Wednesday, August 2, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.
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The indictments for his six co-conspirators will be rolling in, but Trump’s indictment is first.
Grand Jury indicts Trump on 4 Felony Counts for his efforts to overturn 2020 Election.
The indictment was filed by the special counsel Jack Smith in Federal District Court in Washington. It accuses Mr. Trump of three conspiracies: one to defraud the United States, a second to obstruct an official government proceeding and a third to deprive people of civil rights provided by federal law or the Constitution. Mr. Trump is also charged with a fourth count of obstructing an official proceeding. (New York Times).
Click below to read the 45 page indictment.
https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/trump-jan-6-indictment-2020-election/1f1c76972b25c802/full.pdf
One more thing -
The pool of journalists traveling with President Biden reports that he has arrived at a movie theater to see “Oppenheimer” with the first lady, Jill Biden.
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In the World.
Peace talks.
Feb. 2023. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a draft resolution that incorporates key provisions of the Peace Formula proposed by Ukraine in the autumn of 2022 – a ten-point plan designed to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Letters from an American, July 31, 2023.
At Ukraine’s request, Saudi Arabia will host peace talks with up to 30 countries next month about negotiating an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The meetings will include the United Kingdom, Poland, and the European Union, as well as the United States.
Brazil, India and South Africa—all three members of BRICS, the economic group made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—will attend, but Russia is not invited. Laurence Norman and Stephen Kalin of the Wall Street Journal report that diplomats picked Saudi Arabia to host the talks in hope of persuading China, which has close ties to Russia, to participate.
The basis for the talks will be Ukraine’s ten-point plan, which includes the removal of all Russian troops from Ukraine, but Norman and Kalin report that the plan will be adopted only if it is broadened into a widely shared set of principles that reinforce a rules-based international order. That ten-point plan calls for nuclear safety, food security, energy security, the release of all prisoners and deportees, territorial integrity, withdrawal of troops, justice, prevention of environmental damage, military security, and a firm end to the war.
While Ukrainians have the specific examples of the current war in mind—the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is now occupied by Russia, for example, and Russia’s destruction of food supplies and energy infrastructure, as well as Russian kidnapping of children—these principles have universal appeal.
“The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world,” the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said in a statement. “We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land.” (Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson).
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In the States.
Massachusetts.
The all female Democratic leadership in Massachusetts passes their first budget.
MA $56.2 Billion Budget Deal: Whats In 2024 Compromise Plan.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (right) was the first woman and first openly gay person to be elected Governor of Massachusetts and the first openly gay woman to be elected Governor in the country. (Tina Kotek in Oregon was the second lesbian elected a State Governor.) Healey and Kim Driscoll (left) also made history by becoming one of the first all-women teams to be elected Governor and Lieutenant Governor in the United States.
Here are some key items in the compromise budget:
Mandates free meals for every public school student. The state will spend $172 million in fiscal year 2024 on this initiative, reimbursing districts for the cost of meals above federal funding.
A $50 million allotment will begin a program providing community college free of charge for students beginning in fall 2024. Students over 25 and some nursing programs would be free as soon as this fall.
Increases K-12 funding to about $6.6 billion, which equals about $60 per pupil
Extends in-state tuition rates for undocumented students
Funds free phone calls for inmates in county and state prisons and jails
Provides a spending plan for about $1 billion from the Fair Share tax — also called the millionaire's tax — with about $520 million for education and $480 million for transportation, including $205 million for the T.
During sessions on Monday, all 39 members of the state Senate voted in favor of the package, while the House approved it 156-2. State Reps. Nicholas Boldyga, R-Southwick, and Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica, were the two "nay" votes.
[Governor Maura] Healey has 10 days to review the budget and decide whether to sign off. (Patch)
Read whole article here.
Michigan.
Trump Allies Charged For Efforts To Access Michigan Voting Machines.
Ex-attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno and ex-state Rep. Daire Rendon are charged for allegedly tampering with the machines after the 2020 election.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former Republican attorney general candidate and another supporter of former President Donald Trump have been criminally charged in Michigan in connection with accessing and tampering with voting machines after the 2020 election, according to court records. Click here to read the full article.
Ohio.
Early voting on Abortion has begun. Election Day is August 8th.
Ohio seeing record pace in early voting for special election with reproductive rights in contention.
Early voting in Ohio began last week for the state’s Aug. 8 special election, and more than 116,000 Ohioans have already cast their ballots in person while another 38,000 absentee ballots have been turned in.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who recently launched his 2024 U.S. Senatebid to try and unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), announced a roughly five-fold increase in voter activity compared to last year’s August primary elections.
For context, there were 138,000 early votes in the 2022 May primaries that saw a GOP Senate primary with seven candidates. The Ohio Capital Journal projectsthat at the current pace, the early vote total could even surpass the 2022 midterms from last November.
On the ballot is Issue 1, a ballot proposal that would raise the threshold for passing future constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%. Issue 1 would also require signatures from all 88 counties across the state (only 44 are currently required,) and it would eliminate the period for making up signatures if petitions are denied, meaning organizers would have one chance to collect enough.
Republican lawmakers were able to get Issue 1 on the ballot without any Democratic support thanks to their supermajorities in the state Senate and House. Republicans are likely trying to circumvent a potential ballot measure in the future that would protect abortion rights in Ohio. Issue 1 is the latest attempt by a Republican-controlled legislature to make the ballot initiative process harder for citizens to organize and pass policies without going through elected representatives.
If Issue 1 is voted down, the path for abortion rights protection would remain possible. Abortion is currently legal in Ohio up to 22 weeks into the pregnancy after a lower court blocked a six-week ban drawn up by the Republican-led legislature. That law was passed in 2019 and went into effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Recent polls from Suffolk University show that most Ohioans support a constitutional amendment to establish a right to reproductive health care (although the 57.6% approval would not be enough to pass a 60% threshold.) The polls also show that Ohioans disapprove of Issue 1 by a two-to-one margin, with 57% against, 26% for and 17% undecided.
The ban was indefinitely blocked by Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins last October. Jenkins’ ruling came after abortion rights in Ohio were nationally publicized following the rape of a ten-year-old who was forced to seek an abortion across state lines because of the ban. (WCPT820 RADIO)
Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, a court that almost overturned Biden’s win flips to liberal control.
Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz gets a kiss from her husband Greg Sell while speaking at her election night watch party in Milwaukee, Wis., on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court flips to liberal control for the first time in 15 years Tuesday with the start of the term of a new justice who made abortion rights a focus of her winning campaign.
Janet Protasiewicz will be sworn into office with a ceremony in the state Capitol Rotunda, the type of pomp and circumstance typically reserved for governors. Protasiewicz’s win carries tremendous weight in Wisconsin, a battleground where the state Supreme Court has been the last word on some of the biggest political and policy battles of the past decade-plus.
Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County judge, ran with backing and deep financial support from Democrats, abortion rights groups and other liberals in the officially nonpartisan race. She handily defeated her conservative opponent in April, raising expectations among liberals that the new court will soon do away with the state’s abortion ban, order new maps to be drawn and ensure a long line of Democratic success after 15 years of rulings that largely favored Republicans.
Even as liberals have high hopes that the new court will rule in their favor, there are no guarantees. Republicans were angered when a conservative candidate they backed in 2019 turned out to sometimes side with liberal justices.
Protasiewicz replaces retiring conservative Justice Pat Roggensack, who served 20 years, including six as chief justice. (Associated Press).
To read the full account, click here.
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In the World Cup.
US survives late scare in Women’s World Cup to reach Round of 16.
The US was a post width away from exiting the Women’s World Cup at the group stage, but survived a late scare to earn a goalless draw against Portugal and reach the last 16.
With the game hanging in the balance, substitute Ana Capeta had a glorious chance to earn Portugal a famous win in the closing stages, but her effort struck the post with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher completely helpless.
Defeat for the US – a team aiming for a third consecutive world title – would have ended its participation in the tournament.
The Netherlands’ 7-0 win over Vietnam means the Dutch finish top of Group E on seven points, two ahead of the US. It is the first time in the history of the competition that the US has won just one group stage match.
On almost any other occasion, a 0-0 draw against the two-time defending champion would have been a cause for celebration for the World Cup debutant, but at full time many of Portugal’s players fell to their knees in tears as the reality of their exit began to sink in. (CNN).
Nouhaila Benzina, a 25-year-old defender for a pioneering Morocco team appearing in its first World Cup, became the first player to wear a hijab in the tournament when she started her team’s 1-0 victory against South Korea on Sunday. https://t.co/dfnJHHLhKo pic.twitter.com/xS3dLeV1vA
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 30, 2023
One more thing.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is set to be attended by a total of 1.5 million people, representing a 25 percent increase on the previous tournament. (Source-Statista)
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This could be worse.
Australia's Great Barrier Reef stays off UNESCO danger list, still under 'serious threat'
SYDNEY, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A UNESCO heritage committee on Tuesday stopped short of listing Australia's Great Barrier Reef as a site that is "in danger" but warned the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem remained under "serious threat" from pollution and the warming of oceans. Read the whole article here.
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