Justin's Political Corner
…The ruling handed down by a federal judge is peppered with stinging criticism of the policies and practices of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, saying the sheriff relied on racial profiling and illegal detentions.
The ruling is a result of a federal civil trial last summer in which Sheriff Arpaio and his office were accused in a class-action lawsuit of singling out Latinos for stops, questioning and detention. It says deputies considered the prevalence of Latinos when deciding where to carry out enforcement operations, in many cases in response to complaints based solely on assumptions that Latinos or “Mexicans,” as some complainants put it, were necessarily illegal immigrants.
Regardless of the type of enforcement — workplace raids, traffic stops or targeted patrols in areas frequented by day laborers — Sheriff Arpaio’s deputies were required to keep track of the number of people arrested on federal immigration violations, as well as state charges, Judge Snow said. In news releases, Sheriff Arpaio’s office often referred to the operations as integral parts of the sheriff’s “illegal immigrant stance.”
Cecillia Wang, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that brought the lawsuit, said, “Let this be a warning to anyone who hides behind a badge to wage their own private campaign against Latinos or immigrants that there is no exception in the Constitution for violating people’s rights in immigration enforcement.”…read more at New York Times.
From the Seattle Times twitter page, another view of the bridge collapse in Washington. Check out more of the Times’ coverage over this way. (via @BreakingTweets)
Great NEWS, even if it is only partial victory.
Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner said in a campaign video announcement last night that he’s in the New York City mayoral race. Get the complete story.
NEW YORK, NY – Yahoo announced a $1.1 billion deal for blogging site Tumblr early Monday, and said it “promises not to screw it up.”
The deal, which had been rumored since last Thursday, will help Yahoo to tap into the younger, active online user base at Tumblr. But the deal raises concerns among some Tumblr fans that the site could end up being cluttered by the ads that brings in billions of dollars a year to Yahoo. Tumblr CEO and founder David Karp has resisted the use of traditional display advertising on Tumblr to this point.
To answer those worries, Yahoo said that Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business with Karp staying on as CEO. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer posted her own Tumblr post to try to assure fans of the site they need not panic. In a call with investors and analysts Monday, Mayer referred to the deal as a “game changer” for Yahoo. She said there will be no Yahoo branding on Tumblr.
But while she sought to assure Tumblr bloggers and readers that the site will stay the way they like it, she also promised analysts that the deal will give Yahoo a chance to “monetize” Tumblr in a way that “is meaningful … to the user experience.”
Karp also sought to assure Tumblr bloggers.
“Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing,” said Karp in a statement. “Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from.”
h/t: Fox2now.com
BREAKING: The Minnesota State Senate passes #HF1054 37-30, making it the 12th state to legalize marriage equality. #MN4M #MNUnited
— Justin Gibson (@JGibsonDem) May 13, 2013
BREAKING: Dr. Kermit Gosnell Found Guilty of Three Counts of First-Degree Murder
UPDATE: Gosnell is guilty of three of four counts of 1st-degree murder. More to come…
Original Post: Just a few hours after the jury announced a deadlock on two of the charges in a murder trial that’s gained as much notoriety for its sickening crimes as its controversial (lack of) coverage (and news), the court has announced that the jury has reached a verdict on all 260+ counts against Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. The court will reconvene shortly to read the verdict and we’ll have updates as soon as it’s announced.
Gosnell is accused of numerous crimes arising from his abortion practice, including five counts of murder—four for babies that he allegedly killed after they were born alive, and one for the death of one of his adult patients. (Three other murder charges were dropped during the trial, though there were accusations of many, many more illegal abortions.) He was also accused of performing numerous late-term abortions, carried out long after they are legally allowed and sometimes on underage patients. There were also many charges for offenses related to abuse and mismanagement of prescription drugs and violations of state health codes, including using unlicensed office assistants and allowing untrained workers to administer anesthesia and other medicines.
BREAKING: The Minnesota House has passed marriage equality 75-59. Off to the Senate it goes. #MN4M #MNUnited #MarriageEquality #LGBTQ
— Justin Gibson (@JGibsonDem) May 9, 2013
BREAKING: #JodiArias guilty of 1st-degree murder. Faces the death penalty or life sentence with parole after 25 years.#AriasTrial #Arias
— Justin Gibson (@JGibsonDem) May 8, 2013
HOUSTON — Shots fired near a ticket counter left one man dead and created a scare this afternoon at Houston’s busy George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The episode has delayed some flights to and from the airport, mostly on United — which has waived change fees for customers flying through Houston today.
The incident began when an as-yet unidentified man entered the airport’s Terminal B and fired a gun toward the ceiling at around 1:35 p.m. CT, Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith told reporters at the airport.
Smith says a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official stationed at the airport heard the commotion and moved to the scene, where he gave the man a verbal warning to drop his weapon. When the man did not comply, the DHS official fired at the suspect.
At about the same time, according to Smith, the suspect appeared to turn his own gun on himself. Kese says shots were fired from both weapons, but it was not clear whose shots killed the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the airport. That will be determined in an autopsy, according to Kese.
The airport adds via Twitter that Terminal B operations are “being redirected to other terminals. (Passengers) are being allowed to move to other terminals. It’s a slow process due to heavy (passenger) traffic and limited train access.”
“It’s still an active scene. We’re asking people to be patient.,” Ward says.
The airport advised passengers were advised to check with their airlines on the status of their flights.
By 2:10 p.m. CT, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued a “ground stop” for flights bound for Houston Bush Intercontinental, citing “security” as the reason. The ground stop was still in place as of 4:30 p.m. CT.
h/t: USAToday.com
The State of Rhode Island will officially become the 10th state to recognize same-sex marriage on August 1st, 2013. The bill is being signed into law Thursday at 5:45 PM.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx (D) as his new transportation secretary.
That’s according to a White House official.
If confirmed by the Senate, Foxx would replace outgoing Secretary Ray LaHood (R).
H/T: AP.org
BREAKING: Police arrest Tupelo, Miss. man in ricin case
(Photo: Lauren Wood / Reuters)
A Tupelo, Miss. man has been arrested in connection with the ricin-laced letters sent to President Obama and a U.S. senator, police said Saturday.
MANCHESTER, Ill. (AP) — The nephew of a small-town Illinois mayor shot and killed five people, including two boys, before leading police on a chase that ended in an exchange of gunfire that left him dead, authorities said Wednesday.
Illinois State Police said they believe Rick O. Smith, 43, entered a Manchester home through the back door and shot the victims at close range with a shotgun, leaving two women, one man and the boys dead. Two people were found in a bedroom, two in a second bedroom and the man in the hallway. A sixth victim, a 6-year-old girl, was injured and taken to a Springfield hospital.
“The offender took the 6-year-old out of the residence and put her in the hands of a neighbor,” State Police Lt. Col. Todd Kilby said.
Officials have not revealed a motive for the killings. Police said the victims are related. Authorities believe Smith and the victims were acquainted, but they didn’t provide details of the relationships.
A bystander called police and told them that Smith fled the home in a white sedan. A car chase ensued, leading authorities to the nearby town of Winchester, where Smith and officers exchanged gunfire. Officers shot Smith, and he later died at a hospital.
Police said they found a rifle, shotgun and large hunting knife in Smith’s car.
Coroner officials said they plan autopsies on the victims Thursday morning in Bloomington and identities would be released at that time.
Scott County State’s Attorney Michael Hill said Smith, of rural Morgan County, had previous convictions for reckless homicide, drugs and bad checks.
Manchester Mayor Ronald Drake confirmed that Smith was his nephew, saying he hadn’t spoken to Smith in two years, but he believed his nephew was unemployed. Drake said the last time Smith contacted him was to borrow tools.
In Manchester, yellow police tape surrounded the small one-story brick home where the victims were found. Manchester is a village of about 300 residents located about 50 miles west of Springfield.
The Rev. Robin Lyons of Manchester United Methodist Church, one of two churches in the community said, “this shows tragedy can happen anywhere.”
Two area school superintendents said they received calls from county sheriffs before 6 a.m. informing them that five people had been shot to death at a house in Manchester and that a suspect was at large.
Superintendent David Roberts of the Winchester School District and Les Stevens of the North Greene Unit District No. 3 both said they immediately canceled classes when they were told of the shootings and that other school districts did the same.
Roberts said the wounded girl is a student at Winchester Grade School and her teacher was with her at the Springfield hospital.
H/T: TPM
