Tag Archive for: Iran

Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $35 – National & International News – WED 2Mar2023

Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $35 (for real this time).

Judge: Starbucks violated workers’ rights “hundreds of times”.

Iran: Alarm over gas poisonings of hundreds of schoolgirls.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $35 (for real this time)

Back in November 2022, an online hoaxer created a fake Eli Lilly Twitter account (with a blue check), and proclaimed that the company would make it’s insulin free. The real Eli Lilly then had to come out and say that the tweet was a fake and that it wasn’t reducing the price of its insulin. Now, the real Eli Lilly has taken the step to reduce the out-of-pocket cost for some of its insulin products to $35 for people with private insurance.

The move follows legislation in the Inflation Reduction Act that would cap the price for Medicare beneficiaries. At the same time, a few states, including California, Washington, Maine and Michigan, are exploring the possibility of producing their own insulin and selling it at cost, both to individual patients and to their own Medicaid programs. Eli Lilly’s decision may be meant to get ahead of those developments, which are sure to eat into their profits, while benefitting from a reputational boost.

Who will benefit?

Starting May 1, diabetes patients on high-deductible private insurance will be able to purchase four of Eli Lilly’s insulin products for $35 or less. The company says it is expanding its Insulin Value Program which caps prices for the uninsured (patients can sign up at InsulinAffordability.com. )

However, for those with insurance, there may be a catch in the form of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). PBMs are insurance company entities who determine which drugs are covered under which insurance plan. When the PBMs come into play Eli Lilly’s profits on insulin sales may not suffer much under the new plan. 

Drugmakers offer rebates to PBMs to ensure their products are included and promoted in the menu of drug options insured patients can choose from. However, the PBMs don’t pass along that savings to the patient. By the time a company pays its rebates to the PBMs, the drugmaker may be getting only pennies on the dollar from each sale. By cutting its list price, Eli Lilly is essentially cutting out the middle man.

But PBMs may instead favor drugs from companies that offer them bigger rebates. Eli Lilly still has products on the market that won’t be subject to this $35-a-month cap, as do two of its largest competitors in this market, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi.

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

Related: How Eli Lilly and other drugmakers have manipulated the insulin market to keep prices high for decades.

 

Judge: Starbucks violated workers’ rights “hundreds of times”

Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Starbucks has violated the rights of unionizing workers in its Buffalo, NY, stores “hundreds of times”. Rosas ordered Starbucks to reinstate seven Buffalo workers the company fired and to reopen a store the company shutdown after its employees voted to unionize.

The ruling also requires Starbucks to post a 13-page document in all its stores detailing the company’s labor law violations and delineating the rights of workers. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will also have to read or be present at a reading of employees’ rights, with a recording of the reading distributed to all of Starbucks employees in the US.

A nationwide effort to unionize Starbucks workers got underway in 2021. To date, about 281 stores have voted to unionize, representing over 7000 employees. But Starbucks CEO Schultz has repeatedly, and often illegally, adopted illegal union busting tactics, including employee intimidation, firing union organizers and penalizing employees at stores who voted to unionize. Last year, a judge forced Starbucks to rehire 7 employees in Memphis, TN, who were fired after becoming involved in the movement.

Starbucks has yet to sign a contract with any of the unionized stores. Rosa’s ruling requires them to participate in bargaining with the union at multiple stores in Upstate New York. Starbucks may appeal Rosa’s ruling and has until March 28 to do so.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will hold a vote to subpoena Schultz to answer for his union busting before Congress.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran: Alarm over gas poisonings of hundreds of schoolgirls

A recent wave of gas attacks on girls’ schools in Iran has parents, students and government officials pointing fingers in all directions. The gas attacks began in November 2022 as massive nationwide protest movement over state oppression of women was raging. By that time, girls’ schools had become hotbeds for such protests. Since November, more than 1000 students have been affected, but so far none have died. The symptoms students have experienced include respiratory problems, nausea, dizziness and fatigue.

After a brutal state crackdown including dozens of killings by police, thousands of arrests and several hangings, the larger protest movement has gone quiet. But the anger of the populace hasn’t dissipated, and schools remain focal points for organizing acts of civil disruption.

The most recent wave of poisonings have hit 26 schools in five cities, sickening dozens of girls. It’s widely believed among Iranians that these attacks are an orchestrated attempt to force the schools to close. The government has been cagey about who is behind the attacks and has refused to even confirm reports about what gas is being used.

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Waves of Cuban, Haitian migrants encountered in Florida Keys since Dec. 30 – National & International News – THU 5Jan2023

 

 

Waves of Cuban, Haitian migrants encountered in Florida Keys since Dec. 30. Ukraine finds Iranian attack drone containing parts from 13 US companies.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Waves of Cuban, Haitian migrants encountered in Florida Keys since Dec. 30

Yesterday, the Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast tweeted that it had either interdicted (turned back) or encountered 1,300 Cuban and Haitian migrants between Friday, Dec. 30, and Monday, Jan. 2. Some had landed and were transferred to Customs and Border Protection for processing, while others were turned back at sea. Reporting isn’t clear as to how many migrants HSTF-SE transferred to CBP and how many they blocked from arriving.

One of the boats used to make the dangerous 100-mile crossing.

Over the weekend, about 500 mostly Cuban migrants arrived in the Florida Keys. Over 300 came ashore at the Dry Tortugas National Park, forcing the closure of the park. However, the recent wave of sea arrivals did not stop on Monday. On Tuesday, 140 Haitian migrants landed on Key Largo. The same day, an additional 20 Cuban migrants arrived in Key West and 27 Cubans in Islamorada. Two cruise ships rescued an additional 50 migrants and surrendered to authorities on Tuesday. These are just the reports I could find, there are likely many more.

Arrivals continued on Wednesday when Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay joined Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) for a news conference to discuss the issue. Monroe County contains all the Florida Keys and parts of two national parks on the southern tip of Florida. Sheriff Ramsay has called the wave of sea arrivals a “crisis” for his department and has criticized the federal response. On Wednesday, Ramsay said his county had seen an average of 10 boats arriving every day.

A chaotic and dangerous situation

Another tweet from HSTF-SE confirmed that since August 2022, Task Force interdicted 7,784 refugees at sea and encountered 4,401 that had landed. HSTF-SE also confirmed 65 migrants drowned in fiscal year 2022. The Chief of the Miami Border Patrol sector also said that since Oct. 1, 2022, the sector has experienced a 400% increase in migrant encounters.

Another boat migrants used to cross from Cuba.

Many of these migrants attempt the dangerous 100-mile crossing from Cuba in overloaded and unseaworthy vessels, sometimes cobbled together from improvised materials. Once they arrive, there’s no guarantee as to whether they will be able to stay or whether they’ll be sent back. Many migrants say that if they’re sent back, they’ll simply attempt the crossing again. It’s no wonder given the horrendous situations in both Cuba and Haiti.

Immigrant and human rights advocates have described our asylum system as arbitrary and cruel, and it often is. Our immigration laws haven’t had a serious overhaul in over 40 years. Enforcement is often left up to the whims of successive administrations and is never applied equitably. Even migrants who do manage claim asylum have to wait months or years for hearings in our overburdened immigration courts.

 

Mixed signals

Today, Biden announced a program to allow 30,000 migrants a month to arrive in the US from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela. This program will be open to people who apply from outside the US and can prove they have a US sponsor.

However, Biden also announced that his administration will extend Title 42, the Trump-era order that prevents migrants from seeking asylum, to arrivals from Cuba and Haiti. Currently, Title 42 only applies to migrants from Mexico, Venezuela and some Central American countries. This announcement comes even as Biden’s Department of Justice is preparing to defend the administration’s decision to end Title 42 before the Supreme Court. To say the administration is sending mixed signals on immigration would be an understatement.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iranian attack drone used in Ukraine contained parts from 13 US companies

In recent months, Russian forces have been deploying loud, slow-moving Iranian-made attack drones to target buildings in Ukraine. Iran has denied supplying these drones to Russia, but US intelligence has confirmed that they are, in fact, Iranian. A Ukrainian team recently dissected a drone that was shot down and found that it contained parts made by 13 different US companies. The drone also contained parts from Canada, Switzerland, Taiwan, China and Japan. 

The report does not name the US companies or specifically say whether they are weapons manufacturers or other tech companies. The parts somehow found their way to Iran despite strict export controls the US has imposed on its companies to prevent such materials from falling into the wrong hands. The US is now looking at ways to beef up enforcement of those sanctions, but there aren’t many options. Apart from pushing companies to better monitor their supply chains, US intelligence must identify third-party sellers.

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New ‘boil water’ notice in Jackson due to freeze – National & International News – MON 26Dec2022

New ‘boil water’ notice in Jackson due to freeze. Four substations sabotaged in Washington State, leaving 14,000 without power. Iran protest movement marks 100 days.

 

 

NATIONAL NEWS

New ‘boil water’ notice in Jackson due to freeze

Days of low temperatures and severe storms has wrought havoc over much of the US. Even Buffalo, NY, no stranger to harsh winter weather, has declared this the worst storm in the city’s history. In Western New York State, 27 people have died, 25 of them in Buffalo. This included many who froze to death in their cars after becoming stuck and then covered by snow.

Things haven’t been nearly as bad in Mississippi and the rest of the Southeast, but the region hasn’t been spared either. The antiquated and poorly-maintained water system in Jackson has suffered yet another weather-related blow, four months after the entire city lost water pressure for days this summer. Over the weekend, the city reported that water pressure was “fluctuating” due to the freeze. Now the entire city is under a “boil water” notice. In February 2021, a similar spate of freezing weather left much of the city without running water for days.

Months of political wrangling and finger-pointing between city, state and federal authorities has brought the city no closer to bringing its water system into the 21st century. Earlier this month, a federal judge appointed a special third-party manager to take charge of a series of short-term fixes.

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Four substations sabotaged in Washington State, leaving 14,000 without power

Between 2:39 a.m. and 7:21 p.m. local time on Christmas day, vandals broke into and sabotaged equipment in four power substations near Tacoma, WA. The entire state had suffered below freezing temperatures just two days before, but thankfully temperatures were low but at least above freezing on Christmas day. By Monday morning, most affected customers had power restored.

Local authorities are investigating but have made no arrests nor named any persons of interests. Power substations have become an appealing target for domestic terrorists. Earlier this month, gunfire attacks on two power substations in North Carolina left thousands without power for days amid freezing temperatures. Local police have still made no arrests in those incidents, which forced thousands of residents into shelters to keep warm and charge phones and home medical equipment. Authorities were also unable to confirm or refute reports that the saboteurs had targeted the substations to thwart plans for a drag show.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security warned that critical infrastructure, including largely unsecured power stations, could be targeted by “lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances”.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran protest movement marks 100 days

Iran’s antiregime protest movement has just reached the 100-day mark. It began with the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa, or Zhina, Amini in the custody of the morality police. Since then, the protest movement has continued to grow and evolve, as has the regime’s response to it. The regime has deployed deadly force against street protesters. According to Human Rights Activists’ News Agency (HRANA), police have killed more than 500 protesters, including 69 children. Prominent members of the resistance (including some whose only crime was posting a TikTok video) have also been arrested.

Police routinely shoot protesters with pellets in the face and genitals, permanently disfiguring them. Detained female protesters have described sexual assault while in prison or in police custody. Two protesters have been executed on charges of “warring against god”. In one of these executions, the prisoner was hung from a crane. At least 26 other imprisoned protesters are charged with crimes that could result in execution. Reports of torture of detainees and evidence of torture on the bodies of deceased protesters have become common.

These intimidation tactics have indeed had an effect on the protest movement. While mass street protests continue, they are not as frequent nor as widespread as they initially were. Instead, the nature of the protests seems to be evolving. For example, protesters are hurling petrol bombs at police stations and religious schools. Recently, a “turban tossing” has emerged where a protester runs up behind a cleric, knocks their turban off their head and runs away. Famous sports figures and prominent members of Iran’s entertainment industry are also now speaking openly in favor of regime change.

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Brittney Griner freed: US swaps WNBA star for “Merchant of Death” – National & International News – THU 8Dec2022

 

 

Brittney Griner freed: US swaps WNBA star for “Merchant of Death”. “Tripledemic” of flu, RSV, COVID strains hospitals. Iran carries out first execution connected with headscarf protests.

 

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Brittney Griner freed: US swaps WNBA star for “Merchant of Death”

WNBA star Brittney Griner is now on her way home to the US after months as a Russian prisoner. President Biden, joined at the White House by Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner, announced that the US had reached a prisoner swap deal with Russia. Russia is releasing Griner in exchange for the US releasing the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner arrived in Moscow in February where she plays for a professional women’s basketball team during the US off season. Police arrested her at the airport after finding vape cannisters in her bag containing hashish oil. Griner has a US prescription for the hash oil which she uses for pain management. However, marijuana is illegal in Russia in all its forms. 

The case received a great deal of media attention as Griner’s arrest coincided with the build-up of Russian military assets on Ukraine’s border. Once Russia invaded, many suspected that Russia had detained Griner to use her as a pawn in negotiations with the West.

Griner appeared in a Russian court over the summer. Despite pleading guilty to smuggling in a bid for leniency, she received a 9-year sentence in one of Russia’s notorious penal colonies.

Griner’s family and fans met today’s news of her release with elation. However, the family of another American imprisoned in Russia, Paul Whelan, were disappointed that Whelan was not also coming home. Whelan is a former US Marine who was arrested in Russia in 2020 on espionage charges. President Biden said the US has not given up on bringing Whelan home, but said that Russia “unfairly” considered Whelan’s case as being different to Griner’s. 

Who is Viktor Bout?

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Viktor Bout earned himself the nickname “Merchant of Death”. He was an international arms dealer suspected of having deep ties to the Russian government. He built a notorious reputation as someone who could obtain, sell, and move military-grade hardware to anyone, anywhere in the world for the right price. Bout would even sell his high-grade weapons to both sides in an armed conflict. His wares helped to fuel deadly conflicts in Africa, particularly during civil wars in Angola, DR Congo, and Sierra Leone. The 2005 film “Lord of War” starring Nicholas Cage was loosely based on Bout.

After an elaborate sting operation, US authorities arrested Bout in 2008 over a conspiracy to sell weapons to Colombian rebels to kill Americans. He was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

Securing Bout’s release has been a high priority for the Kremlin and Putin’s government has raised the possibility in negotiations with the US many times. It’s not clear whether Bout was himself working for the Russian government, but many think it likely as he was able to easily procure the latest in Russian weapons and even combat aircraft.

US security analysts believe it’s unlikely that Bout will once again represent a danger once he’s released. However, Bout is only 55 (we think) and if Putin is backing him, it doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility that he could go right back to arms dealing on a mass scale.

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“Tripledemic” of flu, RSV, COVID straining hospitals

Doctors are raising the alarm as cases of flu, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are spiking across the country. Unlike during much of the COVID pandemic, children are proving to be especially vulnerable, especially to RSV. Pediatric units in major cities across the country are full to capacity, with many young children and even infants on ventilators. Many children are coming in with RSV and other infections at the same time.

RSV is a virus that commonly affects people in the winter months. However, infections began rising unusually early this year. Following the Thanksgiving holidays, cases of flu, COVID and RSV all predictably rose. Public health officials are urging people to get their flu vaccines and COVID boosters and to go back to social distancing and mask wearing to avoid overwhelming hospitals over the holidays.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran carries out first execution connected with headscarf protests

When Iran’s attorney general hinted over the weekend that the country’s morality police might have disbanded, some observers wondered whether this meant the regime was attempting to assuage the growing protest movement. In the three months since a 22-year-old woman died in the custody of the morality police, the protest has taken on revolutionary overtones. However, the protests have continued, as has the state’s brutal police response to them.

Today Iran carried out the first execution known to be connected with the protest movement. Mohsen Shekari, 23, was hanged after being convicted of “warring against God”. Shekari took part in some of the earliest protests. He was arrested for allegedly stabbing and wounding a member of a pro-government militia during a demonstration. He was also accused of blocking a road with his motorcycle. Iran state television aired footage of Shekari’s confession, which rights groups believe was coerced. Shekari was visibly bruised in the recording.

Shekari was one of 21 people facing charges connected with the demonstrations which carry the possibility of the death penalty. Iran’s security forces have killed hundreds of protesters outright, many of them children.

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Mississippi man pleads guilty to hate crime for burning cross to frighten his Black neighbors – National & International News – MON 5Dec2022

 

 

Mississippi man pleads guilty to hate crime for burning cross to frighten Black neighbors. California Gov. targets Big Oil’s price gouging. Iran protests: Confusion after official implies morality police have disbanded.

 

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Mississippi man pleads guilty to hate crime for burning cross to frighten Black neighbors

Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, MS, has pleaded guilty to hate crime charges after a Dec. 2020 incident in which he set up a wooden cross on his front lawn, doused it with motor oil, and set it alight. According to the Justice Department, Cox admitted that he burned the cross to frighten his Black neighbors. He further admitted that he did it because of their race and because they were living next door to him. Court documents also show that Cox made “threatening and racially derogatory remarks” towards his neighbors.

Cox’s lawyer has entered a guilty plea in which Cox admits to violations of the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act is part of the 1968 Civil Rights Act and prohibits discrimination against a person’s housing rights based on their race, religion, nationality, sex or family status.

Cox faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both.

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California Gov. targets Big Oil’s price gouging

As gas prices have risen and fallen over the past year, California residents have been paying consistently high prices, averaging over $6 per gallon. Despite various market and supply issues, major oil companies have been making record profits. California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, rumored to have Presidential aspirations, is looking to find a way to penalize oil companies for price gouging and return some of that money to the state’s drivers.

Newsom hasn’t yet formally released this plan. However, it is likely to be similar to the windfall tax that prominent Democrats, including President Biden, have been calling for at the national level. As in Congress, the proposal would face an uphill battle in the California Legislature. The oil lobby is one of the top campaign donors for politicians in both bodies. California’s legislature is also seating an unusually high number of new members this term, many of whom received hefty campaign donations from Big Oil.

The Western States Petroleum Association, an oil industry lobbying group, is also already fighting back. The group blames California’s regulations and tax system for its higher-than-average gas prices and called on lawmakers to do away with these regulations.

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INTERNATIONAL NEW

Iran protests: Confusion after official implies morality police have disbanded

Over the weekend, Iran’s attorney general made a spontaneous remark that has raised questions about the status of the country’s morality police. Among other things, the morality police enforce the country’s strict dress codes for women. The death of a young woman in their custody for improperly wearing her headscarf has sparked two months of growing protests. Iran’s security forces have led brutal and deadly crackdowns killing hundreds of protesters, many of them children. However, the morality police themselves have been far less visible since the protests began.

At a news conference, a reporter asked Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri why the morality police had seemingly gone dormant. Montazeri responded that the morality police were not part of his justice department, but rather the interior ministry and that the agency had been “shut down by those who created it”. This created an assumption by many that the infamous agency had been fully disbanded. However, the government has issued no official decree to that effect.

Even if it’s true that Iran’s current iteration of the morality police is no longer active, the regime still has many other agencies to enforce its decrees. The justice department continues to arrest and sentence protesters. In time, a different mechanism for imposing strict Islamic dress and other morality issues may emerge. 

In any case, the protesters have made clear that, whether or not the morality police go away or the government enacts reforms to relax enforcement, their goal is total regime change.

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National train strike looms again ahead of holidays – National & International News – MON 21Nov2022

 

 

Costly train strike looming ahead of holidays. Shooter at CO gay club charged with hate crime, dodged red flag law. Turkey, Iran carry out airstrikes in Iraqi Kurdistan.

NATIONAL NEWS

National train strike looms again ahead of holidays

Back in September, marathon negotiations between industry groups, labor unions and members of the Biden administration narrowly averted a major nationwide railroad strike. The parties hammered out a deal that would give train workers a 24% raise. However, the deal did nothing to address issues with working conditions and sick days, which were a major sticking point for the unions.

Leaders and members of the 12 major unions expressed dissatisfaction with the deal at the time, but agreed to put the contracts to a vote. As of now, seven unions have ratified the agreement; three have rejected it and are back at the bargaining table; and two unions have yet to vote. 

Now fears are rising that we could see a strike as soon as Dec. 4. If even one of the 12 unions decides to strike, all the others will join them. Back in September when a strike was first on the horizon, industry groups estimated a strike would cost the US economy about $2 billion per day. With the holidays approaching, the loss could be even better. Not to mention the fact that about 30% of freight in the US travels by rail. A rail strike could mean even greater supply chain problems and even empty shelves. Amtrak and some commuter rail lines would also grind to a halt.

In the event of a strike, Congress has the power to force the unions back to work. Workers know this would mean accepting a less favorable deal than the one that’s on the table now. But after over 5 years of negotiation and two years of crews working short-staffed with punishing schedules while companies made record profits, there is a lot of built up anger and frustration on the part of the workers. 

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Shooter at CO gay club charged with hate crime, dodged red flag law

Saturday night, a 22-year-old gunman entered Club Q, a LGBT club in Colorado Springs, CO., and started shooting. Anderson Lee Aldrich killed 5 people and injured 25 before two civilians heroically tackled and disarmed him. Police and first responders were on the scene within about 5 minutes of the first 911 call.

Aldrich was not known to the patrons or owners at Club Q. His attack coincided with Trans Memorial Day, when the LGBT community memorializes trans people who have died by violence in the last year. It seems Aldrich picked a day when he knew there would be a good crowd in attendance. He carried both and AR-style long gun and a handgun and brought several extra magazines. It’s not clear how many people were in the club that night, but Aldrich obviously hoped for a high body count.

Today Aldrich was charged with a hate crime. FBI agents have been working alongside local law enforcement processing the scene.

Back in June 2021, Aldrich allegedly threatened his mother with a homemade bomb. Police responded and evacuated nearby neighbors while the bomb squad searched his home for explosives. None were found. Local media reports that prosecutors did not pursue formal charges and the records were sealed. Nevertheless, Aldrich’s guns could have been confiscated under Colorado’s red flag laws. Red flag laws allow family members or law enforcement to obtain a warrant to remove weapons from the home of a subject who is considered a threat to himself or others. It’s not clear at present why this didn’t happen. Even if a judge had ordered Aldrich’s weapons confiscated, subjects often get them back within a couple of weeks.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Turkey, Iran carry out airstrikes in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkey is hitting neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan (in the north of the country) with air strikes in retaliation for a recent bombing in Istanbul. The Turkish government blames militant Kurdish liberation forces, known as the PKK, for the bombing. Air strikes have also taken place in Kurdish areas of Syria in what the Turks are calling Operation Claw-Sword. Turkey has been waging war on its own Kurdish population for decades and has committed numerous war crimes against them over the years. Militants have now largely retreated to areas of Syria and Iraq. Turkey has taken advantage of political turmoil in its neighboring countries, believing they can carry out attacks on foreign soil with impunity.

Iraqi Kurdistan has also been hit multiple times by Iranian missiles in recent weeks. Iran’s government blames the Kurdish minority for stirring and perpetuating widespread antigovernment protests across the country. Mahsa Amini (also known as Zhina Amini), the 22-year-old student whose death in police custody sparked the protests, was Kurdish.

The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group with their own language. They’ve been fighting to create their own state as they frequently face brutal oppression in the countries they inhabit. The diaspora spreads across areas of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Caucasus region. During the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi Kurdish force called the Peshmerga fought alongside US troops. The Kurds then established a semi-autonomous region in the north of the country and enjoyed a period of relative peace. Now that the political situation in Iraq has become increasingly unstable, Iraqi Kurdistan has been vulnerable to attacks from all sides. 

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Thousands of Starbucks workers strike on one of chain’s busiest days – National & International News – THU 17Nov2022

Thousands of Starbucks workers strike on one of chain’s busiest days. Senate issues damning report on “excessive” gynecological procedures on ICE detainees. Iran security forces kill boys, 9 and 14, in protest crackdown.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Thousands of Starbucks workers strike on one of chain’s busiest days

Today, more than 1,000 union Starbucks workers went on strike at over 100 stores in 25 states. Since late last year, about 260 of Starbucks’ 9000 nationwide locations have voted to unionize. The union Starbucks Workers United (SWU) has formed more new unions in a 12-month period than any US company in the last 20 years. SWU now represents around 7000 workers. Today’s picketing was the largest nationally coordinated labor action by the union since the labor organizing campaign began.

The strikes coincided with Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, usually one of the chain’s busiest days of the year. On Red Cup Day, Starbucks locations hand out free reusable cups to customers who order holiday drinks. The cups are also considered collectibles, and Starbucks stores often have trouble staffing on Red Cup Day due to the higher demand. Strikers instead handed out their own red cups with union logos.

SWU says the strike is a “response to Starbucks’ union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain” with union stores. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is openly hostile to unionizing efforts and has adopted illegal union-busting tactics according to the National Labor Relations Board. In the past year, the NLRB has issued 39 official complaints against Starbucks. These complaints include over 900 alleged violations of federal labor law, according SWU.

Pro-labor Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) expressed solidarity with striking workers on Twitter today. “I’m proud to stand with Starbucks workers on strike today across the country. CEO Howard Schultz is illegally union busting and firing workers for organizing. Mr. Schultz, it is time to recognize the stores that unionized and negotiate with workers in good faith,” Sanders wrote.

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Senate issues damning report on “excessive” gynecological procedures on ICE detainees

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has reported the findings of its investigation into whistleblower complaints regarding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Irwin County, GA. In 2020, nurse Dawn Wooten, who used to work at the facility, blew the whistle on excessive gynecological procedures performed on detainees, often without informed consent.

The Irwin County Detention Center contracted with Dr. Mahendra Amin, who holds no board certifications. Wooten learned that Amin had been performing high numbers of hysterectomies and other invasive and life altering procedures on ICDC detainees. Many of these women spoke no English and did not understand what had been done to them. 

The PSI report says, “ICDC housed roughly 4% of female ICE detainees nationwide from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Amin accounted for roughly 6.5% of total OB-GYN visits among all ICE detainees in the same time period. However, he performed nearly one-third of certain OB-GYN procedures on ICE detainees across the country between 2017 and 2020 and more than 90% of some key procedures”.

PSI committee chair and Georgia Senator John Ossoff said of the report, “This is an extraordinarily disturbing finding, and in my view represents a catastrophic failure to respect basic human rights”. 

Dawn Wooten was fired when she tried to report these concerns to her superiors at ICDC. Dr. Amin continues to practice in Georgia, even though he is under criminal investigation, according to the Senate report.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran security forces shoot boys, 9 and 14, dead in protest crackdown

Iran’s security forces have been unable to contain weeks of protests over the death of a young woman in the custody of the country’s morality police. The state’s violent and deadly crackdowns on demonstrations seem to have only encouraged more people to join the anti-regime movement. Police have detained at least 16,000 protesters and their online supporters. The courts have recently begun sentencing some of them to death. 

Since the protests began in late September, at least 362 protesters, including 56 children, have been killed by security forces. Yesterday, Kian Pirfalak, 9, and Sepehr Maghsoudi, 14, were among seven people killed by live fire during a protest in one city. At least 13 other people were killed at protests elsewhere in Iran that day as well.

What started as a protest against Iran’s restrictive dress codes for women has evolved into a movement bent on ending over 40 years of theocratic rule in Iran. Iran’s government and state media have attempted to downplay the size and significance of the protests. At the same time, they accuse the US, Israel and other Western countries of stoking the protests to bring about regime change.

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One year later, search continues for missing OK mom and son – National & International News – WED 26Oct2022

 

One year later, search continues for missing Oklahoma mom and son. Former Trump Chief-of-Staff ordered to testify in Georgia election interference probe. US sanctions Iran over hijab protest crackdowns.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

One year later, search continues for missing OK mom and son

It’s been a year since Glenda “Cookie” Parton, 80, her son Dwayne Selby, 59, and Dwayne’s friend Jack Grimes, 76 vanished from Turley, OK, near Tulsa. Selby and Grimes were last seen on Oct. 25, 2021, on their way to a horse show in Texas. When they never arrived, Parton went searching for them and also vanished. Selby and Grimes’ vehicle and the vehicle belonging to Parton were soon both found abandoned in the Tulsa area.

On Oct. 31, 2021, hunters found human remains in a wooded area. Police later identified them as belonging to Grimes and said that his cause of death was homicide. Grimes’ remains were found only about a mile from his home. Investigators now believe that none of the three ever left the area. 

There has since been no sign of either Parton or Grimes, but police believe they also met with foul play. Back in March, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at the home of Jack Grimes in search of clues. Authorities never revealed whether or not they found anything of interest. Investigators also sought information from people in the regional show horse scene. Grimes, Selby and Parton were loved and respected horse breeders and were partners in a business. However, authorities haven’t indicated that the trio’s fate had any connection to the horse world.

Person of interest?

Last week, TCSO spokeswoman Casey Roebuck told reporters that searches around the county, “resulted in some evidence that is pointing us toward a person of interest”. However, investigators aren’t yet ready to name or charge this person. “We are working with the Tulsa County DA’s office to try and build a case, but we’re not there quite yet,” said Roebuck.

“We have reason to believe the same person is most likely responsible for all three of their deaths,” Roebuck said. “It would help us exponentially if we could locate Dwayne and Cookie. But at this point, we haven’t”.

Bizarrely, a 4th person disappeared from Turley, a town of about 2500 people, about a week before Grimes, Selby and Parton. Shannon Miller, 39, was later found deceased as well. However there’s no indication to date that Miller’s disappearance and death has any connection to the others.

 

Former Trump Chief-of-Staff ordered to testify in Georgia election interference probe

A judge has ordered Mark Meadows to testify before a Fulton County grand jury probing attempts by former President Trump to interfere in the 2020 election. In late 2020, Meadows was Trump’s White House Chief-of-Staff. Meadows was part of an infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that call, Trump called on Raffensperger to “find” the 11,000-odd votes that Trump needed to overturn his loss to Biden in Georgia. Trump also implied that Raffensperger and his attorney might face legal consequences if they refused.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis convened a grand jury earlier this year over this call and other attempts by Trump surrogates to pressure Georgia state officials to overturn the election results. The grand jury has already heard from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who is also a target of the probe.

Like Meadows and others, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R- SC) has been fighting subpoenas to testify in Fulton County. Graham also made phone calls to Raffensperger and other Georgia election officials and lawmakers following the election. Raffensperger says Graham pressed him about the legal authority to toss out certain ballots. Graham asserted his calls were simply “fact-finding” and that his status as a US Senator shielded him under the Speech-and-Debate clause. Court after court rejected this argument, until Graham appealed to the Supreme Court. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas temporarily blocked the subpoena. It’s worth pointing out that Thomas may have his own reasons for wanting to slow the investigation.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

US sanctions Iran over hijab protest crackdowns

The US has announced new sanctions on Iranian intelligence officials, prison officials, leaders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and an Iranian firm engaged in online censorship. The new sanctions come 40 days after Mahsa (or Zhina) Amini died in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Amini was arrested for improperly wearing her hijab.

Amini’s death has sparked weeks of protests all over Iran against the country’s theocratic leadership and oppression of women and free speech. While Iran’s leadership has continually played down the significance and size of the protests, they’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to try to suppress them. Human rights groups in the country say over 200 protesters have been killed in the crackdown and over 12,000 arrested. Just today, clashes occurred between police and protesters marking 40 days after Amini’s death. In Islam, family and loved ones observe a special day of remembrance 40 days after a death.

The sanctions come at a difficult moment for US-Iran relations. Since Biden took office, his administration has been attempting to renew the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew. Progress in the negotiations has been slow and prospects for a new treaty look increasingly unlikely. At the same time, activists supporting the protesters in Iran have been calling on the US to pause the negotiation. They say that a new treaty and sanctions relief would strengthen the current Iranian regime and undermine the protesters.

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Nurse who blew whistle on forced sterilizations of migrants still out of work 2 years later; doctor still practicing – National & International News – MON 17Oct2022

 

Whistleblower nurse who exposed non-consensual hysterectomies still out of work 2 years later. CA police arrest serial killer suspect. 8 prisoners dead in fire at notorious Iran prison.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Nurse who blew whistle on unnecessary hysterectomies still out of work 2 years later; doctor still practicing

Two years ago, nurse Dawn Wooten raised concerns that a physician had performed dozens of invasive gynecological procedures on women in migrant detention centers without their informed consent. Because of her courageous efforts, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) no longer contract with the doctor, or the hospital in question. Legal aid groups working on behalf of these women have campaigned tirelessly for more humane conditions for immigrant detainees. But because she spoke out, Wooten says she’s apparently been blackballed from a profession that she loved. Meanwhile, the surgeon, Dr. Mahendra Amin, continues to practice.

“The uterus collector”

In October 2019, Wooten was working as a nurse at the Irwin County Detention Center, which contracted with ICE to house immigrants awaiting deportation. Wooten said, “Different migrant women were coming and asking me, ‘can you check and see what procedure I had? Or ‘what happened to me yesterday?’ And they were coming back from the physician not knowing what was going on”.

Most of these women spoke no English, and never received an adequate explanation of the procedures to be performed on them. Women in the facility clearly knew something wasn’t right and had branded Dr. Amin “the uterus collector”. But until they spoke to Wooten, no one at the facility had taken their complaints seriously.

Wooten soon discovered that dozens of ICDC detainees had been subjected to invasive gynecological procedures without their knowledge. These included full and partial hysterectomies and dilation and curettage. After Wooten raised these concerns with her colleagues at ICDC, she was fired. Still, Wooten reported her findings to human rights watchdog groups and the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. She also went public with the accusations.

Two years later

Despite all the praise Wooten received from rights groups and advocates, Wooten believes she is still being punished for speaking up. “Post-whistleblowing,” she said, “I am on antidepressants, at one time I was suicidal, couldn’t pay bills, still can’t pay bills, my whole nursing career just plummeted”.

A single mother, Wooten now relies on welfare, Medicaid and food stamps to get by. That’s despite spending every day on the phone looking for work doing a job she once loved. “Pre-whistleblowing,” she said, “I worked four 12-hour shifts a week, was able to meet needs, loved what I did, got up every morning faithful in the job that I did. I love nursing”.

Even though employers have turned their backs on her, Wooten is still looking for ways to serve a profession she found meaningful. She’s currently studying for an advanced nursing degree, and hopes to become an educator. Her goal is “to educate enough nurses that are entering the field that this doesn’t continue to happen on their watch”.

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California city relieved after serial killer suspect caught

Police in Stockton, CA, have captured a man they believe is responsible for seven shootings in the area, 6 of them fatal. Just since July this year, five men were fatally shot while walking alone at night. Police then linked two more shootings to the same killer that took place in April of last year. One of those victims, a 46-year-old black woman, survived. All the other victims were men, five of them Hispanic, another white. The victims ranged in age from 21 to 54 years old. Although there were no apparent commonalities among the victims, save for the fact they were walking alone at night, police said the shootings fit the profile of a serial killer.

Over the weekend, police took Wesley Brownlee, 43, into custody in connection with the killings. Police believe that Brownlee, who is black was “out hunting” for another victim when he was apprehended. Brownlee was in his vehicle at 2am Saturday, cruising an area where many of the shootings have taken place. He was clad in black, wearing a mask around his neck and had a handgun in his possession.

Police say Brownlee had a criminal record but provided no further details. No motive for the killings has yet surfaced.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran: at least 8 prisoners dead in fire at notorious prison

This weekend, dramatic video circulated on social media showing an out-of-control blaze at the notorious Evin prison near Tehran. Evin houses many of Iran’s highest-profile political prisoners. The families of two Americans held there report that their loved ones are unharmed.

In the video, shouting, screaming, gunshots and explosions can be heard, as well as chants of “death to the dictator” from demonstrators gathered outside the prison. This chant has become a favorite of young people protesting the harsh strictures on freedoms for women in the country. For five weeks since the death of Zhina Amini, 22, in the custody of the morality police, the protests have continued to grow in scale and fervor. Many people arrested in these protests have been imprisoned at Evin.

Iranian officials says that 8 prisoners died and dozens suffered injuries in the fire. It’s unclear what the cause of the fire was. Outside sources say there was an uprising inside the prison. It’s all but impossible for independent media to verify what exactly occurred.

Meanwhile, the EU has sanctioned Iranian security forces over the death of Amini and other young women who have been murdered during the protests.

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Report: DOJ believes Trump may still be holding onto government documents – National & International News – FRI 7Oct2022

 

Report: DOJ believes Trump may still be holding onto government documents. Alabama prisoners strike over inhumane conditions. Iran protests: Family say 2nd girl murdered by police.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Report: DOJ believes Trump may still be holding onto government documents

Citing anonymous sources familiar with the investigation, the New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department is skeptical that Trump has returned all the government documents he carried off from the White House. The DOJ has reportedly been in continuous talks with certain members of Trump’s legal team in recent weeks. The reporting implies that these talks are similar in nature to months of talks with Trump’s team aimed at recovering stolen documents. It was only after months of bad faith negotiations that the DOJ authorized a search of Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago.

Since that August 8th search, questions have been swirling about dozens of empty folders with classification markings found by the FBI. It’s likely that the documents once contained in those folders are still in Trump’s possession. The question is, “Where?”. Some have pointed to a video from 2021 which has recently received attention. The video shows Trump getting on a private plane in Florida headed to New Jersey, where Trumph has his Bedminster golf resort. In the video, Trump aides can be seen carrying several heavy boxes which are identical to the boxes found to contain government documents at Mar-a-Lago. The reason this is significant is that this May 8, 2021, flight took place just two days after the National Archives reached out to the Trump team with concerns that documents belonging to the government may be at Mar-a-Lago.

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Alabama prisoners strike protesting inhumane conditions

Since late last month, prisoners at all 13 Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) prisons have been on strike from unpaid prison service jobs. Alabama prisoners routinely perform laundry, food service and maintenance work in prisons for no compensation. Since the strike began, ADOC has reduced the daily meals prisoners receive from three to two and canceled weekend visitations. While some prisoners say this is retaliation, ADOC says the cutbacks are due to logistical constraints due to the strike. However, ADOC insists the prisons remain fully operational.

Without prisoners to do much of the work, ADOC likely is experiencing logistical setbacks due to a long-standing staffing shortage that only worsened during the pandemic. This is in part why prisoners are striking. Advocates say these staffing shortages have led to, among other things, inadequate food, increased violence in the prisons, dangerous living conditions, and appalling shortfalls in medical and mental healthcare. In 2017, the Justice Department said these and other deficiencies in ADOC’s prisons violated inmates’ constitutional rights. But since that report, the situation has only gotten worse.

Prisoners are also demanding reforms to the state’s parole system and sentencing laws, both of which have led to dangerous overcrowding. ADOC prisons currently house over 20,000 prisoners in prisons designed to hold a maximum of 12,115.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Family say second girl murdered by police in Iran protests

Iranian authorities claim that Nika Shakarami, 16, fell from a building during recent historic protests against the country’s morality police. Shakarami’s family say that she was beaten to death by police. Furthermore, Shakarami’s family say authorities kept her death a secret for nine days, then snatched her body from a morgue and buried her in a remote area.

Conflicting reports over Shakarami’s death signal that Iran’s elites fear that her death at the hands of police may stir further anger and protests. The protests began nearly four weeks ago when Zhina Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Amini had been arrested for wearing her headscarf improperly. Meanwhile, the state coroner has ruled that Amini’s death was not a result of blows to her body but an underlying condition. Iran’s protesters are not likely to accept these findings

Another 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh died after being beaten in the head and body with batons at a rally. Authorties are insisting that Esmailzadeh also died from jumping off a building.

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Breaking: Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in Mar-a-Lago docs case – National & International News – TUE 4Oct2022

 

Trump asks SCOTUS to intervene in Mar-a-Lago docs case. CA police hunt serial killer. Solar-powered town in FL never lost power during Ian. Iran leaders appeal for calm in protests.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Breaking: Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in Mar-a-Lago docs case

Former President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to stay a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. The 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, recently overruled Florida District Court Judge (and Trump appointee) Aileen Cannon, who had barred the Justice Department from using the documents seized by the FBI in its criminal investigation of Trump. The 11th Circuit panel that overruled Cannon comprised of two Trump appointees and one Obama appointee. In their decision, the 11th Circuit said that Cannon had made her ruling “in error”.

DOJ is now hoping the 11th Circuit will overrule Cannon a second time. Last week, DOJ filed an appeal asking the court to overturn Cannon’s ruling appointing a special master to oversee the investigation. Special master Raymond Dearie is tasked with reviewing 11,000 documents (amounting to about 200,000 pages) of non-classified material that Trump illegally carried off from the White House. Dearie’s review will take considerable time, which Trump’s team believes will work in their favor. So far, Trump’s legal team has not offered much in the way of justification for why Trump had the documents in the first place or why he refused to turn them over when subpoenaed.

Trump is asking the Supreme Court, which began a new session this week, to reverse the 11th Circuit’s decision to exclude 103 classified documents from Dearie’s review. If SCOTUS agrees to hear Trump’s case and overturns the 11th Circuit, that will again prevent DOJ from using the classified documents in its ongoing investigation. There’s no word yet on whether SCOTUS will agree to hear Trump’s case.

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CA police hunt serial killer linked to 7 shootings

Police in Stockton, CA, a city of over 300,000 50 miles south of Sacramento, believe that the same person has shot 7 people, 6 of them fatally, since April 2021. Investigators first found a link between the fatal shootings of 5 men (4 of them Hispanic), all of which have taken place since July 8. The latest killing occurred at 2am last Tuesday. Now, police believe this killing is also responsible for two other shootings that occurred in April last year. One of those victims, a 40-year-old black woman, survived her injuries.

So far, the ages of the victims range from 21 through 54. Police say the killer prefers to strike people walking alone at night. Even though the only commonality shared by the victims is that they were alone at night, Stockton police say the pattern matches that of a serial killer. There is no evidence in any of the killings of robbery or connection to any gang activity.

The killer has been careful to target people when there are no witnesses, so investigators have no reliable description of the killer. Police have released a grainy image from a surveillance image of someone they say is a person of interest. The image shows a person dressed all in black with a dark cap, but only from the back. Despite this, police say they have “located” a person of interest. There’s also speculation more than one person may be involved.

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Solar powered FL community never lost power during Ian

While tens of thousands of residents in Charlotte County, FL, are still without power nearly a week after Hurricane Ian came ashore, one community that gets 100% of its power from solar energy never lost power or internet service, even at the storm’s height. Babcock Ranch is just 20 minutes away from Ft. Myers in neighboring Lee County, which took the greatest damage from Ian.

Unlike many new developments in Florida, Babcock Ranch was built with environmental sustainability and climate resilience in mind. The community sits on higher ground, at least 25 feet above sea level. Its buildings are built to withstand 145 mph winds. Ian’s maximum sustained windspeed on land was 150mph. Still, Babcock Ranch sustained minimal damage compared to its neighbors.

The community’s solar panels are maintained by Florida Power and Light (FPL). Back in 2017 when the area suffered another direct hit from Hurricane Irma, “Out of 343,000 solar panels spanning 440 acres — none of them were dislodged, and only two panels had to be replaced due to damage from flying debris”. The solar field has now more than doubled to 900 acres containing nearly 700,000 solar panels.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran protests: Leaders appeal for calm, blame US and Israel

Nearly three weeks of protests led by women have clearly rattled the powers-that-be in Iran. The protests began when a 22-year-old Kurdish woman Zhina (or Mahsa) Amini died in police custody. The country’s morality police in Tehran arrested Amini for improperly wearing her headscarf. Police say she suffered a heart attack and died, while her family say she was beaten. Her death ignited protests in which women have burned their headscarves and cut their hair in a show of defiance to the regime. At several rallies, chants of “death to the dictator” have been heard. Despite an internet blackout by the government, protests have continued to spread to new cities and onto university and high school campuses.

Since the unrest began, Iran’s leadership has been flailing. They’ve simultaneously downplayed the protests and their importance, while blaming the US and Israel for stirring the protests to undermine the ruling elite. Today, Iran’s president, conservative hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, attempted to appeal for calm, calling for “unity” and again blaming outside influences for stoking the unrest.

Even as Iran’s leaders call for calm, their police are engaging in bloody crackdowns on unarmed protesters. Rights groups say so far at least 80 people have been killed.

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Mar-a-Lago papers: Special master questions Trump’s claims of declassification, “planted” evidence – National & International News – FRI 23Sep2022

 

Mar-a-Lago papers: Special master questions Trump’s claims of declassification, “planted” evidence. Fed’s inflation fighting will bring “pain”, increased unemployment. Iran struggles to contain protests after woman dies in “morality police” custody.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Mar-a-Lago papers: Special master questions Trump’s claims of declassification, “planted” evidence

Judge Raymond Dearie, the semi-retired federal judge serving as “special master” in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, is adopting a put-up-or-shut-up stance on various claims by Trump and his attorneys in the case.

When Dearie met in a Brooklyn courtroom with attorneys for Trump and the Justice Department earlier this week, Dearie insisted that Trump’s attorneys provide their reasoning for the claim that Trump had declassified the over 100 documents seized from his home with confidential, secret and top secret labels. Trump’s team claimed they shouldn’t have to disclose their defense in case Trump was indicted. Dearie appeared unimpressed with this argument, telling Trump’s attorneys “You can’t have your cake and eat it”.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta simplified Dearie’s task somewhat on Wednesday. A three-judge panel (two Trump appointees and one Obama appointee) ruled that the classified documents should not be part of Dearie’s review. The court also reversed a decision by a lower court judge Aileen Cannon (another Trump appointee) barring DOJ from using the classified documents in their criminal investigation of Trump. 

Trump repeats claims FBI may have planted evidence

In an interview this week, Trump again insinuated that the FBI agents may have planted evidence when searching his home. Although Trump’s attorneys haven’t made this claim in court, where they’re under oath, Dearie called on the Trump team to catalog which of the documents in the DOJ’s list of seized property they believed were not at the home when the FBI conducted its search. Trump’s attorneys so far haven’t responded.

During that same interview, Trump also asserted a President could declassify documents just by thinking about it. While the President does have the power to declassify documents, there’s an extensive bureaucratic process required to do it. Neither Trump nor his attorneys have presented any evidence to show Trump even initiated this process while in office.

Dearie has ordered DOJ to provide him and Trump’s attorneys with electronic copies of the 11,000 non-classified documents seized from Trump’s home. Trump’s side then has until October 14 to declare which of the documents they believe are privileged along with a justification for that assertion.

Dearie has also enlisted retired judge James Orenstein to help with his review, and recommended a fee of $500 per hour for Orenstein’s work. As the plaintiff in the case, Trump’s team will have to pay these fees, which could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Fed’s inflation fighting will bring “pain”, increased unemployment

This week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced another 0.75% increase in short term interest rates. Ahead of this announcement, Powell bluntly stated that the Fed’s fight to curb stubborn inflation may nudge the US economy into a recession. This means slower growth, more unemployment. In remarks last month, Powell was pretty open about his view that unemployment was too low and needed to increase.

Unemployment is currently at its lowest point in years, which has given workers increased bargaining power. While some sectors have seen wage increases, they are not keeping up with inflation. Meanwhile, despite supply chain snags and a labor crunch, corporate profits are also at historic highs. Corporations have steadily increased prices at a rate that outpaces both inflation and wage growth. Some economists have termed this phenomenon “greedflation”. 

However, the Fed doesn’t have the power to combat corporate price gouging- that would take an act of Congress. The Fed’s interest rate hikes can only tackle the demand side drivers of inflation. Supply side drivers are likely to remain unchecked until consumers’ ability to keep up with ever increasing price hikes is exhausted.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran struggles to contain protests after woman dies in “morality police” custody

Last Friday, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of the “morality police” in Tehran after she was arrested for not wearing her headscarf correctly. Authorities claim Amini suddenly went into a coma, but her family believe she was beaten by police and died as a result. Since then, protests have erupted in more than 80 cities across Iran. Women are publicly burning their head scarves in a show of defiance, while chanting “death to the dictator” or “I will kill the man who killed my sister”.

The authorities’ crackdown on the demonstrations has been fierce. Rights groups believe at least 31 people have died. Nevertheless, the protests continue to spread. In recent years, Iranians have periodically taken to the streets in great numbers to protest economic conditions as well as food and medicine shortages. Crackdowns on those protests were swift and brutal. Unlike previous cases, police actions have failed to quell the hijab protests.

Iran’s President, conservative hardliner Ebrahim Raisi has said that Amini’s death must be investigated. However, he’s made no statement decrying the routine oppression of the morality police.

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