Month: October 2021

A report released Thursday said that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio improperly used his city-funded security detail for personal and political reason. A probe by New York City’s Department of Investigation also found that Howard Redmond — New York Police Department official who ran the mayor’s security detail — actively attempted to thwart the investigation into the misuse.

The agency’s report said de Blasio used the security detail like a “concierge service,” using it to drive his son and daughter without him. de Blasio also allegedly failed to reimburse the city $300,000 for using the security detail during his travel outside the city for his 2020 presidential run. DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said in the report: “Protecting the mayor and his family is a serious and significant job that should be guided by best practices, formalized procedures and an understanding that security details are not personal assistants in a dignitary’s daily life but provide essential protection.”

The DOI said De Blasio faces possible ethics violations; they also plan to refer Redmond’s case to the Manhattan district attorney’s office for consideration of criminal charges. Speaking during his daily news conference Thursday, de Blasio said the report was inaccurate and unprofessional: “Look, I’m honored to be the mayor of the city, but my first responsibility was as a father and a husband. And so, I think of the safety of my family all the time. The ultimate decisions when it comes to safety must be made by security experts. The ultimate decisions on how to align security, how to protect those chosen by the people to lead need to be made by the NYPD.”

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On Thursday, Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee released a report that reveals more details about how former President Donald Trump tried to use the Department of Justice and other government officials to invalidate the 2020 presidential election. The near 400-page report highlights a number of Trump’s actions in the report, including efforts to get the DOJ to declare the election “corrupt” in his bid to stay in the White House. It also states that Trump’s attempts provoked a near revolt in the department among officials who pushed back against the former president’s false claims of fraud, saying: “In attempting to enlist [the Justice Department] for personal, political purposes in an effort to maintain his hold on the White House, Trump grossly abused the power of the presidency. He also arguably violated the criminal provisions of the Hatch Act, which prevents any person — including the president — from commanding federal government employees to engage in political activity.”

In addition, the report stated that on Jan. 3, then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, his deputy Richard Donoghue and others met with Trump in the Oval Office to dissuade him from the idea, threatening to resign if it moved forward. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy also threatened to resign if Trump insisted on the plot. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clark told Rosen in an earlier meeting that Trump had already decided to make him the next U.S. attorney general, and he wanted Rosen to stay on as a deputy, which led to the confrontational meeting with Trump, the report says. Donoghue told Trump that his actions would lead to a mass resignation that would include assistant attorneys general throughout the department along with other department officials.

The report also detailed a plan by Trump to pressure the department into filing a complaint with the U.S. Supreme Court on the chance that it could overturn the election results. Numerous legal challenges and recounts followed the election last fall and none of them produced any indication of widespread voter fraud.

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The Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to require people to show proof they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter certain indoor establishments. The council voted 11-2 in favor of the mandate, which will require people to be fully vaccinated to enter bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms, shopping centers and entertainment venues. The mandate applies to people 12 years old and up, and those with medical or religious exemptions for the vaccine will be required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before entry. In addition, businesses found to be violating the mandate face a $1,000 fine for a second infraction, $2,000 for a third and $5,000 for a fourth.  The city already required proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 for large events such as concerts or sporting events with more than 10,000 people. Certain essential businesses such as grocery stores and pharmacies will not require proof of vaccination.

The vaccine mandate is one of the most sweeping measures taken by a U.S. city to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti must sign the measure within 10 days, at which point it will go into effect 31 days later.  Garcetti’s spokesman, Harrison Wollman, said the mayor plans to sign the mandate into law, according to the Los Angeles Times.  Garcetti said in a statement. “These new rules will encourage more people to get the shot, and make businesses safer for workers and customers — so that we can save more lives, better protect the vulnerable and make our communities even safer as we fight this pandemic.”

Police arrested a suspect on Wednesday who had been on the run after allegedly opening fire at an Arlington, Texas high school which injured three students and an adult. Police identified the shooter as 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins, who had fled from the school after the shooting, prompting a manhunt by local, state and federal authorities. Officials arrested Simpkins about 1:20 p.m. after he turned himself in to police. He faces three counts of aggravated assault.

Arlington Police Assistant Chief Kevin Kolbye said that the shooting occurred about 9:15 a.m. at Timberview High School in Arlington, after a fight between the suspect and another student. The school is part of the Mansfield Independent School District. Kolbye said during a news conference: “This is not a random act of violence. This is not somebody attacking our schools. … We believe this was a student who got into a fight.”

Three of the injured were hospitalized and the fourth, an adult, was slightly hurt after a fall; Kolbye confirmed that some of the victims underwent surgery. Kolbye also said investigators weren’t sure how the suspect bypassed the school’s metal detectors with the gun; police recovered a .45-caliber handgun at the scene and were running analysis to determine if it was the firearm used in the shooting.

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On Tuesday, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified in front of the Senate, warning that the social media company has long known about misinformation and hate speech on the platform and negative impacts on young users. At the hearing, Haugen explained to a Senate commerce committee panel how she believes Facebook’s Instagram platform affects children negatively, saying during opening remarks: “I am here today because I believe that Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy. The company’s leadership knows how to make Facebook and Instagram safer but won’t make the necessary change because they have put their astronomical profits before people. Congressional action is needed. They won’t solve this crisis without your help.”  Haugen called on lawmakers to demand more transparency into the company’s algorithms and internal metrics to guide how to regulate the company, and took aim at Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platforms from legal liability for content posted by their users.

During her testimony, Haugen said the company’s systems for catching offending content such as hate speech catches “a very tiny minority of offending content.”  She also said the Facebook platform is being used by “authoritarian or terrorist based leaders” around the world, but despite the national security threat, she did not believe Facebook was adequately prepared to monitor and combat this behavior.

Monika Bickert, vice president of content policy at Facebook, said it was “not true” that the platform’s algorithms are designed to push inflammatory content, adding, “We do the opposite, in fact, and if you look in our transparency center, you can actually see that we demote, meaning we reduce the visibility of engagement bait, click bait, and why would we do that? One big reason is for the long-term health of our services, we want people to have a good experience.”