And Sessions Is Ready to Loosen Restraints on Local Cops
Nuked. The Senate is expected today to approve the nomination of conservative jurist Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The vote will be little more than a formality, however, as the Senate changed its rules on Thursday and invoked the so-called “nuclear option” to allow a simple majority vote to end a Democratic filibuster of the nomination. At least three Democrats are expected to vote with Senate leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the Republican majority for the appointment. Taking the seat vacated by the death last year of Antonin Scalia, Gorsuch will restore a 5-4 right-leaning, corporate-focused majority to the court.
Bombs away. Trump ordered the Navy to launch more than 50 Tomahawk missiles against the Al Shayrat airfield in Syria. Trump acted without consulting Congress. Syria said six people died in the attacks. Trump ordered the missiles after an apparent poison gas attack on civilians that killed at least 70 people in Syria.
Cops unleashed. Trump’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is backing away from former President Barack Obama’s efforts to ensure that police in our America obey the Constitution. Sessions has ordered a review of agreements with dozens of law enforcement agencies. Sessions wants to stall an agreement to overhaul the police department in Baltimore where Freddie Gray died in 2015 in police custody.
Where the jobs are. A report by the National Resources Defense Council found that federal tax cut extensions are leading to new wind and solar projects that will create more than 220,000 jobs and add nearly $23 billion to the U.S. economy in 2017. Nevertheless, Trump has cast his lots for coal, where automation and environmentally disastrous strip mining mean fewer and fewer jobs. The entire coal industry today employs just slightly more than skiing.
No internet privacy. Trump has signed the repeal of the FCC Internet privacy rule. This means Internet providers like AT& T and Comcast can collect information about what sites you visit and sell it.
More digital strip searches. Foreigners who want to come to our country could be forced to show their contacts on their cell phones and hand over their passwords for social media sites.