‘People of Praise leaders failed me’: Christian group tied to Justice Amy Coney Barrett faces reckoning over sexual misconduct

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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — In December, Katie Logan called the police in this Minneapolis suburb to unearth a buried secret: Her high school physics teacher had sexually assaulted her two decades earlier, she said. She was 17 and had just graduated from a school run by a small Christian group called People of Praise. He was 35 at the time, a widely admired teacher and girls’ basketball coach who lived in a People of Praise home for celibate men.

Logan told police she reported the June 2001 incident to a dean at the school five years after it happened. Police records show the dean believed Logan and relayed the complaint to at least one other senior school official.

But the teacher, Dave Beskar, remained at Trinity School at River Ridge until 2011, when he was hired to lead a charter school in Arizona. In 2015, he returned to the Minneapolis area to become headmaster of another Christian school. Beskar denies that any inappropriate sexual activity took place. Continue reading.

White House issues new rules on ‘Buy American’ waivers

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The Biden administration on Friday issued guidance to federal agencies that aims to streamline the implementation of the president’s “Made in America” executive order.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to federal agencies and department heads outlining how the administration will seek to reduce waivers and increase transparency so the federal government outsources its manufacturing needs less often. The guidance was obtained exclusively by The Hill ahead of its release.

“It requires agencies to examine current Made in America practices and develop plans to improve them. These efforts will work together to promote economic security, national security, and good-paying union jobs here at home,” Celeste Drake, director of the Made in America Office within OMB, said in a release outlining the guidance. Continue reading.

Capitol rioter’s attorney goes off on Trump for ‘letting the dummies take the hit’ while he went golfing at Mar-a-Lago

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After earlier comparing former president Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, the attorney for one of the Capitol rioters went on a rant at the end of an interview with CNN host John Berman in which he railed at Trump for sending “dummies” to do his dirty work in an effort to void the 2020 presidential election.

After his client, Anthony Antonio, carefully parsed his words in an effort to apologize for his actions — while at the same time admitting he went to Washington, D.C., on Jan 6th because the then-president was calling for people to show up — Antonio’s lawyer, Joseph Hurley went on an extended attack on Trump.

Asked if Trump should be held accountable for the Jan 6th insurrection, Antonio conceded, “I have my day in court and do I think he’s held responsible for this? I think he should be held responsible — we’re all responsible for our own actions, and I do think he should be held responsible,” before adding, “I trust our legal system to do what they see fit when it comes to his actions that day.” Continue reading.

North Carolina lieutenant governor tells pregnant women: ‘It’s not your body anymore’

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The comment was one of a number of offensive remarks Republican official Mark Robinson made at his state party convention.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson gave a speech on Friday at his state party convention that many would consider wildly offensive. Included in his comments were statements that imply women lose the right to control their bodies once they get pregnant, that transgender people are not worthy of respect, and that Black Americans don’t deserve reparations but rather owe a debt to their enslaved ancestors.

Local station WRAL reported on Robinson’s remarks, saying the crowd of Republican voters ate up his remarks, which included nearly every right-wing culture war issue.

He spoke about his opposition to abortion, even for victims of rape or incest, appearing to allude to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, saying he felt no sympathy for those who sought abortion. Continue reading.

Democrats demand Barr, Sessions testify on Apple data subpoenas

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The top two Senate Democrats on Friday called for multiple investigations into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decisions in 2017 and 2018 to issue subpoenas seeking metadata records of House Intelligence Committee members as the Trump administration pursued leak investigations.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (Ill.) also called for two of former President Trump’s attorneys general, William Barr and Jeff Sessions, to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“The revelation that the Trump Justice Department secretly subpoenaed metadata of House Intelligence Committee Members and staff and their families, including a minor, is shocking. This is a gross abuse of power and an assault on the separation of powers,” Schumer and Durbin said in a joint statement Friday. “This appalling politicization of the Department of Justice by Donald Trump and his sycophants must be investigated immediately by both the DOJ Inspector General and Congress.” Continue reading.

Biden officials move to reinstate Alaska roadless rule, overturning Trump policy

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The proposal would affect 9.3 million acres of forest, including vast areas of old growth, that Bill Clinton originally protected in 2001.

The Biden administration said Friday that it would “repeal or replace” a rule allowing roads and other types of development in more than half of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, reviving 20-year-old protections President Donald Trump had stripped three months before leaving office.

The move was outlined in the administration’s new regulatory agenda. The notice from the White House said the change was consistent with President Biden’s Jan. 27 executive order “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” The Agriculture Department expects to publish the proposed rule in August, the notice said.

In an email, USDA communications director Matt Herrick said the department “recognizes the Trump administration’s decision on the Alaska roadless rule was controversial and did not align with the overwhelming majority of public opinion across the country and among Alaskans.” Continue reading.

In the Know: June 14, 2021

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Attorney General Keith Ellison
AG Ellison supports CDC pandemic eviction ban at Supreme Court, Red Lake Nation News

DFL Party News
8 Months After Election, MN GOP Refuses To Say It Wasn’t Stolen, DFL Press Release

Governor Tim Walz
Walz to extend limited peacetime emergency powers, call for special session, KARE 11
Gov. Tim Walz thanks Minnesotans for pandemic efforts, promotes beer reward, Star Tribune
State Human Services, waived burdensome regs during pandemic, wants to continue lighter touch, Minnesota Reformer

Continue reading “In the Know: June 14, 2021”

Oregon House officially expels Mike Nearman over involvement in State Capitol breach

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Oregon lawmakers have moved to expel Rep. Mike Nearman (R-Ore.) from the Oregon House of Representatives following his decision to aid far-right demonstrators by letting them into the state Capitol. 

On Thursday, June 10, House lawmakers voted 59-1 in favor of a resolution condemning Nearman’s decision to open the doors of the State Capitol for a crowd of protesters on Dec. 21 of last year. Lawmakers agreed that Nearman’s actions, which they described as “disorderly behavior” were enough cause for them to expel him, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Prior to the highly publicized vote, top-ranking House lawmakers weighed in with their opinion of Nearman’s actions. When House Republican Leader Christine Drazan appeared on the public radio show Think Out Loud, she admitted that protesters’ intrusion could have easily escalated into a deadly encounter similar to the one that unfolded at the White House on Jan. 6. Continue reading.

Arizona ‘Fraudit’ Challenged By Experienced Election Auditors

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A team of seasoned election auditors has challenged the Republicans leading the Arizona Senate’s inquiries into the accuracy of 2020’s presidential election results to a demonstration where the auditors say that they will conclusively show that Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in Arizona’s most populous county.

The challenge, led by a longtime Republican Party election observer and two technologists familiar with voting systems and vote-counting data, would present the results of every race in any randomly chosen batch of ballots, as generated by Maricopa County’s 2020 election data. Those paper ballots would be hand-counted and compared to the electronic totals to attest to the election’s results. These paper and digital records are the building blocks of the county’s voting system.

“We now have the capability to determine the ballot count and vote results for all of the elections on any batch and any box of ballots that were delivered to the [Senate’s contractor, Florida-based Cyber] Ninjasunder the [Senate’s] subpoena, without ever looking at a single ballot,” Tucson’s Benny White, a longtime election observer for the Arizona and Pima County Republican Parties, wrote on June 8 in a letter to Arizona Senate President Karen Fann and the audit liaison and former Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Fann and Bennett are Republicans. Continue reading.

Top CDC official warns US not ready for next pandemic

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The No. 2 official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that without consistent, long-term funding for public health, the U.S. won’t be any better prepared for the next pandemic.

In an interview with The Hill on Wednesday, Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, said the U.S. was not prepared for COVID-19 due to years of inadequate investment in public health infrastructure.

Emergency funding has helped public health agencies fight back against the coronavirus, Schuchat said, but unless that level of spending can be sustained, the country is in danger of repeating the same mistakes. Continue reading.