January 31, 2019

Huntington ISD, law enforcement investigating allegations of hazing, sexual assault

Huntington ISD administration and law enforcement are investigating allegations of hazing and sexual assault involving the high school baseball team.

A student came forward last week with accusations that high school baseball players had sexually abused him as a part of an initiation, according to Superintendent David Flowers and the parent involved.

“The case is being investigated by the District Attorney’s office and law enforcement,” Flowers said. “The school will handle any discipline warranted on our side, and law enforcement is working on the criminal side.”

Flowers said baseball practice has been suspended until the investigation is complete.

Read more: http://lufkindailynews.com/news/community/article_d5bd25aa-2596-11e9-930c-2be2e6f7f679.html

January 31, 2019

Conservatives head to Texas to try to build their own wall

HOUSTON (AP) — What started as an online fundraiser to provide President Donald Trump with donations for his southern border wall has morphed into a foundation whose members vow to build a wall themselves.

The "We The People Will Build the Wall" campaign has surpassed $20 million since it was created in December by Air Force veteran and triple amputee Brian Kolfage. The campaign has received almost 350,000 donations even as wall opponents derided the effort and after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended with Congress refusing Trump's demand for billions in wall funding.

Kolfage and other Trump supporters have now organized a nonprofit corporation, WeBuildtheWall Inc. Its board of directors includes former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a hardline immigration opponent who has advised Trump. The group spent part of this week in South Texas touring the U.S.-Mexico border and meeting landowners the group hopes will allow private construction on their land.

Whether a private group could build such a wall remains to be seen. There are legal and environmental obstacles in South Texas that have delayed the U.S. government, even with its powers to seize land and waive laws for national security.

Read more: https://www.mrt.com/news/texas/article/Conservatives-head-to-Texas-to-try-to-build-their-13578001.php

January 31, 2019

Senate rebukes Trump's plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, Afghanistan

Source: Washington Post

The vast majority of Senate Republicans backed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday in a rebuke of President Trump’s rationale for withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, voting to declare that the Islamic State’s continued operations in both countries poses a serious threat to the United States.

The measure was presented as an amendment to a greater Middle East policy bill that has yet to pass the Senate and will face challenges in the House, particularly due to a provision regarding Israel-focused boycotts. Nonetheless, the 68-to-23 vote was an unmistakable sign of Republicans’ growing frustration with the president, particularly when it comes to some of the decisions he has made as commander in chief.

Democrats who voted against the measure characterized it as a commitment to endless war.

Last month, the president announced he would be withdrawing American military personnel from Syria, stating in a Twitter post that: “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump presidency.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-backs-mcconnells-rebuke-of-trumps-military-drawdown-plans-in-syria-afghanistan/2019/01/31/5812d058-2584-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html?utm_term=.01ed7df2a020

January 31, 2019

Kwame Brown's New Talk Show Has Some Guessing He's Positioning Himself for a Comeback

D.C. loves a comeback. And with Kwame "Fully Loaded" Brown's track record of foibles, scandals, slip-ups, and oopsy daisies, there's hardly a better candidate than the former Council chair.

After pleading guilty to bank fraud and receiving one-day jail sentence (and a court-ordered 11 p.m. curfew ahead of his sentencing); after "Navigatorgate" put taxpayers on the hook for two "fully loaded" Lincoln Navigator SUV leases because Brown wanted black, not gray, seats; after the lawsuits for unpaid personal debt; and after the $240,000 in campaign funds that were funneled to his brother's firm, Kwame Brown has reemerged for some real talk.

In a video posted to Facebook earlier this week, Brown appears sitting behind a shiny news desk, alongside a mini Muhammad Ali statue, to tease his forthcoming news talk show, Always Real Talk.

Brown kicks off with news of the end to the federal government shutdown.

Read more: https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/loose-lips/article/21045465/kwame-browns-new-talk-show-has-some-guessing-hes-positioning-himself-for-a-comeback

January 31, 2019

Lawmakers Will Study Creation of Legalized Pot Industry

Maryland’s legislative leaders are working to convene a work group to study the legalization of recreational marijuana use in the state.

House Majority Leader Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery) will be the House chair for the joint committee, which is expected to be comprised of more than a dozen members.

Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) said he was also asked to co-chair the panel.

The topic has been long-simmering in Annapolis since medical cannabis was authorized in 2012. Two years later, the state decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/01/31/joint-committee-going-to-pot-in-annapolis/

January 31, 2019

Democrats' Progressive Agenda to Focus on Lifting Maryland's Middle Class

Maryland’s Democrats are standing with the state’s middle class this legislative session, leaders said Tuesday morning as they unveiled a legislative priorities package that includes a $15 minimum wage, increased child care credits and reforming health care.

“We think these pieces of legislation build a stronger middle class here in the state of Maryland and that’s what we’re all about,” House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said at a news conference.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said that while Maryland voters had re-elected Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. in November, they also elected a more progressive and more Democratic legislature with a mandate to pursue progressive policies.

“We think we have a mandate to move forward for middle class and working Marylanders,” Miller said, adding that Democratic leadership would work with the governor on some of his priorities as well, including on economic development programs for poor neighborhoods and tougher criminal sentencing laws for repeat offenders.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/01/29/democrats-progressive-agenda-to-focus-on-lifting-marylands-middle-class/

January 31, 2019

HB53 & 52 - 20 Week Abortion Ban and Forced Ultrasound bills are back

State Representative Rich Collins and State Senator Bryant Richardson, both of the horrible Republican variety, have announced two bills intended to enslave women and assert male dominance over their bodies.

HB53, the forced ultrasound bill, requires a physician to offer a patient ultrasound imaging and auscultation of fetal heart tone services before terminating a pregnancy and provides civil and criminal penalties for the failure of a physician to comply with this requirement. The patient is free to choose not to view the ultrasound or listen to the heartbeat.

Now, this bill is not as bad as the McDonnell Virginia bill back in 2009 or 2010 that required the doctor to vaginally rape or probe the pregnant woman. But it is still old white conservative men forcing themselves into the doctor’s office, forcing the doctor to shame the woman. That woman knows what she is doing. She has already made her decision with more knowledge about the consequences than any man possesses when they made a decision concerning their reproductive choices.

HB52, the 20 week abortion ban, repeals the current sections of the Delaware Code relating to termination of human pregnancy (which were just passed two years ago, codifying the Supreme Court precedent of Roe v. Wade into state law), banning all abortions (no matter if the woman’s health or life is in danger, no matter if the pregnancy is the product of rape or incest).

Read more: https://bluedelaware.com/2019/01/28/hb53-52-20-week-abortion-ban-and-forced-ultrasound-bills-are-back/

January 31, 2019

Retired state employees seek hike in pensions

DOVER — Gov. John Carney’s budget proposal calls for setting aside $45 million lawmakers can use for a future budget crunch, but that money is already being pulled in several directions.

Whether those dollars end up being allocated for the fiscal year starting July 1 or saved could depend simply on how much influence the governor has in the General Assembly.

The first round of legislative budget hearings kicked off Tuesday, with state officials and members of the public appearing before the Joint Finance Committee to detail funding requests and urge legislators to support increases in some areas. Several retired state employees implored the budget-writing committee to provide more money for pensioners, who have received two permanent increases over the past seven budget cycles.

“We want to remind you that our retirees depend on you to help safeguard their pension and health care,” said Ted George, the president of the Delaware Retired School Personnel Association.

Read more: https://delawarestatenews.net/news/retired-state-employees-seek-hike-in-pensions/

January 31, 2019

Art Institute of Pittsburgh shutting down permanently in March

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh has been mired by financial troubles, staff layoffs, and several lawsuits in recent years. For a time in the early 2010s, the Art Institute's former parent company, Pittsburgh-based Education Management Company, was making huge profits. But by 2015, the infractions had piled up. Illegally-recruited students, massive layoffs, almost losing accreditation, and predatory practices had led to a huge downturn in enrollment.

In 2017, Education Management Company sold Pittsburgh's Art Institute to Los Angeles-based nonprofit Dream Center Education Holdings. But that couldn't save the Art Institute. Today court filings show it is planning on shuttering by March 31.

According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there are 230 students attending classes at the Strip District school. About 46 of them are expected to complete classes. Another 1,900 students attend online classes managed by Pittsburgh's Art institutes. About 286 of those online students are expected to finish courses before the school closes.

On Wednesday, the Art Institute announced that it would be laying off its entire admission staff, providing a precursor to today's announced closure.

Read more: https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/art-institute-of-pittsburgh-shutting-down-permanently-in-march/Content?oid=13398414

January 31, 2019

Uninjured describe scene of chaos, horror and grace at pileup on Route 222 in Wyomissing

Those who emerged unscathed describe the scene of a 27-vehicle pile up during a blinding snow squall Wednesday afternoon on Route 222 in Wyomissing.


Spring Township, PA — Elsa Montoya was heading south on Route 222 in Wyomissing when a snow squall hit suddenly Wednesday afternoon, blinding her.

As she attempted to pull over, her car seemed to have a mind of its own, veering left and into the middle lane.

"My car started sliding, sliding, sliding," she said. "And then, I started to see all these cars around me, piling up. And I am here in the middle."

It seemed impossible to avoid slamming into another vehicle or having one hit her.

Read more: https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/uninjured-describe-scene-of-chaos-horror-and-grace-at-pile-up-on-route-222-in-wyomissing