Month: November 2021

A federal jury on Tuesday found that white supremacists conspired to take part in violence during a 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia which left three people dead. The jury in the civil trial ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on four of the six counts they faced, but deadlocked on two federal conspiracy counts.  The defendants — 12 individuals and five white nationalist organizations — were ordered to pay $26 million in damages for the violent protest. Half of that amount must be paid by James Fields, who’s serving life in prison for driving his vehicle into a crowd of counterprotestors, killing activist Heather Heyer.

The Unite the Right rally, which was held Aug. 11, 2017 on the campus of the University of Virginia, protested the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park.  There were protests at the park the next day, leading to violence between the white supremacists and counter-demonstrators, during which Heyer was killed.

In addition to Fields, the defendants in the civil trial include prominent white nationalists and self-proclaimed members of the “alt-right,” such as Richard Spencer, Christopher Cantwell, Jason Kessler, Elliot Kline, Nathan Damico, Matthew Heimbach, Jeff Schoep, Andrew Anglin, Matthew Parrott and others.

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President Joe Biden has ordered the release of tens of millions of barrels of oil from the strategic reserve in a move to bring down gas prices.  During remarks from the White House on Tuesday, Biden ordered an additional 50 million barrels from the reserve, which is an emergency stockpile of oil stored in underground tanks in the Gulf Coast area, a move he said “will not solve the problem of high gas prices overnight.  It will take time, but before long, you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank. And in the longer term, we will reduce our reliance on oil as we shift to clean energy.”  Inflation has pushed up the cost of many goods and services in the United States, particularly gasoline prices, which are presently at their highest prices in years.

The White House said in a statement: “American consumers are feeling the impact of elevated gas prices at the pump and in their home heating bills … because oil supply has not kept up with demand as the global economy emerges from the pandemic. That’s why President Biden is using every tool available to him to work to lower prices and address the lack of supply.”

Officials said the additional barrels of oil will be released from the strategic reserve in two ways — 32 million barrels in an exchange over the next few months that will eventually return to the emergency stockpile, and 18 million barrels in an acceleration of sales that Congress previously authorized. Biden described high gas prices as a problem in the United States and throughout the world: “We’re taking action. The big part of the reason Americans are facing high gas prices is because oil producing countries and large companies have not ramped up the supply of oil quickly enough to meet the demand. And the smaller supply means higher prices globally, globally, for oil.”

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On Monday, President Joe Biden nominated Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. Biden nominated Powell, a Republican, for another term at the central bank at a White House event despite opposition from progressive Democrats in Congress who are concerned about his leadership. He also nominated Fed Governor Lael Brainard, the progressives’ choice for the top spot, as vice chair of the board of governors. If confirmed, she would succeed Richard Clarida, whose term expires Jan. 31, 2022.

Biden said he picked Powell because the economy, while showing solid recovery, is still unsettled due to the lingering pandemic, presenting “enormous potential and enormous uncertainty.”  The President said that Powell provides a strong element of continuity and security during uncertain times, saying: “When our country was hemorrhaging jobs last year and there was panic in our financial markets, Jay’s steady and decisive leadership helped to stabilize markets and put our economy on track to a robust recovery.” He also praised Powell’s commitment to “delivering full employment. We’re making strong progress toward that goal now.”

During Powell’s first term, the Federal Reserve instituted massive levels of low-interest lending designed to keep small and large businesses afloat during the pandemic while slashing interest rates to near zero.  Powell’s nomination now go to the Senate, where he is expected to easily earn confirmation.

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The New York State Assembly’s Judiciary Committee released their report on its investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which details evidence of Cuomo engaging in sexual harassment, utilizing state resources to write a book, and hiding nursing home death numbers during the coronavirus pandemics.

The report. completed by the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, was released by Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.  The committee found Cuomo engaged in multiple instances of sexual harassment and created a hostile work environment in the process. and cites “overwhelming evidence” of sexual harassment committed by the former governor. The investigation also discovered Cuomo utilized state resources and property, including work by executive chamber staff, to write, publish and promote his book. The report said the book guaranteed Cuomo at least $5.2 million in personal profit while using the state’s staff and resources.  Cuomo was also not fully transparent to the public regarding the number of nursing home residents who died as a result of COVID-19.

Committee Chairman Charles Lavine said Cuomo’s conduct was “extremely disturbing” and was “indicative of someone who is not fit for office.” The report said the state constitution clearly states impeachment was reserved to remove an official from office and does not address former officials.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/probe-finds-overwhelming-evidence-misconduct-cuomo-81327729

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