Quinton Simon: GA Police ‘seize evidence’ in missing toddler case – National & International News – TUE 11Oct2022

Quinton Simon: Police ‘seize evidence’ in missing toddler case. Railroad union rejects contract, renewing possibility of strike. Calls grow in Congress to ban arm sales to Saudi Arabia.

NATIONAL NEWS

Quinton Simon: Police ‘seize evidence’ in missing toddler case

The search for a missing toddler in Savannah, GA, has entered its sixth day. The Chatham County police today announced they had “seized evidence that we believe will help move this case forward” and that they would “analyze the evidence to see where it leads us”. There was no further statement on where the evidence had come from or what it was.

Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley told reporters yesterday that police and FBI agents had again searched the home where 20-month-old Quinton Simon disappeared. Local media also reported yesterday that there was a huge law enforcement presence at the home and that it appeared they were pumping out a backyard pool. Hadley also acknowledged that there was now a criminal investigation connected with the search for the missing boy. He did not name the persons of interest, but did say Quinton’s biological father, who was not in the area at the time, was not a suspect.

There are several odd details already known in the case which have caused many to speculate that Quinton’s mother, Leilani or possibly her live-in boyfriend, Daniel Youngkin, were involved in the disappearance or at the very least knew more about what happened than they initially let on. When asked yesterday, Chief Hadley would not comment about whether or not the boy’s mother and her boyfriend were still cooperating with investigators. He also didn’t comment when reporters asked if he knew why the boy’s family hadn’t made any public appeal for Quinton’s return.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Railroad union rejects contract, renewing possibility of strike

A few weeks after fraught White House negotiations narrowly averted a crippling railroad strike, one of the major unions has rejected the terms of the deal that came out of those negotiations. More than half the membership of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) rejected the deal over concerns about insufficient paid time off and sick time.

While the terms of the new contract offer generous increases in compensation, one of the main sticking points has been a decline in workers’ quality of life. Workers are often on-call for extended periods of time and their schedules are unpredictable. During the pandemic, many railroad companies also adopted harsh attendance policies that heavily penalize workers if they have to miss work for a doctor’s appointment or any other pressing personal business.

Despite these concerns, most of the rail unions have approved the new contract, but all the unions must approve it to avoid a strike. For now, BMWED will return to the negotiating table with employers. Unions have agreed to hold off any strike until Congress is back in session in November. If a strike does happen, companies estimate it will cost the US economy billions of dollars per day and compound existing supply chain woes.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Calls grow in Congress to ban arm sales to Saudi Arabia

Since OPEC+ decided to cut back oil production last week, the idea of banning or cutting back US arm sales to Saudi Arabia has been gaining traction among Democrats. The OPEC+ decision just weeks ahead of the midterms is seen as an attempt to sway US voters to punish Democrats for high oil prices, while simultaneously helping fellow oil power Russia to continue funding its offensive war in Ukraine.

Yesterday, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, lent the most powerful endorsement yet to the proposal. Menendez said that has committee chair, he “will not green-light any cooperation with Riyadh until the Kingdom reassesses its position with respect to the war in Ukraine. Enough is enough”. Previously, Democratic lawmakers have penned both legislation and op-eds to very much the same effect.

The US has long been Saudi Arabia’s chief supplier of weapons, a bargain struck to ensure a steady flow of cheap oil. Over recent years, the Saudis have been involved in, among other things, 9/11, rampant human rights abuses in their own country, the murder of a journalist in Turkey, and an 8-year-long war in Yemen that has amounted to genocide. Through it all, administration after administration has continued selling them weapons. But now that the Saudis have broken their end of the oil covenant, Democrats at least think it’s time at long last to re-evaluate the US position.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Please share any thoughts, comments or questions in the Comments section below!