Congress

Yazidis and Christians face existential threat in northeast Syria following Turkish intervention and US pull back of troops

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) heard last week that President Donald Trump’s partial withdrawal of American troops from northeast Syria in 2019 created a vacuum in which Turkey and Turkish-backed militia have been able to threaten local vulnerable civilian populations including Christians and Yazidis. Condemning Turkey’s latest airstrikes and ground operations in the region, the USCIRF called for the US government to “utilize all diplomatic and economic leverage to protect vulnerable religious minorities in northern Iraq — as well as neighboring northeastern Syria — from Turkey’s indiscriminate military operations,” the Christian Post reported.

Trump Will Try Again to Repeal DACA

President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration will try again to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program instituted by the Obama administration, Politico reported. The renewed effort follows last week’s Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration had not provided adequate reasons for ending the program in 2017.

US Announces New Sanctions Against Syria

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Syria, tightening pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his government, amid concerns the war-torn country’s population will suffer.

Trump Administration Removes Transgender Health Discrimination Protections

The US Department of Health published a new rule Friday asserting that protection against “sex discrimination” in health care applies only to people who are biologically male or female. Focussed on Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the final rule rolls back an Obama-era regulation which had added “gender identity” as grounds under which a person could suffer health care discrimination. Religious and conservative groups have welcomed the rule as protecting freedom of conscience and allowing federally funded medical practitioners and insurance companies to refuse the provision or coverage of transgender treatments. However, human rights groups are concerned the rule will leave trans-Americans without access to standard needed health care that is unrelated to sex change.

U.S. Senate Panel Approves Subpoenas In Russia Probe

The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee has approved subpoena power for a politically charged congressional investigation of the Justice Department’s probe into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and its contacts with Russia.

Republican Senators Working on Police Reform Bill

US Senate Republicans announced on Tuesday that they are working on a bill to address police reform and racial injustice, Reuters reported. The move came after Congressional Democrats put forward police reform legislation on Monday.

Minneapolis Votes to Dismantle Police Department and Find New Approach to Public Safety

A majority of Minneapolis City Council members voted Sunday to dismantle the city’s police department and replace it with a new model of public safety, the New York Times (NYT) reported. The move follows activists’ calls to “defund police” after the violent death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis law enforcement officers two weeks ago. As Republicans have expectedly described such calls as “appalling” and “outlandish,” Congressional Democrats have also distanced themselves from the calls, focussing instead on bringing a new bill addressing police reform.

WH: Trump ‘Appalled’ by Democrats’ Call to Defund the Police

Efforts by Democrats to dismantle and defund the police department represents a “rolling back” of the “protective layers that protect Americans in their homes and places of business,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Monday.

Federal Budget Deficit Nears $2 Trillion For Fiscal Year

Uncle Sam has added $1.2 trillion to the budget deficit over the last two months, according to the latest numbers Monday that detail how the government has used cash to try to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its economic catastrophe.

Michael Flynn transcripts reveal plenty except crime or collusion

“Remember … Ambassador, you’re not talking to a diplomat, you’re talking to a soldier.” When President Trump’s incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said those words to then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, he also spoke to American intelligence agents listening in on the call. For three years, congressional Democrats have assured us Flynn’s calls to Kislyak were so disturbing that they set off alarms in the closing days of the Obama administration.

China Warns US As Tensions Escalate to the “Brink of a New Cold War”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday that American officials are endangering world peace by attempting to push the US and China “to the brink of a new cold war,” Time reports. Amid rising tensions between the two countries on a range of issues, including China’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, last week the US Senate unanimously passed a bill that could prevent some Chinese companies from being listed on American stock exchanges.

Republican Groups File Suit Against California Governor, Claiming His Vote-By-Mail Executive Order is Unlawful

Republican groups filed a lawsuit against California Governor Gavin Newsom Sunday, challenging his executive order that all state registered voters can vote by mail in November’s General Election, CBS news reports. The Republican National Party, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the California Republican Party launched the case in the District Court for Eastern California, claiming that Newsom’s order was issued in “a direct usurpation of the legislature’s authority.”

Hong Kong Police Breakup Pro-Democracy Protests

Smoke and screams of panicked people filled central Hong Kong on Sunday as security forces fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators.

Trump Administration Spending Billions Developing Hypersonic Missiles

The Pentagon is spending billions of dollars on developing two main types of ultra-fast hypersonic missiles in order to “dominate future battlefields,” the Times of Israel reports. Referring to Russia and China in an explanation for the move, President Trump told reporters on Friday: “We have no choice, we have to do it, with the adversaries we have out there.”

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