February 2, 2023

Thursday, February 2,2023 Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard expect to be named the next National Economic Council director.

Biden to remake economic team with Brainard, Bernstein poised for top roles.

President Joe Biden is poised to shake up his leadership team with two veteran economic minds likely to assume new roles just as he faces his best chance yet to avoid a recession that could derail his reelection effort.

Biden aides expect a rapid succession of appointments, including Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as the next National Economic Council director and long-time Biden confidant Jared Bernstein as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Biden has already named businessman and former Covid-response czar Jeff Zients as his next chief of staff. (Politico)

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FBI finds no classified documents at Biden's Delaware vacation home.
The FBI completed a search of President Joe Biden’s Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home and no documents with classified markings were found, Biden’s personal attorney said Wednesday.

Bob Bauer, Biden’s attorney, did say the FBI took with them handwritten notes and some materials for further review. The search took three-and-a-half hours.

“The DOJ’s planned search of the President’s Rehoboth residences, conducted in coordination and cooperation with the President’s attorneys, has concluded,” Bauer said. “The search was conducted from 8:30 AM to noon.”

“No documents with classified markings were found,” he said.

Bauer said that like last month’s search of Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, agents “took for further review some materials and handwritten notes that appear to relate to his time as Vice President.”

Bauer confirmed earlier in the morning that investigators were searching the home. The search was planned and had the “full support and cooperation” of Biden, Bauer said. (CNN).

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New York comes after Donald J. Trump. The legal threats the former guys has to worry about.

The documents NYS Attorney General Letitia sent to the NYS Supreme Court Judge Engeron to ask that he sanction Donald J. Trump, his eldest children, and their attorneys for false responses in legal filings.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23592424-nyag-sanction-filing

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Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney, and his team of Prosecutors Begin Presenting Trump Case to Grand Jury.

Former president Donald Trump might have thought he dodged a bullet in New York City. Last February, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg seemed to decide not to move forward with a case against Trump for allegedly fraudulent practices at his business (to the dismay of two career prosecutors leading the investigation, who quit).


But Trump’s legal problems in the city are far from over, as he learned on Monday. Bragg’s probe remains a serious threat to him, with potentially far-reaching implications.


The New York Times reports that Bragg’s office “began presenting evidence to a grand jury about Donald J. Trump’s role in paying hush money to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, laying the groundwork for potential criminal charges.” There is no indication as to whether Bragg decided to pick up on the much larger set of inquiries his predecessor launched into allegations that Trump inflated the value of assets to secure favorable loans and other benefits.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in making the hush payment, and he and his company have repeatedly dismissed Bragg’s investigation as a “witch hunt.” Nevertheless, the resumption of grand jury proceedings should provide a reminder to Republicans of the distasteful baggage that comes with Trump. Do they really want to endure a presidential race with a nominee potentially facing trial for a payment he made to a porn star? (Washington Post).

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Bold action by New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, includes increased financial district payroll taxes to save the MTA and its subways and buses.

Hochul’s $227 Billion Budget Plan Targets New York City’s Urgent Needs.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled on Wednesday a $227 billion state budget aimed at tackling some of New York City’s most pressing needs, including $1 billion to address the migrant crisis and a multiyear plan to salvage the finances of the city’s ailing subway system.

Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, plans to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cover its budget gap of nearly $3 billion by 2025 by raising payroll taxes on downstate businesses that benefit from the transit network, generating more than $800 million. The governor also proposed diverting revenues from three planned casinos in the New York City region to help the authority, and called on the city to pitch in nearly $500 million, all of which could add up to $1.3 billion in additional yearly funding for the subway system. (New York Times).

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Curriculum, schools and colleges become the targets of the Right.

Far right Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, before the midterms, spent his time taking away voting rights from citizens in Florida. More recently though, he has found a new means to garner attention. He has turned his activism toward schools and education, as his vehicle of choice to impose right wing change.

As the governor of Florida, DeSantis has considerable control over the governing boards of both K-12 schools and higher education. Hence, he began banning books in school libraries, eliminating conversations and texts about race and gender from Florida’s schools curriculum, and blocked the Advanced Placement course in African American Studies from Florida high schools.

He also swooped down on New College of Florida in Sarasota, and replaced the school’s trustees with hand- picked and outrageous appointees, associated with conservative educational institutions, expected to impose ideological educational and social policies on the institution.

We should expect to see more behavior like this, by DeSantis as he moves toward becoming candidate for the Presidency in 2024, especially when he can proclaim victory as he will surely do, based on the changes the AP Board has now made to the Advanced Placement Course in African American Studies. 👇

The College Board Strips Down Its A.P. Curriculum for African American Studies.

After heavy criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the College Board released on Wednesday an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies — stripped of much of the subject matter that had angered the governor and other conservatives.

The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism. It ushered out some politically fraught topics, like Black Lives Matter, from the formal curriculum.

And it added something new: “Black conservatism” is now offered as an idea for a research project.

The pushback began in January, when Governor DeSantis of Florida, a Republican who is expected to run for president, announced that he would ban the curriculum, citing the draft version. State education officials said it was not historically accurate and violated state law that regulates how race-related issues are taught in public schools.

The attack on the A.P. course turned out to be the prelude to a much larger agenda. On Tuesday, Mr. DeSantis unveiled a proposal to overhaul higher education that would eliminate what he called “ideological conformity” by, among other things, mandating courses in Western civilization.

In another red flag to the College Board, there was the possibility of other opposition: more than two dozen states have adopted some sort of measure against critical race theory, according to a tracking project by the University of California, Los Angeles, law school.

David Coleman, the head of the College Board, said in an interview that the changes were all made for pedagogical reasons, not to bow to political pressure. (New York Times).

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DeSantis may be using his attacks on thought to establish his own brand of authoritarianism but, as the Roundup reported on January 27, there is resistance too. For instance, Attorney Ben Crump is suing Florida Gov. for Rejecting AP African American Studies Course.

Still other conservative activists seem to be leaping into this space too. This 👇 happened in North Carolina. If right wing activism continues so blindly, this is surely not a positive trend. Keep looking for more actions like these.

UNC trustees’ push for ‘School of Civic Life and Leadership’ alarms some faculty.

When board members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill unanimously passed a resolution recently to accelerate the creation of a School of Civic Life and Leadership, some faculty members were shocked.

The issue hadn’t been on the agenda or even, some professors said, on the radar — even though such initiatives are expected to be initiated and led by academics.


The resolution requested that the administration work to develop a school, with a dedicated faculty team, that would promote public discourse — an idea some conservative media quickly hailed as a way to create a safe haven of sorts for right-leaning thinkers on a campus full of leftists.


“Like many of you, I am flabbergasted,” Mimi Chapman, chair of the university faculty, said at a meeting of faculty leaders Monday, given that faculty members apparently had not been informed about the new school, much less engaged in its development. “It is deeply upsetting and unsettling.”


At a time when many are worried about culture wars and political interference in classrooms across the country, the board resolution triggered some strong reactions.
The university’s provost also told faculty leaders that he was surprised by the resolution, but sought to convince openly skeptical professors in the meeting that it had originated as a faculty idea, and was one they would shape and carry forward.


“Our vision is not about making a political statement,” Christopher Clemens, UNC’s provost, said of the proposed school that would teach public discourse, which he strongly endorses. Rather, it’s about “creating a school that will focus on preparing our students with the skills and capacities to help make democracy work better.”

He said the idea had emerged from internal budget talks in December and he shared it with some stakeholders.
“We want to equip our students to open their ears, find their voices,” he said. “That is not a left issue. That is not a right issue. That is not a liberal issue. That is not a conservative issue.”


Still, the resolution drew praise from some conservative media outlets. A Wall Street Journal editorial published within hours of the vote cast the proposed school as a counter to academia’s echo chamber. Fox News called it “a rare win for free speech,” as the chairman of the university’s board of trustees said on the program that while there’s no shortage of left-of-center faculty members at UNC, the same can’t be said of right-leaning professors. “This is an effort to try to remedy that,” chairman David Boliek said, and allow “for both views to be taught at the university.” (Washington Post).

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The cruelty of the GOP has no limits.

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Maybe the Equal Rights Amendment will happen yet?

As an aside, this 👇 happened yesterday, a few years ago.

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Minnesota secures a woman’s right to abortion.

ST PAUL, Minn. — As promised, [Democratic ] Gov. Tim Walz put pen to paper Tuesday afternoon, signing a bill that places abortion access rights into Minnesota law for the first time ever. 

Walz signed the PRO Act, which according to the DFL Caucus of the Minnesota House protects the right to contraception, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, and the right to abortion. It also ensures the right to privacy for personal reproductive health decisions, and prevents interference by those "who seek to enact or defend medically unnecessary barriers to comprehensive reproductive health care."  

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Should more women remove their Fallopian Tubes? Does this seem a bit extreme?

To Prevent Cancer, More Women Should Consider Removing Fallopian Tubes, Experts Say.

There is no reliable screening test for ovarian cancer, so doctors urge women at high genetic risk for the disease to have their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed once they are done having children, usually around the age of 40.

On Wednesday, a leading research and advocacy organization broadened that recommendation in ways that may surprise many women.

Building on evidence that most of these cancers originate in the fallopian tubes, not the ovaries, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance is urging even women who do not have mutations — that is, most women — to have their fallopian tubes surgically removed if they are finished having children and are planning a gynecologic operation anyway.  (New York Times)

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On the first day of Black History Month, Tyre Nichols was buried.

Tyre Nichols’ family arrived at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee for his funeral yesterday.

• In a sign of how Mr. Nichols’s death on Jan. 10 has reverberated far beyond Memphis, Vice President Kamala Harris was expected to attend, and the Rev. Al Sharpton was set to deliver a eulogy, as he has at the funerals of other Black victims of police violence. Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, and Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, were also expected to be there.

• The fallout from Mr. Nichols’s beating continues. A special street crimes unit has been disbanded after five of its members were arrested and accused of his murder. Two other police officers have been suspended, as have two deputies from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. Two medics and a lieutenant from the Memphis Fire Department who responded to the scene have also been fired. Read a timeline of events surrounding Mr. Nichols’s death.

• Mr. Nichols had moved to Memphis in 2020 to be closer to his mother, coming from California. He had a 4-year-old son and was working with his stepfather on the second shift at a FedEx facility in Memphis. He kept up a passion for skateboarding he’d had since he was 6, even if his stepfather thought he should have outgrown it. Read about how Mr. Nichols cut his own path. (New York Times).

Touch to watch Reverend Sharpton.👇

Rev. Al Sharpton delivers the eulogy at Tyre Nichols' funeral | ABC News - YouTube

Rev. Al Sharpton delivers the eulogy at Tyre Nichols' funeral in Memphis, Tennessee.READ MORE: https://abcn.ws/3HKRcdrSUBSCRIBE to ABC News on YouTube: https...

The Vice President wasn’t expected to speak at the funeral. She spoke off the cuff, urging the Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and saying the President will sign it. Touch to watch her.👇

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Tyre Nichols' funeral: "We mourn with you" - YouTube

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the funeral service for Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten at a traffic stop by several Memphis police officers ...

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Do you remember Debi Thomas?

Starr Andrews Becomes First Black Woman To Medal At U.S. Figure Skating Championships In 35 Years.

Starr Andrews headlined the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California on Friday, becoming the first Black woman to win a medal in over three decades.

“To be able to be the next African American woman to stand on a podium is amazing,” Andrews told The Post.

Before Andrews’ win, the last Black woman in America to win a national figure skating competition medal was Debi Thomas in 1988, 35 years ago. Having grown up in Los Angeles competing in a sport where women of color rarely make it to the medal stand, Andrews understood the significance of the moment.

She cherishes the letters she receives from the families of young Black skaters telling her how much she inspires them.

“I can’t believe I’m the person they saw, I’m the person that wanted to make them start skating,” Andrews said, The Post reported. “And I think that that’s so amazing. And I’m so glad that I can be that person.” (Essence).
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Breanna Stewart joins the New York Liberty. Maybe the Liberty will become WNBA champs?

Breanna Stewart to New York Liberty drastically shifts the WNBA power hierarchy.

The biggest domino of free agency has officially dropped: Breanna Stewart is a member of the New York Liberty, and a new contender has emerged to challenge the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

Stewart is the best player to ever change teams in WNBA free agency, a high bar considering Candace Parker’s 2021 move to Chicago that led to the Skywinning their first title. But Stewart, who has played only with the Seattle Storm, is six years younger than Parker when she swapped jerseys and is still capable of being the undisputed best player on a championship team.

Stewart is in position to reshape the Liberty and the WNBA.New York is one of the league’s inaugural franchises, the winner of the first game in league history.

But the Liberty don’t have the decorated past of the other teams who remain since the 1997 launch; three finals appearances, but none since 2002, and no MVP winners in 26 seasons. The Liberty already made a free-agency splash by securing Jonquel Jones, the 2021 league MVP from the Connecticut Sun, in a three-team deal in mid-January. Adding Stewart to an impressive surrounding cast may rewrite the franchise’s narrative for good while shaking up the WNBA’s power hierarchy.

The Liberty have been planning for this opportunity for multiple seasons. They recruited Stewart as an unrestricted free agent during the 2021-22 offseason, wining and dining her in Los Angeles despite her well-documented interest in returning to Seattle to finish out Sue Bird’s career. Similarly, this offseason, the Liberty — like the Storm, Lynx and Mystics, who were also wooing her — traveled to Turkey to recruit Stewart as she plays for Fenerbahçe.

New York has stockpiled young, defensive-minded wings who can do the dirty work around Stewart in Michaela Onyenwere, DiDi Richards, Joceyln Willoughby, and now Kayla Thornton. It has two creative playmakers with shooting range in Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannès to give Stewart room to work inside. The front office added another MVP — someone whom Stewart has played with before — to give the team more scoring punch.

This is a roster that was built to bring in Stewart. Stewart has only ever experienced the highest levels of success in her WNBA career. She won a title in her third season, repeated the feat her next time out, and then gave the Aces all they could handle in 2022 in the semifinals. She expects to compete for championships, and New York is now in a place to meet her and realize that dream.

The 2020 collective bargaining agreement made it possible for players to exercise their own agency and engage in freedom of movement in a way the league had never seen. Stewart is merely the latest superstar to take advantage of her newfound power, and her decision could change the landscape of the WNBA for years to come. (The Athletic).
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