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11 September 19
The Secret Files of the Master of Modern Republican Gerrymandering
David Daley, The New Yorker
Daley writes: "Thomas Hofeller preached secrecy as he remapped American politics from the shadows."
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In 757 counties and county equivalents that formerly had to pre-clear voting practice changes with Washington, 1,173 polling places disappeared between 2014 and 2018. (photo: Xinhua/Barcroft Images)
David Daley, The New Yorker
Daley writes: "Thomas Hofeller preached secrecy as he remapped American politics from the shadows."
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In 757 counties and county equivalents that formerly had to pre-clear voting practice changes with Washington, 1,173 polling places disappeared between 2014 and 2018. (photo: Xinhua/Barcroft Images)
More Than 1,000 US Polling Sites Closed Since Supreme Court Ruling, Report Finds
Tom McCarthy, Guardian UK
McCarthy writes: "Jurisdictions once monitored by the justice department for racially discriminatory voting practices have collectively closed more than 1,000 polling places since a watershed 2013 US supreme court ruling released the jurisdictions from oversight, according to a new watchdog report."
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The second night of the first Democratic primary debate on June 27, 2019. (photo: Jim Watson/Getty Images)
Tom McCarthy, Guardian UK
McCarthy writes: "Jurisdictions once monitored by the justice department for racially discriminatory voting practices have collectively closed more than 1,000 polling places since a watershed 2013 US supreme court ruling released the jurisdictions from oversight, according to a new watchdog report."
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The second night of the first Democratic primary debate on June 27, 2019. (photo: Jim Watson/Getty Images)
Allison De Jong, ABC News
De Jong writes: "Five Democratic contenders lead Donald Trump in head-to-head matchups in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, with several widening their advantage since July."
EXCERPT:
Among those tested in the survey, Joe Biden leads Trump by 16 percentage points among all adults, 54-38%, essentially the same as two months ago. Bernie Sanders leads by 12 points, up from 6 in July; as does Elizabeth Warren by 11 points, compared with a slight 7 points previously. Kamala Harris leads by 10 points, while Pete Buttigieg has a slight 6-point edge.
Trump’s support is virtually the same, 38%-41%, in all these matchups, vs. 41%-45% in July. What changes have occurred mainly reflect dips in his support rather than Democratic gains in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.
Judge V. Stuart Couch. (photo: Mother Jones/DN!/Getty Images)
Immigration Judge Promoted by Trump Threatened 2-Year-Old Migrant Boy With a Dog Attack, Says Report
Gaby Del Valle, VICE
Del Valle writes: "'I have a very big dog in my office, and if you don't be quiet, he will come out and bite you!' North Carolina immigration judge V. Stuart Couch yelled at the migrant child during a March 2016 hearing."
he Trump administration recently promoted an immigration judge to the federal board that reviews immigration decisions — even though he once reportedly threatened to unleash a “very big dog” on a 2-year-old Guatemalan boy.
“I have a very big dog in my office, and if you don’t be quiet, he will come out and bite you!” North Carolina immigration judge V. Stuart Couch yelled at the migrant child during a March 2016 hearing, according to a new report by Mother Jones. Couch thought the boy was making too much noise and being disruptive, Kathryn Coiner-Collier, an independent observer who was in court that day, told Mother Jones.
“Want me to go get the dog? If you don’t stop talking, I will bring the dog out. Do you want him to bite you?” Couch reportedly yelled as a Spanish-language interpreter translated. Couch became increasingly frustrated throughout the hearing, according to Coiner-Collier. But it’s possible the boy didn’t fully understand his instructions since he primarily spoke the Mayan language K’iche’.
Couch repeatedly turned off the courtroom’s recorder throughout the course of the hearing when he threatened the boy, according to Coiner-Collier. Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Deepali Nadkarni also confirmed there were multiple breaks in the recording that day.
Instead of facing long-term repercussions, Couch was recently given a big promotion. In August, the Trump administration promoted him and five other judges to the Board of Immigration Appeals, which oversees immigration decisions — including that of the boy and his mother, who have an asylum appeal pending before the board.
Any punishment would have come as the result of a complaint filed with the Department of Justice by the executive director of Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy in April 2016. Coiner-Collier, who worked as a coordinator for a project run by the Charlotte organization, had written everything down from that day in court in an affidavit.
But it’s unclear whether Couch was disciplined. The DOJ’s assistant chief immigration judge for conduct and professionalism told Coiner-Collier’s boss that the department would take appropriate action. And after the hearing, Couch reportedly told Coiner-Collier that he would reassign the cases he heard that day to another judge.
The mother and child he yelled at during the March 2016 hearing were scheduled to appear before him in court a year later, but they were later reassigned to another judge, who denied their asylum claim.
Protesters in Philadelphia after the 2016 presidential election dispute the results. Donald Trump lost the popular vote by more than a million votes, but won the electoral college. (photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images)
What If We Made the Electoral College Moot?
Chris Winters, YES! Magazine
Winters writes: "We've now had two presidential elections in the past 20 years in which the candidate who won fewer votes was nonetheless elected president, thanks to the way the Electoral College operates in determining who takes office."
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Chris Winters, YES! Magazine
Winters writes: "We've now had two presidential elections in the past 20 years in which the candidate who won fewer votes was nonetheless elected president, thanks to the way the Electoral College operates in determining who takes office."
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African migrants wait to be admitted outside of Siglo XXI migration facility in Tapachula, Mexico, June 12, 2019. (photo: Jose Cabezas/Reuters)
An Invisible Crisis: Thousands of African Migrants Are Stranded in Mexico Hoping to Head North
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "For months, thousands of African migrants have been forced by the Mexican government to stay in the southern state of Chiapas, on the Guatemalan border. Many of them have been sleeping in tent cities."
Democracy Now!
Excerpt: "For months, thousands of African migrants have been forced by the Mexican government to stay in the southern state of Chiapas, on the Guatemalan border. Many of them have been sleeping in tent cities."
This picture taken on Jan. 31, 2018, from an observatory room, shows storage tanks for contaminated water at the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture. (photo: Behrouz Mehri/Getty Images)
Japan May Dump Radioactive Fukushima Water Into the Pacific in 'Only Option' of Disposal
Jordan Davidson, EcoWatch
Davidson writes: "The operator of the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may have to dump huge amounts of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. The company no longer has room to store it said Japan's environment minister."
Jordan Davidson, EcoWatch
Davidson writes: "The operator of the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may have to dump huge amounts of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. The company no longer has room to store it said Japan's environment minister."
EXCERPT:
Besides releasing the water into the ocean, other options include storing it on land or vaporizing it, according to the Guardian.
Radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant may have to be released into Pacific, Japan says bbc.in/2UJAZet
Six years ago, when Tokyo won the bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assured the Olympic Committee that waste and contamination from Fukushima was under control. Now, the country is facing renewed pressure to address its contaminated water problems before next summer's games, as the Guardian reported.
The Japanese government has spent over $320 million to an underground barrier to prevent groundwater from reaching the three damaged nuclear reactors. However, the wall has only reduced the flow of groundwater from about 500 metric tons to around 100 metric tons per day, as the Guardian reported.
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