List of All Articles with Tag 'eric'

Senator Rick Scott posted a video of himself on Tuesday warning “socialists” and “communists” not to travel or move to his home state of Florida. “Let me give you a travel warning: if you’re a Socialist, Communist, somebody that believes in big government, I would think twice – think twice – if you’re thinking about taking a vacation or moving to Florida,” Mr Scott said at the start of his 35-second video message. Mr Scott’s “travel warning” is a play on the travel advisories civil rights groups like the NAACP and the Human Rights Campaign have issued warning immigrants, LGBT+ people, and people of colour to reconsider travel to the state after it passed a number of laws targeting those communities in recent months. It’s also not the first time Mr Scott, an ambitious first-term senator and former governor, has used the gimmick of issuing his own advisory to draw attention to himself. The senator also issued a press release last month warning people with left-wing views to stay away from the state. “We’re the free state of Florida,” Mr Scott continued in his video. “We actually don’t believe in socialism. We actually know people – some people in our state lived under it, we know people lived under socialism, it’s not good. It’s not good for anybody. So, if you’re thinking about it, if you’re thinking about coming to Florida and you’re a socialist or communist, think twice. We like freedom, liberty, capitalism, things like that.” Mr Scott is reportedly considering running for president, where he would be one of a number of longshot candidates attempting to wrest the nomination away from former president Donald Trump. Along with Mr Trump, two other Floridians are already in the race – Ron DeSantis, Mr Scott’s successor as governor, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Of those candidates, it’s Mr DeSantis who can claim the most credit for turning Florida into a state that has become a symbol for far right governance. In Mr DeSantis’s tenure as governor, the state has moved to severely limit abortion rights, limit free speech in schools, end the state’s tenure system, limit gender-affirming care, and more. Mr Scott, a billionaire former hospital executive who unsuccessfully challenged senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for leadership of the Republican Senate caucus at the start of the current Congress, has reportedly had a strained relationship with Mr DeSantis. He is currently running for re-election to the Senate. Read More Florida senator issues travel warning against ‘socialists’ after NAACP advisory

An investigation by a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur has determined that prisoners incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay are being held under conditions that are “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law.” The special rapporteur, University of Minnesota law professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, spent four days at Guantánamo Bay in February speaking with detainees, former detainees, and lawyers who have worked in and around the notorious facility located on the Cuban coast. Guantánamo Bay has long been notorious, seen by many on the left as a symbol of American disregard for the rule of law in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A number of detainees have reported that they were tortured. But the special rapporteur’s report is a landmark: the first time an independent investigator from the UN has been allowed into Guantánamo Bay since the facility opened more than two decades ago. Since 2002, nearly 800 people have been held at the facility — the vast majority of them Muslim, the vast majority held without a charge or clear trial date. According to the American Civil Liberies Union (ACLU), 39 men remained indefinetely detained at the facility as of last year. Ms Ní Aoláin cited the use of solitary confinement, lack of healthcare, and the use of force against detainees as among the reasons conditions at the prison may even amount to torture. The Biden administration’s response to the investigative findings was largely defensive. In an official response to Ms Ní Aoláin submitted by Michèle Taylor, the ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, the administration complimented itself for allowing Ms Ní Aoláin to access the facility and then minimised many of her findings. “The United States disagrees in significant respects with many factual and legal assertions the SR has made,” Ms Taylor wrote. “We are committed to providing safe and humane treatment for detainees at Guantanamo, in full accordance with international and U.S. domestic law. Detainees live communally and prepare meals together; receive specialized medical and psychiatric care; are given full access to legal counsel; and communicate regularly with family members.” Nevertheless, Ms Taylor wrote that the US is “nonetheless carefully reviewing the SR's recommendations and will take any appropriate actions, as warranted.” In her report, Ms Ní Aoláin outlined a number of areas in which the US could take action. One is regarding its the care it provides for detainees, a number of whom are suffering in Ms Ní Aoláin’s judgement from torture-induced trauma in addition to a range of permanent disabilities and chronic pain. Ms Ní Aoláin called on the US to establish an independent, civilian health care programme for detainees it has allegedly tortured through the years, and noted as well that US has failed to adequately address its use of torture against detainees at Guantánamo Bay. A number of organisations, including the ACLU have called on the US to close the facility completely. Former President Barack Obama announced a plan to close the facility in 2015, but failed to follow through. The Biden administration has also suggested it wants to eventually close the facility, though it has yet to happen. Read More I was a lawyer for Guantanamo detainees. Here’s why the allegations against Ron DeSantis matter Ron DeSantis watched me being tortured, former Guantanamo prisoner says Labor group requests ethics probe of Kentucky GOP gubernatorial candidate over campaign solicitation Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to impeach Biden for joke about selling ‘state secrets’ Bernardo Arévalo, Guatemala's electoral surprise, makes corruption fight top priority

The United States moved on Tuesday to punish companies accused of doing business with the infamous Russian mercenary army known as the Wagner Group, following the group’s insurrection attempt within Russia’s borders. The move is not thought to be specifically related to the coup, however, instead being a response to Wagner’s participation in some of the bloodiest fighting taking place within Ukraine, where Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion last year. A statement from the Treasury Department faulted companies in Africa and the Middle East for participating in a gold-selling scheme in violation of US sanctions to fund the Wagner Group’s ongoing activities. One executive at Wagner, Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, was also slapped with individual sanctions on his financial dealings. “The targeted entities in the Central African Republic (CAR), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia have engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and Africa, while the targeted individual has been central to activities of Wagner Group units in Mali,” reads Treasury’s press release. The companies are even accused of working with rebel militant groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) as part of the operation. Consequently, an inter-agency task force has issued an advisory highlighting risks for participants in the African gold trade. “Treasury’s sanctions disrupt key actors in the Wagner Group’s financial network and international structure,” added Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson in a statement. “The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else,” he said. Wagner Group’s prominence exploded over the weekend after the mercenary soldiers ripped through Russia and seized control of a major city, Rostov, where much of the country’s defence sector is centred. The lightning-fast coup ended as quickly as it began, with leader Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently accepting a deal negotiated by the president of Belarus which saw him exiled to that country. In exchange, participants in the insurrection were granted immunity deals — and other, unknown concessions were thought by many to have been extended to Mr Prigozhin as well. It’s unclear what the insurrection means for the future of Wagner, however, given Mr Prigozhin’s apparent banishment and the souring of his ties with Russia’s leader. Many of the private army’s troops are still deployed in Ukraine, where they are engaged in some of the fiercest combat taking place across the country’s southeast. Read More UN urges Israel and Palestinians to halt West Bank violence in statement backed by US and Russia Fox News host suggests White House ‘drummed up’ Russia coup to distract from Hunter Biden Wagner chief walks free after armed revolt. Other Russians defying the Kremlin aren’t so lucky NATO warns not to underestimate Russian forces, and tells Moscow it has increased preparedness Putin admits Moscow paid Wagner mercenaries £800m in wages in a year – and that his forces ‘stopped civil war’ Pope's peace envoy arrives in Moscow after the short-lived Wagner rebellion

US inflation could hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target in 2025, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told CNN in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

The US Supreme Court has shot down a fringe legal theory supported by Republican officials and Donald Trump’s allies that was invoked to toss out election results and radically reshape the nation’s elections. A 6-3 decision in Moore v Harper on 27 June determines that Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina amounted to a partisan gerrymander that violated the state’s constitution, but the majority dismissed the so-called “independent state legislature” theory that fuelled the state’s arguments. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion, with support from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito dissented. In oral arguments in the case last year, justices were warned that the high court’s endorsement of fringe legal theory could “sow chaos” in American democracy. The decision follows a lawsuit from a group of North Carolina voters and advocacy groups challenging the state’s Republican-drawn map of its congressional districts, which a state court rejected. Republican officials appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that the state legislature is granted exclusive power to regulate federal elections. A ruling from the justices that would uphold the GOP-drawn map would be seen as vindication for the fringe legal theory supported by many Republican officials and conspiracy theorists in their efforts to upend election outcomes and transform how the nation’s elections are run. The dubious theory – which animated Mr Trump’s spurious attempts to overturn election results in states he lost in the 2020 presidential election – could eliminate state constitutional bans against gerrymandering and other voting protections, potentially handing electoral control to Republican-dominated state legislatures that are primed to “rig” the next elections. After the 2020 presidential election, Mr Trump and his allies pressed state courts to overturn “unlawful election results” in several states he lost, based on bogus claims of fraud, and to let state lawmakers determine the outcome. All of those claims and court challenges were rejected. That fringe reading of the US Constitution went on to fuel GOP efforts to subvert election laws and change the rules of election administration across the US. In oral arguments in the case last year, US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar warned that the court’s endorsement of the theory would “wreak havoc” on the electoral process and invalidate state constitutions across the country. “I’m not sure I’ve ever come across a theory in this court that would invalidate more state constitutional clauses as being federally unconstitutional,” added Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general under Barack Obama’s administration who argued the case on behalf of voting rights groups and Democratic voters in North Carolina. “The blast radius from their [independent state legislature] theory would sow elections chaos, forcing a confusing two-track system with one set of rules for federal elections and another for state ones,” he told justices. One reading of the theory argues that elected members of a state legislature have absolute authority to determine how federal elections – as in, elections for members of Congress and the president – are performed. State constitutional protections for the right to vote and efforts to combat partisan and racial gerrymandering could be overruled. A “nightmare” scenario could mean that a Republican-controlled state legislature that rejects the outcome of an election or objects to how it was administered – including the use of mail-in ballots or voting machines that have been subject to rampant, baseless conspiracy theories – could invoke the theory as pretext to refuse the results. Retired federal judge J Michael Luttig – who advised then-Vice President Mike Pence on 6 January, 2021 while under pressure from then-President Trump to reject the election’s outcome – has warned that the theory is a part of the “Republican blueprint to steal the 2024 election.” Dozens of briefs to the Supreme Court urged justices to reject the theory, from constitutional law experts, election officials and voting rights advocates to judges and prominent Republicans – including lawyer Ben Ginsberg, who worked on the landmark Bush v Gore case in 2000 that opened the door for the theory to take shape. Chief justices from state courts across the US wrote that the Constitution “does not oust state courts from their traditional role in reviewing election laws under state constitutions.” Without such barriers, courts will be “flooded with requests to second-guess state court decisions interpreting and applying state elections laws during every election cycle, infringing on state sovereignty and repeatedly involving the federal judiciary in election disputes,” they wrote in a filing to the court. A filing on behalf of the League of Women Voters said the theory could “throw election law and administration into disarray”. More than a dozen secretaries of state also warned that the “mistaken legal theory alien to our country’s history and this court’s precedent would have far-reaching and unpredictable consequences on our country’s elections.” The US Constitution’s election clause reads that the times, place and manner of federal elections “shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.” The long-standing interpretation of that foundational clause is that election rules established by state legislatures must – like any other law – conform with state constitutions, which are under a court’s jurisdiction for review as to whether they are constitutional or not. “So if a state constitution subjects legislation to being blocked by a governor’s veto or citizen referendum, election laws can be blocked via the same means,” the Brennan Center explains. “And state courts must ensure that laws for federal elections, like all laws, comply with their state constitutions.” The Honest Elections Project, a Federalist Society-supported effort behind litigation involving state-level voting rules across the US, also supported the North Carolina case. The group invoked the fringe theory in a supporting brief filed with the Supreme Court, claiming that state legislatures are “vested with plenary authority that cannot be divested by state constitution to determine the times, places, and manner of presidential and congressional elections.” Moore v Harper “provides a timely opportunity to put these questions to rest,” according to the filing. Lawmakers in at least 38 states introduced nearly 200 bills that voting rights advocates and nonpartisan democratic watchdogs warned can be used to “subvert” election outcomes, building on a movement in the wake of 2020 elections to do in state legislatures what Mr Trump and his allies failed to do in court. The recently released analysis from the States United Democracy Center, Protect Democracy and Law Forward found that Republican state lawmakers advanced 185 bills that would make it easier for elected officials to overturn the will of their voters and make it harder for election workers to do their jobs. That total is on pace with similar efforts from previous legislative sessions. More than a dozen such bills introduced this year have been made law. Read More Supreme Court hears how the ‘blast radius’ of a radical legal theory could sow ‘election chaos’ How a fringe legal theory at the Supreme Court could blowtorch American elections Supreme Court rules Alabama discriminated against Black voters in major victory for voting rights Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation’s access to drought-stricken Colorado River, despite US treaty Deb Haaland and Tribal leaders welcome Supreme Court decision upholding Indian Child Welfare Act

By Manya Saini (Reuters) -Credit card giant American Express Co said on Tuesday Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Campbell has decided

By Niket Nishant (Reuters) -Annuities provider American Equity Investment Life Holding said on Tuesday it has received a takeover offer

Good news for your Fourth of July cookout — it's more affordable than last year. Families can expect to pay $67.73 for a party of 10, down 3% from last year's record high, according to a survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Bombshell audio has revealed Donald Trump apparently bragging about possessing still-classified military documents about Iran after he left the White House. In the recording, from a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN, the former president is heard audibly shuffling documents and describing his “big pile of papers” to associates. “These are the papers,” Mr Trump says, refering to a military document concerning Iran. “This was done by the military and given to me.” Mr Trump took to Truth Social on Monday night to fume about the tape, railing against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accusing the DOJ and FBI of leaking it. “The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe. This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!” he wrote. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit from a number of Congressional Democrats who were attempting to get information about the government lease for the Washington, DC hotel previously owned by former President Trump. Read More CNN plays tape of Trump appearing to show off military documents that he says are still classified Judge to weigh whether Trump's New York criminal case should be moved to federal court Trump valet set for arraignment in classified documents case Fox News choose Jesse Watters to replace Tucker Carlson in primetime shakeup

On the surface, the turmoil in Russia would seem like something for the U.S. to celebrate: a powerful mercenary group engaging in a short-lived clash with Russia’s military at the very moment that Ukraine is trying to gain momentum in a critical counteroffensive. But the public response by Washington has been decidedly cautious. Officials say the U.S. had no role in the conflict, insist this was an internal matter for Russia and decline to comment on whether it could affect the war in Ukraine. The reason: to avoid creating an opening for Russian President Vladimir Putin to seize on the rhetoric of American officials and rally Russians by blaming his Western adversaries. Even President Joe Biden, known for straying from talking points, has stayed on script. Biden told reporters Monday that the United States and NATO weren’t involved. Biden said he held a video call with allies over the weekend and they are all in sync in working to ensure that they give Putin “no excuse to blame this on the West” or NATO. “We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it,” Biden said. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.” Biden and administration officials declined to give an immediate assessment of what the 22-hour uprising by the Wagner Group might mean for Russia’s war in Ukraine, for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin or for Russia itself. “We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications from Russia and Ukraine,” Biden said. “But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.” Putin, in his first public comments since the rebellion, said “Russia’s enemies” had hoped the mutiny would succeed in dividing and weakening Russia, “but they miscalculated.” He identified the enemies as “the neo-Nazis in Kyiv, their Western patrons and other national traitors.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was investigating whether Western intelligence services were involved in Prigozhin’s rebellion. Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in Russia, U.S. diplomats were in contact with their counterparts in Moscow to underscore that the American government regarded the matter as a domestic affair for Russia, with the U.S. only a bystander, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said that Putin in the past has alleged clandestine U.S. involvement in events — including democratic uprisings in former Soviet countries, and campaigns by democracy activists inside and outside Russia — as a way to diminish public support among Russians for those challenges to the Russian system. The U.S. and NATO “don’t want to be blamed for the appearance of trying to destabilize Putin,” McFaul said. A feud between the Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Russia’s military brass that has festered throughout the war erupted into the mutiny that saw the mercenaries leave Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city. They rolled for hundreds of kilometers toward Moscow, before turning around on Saturday, in a deal whose terms remain uncertain. Biden’s national security team briefed him hourly as Prigozhin’s forces were on the move, the president said. He said he had directed them to “prepare for a range of scenarios” as Russia’s crisis unfolded. Biden did not elaborate on the scenarios. But national security spokesman John Kirby addressed one concern raised frequently as the world watched the cracks opening in Putin’s hold on power — worries that the Russian leader might take extreme action to reassert his command. Putin and his lieutenants have made repeated references to Russia’s nuclear weapons since invading Ukraine 16 months ago, aiming to discourage NATO countries from increasing their support to Ukraine. “One thing that we have always talked about, unabashedly so, is that it’s in nobody’s interest for this war to escalate beyond the level of violence that is already visited upon the Ukrainian people,” Kirby said at a White House news briefing. “It’s not good for, certainly, Ukraine and not good for our allies and partners in Europe. Quite frankly, it’s not good for the Russian people.” Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend, telling him, ”’No matter what happened in Russia, let me say again, no matter what happened in Russia, we in the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s defense and sovereignty and its territorial integrity.” Biden said. The Pentagon is expected to announce Tuesday that it is sending up to $500 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems, U.S. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid had not yet been publicly announced. Biden, in the first weeks after Putin sent tens of thousands of Russian forces into Ukraine in February 2022, had issued a passionate statement against the Russian leader’s continuing in command. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” he said then, as reports emerged of Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. On Monday, U.S. officials were careful not to be seen as backing either Putin or his former longtime protege, Prigozhin, in public comments. “We believe it’s up to the Russian people to determine who their leadership is,” Kirby said. White House officials were also trying to understand how Beijing was digesting the Wagner revolt and what it might mean for the China-Russia relationship going forward. China and Russia are each other’s closest major partner. The White House says Beijing has considered — but not followed through on — sending Russia weaponry for use in Ukraine. “I think it’d be fair to say that recent developments in Russia had been unsettling to the Chinese leadership,” said Kurt Campbell, coordinator for the Indo-Pacific at the White House National Security Council, speaking at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “I think I’ll just leave it at that.” China values Russia as a friend in part to keep from standing alone against the U.S. and its allies in disputes. With Russia’s invasion and resulting international sanctions sapping Russian resources and now sparking a rebellion, McFaul said, Ukraine and its allies could make the case: ”’Xi Jinping, you know, if you want your buddy to stay in power, maybe this is the time to put some pressure on him to wrap up this war.‴ ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Putin issues desperate message to Russian public after Wagner mutiny US to send $500 million in weapons, military aid to Ukraine, officials say What the papers say – June 27

Former president Donald Trump was recorded in 2021 flaunting his possession of classified military documents, according to audio obtained by CNN. In the recording, which allegedly came from a meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and estate, the former president can be heard audibly shuffling documents and describing his “big pile of papers” to associates. “These are the papers,” Mr Trump says at one point, refering to a military document concerning Iran and US military joint chief of staff Mark Milley. “This was done by the military and given to me.” “They presented me this—this is off the record,” Mr Trump appears to say at another point in the recording, describing the information he is showing to others as “highly confidential” and “secret.” Mr Trump was indicted earlier this month and charged with 37 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, including willful retention of national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing documents, concealing documents in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and making false statements. In May, CNN reported that among the evidence prosecutors used to build their case against the former president was an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting, in which Mr Trump allegedly acknowledged holding onto a classified Pentagon document detailing potential battle plans against Iran. In the indictment, prosecutors quoted Mr Trump as saying the plan was “highly confidential,” “secret,” and that “as president, I could have declassified it.” The ex-president was then supposedly recorded adding: “Now I can’t, you know, but it’s still a secret.” In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump denied possessing such a document. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things,” he said. “And it may have been held up or it may not but that was not a document. I did not have a document per se.” This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information. Read More Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite

About five or six Secret Service agents have testified before the grand jury deciding if former President Donald Trump should be indicted for his actions in connection to the insurrection on January 6, 2021, sources have told NBC News. The grand jury is looking into the riot as well as the attempts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power. The Secret Service agents who appeared were complying with subpoenas. It remains unclear how close the agents were to Mr Trump on January 6 as well as what information they provided to the grand jury. The investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith is separate from the investigation he also leads into Mr Trump’s alleged mishandling of national security information which led to the former president’s indictment and Miami arraignment. More follows...