CA bill to let LA buy fire-destroyed lots for low-income housing
SACRAMENTO, CALIF - The California Senate passed a bill to authorize a Los Angeles County “Resilient Rebuilding Authority" that could use public funds to "purchase lots at a fair price for land banking," and "create open space." The bill would also allow municipal bodies to use property taxes to fund low-income housing and public transit. Senate Bill 549 now has a hearing in the state Assembly scheduled for Wednesday.
As a funding mechanism, the bill would allow the RRA for the Los Angeles wildfires to “Issue, receive, and administer funds, including, but not limited to, tax-increment financing, federal loans and grants, state loans and grants, and philanthropic grants, to support recovery.”
The RRA would then be able to use taxpayer funds to oversee most of the construction process, and would be granted the power to “purchase critical construction materials in bulk,” "manage and coordinate rebuilding and related logistics," "enhance financing options," and “support the reconstruction workforce by partnering with trades, facilitating training and workforce development, and creating temporary workforce housing.” Click here to read more.
Michigan AG Dana Nessel joins efforts by Democrats to dox federal immigration agents
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday joined calls to expose federal immigration agents responsible for deporting illegal immigrant criminals from the country.
The Democratic AG co-led a letter to Congress from 21 attorneys general urging lawmakers to approve legislation introduced in both chambers that would ban non-medical face coverings and require agents to display agency-identifying insignia, as well as their name or badge number.
“Normalizing the practice of using masked agents who do not identify themselves is not just a shocking escalation of unscrupulous police tactics – it also presents a significant danger for residents and officers alike,” Nessel said in a statement. Click here to read more.
Prosecutors to drop charges against man accused of trying to kidnap child from school
AURORA, Colo. (Gray News) - A man accused of attempting to kidnap an elementary school student during recess last year is expected to have his charges dropped.
According to multiple outlets, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colorado intends to dismiss charges against Solomon Galligan.
The 33-year-old was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping in April 2024.
Aurora police said he walked onto school grounds at Black Forest Hills Elementary School and approached a group of children during recess, trying to grab an 11-year-old boy.
The children ran away to escape Galligan that afternoon and they were able to run for help. Click here to read more.
Jill Biden aide invokes Fifth to decline testimony in Republican investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former senior aide to Jill Biden on Wednesday became the second person to invoke the Fifth Amendment and decline to answer questions from House Republicans who are investigating President Joe Biden’s mental state and use of the autopen while in office.
Anthony Bernal, who previously served as chief of staff to former first lady Jill Biden, was subpoenaed for his testimony by the House Oversight Committee. He declined to answer questions, invoking the protections that prevent people from being forced to testify against themselves in government proceedings.
“Well, unfortunately, that was quick,” said Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, after the deposition ended. “I believe the American people are concerned. They’re concerned that there were people making decisions in the White House that were not only unelected but no one to this day knows who they were.” Click here to read more.
The Caribbean island torn apart by gangs and guns
The gang who shot up Anisa Rampersad’s home just after midnight could barely see in the pitch dark. With the firepower they had, they didn’t need to. In 60 seconds, they fired 53 rounds from three weapons, riddling her wooden shack with bullets. By the time they fled, four of her five children were dead.
“I woke up to loud explosions, and saw my older daughter’s room lighting up with sparks from the bullets,” Rampersad, 40, recalls. “We still don’t know why they came; people spread stories, but we weren’t involved in anything – no drugs, guns, nothing.”
The massacre in Arima, Trinidad – a satellite town of Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, Port of Spain – is part of an epidemic of gun violence that has swept what was once a Caribbean idyll. It is fuelled by a toxic mix of gangs, the drugs trade and the proliferation of high-powered firearms.
It claimed the lives of Rampersad’s children Faith, 10, Arianna, 14, Shane, 17, and Tiffany, 19, and injured five other relatives. All Rampersad glimpsed of the culprits was some shadowy figures vaulting over a fence, although there was little doubt about what kind of people they were. Click here to read more.
