The Daily Moth 1-28-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Tuesday, January 28. Ready for news?
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Recap of Trump legal team’s defense; what’s next in impeachment trial
Here are highlights of President Trump’s legal team’s arguments in the impeachment trial on Monday and today.
Yesterday, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz — who is on Trump’s legal team — said none of Democrats’ charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress were “impeachable offenses.” He said there was no criminal conduct. He explained that because the case against Trump was ambiguous, the case should be resolved in favor of the defendant. He even said that he voted for Hillary Clinton and that if it was the other way around — with Hillary being president and impeached by a Republican House — he would have made the same argument.
Dershowitz said even if what former national security advisor John Bolton said about Trump linking the $400 million in military aid to Ukraine with a promise of investigations on the Biden family was true, it was not at the level of “abuse of power.”
Attorney Pam Bondi, who is a part of Trump’s legal team, focused on Joe Biden’s son Hunter by pointing out that news reports said he earned at least $600,000 a year by serving on a Ukrainian company while Joe Biden was vice-president. Bondi framed her arguments to say it was justified that Trump would make a request for Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.
Today Trump’s legal team wrapped up their arguments. They made similar points that President Trump did not do impeachable offenses. They said Bolton’s remarks in his not-yet-published book was inadmissible in the trial and closed by saying that senators should respect Americans’ right to vote and choose their president in 2020.
What comes next? Starting tomorrow, there will be a 16-hour allocation given to senators for them to ask questions in writing. Chief Justice John Roberts will decide which questions to ask and direct it to either the Democratic House impeachment managers or Trump’s legal team.
After this period, more likely Friday, senators will debate if they should subpoena witnesses and documents. It was previously thought that Republicans would get their way of ending the trial without witnesses, but new information from John Bolton might change this. Republicans would be able to call witnesses from the Democratic side, such as Joe or Hunter Biden.
If witnesses are called and testify, then after their testimony, the last thing would be a vote on whether Trump is guilty or not guilty. It requires a two-thirds Senate vote — 67 out of 100 votes — to remove Trump from office.
https://www.axios.com/trump-impeachment-trial-recap-day-6-defense-continues-bc0e7bc8-bc26-46c3-9c93-fc8704fba7de.html https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-defense-hunter-biden-john-bolton-senate
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/politics/trump-impeachment-schedule.html https://www.axios.com/trump-impeachment-trial-recap-day-6-republicans-close-faf7a5bf-27ae-431f-a47c-618522f85a7c.html
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7.7 magnitude earthquake in waters near Cuba and Jamaica
This afternoon there was a very strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Jamaica. Even people in Miami felt it.
Weather.com reported that there as a tsunami warning of waves between 1 to 3 feet headed for the coasts of Jamaica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Belize, Honduras, and Mexico. But so far, there have been no reports of destruction from tsunami waves.
People in far western Jamaica said they felt very strong to severe shaking.
Videos on Twitter showed water in swimming pools in Jamaica swishing side by side, water towers overflowing, cracks in the soil, and people rushing outside to be safe.
So far, there are no reports of severe damage or injuries.
https://weather.com/news/news/2020-01-28-strong-earthquake-strikes-jamaica-cuba
https://twitter.com/search?q=earthquake%20jamaica&src=typed_query
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NYC woman trapped under SUV is rescued by strangers
NBC 4 in New York City reported that a 25-year-old woman, Veronika, was crossing a street holding bags of groceries when she was struck and pinned underneath a SUV.
Strangers who were walking in the area rushed to help her out by lifting the SUV and pulled her out to safety. Veronika was able to walk away without any broken bones.
Here is a video from NBC 4.
[Video]
Verionka said both of her legs were stuck under one of the wheels and that she remembers being struck, being under the SUV, and seeing groceries spilled all over the floor.
She said she has a lot of bruises and is in a lot of pain, and is thankful for the strangers who helped her. She recently moved to New York City from Germany.
NBC 4 said police ticketed the driver of the SUV. USA Today said the driver was 65 years old and was issued a summons for failure to yield to a pedestrian.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/good-news/good-samaritans-in-nyc-stop-in-their-tracks-to-free-woman-pinned-under-suv/2269040/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/28/nyc-viral-video-shows-strangers-lifting-suv-save-pinned-woman/4595260002/
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Supreme Court allows “public charge” immigration rule
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the Trump administration to enforce stricter rules against immigrants who want a green card or become a citizen if they are more likely to seek government assistance such as Medicaid or food stamps.
I reported in August that the Acting Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Ken Cuccinelli, introduced a new regulation called a “public charge review” in which authorities would check if immigrants used Medicaid, food stamps, or housing vouchers in the past and look at their income and assets before deciding if they can get a green card or not.
If an immigrant is able to speak English, have private health insurance, and have at least $60,000 in income, then the person is probably not going to be declared a “public charge.”
There were lawsuits from several states and immigration advocates that held back this new rule, but now the Supreme Court has allowed the rules to proceed while the lawsuits continue in lower courts.
USCIS Director Cuccinelli said the rules are necessary to make sure immigrants can support themselves and become successful in America.
But opponents such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) said it was shameful because America shouldn’t have a wealth test for admission, pointing out that millions of people came here in the past with nothing but were able to make a life.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/5-4-ruling-supreme-court-allows-trump-plan-deny-green-n1124056
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/the-daily-moth-8-13-19
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Chipotle fined $1.3 million for child labor violations
Boston Globe reported that Chipotle Mexican Grill was fined $1.3 million by the state of Massachusetts for over 13,000 child labor violations in more than 50 restaurants in the state.
Attorney General Maura Healey said this is the largest child labor penalty ever issued by the state.
What were the violations? Chipotle made or allowed 16-year-old and 17-year-old employees work past midnight, to be on the clock for more than 48 hours a week, and hired minors without work permits.
A.G. Healey said Chipotle is now in compliance with Massachusetts child labor laws. She said the restaurant employs thousands of young people across the country and it has a duty to ensure minors are safe working in its restaurants, and hopes to send a message to other fast food chains.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/01/27/business/chipotle-cited-13-million-child-labor-violations-ma/
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DeafBlind woman recognized in a Jeopardy! Clue
Haben Girma, a well-known DeafBlind woman, tweeted last night that she was mentioned as a clue in the Jeopardy! game show.
The clue said, “Haben Girma, who advocates for disability rights, was the first Deafblind person to graduate from this law school.”
The right question is… “What is Harvard?”
See her tweet about this.
[@HabenGirma: “On @Jeopardy tonight:
‘Haben Girma, who advocates for disability rights, was the first Deafblind person to graduate from this law school.’
What a great clue, and #disability representation, too!”]
Nice. She was mentioned under the category “Inspiring Women” and was a $400 clue.
Girma wrote a book, “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.” She has been recognized and honored by former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Her website says she provides “accessibility and diversity training, consulting, and professional speaking services.” For more information about her or her book, the link is below in the transcript.
https://twitter.com/HabenGirma/status/1222001406925631489 https://habengirma.com/book/
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!