Light News

With veganism you give up nothing. You just stop taking that which is not yours.

The President is a cancer and needs to be removed from office as soon as possible.
https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/1198758823227322368

Israeli attorney general says Netanyahu may remain in office while under indictment.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson says she will decide by the close of business whether Don McGahn must testify about President Trump to Congress. (Per Politico, McGahn was on stage playing lead guitar with '80s rock band Winger at MGM last Friday.)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/politics/mcgahn-court-impeachment-testimony/index.html

In less than a year, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway appears to have violated the Hatch Act on more than 50 occasions using her @KellyannePolls Twitter account which she uses for both personal and official government business.
https://www.citizensforethics.org/kellyanne-conway-hatch-act-violations-twitter/

Calls for man who killed 420 wedge-tailed eagles to face charges under Australian wildlife act - Scale of killings so great that long-term-impact on eagle population is unknown, conservation groups say
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/22/calls-for-man-who-killed-420-wedge-tailed-eagles-to-face-charges-under-wildlife-act

Esper says Trump ordered him to allow Gallagher to keep his Trident pin and remain a SEAL
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/politics/esper-spencer-aftermath/index.html

Schiff to colleagues: "We will catalog the instances of non-compliance with lawful subpoenas as part of our report to the Judiciary Committee, which will allow that Committee to consider whether an article of impeachment based on obstruction of Congress is warranted."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1199056444739510274

Schiff to colleagues on impeachment: "As required under House Resolution 660, the Committees are now preparing a report summarizing the evidence we have found this far, which will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee soon after Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1199055182757343238

These hearings were supplemented by seventeen depositions and transcribed interviews conducted by the Intelligence Committee, in coordination with the Committees on Oversight and Reform and Foreign Affairs. In addition, the Committees issued dozens of document requests and subpoenas over the previous six weeks. We have been working expeditiously and have uncovered a massive amount of evidence in short order, despite wholesale efforts to obstruct the investigation by the President and his Administration. | However, it is also the case that the Administration undertook an unprecedented campaign of obstruction in an effort to prevent the Committees from obtaining documentary evidence and testimony. A dozen witnesses followed President Trump’s order to defy lawful subpoenas, and the White House, State Department, Department of Defense, Office of Management and Budget, and Department of Energy have provided no documents in response to subpoenas. In fact, the Committees did not receive a single document from any executive branch agencies pursuant to our subpoenas. And, yet, this effort to stonewall failed in the face of repeated witness testimony that provided the Committees with direct evidence of the President’s actions and identified records documenting the President’s effort and the complicity of senior officials in it. | The investigative work continues, and we are learning additional information almost every day. But while we will continue with our investigative work and do not foreclose the possibility of further depositions or hearings, we will not allow the President or others to drag this out for months on end in the courts. The President has accepted or enlisted foreign nations to interfere in our upcoming elections, including the next one; this is an urgent matter that cannot wait if we are to protect the nation’s security and the integrity of our elections. As required under House Resolution 660, the Committees are now preparing a report summarizing the evidence we have found this far, which will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee soon after Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess. We will catalog the instances of non-compliance with lawful subpoenas as part of our report to the Judiciary Committee, which will allow that Committee to consider whether an article of impeachment based on obstruction of Congress is warranted along with an article or articles based on this underlying conduct or other presidential misconduct. Such obstruction was the basis of the third article of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. Further, we will be forced to infer from this obstruction that the testimony of these witnesses would tend to incriminate the President further since he would have encouraged—rather than blocked—the testimony of senior officials like Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former National Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton, if he believed it would somehow be helpful to him. The fact that the President has uniformly instructed all executive branch agencies and senior officials to obstruct the investigation further demonstrates consciousness of guilt on the part of the President. Even as we draft our report, we are open to the possibility that further evidence will come to light, whether in the form of witnesses who provide testimony or documents that become available. If other witnesses seek to show the same patriotism and courage of their colleagues and deputies and decide to obey their duty to the country over fealty to the President, we are prepared to hear from them. We will follow up on any additional evidence, even as we proceed with the preparation of our report. But the evidence of wrongdoing and misconduct by the President that we have gathered to date is clear and hardly in dispute.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/schiff-dear-colleague-letter-impeachment-judiciary

Supreme Court won't throw out climate scientist's defamation suit against National Review and Competitive Enterprise Institute: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an appeal involving a prominent climate scientist who sued an iconic conservative magazine and libertarian think tank for defamation. In a closely watched request to the Supreme Court, the National Review and Competitive Enterprise Institute asked the justices to intervene in a suit brought against them by scientist Michael Mann. The case, which pits climate scientists against the free speech rights of global warming skeptics, drew interest from lawmakers, interest groups, academics and media. The Supreme Court’s denial means at least four justices declined to take on the case, which is required to grant an appeal. Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the court’s decision to decline the case.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/471878-supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-appeal-in-case-involving-climate

U.S. troops have resumed large-scale counterterrorism missions against ISIS in northern Syria, military officials say, nearly 2 months after Trump’s abrupt order to withdraw
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/us/politics/us-syria-isis.html

Pro-democracy parties score stunning gains in local elections in Hong Kong.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/record-turnout-in-hong-kong-election-seen-as-a-referendum-on-the-pro-democracy-protest-movement/2019/11/24/31804b00-0df5-11ea-8054-289aef6e38a3_story.html

Hong Kong elections: Carrie Lam vows to 'seriously reflect' after crushing defeat in polls. Pro-democracy parties win almost 390 of available 452 seats in district council elections.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hong-kong-elections-district-council-results-carrie-lam-china-a9216396.html

African elephants will be extinct by 2040 if we don't act, says WWF, by their estimates, the African elephant population has declined by 70 percent since the 1980s.
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/african-elephants-will-be-extinct-by-2040-if-we-dont-act-says-wwf/

He needed quotes written down to quote himself. He had to write down one of the 5 things he is always screaming about to make sure it was right: Trump Regularly 'Can't Remember What He's Said or Been Told,' White House Insider Says. He really relied on that notepad too. If you watch the tape he kept looking down at it, again and again, like he was trying to keep himself on track. Remarkable behavior for someone in his position.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-anonymous-white-house-insider-memory-1472661

Economists Say Forgiving Student Debt Would Boost Economy
https://news.wgcu.org/post/economists-say-forgiving-student-debt-would-boost-economy
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/25/782070151/forgiving-student-debt-would-boost-economy

'Rigged and corrupt' — Elizabeth Warren blasted Adam Neumann's $1.7 billion golden parachute after WeWork announced job cuts
https://www.businessinsider.com/rigged-corrupt-warren-blasts-wework-adam-neumann-2-billion-deal-2019-11

Ex-White House press secretary Sarah Sanders Refuses To Stop Lying: She Insists Trump Reads 'More Than Anybody I Know' — despite claims he is given briefings using single bullet points and colorful charts and can't remember anything

So @LindseyGrahamSC when does the investigation of Ivanka and Jared start? They are doing business RIGHT NOW across the globe.
https://twitter.com/neeratanden/status/1199083118487056384

We look forward to your investigation of your friend’s family! Lara, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka!
https://twitter.com/thehowie/status/1199002795820621824

When Don Jr. and his girlfriend received $50K for an hour speech at University of Florida (tuition funds), that must have infuriated you. Investigate!
https://twitter.com/thehowie/status/1199003148540686346

The Centers for Disease Control warned that Border Patrol needed to start giving out flu shots. Border Patrol ignored that recommendation. Now three kids have died after coming down with the flu in Border Patrol custody.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/cdc-recommended-that-migrants-receive-flu-vaccine-but-cbp-rejected-the-idea/2019/11/25/8aba198e-0fb8-11ea-b0fc-62cc38411ebb_story.html

Kevin McCarthy debuts new ad praising Trump's election prowess. It uses Russian stock footage.
https://www.theweek.com/speedreads/880824/kevin-mccarthy-debuts-new-ad-praising-trumps-election-prowess-uses-russian-stock-footage

@KamalaHarris in SC on health care plans of her competitors: “You’ve got a couple of candidates who don’t have a Medicare for All plan but by their own definition, 10 million people will be left out. You know, that’s 10x the size of Delaware, that’s 100x the size of South Bend"
https://twitter.com/carolinerkenny/status/1199084808913268742

Federal prosecutors investigating associates of Rudy Giuliani have launched a broad investigation that could include criminal charges ranging from conspiracy, obstruction of justice, campaign finance violations and money laundering, according to a subpoena
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/politics/rudy-giuliani-subpoena-associates/index.html

Breaking: @CREWcrew has called on the US Justice Dept & @OfficeGovEthics to investigate whether @realDonaldTrump has violated public financial disclosure rules for not declaring a £40m+ loan to his inaugural Scottish golf resort in his OGE filings dating back to 2017.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199084072234029056

In 2018, Trump's exposure in personal loans made to his company, Trump International Scotland, totalled £40.61m. The amount has increased significantly since the firm's incorporation. It stood at £32.86m in 2012 and £6.15m in 2006.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199085216998002688

@CREWcrew claims Trump has seemingly violated federal law. It says that under OGE guidance, the loans should have been disclosed by POTUS as an asset from 2017 onwards. The OGE loan threshold sits at $1.000. Trump's loan to his Scottish company is worth approximately $51.8m.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199086816470679552

The ethics watchdog also notes that between 2009 and 2012, the accounts for Trump's firm "made no specific reference" to his loan as a "related party transaction," as it did from 2006 thru 2008, and in 2013 and 2014. The 2015 accounts refer to a 'director' but don't name Trump.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199087886316003329

From 2017 onwards, the company accounts also note a new loan from a Trump Org holding firm, DJT Holdings LLC. It provided £1.3m in 2017, rising to £2.49m last year. It's unclear why this loan was set up in this way, on top of Trump's outstanding personal loan.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199088671053533185

For its part, @CREWcrew says the distinction is significant In light of those OGE rules. "The differing treatment indicates that the £40.61m business loan is owed to President Trump personally rather than to a company within the Trump Organisation," it says.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199089249993338880

Oh, and @CREWcrew is also calling on any DoJ/OGE investigation to examine whether pro bono legal services Trump received from Rudy Giuliani constituted a gift he should have declared in his public financial disclosures.
https://twitter.com/MartynMcL/status/1199092429036670976

Here's a copy of the letter that's been sent to Jeffrey Rosen, the US deputy attorney general, as well as the OGE 1/2
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EKQJUjBWsAItqQF.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EKQJnInX0Ao2k2_.jpg

@lawfareblog has wrapped up "The Report," distilling the Robert Mueller's 448-page document into a compelling, 15-part audio documentary—and it's now surpassed 3 million downloads! 🎧 Listen to all episodes now:
https://shows.pippa.io/the-report/

How long did it take you to figure out that the doctored Nancy Pelosi video was intentionally fake? Some voters still don’t know. Be alerted to misinformation right when it happens by downloading our Newstrition mobile app. #BeInformed https://apple.co/2LSqZhi
https://twitter.com/Newseum/status/1199082088248619008

The fired Navy secretary tells @CBSDavidMartin President Trump’s decision to stop a Pentagon review of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher sends a message “that you can get away with things.” Tonight on the #CBSEveningNews at 6:30 p.m. ET. https://cbsn.ws/2DilvpX
https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1199090618351411204

Ro Khanna: "It is important to include the Mueller obstruction evidence to uphold the principles of separation of powers. What we are doing is not just for today, but for safeguarding American constitutional democracy for generations to come."
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1199092674378293248
https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-sanders-trump-reads-more-than-anybody-i-know-2019-11

She's not saying Trump reads a lot. She's saying Trump reads more than the other people she knows.
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1199032228027731969

Tim Berners-Lee, the British engineer credited with inventing the World Wide Web in 1989, unveils plan to save the internet. His plan aims to halt abuse of the internet by governments, companies and individuals and addresses problems like misinformation, data surveillance and censorship.
https://www.dw.com/en/web-inventor-tim-berners-lee-unveils-plan-to-save-the-internet/a-51395985

Boris Johnson was photographed with a suspected Russian spy who called him a 'good friend'
https://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-photographed-with-russian-spy-who-called-him-friend-2019-11

Queen cancels Prince Andrew's 60th birthday party
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2019/11/queen-cancels-prince-andrew-s-60th-birthday-party.html

A German state museum with one of the biggest collection of baroque treasures in Europe has been robbed, with losses reported of up to a billion euros. The Green Vault at Dresden Royal Palace, which is home to about 4,000 precious objects made of ivory, gold, silver and jewels, was broken into.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/25/thieves-steal-priceless-treasures-dresden-green-vault-museum

@JayGlazer says #Browns DE Myles Garrett didn’t want his allegation that #Steelers QB Mason Rudolph used a racial slur public because Garrett thought it would be bad for the #NFL ... Garrett tried to get audio almost immediately and was told it didn’t exist.
https://www.twitter.com/OwenOnTheBoard/status/1198652517028179969

Wouldn't be surprised if they hid it, it's also possible he's lying. That's is 2019 in a nutshell.

Judge orders Pentagon and White House budget office to release Ukraine aid records: The Trump administration has been working overtime to obstruct any investigation of its Ukraine dealings - but page by page, the truth is going to come out.: A federal judge has granted @publicintegrity a preliminary injunction in their FOIA lawsuit seeking OMB/Defense Dept docs on the withholding of Ukraine aid. She orders the agencies to release all non-exempt docs by 12/20, with first batch due 12/12. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k25C0_ydlrxyiH-CfhzymqsGuIN8iMkX/view
https://twitter.com/jacq_thomsen/status/1199022977456754689

On impeachment: "The requested documents are sought in order to inform the public on a matter of extreme national concern. Only an informed electorate can develop its opinions and persuasively petition its elected officials to act in ways which further the aims of those opinions"
https://twitter.com/jacq_thomsen/status/1199022979516162056

More: "In order to ensure informed public participation in the proceedings, the public needs access to relevant information...irreparable harm is already occurring each day the impeachment proceedings move forward without an informed public able to access relevant information."
https://twitter.com/jacq_thomsen/status/1199022981172879360

America's largest truck-engine manufacturer just announced 2,000 layoffs — and it's another sign of the trucking 'bloodbath' that's slamming the $800 billion industry
https://www.businessinsider.com/cummins-confirms-2000-layoffs-at-truck-engine-manufacturer-trucking-downturn-2019-11

'Everything Is Not Fine': Nobel Economist Calls on Humanity to End Obsession With GDP. "If we measure the wrong thing," warns Joseph Stiglitz, "we will do the wrong thing."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/11/25/everything-not-fine-nobel-economist-calls-humanity-end-obsession-gdp

How Bernie’s Small Donors Are Making Credit Card Companies Rich | Low-dollar, repeat contributions are a great talking point for campaigns. They’ve also resulted in a massive financial windfall for credit card processors. | A Newsy analysis of Federal Election Commission data found that since the start of the 2008 election cycle, federal political campaigns have paid more than $220 million to credit card-processing companies including American Express, Bank of America and PayPal, among dozens of others. Between the 2008 and 2016 election cycles, the amount nearly doubled, from $28.2 million to $51.5 million. The 2020 cycle is on pace to shatter that record: Through October, the 2020 campaigns spent more than $23.8 million in processing fees—more than a year before the election. Nearly one-tenth of that money came from Sanders’ presidential campaign, which has paid credit card processors more than $2.3 million—the most of any candidate this cycle. Second is Warren, whose $1.75 million in processing payments narrowly edged out Pete Buttigieg’s $1.73 million. The driver of the ever-increasing windfall for credit card processors is a fundamental change in the way political campaigns have courted online donors. With candidates both seeking a large number of donors—irrespective of the amount they give—and aiming to turn them into repeat low-dollar contributors, there’s a huge upside for the companies that process those donations: the per-transaction fees. “The smaller the transaction amount,” Zucker said, “the larger the percentage of that transaction that disappears into fixed fees.” When you give a dollar to a political campaign using your credit card, a portion of that money is paid to a range of companies—the bank that issues a donor’s credit card, the campaign’s bank, the credit card company, etc.—and is generally taken as a percentage of the donation, plus a fixed amount per transaction. Even ActBlue, which advertises a flat fee of 3.95 percent, gets charged a per-transaction fee behind the scenes, though the organization would not give exact amounts.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/25/small-dollar-online-donors-politics-credit-card-processing-072949

Asheville's woes are the story of America | If you want to understand how American politics has become more polarized and extreme over the last decade, look no farther than Asheville, North Carolina -- now split between two of the most gerrymandered districts in the country.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/23/opinions/gerrymandering-voting-districts-america-daley/index.html

The Supreme Court has granted Trump’s request for a stay in the lower court rulings requiring him to turn his financial records over to the House Oversight Committee. The Supreme Court on Monday blocked House Democrats from gaining immediate access to Donald Trump’s financial records. Trump’s lawyers now have until Dec. 5 to file a formal petition for a hearing on the case.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EKQXGFhWkAAAh8Y.png

Climate change is messing with the monsoon, and that means trouble for 1.3 billion people, including water shortages alternating with devastating floods. | India’s insurance policy against droughts, the Himalayas, is at risk, too. The majestic mountains are projected to lose a third of their ice by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at their current pace.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/25/climate/india-monsoon-drought.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/climate/global-warming-himalayas-glaciers.html
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/06/28/climate-change-depress-living-standards-india-says-new-world-bank-report

Mike Bloomberg has filed to take part in the 2020 Florida Democratic primary, which is scheduled for mid-March. It's one of the most delegate rich states for Democrats this year. Bloomberg has already invested over $3.6 million in TV ads into the Sunshine State.
https://twitter.com/schwartzbCNBC/status/1199109030045790213
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EKQXTlzWwAEwLDX.png

Jeffrey Epstein donated $350,000 to the Council on Foreign Relations in his 15 years as a member, part of the late financier’s decades-long quest for a place of honor in some of the nation’s most prestigious intellectual and scientific institutions. Now, three months after the convicted sex offender hanged himself in a New York jail cell where he was awaiting trial on federal charges of sexually abusing dozens of girls, the council has decided to devote that same amount of money to efforts to combat human trafficking. Although Epstein’s donations were long ago spent on other projects, the council, which made no move to oust Epstein as a result of his 2008 conviction on sex crimes, said Monday that it will give $100,000 to two nonprofits that help victims of human trafficking, Safe Horizon and Girls Educational & Mentoring Services. In addition, the council will spend $250,000 to launch its own project exploring how “to develop more robust legal standards and enforcement mechanisms to combat trafficking” and to identify how the United States and other countries can detect and halt trafficking operations, said Lisa Shields, a council spokeswoman.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/council-on-foreign-relations-redirects-epstein-gifts-to-fight-human-trafficking/2019/11/25/c6e473da-0fc9-11ea-9cd7-a1becbc82f5e_story.html?tid=sm_tw_pol

Navy Secretary Spencer tells CBS he doesn't think Trump "really understands the full definition of a warfighter...A warfighter is a profession of arms and a profession of arms has standards that they have to be held to, and they hold themselves to”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eddie-gallagher-case-fired-navy-secretary-richard-spencer-in-interview-defends-handling-of-navy-seal-case/

Chairman Nadler: "I am pleased the court has recognized that the Trump Admin has no grounds to withhold critical witness testimony from the House during its impeachment inquiry ... I expect [McGahn] to follow his legal obligations and promptly appear before the Committee."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1199105503915368450?s=20

Shareholders have officially approved a deal that would join the two largest newspaper chains in the U.S., GateHouse Media and Gannett. The merger means that more than 260 dailies and 300 weekly newspapers will be run by the same company. | Roughly one in four newspapers in the United States has closed since 2004, and many that managed to survive have been cut to the bone. Now, more than 260 dailies will be controlled by the same company. Shareholders voted on Thursday to approve a deal that would join the two largest newspaper chains in the United States, all but guaranteeing the creation of a newspaper colossus that is likely to result in thousands of layoffs. The combination of GateHouse Media and Gannett — already the two largest newspaper owners in the country, by both number of papers and print circulation, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina — means that more than 550 newspapers, 300 of them weeklies, will have the same owner.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/14/business/media/gannett-gatehouse-media-merger.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/business/media/news-deserts-media-newspapers.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/business/media/denver-post-opinion-owner.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/business/media/gannett-acquired-gatehouse-media.html