medicaid-patients-more-likely-die-uninsured-he/ And, conversely, many Americans who are uninsured are relatively young and/or healthy.
Former government ethics officials says Trump 2020 campaign fundraiser held at Trump International Hotel is a violation of ethics laws. “Norm Eisen, former Obama ethics czar and chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), charged in a series of tweets Wednesday night that the $35,000-per-ticket event—from which the press was barred—violated the domestic emoluments clause, which prohibits the president from receiving any compensation beyond the set yearly salary.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/29/flat-out-corrupt-protests-trump-headlines-trump-fundraiser-trump-hotel
Protesters opposing Trumpcare bill arrested around the country. “Demonstrators, including some with serious illnesses who would lose coverage for their medical care needs should the bill pass, staged sit-ins at the Senate offices of Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida, and others. Many chanted, “Kill the bill, don’t kill me”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/28/kill-bill-dont-kill-me-americans-disabilities-lead-fight-against-trumpcare
U.N. human rights officials warns Trump and May against using harsh rhetoric. “Following attacks in Manchester and London, May told reporters, “If human rights laws get in the way of doing these things, we will change those laws to make sure we can do them.” The High Commissioner called May’s remarks “a gift from a major Western leader to every authoritarian figure around the world who shamelessly violates human rights under the pretext of fighting terrorism”.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/06/28/top-un-human-rights-official-denounces-trumps-pro-torture-rhetoric
Silicon Valley takes action against low-income Californians living in RVs parked on city streets. “Amid complaints from residents, Palo Alto has announced it will enforce a rule that bans vehicles from parking in the same spot for longer than 72 hours.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/29/low-income-workers-rvs-palo-alto-california-homeless
Progressive campaign for a national health insurance plan needs better branding, says writer. “About half (53%) of Democrats say they have a very positive reaction to ‘Medicare-for-all’ compared with 21 percent who say the same for ‘single payer health insurance system,’” according to the Kaiser poll. But to be clear: “Medicare-for-all” and “single payer” refer to… the same exact thing.” https://theintercept.com/2017/06/28/memo-to-democrats-you-need-a-clear-message-for-universal-healthcare/
After Supreme Court ruling, modified travel ban goes into effect. “Under the temporary rules, citizens of Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen who already have visas will be allowed into the United States. But people from those countries who want new visas will now have to prove a close family relationship or an existing relationship with an entity like a school or business in the U.S.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/travel-ban-takes-effect-but-less-chaos-expected/2017/06/29/bdd9fd9e-5d2b-11e7-aa69-3964a7d55207_story.html
Republican activist allegedly told Russian hackers to deliver Clinton server emails to Wikileaks. “(Peter) Smith told the (Wall Street Journal) that he was unsure of the authenticity of emails hackers eventually did send to him and he told them to pass them to WikiLeaks.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/report-russian-hackers-spoke-about-clinton-emails-flynn/2017/06/29/042803e2-5d2a-11e7-aa69-3964a7d55207_story.html
White House panel chair Kris Kobach requests voter registration data from all 50 states. “The information requested includes the names, addresses, birth dates, political party (if recorded), last four digits of the voter’s Social Security Number and which elections the voter has participated in since 2006, for every registered voter in the country.” http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/29/534901343/white-house-panel-asks-states-for-their-voter-rolls
Philadelphia district attorney pleads guilty, allegedly helped businessmen with their cases in return for bribes. “The 50-year-old Williams was accused of illegally accepting gifts from two businessmen in exchange for legal favors.” http://www.cbsnews.com/news/seth-williams-philadelphia-da-pleads-guilty-quits-and-is-sent-immediately-to-jail/
House Appropriations Committee passes motion to cancel post-9/11 “War on Terror” military authorizations. “(Barbara) Lee’s amendment would repeal the 2001 authorization within 240 days of the enactment of appropriations for fiscal year 2018 — forcing Congress to take up a new one.” http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/29/congress-vote-authorize-war-islamic-state-240095
State of New York oks unregulated ride hailing apps, cab drivers gripped by sense of foreboding. “Independent cab owner Harunur Bhuiyan had been lined up and waiting three hours for fares across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown on Thursday when he saw a Lyft driver zoom up, pick up a passenger and drive away.” http://buffalonews.com/2017/06/29/uber/
Study finds that pesticides harm bees. “In particular, (neonicotinoid) pesticides reduce honeybees’ ability to survive their winter hibernation, say researchers.” https://www.nature.com/news/largest-ever-study-of-controversial-pesticides-finds-harm-to-bees-1.22229
Citizen Review Board votes to reopen Keith Scott shooting investigation. “A review board Tuesday found “substantial evidence of error” in a North Carolina police department’s decision that the fatal shooting of a black man by an officer last year was justified, and scheduled another hearing on the matter in August.” http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-charlotte-police-shooting-20170627-story.html
Protestors demand third trial for police officer who shot unarmed motorist. “(Tensing) was a University of Cincinnati police officer when he shot DuBose during a 2015 traffic stop.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/protest-planned-demand-3rd-ohio-trial-police-shooting-48328052
No dash or body camera video in shooting death of Washington motorist Giovonn Joseph-McDade who was fleeing from police. “Des Moines police, who are conducting the investigation into the police shooting, say that a Kent officer opened fire after the driver allegedly drove toward the officer as he began to approach the car.” https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/06/29/25258274/there-wont-be-dashcam-footage-to-show-what-happened-between-police-and-giovonn-joseph-mcdade
Indianapolis police shoot unarmed motorist Aaron Bailey after he crashes during pursuit. “They say officers chased the vehicle and, after it crashed into a fence, shot the man.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article158859274.html
Phoenix reportedly pays $1.5 million settlement after police officer shoots man delivering fast food in the back. “(Rumain) Brisbon had “exercised his constitutional right to keep walking without engaging in conversation with defendant Rine,” the lawsuit noted.” http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix-approves-15-million-settlement-for-family-of-rumain-brisbon-unarmed-black-man-shot-by-police-9455485
Houston settles lawsuit over shooting of unarmed suspect, reportedly pays only $260,000 to family. “Rosemon shot Releford because, according to the officer, Releford had a hand behind his back and Rosemon feared he had a gun. Rosemon shot him a second time about one minute later, because he saw him try to get up.” http://www.houstonpress.com/news/city-will-pay-family-260000-after-houston-cop-kills-unarmed-man-9563361
NSA “EternalBlue” cyberweapon reportedly used again in latest ransomware attack. “What makes the rapid escalation of Petya both surprising and alarming is its similarity to the recent worldwide WannaCry ransomware crisis, primarily in its use of NSA exploit EternalBlue to spread through networks.” https://www.wired.com/story/petya-ransomware-outbreak-eternal-blue/
South Korean government alleged plotted to remove Kim Jong Un from power. “Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with (Geun-hye) Park’s North Korea policy, that Park had signed off on a plot to remove the North’s leader in 2015 and the plan was orchestrated by the South’s spy agency.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-execution-idUSKBN19J1KN
NATO agrees to send more of its troops to Afghanistan. “NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday 15 nations will contribute to the increase, though he did not say how many additional troops NATO members would send.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/headlines/nato_to_send_more_troops_to_afghanistan Remind me, which member of NATO is under attack by the Taliban?
Trump nominee to be top lawyer at Dept. of Transportation is same lawyer who drafted legal defense of Bush administration’s detainee abuse policy. “In 2005, Bradbury authored memos justifying the Bush administration’s use of torture in interrogations.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/headlines/lawyer_who_authored_torture_memos_grilled_at_confirmation_hearing
Historian claims radical right’s endgame is to protect the gains of the very wealthy. “Democracy must be, in effect, shackled, to prevent the majority will from being expressed, because it would take too much from people of great wealth, and that would be a problem for them.” https://www.democracynow.org/2017/6/29/republican_push_to_replace_obamacare_reflects
Senior technician at nuclear power plant reportedly falsified safety records. “A senior radiation protection technician at the closed Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant deliberately falsified safety records and failed to check workers for radiation exposure for eight months last year, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” http://wtop.com/government/2017/06/nuke-commission-safety-records-falsified-at-vermont-yankee/
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