Month: March 2023

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell was hospitalized Wednesday night after falling and suffering a concussion at a Washington, D.C., hotel.

David Popp, communications director for McConnell, said in a statement released Thursday afternoon: “Leader McConnell tripped at a dinner event Wednesday evening and has been admitted to the hospital and is being treated for a concussion. He is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days of observation and treatment. The Leader is grateful to the medical professionals for their care and to his colleagues for their warm wishes.”

The fall happened at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, DC, where McConnell was appearing at a reception and private dinner for the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC he launched to elect Republicans to the Senate. McConell previously fell at his Kentucky home in 2019, fracturing his shoulder.

The 81-year-old McConnell, who has served as the Republican senate leader since 2007, is among the oldest politicians in the Senate. McConnell also became the longest-serving Senate leader in January, surpassing Mike Mansfield, D-Mt., who served as Senate majority leader for 16 years.At 38 years of service in the chamber, he is the 13th longest-serving senator in history.

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President Joe Biden released his federal budget proposal on Thursday, vowing to cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over the next decade, in part, by levying a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans. During a speech in Philadelphia, Biden said the budget “reflects what we can do to lift the burden on hardworking Americans.”

Biden also raises more revenue by increasing taxes on oil and gas companies, hiking the corporate tax rate to 28%, up from 21% imposed under former President Donald Trump but below the 35% tax pre-2017, and allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices. In addition, he called on Congress to support his plan to extend Medicare and Social Security and reduce the deficit by raising taxes on wealthy Americans.

The president’s spending priorities include increasing funding for early childhood education and child care, expanding the $35 cap on insulin prices to all Americans and expanding free community college. The budget also boosts military spending to more than $835 billion, among the largest in U.S. history.
Biden still faces the unresolved standoff with Republicans over whether to lift the debt ceiling.

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On Wednesday, a court order Wednesday delayed the release of about 20 hours of footage from the fatal beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police officers. A Memphis judge ruled nearly 20 hours of additional footage and internal documents related to the city’s investigation into the death of Nichols cannot be released until the lawyers for the five former Memphis police officers charged in his death have seen the new video. The delay came on the same day the U.S. Justice Department said it would review the Memphis Police Department and the use of specialized units within law enforcement in the wake of Nichols’ killing in January.

The court order read: “The court orders that the release of videos, audio, reports, and personnel files of City of Memphis employees related to this indictment and investigation (to include administrative hearings, records and related files) shall be delayed until such time as the state and the defendants have reviewed this information  The release of this information shall be subject to further orders of this court and, in the public interest, will be ordered as soon as possible.” Body camera footage released last month showed multiple officers beating, pepper spraying and using a stun gun on Nichols after a traffic stop and sparked protests in Memphis and around the country. Nichols died three days after the beating on Jan. 10.

The Justice Department also said on Wednesday that its Community Oriented Policing Services office will conduct a review of certain policies and practices by the Memphis police at the request of Mayor Jim Strickland and Police Chief Cerelyn Davis. The review will cover “policies, practices training, data and processes related to the MPD’s use of force, de-escalation and specialized units.”

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The Justice Department said Wednesday that it found the that Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville/Jefferson County Metro government violated the Constitution and federal law in various practices, and dealing with the Black community. Following an investigation launched in April 2021, the DOJ said it has entered an agreement with the government and police department to address many of the issues under federal law that prohibits officers from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement: “This unacceptable and unconstitutional conduct erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing. It is also an affront to the vast majority of officers who put their lives on the line to serve Louisville with honor. And it is an affront to the people of Louisville who deserve better.”

The department found the police had a pattern of using excessive force, police dogs and tasers; conducted searches based on invalid warrants; made unlawful stops and searches; discriminated against Black people in its enforcement activities; violated protected free speech activities; and discriminated against people with behavioral health disabilities.

The DOJ’s findings are separate from cases related to the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot in her home by Louisville police instituting a no-knock warrant. The Justice Department had previously filed charges against four former officers involved in that 2020 incident.

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Update: Tamaulipas, Mexico, Gov. Américo Villarreal confirmed one person has been detained in connection with the kidnapping of 4 Americans in Matamoros. The four were found in a wooden shack, where they were being guarded by a man who was arrested. Villarreal said the captive Americans had been moved around by their captors, and at one point were taken to a medical clinic “to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them.”

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Mexican authorities confirmed the discovery of the four U.S. citizens missing since their abduction last week in the northern Mexican border city of Matamoros on Friday. Authorities found 2 of the hostages killed and 2 recovered alive. Tamaulipas, Mexico, Gov. Américo Villarreal said that one of the surviving U.S. citizens was wounded and the other was not. Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios tweeted : “Derived from the joint search actions, the four American citizens deprived of their liberty last Friday were found. Unfortunately, two dead. Investigation and intelligence work continue to capture those responsible. Details will be given later.”

The FBI had reported Sunday that it was searching with Mexican authorities for the missing Americans, who had been kidnapped Friday. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that shortly after entering Mexico, the four Americans were caught in the crossfire of rival cartel groups. A video showed them being loaded into the back of a pickup truck by gunmen. The U.S. embassy in Mexico said that gunmen shot into a vehicle containing the four Americans and subsequently “herded them into another vehicle and fled the scene with them. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said a Mexican bystander was also killed.

The four Americans who were kidnapped were identified as Latavia “Tay” McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Eric James Williams and Zindell Brown. A relative said Monday that they had traveled together from South Carolina so one of them could get a tummy tuck from a Matamoros doctor.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed during a press briefing that both survivors had been returned to the U.S. by Tuesday afternoon, and 0fficials were still “in the process of working to repatriate the remains” of the two victims who were killed.  Price also told reporters: “The investigation is in its earliest days. I understand we may have more to share from the FBI at the appropriate time.”

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