August 29, 2020

Voting Group Says It Is No Longer Allowed To Leave Voter Registration Cards In Post Offices

Officials with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Texas say their volunteers are no longer allowed to leave voter registration forms at U.S. post offices.

Grace Chimene, the group's president, said volunteers have been turned away in the past week while trying to drop off basic voter materials. She said it started late last week when she heard from a volunteer in Waller County.

"He was very frustrated," she said. "He did talk to the [staff] and found out that there was some directive that came down that said that they were not allowed to have voter registration forms in the post office."

A spokesperson for the USPS said in a statement there hasn't been any rule change.

Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2020/08/28/380788/voting-group-says-it-is-no-longer-allowed-to-leave-voter-registration-cards-in-post-offices/

August 29, 2020

Republicans attack Texas congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones using homophobic slurs

Republicans are resorting to homophobia in their campaign to retain the West Texas U.S. House seat currently held by Rep. Will Hurd. Gina Ortiz Jones is the Democratic candidate and she is facing Republican Tony Gonzales.

The RNCC suggested Gonzales’ supporters target her because of her sexual orientation. In a podcast, Gonzales said she had a “transgender agenda.”

While both candidates are veterans, VoteVets issued a statement on behalf of Ortiz Jones:

“The NRCC attacking any candidate for their sexual orientation is reprehensible, vile and gutter-politics at its worst. That in the year 2020, they think it’s a winning strategy against a veteran who has served her country honorably, tells you everything you need to know about Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Gina Ortiz Jones volunteered to serve her country selflessly and courageously during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. These desperate and homophobic attacks on her are yet another example of how — just like their standard bearer Donald Trump — today’s Republican Party has nothing to offer the American people beyond faux-patriotism and culture-war grievances.”

Read more: https://dallasvoice.com/republicans-attacks-texas-congressional-candidate-gina-ortiz-jones-using-homophobic-slurs/

August 29, 2020

Beto O'Rourke and Bernie Sanders team up for Saturday event

HOUSTON -- Former presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Beto O’Rourke are joining forces to hold a virtual town hall meeting this weekend to discuss “fighting for justice” in Texas.

Racial justice, climate change and the nation’s response to the pandemic have been central to similar town hall sessions that Sanders has organized in recent weeks in other states like Wisconsin and Iowa.

“After Joe Biden and Kamala (Harris) are elected, what we have got to do is to push a progressive agenda,” said Sanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont. “An agenda that stands for working people and not just the 1 percent.”

Read more: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Beto-O-Rourke-and-Bernie-Sanders-team-up-for-15519741.php
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August 29, 2020

Robert Jeffress Calls Cuckolding 'A Warning of the Destructive Power of Sin'

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, and in doing so, he paints a vivid picture of a mighty gulf that stands between hell and a VIP spot at Abraham’s bosom.

Well, an unprecedented development in Christianity was made over the past week, because now there’s an even bigger gulf: the one between what Jerry Falwell Jr. says and what Jerry Falwell Jr. does.

In a shocking revelation that tempted even the most sex-positive people to kink-shame, Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University amid reports he watched his wife, Becki, have sex with a former Miami hotel pool attendant. The scandal, which was first reported by Reuters, allegedly spans six years.

Falwell didn't comment for the Reuters story, but the night before the exposé went live, he issued a statement to the Washington Examiner claiming the pool attendant, Giancarlo Granda, tried to extort money from the couple over what Falwell called an affair between Granda and Becki.

Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/robert-jeffress-who-called-trump-affair-irrelevant-warns-of-the-sins-implicit-in-cuckolding-11938577

August 29, 2020

Ex-UAW boss Williams charged in embezzlement scandal as federal probe continues

Detroit — Retired United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams was charged Thursday with conspiracy to embezzle union funds following a years-long investigation into racketeering, bribery and other crimes that has pushed one of the nation's most powerful unions to the brink of a federal takeover.

Williams, 67, of Corona, Calif., is the second UAW president charged during an investigation by agents from the FBI, Labor Department and Internal Revenue Service during a probe that has led to 14 convictions. It has revealed labor leaders and auto executives broke federal labor laws, stole union funds and received bribes and illegal benefits from union contractors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executives.

That criminal investigation is ongoing, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider told The Detroit News in an interview: "We're not done. This is a very significant step and we are going to continue."

Williams was charged in a criminal information, which means a guilty plea is expected. The criminal charge is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2020/08/27/ex-uaw-boss-ex-uaw-boss-williams-charged-in-racketeering-scand-williams-charged-racketeering-scandal/5642204002/

August 29, 2020

MGM Resorts to lay off nearly 20,000 furloughed workers

Source: UPI

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- MGM Resorts said Friday it will start laying off nearly 20,000 furloughed employees next week.

In a letter to employees, MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle blamed the coronavirus pandemic for ongoing problems nationwide with the gambling and hospitality industry.

Hornbuckle said about 18,000 workers will be laid off.

MGM owns some of the Las Vegas' best-known properties, including the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, New York New York and the Mirage -- in addition to casinos and hotels in Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Washington, D.C.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2020/08/28/MGM-Resorts-to-lay-off-nearly-20000-furloughed-workers/4721598631265/

August 28, 2020

The white supremacist origins of modern marriage advice

by Jane Ward, Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of California, Riverside


When I was conducting research for my new book on the destructive aspects of modern heterosexual relationships, I started looking into the archives of early 20th-century books about courtship and marriage written by physicians and sexologists.

In the process, I made a discovery that would radically alter my understanding of why so many parts of heterosexual culture remain mired in violence and inequality.

Almost all of the original self-help books for couples were written by proponents of the eugenics movement, an ostensibly scientific project that aimed to encourage reproduction among the white middle class, while discouraging or preventing population growth among people of color and the poor.

These early marriage manuals revealed that the project of defining healthy heterosexual marriage in the United States was also a white supremacist campaign designed to help white families flourish. As the marriage counseling industry evolved in the 20th century, some of the key assumptions made in these original manuals would persist, even influencing marriage advice aimed at Black families.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/the-white-supremacist-origins-of-modern-marriage-advice-144782

August 28, 2020

Many US workplaces required to report injuries flouted new Labor Department rule

More than 100,000 U.S. workplaces required to submit injury and illness records flouted a new federal requirement to electronically submit their logs, keeping dangerous employers cloaked in secrecy.

Only about 60% of the establishments expected to submit 2016 data to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded, according to an analysis by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. The next two years were no better. OSHA received 2017 and 2018 data from less than half of the roughly 463,000 workplaces required to report in each of those years, according to statements made by a top agency official in court filings.

The poor compliance rate by employers surfaced in court documents filed by OSHA in response to a lawsuit brought by the public interest group Public Citizen after the agency refused to release electronic injury and illness records. Reveal filed a parallel suit challenging the government’s refusal to release the injury logs, known as Form 300As, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. A federal judge sided with Reveal and the 2016 records were released last week.

Establishments with 250 or more employees and workplaces in high-risk industries with 20 or more workers, such as agriculture and construction, are required to submit the Form 300A, which summarizes how many people were injured or killed on the job each year.

Read more: https://www.revealnews.org/article/many-us-workplaces-required-to-report-injuries-flouted-new-labor-department-rule/

August 28, 2020

U.S. says Herbalife to pay $123.1 million to resolve China bribery case

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Herbalife Nutrition Ltd will pay $123.1 million to settle criminal and civil charges it bribed Chinese officials in government agencies and media outlets to boost its business in China, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday.

The multi-level marketing company, whose products include dietary supplements, entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement in which it admitted to conspiring to violate the books and records provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an anti-bribery law.

Authorities said Herbalife schemed from 2007 to 2016 to bribe Chinese officials with cash, entertainment, meals and travel to obtain direct selling licenses, reduce government scrutiny and suppress negative coverage by state-controlled media.

China accounted for 19% of Herbalife’s $4.49 billion of net sales in 2016, up from 7% in 2006, regulatory filings show.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-herbalife-china-settlement/u-s-says-herbalife-to-pay-123-1-million-to-resolve-china-bribery-case-idUSKBN25O25C

August 28, 2020

The Mystery House: How a Suspicious Multimillion Dollar Real Estate Deal Is Connected to California'

Shortly after a devastating wildfire destroyed the small town of Paradise in Northern California in November 2018, Pacific Gas & Electric hired an obscure waste disposal company to help it rebuild from the fire.

PG&E owed the firm millions of dollars when it abruptly terminated its business relationship this year. The utility giant announced that two of its employees lost their jobs over allegations they had taken bribes from the company, known as Bay Area Concrete Recycling.

Now, an investigation by the Bay City News Foundation and ProPublica has revealed for the first time a multimillion-dollar real estate transaction linking one of Bay Area Concrete’s owners, Yadwinder “Kevin” Singh, to the PG&E employee who supervised the company’s work in Paradise.

In effect, Singh transferred ownership of a home to the PG&E employee, who sold it back a month later to a holding company linked to Singh. It could not be determined whether the PG&E employee paid any money in exchange for the transfer of ownership. It is also unclear whether the bribery allegations by PG&E are connected to the home sale between their employee and Singh.

Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-mystery-house-how-a-suspicious-multimillion-dollar-real-estate-deal-is-connected-to-californias-deadliest-fire