FBI Opened a Counterintelligence Investigation of Trump, as President

12 January 19

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FBI Opened a Counterintelligence Investigation of Trump, as President 

Adam Goldman, Michael S. Schmidt and Nicholas Fandos, The New York Times
Excerpt: "In the days after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director, law enforcement officials became so concerned by the president's behavior that they began investigating whether he had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests, according to former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation."
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The partial closure of the federal government began on December 22. (photo: WP)

ALSO SEE: It Could Take Years for These Workers to Recover From
America's Record-Breaking Government Shutdown

It's Official: Government Shutdown Becomes Longest in US History
Arnie Seipel, NPR
Seipel writes: "The partial government shutdown is now the longest in history, as Saturday marks day 22. The previous record was 21 days, set in the winter of 1995-'96 when President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich were at odds over budget cuts."
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The government detention facility in Tornillo, Texas, has housed thousands of migrant children separated from their families at the border. (photo: ADG)

Tornillo: Detention Site for Migrant Children to Close Amid Safety Fears
Edwin Delgado, Guardian UK 

EXCERPT: 

Kevin Dinnin, CEO of BCFS, the contractor that ran the site, told Vice News that a big factor in the decision to turn the children away was the federal government’s pre-occupation with expanding capacity rather than uniting the minors with their families.

“The children were coming in but never leaving … We as an organization finally drew the line,” Dinnin said. “You can’t keep taking children in and not releasing them.”

According to sources, out of the nearly 3,000 minors who were at the shelter in mid-December, the vast majority are expected to be sent to their sponsors in the US, while only a handful of them will be sent to one of the permanent shelters operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which keeps custody of unaccompanied minors who enter the country.

“[The Tornillo facility] was a symbol of this administration’s deep inhumanity as shown by their willingness to hold tens of thousands of migrant children in detention,” said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. “Migrant children and families never should have been separated or held in detention.”

Delgado writes: "The controversial Tornillo temporary detention facility in west Texas that has housed thousands of migrant children is shutting down, two months after a report warned of 'serious safety and health vulnerabilities' at the camp."
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Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. (photo: Alex Brandon/AP)

Despite Shutdown, Trump Administration Gives Relief to Powerful Mortgage Industry After Lobbying Push
Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News 

EXCERPT:

The Treasury Department reinstated an Internal Revenue Service program essential to the mortgage industry this week after the powerful lending block launched a lobbying effort amid an ongoing government shutdown set to become the longest in history.

Sommerfeldt writes: "The government can't reopen itself - but it can apparently accommodate deep-pocketed lobbyists."
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A march in support of immigrants and asylum seekers in San Diego, California, January 11, 2019. (photo: EFE)

US Human Rights Defenders Protest to Support Migrants
teleSUR
Excerpt: "Dozens of people took to the streets of San Diego, California Friday to show support for Central American migrants who are still waiting at the border for U.S. authorities to receive their applications for asylum."
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In El Salvador, a woman is murdered every 18 hours. (photo: Luke Bedford/Dirty Public)

'Men Kill Women Because They Can': Inside El Salvador's Devastating Femicide Crisis
Louise Donovan, Elle
Donovan writes: "Yessenia Juarez and her daughter, Jocelyn, were extremely close. Even if only via a WhatsApp message fired off at lunch, the pair spoke every day. So when, on the morning of Thursday 5th July, Yessenia rang Jocelyn and she didn't answer or call back, something seemed strange."
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People visit Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert. (photo: Jae C. Hong/AP)

'A Travesty to This Nation': People Are Destroying Joshua Trees in Joshua Tree National Park
Allyson Chiu, The Washington Post 

“I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican, what’s going on at Joshua Tree National Park is a travesty to this nation,” one person tweeted.

View image on Twitter

AI6YR@ai6yrham

I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican, what's going on at Joshua Tree National Park is a travesty to this nation. True Americans don't destroy and trash our National Parks just because no one's looking., only thugs and criminals do. https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-joshua-tree-cleanup-20190109-story.html …

208

10:32 AM - Jan 10, 2019

John Upton

✔@johnupton

During the shutdown, with Joshua Tree National Park open but no staff on duty, visitors cut down Joshua trees so they could drive into sensitive areas where vehicles are banned.

"We had some pretty extensive four-wheel driving." https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/01/joshua-tree-national-park-close-cleanup-repairs-vandalism-illegal-roads …

11.3K

10:39 AM - Jan 10, 2019

Daniel Schneider@BiologistDan

A Joshua Tree at Joshua Tree National Park. Pulled down by vandals. @U2 is going to have to do a benefit concert to repair all the damage. Don't go blaming this on the #shutdown. There are just people with black hearts among us.

Chiu writes: "In most depictions, Joshua trees tower above the earth. Feathery-looking limbs topped with spiky green leaves twist skyward, completing the gangly succulent's striking appearance."
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RSN: Bernie Sanders | To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed

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Bernie Sanders | To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed

Bernie Sanders, The New York Times
Sanders writes: "Wall Street is still out of control. Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail."
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all Street is still out of control. Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail. But almost every one is bigger today than it was before the bailout. If any were to fail again, taxpayers could be on the hook for another bailout, perhaps a larger one this time.

To rein in Wall Street, we should begin by reforming the Federal Reserve, which oversees financial institutions and which uses monetary policy to maintain price stability and full employment. Unfortunately, an institution that was created to serve all Americans has been hijacked by the very bankers it regulates.

The recent decision by the Fed to raise interest rates is the latest example of the rigged economic system. Big bankers and their supporters in Congress have been telling us for years that runaway inflation is just around the corner. They have been dead wrong each time. Raising interest rates now is a disaster for small business owners who need loans to hire more workers and Americans who need more jobs and higher wages. As a rule, the Fed should not raise interest rates until unemployment is lower than 4 percent. Raising rates must be done only as a last resort — not to fight phantom inflation.

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http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/34277-to-rein-in-wall-street-fix-the-fed

Remarks by Senator Warren on Citigroup and its bailout provision

From MoveON:

This speech could make Elizabeth Warren president.

 

You need to watch this speech. It's electrifying. It's historic.
Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention speech launched him into the running for President. This could do the same for Elizabeth Warren.

So turn up your speakers and watch the whole thing. And then chip in to support MoveOn's work, as we get Elizabeth Warren's back in the Senate—and encourage her to run for president.

When big banks wrecked our economy, they went to Congress for a half-a-trillion-dollar bailout. Now—six years later—Citigroup thought they could quietly sneak a provision into a must-pass spending bill to let them gamble with taxpayer money again. But Senator Warren fought back hard, and is winning in the court of public opinion.

Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention speech launched him into the running for president. This could do the same for Elizabeth Warren.

Please watch the video right now. And then chip in to help MoveOn as we support Elizabeth Warren's work in the Senate and encourage her to run for president.

Thanks for all you do.

–Mark, Robert, Kristin, Ilya, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "The Speech That Could Make Elizabeth Warren the Next President of the United States," The Huffington Post, December 13, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=302028&id=105927-3735812-oWJvA5x&t=1

http://warren.senate.gov
Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke on the floor of the Senate on Dec. 12, 2014 about the provision that Citigroup added to the omnibus budget package.

Proud Again for Senator Elizabeth Warren!

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is working with others to raise questions about the U.S. Treasury Program that penalizes the poor, sdeniors and veterans.

We should be proud, once again that we elected Senator Warren to work for the best interests of ALL Americans!

Senators grill Treasury official about debit card program

Payments increased for contractor, poor hit with fees

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/06/20/12876/senators-grill-treasury-official-about-debit-card-program

Benefit payment change hurts poor

Fees mount under debit card system

By Daniel Wagneremail

6:00 am, June 19, 2013 Updated: 3:01 pm, June 20, 2013

A government initiative aimed at saving money by eliminating paper checks is hurting some recipients of federal benefits while earning the bank that operates the program millions in fees charged to consumers.

The U.S. Treasury Department has been urging people who collect Social Security and other benefits to switch to direct deposit rather than rely on mailed checks, to save millions of dollars a year in administrative costs.

But beneficiaries without bank accounts — and even some who do have accounts — are being pressured into using prepaid debit cards offered by Comerica Bank, an effort that is shifting costs to elderly people, veterans and other vulnerable consumers.

The Treasury Department launched the program in 2008, teaming up with the Dallas-based bank to issue the “Direct Express” debit cards in a deal that lacked the open competition or transparency of most federal contracts.

Key findings

• The government has been aggressively pushing seniors, veterans and others who collect federal benefits to sign up for Direct Express, a payment card subsidized by taxpayers and issued by Comerica bank.

 

• Comerica received $22 million in taxpayer money for offering the cards as of August 2012. It also collects millions in fees that are deducted directly from people’s benefits.

• The contracting process lacked transparency, critics say. Comerica initially offered to provide the service at no cost to the government, then reversed course, saying it couldn't make a profit. The government agreed to give the bank millions of dollars without reopening bidding.

• Call center workers were trained to get people to enroll in Direct Express, even if direct deposit was an option. More than a quarter of the people enrolled already have bank accounts and are probably paying more in fees than if they used the direct deposit option.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/06/19/12857/benefit-payment-change-hurts-poor?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email



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