For Rep. Jeff Van Drew Jeff Van Drew Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food New Jersey lawmakers press for SALT cap repeal in next relief package Sunday shows preview: Riots roil Washington as calls for Trump's removal grow MORE (N.J.), swapping party allegiances has also meant reversing course on the top issues moving through Congress. The second-term Republican, who left the Democratic Party last year to protest the first impeachment of former President Trump Donald Trump Trump announces new tranche of endorsements DeSantis, Pence tied in 2024 Republican poll Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food MORE , had supported every one of the Democrats' top nine legislative priorities in the last Congress, most of them before he jumped to the GOP. That list featured some of the more controversial issues Congress considers, including gun reform, climate change, immigration and equal pay between the genders. Yet if Democratic leaders are banking on Van Drew's support this year as they race to move virtually identical bills through a bitterly divided House, they'd better reconsider. ADVERTISEMENT In the early weeks of the new Congress, Van Drew has already voted against two of those nine proposals, opposing bills expanding gay rights and overhauling the campaign finance system. And he's hinting he'll also switch his position on other bills to come. “Gotta look at them again,” Van Drew told The Hill this week. In a typical Congress, a single vote from a minority member would be, in a practical sense, inconsequential. But this is no typical Congress. After losing more than a dozen seats in November, Democrats have a razor-thin majority, and can afford to lose no more than a few members of their caucus on any controversial legislation that hits the floor. That dynamic means the votes of moderates in both parties ...
Coronavirus
China: Citizen Journalist Arrested for Wuhan Reports on Hunger Strike
The health of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan is “ deteriorating ” from a prolonged hunger strike she started months ago while in jail to protest a four-year prison term handed to her by Chinese state authorities in December for her reporting on Wuhan’s initial coronavirus outbreak last year. “She has been on hunger strike and force-fed through nasal tubes with her limbs restrained for long periods,” a lawyer for Zhang who asked not to be identified told Agence France-Presse (AFP) of his client this week. Zhang, a 37-year-old woman from Shanghai, China, “had become very thin and almost unrecognizable by Christmas [December 2020],” according to the lawyer, who added that Zhang appeared in court that month in a wheelchair due to her frail health. “By not eating, she wants to protest against the illegal nature of her treatment,” Zhang Keke, another member of Zhang Zhan’s legal team told AFP. “She believes that not eating is a way to tell them [Chinese authorities] they are wrong,” Keke said. Keke previously issued a statement saying that when he visited Zhang in jail in early December 2020 she told him she was being force-fed via a feeding tube and was suffering from stomach pain, dizziness, and headaches. “Restrained 24 hours a day, she needs assistance going to the bathroom, and she tosses and turns in her sleep,” the lawyer said in a statement shared by the BBC. “She feels psychologically exhausted, like every day is a torment,” Keke added. Zhang traveled from Shanghai to the central Chinese city of Wuhan in February 2020 to report on the local coronavirus outbreak there, which was the epicenter of China’s coronavirus epidemic in late 2019. Zhang filmed coronavirus patients lining the halls of Wuhan hospitals and published the footage, along with open letters critical of Wuhan’s alleged attempts to cover up the then-unfolding health crisis, online. Her amateur reporting soon caught the attention of Chinese state authorities, who ...
Meghan McCain Says Biden Crossed Hillary Clinton’s ‘Deplorable’ Line With ‘Neanderthal Thinking’ Comment
Meghan McCain said Friday that President Joe Biden had crossed a line when he accused Republican leaders of “Neanderthal thinking” for rolling back coronavirus restrictions and mask mandates. Calling it a “self-inflicted wound,” McCain compared Biden’s comments to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s claim that half of Trump’s supporters could be classified as a “basket of deplorables.” (RELATED: ‘You Are Joe Biden And You’re Losing The New York Times’: Meghan McCain Says It’s Time For Biden To Work ‘With The Other Side’) WATCH: “Is this a real problem, Meghan?” Cohost Joy Behar began the segment by asking McCain whether the response to Biden’s comment was “manufactured.” “It really reminds me of Hillary Clinton’s deplorable comment which I think a lot of people on the left wrote off, and it really ended up hurting her. And I think unfortunately, it’s a self-inflicted wounded,” McCain replied. “You guys can laugh and say, ‘oh, it’s a joke, whatever,’ but Republicans across the country already feel like people on the left think they’re dumb rednecks, they’re just stupid deplorables in baskets, nobody cares with their trucks and flags. That’s what Republicans think the media thinks of them, I was actually surprised to hear him throw around that language.” McCain went on to criticize Biden for his failure to hold a press conference , arguing that White House press secretary Jen Psaki was compounding the problem by “blowing off Republican questions and Republican talking points.” “All it does is going to help Republicans be more tribal and think that we’re just deplorable Neanderthals. The left has no place for us, so there’s no unity whatsoever, and I think it’s — I think it’s really unfortunate. I don’t like it at all,” McCain continued. Behar pushed back, saying Clinton’s comment had predated Americans learning “how deplorable” former President Donald Trump really was. “So in reaction to Trump, nothing sounds that ...
Disgraced former media darling Andrew Cuomo must resign, but more for this reason
Every day, another shoe drops in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's increasingly dire world. In 2020, you couldn't find a more popular governor in the country. The press certainly adored him if these headlines – and there are dozens more like them – are any indication. New York Times: “ Andrew Cuomo Is the Control Freak We Need Right Now ” ADVERTISEMENT Vogue: “Why We Are Crushing on Andrew Cuomo Right Now” Vanity Fair: “Dear Andrew Cuomo, I want to be your First Lady'' Washington Post: “No one does it like Andrew Cuomo” This month’s Cover of Rolling Stone: Andrew Cuomo Andrew Cuomo Cuomo accuser says governor did not take sexual harassment training NY Senate advances bill to repeal Cuomo's emergency powers Two female aides to Cuomo leave administration MORE Takes Charge https://t.co/u8sLXkcHWV pic.twitter.com/HBRvYrOHmx — Melissa DeRosa (@melissadderosa) April 13, 2020 Yep — Cuomo certainly brought the sizzle to his power point presentations during his nationally-televised press conferences throughout the early months of the pandemic. He was the anti-Trump: Fatherly. Meticulous. Sympathetic. He was even presidential to the point that some argued he should sit at the top of the Democratic ticket despite not being a declared candidate. ADVERTISEMENT And of course, there was “Keeping up with the Cuomos” on CNN's highest-rated news program, where multiple "interviews" were conducted that really served as propaganda and PR for the governor courtesy of network anchor and younger brother Chris. And over the course of 10 interviews starting in March, the nursing home situation wasn't broached once despite reports of a possible scandal emerging last summer. When the going was good, the Cuomo Comedy Hour was difficult to avoid. But now, thanks to an all-too-convenient edict by the network, anchor Chris isn't allowed to cover – or even discuss – the huge national stories that are his brother's scandals. ...
San Francisco Doles out $16.1M to Provide 262 Tents for Homeless Residents
San Francisco is dealing with its homeless epidemic by spending $16.1 million for 262 tents — an investment that breaks down to $190 a night or $61,000 per tent per year. The tents will be placed in empty lots around the city, creating what officials are calling “safe sleeping villages.” The city will also provide food and other services. “The annual cost of one spot in one site is 2½ times the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported . The report continued: City leaders are under enormous pressure to address the city’s swelling homeless population, which has become more worrisome and visible amid the pandemic as traditional shelters have had to cut their capacity and other services have been disrupted. But several officials said Wednesday that the tent program — which is not eligible for federal reimbursement — is staggeringly expensive and must be re-examined, especially amid the $650 million budget deficit that San Francisco projects over the next two years. The $16.1 million allocated for the safe sleeping program in the current budget is a fraction of the more than $300 million spent annually on homeless services. A 2018 ballot measure will probably raise an additional $250 million to $300 million per year. Abigail Stewart-Kahn is interim director of the city’s homeless department. Stewart-Kahn noted that the city had to scramble to create other options for the homeless as indoor shelters were closing early in the pandemic. She said officials did not have time to do a more thorough contract bidding process, which may have lowered operating costs. The sites are also on empty lots around the city — including outside of City Hall and at a City College parking lot South of Market — which required water and electrical hookups, along with around-the-clock security. “It’s eye-popping, and we need to understand why that is,” San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who proposed ...
