February 10, 2020

Puerto Rico governor rejects new deal to cut debt by 70%

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Officials announced a settlement late Sunday with bondholders that would reduce Puerto Rico’s public debt by 70%, but the U.S. territory’s governor swiftly rejected it, saying it puts too heavy a burden on the island’s retirees.

The settlement is the biggest one to date since Puerto Rico’s government announced in 2015 that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load and filed for the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in May 2017.

The newest deal reached between a federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances and several groups of bondholders would reduce the island’s bond debt from some $35 billion to roughly $11 billion.

However, Gov. Wanda Vázquez rejected the settlement and noted it still requires legislative approval.

Read more: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/feb/09/puerto-rico-governor-rejects-new-deal-to-cut-debt/

February 10, 2020

Bernie Sanders' policies would be beneficial to all Americans, Rep. Omar says in Vegas visit

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ outreach to Nevada workers with concerns about what could happen to their union-negotiated health care benefits if he became president continued on Sunday.

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar spoke at the headquarters of Service Employees International Union Local 1107 in Las Vegas, telling workers that a Sanders administration would be “about making sure that we are creating policies that are going to be beneficial for the people of this country,” she said.

Last week, the powerhouse Culinary Union distributed brochures in employee dining rooms on the Strip pushing back against the Sanders' signature “Medicare For All” government-run insurance proposal. Unions in other states have also expressed concerns.

Omar said that a single-payer option would give workers the ability to focus more on pay and other benefits as opposed to health care.

Read more: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/feb/09/bernie-sanders-policies-would-be-beneficial-to-all/

February 10, 2020

Nevada Democratic Party's hiring of Buttigieg ex-staffer raises concerns

The hiring of a top presidential candidate’s staff member to a position within the Nevada Democratic Party has increased scrutiny of the party as it works to put together a contingency plan for its Feb. 22 caucuses.

Dozens of Twitter users — most identified as supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders — on Sunday accused the Democratic Party of corruption and hurled insults at Emily Goldman, who was hired as the party’s Voter Protection Director in January. Many called for Goldman and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez to be fired.

Screenshots of Goldman’s Linkedin account noted she worked as an Iowa organizer for former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg until February, when she began her new role with the Nevada Democratic Party.

Goldman, who has since switched her social media accounts to private settings, is no longer employed or affiliated with the Buttigieg campaign.

Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada-democratic-partys-hiring-of-buttigieg-ex-staffer-raises-concerns-1954425/

February 10, 2020

Of the Democratic presidential candidates, Buttigieg raises most from NH in 2019

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders had the most New Hampshire campaign contributors in 2019, but Pete Buttigieg’s campaign had the biggest financial backing among Granite Staters.

Buttigieg, the former South Bend, Ind., mayor, raised received $398,683.90 from New Hampshire donors last year, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

“From record crowds across the state to huge canvass kickoffs this weekend, the grassroots support for Pete Buttigieg in the Granite State is strong and growing,” said Kevin Donohoe, the campaign’s New Hampshire communications director.

Sanders’ 935 contributors made 10,550 gifts totaling $361,370. Several have given more than 100 times. The average New Hampshire contribution to the Vermont senator’s campaign is $34.25, the lowest average of all the presidential contenders.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/voters/voters_guide/of-the-democratic-presidential-candidates-buttigieg-raises-most-from-nh/article_62eb3b4a-dab9-5329-8e55-3cb7fb2fc2ef.html

February 10, 2020

Iran again fails to put satellite into orbit amid U.S. worries

An Iranian rocket failed to put a satellite into orbit on Sunday, state television reported, the latest setback for a program the U.S. claims helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program.

The launch happened at 7:15 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province, some 145 miles southeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran. A Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket couldn’t put the Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit, however, due to a low speed, Iranian state TV reported.

“Stage-1 and stage-2 motors of the carrier functioned properly and the satellite was successfully detached from its carrier, but at the end of its path it did not reach the required speed for being put in the orbit,” Defense Ministry space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini told state TV.

Hosseini still sought to portray the failure as a “remarkable” achievement for its space program. Previous Simorgh launches of the 80-ton satellite carrier suffered other failures.

Read more: https://www.concordmonitor.com/Iran-again-fails-to-put-satellite-into-orbit-amid-US-worries-32575889

February 10, 2020

DNA discovery in yogurt shop murders sparks FBI standoff

AUSTIN -- In the spring of 2017, veteran Travis County prosecutor Efrain De La Fuente called Bob Ayers, the father of one of four girls brutally murdered at an Austin yogurt shop in 1991. He had exciting new information to share, a DNA discovery that he hoped could bring resolution to the nearly 30-year-old case.

After years of roadblocks, setbacks and dead ends, investigators finally had identified forensic evidence that might lead to the girls’ killer.

De La Fuente explained that an Austin police cold case detective had submitted a new kind of DNA profile called Y-STR into a searchable database. Although there was no name attached, the match could identify a possible killer’s male relatives and help police track down the perpetrator.

“It was a great day. We thought this was really going to break our case, and they were elated as well,” De La Fuente recalled.

Read more: https://stories.usatodaynetwork.com/yogurt-shop-murders-dna-fight/home/site/statesman.com/

February 10, 2020

A 'reverend' forged deed on $4M foreclosed Dallas mansion, court records say. The bank wants it back

Everything about the gated, two-story brick house says: Stay away. The chain blocking the driveway. The locked gate bound by wire. The “PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING” postings. The signs warning of cameras that have the 11,800-square-foot Preston Hollow estate under 24-hour surveillance.

There are other signs, too — one near the front entrance on Alva Court and another affixed to the side gate along Deloache Avenue that say only “GCOGIC-IM.” That stands for Glorious Church of God in Christ International Ministries, whose website says it offers services ranging from prison ministries to homeless assistance. That website says the church was established in the 1970s “by our very own Reverend and psychologist John Mann” and lists 9410 Alva Court as its mailing address.

This six-bedroom, eight-bathroom house was “one of the finest in Old Preston Hollow and a luxury trendsetter” when it was built in 1988, real-estate journalist Candy Evans wrote when it hit the auction block in September 2018. It sits in the heart of a neighborhood where the land alone is worth upward of $2 million, never mind the mansions occupied by some of Dallas’ wealthiest, among them Mark Cuban.

As far as Dallas County is concerned, the 66-year-old Mann and his church own this $3.7-million estate once owned by Norman Brinker, the late fast-casual restaurateur, and wife Nancy.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/commentary/2020/02/07/a-reverend-forged-deed-on-4m-foreclosed-dallas-mansion-court-records-say-the-bank-wants-it-back/

February 10, 2020

Buttigieg is the one to beat in New Hampshire but Klobuchar also surges as voters weigh electability

By Todd J. Gillman

5:25 PM on Feb 9, 2020

HANOVER, N.H. – Like many New Hampshire Democrats on the eve of Tuesday’s primary, Lisa Matthews is torn. She has an idealized agenda in mind for the next president. But more than anything, she wants that next president to be someone other than Donald Trump.

“Elizabeth Warren was my first love,” said Matthews, 65, a tax preparer from Lebanon, N.H., but it’s coming down to “electability versus their policies. ... Most of all, I want somebody who can beat Trump.”

Warren and Bernie Sanders: too radical? Joe Biden: too old? Pete Buttigieg: too young? Sen. Amy Klobuchar? The Minnesota senator could emerge as a Goldilocks candidate for voters seeking a tough moderate with enough time in Washington to know how it works but not so much that she has Hillary Clinton-sized baggage.

“Amy may be that sweet spot,” said Matthews, one of a number of voters who rushed from a Buttigieg rally in Lebanon to a Klobuchar rally 10 minutes away at Dartmouth College in Hanover -- due diligence before casting a ballot.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/02/09/buttigieg-is-the-one-to-beat-in-new-hampshire-but-klobuchar-also-surges-as-voters-weigh-electability/

February 9, 2020

Your Sunday LOLCats - Tabby Road Edition

February 9, 2020

Friendly fire: the fight For Alabama's Democratic party

The 2020 primaries are underway with the Iowa caucus kicking things off for the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. While candidates campaign for position to face President Donald Trump in November, the Democratic Party in Alabama is facing a fight of its own.

Democrats nationwide are looking to Iowa to see who will come out on top in the first primary race for the Democratic nomination for president. However, in Alabama, Democrats are looking to the courts to put an end to a fight that has been going on for some time now. The lawsuit was filed by someone familiar to state Democrats.

Nancy Worley was elected chair of the party in 2013. However, new elections were held in November and Representative Chris England was elected as the new chair. England said there were good reasons he got the job.

"With irregularities in the election that occurred in 2018, and also the fact that the party, through the bylaws were out of compliance, the DNC required us to hold new elections and amend our bylaws,” he said.

Read more: https://www.apr.org/post/friendly-fire-fight-alabama-s-democratic-party-apr-news-feature