Trump administration reportedly looking for ways to derail special prosecutor’s Russia election meddling investigation. “They are actively compiling a list of Mueller’s alleged potential conflicts of interest, which they say could serve as a way to stymie his work, according to several of Trump’s legal advisers.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-lawyers-seek-to-undercut-muellers-russia-investigation/2017/07/20/232ebf2c-6d71-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html?utm_term=.c79240582ba5
155 arrested at Washington D.C. health care protests for demonstrating outside “free speech zones”. “…the arrests were made after requests to stop demonstrating were ignored. Under the District of Columbia’s laws, it is illegal to demonstrate in the buildings of the Capitol complex.” http://wtnh.com/2017/07/19/around-155-arrested-in-capitol-protests/?preview_id=493575
Amnesty International calls court ruling to block cleared refugees under Trump travel ban “cruel and discriminatory”. “The decision from the Supreme Court, said Naureen Shah, Amnesty International USA senior director of campaigns, “jeopardizes the safety of thousands of people across the world including vulnerable families fleeing war and violence.”” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/19/amnesty-slams-latest-supreme-court-ruling-cruel-and-discriminatory-muslim-ban
Nominee for FBI director post refuses to commit on improving agency’s “use of force” data from police departments. “The fact that Mr. Wray offered no guarantee that he would prioritize data collection, and failed to respond to the question on officer-involved shooting data, raises serious concerns.” http://www.openthegovernment.org/node/5559
Senate bill would punish Americans who organize boycotts of Israel. “Violators of the law “would be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison” according to the ACLU’s letter.” http://amp.gothamist.com/amp/articles/create?article_id=596fc5fc25fc1e0001ff2d5e
Rural newspaper fires cartoonist for criticizing profits made by agriculture corporations. “…hopefully my children and my grandchildren will see that this last cartoon published by Farm News out of Fort Dodge, Iowa, will shine light on how fragile our rights to free speech and free press really are in the county.” http://www.orrazz.com/2016/05/long-time-iowa-farm-cartoonist-fired.html?m=1
Former chair of the Democratic National Committee calls Russians “The Communists” in tweet about demands by Putin government that U.S. return their diplomatic compounds. “Even if she had somehow managed to go all the way from the fall of the Soviet Union until last year without learning that Russia is not a communist country, there is simply no way she still believes that after having made Russia her bread and butter since July of last year.” https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/donna-brazile-just-called-russians-the-communists-and-it-wasnt-an-accident-b7455b48278
Obama more popular than ever, Clinton and Trump not so much. “More than a fifth of Clinton voters (20%) say they have an unfavorable view of her. By comparison, just 8 percent of likely Clinton voters felt that way in the final Bloomberg poll before the election, and just 6 percent of Trump’s voters now say they view him unfavorably.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/finally-a-poll-trump-will-like-clinton-even-more-unpopular/ar-BBEFen0?ocid=sf
Rights group urges voters to contact Congress over warrantless surveillance program. “We have a chance to rein in mass surveillance, by demanding Congress support serious reforms of Section 702, like requiring a warrant to access our communications or preventing such communications from being swept up and stored in a database in the first place. If these reforms aren’t made, then Congress must let it (expire).” https://rightsanddissent.org/news/take-action-tell-congress-reform-reject-section-702-fisa-amendments-act/
Minneapolis police chief says officer who shot unarmed woman in her pajamas completed his required training without any problems. “Chief Janee Harteau says a review of Officer Mohamed Noor’s training in the wake of Saturday’s fatal shooting revealed no problems.” http://www.bnd.com/news/business/article162626848.html
Trump resorts reportedly file paperwork to import low-wage foreign workers. “Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and his golf course in Jupiter, Florida, have filed documents to bring in additional foreign workers under the H-2B visa program, which allows foreigners to fill temporary non-agriculture jobs in the United States that supposedly cannot be filled by US workers.” http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/20/politics/mar-a-lago-foreign-visas/index.html
Egyptian government reportedly rounding up Uighur students at request of Chinese government. “Human Rights Watch urged Egypt on Wednesday not to send Uighur detainees back to China, saying they faced “persecution and torture” there.” http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/fear-panic-egypt-arrests-chinese-uighur-students-170707051922204.html
Exxon appeals U.S. government fine for signing oil deal with sanctioned Russian. “Publicly available guidance on the Treasury’s website at the time of Exxon’s dealings with Sechin said Americans should ensure they do not enter into contracts signed by sanctioned individuals, OFAC said.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-exxon-mobil-usa-ukraine-idUSKBN1A51UH
Dutch police ran “dark net” drug website, administrator of a similar site died in jail after his arrest in Thailand. “They began running the Hansa site on June 20, impersonating its administrators, collecting usernames and passwords, logging data on thousands of drug sales and informing local police in nations where shipments would be arriving.” http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/20/justice-dept-announces-takedown-of-online-drug-mar/ Did Alexandre Cazes commit suicide or did he refuse to hand over his password?
Many workers at Indiana Carrier plant whose jobs were “saved” by Trump during election campaign are getting laid off. “The terminations are the first wave of about 630 planned before the end of the year as the company shifts work to Mexico.” http://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2017/07/19/carrier-lay-off-338-indianapolis-trumps-6-month-anniversary/493925001/ Sad!
Man released after 11 years in prison was mistakenly convicted based on testimony of a criminal profiler. “Without (his testimony), there was no evidence from which the jury might infer the motive.” http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-profiler-wrongful-conviction-20170720-htmlstory.html
Trump 2020 campaign has allegedly paid out $600,000 to Trump-owned businesses. “Nearly $400,000 of that campaign money went to rent at Trump Tower, with $90,000 going to the The Trump Corporation for “legal consulting,” nearly $60,000 to the Trump International Golf Club, $15,000 to the Trump International Hotel in DC, and about $1,700 to Trump-brand bottled water, among various payments.” https://www.wired.com/story/trump-2020-campaign-money
Grand jury issues indictments in death of prisoner in Oklahoma jail. “A federal lawsuit alleges (Anthony Huff) was in the restraint chair for more than 48 hours without the proper amount of food, water or breaks.” http://newsok.com/article/5556878
Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act of 2017 introduced in U.S. Senate. “Too many people in this country must spend weeks, months, or even years in jail waiting for trial only because they can’t afford bail.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/20/proposed-law-seeks-reform-system-jails-people-just-being-poor
Troops in Cameroon allegedly tortured and killed prisoners at U.S. base. “Nearly 60 victims held at Salak described to Amnesty International how they were subjected to water torture, beaten with electric cables and boards, or tied and suspended with ropes, among other abuses.” https://theintercept.com/2017/07/20/cameroonian-troops-tortured-and-killed-prisoners-at-base-used-for-u-s-drone-surveillance/
Obama administration accused of replacing prison time with corporate settlements for white collar criminals. “The result, says Eisinger, is a criminal justice system that no longer seriously deters corporate crime, but instead makes it just a mundane cost of doing business.” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/did-us-government-stop-caring-about-white-collar-crime-2567419
Democratic party reportedly planning to “let it ride” on centrist candidates for 2018 elections. “The DCCC’s appeal to the center coincides with significant funding for the group from finance executives and other wealthy donors, many of whom bristle at the progressive wing of the party…” http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/democratic-group-angers-progressives-bets-conservative-wing-wall-street-money-win
Federal prosecutors trying to force Glassdoor to identify some of its commenters in connection with contracting practices investigation. “The company has insisted that it has “no desire to interfere” with the investigation but does not want to forcibly unmask its users for fear that it could “have a chilling effect on both Glassdoor’s reviewers’ and readers’ willingness to use” the website.” http://www.ibtimes.com/government-unmasking-us-court-will-rule-secret-if-government-can-unmask-glassdoor-2568668
Trump accused of babbling nonsense during New York Times interview. “So preexisting conditions are a tough deal, because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/it-doesnt-make-any-sense-cnn-hosts-flabbergasted-by-trumps-inability-to-speak-understandable-english/
Deutsche Bank reportedly finally agrees to release Trump financial records. “Deutsche Bank loaned Trump hundreds of millions of dollars when no one else would. Now banking regulators are questioning why the banking giant would take on that kind of risk and taking a closer look at the relationship between Trump and Deutsche Bank — which, like the president, has significant ties to the Russian oligarchy.” http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/deutsche-bank-agrees-to-hand-over-trump-records-to-investigators-and-they-may-contain-russia-probe-info/
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